Why do you do the work you do?

by: Carson Dean; Executive Director of the Men’s Shelter of Charlotte

Almost 15 years ago I entered the homeless services arena, working first with “runaway and thrown away” youth before taking on the challenge of helping adult men who are experiencing homelessness. For the longest time, certainly more than ten years, I struggled with answering the question, “Why do you do the work you do?” I’ve been asked this question a lot! Oh, I’ve had some great answers. Like how I was drawn to working with youth because a sibling struggled mightily with addiction, rebellion, and unresolved family issues. I spoke often about homeless men being the underdog, and having felt like an underdog most of my life, I could relate and therefore became a champion of those who seemed to always be considered last. I’ve told the story about being a critic of the shelter in my hometown, so when asked to consider leading it, I was determined to prove that I could do things better. These are all true stories and, at the time I told them, I believed they were my motivation to work with those experiencing homelessness; but all along, those answers left an empty feeling inside me. I struggled with finding a rationale, a justification for doing the work I do. I often thought that maybe I should just do something else. After all, running a shelter is not glamorous and the responsibility for so many lives is a constant pressure.

For the longest time, I didn’t stop to think about God’s role in my work life. That’s not true. I wasn’t thinking about God’s role in my life at all. I was a Christian. I was a believer. But that was about all. Not until I went through my own struggles with divorce and becoming a single dad, which occurred while our agency was barely making it through the Great Recession, did I begin to honestly talk to God. I remember that first conversation taking place while I was walking on the new Little Sugar Creek greenway. I’m sure lots of people looked at me oddly as I was conversing with God out loud. I was questioning how I could be facing so many trials at once. I was asking God why He allowed so many unfortunate things into my life. What’s funny is that I didn’t hear His answer. However, what I did receive was much greater. I found my relationship with God. He was there all along. He was waiting on me to bring Him into the center of my life. It took time and effort to do this, but He was patient. I also found an answer to the question about why I do the work I do. It’s God’s will. God’s plan for me at this time in my life is to do whatever I can to help those who are experiencing homelessness. God decided that my gift, at least for now, is running a homeless shelter and housing agency. I never went to school to do this… my college degrees are in history of all things! God has a great, often unexpected, way of using us to fulfill His plans and, as in my story, we’re often called to do something we would have never thought to do ourselves.

It’s comforting to know that I discovered the real answer to the question about why I lead the Men’s Shelter of Charlotte. However, with that comfort, come new questions for God. Why does He allow people to struggle with homelessness in the first place? Why doesn’t He put the need to solve homelessness on everyone’s heart? I don’t have answers to those questions and doubt I ever will. I find solace in knowing His sorrow for those who are poor, homeless, hungry, neglected, and forgotten is greater than any sorrow I may ever feel. I’ve been asked if I truly believe that we can end homelessness. Many times I’ve spoken about the history of homelessness and how it is a problem created by society and, therefore, solvable by society. I still believe this completely. But what I also know is that we, as people, will not solve the problem. We will need God’s help. Why He hasn’t done so yet is a mystery to me. But I can’t help thinking, perhaps God is waiting on us to become so distraught over the plight of His children experiencing homelessness that, in addition to our own efforts, we will all join together to pray to Him for mercy.