A little more than four weeks ago, Jayden* was referred to us by an agency that recognized he had unique needs. For several years, he'd endured the trauma of trafficking and exploitation in Chicago and was desperate to be free.…
by Jacque Anderson, Kaio Member Jimmy comes to the Ministry Center almost every day that it is open and talks with us for hours. We play card games and discuss everything from healthy diets to fitness workouts, music to movies,…
by Heather Truex, former Kaio Member Goodbyes are hard. In my 27 years, I think the hardest thing I’ve had to learn is how to accept that goodbyes are part of life. I spent two years as a Kaio member…
by Jacque Anderson, Kaio Member It was my first night of Outreach in Boystown—part of my interview for the Kaio program. I listened intently as Andrew, a man whom I’d just met who lives on the streets, talked about how…
by Heather Truex, Kaio Community Member When horses fight, the one that gets the other’s feet to move is dominant. Growing up with several of the beautiful beasts, I had to learn this quickly. The farm where I worked as…
by Br. Bede Thigpen, Order of Friars Minor Conventual and former Kaio Community Member As a Franciscan friar, I often hear the story of St. Francis and the leper—a pivotal event in Francis of Assisi’s life. The saint recounts in…
by Joel Brown, Kaio Community Member In March, Emmaus hosted a missions team from Franciscan University of Steubenville, a Catholic college in Ohio. After lunch one day, Abbey (one of the “Steubs”) and I ended up talking about the veneration…
by Mary Mayberry, Kaio Community Member We were stuck. My family and I had been on the river for an exhausting two hours already. Some places had a gentle current; other sections felt like a water park ride. Now our…
by Heather Truex, Kaio Community Member The struggle is real. I sigh to myself and grit my teeth as I shuffle along the sidewalk on Outreach. I’m buried in struggles right now. I’m wrestling with the dichotomy between God’s…
by Andi Tauber, Stories from the Streets Co-Director On a recent Wednesday, “Cliff” came to the Ministry Center. It had been almost five months since he’d been by, and we had heard that he had just been briefly hospitalized after…