Conversations About Homelessness: A View From a Greenville Bench

How do we move beyond shouting matches and start having productive conversations about homelessness? In a time when issues like homelessness, addiction, and mental health are at the forefront of public debate, the path to real solutions often feels blocked by division. This episode tackles the core problem: How can a community have honest, direct, and compassionate dialogues that lead to real change?

We're joined by Ryan Duerk, President and CEO of Miracle Hill Ministries, who is pioneering a unique approach to this challenge. He's the host of "Conversations on a Bench," a 24-hour live event where he sits on a bench outside a rescue mission, talking with anyone and everyone - from mayors to individuals who have experienced homelessness themselves. This dialogue aims to give a voice to the voiceless and put a human face on a crisis our society often ignores.

In this episode, Ryan Duerk shares the lessons he learned from spending 24 consecutive hours on a bench during the coldest night of the year. He recounts the 73 different conversations he had with politicians, nonprofit leaders, and people in desperate need. Ryan, who has personal experience with homelessness as chronicled in his book Counterfeit Peace, provides a unique perspective on the importance of leaders being face-to-face with the people their policies affect. This is a must-listen for anyone interested in the complex challenge of homelessness in Greenville SC and beyond.

We explore the common stereotypes and uncover the real causes of homelessness, which are as diverse as our society - ranging from mental illness and addiction to a single missed paycheck. Ryan explains the comprehensive work of Miracle Hill Ministries, the largest provider of homeless services in Upstate South Carolina. Their mission goes beyond just providing a bed; they offer counseling, workforce re-entry programs, and addiction recovery to help individuals create a plan of escape. Ryan also reveals a shocking statistic: 50% of children in foster care will end up homeless, highlighting the need to address the root problems. The discussion also sheds light on the Ryan Duerk homelessness experience, providing a unique and empathetic viewpoint.

Introduction

Katy Smith: You civic-minded listeners know that the topics of homelessness, addiction, and mental health challenges are big both nationally and right here in our community. How can we have conversations about them with each other that are honest, direct, and productive, and in a way that reminds us of what and who is at stake? I'm Katie Smith with Greater Good Greenville, and on this episode of Simple Civics Greenville County, I talk with Ryan Duerk, the president and CEO of Miracle Hill Ministries, who is hosting an event to have exactly those kinds of conversations.

Katy Smith: Miracle Hill Ministries has been serving the upstate since 1937 as its largest and most comprehensive provider of services to homeless children and adults. From 3 p.m. on October 9th through 3 p.m. on October 10th, they are hosting conversations on a bench. Ryan will be sitting on a bench outside of the rescue mission for 24 consecutive hours, talking with a wide range of community leaders, individuals who have experienced homelessness, local nonprofit leaders, and anyone interested in stopping by, which could include you. Ryan will discuss how you can be a part of the conversation in person or online, and he's just the man to do it as the leader of that largest service provider in the region and as someone who himself has experienced homelessness as he chronicled in his book, Counterfeit Peace.

What is "Conversations on a Bench?"

Katy Smith: I'm here with one of my favorite people, Ryan Duerk, who is president and CEO of Miracle Hill Ministries. I'm guessing that all of our listeners know what Miracle Hill Ministries is, but we'll be talking a little bit about it as we get into a really exciting event that Ryan has coming up, a really meaningful event. And so, Ryan, you're going to be sitting on a bench outside of the Greenville Rescue Mission overnight on October 9th through the 10th. And around 60 of your colleagues across the country are going to be doing the same thing?

Ryan Duerk: Well, it actually looks like it's going to be about a hundred of my colleagues in America and Canada will be doing the same thing.

Katy Smith: Oh, my gosh. OK, so I want to know is why would you sit overnight on a bench?

Ryan Duerk: The backstory is a CEO out of Winchester, Virginia, did this about five years ago. It was birthed out of this idea that we just want to give a voice to the voiceless and have a raw conversation about homelessness, the good, the bad, the difficult, the trauma, everything surrounding it.

