Mr. Howard Davis has been coming to Greater Birmingham Ministries for more than eight years.
“You know, we get up early and wait in line for hours, not just for food, but for the people here. For hope. Just to have some place to be.”
Mr. Davis appreciates GBM because, here, he feels “the comradery of the staff.” He gets assistance meeting the day-to-day needs of his family, but he also feels that his voice matters. “The Alabama Justice System is designed to keep [the community] down,” says Mr. Davis, but GBM keeps him informed about ways he can become politically active, fight for his rights, and lift himself up.
Mr. Davis is tired of his community being ignored. He is tired of feeling like the only citizens who matter are the ones who live “over the mountain” (in the more affluent suburbs of Birmingham). He is tired of having dangerous roads to drive on; encumbered with potholes. But he’s not angry—he’s hopeful.
“I still believe in this city,” he says. “We are still for the people in Montgomery—we put them office. But once they got there, once they got that ticket, they seemed to forget about us.”
Here at GBM, we work to make sure no one gets forgotten within the political and social justice system. One of the three major aspects of GBM is “Pursuing Justice.” That means lifting up the members of our community who get exploited by or excluded from the “system.”
“We’re still a part of the human race,” Mr. Davis says. “I just hope people can learn to see us from the inside.”
Mr. Davis works hard to take care of his family members who cannot care for themselves, but there is still so much he cannot afford on his own. That’s another place where GBM comes in. Every Friday, we provide grocery assistance to those in need. You can help support this cause by donating to our food bank today. You can also get involved by becoming active alongside GBM to help change the systems that cause suffering within the Birmingham community.