Our Community, Our Mission
Our Community, Our Mission
Ep #238 – Changing the Status Quo: A Conversation with Pedro Concepcion
In this episode, we sit down with Pedro Concepcion, CEO of NOTO Arts & Entertainment District, who shares his journey from Chicago to Topeka and his role in transforming the city's cultural landscape through The Burger Stand and beyond. Pedro discusses the importance of collective growth, emphasizing that a thriving city requires a foundation of morals, strategy, and integrity. He delves into the challenges and opportunities of creating attainable housing in the NOTO district, his involvement in the City Innovation Team, and the importance of removing egos to solve complex issues like homelessness. Pedro also talks about the significance of educating oneself and taking action to change the status quo, stressing that leadership is about serving the community and making decisions for the greater good. Tune in to learn more about how NOTO is contributing to Topeka's growth and why it's crucial to build bridges and be part of the conversation.
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Father, you're good to us.
Speaker 2:God, we're just thankful for this time. God, we're thankful for this guest. God, we're thankful for the listeners, god, that they get to learn more about the city that they're in, and even those that aren't in the city get to know about what we do here. God, god, I just pray for transparency and that things would be learned and that we would learn more about you and keep you in our hearts and our minds. It's in Jesus' name we pray, amen.
Speaker 3:Hello everybody, thank you for joining for our Community, our Mission. A podcast of the Topeka Rescue Mission here on Wednesday, september 4th 2024. Mary, it's episode number 238.
Speaker 1:Yes, it is. We're getting close to 250.
Speaker 3:How's that? We're going to have a celebration on that.
Speaker 1:I think we are too. Maybe we could take a day off, kind of thing.
Speaker 3:Nope, we're going to have a podcast that day, oh yeah.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so Marion Crable, deputy Director of Supportive Services here at Topeka Rescue Mission. Good morning, good morning. So we have something important to announce that's coming up here really soon we do. Before we get to that, the Research and Development Department of the Topeka Rescue Mission spent hours and hours and hours coming up with what's really important about this day. Besides, we're having a podcast today.
Speaker 1:I'm pretty sure I need to find other things for them to do. Uh-huh, what do you think? Yeah, you do. Well, I think they need to, yeah, but anyway, this is what they do and they do it really well and they're looking at us right now and you know what I was actually in kind of southeast Kansas little town called Fall River yeah, fall River. There is lots of wildlife out there, weird wildlife Like I saw a weird roadkill like armadillos.
Speaker 3:Weird roadkill.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm not really sure that I thought of Kansas as having armadillos.
Speaker 3:Well, once it's roadkilled, it's hard to tell what it was. Well, no, it was very easy.
Speaker 1:That shell was right there.
Speaker 3:Okay. So I thought you were going to say wildlife is here to pick a rescue mission. So Wildlife Day, not that wildlife.
Speaker 1:No.
Speaker 3:I would never say that Moving along beyond roadkill. It is also known September the 4th is known for what you know everybody loves Eat.
Speaker 2:An extra dessert day, yeah it is, yeah, I'm sure somebody who didn't make it in Weight Watchers Anonymous started that.
Speaker 1:You think so, I do. It could be, or it could be someone potentially like our guest.
Speaker 2:Uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh.
Speaker 1:Uh-huh, right, because that would be beneficial. Yeah, but he's fit.
Speaker 4:I mean Well, not for himself. Well, I wouldn't say fit.
Speaker 1:Not for himself, but definitely for his clients. Right For his clients.
Speaker 3:Definitely, definitely. We'll get into that in a minute. So anyway it's. But you know there's a lot any time during the day, or even sneak to the refrigerator after bedtime to have that last slice of cake, yeah, if there's any left by bedtime right, exactly.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I used to love it when they kept stores open longer, but now it's a pandemic. They close sooner, so you got to plan ahead. Well, that goes along with one more special day that the research and development department came along as National Macadamia nut day. This one's my favorite. This is your favorite. Okay, that was isaiah. He spent a lot of time looking for this one. Why is this your favorite one, isaiah?
Speaker 2:don't you just love macadamia nuts? Well, actually they're pretty good, are they just your favorite? I'm pretty sure macadamia nuts are, uh someone I know his favorite cookie, and so I think that's why I like macadamia.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 3:Just like a macadamia nut cook right that'd be interesting, though just a macadamia nut.
