‘It’s about love.’ Christian groups bring Christmas joy to Miami’s most vulnerable

On most days, the people living in tents along Northwest 17th Street in Miami go unnoticed. Cars coming from Jackson Memorial Hospital zoom by as dozens of people living along the freeway become another fixture of Miami.

But on Friday evening, just a few nights before Christmas, 17th Street was bustling with holiday music, volunteers passing out home-cooked meals and delivering wagons of pastelitos and bottled water. People experiencing homelessness, for at least one night, were shown respect, asked their names and listened to.

It was all a part of an effort organized by non-profit Hermanos de la Calle to bring food and camaraderie to the homeless. The faith-based group helps connect Miami’s unhoused population — including freshly-arrived migrants who may be seeking asylum — with affordable housing, employment and spiritual guidance.

“The goal of tonight is to bring the joy of Christmas to the streets,” said Narciso Muñoz, founder and president of Hermanos.

“These people that are living in the streets, sometimes they feel rejected by society,” he said. “For us Christians, it’s super important; this is where we find Jesus.”

The organization recruits volunteers from local churches — including St. Augustine Catholic Church, Iglesia Apostólica Fuente De Vida and Lagoinha Miami Church — to donate food and supplies and conduct outreach efforts every other Friday.

After a quick huddle and prayer at St. Agnes Catholic Church in Key Biscayne, the volunteers, young and old, headed to 17th Street, right outside of the Missionaries of Charity of Mother Teresa homeless shelter, and got to work. They set up buffet-style tables where people grabbed what they wanted — pasta salad, chicken and rice, coffee, Christmas treats. Some operated from the trunks of their cars, unveiling boxes of clothes, shoes and sleeping bags.

Volunteer Vanessa Joyce of Lagoinha Miami Church, a Christian church with Brazilian roots in Little Haiti, said that providing homeless Miamians with food and clothing is important, but that they are also in need of another vital resource: love.

“People think that Christmas is just for giving gifts. And this is not part of what Christmas means. This is the birth of Jesus,” said Joyce, who is the team leader for her church’s ministry called WeCare. “The most important gift we have, it’s love. It’s not about a new bike, a new perfume .. it’s about love.”

The volunteers go beyond distributing food and goods, taking their time to get to know people and learning about their struggles. Hermanos Executive Director Malena Legarre explains that the food is just an ice breaker.

”The most important thing is spending time with people and talking to them, connecting, asking their names and looking into their eyes,” she said. “We try to find more permanent solutions for them.”

By the end of the dinner, Hermanos found temporary shelter in a nearby hotel for 11 people, including a father and son who had recently arrived from Chile.

Enderson Reano, originally from Venezuela, said he and his 4-year-old son Jefferson have been sent all over the United States since arriving. Reano said they are applying for asylum and have been relocated from shelter to shelter — from Texas to Chicago, then New York and, finally, Florida.

The journey hasn’t been easy. It’s weighing on him and his son, who was recently hospitalized with a fever.

“I feel depressed,” Reano said in Spanish. “It took three months just to get here. It’s been a struggle.”

Reano sat on the sidewalk outside the shelter as his son ran around their suitcases in circles, cupcake in hand. When the little boy saw a man dressed as Santa Claus riding a scooter nearby, he shouted gleefully, “Santa! Santa!”

Hermanos relocated Reano and his son to a hotel for the short term. The organization plans on buying them a plane ticket to California, so they can stay with friends. Before they leave, two teenage volunteers give Jefferson a toy to play with.

‘We don’t forget them’

Hermanos is a partner of Miami-Dade County’s Homeless Trust network, the county-backed agency responsible for leading the charge on ending homelessness in Miami.

“They are what I consider to be my emergency valve for sensitivity and compassion,” Ron Book, longtime chairman of the Homeless Trust, said about Hermanos. “Their physical hearts are the size of a large watermelon.”

Book said around Christmas time, when many people arrive from the colder states, the Trust and its partners double down on their efforts to find shelter for the unhoused. He reminds people that the problem isn’t just with people living on the streets.

“I got a little under 2,500 sheltered individuals. They want to have a holiday too, but always are considered least, last, lost and forgotten. We don’t forget them,” he said.

For individuals who want to help the cause, Book suggests volunteering at a shelter or donating to a Homeless Trust partner instead of feeding homeless people directly.

“If you feed people on the streets, your message is, it’s okay to live on the streets,” he said.

While the overall number of unsheltered people has decreased over the past year, the charitable holiday dinner comes at a time when some cities are cracking down on homeless encampments.

Miami Beach police, for instance, arrested 20 people for “camping” in the city the week before Art Basel, per a new law that makes it a crime to sleep outdoors. The city ordinance requires police to give people the opportunity to relocate before an arrest takes place, but homeless advocates say there are many reasons why someone might be hesitant to go to a shelter.

“We do not ever support criminalizing homelessness, period,” Book said. “Doing it this time of the year is a bit insensitive to say the least.”

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Humanizing homelessness

At the end of the night, a young woman who migrated from Venezuela, Erika Avila, was so moved by the group’s generosity and love, she was brought to tears, hugging the volunteers. As others gathered, volunteer Andres Papa from St. Thomas the Apostle, lead the group in prayer.

At 26-years-old, Papa is a little over two years into his journey to becoming an ordained priest in the Catholic Church. He said it’s his calling from God to help those in need.

One thing that drew Papa to this work, he said, was the joy he feels from understanding someone’s struggles — especially those who are looked down upon in a culture centered on wealth.

“It’s such a beautiful experience, because people that are just ignored by society, treated like trash, now you sit next to them, you ask their names, and then their eyes change and shine,” he said. “It’s like you return the dignity to them, just by giving a little bit of our time.”

Joyce, of Lagoinha Miami Church, said doing this work has opened her eyes to the myriad struggles homeless people face.

“People, they judge too much people in the streets,” she said. “They always think it’s drugs, they always think it’s alcohol, but sometimes it’s just that they lost the opportunity.”

This seemed to be the case for a woman named Cliché, (“yes, like the word” she said), who currently lives in a tent with her husband and dog under the overpass. As Papa offered her some baked goods, she explained that she fell into homelessness after her last landlord tried to evict her.

“I chose to go this route to keep from getting an eviction on my record,” she said. “It’s easier for me to save money because hotel rates are so high. It wasn’t because I wasn’t paying my bills or had a drug problem.”

It’s complex situations like these that Muñoz, founder and president of Hermanos, says are important for people to understand.

“We are also helping our community, our people, that live in a bubble,” he said, referring to the teenagers and children who volunteer as well. “Listen, this is reality, this is real life.”

Many of the volunteers with Hermanos also had a rough start. Guillermo Gámez with Iglesia Apostólica Fuente De Vida, for instance, came to Miami from Nicaragua as an immigrant 30 years ago. He now shows up frequently with his church to help others.

“I’m thankful I now know Jesus Christ,” he said in Spanish. He said he’s grateful that he’s able to give back and help people who are in situations he’s familiar with. After reading scripture to the group, he wished everyone a “Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.”

To reach Hermanos de la Calle, call (786) 565 - 7827 or email info@hermanosdelacalle.org

This story was produced with financial support from Trish and Dan Bell and from donors comprising the South Florida Jewish and Muslim Communities, in partnership with Journalism Funding Partners. The Miami Herald maintains full editorial control of this work.