This past winter, Bloomington-Normal street outreach teams visited unhoused people living outside and provided supplies to get them through the freezing temperatures.
While providing this type of care to unhoused individuals, Bloomington-Normal street minister Bobby Jovanović said it inspired him to write a book.
“I just think this past winter was pretty rough,” Jovanović said, “and in one encampment particularly that sat on the water, it's obviously colder there, you're beating the elements [and] there's no transportation [to services.]”
Field guide for care
Jovanović said he was looking for field guides or manuals on street ministry—sharing Christianity while providing practical help to people living outside—and said he could not find any resources.
The solution for Jovanović was to create his own field guide from personal experiences, titled Jesus in the Streets.
“It's just basically a combination of everything that I've drawn on. Whether it's dealing with addiction, mental illness, a lot of the unknowns that you face every day,” Jovanović said in an interview on WGLT's Sound Ideas.
In the book, Jovanović said he really drives home the idea of trauma-informed care.
Living outside is a form of trauma for many people, and approaching them with trauma-informed care can help with healing, safety and trust.
“I think most people may not understand that our brothers and sisters that are living in the encampments, they're literally living year round in a $30 tent from Walmart that has no coverage,” Jovanović said.
With poor living situations in mind, Jovanović said he implements trauma-informed care by understanding addiction and mental health struggles are at play, and they are more than behaviors people exhibit.
“They are using drugs and alcohol sort of like a band aid on an open wound,” Jovanović said. “So just having that empathy and compassion and understanding that those are things they're struggling with, rather than having judgment.”
Self care
There is a lot of emotional baggage that comes with being a street minister; Jovanović refers to the days after particularly challenging occurrences as an “emotional hangover” period.
“I've had weekends where I was completely just toast,” Jovanović said.
He stressed the importance of taking care of yourself in this line of work. Having supportive family and friends, and letting people know what has bothered him, helped Jovanović get through the days.
“You need to, obviously, put the oxygen mask on first, and you need to take care of yourself,” Jovanović said.
Jovanović dedicated a chapter in his book to self care because he said it was a struggle for him to listen to and witness people’s hardships constantly.
“Every day, people are obviously sharing stories with you,” Jovanović said. “Deep, dark secrets, whether it's childhood trauma, relationship trauma, so trying to have your ear open without really taking all that home.”
Road map for everybody
Jovanović said his book is a starting point for people who have a good heart and the desire to help the unsheltered homeless population.
“If you want to pick up the book and you're not necessarily a believer or a follower of Christ, it's a road map for everybody,” Jovanović said. “Jesus was compassionate. At the end of the day he showed love to everybody,”
Jovanović said there are little moments where he gets to share his faith with those living outside, but he never force feeds it; presence and building friendships are the most important aspects to him.
“I can't drive home enough that they're facing so much, whether it's mental health issues [or] addiction. At this time and age, we all need to be out there helping on the street,” Jovanović said.
Jovanović’s street outreach field guide, Jesus in the Streets, can be found on Amazon. All of the proceeds will go toward his street outreach nonprofit.
