Archive for the Christine “Clarity” McDonald Category

Defining “Homeless”… Christine McDonald

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Christine "Clarity" McDonald with tags , , , , on March 16, 2023 by paulthepoke

I have some special considerations for faith–based service providers, be it shelters, feeding lines, or residential programs. I want you to consider some of the things that I, as a former homeless individual, want to express, and an example or two of lived experiences that will be helpful for you to consider along with your programs.

The term “homeless” seems to have various meanings depending on whom you ask.

For those of us who have lived without any shelter, without a means to eat, safely sleep, clean up, change clothes, or even go to the bathroom, we mean the term quite literally.

Some people, however, think that sleeping in their car, crashing on a buddy’s couch for any length of time, or living in transitional housing is also being “homeless.”

Even now it baffles me when someone says, “I was homeless, too. I had to live in my car for two weeks.”

Or, “I was homeless once. I had to sleep on the couch in my friend’s basement.”

Or, “I was homeless. I lived in a transitional program.”

Another one I’ve heard is, “I was homeless for six months, and I had to live in a hotel and did not have a car. I had to drive a rental.”

This isn’t the kind of homelessness I endured.

My definition of homeless includes my own experiences of climbing in a dumpster to relieve myself, or sneaking into someone’s yard to use their hose just to get a drink or to wash off. It includes washing off in a public fountain, and stealing half–eaten food off the table at a restaurant because I didn’t feel safe standing in line at the local soup kitchen, especially when the majority of partakers there were male and I was a known prostitute.

I often feel that much of the world, or at least those in our Western culture, don’t understand constantly being on the move because it’s safer. I don’t think general American society understands having to walk all day, stand all night, or sometimes get high just to ward off the hunger or to stay awake a few hours longer because you don’t have a safe place to sleep.

The inherent dangers of this level of homelessness must be truly understood in order to be addressed properly.

Safety and security are often tied with hunger when it comes to a person’s most basic needs. Just because we offer a “shelter” or “temporary housing” doesn’t mean that a person who is truly homeless will take advantage of the opportunity if they feel safer on the streets.

Many shelters offer no protection for those seeking services, and the ones that would be a good place to stay often come with so many strings attached that a person who has been homeless for any length of time may not ever be able to qualify for a bed.

The blocks surrounding shelters are also often “hangout” areas for drug dealers, pimps, and predators watching for their next victim, so individuals frequently steer clear of these places because of the risks they take just walking to them, or in the mornings when exiting them.

Contact Information:
Christine C. McDonald
636-487-8986
https://iwillriseproject.com/

“Love your neighbor, all of ’em.” -Christine Clarity McDonald

Tread Gently… Christine McDonald

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Christine "Clarity" McDonald with tags , , , on December 7, 2022 by paulthepoke

Tread lightly, tread gently, my Christian friends.
You never know what brokenness that might have been.
It takes doing, saying a thousand good things
To make one bad experience seem okay.
-Christine McDonald

I share this to remind you that helping hurting individuals isn’t an easy or fast process. Prepare your heart, mind, and actions so you can avoid creating a co–dependent relationship. You want to encourage the individual to identify their own emotions, problem solve on their own, learn new responses, and recover a healthy normal. Oftentimes, they have disassociated from their own emotions and thoughts for so long that they don’t know their own feelings. They may have been a slave to someone else for so long that they don’t know how to think for themselves or problem solve constructively. They may have mastered responses to manage each situation, be it good or bad, but those responses were mastered for others, not themselves.

We can’t be their rescuers. But we can be agents of God’s reconciliation and agents of human flourishing. Our aim should be to help them flourish and grow, to be strong individuals who are able to make choices on their own when they need to, who find their own voice and place in the world, who learn to trust their own abilities, and who experience wholeness as the beings God created them to be.

Contact Information:
Christine C. McDonald
636-487-8986
https://iwillriseproject.com/

“Love your neighbor, all of ’em.” -Christine Clarity McDonald

Normal??? Christine McDonald

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Christine "Clarity" McDonald with tags , , , , , , on August 10, 2022 by paulthepoke

Remember that for sex trafficked individuals, their normal is not our normal, and stable is not always stable. Many youths, teens, and adults who are pulled out of commercial exploitation and human trafficking situations, or who enter programs and are placed in the care of loving and healing situations, do not adjust well. The reason for this is that their brains are conditioned to a state of “normal” that functions best in the traumatic situation they have just been removed from.

