ROANOKE, Va. – “I have seen lives change. I have seen kids come to Christ and families change. I know there is hope. We see in the news — shootings, violence, homelessness, trafficking and all these things. Those are the result of a spiritual battle taking place that we cant see. I have the privilege of serving on the front line helping to make a difference. And there is an army here.”
It is that hope that helped Keith Farmer find his calling to serve inner-city kids in difficult situations throughout the Commonwealth.
“We serve the Lord first, and then we serve those he sends to us,” he said. “When life hurts, we want to be there. And to be there to say we want to help you feel better and get the things you need, but we want to let you know you are traveling a path that is difficult as a Christian, you shouldn’t walk that path alone. Our goal is to see them come to Christ and share the love that is with them now with others.”
He is the founder and director of the nonprofit interdenominational ministry, Straight Street, which was a blessing born on Dec. 3, 1994.
For almost 29 years, it has partnered with school systems, the Department of Social Services, Child Protective Services, the FBI, and law enforcement in human trafficking cases.
Farmer wanted to make a difference, but he realized it was a difference he couldn’t make as a nursing home administrator years ago until he let go and let God.
“We were having difficult situations where kids would be shot and we would be making home visits or visits to the hospital,” he said. “It just broke our hearts. My wife and I were driving one night around in the car praying, ‘What do we do with this?’ If we were going to get Straight Street started, we can’t work a full-time job. I thought, ‘I am going to leave my job and start it Straight Street from nothing and see God work.’”
From serving kids out of this tote from his car, and bringing them to church, to gatherings at the YMCA to their first brick-and-mortar location, it’s been a journey.
“I still have the tub of everything we used to have that would fit in the truck of my ‘85 LTD carry it to the YMCA and unpack this little tote and now we have 20,000 square feet of space,” Farmer said. “As a result of a weekend outreach, to see the needs working with teen moms, the homeless, support groups with guys and girls, chaplain services,” Farmer said. “There are like 13 different programs with Straight Street that the Lord has started.”
The compassion Farmer has with running this ministry didn’t come from nowhere — that compassion comes from his parents.
“I don’t take that for granted because that was something that allowed me to have an amazing foundation” he said emotionally. “They taught me. That is one of the things we don’t see today. When you have shattered families, the kids are being taught to fight for themselves and survive.”
Farmer said that is the reason why he thinks it’s important to keep a relationship with police apparent in their ministry.
“We need to approach officers if they are willing to serve here voluntarily in uniform to work with kids who often don’t view them in a positive light because of the situations they faced,” he said. “They have only seen officers in negative situations because they are doing their job but adversely affecting their family. The need officers to come hang out and for the kids to realize the police are good and not here to cause trouble. They are here to protect.”
On his mission to ensure children in these kinds of situations have the tools and resources needed to re-route to a better path in life, Farmer and his wife did run into financial and location obstacles along the way, but he said because of God and miracles they were blessed with, they are thriving in their current location at 333 Luck Avenue.
He said through the different connections he’s made over the years because of Straight Street, he learned there were angels in the community willing to help serve a bigger picture. For example, their current location was worth over $500,000, but because of the lives changed from the organization, he was given a great deal and that includes during the renovation process.
“I heard God say, ‘I provided the building, and I will continue to work.’ So, literally, this whole building needed hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of plumbing, painting, roofing, furnishing and more. It was remodeled for $99,000. New roof, heating and cools, plumbing electric furnishing, because all the people who knew how to plumb, paint, and all the services because they were gifted with amazing talents to use to bless the kingdom. They blessed Straight Street.”
He said because God handled that end of the deal, he and his volunteers were able to focus on their mission.
“We want to be a resource for kids in crisis or parents who are having a difficult time — to give us a chance to help get to the root of some of the struggles,” Farmer said. “These kids are facing things that are causing them to act out. Acting out is a result of something deeper. Until we go to the root of the problem, they will continue to act out but will find a different way to do it. If we can instill a different code of morality and different level of respect with the kids we are serving now, if it is just one at a time impacting their families and future families, we will see a change take place. I want to see everyone we work with come to Christ. Straight Street is just a blimp in time of eternity. One day we will stand before God — accept him or not. I want to stand before him and he say, ‘Here’s your house,’ not ‘I knew you not.’ That is what we want for every kid here. If we can instill a different code of morality and different levels of respect with the kids we are serving now, if it is just one at a time impacting their families and future families, we will see a change take place.”
And that has been proven true.
“Some of the kids I used to pick up when they were 12 are now sending their teens and are picking their teens up,” he said. “Some kids that were living in some difficult situations and were homeless themselves are now happily married, raising a family and sending them to Straight Street.”
Today, when Farmer reflects back on everything they’ve accomplished, he is beyond humbled by this rewarding experience and hopes his testimony serves as faithful proof.
“God is real,” he said. “He created you for a purpose, to worship, follow and allow him to use you. For your family, your community or someone around the world. We exist because God is real. We want those who do know him and who are having a tough time to know they don’t have to walk that road alone. Someone needs to walk with them, to help them. That is our responsibility.”
If you are interested in volunteering or using the services of Straight Street, reach out to them through social media at Straight Street.