(Josh is in the striped shirt on the left hand side)

Greetings all!  My name is Josh Hollis and I am a 2010 Rockhurst graduate.  This year I am serving as an Amate House volunteer in Chicago, Illinois.  I chose to apply to Amate House because of the program's focus on faith, community, stewardship, service and social justice, and I am currently enjoying living out these tenets during my year of service in Chicago!

I live on the south side of Chicago with eleven other housemates in a former convent.  Each of us serves full time as volunteers at different sites around Chicago.  I have the opportunity to work with the Chicago Legal Clinic at the Chancery Advice Desk.  I am the intake desk manager for the walk-in legal advice desk and am the first point of contact for clients who have legal questions about mortgage foreclosure.  On a typical day, fifty to sixty homeowners will come into our office at the downtown courthouse seeking help so that they can represent themselves in court through the mortgage foreclosure process.  After determining that a client qualifies for our services, I arrange for the client to sit down and meet with an attorney in our office.  It has definitely been challenging learning the foreclosure process and equally challenging trying to explain it to the clients who are often frustrated by the time they find their way to our office.  I am definitely growing in the virtue of patience!

I have really enjoyed living in an intentional community with my eleven housemates.  We live simply in order to be in solidarity with the less fortunate and strive to be good stewards of the resources that we are given.  Living simply has certainly made me more appreciative of the blessings I have been given in my life.  My housemates and I take turns cooking and cleaning and are responsible for the upkeep of our house.  Each night after we all get home from our service sites, we share a community dinner together which allows us to enjoy each other's company and share our experiences from the day.  Living with eleven others certainly has its challenges, but is also very rewarding as someone is always around to talk with or share a laugh.  It is a blessing to be able to share my experience with such a loving community that is committed to making the world a better place for all to live.  I am definitely excited to see how the rest of my time with Amate House unfolds!