The longer someone was in the life (human trafficking, prostitution, addiction, etc.), the more deeply engrained this abnormal/normal reversion becomes in their brains, and the longer it will take to break through those barriers to retrain and find a healthy normal.

Changing the mindset and behavior of an individual who has endured a multitude of traumas does not happen by simply changing his or her environment. We have to understand this from the get–go. This is something that even the most loving care professionals may not understand. Often, creating a new and healthy normal for an individual exiting the life involves much counseling and work to alter his or her bases of understanding.

Building trust doesn’t always come easily. They will test you, but be consistent. Your job is to continue to walk alongside them, building trust, helping them process, assisting them as they recover a healthy normal, and allowing them to express their feelings and discover their true selves. The following tools will help you be an agent of this growth as you continue your relationship with them.

In this photo from the film I Will Rise, the actress is reenacting a moment of time. I’ll never forget my humanity was seen. Needs were met. I’ll never forget Miss Jeannie and Metro Lutheran Ministries and that “drop in center” on McGee in the ’90s. She allowed me to sleep on the floor of her office. It was the most significant amount of love I had experienced. #IWillRise

Contact Information:
Christine C. McDonald
636-487-8986
https://iwillriseproject.com/

“Love your neighbor, all of ’em.” -Christine Clarity McDonald

Through The Eyes of Grace – Christine C McDonald 

Christine McDonald, International Christian Film Festival

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Christine "Clarity" McDonald with tags , on May 5, 2022 by paulthepoke

I (Christine McDonald) am representing the “I Will Rise” documentary at the International Christian Film Festival (ICFF) in Orlando, Florida. I have met so many amazing people. The conference starts out with praise and worship and ends the day in praise and worship. It’s amazing! Lots and lots of pictures to come but for tonight early to bed. It’s been a long day.

I already have committed to returning next year. I cannot wait to talk more about all the people and things that go on around here. Everybody’s like family it’s just amazing. And everybody loves Jesus.

I am completely honored to have 2 nominations right out of the gate at our first festival. It is up for Best Documentary and Best Director for a Documentary. -Anita Cordell

https://iwillriseproject.com/

For nearly two decades bought and sold, learn how a vulnerable youth was groomed and sold into the world of commercial sex exploitation. As the author of two books, read not only the story of exploitation but the heart wrenching choice between her own eyesight and the life of her unborn child.

International Christian Film and Music Festival, Orlando, Florida

Contact Information:
Christine C. McDonald
636-487-8986

“Love your neighbor, all of ’em.” -Christine Clarity McDonald

Through The Eyes of Grace – Christine C McDonald

Setting the Stage and Listening… Christine McDonald

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Christine "Clarity" McDonald with tags , , , on April 6, 2022 by paulthepoke

Maybe you are working with a program, and your encounter with an individual will be long–term, or at least on a more regular basis. You’ve made it through the intake appointments! You both know this was hard. Ask if they need or want anything, and if there is anything they would like to talk about. Remember, this is about them: their thoughts, their journey, their hope and their process. So it has to stay about them.

Refrain from sharing your lived experiences at this time. This is not the time to try to connect with them in that way. They are hurting, and sharing your experiences, although they might look similar, takes away from it being about them. This is not about you or your attempts to make them feel better or lessen their hurt or connect. This is only about them, and they will help you determine the speed at which they need to go. All of this needs to be about them.

If you feel it would help them to bring in your experiences, you can say, “You know, I have some lived experiences. Not exactly like yours, but somewhat like yours. So I know this is tough. Maybe sometime after you are more settled in with our program here, I’ll share some of my experiences with you. I understand that it’s hard right now, and you have many things going through your
mind, and it’s scary. So right now, we are just going to get you settled in so you can get to know us better and so we can get to know you better. How does that sound?”

Always ask them how they feel. Trying to connect too soon by sharing a part of your journey can come off like someone telling a war vet who has PTSD, “I totally understand where you’re coming from. I was in a car accident / I had a house fire / I had a family member who went through the same thing!” Even if your story is much the same as theirs, you are essentially taking their moment
from them. It can make their pain seem less important by sharing your experiences. After all, you are the helper and the professional; they are the hurting one seeking to recover.

