BROOKSVILLE — For 24 hours, from 3 p.m. Oct. 8 to 3 p.m. Oct. 9, Andrew Chamberlin sat on a bench at the pavilion on Broad Street and talked with anyone who wanted to sit down beside him.
They talked about addiction and recovery and about faith. They talked about housing, and about what could happen to local services if voters approve Amendment 3, the property tax measure on the Nov. 3 ballot.
People have a lot of concerns and worries these days, said Chamberlin, CEO of Jericho Road Ministries. It is a stressful time, he and his staff agreed.
It was the second year Chamberlin has spent a day and night on the bench to take the pulse of the community, with staff members streaming the conversations on video and audio.
Coffee and testimonies
By the morning of Oct. 9, after a long night outdoors, Chamberlin looked chipper. He credited coffee.
Cloudy, sometimes rainy weather kept the temperature down, and staff members running the cameras and sound kept offering coffee and doughnuts to visitors.
About 40 people had stopped by then, Chamberlin and his staff said. Some shared religious testimonies. Others talked about their efforts to get their lives back on track.
That is Jericho Road’s specialty. The ministry runs a men’s center, a women’s center and transitional homes for people recovering from addiction, and it pays for much of that work through six thrift stores, including one near Interstate 75 in Ridge Manor.
The ministry has helped a record number of people this year, Chamberlin said, and now serves about 75 to 85 people.
“We focus so much on substance abuse that it’s very niche, but we’ve grown 40 to 50 beds in the last year,” he said.
Staff on the bench
Jason LeVoy, a staff member at the men’s center, had already sat down with Chamberlin.
“It’s going well,” LeVoy said. He said he heard powerful testimonies overnight, including from men he works with at the center.
At the center, LeVoy said, he hears residents’ needs and complaints, and sometimes he simply listens when they need someone to talk to.
“I have a good ear,” he said.
Mental health and addiction come up often, he said, and the two are intertwined.
“Usually, one feeds the other,” LeVoy said.
Many residents also talk about their spirituality and coming to faith, he said.
Stephen Pasquale, who had been with the ministry just two months, took a 2 a.m. turn on the bench and said he came dressed for the chill. He previously worked for the county and for a coalition in the Tampa Bay area.
Sean Grant, the ministry’s counseling director, stayed for the full 24 hours.
“I counsel our residents,” Grant said. “I talk with them about the things they’re going through and see what resources we can point them towards.”
He said the event serves the same purpose.
“We’re just really excited that we got to do this this year,” Grant said. “Bring awareness to what’s going on in our community and to keep moving forward.”