Hannah Wescott | July 17, 2026
When Melissa’s son, Jake, died by suicide just shy of his 30th birthday, she and her family needed an outlet for their grief. Witnessing their beautiful, magnetic son’s brave battle with depression and substance use disorder had changed their beliefs about addiction and the people it swallows.
They now felt empowered to reach out to others who were similarly embattled. Knowing the upcoming holiday season would be unbearable without him, the family began by serving Christmas Eve Dinner at Safe Harbor, Traverse City’s emergency overnight homeless shelter. Melissa found comfort and fulfillment in the work, and, at the end of Safe Harbor’s season, she decided to volunteer at Jubilee House. As the drop-in day shelter component of Traverse City’s homeless care system, she found that Jubilee provided plenty of opportunities to focus her energy on others.
That’s where she met Denise, a fellow volunteer who’d once been a Jubilee guest herself. When Denise and her now husband had moved home to Traverse City, they’d found that the housing they’d been counting on wasn’t feasible. They scrambled to find a backup option, but to no avail. They were suddenly homeless. “Yes, Jubilee House was our first stop that day,” Denise remembers. “We were covered in snow, lugging our huge suitcases and miscellaneous bags. The volunteers who greeted us were so loving, compassionate, and caring: gently brushing us off, getting us hot coffee and toast if we wanted it. So much hospitality.”
Jubilee became their hangout spot and their safe haven. “Every volunteer was as kind as the next. We mattered to them! They gave me hope, kept me from giving up, and loved me until I learned to love myself. They made me want to be a better person.”
Not long after they secured permanent housing, Denise began volunteering at Jubilee, eager to give back what was so freely given to her. Five years later, she’s still volunteering. “The hardest part has been watching our guests battle substance use disorder,” she says. In response, Denise became a Peer Recovery Coach, poised and ready to meet guests wherever they are in their recovery journey. “Volunteering has taught me to embrace—and even invite—change. Now I can go with the flow, and it’s helping me heal. I thought it would fill a void in my life, and it did! My life is more peaceful.”
Melissa volunteers once per week, always shift buddies with Denise, making hundreds of essential connections with our neighbors who need them most. Melissa is a mother down to her core, and loves nothing more than forging relationships with Jubilee guests, earning their trust, and learning their stories. “Some may never open up, and that’s okay,” she says. “I just want them to see me as someone who does care, and who wants to take time to listen.” When guests ask for prayers or extra love and support, she jumps at the chance to make them feel seen, heard, and important—just as she always did for Jake.
“Losing Jake was indescribably devastating. But I know God used it to draw me closer, and to have a heart for people in a way I never would have.”
Volunteering allows her to be God’s hands in the world, answering the prayers of mothers all over the five-county area—women who love their children, but who can do little to save them. She knows how it feels to pray that a struggling child will find caring helpers and meaningful support. Through volunteering, she now knows how it feels to be on the operational end of such prayers.
It’s easy to get lost in the tumult of our modern world. It’s easy to become overwhelmed by misery and by myriad injustices and, ultimately, to find ourselves feeling desperate and powerless in the face of it all. But volunteer opportunities like these have the power to pull us out of that desperation. Meaningful interaction with other human beings, especially those in crisis, is a priceless balm for the soul. Even the smallest things—the sharing of a funny story, the well-placed offer of a cup of coffee, the magic of commiseration—can carry immense value, and it doesn’t take any special training to step into such simple volunteer roles. Most Jubilee volunteers are retired, though some are working or enrolled in college; many are parents; but, most importantly, they are all deeply empathetic, open-minded, and caring people.
The greatest impact we can make starts locally, and we at Jubilee House can tell you, unequivocally, that there are plenty of places where the presence of regular ol’ moms and dads is sorely needed! We have 20 fabulous volunteers, but the house cannot run smoothly without at least 10 more. Our lack of volunteers results in closures (12 closures since January of this year) and an inability to offer all of our services to our friends who need them so badly. Our inconsistency damages the trust that we are trying to build with them; it labels us as unreliable.
Of our 20 precious weekly volunteers, only 5 of them are Grace Church Parishioners. This means that Grace Episcopal Church only has 25% representation in its own ministry, even as that ministry and its guests suffer due to lack of helping hands. Donations of goods are wonderful, and they do help immensely. But it’s you we need so desperately! Volunteer-based organizations like ours are always looking for help, waiting to transform your life with meaningful connection.
