Here & Now

Apartment Complex Aims To Combat Homelessness

Frederica Freyberg:

Ashley Thomas, thanks very much for being here.

Ashley Thomas:

Yeah, of course. Thanks for having me.

Frederica Freyberg:

I wanted to start by asking, how did you end up running the Hope Street Ministry?

Ashley Thomas:

Honestly, it’s just one of those things where God really lead me to this place. I didn’t know what I wanted to do after college. I wanted to continue to pursue a basketball career and when I realized that just wasn’t really what was next, I began to volunteer at Hope Street actually. And after about a year after volunteering, a job position opened up. And it was like verbatim what I’d been praying for and hoping for and so I was like yeah, no brainer. I’ll take it.

Frederica Freyberg:

Tell us a little bit about it. Who lives there?

Ashley Thomas:

We have men, women and children that live there. And they are all dealing with different types of brokenness. So, whether it is recovering from drug and alcohol addictions, mental health issues, homeless. You name it. You know, we all acknowledge the fact that we’re all broken in some way and some people just need a little bit of a period of time to get themselves back on their feet, be loved, be nurtured and then, the idea is that they would be transplanted back into society.

Frederica Freyberg:

How do they end up there? Referred there?

Ashley Thomas:

Yes, we get referrals from different treatment centers, hospitals. Some people are just walking by and see it, but then word of mouth.

Frederica Freyberg:

Do you have vacancies there? Or is there always a wait?

Ashley Thomas:

We currently, in summer time, we see a little bit of a vacancy and so we don’t have a waiting list in the summer. And currently right now, we have some availabilities. But usually in the winter time, that’s when we usually are full and usually have a waiting list unfortunately.

Frederica Freyberg:

And so what is it like, for you, to see particularly, children find this safe place?

Ashley Thomas:

Yeah. I love it. That’s the part that like warms my heart. I just love that kids can feel safe and have somewhere to stay. So many of our kids, one of the first things they say is just like, ‘I get to live here?’ And we have a kids’ room downstairs and so they get so excited. And it’s just cool for me because it is just like – you get a chance to break down some of those cycles, those vicious cycles within families. And the kids can see a new way, and see that they are loved just as they are. And hopefully as they see Mom and Dad get their lives back on track, they too can.

Frederica Freyberg:

What kind of services are offered as part of the living community?

Ashley Thomas:

We have lots of basic life skills classes whether it’s cooking, GED, resume building. But we also have your typical bible study or any kind of topical classes and things like that. We have a social worker on staff, so we really try to link people with resources that are already available. We don’t want to recreate anything.

Frederica Freyberg:

How different are their lives from the ones you come from, especially as a Big10 Basketball star?

Ashley Thomas:

Yeah. You know, I mean, honestly, the stories are unbelievable to me. I can’t say that I can relate in that sense. I think one of the things I tell our men and women, especially that are dealing with addictions, it’s like – gosh, you are addicted to something that is really harmful to you, but I was just as addicted to the attention, the big bright lights and that after a while isn’t healthy either. So it’s hard to be addicted to something that others are cheering you on in. And so I can relate in that sense in the difficulty. But I can’t, by any means, relate to some of the hard trauma, the sexual abuse and the addictions of alcohol and drugs like many of our members.

Frederica Freyberg:

You were telling me that there are certainly many success stories, but even more often, moments. Like what?

Ashley Thomas:

Yeah, honestly the moment that somebody can forgive themselves. So often, a lot of our residents have lost family members due to some of the choices they’ve made. And the moment that they can realize that, “Yes, I made that bad choice, but that doesn’t have to define my future.” There is a new way. I can go a different direction. And that’s just huge, because that just helps somebody be able to move forward as opposed to being stuck.

Frederica Freyberg:

How meaningful is this work for you?

Ashley Thomas:

I love it. I honestly, I can’t even — when people say you get to do that, and ‘how do you like your work?’ And I don’t even feel like I’m going to work. I just feel like I get to go and be with my family and people that I just really care about.

Frederica Freyberg:

Ashley Thomas, thanks very much.

Ashley Thomas:

Thank you.