Love Does
When Just Love - Greater New Orleans began in January 2024, we knew we wanted to love our neighbors holistically—body, mind, and soul. The big question is where do we begin? And with who? And how? Over the past year, we’ve begun to answer those questions by developing relationships with the folks of New Orleans. At the heart of every thriving relationship is a simple yet profound truth: being “for” one another. Being "for" someone starts with listening, which flows into loving, and culminates in a relationship built on mutual support and trust. For the remainder of 2024, we’ll explore how we’ve been #ForThe504 in 2024 and how we’re building on that to create even more healing and wholeness in the year ahead. Last week we starting with the first step, Listening. This week, we'll talk about the second step to be "for" someone: Loving and Serving.
If you have been lucky, you've experienced a moment when someone truly listened to you. Not just nodding politely, but genuinely hearing your heart, your story, and your struggles. It’s powerful experience, not just for the one being listened to, but the listener as well. Listening is such an important first step in building trust and connection. But what comes next? In the journey of building meaningful connections, the next step after listening is loving and serving. It’s about moving from words to actions, showing others that we are not just present with them, but that we are for them. We'll talk about what that looked like and will look like for Just Love - Greater New Orleans in a bit. First, what loving and serving does and why it's so important.
Love is a Person: Listening is great, offering words based on that listening is great, but taking action based out of listening is often the greatest. (You know the old saying, actions often speak louder than words). Let's be honest, It’s one thing to say, “I love my neighbors,” but it’s another thing entirely to show it by meeting a need, showing up consistently, or simply being a safe presence in their life. Loving and serving is about embodying love. It’s about responding to what we’ve heard and learned during those times of deep listening. It’s about asking, “How can I tangibly reflect love to this person?” When we take time to love and serve someone, we are saying: “I see you. I hear you. I care about you.”
Love is a Verb: When we love and serve well, we communicate two life-changing truths: First, I am with you. Life can feel isolating, especially during tough times. By showing up, being present, and walking alongside someone, you remind them they’re not alone. Second, I am for you. Serving someone’s needs, whether physical, emotional, or spiritual, is a way of saying, “I want to see you thrive.” It’s an investment in their well-being and a declaration that their story matters. To be clear, this approach isn’t about charity or doing things for people in a way that makes them feel like projects. It’s about mutual, authentic relationships where everyone gives and receives, and everyone grows.
Love is an Art: If we take the time to listen deeply, we'll have a sense of what someone truly needs. Maybe it’s practical help—like groceries or childcare—or maybe it’s something deeper, like emotional support or simply someone to sit with them in their pain. The beauty (and the key) is that it’s never “one size fits all.” It’s contextual...it's personalized. It’s about entering into someone’s world, understanding their needs, and responding with compassion and creativity.
Love is a Bridge: Loving and serving isn’t the end goal; it’s part of the journey toward building authentic connection and trust. When we love and serve others, we create a bridge—a way to connect hearts and lives.
These are just a few of the things that happens with we love and serve folks, based on deeply listening to them. It’s no longer “us helping them.” It’s neighbors helping neighbors...it's being "with" and "for" one-another. It’s building a community where everyone feels valued and supported. And that? Well, that’s the kind of magic that begins healing and wholeness in a person's life. Read on to see where (and to who) loving and servng has led us in 2024 and where (and to who) we think it's leading us in 2025.
2024.
This past year, Just Love -Greater New Orleans focused on being with and for our neighbors, not by assuming what they needed, but by listening. Listening allowed us to hear the real stories behind the news headlines and led us to take meaningful, tangible steps forward.
We all know that New Orleans is a city like no other. From the soulful rhythm of jazz to the vibrant Mardi Gras celebrations, it radiates culture, resilience, and community. But beneath its colorful exterior, the people of New Orleans face unique mental health challenges that are deeply intertwined with the city’s history, environment, and social fabric. Here are just some of those unique challenges and how they impact the lives of residents.
Natural Disasters: New Orleans has faced its share of natural disasters, with Hurricane Katrina being the most devastating in living memory. While the city has rebuilt much of its infrastructure, the mental scars linger. For many, the trauma of displacement, loss of loved ones, and the stress of rebuilding lives have led to a significant increase in cases of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and depression. Community-based mental health programs and local initiatives have been instrumental in providing spaces for people to process their grief, share their stories, and begin to heal.
Poverty and Inequality: New Orleans is a city of contrasts—cultural richness coexists with economic challenges. High poverty rates and social inequalities create stressors that contribute to mental health struggles, including chronic stress, depression, and substance use disorders. When day-to-day survival is the priority, seeking mental health care can often take a back seat. This reality underscores the need for accessible, affordable mental health resources tailored to the city’s most vulnerable residents.
Substance Use: Like many cities across the country, New Orleans grapples with the intersection of mental health and substance use. The opioid crisis and alcohol dependency are major issues, often tied to untreated mental health conditions like anxiety or PTSD. What’s particularly challenging is the stigma surrounding these issues, which can prevent people from seeking help. Programs that integrate mental health treatment with substance use recovery are vital for breaking this cycle.
Access to Care: Access to mental health care remains a significant hurdle in New Orleans. While there are incredible organizations working to fill the gaps, the city still faces a shortage of mental health professionals, barriers related to cost and insurance coverage, and the stigma that keeps people from reaching out.
The mental health challenges in New Orleans are real, but so is the resolve, the tools, and the organizations that address them. While we were listening to the city, we were able to begin to take small, meaningful steps to love and serve the folks of New Orleans through the National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI). NAMI envisions a world where all people affected by mental illness live healthy, fulfilling lives supported by a community that cares. So, they provide advocacy, education, support and public awareness so that all individuals and families affected by mental illness can build better lives. Here are just a few ways we have partnered with NAMI in 2024 to bring our shared hope into reality.
