Josh Jones (image credit: Joshua Jones, Jr.)

Josh Jones has lived through poverty, dysfunction, disability and homelessness. He’s one of the most resilient, determined, positive,  helpful and loving people that I know. We met when I was a case manager in a church-based assistance ministry and he was my client. But he very quickly became my friend and my encourager.

Josh wrote a book, Joshua Jones Jr. Story, dedicated to his mom, whom he takes care of. Proceeds from the book will help both Josh and his mom. I just ordered my copy. I hope you will, too. Here’s an excerpt that has me eager to read more:

Hi! My name is Joshua Jones, Jr. This is Joshua Junior’s story.

I’d like to tell you a little bit about myself.  I was born May 15, 1967, to Christine Harrelson and Joshua Jones, Sr. of Mebane, North Carolina.

We have a very dysfunctional family.  We have five children, two girls and three boys.  I’m the knee baby. All five children’s names is Tony L.  Jones, Angela Patricia Jones, Demetrious Flythe, Marvin Ray Jones.

We lived on Highway 49 in Mebane, North Carolina, where we were a farmer’s children. We didn’t have much.  We were poor, and we had to work like human slaves at my daddy’s farm, Amy Crawford’s farm.

My mama was a housewife.  She made sure that we had something to eat.  She was the world’s bestest cook that you could ever meet. She always helped people; she always fed every body.  She got up every morning at 5:30 seven days a week.  We had fatback meat, molasses gravy, grits, oatmeal–whatever was in the refrigerator, Christine Harrelson cooked it. By the way, she divorced Joshua Jones, Sr. in 1989 and went back to her maiden name.

Well, she left him several times, so we had to go live with Lavinia Harrelson and Coy Harrelson which are both deceased now.  They stayed at 3916 Lawson Road, Cedar Grove, North Carolina.  Well we did that for a long time.  The last time she left him, I think it was in ’78, we left that morning.  She said, ‘Y’all get some bags. Go in there and get some Byrd’s bags, we got to go, I’m leaving your daddy.’ We said, ‘Oh, Lord.’  Every time we left our daddy, we’d get to the road and get down the road, Reverend Hal Brooks would pull up: ‘Y’all need a ride?’  She always left on a Sunday.  I never understood that.

I look forward to reading more of the story of my friend Josh. Even in the dark, he always sees the light. I love you, Josh. I’m grateful to be your friend.

Linda, Kenneth, Sharon, Victoria, Boyd, Wayne, Johnny, Vernon and "unknown"

December 21st is National Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day. Locally, AmeriCorps Partnership to End Homelessness sponsored the Greensboro Homeless Memorial Walk from the Interactive Resource Center on East Washington Street to Grace Community Church on West Lee Street, where a Memorial Service was held at 6:15pm.

On the stage were a row of empty chairs with the names of those who died homeless in Greensboro in 2011 — Linda, Kenneth, Sharon, Victoria, Boyd, Wayne, Johnny, Vernon — along with a chair marked “unknown”, representing others we may not have known about. The empty chairs represent the dinner guests who are no longer with us there at the Wednesday night meal, but who we remember and honor at this yearly service.

Mayor Perkins, accompanied by Councilwoman Abuzuaiter, reads the proclamation.

Mayor Robbie Perkins, accompanied on the podium at Grace by City Council Member Marikay Abuzuaiter, read a proclamation declaring the day Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day in Greensboro. Both Mayor Perkins and Mrs. Abuzuaiter participated in the earlier Memorial Walk, as well. The service included music; the story, in poetry, of formerly-homeless outreach worker Melissa Gayle; and a message by Grace’s Shepherding Pastor Will Dungee. Following the memorial service, Grace’s weekly Community Fellowship Dinner was served to 200+ homeless and hungry guests.

you don’t know my story, only bits and pieces, i treat homelessness like its my main thesis. I’ve walked in those shoes, I’ve slept on those streets, i used to be chronically homeless,and ppl looked at me like i was a disease.that was me, you used to pass on that block, tipping up that forty, to keep myself out of the cold shock.

melissa gayle

That was me freezing on those 27 below nights, that was me you prayed for, to survive throughout the night. That was me you used to serve, from that disaster unit truck, that was me you tried to comfort, in a world full of hurt. My passion is helping the homeless, my pain is seeing us fail, why cant we all get together, and take away this living hell? What happened to being christians, and helping our fellow man? What happened to coming together, to share with the whole world Gods plan? How many more ppl will die on our streets, strickended below poverty? They suffer everyday, they are the face of homelessness. They walk in those worn out shoes. Will they survive? Or die? U choose.

Melissa Gayle gave a spoken word performance of “my story” on December 21, 2011 at a memorial service at Grace Community Church, commemorating National Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day 2011.