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Activist, author, speaker, and thought leader in the realm of systemic poverty, Terence Lester is fighting poverty and homelessness through his nonprofit Love Beyond Walls. Learn how he is making substantive change for the homeless and poor by offering a voice, visibility, shelter, community, and grooming and support services to those seeking self-sufficiency in Atlanta.
Terence is a UI&U doctoral student, working toward his Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Studies with a concentration in Public Policy & Social Change and a specialization in Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Studies.
In March 2020, as the coronavirus pandemic started to spread, Terence was particularly struck by the lack of sanitation facilities for the homeless and impoverished, so critical to keeping people safe. In response, he set up portable washbasins throughout Atlanta. With the help of Grammy-winning artist Lecrae and Reach Records, Love Beyond Walls started the Love Sinks In campaign, resulting in new handwashing stations in nearly 30 cities around the country. The inspiring story caught the attention of media outlets around the world, including CNN, Good Morning America, Today, Disney, The Weather Channel, International Business Times, NY Daily News, USA News Hub, MSN, and Reader’s Digest.
Join us for a discussion with Terence and Dr. Jennifer Raymond as he describes his motivation and the steps he took to build a nonprofit. He’ll share concepts and ideas that will help you make a difference in your community.
Terence Lester is fighting poverty and homelessness through his nonprofit Love Beyond Walls that he founded with his wife, Cecilia, in 2013. Their goal is to provide dignity to the homeless and poor by offering a voice, visibility, shelter, community, and grooming and support services to achieve self-sufficiency in Atlanta.
Love Beyond Walls has grown to provide mobile makeovers to the underserved, temporary shelter, and groceries for 300 to 500 families a month, clothing for the community and students, free laundry services, free water bins for those without running water, awareness campaigns to educate the community, and a leadership program.
Terence is also the founder of the Dignity Museum, the first traveling museum in the U.S. that represents homelessness. Built in 2019 from a shipping container, the museum uses interactive technology, research, storytelling, exhibits, and thought-provoking questions that help visitors confront their ideas of homelessness and the challenges of escaping it.
He holds four degrees and is the author of four books, including, “I See You: How Love Opens Our Eyes to Invisible People” (InterVarsity Press, 2019). He was awarded the Independent Sector’s 2020 American Express NGen Leadership award in October 2020. American Express Foundation President Timothy McClimon said, “Terence’s mission to raise awareness about the homeless, creatively find ways to get others to walk in their shoes, and develop solutions to help them transition out of homelessness, exemplifies the amazing work underway by emerging change-makers across the nation."
Read more here: https://www.lovebeyondwalls.org/about-us/
Dr. Jennifer Raymond is interim dean of the Union Institute & University Ph.D. program in Interdisciplinary Studies. Dr. Raymond joined Union Institute & University in 2011 and teaches courses in Research Methods, Policy Analysis, Women’s and Gender Studies and Health Policy. She earned a Ph.D. in Public Policy and a Graduate Certificate in Women in Politics and Government from the University of Massachusetts, Boston, and a B.A. from Boston University. Her current research interests focus on gender, sexuality, and social policy, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights with particular emphasis on same-sex marriage. In addition, Dr. Raymond has published on gender and information communication technologies.
Prior to receiving her Ph.D., she was a senior research associate at the Center for Social Policy at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, where she conducted research and program evaluation on welfare, homelessness, and poverty. In 2013, she received a fellowship at the Summer Institute in LGBT Population Health, through the Fenway Institute and Boston University School of Public Health.
To learn more about Terence Lester and his nonprofit Love Beyond Walls and its many services visit this link.
To learn more about the Dignity Museum, please go to this link.
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Welcome + Details
Welcome + Introductions
Dr. Nelson Soto, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Union Institute & University
Dr. Jennifer Raymond, moderator, Interim Dean, Union Institute & University Ph.D. program in Interdisciplinary Studies
Terence Lester, author, activist, and speaker on homelessness and poverty, founder of Love Beyond Walls, and Ph.D. student in Interdisciplinary Studies
Discussion Terence Lester and Dr. Raymond
Q&A
Adjournment
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