June 19th, 1865.
Two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed, Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas and told the last enslaved people in the country they were free.
That day became known as Juneteenth—a blending of “June” and “nineteenth.” It’s also called Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, Emancipation Day. It marked the end of something unbearable, and the beginning of something long hoped for.
Still today, Juneteenth feels like a deep breath. A pause to remember how far we’ve come.
At Grandma’s House of Hope, we believe in freedom, too. Not just the kind written into law—but the kind that fills your lungs when you finally feel safe.
Our participants come to us weighed down by the things life has stolen from them: Safety. Shelter. Dignity. Peace.
Here, they begin to rediscover those things.
Freedom from homelessness.
Freedom from trauma.
Freedom from the fear of being forgotten.
Everyone's version of freedom looks a little different. For one woman, it was sleeping through the night without fear. For another, it was having her own key to a front door.
There are still shadows. But also, there is sunlight.
Today, as we remember Juneteenth, we invite you to reflect too:
What does freedom mean to you? And how might you help someone else find theirs?
