Real Change News | Director’s Corner

May 20, 2009
Vol: 16 No: 24

Community & Editorial

Director’s Corner - 052009

by: Timothy Harris , Executive Director

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I’ve been thinking over this past week about the Real Changiness of Real Change. What is it, essentially, that makes us what we are? This is more than a long rundown of attributes. It’s more about the essentials. What’s at our core? Here’s my list:

Commitment to Truth: There are many subjects that most of us would just as soon avoid: the deep structural roots of homelessness and poverty; the systematic dehumanization of the economically marginalized; and the realities of class and race in America, to name a few. How much of this reported do you see reported in most local media? Someone has to do it.

Commitment to Action: The mitigation of human misery through service provision is necessary but not sufficient. We believe that an organization that truly serves and includes the poor has an obligation to fight for change as if the stakes actually mattered. This isn’t about being “a good ally.” This is about authenticity. It’s about seeing what’s right in front of us and attempting to redeem our sorry humanity by doing something about it

Commitment to Risk: If you’re not pushing the limits, you’re not trying hard enough. Likewise, if you’re not making an enemy here and there, you’re playing way too safe.

We All Have Value: Poverty and homelessness are essentially dehumanizing. They are an attack upon human dignity itself. We are trained to see the very poor as subhuman. Real Change, through the power of relationships and caring community, is fundamentally a project of humanization. We are all flawed, and we all have value.

Our highest calling in life is to love universally. At our best, Real Change is a vehicle for that love to flourish.

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