Image provided by @mihaly_koles.

As part of the 15th Anniversary celebration for Natetheworld.com, I am hosting a 24-hour writing challenge. Starting in January 2024, readers began submitting essay prompts. My goal is to tackle as many of these prompts as possible in a 24-hour period.

I will never forget my first time volunteering at the Oklahoma City Rescue Mission. Based on the media I had consumed, I found myself afraid. I didn’t trust homeless people.

I will never forget visiting Chicago in February. It was in the teens, and the windchill made things feel much worse. As we exited the restaurant and made our way back to the train, we found a man asleep on a sidewalk vent. The rush of warm air was all that kept him alive on that night.

I will never forget the first time I met two teenagers experiencing homelessness. They were both 13 years old and standing outside the King County Library in Kent. One had been kicked out of his house because he was gay. The other had been forced to leave because an abusive father discovered he was trans.

I will never forget the time spent with moms exiting homelessness at Kent Youth and Family Services. Their stories were powerful. In their short lives, they had overcome more than I could fathom.

I will never forget the first time I walked through the Skid Row area of downtown Los Angeles. As I walked the streets with a fellow employee who used to live on those very sidewalks, I was stunned to find myself standing in the epicenter of homelessness in the United States. All around me was total misery and countless systemic failures. My life changed at that moment.

I will never forget the first time I was around someone who was chronically homeless as we welcomed them to their new and forever home. As they were handed their keys, they were overcome with emotion, and so was I. The relief and trauma written across her face is something I will never forget.

I will never forget the sweet elderly lady who camped outside of our office in downtown Los Angeles. We sort of adopted her and made sure she had everything she needed. We brought her water, food, clothes, and personal items. One day, I was outside talking with her when I noticed rows and rows of names written on the inside cover of a discarded pizza box. I saw my name and asked, “What are all the names for?” She told me, “This is everyone who has ever brought me something. I pray for them every day.” As I walked away, I was baffled that someone in her state even had the time to think of others. The experience humbled me in ways I cannot even begin to quantify.

I will never forget my first week at The Center in Hollywood. The staff there wrapped their arms around each person who came for morning coffee. They were ready and willing to help, listen, and be a friend to a group of people that society often does its best to ignore.

I will never forget working with those same clients to tell their stories for a wider audience. I have always believed that if people could just understand the myriad ways in which a person falls into homelessness, they might be more willing to help lend some of their time, talent, or treasure.

I will never forget attending my first National Homeless Persons' Rememberance Day. Together, we honored and paid tribute to the countless people who die on the streets of America every year.

I will never forget hours spent in soup kitchens, building tiny homes, packing food, advocating, and serving this community. When people see my schedule, I am often asked, “How do you do it all?” My response is always the same, “I am doing it for them.”

I will never forget writing an article for the newsletter at the Senior Center of West Seattle about how we should interact with our homeless neighbors. I will never forget the ugliness of a woman who disagreed with everything I wrote.

I will never forget assisting with the opening of my first new community at Mercy Housing Northwest. Realizing the potential of that place filled me with pride and joy. I was so honored to be a small part of something much bigger than me.

I will never forget these experiences spent in the presence of those who are experiencing or have experienced homelessness. They have shaped, molded, and changed me in ways I will never fully understand. While I am just a storyteller, they have filled me with determination. I will do everything I can to bring them home.

Be good to each other,

Nathan