The staff at Guiding Light Mission operate under the same motto that soldiers do in times of war: never leave a solider behind.

Chris Carey, in-house manager for Guiding Light Mission in downtown Grand Rapids, said that’s because the road to recovery is a lot like fighting a war.

“We walk along a road that is kind of shaky, and we’ve stumbled on it so many times,” Carey told a group of Grand Valley State University students, who visited Guiding Light Mission on Saturday as part of a service and learning trip in honor of February’s Black History Month. “If one is down, we make sure that we grab him, pick him up. Sometimes they get offensive, they say, ‘Well, leave me. You go, save yourself.’ And then we just have to eagerly pull him back up and say, ‘No, solider, you’re coming with me. We’re getting out of here, we’re getting to safe ground.’”

Upon arrival, Carey brought students on a guided tour of the facilities, explaining the mission, background and day-to-day operations of Guiding Light Mission. From there, volunteers helped the staff with various tasks around the facilities, from laundry room duty to wiping down tables after lunch.

This was the first time the day of service was included on the docket of events for Black History Month, and the trip was the brainchild of both the African/African American studies program and the Office of Multicultural Affairs.

“Black History Month is a celebration of black American culture and history in the nation,” said Sherry Johnson, program coordinator for GVSU’s AAA studies program. “One significant part of our culture is giving service, you know. There’s a strong belief across various black communities that if you have been blessed, you go back and you help others.”

Guiding Light Mission, an all-men’s facility, has a total of 46 community bunks, though currently only 26 of those beds are full. Those who come through Guiding Light’s doors typically stay at the mission for 30 days total, but can apply for a longer stay as long as they can provide documentation that proves they are staying out of trouble and looking for work.

“It’s good for us to be educated and learn about different features in the community,” said Bobby Springer, assistant director of OMA. “I mean, I drive by here all of the time, and this is my first time going in. So there’s the educational component, but also having that contact with people or someone who might need a resource like this ¬�¬�— now I know what it is. So that’s good for all of us, because we all gain that same knowledge.”

Johnson and Springer said ideally, service days like Saturday’s trip one will not be limited to an annual event, but rather evolve into a regular outreach effort in the future. That kind of outreach is necessary to maintain places like Guiding Light Mission, which are privately funded and receive no state or federal grants in order to freely endorse the Christian religion.

“We wouldn’t be able to operate the services that we do without our volunteers and the gifts and the kind donations,” Carey said. “Bedding and towels, kitchen items, cash donations — whatever we need at that moment, everything counts and means a lot.”

In the last 100 days, Guiding Light Mission has helped 45 men successfully reengage in the community.

“We share the moments of understand when one feels there is no hope, and nowhere to turn,” Carey said. “… We believe there is good in every man and woman — if there wasn’t, God wouldn’t have made us. Most importantly, there is thanking God for the heart. Thanking God for the heart, because if it wasn’t for the heart, where would we be able to store all of the love that He gives us?”

managingeditor@ lanthorn.com