Door of Hope: Writing a Way Toward a Bright Future - Providing a safe landing for people to come, sh
“I think that the whole project [The Commons on Merton] is making a difference in the neighborhood and whole community. Door of Hope is just a piece of that, but it is fun being a piece of a bigger whole and a bigger mission.” This quote is from Andy Jacuzzi, Executive Director of Door of Hope, in reference to his experience as a partner housed in The Commons, a shared-space community operated by the Center for Transforming Communities (CTC). Door of Hope (DOH) is a 501c3 non-profit that works with chronically homeless (a year or longer living on the streets or unsheltered or four episodes of homelessness during a three year period) with disabilities. The organization got its start back in 2
REP: Educating, Empowering, and Paving the Way - Meeting the educational needs of refugee children a
Camela Echols Blackmon, known as “Cam,” is a native Memphian. She got her start working as a social service director for the United Methodist Neighborhood Centers running a thrift store and distributing food baskets and clothes to those in need. Although she worked well with the community, she felt called to do much more than hand out food and clothes. Feeling the call to empower others toward self-sufficiency, she remembers the quote “Give a man a fish, he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish, he eats for a lifetime.” Cam’s work with refugees began when she met a lady named Ruth Lomo. Ruth is a Sudanese refugee who settled in the Binghampton area in 2001 with a goal to educate and empower
There are 21 stained glass windows at The Commons. It’s one of the perks of working here. Walking along corridors, up stairwells, into and out of the old sanctuary – Just about everywhere I go there are stained glass windows. Sometimes in the late afternoon the light comes through the largest window in the sanctuary and leaves a cascade of soft red and gold and green along the floor and walls. I’ve tried several times to catch this on camera, but the pictures don’t quite do it justice. And now that daylight savings time has passed, it’s dark when I leave, so I’ve begun to notice just how vibrant our stained glass windows are from the outside. Staff and volunteers at the Refugee Empowermen