Don’t get me wrong; there are times for sharing your experiences, but there are times that are not. Don’t force a connection by sharing your experiences. You are the professional who has made it to the other side, or the professional who might not have the lived experiences. Validate the individual’s pain by keeping the focus on them until they indicate otherwise.

During these first weeks, it must continue to be about them. This is the time for questions about their thoughts, their needs, and their fears. You are bringing them to a place where they feel safe.

Contact Information:
Christine C. McDonald
636-487-8986

“Love your neighbor, all of ’em.” -Christine Clarity McDonald

Through The Eyes of Grace – Christine C McDonald

Setting the Stage for Kindness… Christine McDonald

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Christine "Clarity" McDonald, Uncategorized with tags , , , , on December 20, 2021 by paulthepoke
shallow focus photography of cafe late
Photo by Kevin Menajang on Pexels.com

Continuing the series… If you are an outreach person or a drop–in center worker and have random encounters, it will take many encounters with the same person to build a relationship of trust. Here is a guide and process you can go through at the intake stage that will help set the stage for an organic relationship of kindness.

You are building a relationship organically and verbally, recognizing that they are hurting by offering tissues, water, and maybe special treats that aren’t usually readily available to them. They are seeing you show acts of compassion and kindness. Ask them if they would like to take five minutes before you move on in order to eat or drink and just allow them to breathe. Ask them if they would like you to leave the room for a few minutes, or if they would like you to stay.

Instead of leading off with hugs, try loving the hurting individual by serving them with kindness and a bit of hospitality. For example, you could lead with, “I understand this is difficult; may I get you a cup of tea? Soda?” Keep candy bars in your desk, in a bag, in your car, or in your purse for times like these. A little chocolate, a cup of tea, and a box of tissues can go a long way in helping the person have their space and be allowed to feel what they are experiencing.

Conversations

Don’t force conversations. Instead, ask them after you have given them some time if they would like to talk about anything. Fight the urge to engage further. After all, at this moment of the intake, you are just getting them to open up to a relationship. Don’t force things too early. Don’t probe to get them to talk just because you have a heart that wants to help and is ready to listen. They might not be ready to talk. Although your heart may hurt, you are going to have to fight the urge to hug them and tell them it will be okay. Just remember we are setting the stage for an organic relationship built by the participant, not filling your need to hug and fix!

Contact Information:
Christine C. McDonald
636-487-8986
Christine.CryPurple@gmail.com

“Love your neighbor, all of ’em.” -Christine Clarity McDonald

Through The Eyes of Grace – Christine C McDonald

Setting the Stage for Trust… Christine McDonald

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Christine "Clarity" McDonald with tags , , , , , , on October 27, 2021 by paulthepoke

If you are an outreach person or a drop–in center worker and have random encounters, it will take many encounters with the same person to build a relationship of trust. Here is a guide and process you can go through at the intake stage that will help set the stage for an organic relationship of trust.

I know that for those of you who wear your heart on your sleeve, you are going to struggle with this. But don’t give up hope! I promise the relationships will be more authentic and more nurturing if you follow these suggestions. By addressing both the physical and emotional needs of the individual, you are making this participant–centered and not basing this on your own heart, desires, or emotions. It will be worth it! You will be building off the core identity of the person and not their brokenness.

Don’t take notes when speaking to a hurting individual. Instead, mentally take note of their hair color or other things that stick out. Taking notes when speaking to the person on the streets or at a chance encounter gives the appearance that you are not present in the conversation. Make notes after having a conversation.

What is their name? Maybe they gave you a “street name.” Don’t ask if that is their real name. If they had wanted to tell you their name, they would have. Remember, you are meeting this hurting person where they are, not where you want them to be. If they choose not to tell you their last name, then don’t ask for it. Many individuals don’t share first and last names, so don’t expect
it. You will know you reached a milestone of trust the day they do choose to tell you their real name.

Make eye contact. If they seem to avoid your attempt, don’t press the issue, but look directly at them when speaking. Believe me, they will remember. It will also help you when making your mental notes of the encounter as well as any notes you may choose to write down and keep after the encounter.

Refresh your memory before doing outreach again. Look over your notes. This will give you a baseline to say their name or ask about something that stuck in your mind from the previous encounter. This shows you care. This process will look different if you are an intake worker at a residential center or a caseworker at a service provider.

