As I thought about this past year and how I would describe it to you this evening, two different things came to mind...my English lit class from high school and Confucius. I will say that again, as I thought about this past year and how I would describe it to you this evening two different things came to mind...my English lit class from high school and Confucius. In my English lit class, we read the classic Charles Dickens novel A Tale of Two Cities. Now I will be honest and say I have vague recollections about the story. I know it is set in the time of the French Revolution. While I am being honest, it is very likely that I may have purchased the Cliff Notes for the novel as well. What I do clearly remember is how the book begins. The very first sentence is as follows; "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair." At the time, I liked the languag; but, I remember thinking to myself how can it be both the best and worst of times simultaneously.

 

Well, 2009 for us at Beyond Housing certainly can be described as living through the best and worst of times....

Read More »

I recently read Mitch Albom’s latest book, “Have a Little Faith” and a particular passage has stayed in mind. The book chronicles Albom’s personal journey about his faith through parallel relationships with his long time rabbi and a convict turned preacher in a troubled Detroit neighborhood. The passage that I can’t seem to get way from was an excerpt from a sermon of the rabbi that went as follows;

“A military chaplain told me the following story: A soldier’s little girl, whose father was being move to a distant post, was sitting at the airport amount her family’s belongings. The girl was sleepy. She leaned against the packs and duffel bags. A lady came by, stopped, and patted her on the head. Poor child, she said. You haven’t got a home. The child looked up in surprise. But we do have a home she said. We just don’t have a house to put it in.”

The greatest clarity and grace seems to come from children so often. This passage continues to make me think of the all the homeless children here in St. Louis and all across the country that are simply looking, hoping to find a house to put their home in. What a simple request – I just want a place to call to home. How is it that we have collectively let this simple request go unanswered over and over again? How is it that we allow executives of failed financial institutions walk away with hundreds of millions of dollars but we cannot find the resources to tell that child here is house to put your home in? How is it that we can spend billions of dollars on wars but cannot find the resources to tell that child here is house to put your home in. How is it that we all will give thanks this holiday for what we all have, pray for those who suffer but come next Monday fall back into our normal routines and forget about that child who is looking for a house to put his home into?

...

Read More »

On September 20th, 1993, I started this job as Executive Director and I am now President/CEO of Beyond Housing.  Back then, we were called Ecumenical Housing Production Corporation and, as the name implies, we had strong roots in the faith community. The original notion was to have people of all faiths come together to produce much-needed, affordable housing.  I was 31 years old, with a great deal of enthusiasm; but, not much experience. My biggest worry at leading this well-respected organization was to not “drop the ball” that was handed me by the Board of Directors and the retiring founding Executive Director, Lynn Broeder. Lynn was a dynamic and charismatic leader who grew the organization out of, yes, a church basement to its well-respected place. She had cultivated the strong ties to the faith community that we still enjoy today.

One thing that gave me pause back in those early days of my career was the tagline on the bottom of our letterhead.  It was a biblical quote from Micah. It read, “Do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with your God”. At this stage of my life and career, I just didn’t see the value of the quote professionally or personally.  Although I was raised in...

Read More »

So many problems in our world today seem so daunting, so big, so overwhelming that individually we cannot determine what to do. Sometimes, we ask ourselves, “What can I do that will really make a difference?” Sometimes, we become so accustomed to the problem that we simply don’t realize it still exists and that the solution may be right in front of us. I want to share two stories about just trying to make a difference.

The first story about trying to do the little things is about a tenant who lives in one of our single family rental homes. Her name is Gwen. Throughout the year, I go out with staff and see our mission first hand. We visited Gwen at her home. The staff person with me was our case worker who works with our families. She introduced me to Gwen and we began a conversation about a variety of things in Gwen’s life from work, children, the home itself and anything else that was important. Gwen mentioned she was studying, again, to get her GED. She said she had failed it three times before; but, only by a few points in math the last time. She works at a nursing home; but, needs her GED to continue her training to get a certificate to be a licensed practical nurse. 

...

Read More »

Leadership and courage are traits that are hard to come by in individuals and even harder in groups.  Further, leadership and courage are even more difficult to find when times are hard and these two traits are more in need than ever.  The organization I have the privilege of leading from a staff perspective, Beyond Housing, just held our annual strategic planning session on Saturday, September 12th.   Our mission is to strengthen neighborhoods, one family at a time and this already difficult task has gotten that much harder due to the recent economic downturn.  More and more families come to us each and everyday asking for our help in finding a place to live, help to prevent them from losing their home due to foreclosure, help to repair their existing home, help to provide support in the daily struggle to live with the weight of poverty on their shoulders.  The sad irony of this increased need for our mission delivery comes at time, due to the economic downturn, when we are anticipating a 30% decrease in charitable giving in 2009 from 2008.  This 30% equates to around $300,000.

 

In the context of this challenging time, we held our strategic planning session.  In the context...

Read More »

In small and large ways, being there for children can truly make a difference.

I normally use this space to solely talk about the work of Beyond Housing and all the issues the families and communities we serve face each and every day. This time I will do something a little different. 

As I write this, I am the only person on a small beach at 5:45 a.m. in Fish Creek, Wisconsin. The beach is in Door County and on a peninsula with Lake Michigan to the east and Green Bay (the bay, not the city) to the west of where I sit. The sun is slowly rising over the water...bright and streaking across the gentle waves toward me. The water rhythmically comes ashore giving me the soundtrack to my morning.

There are several sailboats anchored not too far in the distance. The air is crisp and I am wearing a light weight jacket to keep warm. I am in Peninsula State Park staying at a campground with my family. The beach is in a little cove rimmed with a beautiful green tree line. The park itself, like some in Missouri, is full of forests and trails to enjoy.

Accompanying the water in my soundtrack are the numerous birds starting their day. I forget how beautiful their calls can be if you really listen. The peacefulness of this place, at this time, is simply wonderful....

Read More »

Any successful work community building is driven by community engagement which is incredibly challenging.  Patience is required for this task.  How can you be patient and still be driven to make a difference?  Constructive impatience.

Tackling this region's vexing problems requires an intentionally integrated approach with many people coming to the table for the common good.  How do we get this done?

In a span of time from Tuesday, April 28th to Saturday, May 2nd, I learned a wonderful lesson on the difference between what is necessary and what is truly important. Thanks to a wonderful partnership with KETC-Channel 9, the local public broadcasting affiliate here in St. Louis, I was asked to participate on a panel of local “experts” about President Obama’s first 100 days in office as part of the “News Hour with Jim Lerher”, a week-long series focusing on St. Louis. The well-respected and long-time media personality, Gwen Ifill, moderated the panel discussion. Other panel members included former Senator,  Ambassador to the United Nations and Special Envoy to the Sudan, John Danforth, Congressman Lacy Clay and Patti York, Mayor of St. Charles, a suburban community in St. Louis. 

On Wednesday, about 25 minutes of the 1 hour discussion was aired nationally. I was told that I held my own, had a funny line and ended the show with an impassioned plea for more resources and importance to be placed on housing and community development.  It was all very cool. Click here to see the video. 



...

Read More »