Speaker 2:You need the white chocolate to go with it.
Speaker 1:So we're the macadamia nuts come from. It's the grocery store, right? Yeah, exactly, apparently it's Australia, australia, australia.
Speaker 3:So, yeah, that's why they want to celebrate this day for Australia's hidden gem called the Macadamia Nut. Okay, that sounds very Australian, doesn't it?
Speaker 1:Sure Sure.
Speaker 3:Okay, all right. So let's get on to something that is coming up. That's not today, mary. We have a special night of praise coming up. We do. Let's talk about that.
Speaker 1:It's our second annual night of praise coming up on September the 22nd, and this is a great opportunity to just come together to worship the Lord, to support Topeka Rescue Mission in a couple of ways that we can do that. But we have three bands that are coming, one from Topeka Bible Church, one from Fellowship Bible Church, one from River of Life Family Worship Center. We also have SJ Hazim that will be there doing poetry, which is wonderful. Danielle Norwood is going to be our emcee and then we have John the Iron man Cantrell who is going to be assisting us as well. So it's going to be a wonderful night.
Speaker 1:We get to praise the Lord and we get to just worship together and also there'll be an opportunity to learn more about Topeka Rescue Mission and what some of our needs are, and just to hear a little bit more about the success stories that we have with folks. And they're really not our success stories, they're really the success stories of the people that we serve and what that kind of takes and what that looks like. I think sometimes folks have a perception of who the folks we serve are our unsheltered neighbors, the folks that are in emergency housing with us and I think this just gives them potentially a little bit different perspective, you know, especially when we'll have a family there, that's being highlighted a single mom and kids and I think it just I think it can touch people's hearts in different ways.
Speaker 1:You know this is this is a hot topic right now across the nation and definitely here in Topeka, and I think the more understanding all of us have, the better we can be at working together towards solutions. And that's what it's really all about, right To just have the understanding that we need so that we can work together towards solutions. So we're excited.
Speaker 3:So the date, time and place.
Speaker 1:September, the 22nd, at 6 pm, not at Thanks.
Speaker 3:Josh, that's good.
Speaker 1:At Fellowship Bible Church.
Speaker 3:Fellowship Bible Church. That's great. Well, I went to last year's and I had, for one of the few times, first times to be able to sit in the back and to watch it. It was fantastic. I was up in the balcony there, you know the higher up, and it was just absolutely beautiful. It was. It was a great evening and it's a great way to learn about Topeka Rescue Mission, learn about the issue of homelessness, learn about the Lord and opportunity to contribute. Absolutely, yeah, yes.
Speaker 1:And and that's that's something I should mention, because it we are looking to give people the opportunity to give financially, but also we're asking them to bring food and also baby supplies like diapers and formula and that kind of thing. Food right now is so needed, with prices having risen across the board. For folks folks that used to be able to maybe when they went shopping they'd pick up six extra cans of green beans and bring them to us. With prices doing what they have been doing, that's just not possible anymore, and so people are coming to us for food that we would have not necessarily imagined in the past. People who are working, that are making decisions between going to the grocery store or being able to put gas in their vehicle to continue to get to work, so food is definitely very, very important to us right now in terms of what people can donate.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I think everybody can relate to that. Maybe you can't relate to not having a place to live, being homeless, but you can relate to the grocery store prices, what it's costing you. There's a lot of people, according to national economists, that are borrowing to buy their food on credit cards.
Speaker 1:They're doing it on credit cards.
Speaker 3:Someday that will come to a head and yeah, right now.
Speaker 1:And it shows you how desperate right I mean. It shows you how dire some situations are because they're having to make those kinds of choices. And I think I wish I could just express to people how humbling it is for folks to actually have to come and ask for assistance with food. It's not what they want to do. You know, it's not. You know there's nobody that says, ok, I can't wait to go, stand in line or drive and be in my car in line at the Topeka Rescue Mission so I can get food, or with harvesters or, frankly, any of the pantries. It's not. It's not what people desire. They want to be self-sufficient. But I'm just so thankful we are here for those times when they need us.
Speaker 3:You know it's, it's. It's not something people want to do um ever, but thankfully, the people who are serving them are helping their day to be a better. Beyond this food, if you go there and you see the, the, the kindness, the friendship, the, the no judgment, um, what else can we do for you? Right, that kind of thing. I know that people, when they drive away, have smiles on their faces because they have food foods where it starts, but it's a it's it's relationship too.
