Episode 131
#131. Hope Dealer on the Block: Amy Williams' Mission to Love the Forgotten
Youth ministry veteran Amy Williams ministers to teens involved in gangs and those lost in the criminal justice system with a key strategy of life-on-life mentoring.
Worth Seeing: Viewing Others Through God’s Eyes
WHAT YOU'LL LEARN:
- Seeing People “through the lens of God” in Daily Interactions and Decision-Making
- Meaningful Inclusion with At-Risk Youth
- Learning More from These Youths than Any Other Group
ABOUT THE GUEST:
Youth ministry veteran Amy Williams ministers to teens involved in gangs and those lost in the criminal justice system with a key strategy of life-on-life mentoring. As a certified gang intervention specialist, she heard God's call to move into a Latino gang neighborhood in Chicago's Humboldt Park community to be a "Hope Dealer" doing street outreach and walking life with young people on her block. Amy is project coordinator at New Life Centers, bringing in restorative justice programming to youth at juvenile prisons. Amy has been a youth pastor, a reentry coordinator, and a youth mentor and advocate. She is a graduate of both University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and National Louis University. She resides in Chicago and loves salsa dancing and is a true beach baby.
TIMESTAMPED SHOWNOTES:
00:38 - Introducing Amy Williams
04:58 - Amy's inspiration to work with high-risk youth
05:58 - ...deepest pain can become greatest passion
06:41 - ...pull for the underdog
07:10 - Seeing People “through the lens of God” in Daily Interactions and Decision-Making
07:23 - ...evaluate ability to see people through the lens of God
07:58 - ...seeing the value and worth of young people
08:25 - ...God created them for a purpose
09:04 - Meaningful Inclusion with At-Risk Youth
09:29 - ...moving from being watched to being seen
10:05 - ...inviting them into a space where they should already be invited to
10:28 - Justice and Mercy
10:54 - ...the call is to serve both the harmed and the harm-doer
11:21 - ...spirit of mercy
11:48 - ...not "What's wrong with you?" but "What happened to you?"
12:19 - ...compassion for both
14:10 - ...understanding but not agreeing
14:56 - ...opportunity to change the direction of kids' lives
16:13 - ...hope that her book would inform us about the issues and help turn compassion into action
16:41 - Learning More from These Youths than Any Other Group
19:11 - The Need to Belong
20:42 - Doing Better
21:23 - ...include people who are involved in the situation
22:13 - ...create spaces for the voices
24:24 - What keeps you going after decades of such intense work?
25:28 - ...God-given work
25:53 - ...community of support
26:22 - ...lost too many young people-- someone is praying for help
27:59 - Give our young people a chance
28:37 - Getting in touch with Amy Williams: ahopedealer.org
29:05 - Book on ivpress.com
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