Radical Inclusion Means Everyone
At the Hotel Cecil and on Skid Row, we’re building a community where no one is turned away—because inclusion isn’t a trend. It’s a calling.
Pride Month is well underway, and everywhere you turn, you’ll see rainbows—flags waving, corporations rebranding, and communities celebrating. That visibility matters. LGBTQ people deserve not only celebration, but safety, dignity, and joy. But inclusion must go further than visibility. It must be lived.
For us, radical inclusion isn’t a seasonal theme or a marketing campaign. It’s the heart of our daily work.
At the Hotel Cecil and on Skid Row, I see what inclusion really demands. It means opening the door without prerequisites. It means offering care and compassion without conditions. We welcome people regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, mental health status, sobriety, or housing situation. Some folks walk through our doors carrying invisible wounds; others carry every belonging they own. All are welcome. All are received with dignity.
Radical inclusion is meant to be just that: radical. Not polite. Not theoretical. Not confined to those we’re comfortable with. It’s not just about saying “you’re welcome here”—it’s about meaning it, backing it up with action, and refusing to participate in the subtle exclusions that still show up in too many spaces, including churches.
Pope Francis reminded us that the Church is for todos, todos, todos—everyone, everyone, everyone. Not just the straight, the sober, the safe. Everyone. We believe that. And we try to live it out daily, even when it’s complicated, even when it costs something.
This is what it means to build a church—and a world—where grace is real, and no one is left outside the gates.