Our friends and loved ones at The Peoples House have traveled the world in search of a safe place to re-start. Each of their stories is different, but one theme is constant, not one of them wanted to leave home. Every refugee wishes that the circumstances, whether violence, persecution or discrimination, that drove them from their countries had never occurred, and that they were not forced to flee and start again. However, life is unpredictable – sometimes tragically so – and therefore our house is filled with friends who find themselves with unexpected housemates, in a unfamiliar community, in a country with different rules, norms an expectations.
In his song Got to Begin Again, Billy Joel writes:
I’ve got to begin again
Though I don’t know how to start
Yes, I’ve got to begin again
And it’s hard
This is something we can all relate to I think, and particularly our friends at The Peoples House.
But there is good news! As September begins and children head off to school with hopes of a great year, so too we have seen that with perseverance and support, our residents can also experience fresh starts. It takes time, and it rarely looks like what any of us had hoped or dreamed. Yet, eventually new homes are found, government bureaucracy is navigated, jobs are acquired, friendships are made, and slowly and tentatively, hope emerges.
Every day at The Peoples House is a day for new beginnings.