When we see a young person with remarkable athletic ability, we wonder: Where will your gifts take you? What mountains will you climb in your lifetime? And when we encounter a very intelligent child, we ask ourselves: What will you do and where will you go with your talent? What amazing, whirring invention will you imagine and build?
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Dedicated mentors at Kinship Church.
Pictured from left to right. Top row: Todd Williams, Rev. William Matthews, Pastor Jones, and Gregory Hatcher.
Bottom row: Janet Matthews, Shaquae Williiams, Latisha Hobley, and Jaymie Jones. |
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To see the possibilities in people is exciting. By instinct, we know that human potential should be cultivated, nurtured until it flourishes.
Right here in Denver, members of Kinship Church are putting their potential to excellent use. They are employing their gifts and experiences to serve others, and have dedicated themselves to supporting and encouraging homeless families in our community. Through the Family and Senior Homeless Initiative, these mentors are helping the homeless realize their own unique abilities and potential, and to lay a solid and secure foundation for the future. This month, the Family and Senior Homeless Initiative spoke with Latisha Hobley, a member of the Kinship Church mentor team, about the immensely rewarding experience of using one's gifts and talents to benefit the needy.
Latisha mentions that several members of the mentor team at Kinship Church had undergone previous training to address issues of homelessness and poverty. So, these mentors had the heart and skills to serve others; they just needed a channel for that energy. The Family and Senior Homeless Initiative provided a practical way for them to implement the skills they'd acquired. Latisha says, "My pastor had sent us through a statewide ministry where we got trained on how to help. We get to use the skills and our previous training in FSHI, so we are really excited. Your heart cries out for the situation you see people going through. If we can be an encouragement in their lives, a source of support, then we want to do that."
Mentors from Kinship Church met regularly with a loving single mother and her three children. The family had experienced a string of bad luck. Latisha says, "The mother was working full time, and she'd been at her job about eight years. She ran into some hardships. She was on a verbal lease from month to month … and she was evicted with no notice or warning." Latisha adds that, "Of course things happen in our lives that we're unprepared for." Her mentee mom had worked hard, but suddenly, things came crashing down upon that family, and they were left homeless.
Latisha says, "[These families have] a lot of needs, and resources are tapped out." When asked what homeless families most need, she says, "Everything from necessities, to needing dental care, to gas vouchers, to bus tokens, to clothes, to food. Of course, a lot of [these people] are dealing with shelter issues. They need healthy activities for themselves and their kids. The list just goes on and on, and different needs come up as their situations change." Latisha says that the mentor team was able to help their mentee with "whatever she needed. We have different community contacts, and the Denver Rescue Mission helped her get furniture."
As the mentorship period progressed, Latisha saw a compelling change in the mentee mom's spirit. "It was encouraging to me to see her strength to keep moving regardless of the situation." The mentee mom's determination inspired Latisha and the other mentors. Though the "official" mentorship period is over, the Kinship Church mentor team still meets with their mentee, and Latisha affirms that this relationship will continue for a long time yet.
Latisha Hobley and the other mentors at Kinship Church understand the importance of making the most of the talents you have, especially to serve people who are down and out. When asked what she would say to other Denver congregations considering mentoring through the Family and Senior Homeless Initiative, Latisha says simply, "Do it! I just can't express how fulfilling it is to reach out and help someone else." |
