Advertise on podcast: Restorers: A Water Street Podcast

In this episode, Jack Crowley, President of Water Street Mission, speaks with Rick Rutter, lead pastor at Crossroads Mennonite Church. They talk about how artistic expression can help our neighbors who are experiencing homelessness. Jack and Rick discuss how painting, poetry, spoken word, and other forms creativity are helping guests explore, express, and heal.

Sometimes a movie gets part of the story right. Sometimes real life is a lot more complicated. In this episode, Jack Crowley, President of Water Street Mission, sits down with Ron Gibson, Senior Life Coach, to look at how homelessness is portrayed in The Pursuit of Happyness, The Soloist, and Maid. Together, they talk about the realities behind the scenes—from the pressure parents carry and the barriers that can make getting help so difficult, to the importance of simply seeing and knowing the person in front of you.

Throughout our community, we're hearing more and more stories of encampments.  From Lancaster and Harrisburg to California and Florida, this way of living is becoming a last resort for many who are experiencing homelessness.  In this episode, we listen to their stories and discuss why this is becoming the option for so many.  Join the discussion with Water Street Mission President Jack Crowley and Senior Life Coach Ron Gibson.

Living out of a car or van is a distinct reality for many individuals and families experiencing homelessness. What are some of the reasons for this, and what does that reality look like? We investigate these issues and more in this unique episode.

In this episode of The Restorers Podcast, Jack Crowley and Ron Gibson talk about what it means to be “doubled up” — staying with friends, family, or acquaintances because there’s nowhere else to go. Through raw clips from Water Street guests, they explore the generosity, pain, and complexity behind this hidden form of homelessness.

When it comes to homelessness, many people in the church want to help — but if we are honest, sometimes not knowing what to do leads us to look away. In this episode, Water Street Mission's President Jack Crowley and local pastor Rick Rutter reflect on the church’s role in responding to homelessness by reacting to honest and raw clips from guests.

In this episode, Jack Crowley, President of Water Street Mission, sits down with Ron Gibson, Senior Life Coach, to listen to the voices of people staying at Water Street.  These individuals share what they wish people in Lancaster understood about homelessness. As they reflect on these honest and personal insights, Jack and Ron explore the realities behind common assumptions and invite listeners into a deeper understanding of their neighbors’ experiences.

More older adults are losing their housing than ever before — many for the first time in their 60s or 70s. After a lifetime of work, stability can unravel quickly through rising rents, health challenges, the loss of a spouse, or income that simply can’t keep up. In this episode, we explore the unique barriers seniors face when navigating homelessness: the difficulty of asking for help after decades of independence, the physical toll of instability, and the systems that aren’t always designed with aging in mind. Through real stories and honest conversation, we ask what’s driving this growing trend — and what it looks like to respond with dignity, community, and care.

“Do people want to live on the street?”  It’s a question we hear often—and one that deserves a more honest answer. In this episode, Jack Crowley and Ron Gibson react to what our guests actually say about life on the streets, the myths we believe, and what compassion really requires of us.

"Poverty is a deep, deep problem and should have deep, deep solutions to it." Tune in as Princeton Sociologist and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Matthew Desmond and Water Street's President Jack Crowley discuss poverty, homelessness and root issues, and what gives them hope.

Nationally, there were over 34,000 unaccompanied youth that were counted as homeless during the national count last year.  That means we're seeing 18, 19, 20 year-olds living on the streets, living in abandoned buildings, living in cars, living in places not fit for human habitation. Tune in to the Restorers Podcast as Lisa Greener, Executive Director of Community Basics, and Jack Crowley, Water Street Mission President, discuss the issue and talks about a local project, "Manor Youth House", designed to help youth experiencing homelessness in Lancaster, PA.

The growing scarcity of affordable housing is a pressing issue in Lancaster County. Low vacancy rates along with rental rates jumping significantly in the last couple of years, we know solutions to the affordable housing crisis are not going to come easy and we're not going to build our way out of it overnight.  Tune in as Shelby Nauman, CEO of Tenfold, and Jack Crowley, Water Street Mission's President, discuss how we can think in new ways when it comes to advocating and even creating affordable housing at all levels.

"211 is like the 911 for health & human services, and above and beyond, over half of our calls are housing related right now," Kate Zimmerman says. "And if you're in this critical place with your housing needs, there are other things that are going wrong as well."  Tune in as we hear from Kate Zimmerman, President and CEO of United Way of Lancaster County, and Jack Crowley, President, Water Street Mission, discuss the affordable housing crisis in Lancaster.

As a father, I can tell you, "I longed to be restored to my son," John says.  After his son got caught up in the opioid epidemic and nearly lost his life, John Roberts started R3 Recovery House in Lancaster to offer sober living spaces where individuals can recover from addiction and be restored while discovering their God-given abilities.   Tune in to our latest episode as we hear from John Roberts, R3 Recovery House, and Jack Crowley, President of Water Street Mission, discuss the state of drug addiction and recovery in Lancaster, PA.

If you were to ask someone what it was like to experience homelessness, you probably wouldn't expect a positive response. But when we sat down with some of our guests in the residential program at Water Street, that's exactly what we heard.  Tune in to our latest episode as we hear from guests at Water Street, President Jack Crowley and Director of Guest Education, Teresa Martin.