Called to the Streets

A Life of Service Begins With Spirit-Filled Human Encounters

Anthony Miranda
July 21, 2026

Over the past three years, I have spent roughly 600 hours participating in service and volunteer opportunities. After I graduate from college, I plan on joining the nonprofit world and fighting for social justice, committing the rest of my life to the pursuit of making a difference in my community. But I wasn’t always this driven. 

Up to my junior year of high school, I had no real ambition in life. My grades were good, but I lacked any real motivation. All I cared about was taking the path of most comfort and least resistance. I was bored and felt like I needed something to push me forward, to do something worthwhile. I found it in service. 

My high school was run by the Jesuits, with an emphasis on giving back to the community and being “men for others.” A large variety of service opportunities were available. Going into my senior year, my goal was to put myself out there as much as I could, in the hopes that somewhere along the way, I would find something meaningful. I promised myself that I would immerse myself in service. That way, I could leave school meeting as much of the community as possible, having done as much good as I could. 

I can say with confidence one program truly changed my life during this time: the St. Benedict Joseph Labre Ministry to the Homeless. We took vans to various parts of Cleveland and brought food, clothes, and supplies to people sleeping on sidewalks. Labre is something truly special. Every person has their own story. 

I met an old man who was abandoned by his parents at 18 years old because he was diagnosed with several mental illnesses. He had spent the past 45 years fending for himself. 

I met another man who was a veteran, traumatized by war. Unable to walk because of an injury, he was homeless and was not receiving his proper benefits from the government. 

I met another man who had been homeless for the past five years. He was constantly catfished by people online who said they would give him a job and home, but who never actually came through. 

The realities of the situations these people must endure, dealing with their trauma while also trying their best to survive the harsh elements, are heartbreaking. But at the same time, these individuals are more than their situations. 

I met a man who is an amazing guitar player, who performed a whole concert of songs for us that he hoped to one day turn into an album to release on Spotify. 

I met another man who used to be a professional break dancer, and who still likes to show off his moves. 

I met a woman who loves to paint and draw and, despite a lack of paper, would show off her artwork by drawing it on her body like she was a professional tattoo artist. 

These are people with their own dreams, talents, and ambitions, and all of us could learn from their joy despite their circumstances. I now want to pursue a career in working with unhoused people, so that all can be remembered for our unique dignity, not our status in life. 

I’ve found having a passion for a particular issue motivates a person to learn more about how to help. It prevents us from feeling hopeless and crushed by the sense that our efforts aren’t creating change –- or that the situation is only getting worse. 

So many issues demand the commitment of young people to strive for justice in the coming decades: health and education inequity, immigration, and incarceration, to name just a few.  It’s important that we find an issue that speaks to us and then work towards learning, ultimately striving for a lifetime in pursuit of justice.

Anthony Miranda is a student at John Carroll University in Cleveland and a Sr. Carol Coston, OP Fellow in NETWORK’s Young Advocates Leadership Lab (Y.A.L.L.).