Speaker 1:And sometimes it's just good for people to be able to share their stories. You know, and as we think about our team, whether they are people that are employed at TRM or the hundreds of volunteers that help us all of the time, it makes a difference when people just know that you know their name, that you care about their story and that you want to be part of their journey right in a really positive kind of way.
Speaker 1:So I think that's great and that you want to be part of their journey right In a really positive kind of way. So I think that's great. You know, barry, we do have. If people are interested in working with the folks that we work with, whether it's here in the shelters or at the distribution center, we do have positions open. If you'd like to work at TRM, check out our website at trmonlineorg. We have positions in the kitchen, in the men's shelter, in some management positions we're talking about paid positions in this regard, also a need for volunteers.
Speaker 3:Always, always a need for volunteers Takes a team, it does Well. Speaking of team, it takes some great people in our community, and our guest today is one of those great people that we have been so blessed. It could have been a different story. He was born in Mexico, he was raised in Chicago, so how in the world did he end up in Topeka? I want to hear about that. Educated at the Illinois Institute of Art in Chicago, rooted in Topeka now, he's been involved in helping establish what was called the Burger Stand, the Brew Bank, the Pennant, the Norseman T-Box, co-owner of the Wheelbarrow and the Spa here in Topeka, he is the owner of KIT Solutions. Yep, my writing here KIT keeping ideas together. One of his quotes is I believe in changing the status quo, and that's for sure. And so now his most recent assignment here in our community is the CEO of Noto. Welcome, pedro Concepcion Again.
Speaker 4:Thank you for having me, yeah.
Speaker 3:So we're just really surprised you had time to be here today with all of these things going on, Plus I'm sure I've missed a few things here.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I was too honestly yeah no I mean no, I always. I mean you guys are such a partner to Noto. I mean no, I always. I mean you guys are such a partner to Noto. I mean whenever you guys need something, I make sure I come up time to be here you really do.
Speaker 3:Pedro listed a lot of things here. How did you end up in Topeka and why are you still here?
Speaker 4:So I was turning 21 and my friend opened the burger stand and he kind of mentioned you know, you should come to Kansas and sell some burgers with me. You know, I'm like you know what, why not, let's just take a summer out? I've never been to Kansas and all my friends in Chicago were like no, don't go to Kansas, all you're going to see is cows. It's not cool. And I'm like I'm just going to go for a bit. And when I went to Lawrence, all the college kids leave. And when we opened the Burger Stand everybody was afraid that we made the wrong choice. But then in the fall came in and everything started picking up and then we started getting really busy and my friend's like maybe you should stay. And I'm like I don't know, I don't know if I could be in Kansas. And they made me an offer that I couldn't refuse. And then I became partner of the Burger Stand and I just stayed. And then the company grew, it started blowing up and then I came to Topeka and I ended up opening the Topeka here. That was located at Washburn or around Washburn, and I stayed there for a while. So yeah, it was business, it was cooking, it was being young and just trying something new, but I fell in love with Kansas. To be honest, it was just such a nice pace.
Speaker 4:I feel like Chicago is go, go, go. I mean, I had two jobs going to college and it was rough, you know. It was just rough trying to keep up and I kept thinking how my life would be if I stayed. You know, seeing all my friends right now having two or three jobs, you know, owning a six to seven hundred thousand dollar house that it was really small. You know, seeing all my friends right now having two or three jobs, you know, owning a six to seven hundred thousand dollar house that it was really small. You know, kansas is very different compared. You know, and I feel like your money can stretch a lot more here in Kansas, and your impact, I feel like it's I wouldn't say it's more valuable or people really see it. I mean, I think there's a lot that we can do, so I wanted to be part of that.
Speaker 3:So this FastPay Chicago, you just brought it here with everything that you're doing, so it's never really slowed down since that. You have a greater opportunity here, maybe, yeah, yeah. So, pedro, a lot of things you've been involved in. You've been involved in the North Topeka Business District, noto. What does NOTO stand for?
Speaker 1:North.
Speaker 4:North.
Speaker 1:Topeka opportunity North Okay.
Speaker 4:Wow, wait a minute. Wait what that threw me off. Okay, holy cow.
Speaker 1:I know I'm looking it up right now because, oh my goodness.
Speaker 3:We know it's the North Topeka Arts District, right, yeah, I honestly wow, okay, wait, we know Okay.
