When Pete Nerone traveled to Denver, Colorado to visit his nephew, he thought he was just going for a nice family visit. What he did not know was how unaware and uninformed he was about homelessness. His nephew worked several years with the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, he reminded him of himself when he was a Peace Corps volunteer and of the many volunteers he still follows today. His giving spirit was relighted, which started his journey to better educating himself on how he could make a difference.
ESNKY founding board member Sr. Janet Butcher encouraged him to run in a 5k for the shelter a few years ago. He was unable to keep up with Sr. Janet Butcher at the run, but he took his first step in learning about the shelter. So by joining in, he ran the first mile of his metaphorical marathon.
He serves on the board a
s the Interim Treasurer, where he works on building a Finance Committee. He says that there are some wonderful people on the board and the staff which is his favorite part of being on the board. Pete says that everyone has a different way of thinking about and approaching a challenge so they always have many different solutions to their problems. He says that after a year of being around so many innovative people he is able to have a positive perspective about life and finds hope in situations where others see none. His favorite memory of being on the board is when they broke ground for ESNKY’s new facility at 436 W 13th Street in downtown Covington.
With every great light, there are some shadows and he says that he identifies his as his ignorance. He used to believe many of the myths about homelessness, thinking of them as closer to urban legend than in a situation that he could easily find himself in. He sees now that every situation is unique and he plans to never reach a finish line in his journey to learn more because there is always another perspective to consider.
He says that there is no such thing as a typical board meeting, even though they have a good structure and agenda. Even the simplest item can spawn a whirlwind discussion. These discussions have helped him learn more about his community and the difference one bad day often makes. He sees the cracks in the pavement that before he sidestepped and ignored. First, we must acknowledge that they exist and then we begin the hard fight to fix them instead of patching them.
In his free time, he likes to take long walks in the community’s many amazing parks and spending time with his grandchildren.
Emily Broyles
Scripps Howard Communications Intern