Ryan Duerk: It has since blossomed and gone under the leadership of CityGate Network, which is the largest association of rescue missions and addiction recovery programs in the U.S. Our goal is to put a spotlight on an issue that communities like to pretend doesn't exist. So 100 of us will be sitting on a bench at the exact same time from the East Coast to the West Coast, South to North, talking to anyone that wants to talk about homelessness.

A First-Hand Account: Ryan Duerk's 24 Hours on the Bench

Katy Smith: Oh my gosh. Well, let me just say, I was able to join you last year, and we'll talk more about last year. But I came to see you, and I was just blown away that in my little half hour that I was present on the site. Also joining you was Mayor Knox White of the city of Greenville. Also joining you was the gentleman who founded Sunday Dinner with a Twist, a kind of scrappy, small, but powerful nonprofit who cares about people experiencing homelessness, and a man who himself had been homeless for many years who wanted to talk about, well, here's what I went through. This is what my brothers and sisters experienced.

Katy Smith: I know a lot of the same folks as you. And then me, just a nonprofit gal in the community. I know that you saw so many other folks during that time. Can you talk a little bit about what you experienced?

Ryan Duerk: Sure. So this was in January of this year. We were beta testing this model of us doing it together. There were 14 of us across the nation. We scheduled 20 people maybe. And I ended up having 73 conversations over the course of 24 hours, which is really, that's not my jam to have 73 conversations in a row, but it was such a variety of people from politicians to nonprofit leaders, to people experiencing homelessness, people who previously experienced homelessness.

Ryan Duerk: There were some really challenging conversations along the way. I think of one young man who showed up and he had on pajama bottoms and a windbreaker. And on that day, it was 24 degrees. He didn't have any clothes and he was waiting to get into the cold weather shelter. In that moment, we were able to give him a jacket. But had he stayed out that night, he may not have survived the night. Go from that conversation to people who are trying to do these collaborative efforts to help homelessness across the upstate, just such a variety of things. But I'm so encouraged by how many people cared. How many people cared to listen or to watch or to stop by and talk about their own experience.

Katy Smith: It was the coldest night of the year. And you talked about the people that have come by. You're very familiar with this work, obviously. But just for you personally, what was the experience like sitting out on a bench all night long on the coldest night of the year?

Ryan Duerk: It was really cold. And let me be really clear. I was not pretending to be homeless. It's very easy to think that it's some kind of staged thing. But at the end of the day, I'm going home to take a hot shower and sleep in a warm bed. Not the case for many of our neighbors. I had all the warm gear you can imagine and was freezing all night long.

Ryan Duerk: People have asked me this question a lot, what did I get out of it? And did I learn anything about homelessness? I don't think that I did. I think that one of the big takeaways for me was every leader should have to be face to face with the people their policies affect. We make these decisions in a glass bubble and sometimes don't see what our decisions are doing. I had some people challenge me on some things that Miracle Hill does or is considering doing. And that's good. I want to hear their perspective. I want to know the person at the end of the service rather than just making a decision blindly.

Beyond the Stereotypes: Understanding the Causes of Homelessness

Katy Smith: Good for you. That's the kind of leader you are and the folks who you work with. And it's what makes you do it so compassionately. So thank you for that. You already had exposure and experience with what homelessness looks like, both professionally and personally, you have. But this gave other folks a glimpse into it. And I'm wondering what surprises people the most as they learn more about homelessness.

Ryan Duerk: I think that people stereotype homelessness as we do everything else in our society and they try to put people into an easy-to-understand box. And the experience of homelessness is as diverse as the rest of our society. People are homeless for such a variety of reasons from serious mental illness or addiction or they missed a paycheck. Sixty percent of Americans, one paycheck away from homelessness.

Ryan Duerk: As people were watching this event, they get to see that variety of individuals who have found success in escaping homelessness and those who haven't. I would hope that people would see the humanity and recognize that these are our neighbors, that these people have value, that we have no more value than they do. And from a, not to get preachy, but they're made in the image of God, known and valued by their creator. And each person is somebody's brother or sister or mother or father or child.

