MAY 1, 2026 RECOVERY Dear Alcohol, MARQUETTA Q CLEMENTS Groundcover contributor Dear Crack, I love that I hate you I hate that I love you Placed not a dime above you Honestly, I trust you How do you break and build me? Capture but I feel free Puppet Master Along you string me I just want to feel peace Can’t heal unless the pain sinks Choose you over my dreams Choose you over family Alone and weak, I’m Bambi Conquered fears without thee Surrender all, Defeat With sobriety I am King With you, I can’t see me I’d probably end up 6 deep Scared to go beneath God please protect and mold me A fiend that’s the old me You no longer control me I miss you, I claim boldly But I will not let you hold me Goodbye dear friend, I’m worthy Is this love? Is this real? I gave you all of me You don’t seem to to care how I feel I accomplish a goal Celebrate with you as a meal You pick a fight with my emotions And I destroy everything I’ve built Why do you hurt me? Why do I let you? I feel ashamed that I kept you Misused and abused Everyday I regret you I’m boo boo the fool And today, I accept the truth This toxicity is poison I choose me I am woken I admit I am broken Tunnel vision, I am focused I choose God And I noticed This life chapter I’m closing I am free YES from page 6 insightful, impactful stories and reflections from volunteers who served our unhoused neighbors. This discussion helps to discern how faith-based organizations can make a difference in their community through engagement projects like hosting the Daytime Warming Center. I watched the video in full and was impressed by the discussion and the impact it had on this place of worship and its congregation. Dutton led the discussion where church members listened and participated in meaningful dialogue. Throughout the presentation Dutton showed video interviews of Church member volunteers who expressed their experiences journeying into the unknown. During these interviews one can observe that the interviewees experienced meaningful purpose from hosting the DWC. In one of the interview sessions, Pat Gilbreath expressed that she felt as if, "We were not just helping them, we were helping ourselves ... We felt kinda like the Grinch. Our hearts grew three sizes because the response received from our unhoused neighbors was amazing. It made us feel wonderful." A different volunteer, Andy Price, said with a hint of emotion during the interview, “I’ve enjoyed talking GROUNDCOVER NEWS 11 to you these past couple of weeks, but I hope I don't see you here next year.” Pastors interviewed included Associate Pastor Melissa Anne Rogers, Associate Pastor Mark Mares, Resident Pastor Hanna Richards, and Resident Pastor Sarah Rutherford. Church volunteers interviewed included Pat Gilbreath, Daine Knibbs, Andy Price, Daine Tamblyn. The first interview was with Resident Pastor Rutherford. She set the scene on how they became the host for the DWC. Rutherford explained how there were several meetings with DWC staff in preparation before actually hosting the DWC. From December 8-19, during record low temperatures, First Pres utilized 45 church member volunteers for the two-week period. “Hosting the DWC on short notice stretched us logistically, but as we reflect on the experience afterwards, I am overwhelmed with gratitude for the gift of hosting our neighbors. It was a blessing for our congregation to grow in Christ’s love for all people,” said Resident Pastor Rutherford. Shoutout to Lead Pastor David Prentice-Hyers and a big thank you to all who volunteered at the Daytime Warming Center. Stigma vs. Everybody DAVID CRANE Groundcover contributor We say we want to be seen. But being seen is exposure. So we represent the version that won't get rejected and call it growth. Don't confuse survival with healing. We don't thrive in chaos; we adapt to it. Intensity feels like home. Peace feels like a setup. We don't fear being misunderstood. We fear being understood. Being seen doesn't free you — It removes your excuses. Paid in Silence DAVID CRANE No one claps when you choose restraint. No crowd gathers when you swallow anger and let it die unnamed. But somewhere — in the quiet architecture of your own mind — a foundation sets that no chaos can collect from. LIBRARY from last page makes sure you have what you need to accomplish it. She will tell you exactly what buses you need to take, and makes sure you have the bus fare to do it ... I would really like to start a youth group for teens and young adults that teaches de-escalation and actively gets them involved in the community through activities. It’s harder to get two people to become friends than it is to get two people to fight.” Kat explained that her goals included “not just helping people, but assisting them so they will be able to help someone else accomplish the same task in the future … I wasn’t trying to completely reinvent the wheel. The goal is to prevent duplication of services, identify gaps, and serve as a resource hub.” Like San Francisco, YDL hopes to eventually have peers integrated into the programming. (Peers are people with lived experience who receive training to use their experiences to help others navigate similar situations.) On April 15, during its monthly board meeting, YDL trustees announced they had hired a new licensed social worker. Kat transitioned this quarter to a new job developing programming with the state. During a recent interview, Kat shared she cried several times after making the very difficult decision to move on to the new opportunity. According to the YDL Board of Trustees, the new library social worker, Tommy, is scheduled to begin work on May 4, and is expected to be working full-time by the end of the month. Arguably, Kat was a great fit to help “kick-start” YDL’s library social work program, as she was already well-known and trusted by the community members she was serving. The new social worker, according to the Board of Trustees, has years of experience in the field and has a spouse who is a librarian. While the personnel may change and there may be modifications to the program we can’t currently predict, the social work pilot will continue.
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