Speaker 4:We know this is like what we call it. I can't research it right now.
Speaker 3:This is the value of our community.
Speaker 4:I know it was adopted, oh my God, and I literally had a meeting about that because we were looking about a logo.
Speaker 1:It's just North Topeka, isn't?
Speaker 4:it, it's just North.
Speaker 1:Topeka. The N-O is North.
Speaker 3:T-O is Topeka, that makes sense, I mean I. If that isn't it, it is now they call it Noto, and I think it is North Topeka. It's North Topeka.
Speaker 4:And it changed because I guess their sign used to say North Topeka River Crossing as well, I think the sign, so they switched it now it says now Noto Art and Entertainment District. So, it got me off a loop when you said that I'm like wait a minute. I literally just had a meeting about marketing, about how do not rehearse anything here. This is live. If you could have seen both Pedro and I both looked at each other like, oh my gosh.
Speaker 3:So Pedro is the new CEO of this yet to be understood organization.
Speaker 4:And Maryam's on the board of directors.
Speaker 1:I know exactly, I've been on the board longer than he's been the CEO.
Speaker 3:So maybe Google this how long has Not tow been in existence in Topeka Kansas?
Speaker 1:I'll look at that Okay sorry for these questions.
Speaker 3:Well, okay, you know what?
Speaker 1:This is so typical of Barry.
Speaker 3:Well, let me give you a little history lesson. Way back in the old days, 1950s, there was a flood that came through Topeka and it pretty well wiped out the North Topeka region. 1959, top that came through Topeka and it pretty well wiped out the North Topeka region. In 1959, topeka Rescue Mission was established over here.
Speaker 3:It was a great place to put it, while they're looking up the dates here, what it started and pretty well, until NOTO was born, the North Topeka Business District had pretty well gone down. I remember when I was a kid, being from Topeka, it was a hot place to go. South Topeka and North Topeka were both great, but it began to decline over the years. The 51 flood really put it in jeopardy. Then there was a bridge collapse, I think in 1964, with the Mellon Bridge going down. We have a replacement called the Kansas Avenue Bridge. It was built around the North Topeka district, and so there was this idea of taking flooded out buildings kind of warehouses, things that have been let go to be able to turn it into a arts district, and so we don't know exactly when that happened, but it's been about 15 years or less ago that it started with part of what was called the Heartland Vision, and does our research and development department have an answer to this yet?
Speaker 2:I think I do, so I have a couple answers. One thing tells me that it became like the Noto Arts District in like 2010 or so. Yeah, and then another thing says that it was initially founded in 1865. I think we'll do the 2010 thing yeah.
Speaker 3:Right, so 1865,. Yeah, that's going back before any of us were here. Mary, maybe not you, but anyway.
Speaker 1:Hey, josh, reach around, Grab that knife out of my back.
Speaker 3:So anyway, mary and I have this thing, but anyway, Considering that you're older than I.
Speaker 3:I'm older, so but yeah, 2010, birthed out of Heartland Vision, we had a John Hunter, nita Walgast and Barbara Waltman Peters coming down to the rescue mission saying, hey, we have this idea of starting this arts district and does anybody see any problem with it? And I said, yeah, I do. I think it'll be. Probably the rescue mission will be the problem. And they go why? And I said, well, we have homeless folks and this, that and the other thing.
Speaker 3:And, long story short, they just were so embracing of Topeka Rescue Mission and it started out with just a few shops, the arts district, kind of headquarters there, which I think now is maybe the spa, and then where we are today as being on the map, um, nationally, um, rocco Lanzaman, um was the uh director of the national arts something or other years ago. I wasn't really into arts too much but, uh, I got invited to come speak, uh, or hear him speak here in Topeka when it was first getting off, at serendipity at the time. And, uh, and I asked him a question in front of everybody, I said what do you think in relationship to the rescue mission being down the street and the arts district? On the way, he said this is what we should be doing nationally.
Speaker 3:I said what do you mean? He said working together artists, businesses, working with social service, and so that made some national news at the time as well. So here we are. It's a well-established arts district. It's a go-to place. Those buildings that have been renovated. Lots of investment, pedro. You put an investment of your own into this, to say the least, and now you've stepped in to be the new CEO of Noto. Why?
