Nine years ago, Jubilee Home began quite literally with a dream. A vision of a home for a couple of young men who had just chosen incarceration over returning to their families, because they thought it was their only option to get out of the life they were born into.
Nine years ago a group of people in Durham began to meet and consider what it would look like to create a place for transition aged young men to live while they moved from incarceration back into the Durham community.
Nine years ago I started wondering, what the heck am I doing in a world I know nothing about? And began surrounding myself with those who do know and could guide me along the way.
And today, nine years later, I get to announce the opening of Jubilee Home! On Monday January 20, a day set aside in our nation to appreciate and celebrate and enact the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., our first resident moved in. Coming to us in an emergency situation, and at least a few weeks and one or two staff members before we were ready, he came and justified all of the hard work so many board members, volunteers, and donors have put in to transform a dream into a place, a house into a home, a project into a community! Thank you to everyone who has joined us on this long (did I mention it took nine years?) and winding journey, your efforts are essential and eternal.
January has blown by with a few other noteworthy happenings in the life of Jubilee. We served over 200 hot meals in the neighborhood. We hosted a workday to mark the Dr. King holiday and over 50 volunteers contributed 150 labor hours giving the house a deep clean, feeding a meal to our neighbors, and continuing the work on our community garden space. Not only were we able to welcome a resident with a shiny clean house, but we now have twelve raised garden beds, totaling more than 350 square feet of space to grow any number of fresh vegetables and food for the house and neighborhood!
Our staff also expanded in January. We are excited to announce the addition of Hasan Salih to our staff and team. Hasan comes to us by way of Sunrise Recovery Resource Center, where he served as Peer Coordinator Supervisor. Hasan’s past experience makes him perfect for Jubilee Home, and Pip and I are excited to welcome him aboard as we grow our staff to meet the needs of our current (still feels weird to say) and future residents.
January has been a whirlwind, but easily the greatest month in JubileeHome’s existence! Thank you to everyone who has had a part in making this happen. I could never have done any of this without the host of witnesses that have come along aside on this journey, and I am humbled daily by the strength and faithfulness of all of you that continue to show up over and over again.
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
In grace, and deepest gratitude,
Dave