Mental Health First Aid Training (Adults): Mental Health First Aid teaches us how to identify, understand and respond to signs of mental health and substance use challenges among adults. We learned important information, skills, and tools like identifying common signs and symptoms of mental health challenges, identifying common signs and symptoms of substance use challenges, how to interact with a person in crisis, how to connect a person with help, and a deep-dive on trauma, substance use and self-care.
Mental Health First Aid Training (Youth): Youth Mental Health First Aid teaches you how to identify, understand and respond to signs of mental health and substance use challenges among children and adolescents ages 12-18. We learned important information, skills, and tools like identifying common signs and symptoms of mental health challenges in this age group, including anxiety, depression, eating disorders and attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD), identifying common signs and symptoms of substance use challenges, how to interact with a child or adolescent in crisis, how to connect the youth with help, and a deep-dive on trauma, substance use, self-care and the impact of social media and bullying.
NAMI WALKS: A group of Just Love - Greater New Orleans folks participated with 100's of other New Orleanians in NAMIWalks at beautiful Audubon Park. NAMIWalks was not just any fundraiser, it was the most inspirational, optimistic, meaningful event in town. We DOUBLED our fundraising goal which allows NAMI to continue it’s ongoing free programs, outstanding education and far-reaching advocacy. It was good exercise for not just our bodies, but our minds and our souls. We met so many remarkable people with inspirational stories. It was amazing to come together as a diverse community through our commitment to “Mental Health For All,” and in that moment, know that no one is alone.
Our mission at Just Love is to love our neighbors holistically—body, mind, and soul. And that work starts by tuning in, being present, and responding with care. We are just beginning to listen intently to love and serve compassionately the folks of New Orleans and their mental health, so they may experience further healing and wholeness. There are so many ways YOU can be a part of this wonderful collaboration.
Take the time to look at all the services NAMI offers by visiting HERE.
Take part in NAMI's FREE Mental Health First Aid Training: There are several opportunities throughout the year to take part in this training. Reach out to us to find out when they are and we can get you scheduled.
Invest in the Just Love Movement: Small investments make big differences, so any amount you can invest will allow us to better and more fully serve the folks of New Orleans.
Together, we can continue to bring healing and wholeness to folks experiencing mental illness we love body, mind, and soul.
2025.
In New Orleans, some challenges go unnoticed yet profoundly shape lives. Two of these challenges—mental health and literacy—are more connected than you might think. For many people in New Orleans, low literacy skills and mental health struggles go hand in hand, creating a cycle of difficulty that’s hard to break. Did you know that roughly 26% of adults in New Orleans have low literacy skills? That’s a staggering statistic, especially when you consider the ways literacy can impact mental health.
Stress and Shame: Struggling to read or write often leads to feelings of embarrassment or isolation, which can contribute to anxiety and depression.
Barriers to Care: Many mental health resources, like therapy guides, medication instructions, and even basic health forms, require strong reading skills. Without literacy, navigating the system becomes overwhelming.
Missed Opportunities:Reading isn’t just practical; it’s a source of joy, knowledge, and escape. For someone facing mental health struggles, a good book can provide comfort and inspiration—or even a lifeline.
Now imagine walking through your neighborhood and spotting a Little Free Library—a small, colorful box filled with books, free for anyone to take or leave. These libraries are popping up across New Orleans, and they’re doing more than just sharing books. They’re creating opportunities. and make a big impact in solving mental health and literacy challenges in New Orleans such as:
Access for Everyone: There are several locations in New Orleans known as "book deserts" where access to books is limited or non-existent. A Little Free Libraries provide an invaluable resource in those areas where anyone—regardless of income—can grab a book and dive into a new world. For those with low literacy skills, this might be the first step toward improving their reading.
Reading for Health: Reading has been shown to reduce stress, improve focus, and even alleviate symptoms of depression. For someone struggling with mental health, finding a book that resonates can feel like having a conversation with a kind and understanding friend.
Space to Grow: One of the beauties of a Little Free Library is that there’s no pressure or stigma. You don’t need a library card, and no one is tracking what you take. For someone who feels vulnerable about their literacy level, this anonymity can be empowering.
Reading to Connecting: These libraries often become focal points for neighborhoods, sparking conversations and connections. For people who feel isolated—whether due to mental health struggles or literacy challenges—this sense of community can be transformative.
Little Free Libraries help change lives in New Orleans by the simple act of making books accessible. Imagine a child discovering their love of reading through a donated storybook, or an adult picking up a self-help guide that gives them the tools to seek therapy. That's why in 2025, Just Love - Greater New Orleans, in partnership with several other organizations, will focus on building, stocking, and maintaining Little Free Libraries in key areas of our city. This is how you can join in this amazing opportunity!
Donate Books: Check out your home library and contribute gently used books for us to use in stocking the Free Little Libraries. Contact us to discuss details and arrange pick-up!
Build a Library: Setting up one in your neighborhood is easier than you think, and it can become a beacon of hope for those who need it most. The average Free Little Library costs $300 to build, and we have a goal of launching (10) Free Little Libraries in key areas in New Orleans.
Stock a Library: It's challenging to stock a Free Little Library through book donations alone, especially given that each library is uniquely stocked for the specific needs in the area. For $50, we fill a Free Little Library with (40) books specifically curated to be of maximum benefit for the folks in that neighborhood.
In New Orleans, where challenges like literacy and mental health intersect, solutions don’t have to be complicated to be meaningful. Little Free Libraries may seem small, but they hold the power to inspire, educate, and heal. Together, we can be #4the504, making a difference one story, one connection, and one act of kindness at a time.