Speaker 4:would you do that Honestly? I fell in love with the area Even a long, long time ago. I remember we opened Noto Burrito in partnership with Jenny Torrance and I remember I stood across the street and I was just looking at it and I saw tumbleweed just going through.
Speaker 4:And I'm like oh, my God, there's no traffic here. But I fell in love with the art and the culture and what Noto meant or at least how she described it and I'm like you know what? Let's just do it, let's figure this out. And it also reminded me of an area in Chicago called Pilsen. It was a rough area but full of art, and now if you go to Pilsen, it's one of the best areas to hang out for food and entertainment and things like that. So I just fell in love with it.
Speaker 4:I fell in love with the uniqueness, you know, the fact that it's eclectic and rustic and not polished you know I just fell in love with it and, like I said, I think it just embraced, you know, everybody and everything, and a little bit of everything was in Noto and it just started growing. I remember I think it was probably like 10 businesses or 11 businesses, but then after years kept going. We just the Noto kept growing and growing, and growing. So I just, I just fell in love with the area, to be honest.
Speaker 3:So what? What does the board do? We have arts studios, we have craft studios, we have businesses, we have restaurants, those kinds of things. What is the board?
Speaker 4:for Well, the board, actually, I mean guides me to making sure I make decisions, you know, that not only are impactful for the organization but, to be completely honest, that are impactful for the neighborhood. You know making sure that we both survive and thrive. You know, I remember my predecessor. I had a conversation with him about how he was doing a great job advocating for the organization, but we didn't need to do more for the businesses because we didn't want the organizations to be in an area where there were no businesses. You know, it would just not be good and I feel like we will regress. You know decisions and making sure that we keep our mission and our vision and making sure that we create, you know, an environment where everybody's included, but also making sure that we work with our neighbors, we work with our city and we try to be transparent and unique in our own purpose on making sure that we grow you know equally.
Speaker 4:I had conversations recently where, you know, I have to take my nodal hat off and I have to make sure that the decisions that I'm thinking about or making, it's not just only good for Noto but for the city itself. You know, if we really want to make an impact for our neighborhood, we need to look, you know, long play. You know how is this going to affect us in 10, 15 years? I kept referring this to my friend recently. I said I'm in a position right now where people want to play checkers but the rules are chess, you know, and it's just. It's not like that, you know. Or sometimes the game is chess but they want to do checker moves. You know you need to understand the difference and need to slow down and figure out what's going to be impactful for the future, not necessarily now, you know.
Speaker 4:So the board I mean we have a lot of talented people in our board that guide us and I think on my interview I said I will be looking for them for advice too, because I'm the first one to say when I'm wrong or when I need something or something that I'm not knowledgeable about, I will make the research. But if there's somebody that has a lot more experience than I do. I make sure I reach out to them or have a conversation or coffee. I hold accountability to my heart. I feel like if we hold ourselves accountable, we can move forward, and that's something that I look for in our board, you know, making sure they're to guide me. So I know it's a long answer, but no, it's good.
Speaker 3:So the North Topeka Arts District, the North Topeka Business District, all of that kind of intermingled there just a little bit. North Topeka has been, by and large, historically for many years looked at second fiddle or stepchild of our community, just kind of putting it out there. A lot of people that have lived over here feel that that's how they're looked at. No-toe had helped change that a lot and I think that there was an intentionality. If we just even look on Topeka Boulevard, going north to Highway 24, the developments that have occurred there, what's happened on out on 24 Highway, the arts district, it used to be pretty much let's go south, let's go Wanamaker, let's go everything out that direction, which there's nothing wrong with that. But oftentimes in communities what has been neglected stays neglected. There was a lot of investment that came back to this. So you coming into this position, looking at the whole community, not just the NOTO community, what does that translate to? What can we be thinking? Why should NOTO be looking, other than its own benefit, its own survival, at the whole community?
Speaker 4:I feel like we all thrive together. You know we need to make sure that we work together as well and be transparent. This month has been nothing but transitioning from my predecessor to me and having tons of meetings about what the future can look like.
Speaker 4:I've had conversations about how some people considered us like the ugly stepchild or we're just people that scream out and stuff like that, but I think it started shifting, I would say about five years ago. Four years ago and I would give credit to Tom Underwood, I think he created the foundation that we needed.
