Having volunteered there myself, I am
familiar with the work this organization does to help the city’s homeless. PNS provides meals, shelter, and
services that help people get back on their feet, such as transitional housing,
on-site counseling, physical and educational development for all ages,
and telephone and mail services, all in an effort to enable their clients to
reenter mainstream society.
The Presbyterian Night Shelter’s mission is "to end homelessness one individual at a time" by providing them with support, basic essential needs, and hope. On average, PNS gives meals, beds, and basic care to 650 people every night and 4,000 annually. As a result, PNS has grown massively due to increasing need. They are very
blessed to have people willing to help ensure they get the things they need, whether
those needs are for manpower, money, or supplies.
One such person happens to be B.J.
Lacasse, author and photographer of The
Street. This photography book is a powerful testament to the need for a
place like PNS. B.J. went around the streets of Fort Worth and into encampments
of homeless to get the images and stories presented in the book. She didn’t just
wake up one day and decide she was going to embark on this journey, however.
Before the idea had even formed, she spent time volunteering at the Shelter and
getting to know the men, women, and children she served there.
B.J. saw each person as more than just a
statistic and more than just an “invisible” person. She looked these people in
the face, smiled at them, and treated them with kindness. As a result of the
relationships she forged during her volunteer time at PNS and during
the process of creating the book, she became even more passionate and outspoken
about the need to end homelessness, not just by giving people food and shelter,
but also by equipping them with the skills and support they need to help themselves out of
homelessness.
The Street includes a foreword by former mayor of Fort Worth, Mike Moncrief, and an afterword by Senator Wendy Davis. It is now available for purchase from TCU Press, and a portion of the proceeds go directly to the Presbyterian Night Shelter. If you’re a native of Fort Worth or a recent transplant to this city, you should pick up a copy and
get to know the faces of our community that so many of us overlook. Maybe it
will even inspire you to volunteer somewhere like the Presbyterian Night Shelter.
--Diana Dunigan
To find out more about the Presbyterian
Night Shelter, visit their website at http://www.pns-tc.org/web/.
View the book trailer for The Street here:
