See Beautiful Grant Recipient: Love Beyond Walls

​The feature below is brought to you by Love Beyond Walls, an organization that has received a See Beautiful Grant. For more information about our giving initiatives, please click  here.
To learn more about the featured organization, please visit their website here.

In 2019, Love Beyond Walls launched the Dignity Museum in response to a growing trend in laws and ordinances across the country that create challenges for those without homes in public spaces—fueling mistreatment and fear towards these individuals. Numerous cities, including Los Angeles, Atlanta, San Francisco, New York City, Seattle, Denver, Austin, Miami, Portland, Honolulu, and Las Vegas, have enacted these types of anti-homelessness laws.

These laws encompass restrictions that hinder life-sustaining activities, even when resources are unavailable. They include anti-camping regulations, constraints on sitting or lying on sidewalks, bans on begging or panhandling in specific areas, restrictions on living in vehicles parked on public streets, limitations on distributing food to unhoused people in public, prohibitions on sitting or lying down in designated areas, rules against storing personal belongings on public property, anti-loitering laws targeting homeless populations, and measures prohibiting sitting or lying down in specific public places. These anti-homelessness laws infringe upon the ability of unhoused people to sit, stand, access restrooms, carry belongings, or even find secure places to sleep. This trend has also led to an unfortunate increase in negative perceptions of this population, creating the Not In My Backyard (NIMBY) mentality that we see.

The Museum was created with the aim of humanizing the experience of homelessness and educating people about the other side of this issue, in an effort to build empathy and inspire solutions to help people escape this plight. Housed in a shipping container, it provides an immersive experience that centers the voices and stories of unhoused people, providing a platform to address these issues and emphasize the unique experiences of each person. Love Beyond Walls firmly believes that every person’s story matters and that homelessness itself is not a monolithic experience. Over the past 5 years, Love Beyond Walls has welcomed more than 10,000 guests, each of whom has been challenged, educated, and inspired to become better community members for those without addresses.

One of the most profound outcomes observed is the real-time shift in attitudes and perspectives, a willingness to get closer to the plight through service, and even the generation of ideas to help serve those who find themselves without anywhere to go. When people encounter the personal stories behind homelessness and have a chance to meet those who are suffering, empathy occurs. Proximity sparks empathy and understanding, building a more compassionate community.

As Love Beyond Walls moves forward, the organization is preparing to expand efforts with the Dignity Museum. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a recognition of the critical need to relearn caring, compassion, and empathy for neighbors—especially those without an address.

This led Love Beyond Walls to conceive of The Dignity Center. This center will be a catalyst for innovative ideas and exchanges concerning homelessness, creating an immersive experience that brings the community together with love at the core, inspiring the generation of new ideas that can help people escape homelessness. It will provide education about homelessness, offer insights into its current landscape, and provide training to help create a more equitable world rooted in inclusivity and justice. The center's focus extends beyond immediate solutions, aiming to address the underlying causes and systemic challenges that perpetuate inequality and ongoing distance from this issue.

Love Beyond Walls is honored to have received the See Beautiful Grant, as it aligns with the mission of honoring every person's story and advocating for affirmation of the inherent worth of all people, irrespective of their housing situation. Through education, advocacy, and community engagement, Love Beyond Walls is striving to reshape societal perceptions and policies, ultimately creating a world where no one is invisible.

Submitted by: Dr.  Terence Lester