[KGVID] http://www.jerichoroad.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/KirkVlog.mp4 [/KGVID]
We all love the thought of getting home from work to a place where we can just be ourselves. For many of us, that place includes people we’ve chosen, people we love, people we enjoy having in our lives. What if you have a disability that means you need support to shop, cook and take care of yourself? Could you have a real home or would it be someone’s work place?
For many living in group homes, life is about being surrounded by people you didn’t choose. Home may not necessarily mean a place of love. It may mean receiving support from people who do a good job but will move on when a better job comes up.
Christians who have pondered this situation in the past has been brave enough to say to someone with a disability, ‘Come and share my home.’ The gospel of grace can give us a vision of hospitality and real relationship. The idea of ‘Our Place’ is to go beyond providing accommodation services to creating communities of love, mutuality and belonging. In a time when the disability field is being redefined through new funding schemes and deeper commitments to individual choice, Christians can step up and offer something unique and life giving. I look forward to Jericho Road’s vision becoming real.