Logan Reimbold-Thomas’s first undertaking out of college was coaching ultimate frisbee.
How could he not love that? But sooner or later, he knew he was going to use his social consciousness and his political science degree from Kenyon College for a more serious undertaking.
His chance to do so came quickly.
A friend, Connor Loesch, asked him to volunteer at Our Lady of the Road, a Christian organization located in downtown South Bend that helps the homeless. “I did and I liked it,” Logan says. “I was very moved by the experience of helping people who face serious obstacles to independent living.”
A full-time staff position soon opened up at Motels4Now, a housing-first program of Our Lady of the Road and located in the old Knights Inn on Lincolnway West. He applied for the job and was hired.
Logan, a 2018 South Bend Adams High School graduate, figured he might become a lawyer or politician after graduating from Kenyon (also his parents Bryon and Becky’s alma mater). Maybe he still will be at some point.
But 10 months into his job at Motels4Now, he says, “I wouldn’t trade what I’m doing for anything right now.”
Among other things, Logan helps people get moved in, serves as a donation coordinator and sometimes has to ask rule breakers to leave. He also lugs couches into rooms, passes out lunches and listens to people’s life stories. On one evening, he even had to deal with a man preaching naked in the rain.
“I got a glimpse of homelessness when I helped serve meals at Hope Ministries as part of the Sunnyside youth group,” he says. “But now, I realize that people experiencing homelessness are more than a small secluded group. They’re everyday members of our community.”
Motels4Now can house 115 people. Since its inception in August, 2020, almost 600 people have lived there and 75 percent are now stably housed. Currently, there is a waiting list to get in.
Although there are other programs that deal with the homeless in South Bend, Motels4Now is the only one that will accept those struggling with drinking and drug problems. (Oaklawn, a mental health facilitator, has an on-site presence five days a week.)
What they won’t allow are weapons, any kind of violence, drug dealing and visitors after hours.
“We are housing some of the most vulnerable people in our society,” Logan says. “Some had stayed in abusive relationships to keep from being homeless and others have mental health issues or suffer from addiction.”
An average person may not always understand their problems. “I can think years ahead on where and what I want to be,” Logan continues. ”They only can think hours ahead. That’s how your brain works when you’ve experienced the level of trauma someone living on the street has. They’re only thinking about where their next meal is coming from or where they will sleep at night.”
And then some of the Motels4Now clients just need a few months to get their lives back on track after they have lost a job or been evicted.
Regardless of the lodgers’ needs — long term or short term — Logan says his main goal is to build trust. “It’s got to be a cooperative relationship. It’s like putting pennies in a jar. A penny in for when you work together and build that trust; a penny out when the relationship has a breakdown or a rule is broken. We try to keep that jar as full as possible.”
Even when he has to ask someone to leave for violating rules, Logan tells them they can go back on the waiting list and be given another chance down the road. Motels4Now doesn’t give up on people.
Logan says he learned about ethics and morality from his family, Good Shepherd Montessori School and Sunnyside Presbyterian Church.
He knows that everyone in the community isn’t totally comfortable with the idea of helping a program that doesn’t require sobriety, but he also believes that everyone deserves a roof over his or her head and a few meals a day.
People stumble. People fail. Some get better quickly. Others can struggle much of their lives.
Motels4Now gives them a chance.
“Some people can be scary until you get to know them,” Logan says
Logan is doing just that — getting to know those who are experiencing homelessness, befriending and supporting them and helping them get back on their feet. “I always want to help the community I live in,” he says, “whether it be South Bend or elsewhere.”
For Logan, it’s Motels4Now. And MakingADifference4Ever