Broad Street Ministry

Student Interns:

Anthony Balolong-Reyes and Andrea Makowski

Anthony Balolong-Reyes - "Don't Go Back"

The following story has been de-identified. It is a story of struggle, adversity, and hope of someone I have met while working at Broad Street Ministry, a non-profit organization that connects people struggling with homelessness with social service resources, food, and hospitality. Their story has changed my perception of life and has emphasized the age-old saying of never judge a book by its cover. Everyone has their own story. Everyone has their own struggles. Everyone has a sense of hope. I am so thankful I have the opportunity to share their story:

My name is ... I am a newly certified peer specialist from Drexel University Nonviolence and social justice. I am 22 years old.

When I graduated high school at the age of 18 years old, my parents wanted me to join the Army because it’s a family tradition, but I had a different plan. I wanted to go to college and study business. I left my house at the age of 18 to go to La Salle University I didn’t have anybody to help me financially to go to college. I did what I could to be able to afford my tuition, but I came short. I didn’t have food and housing. La Salle University introduced me to St Joseph housing for Homeless College Students.

Six months later I was tired from working overnight and going to school in the morning. I asked my friends for help and I got into selling and dealing drugs in the University. I dropped out of college, and I started making money illegally. I was still homeless living at Station House. I spent most of my time selling drugs and being involved with gangs.

I lost hope. I asked my self is this really what I want for myself. I wanted to change. I went to go get help and stayed away from the wrong crowd. While I was in Rehabilitation I found out that I have a son. I panicked. I didn’t know what to do. I asked myself how I can afford him and his mother, so I went back to the things I knew how to do - making money illegally just to support my family. I found myself in the hole again trying to climb back up and do the right thing but at the same time my family needed me. The mother of my son took my son away from me. She said you can see your son when you’re ready to change and get a job legally and stay out of trouble. So, I did. I went back to being homeless. This time I wanted to do the right thing and stay focused. At nighttime I stayed at Station and in the morning, I got help from Broad Street Ministry for lunch and other things I needed to survive. One day a lady came up to me and offered me help. She told me about a class in Drexel University that trains young adult ages 18-24 to become a CPS/CHW certified peer specialist and Community health worker. She told me about all the benefits comes with it.

I applied. More than 200 people applied and they only take 15 people. I had a plan B. I would get a job somewhere and just work. 2 months later I got a phone call and I got accepted to the training and I was so happy. I completed the training and got more than ten certifications. I had an internship at Broad Street Ministry the place that helped me get back on track when I was homeless. I currently work for RHD, Resources for Health Development.

Something I learned from my life experiences was “Don’t Go Back” no matter how hard life is don’t go back.

Don’t go back to that job.

Don’t go back to that relationship.

Don’t go back to that place. This quote means so much to me because “Don’t go back” means there’s nothing for me back there, everything that God has for me is in front me.

He hopes to use his story to inspire the younger generation to stay away from gangs, violence, and drugs. He told me he was lucky enough to make it out of his situation. Many of his friends are still stuck in this vicious cycle brought on by inequality, injustice, and simply falling through the cracks of society. He has lost friends to gun-violence, gangs, and drugs. He wants young people to know that these things are not cool and that there is so much more out there for them. His story has shown me how important organizations like Broad Street Ministry are at helping people back on their feet and giving them hope for the better. We cannot forget about the people in our community that struggle with homelessness. Everyone has their own story and how they got to where they are, but that does not mean they cannot change their lives around.

Andrea Makowski- "A Call to Loving Well"

This piece, a picture of a man surfing the waves in Baja California, Mexico, incorporates many of the beloved memories my guest at Broad Street Ministry told me on repeat. While speaking with him for our formal interview, he quickly dove into retellings of the same stories he had described before despite my efforts to bring the conversation back to the present day– fixating on the echoes of the good times that are no longer here. Over time, I realized that the women who raised him and the communities that held him throughout adolescence and early adulthood bring comfort to him even now, a juxtaposition of kindness contrasting the “terrible existence” he describes being homeless in Philadelphia to be.

I created this piece to be in recognition of this gentleman’s radical kindness in opposition to our system’s failures. A system that has relied on safety net and non-profit organizations to provide physical support while placing the onus of mental and emotional support on the individual, insofar as they can be reduced to a fuzzy memory of surfing decades ago to make it through the day. Working with the housing insecure in Philadelphia, we need to do more to love our communities before we can boast the type of care that will leave them feeling loved well.