CARITAS VILLAGE

Caritas Village – An Oasis of Hope…

The Binghamton neighborhood has always had a special place in my heart. It was the first neighborhood I lived in when I left home. I rented a tiny little duplex on Bingham St. that I loved since it was close to two of my favorite hangouts, The Poplar Lounge and Broadway Pizza. Since that time it has pained me to see this nice midtown neighborhood spiral downward into an area that breeds crime, poverty and hopelessness.  30% of the neighborhoods residents live under the poverty level. 31% of the households are female led with no husband present. 10% of the houses are vacant. As with all communities like this violent crime began to rise. But as always seems to be the case in Memphis when a community is in need here come the special people and special ministries to save the day.  Thankfully several ministries have set their sights on this Midtown neighborhood and through prayer, hard work and generosity a sea of hopelessness is now becoming a seed bed of hope. Binghamton Development Corporation, Service Over Self and Eikon ministries are all working every day to revitalize this community that has so much potential. All these great organizations have great stories but this month I want to focus on another unique oasis of hope in Binghamton its called The Caritas Village. Caritas is an eclectic mix of community center, coffee shop, cultural arts center and restaurant all in one. If you think that’s a lot to take on listen to its mission statement… “Breaking down walls of hostility between the races and building bridges of love and trust between the rich and the poor.” It’s a big undertaking with a big mission and it got started by the vision of one special lady Onie Johns.

9 years ago as Onie was taking part in a spiritual formation group she began to feel the Lord calling her to live in an inner city neighborhood and start a Christian community. Shortly thereafter Onie had moved into Binghamton as a “ministry of presence”. Onie says “we did lots of things right from my house… community meals, concerts on the lawn and Bible studies. But I felt we needed a gathering spot for the community. So about 4 years ago this building came up for sale and we bought it. Over the next couple of years we raised the money, got the zoning changed and transformed it into a gathering place for this community.” Or as some call it a safe haven.This safe haven is located at 2509 Harvard Ave and is one of the most unique places you will ever eat lunch.

When you first walk into Caritas you are struck by the mixture of people. You see business men in suits, working class folks in jeans, whites, blacks, old, young, rich and poor. It is truly a melting pot. Proceeds from the coffee shop and restaurant provide most of the funds for Caritas but as Onie puts it “if you come here to eat you get fed whether you can pay or not”

Ministry or not, good cause or not Caritas is worth eating lunch at because the food is fantastic! The chef, Onie’s son-in-law Erik, is a 20 year veteran that donates his time to Caritas as the main cook. I was unable to finish the scrumptious chicken quesadillas I ordered for lunch there was so much! Donating your time at Caritas is not unusual almost all its “employees” are volunteers including Onie.

One of those volunteers is Director of Art Franklin D Robinson. Franklin is a full time teacher of art for the Memphis City Schools and was educated at the prestigious Chicago Art Institute. He met Onie a few years back and as Onie does with so many she sold her vision to him and now this talented man spends lots of time at Caritas making art, showing art and teaching art to a community that rarely gets to see how using your God given creativity is a gift that not only blesses you but those around you. Franklin’s unique artistic style can be found on the walls of Caritas.

Lots more could be written about Caritas and I haven’t even mentioned the Community Center aspect that sees the facility house dozens of meetings for the community all free of charge. So lets sum it up this way… you want to do your part to help Memphis? Well here is an easy way to do so. One day stop by Caritas Village for lunch or maybe just a cup of coffee. When you pay your bill rest assured that not only did you just get a great meal or cup of joe but you also just planted a seed of hope.