When James Barnett became disillusioned with the church, he knew he needed to go find Jesus elsewhere — by living in the margins. After having chosen to live homeless for two years, James founded Neighborly, a relationship-based poverty relief organization advocating for biblical justice. Their mission is to deinstitutionalize charity by helping you become friends with those at a disadvantage.

In this episode, you’ll hear James’ personal story of intentionally living without a home for 2 years, why he chose to do so, and how that lead him to found Neighborly. You’ll also learn what he’s discovered through it all - which is how to lovingly engage with those living in homelessness.

In this conversation James’ helps us answer a lot of our burning questions about helping those living in the margins. - What is their perspective? Where are they coming from? What is it like to be them?  - Did you make friends? What were they like? - Do you still happen to be friends with anyone you met during that time? Do you keep in touch in any way? -  What did it feel like to be homeless? Were you treated differently? - Did you ever feel unsafe? - What would be your advice to people who want to engage with the homeless in an appropriate way? How should we talk to them? How can we help them? - What do you think people who are homeless wish we all knew or understood? - What’s one thing you’d like us to understand about those living in the margins?

Topics discussed in this episode: - James’ personal story of intentionally living without a home for 2 years - Why he chose to do so and how he actually took steps to do it - What it was like to live a day in James’ shoes when he was homeless - How he and others were treated when he was homeless - The distinction between panhandling and homelessness - How his experiences lead him to found Neighborly

You might want to grab a pen and paper for this one! It’s full of good nuggets to ponder. See you there!

ThatsNeighborly.org

 

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Simone Gordon is the founder of The Black Fairy Godmother Foundation, whose mission is to restore Black and Brown families' stability by removing the barriers that keep them in abject poverty and domestic violence situations.

In this episode, Simone shares her personal story as a single mother trying to find resources for her son with autism. She gives us a glimpse into understanding what it was like as she struggled to provide the life her son needed, and how she found life after trauma through the kindness of others.

You’ll learn how Simone Gordon became “The Black Fairy Godmother” who helps thousands of people out of emergency crises’ and into stability. Learn why she does all of this for no pay and how you can become what she calls, a fairy yourself! 

Follow Simone’s work @theblackfairygodmotherofficial on Instagram and Facebook.

 

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Jessica Randall has shared her story of turning her “mess into a message” for over sixteen years and has been featured on major international media outlets such as ABC's 20/20, Katie Couric, The Guardian, MTV, Netflix, and many more. 

When Jessica was a freshman in college, she made a life-altering decision that resulted in the death of her best friend. In an effort to raise awareness, cope with her survivor’s guilt, and keep her friend’s memory alive, she began sharing her story. Jessica spoke to over 15,000 young adults across the country before she was sentenced to prison.

In this episode, Jessica graciously shares her story with us: the moment she realized her best friend was no-longer alive, and ultimately figuring out how to put her life back together while honoring the memory of her friend.

In this conversation, she and Stephanie discuss the following topics and more: - The immense survivor’s guilt she carried, and her efforts to manage her mental and emotional health -  How she gathered the courage to share her story publicly - How she navigated wide-scale public judgement and criticism while keeping hope for the future - Perspective into the harm our judgments and quick assumptions do to others - How Jessica has been able to use her public speaking experience to coach business owners in sharing their own stories!

This is a real and raw conversation of the darkness Jessica endured while struggling with survivor’s guilt, and the courageous actions she took to find the light!

Follow Jessica on Instagram @jessicarasdall or find her online www.thepublicspeakingstrategist.com 

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Welcome to The Lovelight Stories Podcast, a space where we uncover a deeper understanding of humanity through beautiful, redemptive stories that inspire our hearts.     I’m Stephanie Jacobs, a storyteller and advocate for social justice, and your host of The Lovelight Stories Podcast. After spending multiple years studying social justice issues, I’ve realized the power story has in helping us to understand, empathize, and transform our worldviews into something that’s just that…views that are truly worldly!     Here in this space, we’ll embrace our humanity through raw and authentic stories told by real people themselves.     - We’ll amplify their voices, and learn to connect in more meaningful ways.   - Poverty, human trafficking, incarceration, race, immigration, and more…   - We’ll embrace difficult conversations, sometimes-controversial topics, and light-hearted stories too.     If you long to see more love, empathy, and true connection in our world and your own life, this is the show for you!       JOIN THE LS COMMUNITY!   FOLLOW STEPHANIE ON IG   FOLLOW THE LOVELIGHT STORIES PODCAST ON IG   SHOW NOTES

Hello there! Welcome to The Lovelight Stories Podcast, a space where we uncover a deeper understanding of humanity through beautiful, redemptive stories that inspire our hearts.

I’m Stephanie Jacobs, a storyteller and advocate for social justice. After spending multiple years studying social justice issues, building relationships with dozens of nonprofits, and walking alongside those in difficult situations – I’ve realized the power that story has in helping us to understand, empathize, and transform our worldviews into something that’s just that…views that are truly worldly!

Here in this space, we’ll embrace our humanity through raw and authentic stories told by real people themselves.

We’ll amplify voices while learning to connect in more meaningful ways.

Poverty, human trafficking, incarceration, race, immigration, and the list goes on…We’ll embrace difficult conversations, sometimes-controversial topics, and light-hearted stories too.

If you wish to uncover the hope, love, empathy, and connection we can find in our fellow humanity, this is the show for you! So grab a cup of something lovely, as we lean-in together and uncover the good stories! I just can't wait to meet you, Lovely!

With love + light, Stephanie

 

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