Speaker 4:He set his ground and demanded the slice of the cake, not the crumbs, you know, and it brought people a certain way, but that's what we needed to get started, you know. So I think through that transition we started believing in ourselves. You know Noto and the city, because I feel and this is just could be me I feel like the city and Noto, to an extent, always wanted to be or try to be like Lawrence or Wichita or whatever Kansas city. We never looked inside of us and said we can be unique and we could be our own identity. I was having a conversation with the mayor about how I love, how the fact the city is growing, but I want to make sure that the city grows with morals right, making sure that we grow at a healthy pace, where we understand where we're coming from. We don't have to be Lawrence, we don't have to be Manhattan. We could be our own selves. We're our own code on our own morals and do it right, where everybody can thrive, where every neighborhood you know, gets a little help here and there. So I try to convince you know, my partners and even the board to an extent, and moving forward, that we need to leave this kind of notion about we're the ugly stepchild. You know we have moved up now. We are now more than that and we believe in ourselves. We become an asset, not just for Noda but for the city. So we need to understand who we are, what we are and what we can actually do for our city. If we can understand that and figure that out, I think everything will change and I think we're moving to that path.
Speaker 4:I think we're actually understanding who we are, we're realizing what we could do and also realizing the impact that we create for our city. You know, having a unique neighborhood that is diverse, that is inclusive, that has everything. I mean, let's be completely honest, you have a bank, you know. You can go to Call Valley, you can go to eat, you can have a drink, you can go to an exhibit, you can go to an antique show, you can be at the park. You know you. You can go to an antique show, you can be at the park. You know you can get services at the Mission, like we are a one-stop shop. You know, and I don't think people realize that, I don't think people realize that when you visit Noto, you can do everything. You can literally do everything in three blocks, you know, and it took a long time to get there. But I think now business owners and the community and our city now, I think, realizes that.
Speaker 4:So I just feel that you know we're just we're moving forward and the next step is making sure we create partnerships. Like I told Tom Underwood, you created the foundation, I want to create the bridge Right, I want to create those partnerships and I want to create, you know, those ways of making sure that you know we, we grow, but we grow at a healthy, healthy pace. I don't want to just grow, grow, grow and then it's going to end up hurting us. If we don't do it, if we don't have a strategy, then it's going to hurt us. I think Nodal can grow slowly in making sure that we do the right steps and take the right pace for it. And I think we're heading there. It's going to take next five years or so, but I think we're identifying who we are, what we are and what does Nodal mean for the city, and I think that's also the city's trying to identify that.
Speaker 4:What does Nodal bring to the city? But if we have those conversations and if we're invited to the table, we can answer that easily. But we need to be invited to the table. So that's kind of my job right now Trying to make sure, build a bridge, making sure that if I'm invited to the table, take a seat, be vocal on what I stand and what I believe in and just be honest, honestly with myself. I told Tom Underwood that one thing that I wanted him to know and the staff as well too is that I want to make decisions also that don't put my integrity on the line. I want to make decisions also that you know, don't put my integrity, you know, on the line. I want to make sure that I do decisions that I believe in and that really help out our city. You know, and I told Tom Underwood the same thing, I'm like we need to take a step back and sometimes take our nodal hat out and realize that this decision is probably good for the city, but let's not lose our integrity and who we are.
Speaker 3:That's well said. That's well said. That's well said. You know, from someone who's been in the area for a very long time, I remember when it was tumbleweeds and pretty much a ghost town and except for maybe a Monday, there's a hard, hard time finding a place to park in no tow. Now, because people are in no tow all the time. I come down here, one of our things that we try to do is wheelbarrow on Saturday after everybody's gone. There's no time. Everybody's gone. I mean, I have to park around the corner, isn't that?
Speaker 1:great it is. It's really great that is so great to see that.
Speaker 3:So it's. I don't know more than what I see it looks like. People are, families are here, couples are here, individuals are here, they're enjoying their time. So you kind of got some space issues. Now Do you envision Noto growing sideways, or maybe more?
Speaker 4:Every other way, obviously. I mean, I think we have opportunity right now in Noto to grow housing, you know, to create attainable housing. You know something that people can afford. You know something that it the area and I think we're primed for that. I mean, if you actually look at an air view of Noto, you know have public transportation right in Kansas Avenue right in the middle of what Noto is, you know, and then with the riverfront you can have trails and bike rides to go to downtown.