This is of utmost importance. Let the hugs come from the individual first! Yes, you can begin to foster these relationships, but the individual is hurting. You are doing an intake, engaging in how to find help for someone during an outreach or in church. There are hard questions to ask, yet you just met them. You hurt for them, so you say, “May I give you a hug?” It is natural to want to offer compassion in this way. But in those beginning stages of the relationship, focus on building trust first. This way, you can help them experience the true value of a hug when the time is right for them.

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Contact Information:
Christine C. McDonald
636-487-8986
Christine.CryPurple@gmail.com

“Love your neighbor, all of ’em.” -Christine Clarity McDonald

Through The Eyes of Grace – Christine C McDonald

 https://www.rpor.org/christines-place-drop-in-center/

Unspoken Responses… Christine McDonald

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Christine "Clarity" McDonald with tags , , , , , on August 31, 2021 by paulthepoke

Your unspoken responses—your body language, eye contact, and positioning—speak a thousand words to those you are trying to engage with. Hurting individuals are no stranger to stigmas and judgment. While they are used to physical touch being distorted and misused, they are equally used to being held at arm’s length.

One time, I met an individual who was walking around praying for Kansas City’s homeless. I had two black eyes and was sick. I weighed about 90 pounds and hadn’t changed clothes in days. I even had blood on my shirt. She asked if she could pray for me. I said, “Sure.” She asked if there was anything she could pray for me about that I needed at that moment. I said, “Food and a shower and clean clothes.” The entire time she prayed for those things for me, she was staring at the blood that covered my shirt.

The blood was from a beating I had taken from a buyer of sex. He had locked the doors of his car, and each time he’d stop and say, “Get out,” he’d lock the door again. He banged my head against the window, calling me a stupid, filthy ho. He’d drive, then stop, and repeat, until he at last let me out. I had a bloody nose, and I believe that is why he let me out. He cursed and punched me because I got blood on his car door.

The woman praying for me didn’t make eye contact with me. She just stared at the blood on my shirt, never connecting with me as an individual human being. I remember thinking, If she is one of those “Christians,” and I am asking her to pray for food because I’m hungry, how come she doesn’t have a sandwich or offer me some food? Was God, through prayer, going to magically put a sack lunch at my feet? As she spoke to my bloody shirt, she inadvertently confirmed the stigma and judgment I was so used to. She never once looked me in the eye.

A response like this carries a tremendous message to the hurting. It was as if she stood in shock at the sight of the bloody shirt, not truly hearing my words or seeing the person wearing the shirt. As far as I could tell, she was disregarding the pain that was right in front of her. She never asked, “What happened to you?” She just gawked. Her unspoken words and body language spoke thousands of words to me. I didn’t feel compassion from a woman who prayed for me. I felt inferior, isolated, and pushed away.

We can’t have these kinds of responses when engaging with hurting individuals. We have to hold ourselves together. Responses like these make them feel more shame, more hurt, and more brokenness. It is vital, no matter what is shared with us or what the person’s appearance is, that we never react in ways that dismiss their story or demean their humanity. Instead, we must always honor their hurt, their pain, and their journey.

Contact Information:
Christine C. McDonald
636-487-8986
Christine.CryPurple@gmail.com

“Love your neighbor, all of ’em.” -Christine Clarity McDonald

Through The Eyes of Grace – Christine C McDonald 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEj5RbFpuzjx_CuksAqgyXA/featured

https://crypurplemovie.com/

Building Relationships With the Hurting… Christine McDonald

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Christine "Clarity" McDonald with tags , , , on July 23, 2021 by paulthepoke

Building a relationship with someone you are working with or trying to help is difficult. It is especially difficult for those coming at this from a faith–based approach. We have a true desire to embrace them, hug them, and tell them how much we love them.

When you are first beginning a relationship with hurting individuals, you may have all the good intentions in the world by touching them, giving a hug, or saying affirming words like “I love you.” But to hurting individuals at this stage in the relationship, you are just another person wanting to touch them, hug them, or tell them you love them. Frankly, in the beginning, it is just too much. Build trust first. Allow them to have their space. Honor them as individuals and allow them to connect with you rather than trying to force a connection with them. Give them the dignity of choosing that connection. That is a dignity that has been stolen from them in nearly every other relationship.

Early in my journey, I shared some of my life with a professional caseworker. As I shared, she began to cry. She reached out, gripped my hands, and asked, “Can I just give you a hug?” I, of course, said yes. However, inside I was screaming, What is wrong with this lady? She doesn’t know me! But I had been programmed to respond that of course I wanted to hug her back, just so we could get back on focus. I mean, at least she asked me first, right?

