A flawed model for helping
A few years ago, I spent some time in Williston, North Dakota, to witness the social effects of the oil boom on this small town. While I was there, I went to Concordia Lutheran Church and talked with then-pastor Jay Reinke about his Overnighters program. This was an attempt by Reinke—we can’t quite say it was an attempt by the church—to provide a space where people could sleep.
In Williston, I learned that Jesse Moss was working on a documentary about the program. Recently I finally watched that award-winning film, The Overnighters. I have been haunted by it ever since. It is a film about what it means to help other people.
The film opens with the social context. Between 2011 and 2013, thousands of people came to an ill-prepared corner of North Dakota in search of work. There was nowhere for them to stay. The housing the oil industry provided for workers was inadequate. Every RV park and camping spot filled up immediately. People slept in their cars and trucks, anywhere they could park them, in any kind of weather.
