Illuminators
In October 2024, First United Methodist Church in Boulder, hired two people: “Illuminators,” who live on the street. They are Travis and Nesti. The work of the illuminators is to identify the gifts, talents, dreams and passions of people who live on the street.
Jaime works with them as the “Animare." (The Latin verb animare means "to give life to.") His job is to animate those gifts by connecting them with social capital, and inviting people to parties where they can fall in love with one another, and encouraging them in who they are, and going with them along the way even as roadblocks arise in the living out of those gifts.
An article about our Illuminators from Weave: The Social Fabric Project.
The first person we hired is Travis Hale-Kesler. We asked Travis to find a colleague that he wanted to work with and he chose Nestoria (Nesti) Castillo due to her experience being unhoused and the morals she espoused that prepared her for the job at hand.
Hear Their Stories
Some experiences are good, others are not.
“A Stabbing”
by Jaime Encinas, 2/19/25
Travis
Illuminator
Nesti
Illuminator
Jaime Encinas
Animare
Chris
Friend