More Than a Proclamation: Our Guests Showed Up at City Hall

This month, the City of Antioch issued a proclamation recognizing next month as National Homelessness Awareness Month. It was a kind gesture, and we appreciated it. But a proclamation is words on paper, and our guests live the reality behind those words every single day.

So we showed up. And we showed up in numbers.

At the Antioch City Council meeting, SHARE Community guests filled the room. People who shower with us, eat with us, and sit in our chairs on service days walked up to the podium, one after another, and did something that takes more courage than most of us will ever know. They told the truth about their lives.

They spoke about what it means to be unhoused in Antioch. About the daily work of finding a safe place to sleep, keeping belongings from being taken, and staying clean and healthy with nowhere to do it. About being invisible to people who drive past them every day. About the moments of kindness that carried them through, and the gaps that nearly broke them.

There were tears in the audience. Staff members, community members, and our own volunteers wiped their eyes as our guests shared their stories. These were not statistics. These were neighbors, speaking in their own voices, in their own city, to the people with the power to help.

That is the point. Homelessness is not an abstract issue happening somewhere else. It is affecting hundreds of people right here in Antioch. They have names, histories, pets, hopes, and families. Many of them are working hard to get back on their feet with very little support.

We asked the council to do more than recognize this crisis. We asked them to continue supporting, and to expand their support for, the nonprofits doing the work for people without an address. Organizations like ours show up every week, set up from nothing, and meet people with dignity because the need does not take a day off. We cannot do it alone, and we should not have to.

We are so proud of every guest who stood up. Speaking in public about the hardest parts of your life, in front of strangers, takes a kind of bravery that deserves to be honored. Standing up says: I am here, I matter, and I am part of this community. That is Radical Hospitality® in its fullest form, a community where people are seen and heard, not just served.

A proclamation is a start. What we need now is action, and we are not going anywhere.

Here is how you can stand with us:

• Show up. Attend a council meeting, listen, and let your voice be heard on behalf of our unhoused neighbors.

• Sign up to volunteer and see firsthand what a service day looks like.

• Give to help keep the trailer rolling and the showers running for the people who need them most.

  
  

To everyone who spoke, and everyone who came to listen: thank you. You made sure it was never just a piece of paper. Love is action.

You can watch the council meeting here.