It’s Wednesday night, and a woman is standing in a dark coffee shop receiving a revelation from God. Her eyes are closed and the words coming out of her mouth are full of fire as she describes her spiritual conviction. Her name is Lijuana Freeman, and she has come to an open poetry reading at Coffee Perk in downtown Walla Walla to share a piece of herself with a crowd of strangers.

“I like these kinds of venues,” she said. “Everyone can come as they are and share in their own way.”

This philosophy of inclusion has drawn a diverse crowd of people to the weekly poetry readings, which are put on by Humanists for Equality. H4E is a nonprofit founded by Walla Walla residents Jade Fenton and Clinton Sweeney to address a wide variety of social issues.

“It started with the idea that Walla Walla needs a music venue,” said Fenton. “We just ended up coupling that with other things that we cared about.”

Along with the weekly readings at Coffee Perk, H4E has been providing free hot meals to the public every other Wednesday at 4 p.m. in Heritage Square Park. Fenton says the purpose of these events is both to provide a community gathering space as well as meals for those who might not otherwise be able to eat.

“We really believe that people should have access to food without strings attached,” she said. “They shouldn’t have to listen to prayers or a particular speech just to get a meal.”

Ultimately H4E aims to get a community center started in Walla Walla, to provide a place for youth to hang out and hold events, without any political or religious agenda.

“People are a little blown away at first that we don’t have ulterior motives,” said Fenton. “They’re like, ‘What church are you from?'”

Whitman senior Josi Kerr is H4E’s treasurer. She heard about the organization from Fenton, who works with her at the Safeway on Rose Street.

“It seemed like a really good idea,” Kerr said.

Kerr lives in an off-campus apartment with her husband and works up to twenty-five hours a week in addition to a full class schedule, facts which set her apart from most Whitman students. She feels that many Whitman students are disconnected from the realities of life in Walla Walla.

“I think the Whitman bubble is about being oblivious to what’s going on outside,” she said. “It’s great that Whitman students have such a sense of community, but it’s not the real world.”

Kerr hopes to play a mentoring role in H4E’s future community center. Coming from a lower-income background, she wants to show local students that college is a possibility.

“I think it’s important for kids to know their opportunities,” she said. “College isn’t for everybody, but there’s something better than what these kids are given.”

H4E’s Youth Committee leader, Sandra Marim, agreed that Walla Walla’s youth often face a lack of options.

“There’s a lot of teens that I know who are sleeping on park benches,” she said. Marim attends Walla Walla High School, but focuses her outreach efforts on Lincoln High School, which is an alternative high school program. She believes H4E is able to provide resources for young people in a way that the city can’t.

“I’ve been out on the streets,” she said. “I don’t want to get caught by the police, taken to juvie and have my mom blamed for it.”

While they work on getting a location for a community center, H4E will continue to hold events for anyone interested in making a connection with other people.

“This is a forum where anybody can spit who they are and what makes the world go ’round,” said Sweeney at the poetry reading last Wednesday. True to this mission, the poems shared ranged from homemade elegies to pieces by Pablo Neruda, and everything in between.

Kerr believes this type of connection is important.

“Get to know the people you’re living with for four years,” she said. “A lot of Whitman students don’t.”