Moving Toward Others in Compassion

Christian Harbin

Clinical Ambassador, The Bowery Mission

COVID-19 Impact: It was scary because there weren’t existing protocols for something like this. At a certain point, you just had to let go, and roll up your sleeves and say: "OK, just tell me what I need to do. What are my marching orders? Let's go.”

Finding the Essential Things: We live in one of the most active, crazy cities in the world. To see it come to a standstill so abruptly was shocking. It peeled back the layers and forced you to embrace what is truly important in life. Relationship. Friendship. Compassion. Peace. Food. Water. Amenities. Those things that we’ve taken for granted became foundational again.

Moments of Hope: I remember breakfast being served at both campuses. We didn’t know what would work and what wouldn’t. We were just doing everything we could, distilling things down, in order to keep serving. And it did work! As precarious as so many things were, it was such a blessing to be able to say, "people are still getting helped.” That’s a beautiful thing.

Reflections on Compassion: Compassion is movement toward another person. It’s about taking yourself out of the forefront of the stage and putting your time, effort, and attention on someone else’s betterment. And not only is someone else all the better for it, you’re all the better for it. It’s a blessing to do.

A Welcoming Space: People feel safe here. They recognize the atmosphere is calm and comforting. If people can sense that, it definitely means we're doing something right. What it really is, is the presence of God. It’s also the unity we have and continue to build on, the heart that brings us all together.

Superstar Volunteers: The support from volunteers was very very encouraging, to the point where I got emotional seeing them walk into the building. We knew they could be at home, protecting themselves, and they were still coming to help. The volunteers have been like rock stars. They've been committed.

Lessons Learned: I've grown so much from this experience — mentally, spiritually, professionally, as a man. Twenty to 30 years down the line, I can tell my kids and their kids: this is what compassion is about. This is what caring for people is about. This is what the gospel is about: it’s for service.

Parting Words: This is a never ending work. Even with all the strides we've made forward, there's still so much work to be done. I'm proud of the progress we've made as an organization to be able to serve the community. But we can't do it alone. Thank you, thank you, thank you, to everyone who has been supporting us and sees the importance of this work. We can't do it without you.