You may desire to hug someone, but make sure you are being cognizant of his or her needs. This discretion on your part will help them begin to seek out healthy human touch. It is a huge step forward for them to seek out something as basic as a hug because they desire to be hugged or because they want to hug you due to the relationship they have developed with you. We as feel–good believers just want to love on them, so we need to find healthy ways to build those relationships and connections first. At the beginning, loving them doesn’t look like hugs. Instead, loving them is done by respecting them, their space, and their forming awareness of what they choose for themselves. That way we are fostering a more organic relationship with heartfelt hugs later on from both parties: the individual who is hurting as well as you!

Contact Information:
Christine C. McDonald
636-487-8986
Christine.CryPurple@gmail.com

“Love your neighbor, all of ’em.” -Christine Clarity McDonald

Through The Eyes of Grace – Christine C McDonald 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEj5RbFpuzjx_CuksAqgyXA/featured

https://crypurplemovie.com/

Building Trust and Relationships With the Hurting… Christine McDonald

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Christine "Clarity" McDonald with tags , , , , , , on July 10, 2021 by paulthepoke
crop friends stacking hands together
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

The church can make a difference—and indeed, has a responsibility to make a difference—for men, women, girls, and boys who are hurting, victimized, addicted, exploited, and suffering. Jesus Christ came to set the captives free, and Christians have the amazing and humbling opportunity to be His hands and feet in this redemptive recovery. Christ calls us to reach out not only to those who are in physical captivity in commercial sexual exploitation escort services, street prostitution, internet exploitation, strip clubs, and other bad situations, but also to those who are captives in their own minds to the lies of the enemy and a distorted understanding of life formed by terrible experiences in their pasts.

It is a great privilege to get to build relationships with hurting individuals and assist them on their path to recovery. But there is much to be learned and understood in order to be effective and helpful in those relationships. The rest of this section is my attempt to help you process through how to foster a healthy relationship and connect with the individual in a way that is empowering for both of you.

For a person who has grown up in a relatively stable, functional environment, things like the words “I love you,” hugs, and other simple, physical touches are normal and generally accepted signs of affection, compassion, or relational affirmation. But for individuals who have been trafficked or prostituted, or are victims of other forms of abuse, these seemingly innocent gestures take on a whole different meaning.

In order to help these individuals, building a relationship of trust is vitally important. But to build that trusting relationship, you need to understand how these gestures—which might be instinctive and well–meaning for you—may affect the individuals you are trying to help. Then you will be equipped with the knowledge you need to be able to discern when these gestures are appropriate and good, and when they are not.

With victims of trafficking, violence, and abuse, you must first understand that their views on relationships have been distorted by their traffickers, abusers, and the men who paid them for their touch. Traffickers and other abusers have emotionally, physically, and sexually harmed them. They have used physical touch and the words “I love you” to coerce and manipulate. Or, worse, they have used these things to initially build trust in their targets, then shown their true selves and brought harm. Some of these individuals were victimized by family members, who used words like “I love you” while doing it. These words and actions now have a tainted internal value. They no longer convey authentic affection; they are tools of manipulation and harm.

When you are trying to build a relationship with someone you are working with, it is nature to want to extend physical gestures or words of affection and affirming. Oftentimes, the individual will reciprocate because of their preformed responses and learned behavior. You may think they are receiving your gestures well when, in fact, their response is a sign of their hurt and abuse. You could be unintentionally intruding on their space or causing them discomfort, yet they have been preprogrammed to give the expected responses instead of responding in a way true to their feelings.

For an individual who has experienced trauma, disparity, abuse, and other ill−treatment, they often have no clue what their true feelings are. The longer an individual has existed in a dysfunctional lifestyle such as substance abuse, neglect, early childhood trauma/abuse, homelessness, and prostitution, the more distanced they become from authentic emotions. Every bit of passing time adds complexity to the challenge of learning to process their true feelings and build organic relationships with friends, acquaintances, helping professionals, and family members.

Contact Information:
Christine C. McDonald
636-487-8986
Christine.CryPurple@gmail.com

“Love your neighbor, all of ’em.” -Christine Clarity McDonald

Through The Eyes of Grace – Christine C McDonald 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEj5RbFpuzjx_CuksAqgyXA/featured

https://crypurplemovie.com/

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