the resistance

Each Sunday, I look forward to our pastors’ parting words: “Go and be Central.” It’s an encouraging reminder to look for ways to be a kind helper throughout the week.

But we don’t have to go far to be “Central.” Every week, the important work of safety, refuge, and welcome happens right here. Showers and clean clothes, a ride across town, or a needed medication are all things that help people stay alive and move forward.

As a social worker, I often think of this work as harm reduction. While the term is most often associated with substance use treatment (tools and practices that help keep people safe while they continue to use), an education specialist I follow describes harm reduction more broadly: as an act of political, social, and economic resistance. No matter how small, every effort to reduce harm caused by poverty, housing insecurity, inadequate wages, and structural stigma directed at LGBTQI+ communities and others is an intentional way of pushing back against injustice.

The daily work at Central is more than a temporary fix, more than a band-aid. It is a tangible expression of care and an act of resistance against harmful systems as we work toward something better.

What could be more Central than that?