Howie and Renée Miller know Joshua Station from the inside out. After very generously supporting Mile High Ministries for over ten years, they actually moved in! They weren’t undergoing homelessness, but they wanted to share life with people who had – so they became resident volunteers.

“We always talked about how it would be great to live at Joshua Station for a time,” says Howie. “Those years 2013 and 2014 really brought a different experience from what we’d ever had before. It gave us a whole new perspective.” The Millers shared common kitchen and laundry facilities with their neighbors. They participated in town hall meetings, weekly dinners, holiday events, and neighborliness. They helped out in ordinary ways. They were attentively, wholeheartedly, vulnerably present.

“After living at Joshua Station for about 6 months, I had an emotional experience being away,” Renée remembers. One morning she drove to Panera Restaurant in suburban Greenwood Village to meet a friend. She was surprised at how shocked she felt in a previously familiar environment. “It just hit me – the way people looked and dressed, and our ways of being privileged. So many people don’t have a clue about the way others live in our city. I was humbled by how we were being introduced to the “other side.”

Howie reflects on the transformation in his own life. “Sharing daily life and conversations over meals changed my viewpoint.” I became less judgmental and less afraid of being known. We watched people ‘throw their all’ into this opportunity to make progress for their family.” The Millers forged dear friendships that have lasted to this day, and they still connect with other residents who have gone on to more stability in their lives.

The Millers are more passionate than ever in their financial support for Mile High Ministries, and they are excited now about how Clara Brown Commons will bring opportunities for long-term homes to graduates of the Joshua Station program and others. “We feel honored and blessed to be able to support these projects so worthy of our donations. And we’d be resident volunteers again in a heartbeat!”