Why I Refused to Quit Taking Love Beyond Walls
A Decade of Resilience and Connection
I can’t believe that this weekend, we will be celebrating a decade of working with those who are unhoused and facing poverty through an organization my wife Cecilia and I co-founded while I was living under a bridge with just my cellphone.
But, if I am to be honest, it has not been easy! There have been many times when I wanted just to quit. However, the stories of those we’ve helped have kept me going.
It was 2014, and Love Beyond Walls’ first year was nearing its end. I was uncertain about our future. As a young leader, my dream of bringing attention to the growing issue of homelessness in our city (Atlanta) was fading.
We had very few resources to continue this passion of raising awareness and mobilizing people from a small garage to support those unhoused—with essential items.
The idea of completing a full second year, let alone a decade, seemed overwhelming, and if I’m honest, I felt like quitting almost every day.
I didn’t know how we would be able to move forward without a huge network and little support for an issue that not many care about. Have you ever wanted to give up on something but deep down knew you shouldn’t? That’s where I was.
I was on the brink of letting our passion fade away when Pastor Wesley, new to our community, visited local organizations and stopped by our small office near the Atlanta Airport.
Unaware of our struggles, he inquired about our work in the community.
Following a tour of our space, he mentioned a church willing to donate a 30-passenger bus to us because other churches had turned it down. Imagining how it could benefit community members who walked to our office space for resources, I accepted the offer.
Soon after, a church in Madison, Georgia, generously donated the Bus for $1.
Two weeks after this miracle, I stopped at a gas station before heading to a meeting. There, I met Leonard, rummaging through the trash for what he called “lunch.”
He said,
'I lost my wife... I couldn't cope... I ended up outside... and for a little over six months, this has been my life.' I don't know what prompted me to ask the follow-up question, but I asked, 'Leonard, if you had one wish, what would it be?'
Without hesitation, he responded, ‘I wish I could be made over...’
Leonard wasn’t yearning for a new house or a list of material possessions; he longed for a shower and a change of clothes. After connecting Leonard with resources, he left me with this advice:
"Do not quit this work...the work of noticing people."
Talk about humbling and a reason to keep going. It was Leonard’s words and an act of generosity that made me not give up at that moment.
Driven by his story, I launched a campaign to live on top of the Bus in a tent to raise awareness of homelessness and the lack of essential hygiene services for those living on the street for 30 days and nights in the middle of winter.
Looking back, I believe what fueled me to do it was my faith and knowing I wanted people to be aware of all the people like Leonard who held that same wish—to be made over and have their dignity affirmed in a simple way.
Those 30 days were some of the hardest as I endured 1-degree weather, battled thoughts of doubt, and wondered if anyone would hear or support the campaign.
But, little did I know that this campaign would lead to something greater.
The campaign would mobilize hundreds of people to transform this old Bus (turning it into a mobile barbershop, clothing closet, and hygiene station),1 which eventually led me to reach out to local barbering schools, and then I met Jamil, a 27-year-old newly licensed barber.
He started volunteering and cutting hair on this transformed Bus, and after two months of volunteering, he revealed that his commitment was personal; his father was unhoused, and he hadn’t seen him in ten years.
I was blown away by Jamil's belief that one of the few ways he might reconnect with his father, whom he hadn't seen in a decade, would be to volunteer with an organization unknown to him on a bus donated to us after a challenging first year.
This is truly a story that offers a reason to persevere. Both Leonard and Jamil became symbols of resilience, and pushed me to say, “I refuse to quit…”
Then, another miracle happened: we encountered Jamil’s father on the streets of Atlanta, and Jamil was able to give his father a makeover.
This encounter was transformative for his father, who later found employment and housing after completing a program. I will never forget their embrace, Jamil’s father learning that his son was a barber, and the subsequent calls about how that Bus reconnected him and his brother with their father.
As I reflect on these experiences and how our organization, Love Beyond Walls, will celebrate ten years of service, transformative stories like these remind me to keep going when all feels bleak, and stories like these have kept me going all this time.
Fast forward, we have mobilized thousands of people from all walks of life to take Love Beyond Walls to those who may need hope, love, dignity, and belonging in our city and around the country.
Over the past decade of leading and serving alongside others, I have realized that proximity to the community has empowered me to see others, affirm their worth, find hope and resilience, and encourage others to do the same.
Although I do not know what the future holds, we still have dreams and remain committed to ensuring no one is invisible.
We are now about to embark on a new dream at the organization. I hope it inspires people from around the world to pause long enough to see and affirm the dignity of those who may find themselves suffering on the margins of society like—Leonard.
May that seeing cause them to take Love Beyond Walls to those around them.
If you find yourself in a place where you feel like quitting, giving up on yourself, or walking away from a dream, I encourage you to hold on because you never know how it might lead to a decade of meaningful work and experiences.
Do not give up yet.
Check out this short video that celebrates and highlights the past decade of work!
P.S. I dedicate these words to Leonard and Jamil, and if any of these stories moved you, you can find them in books I have written to educate those on the importance of seeing others below:
Preorder, “Zion Learns To See: Opening Our Eyes To Homelessness” [HERE]
If you want to explore homelessness in the U.S., please consider checking out the book “I See You: How Love Opens Our Eyes to Invisible People.”
Explore my book “When We Stand: The Power of Seeking Justice Together” to delve into the profound impact of community involvement and collective action for social change.
Discover “All God’s Children: How Confronting Buried History Can Build Racial Solidarity” to gain insight into the significance of understanding the historical narratives that shape people and how they can build racial solidarity.
Or, subscribe to the Love Beyond Walls Newsletter—visit the site and sign up.
It was the first of its kind in Atlanta.
"Do not quit this work...the work of noticing people." Phew. Yes.