The Mission of Miracle Hill Ministries: More Than Just a Shelter

Katy Smith: Well, Miracle Hill does so much work with people in really difficult situations of a whole wide array. Talk a little bit about the work of Miracle Hill Ministries.

Ryan Duerk: We're the largest provider of residential services to people experiencing homelessness in the upstate of South Carolina. On any given night, there's somewhere between 600 and 650 souls staying in a Miracle Hill shelter or an addiction recovery program. We're not just a drop shop where people just go into a bunk and that's all there is. Every person that comes in our door certainly met with the love of Christ, and then they're matched up with a counselor case manager who is helping to hear their unique personalized story and helping them come up with a plan of escape. We do that through shelter programs, educational programs, workforce re-entry programs, addiction recovery programs, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.

Ryan Duerk: We also operate the state's largest foster care program other than the state itself. Here's a fact for you, Katie. 50% of every child in foster care, we'll wind up homeless.

Katy Smith: Wow.

Ryan Duerk: There's a great quote from many years ago that says, we need to stop pulling people that have fallen into the river out and go upstream and figure out why they've fallen in. And that's what we try to do is do both. We're trying to pull people out of the river and go upstream and figure out why they're there.

Katy Smith: That's wonderful. And honestly, I started this question by saying that these are very difficult situations and for sure they are. But once they come in contact with the work that you do, I think the futures are much brighter for them and for all of the staff and donors and volunteers who work with you, too.

Ryan Duerk: I got the best job in the world. I get to sit around and watch people's lives change each and every day.

Navigating the Public Dialogue on Homelessness

Katy Smith: Homelessness is very much in the public conversation right now, both right here in the city of Greenville, where you and I are sitting, but then, of course, at the federal level as well. I'm curious about, you all have been doing this work for decades, and now it's so much on the tip of Americans' tongues. How are you taking all of this in, and what's your position on any of it?

Ryan Duerk: These issues, these big society-level issues, they swing. People's perspective on what we should do to fix them swings, just like politics does. I'm grateful that there is a spotlight on the issue. I feel like it is my job and the job of other nonprofit leaders to season those thoughts with what we know that works. I don't know that I would want to send the National Guard in to clear out homelessness from a city. But I do think that we all have a part in ownership in those solutions.

Ryan Duerk: So here on the local front in Greenville, I'm glad that there is a really robust conversation going on about how we help our neighbors in need. And I think that many hands make a light load. If we all work together, we can actually make a change for so many of our neighbors.

How to Participate and Join the Conversation

Katy Smith: Beautiful. Okay, so if someone is listening and they're very curious about what you are about to do on October 9th and 10th, how can they get involved?

Ryan Duerk: Certainly they can go to our website, miraclehill.org on the night of. We didn't talk about that. It's October 9th and October 10th, which is World Homelessness Day. I'll start at 3 p.m. on October 9th, and I will be on that bench till 3 p.m. on the 10th. They can join us on Facebook or YouTube under Miracle Hill. We'll have a live stream going. They can comment and ask questions that we'll answer in real time, or they can just show up and sit on the bench with me, and I'd love for them to.

Katy Smith: And I just want to echo this invitation that Ryan has made to you, because truly I was astonished how many folks were watching it on Facebook and on YouTube and friends that I knew or friends from church who I could see commenting. It was such a rich digital dialogue. And then to see people who did just drive by and pop in with some hand warmers or a jacket or a blanket or to sit down and ask you those hard questions. It was just a really profound thing to witness and to be part of. So I hope all of you listening will take advantage of it.

Ryan Duerk: It shouldn't be profound. It's this thing that's missing from our society, the ability or the willingness to sit down and have a conversation about a hard subject. We used to do it really well. And it's part of what makes America great. But if we're going to make change, we got to talk about it. We don't have to agree. We've still got to talk about it.

Katy Smith: That's right. Well, Ryan, thanks so much for all that you do and for extending this invitation to our friends and neighbors here in Greenville County.

Ryan Duerk: And I'm going to hold you to coming out there again, Katie.

Katy Smith: I would love to. Thanks.

Ryan Duerk: Thank you.