“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view…until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” (Atticus Finch to his daughter Scout, from Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird)
We started STS, in part, to “climb into” the skin of other people and walk around in it, to attempt to understand what it’s like to live in the middle of a story of need. So this section shares the stories of people struggling to survive, scraping by in the face of tragedy, and striving to achieve some sort of stability.
These are true stories. However, in order to protect and respect the identities of certain people that we profile here, we’re often compelled to change their names or other identifying details of their stories.
We invite you to listen to and learn:
- The Johnsons’ story — “Blown to Broomfield” — Full of ups and downs, tragedy and recovery, the Johnsons’ story illustrates the struggles endured by many people on the margins of our society.
- Tim’s story — “Homeless in Paradise” — For two years Tim has lived in one of the most beautiful and prosperous parts of the United States, but instead of returning each night to a nice home, Tim has been forced to sleep in a homeless shelter, or, at times, on the street.
- Dry Bones’ story — “Bleeding Places Below” — In the shadow of downtown Denver exists an underworld where homeless teens and young adults try to survive both the dangers of the street and the dark places within themselves.
- Tigist & Tekabe’s story — “Born with HIV” — According to UNDispatch.com, in 2008 there were six million orphans in Ethiopia, a country of 82 million people. Tigist and Tekabe are two of those six million orphans. Coming soon.
- Many more stories to come…If you know or have experienced a true story of need, and would like to share it with us and our network, please contact us. Sharing your story could help others discover the place where their “deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.”