Speaker 4:I think we are prime for housing, we are prime for growth, but again, we have to make sure we do it right, because if we do grow instantly, that can create gentrification or that can create issues with taxes and things like that. So we have to work with the city of making sure that if we do grow, that we have an opportunity for our business owners and people that own their own houses to make sure they're not pushed out. You know, because at the end of the day, you know, we have to make sure that everybody's protected and making sure that we make the right decisions.
Speaker 4:So I think housing is one of the things that I would like to build, but also attract new businesses. We started getting the redevelopment grants and we're not a business improvement district as well. So now we have, you know, some chips that we can negotiate with people to be like, hey, if you come here, we can help with all of these. So now we want to grow those incentives and making sure we can track bigger businesses because I feel that we need a big business with hundreds of employees on this side of town, you know and making sure that they come down to Noto. But again, I mean not just Noto. We need to think about North Topeka. I mean the fact that corporations are looking into Noto, like Chipotle or Kodoba building in Topeka Boulevard. I mean they do their research.
Speaker 4:You know they understand that this area is. We're getting there. You know we are building, for we're getting more and more and more views from everybody and, if they're invested, you know they believe in North Topeka. So we just have to make sure we keep that momentum and we keep building with them, but making sure also that we stay who we are. Noto is eclectic and rustic, you know, and we need to make sure that we keep that. But yeah, I think Noto right now, like I said, in the next 10 years I feel like there's going to be lots of growth.
Speaker 4:I mean, right now, the word housing is everywhere, you know, you say housing and every organization is like where. You know, I mean, that's the reality. It's just how we build it, who is it for? And making sure we have a plan, making sure that the people that are going to get housing or an apartment, you know, actually benefit from it. How do we keep them there?
Speaker 4:You know, how do we make sure we have continuum care to making sure they actually can afford it? Because you can give somebody a house, this doesn't necessarily mean they're going to keep it or they're going to stay in that house. How do we make sure they stay there for the next 30 years. You know that they can pay their house. But, yeah, there's a lot that goes into it, to be completely honest, and a lot of things that people really don't think about. About organizations like the Mission or, you know, noda, we do a lot that it's behind the scenes. You know we do a lot of things that, to an extent, do not benefit the organization, but we know it's going to make a big impact for the neighborhood.
Speaker 3:I think some people might be very surprised to know of a business manager owner thinking about housing in addition to everything you're doing. Thinking about housing in addition to everything you're doing. Miriam, you just got back from a housing conference here recently and, being the one who is working in the housing re-housing area of Topeka Rescue Mission, you picked up a term attainable housing. That started from this guy over here.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I didn't even know. It's like already out there in the community being chatted about and I'm like, and then lo and behold, it's Pedro.
Speaker 3:So, miriam, housing is very important in your wheelhouse here at the Pico Rescue Mission, which it is to everybody. It's not just sheltering the homeless, it's actually helping people who've been homeless, not to be homeless anymore. You're on the board of NOTO.
Speaker 1:I am.
Speaker 3:You've known Pedro before he became CEO of the organization. You guys picked a pretty good pick here. How does this make you feel? Because it's a person who is looking beyond just a little small piece of the pie of the community. Something much bigger than that.
Speaker 1:So I can tell you we had some incredible candidates interview for this position but at the end of the day, when it came down to it, part of what was so attractive about Pedro beyond just the fact that he was local right so he was here he was invested in the community, being both the Noda community but the larger community those were all very attractive things, but as you listen to him, it should be obvious to everyone why he was our choice.
Speaker 1:Excuse me, he is visionary in terms of the opportunities for that area and not just that area, though. I think one of the things that is so appealing to me about the visions that Pedro has it's really about Noda will be strong because we understand that it is a part of something larger and that we have to be encouraging those areas to be successful as well. So it isn't so exclusive that it silos us right, but rather it makes us part of the whole, and that, to me, is so exciting. So there is like this little bubbling pride inside me as I listened to him talk going wow.
Speaker 1:We really made exactly, and we really made a good choice. And now the board is going to have to keep up right, to not be stuck in what we've always done, but to be able to challenge Pedro appropriately and support him when sometimes we just need to walk in faith that this is going to be a good thing.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I think you guys need to buckle up, get ready for the ride. You know what I bought a new belt and everything or get some tennis shoes to run with him, but we're very fortunate, Barry.
Speaker 1:We're very, very fortunate and excited.
Speaker 3:Exactly this is on so many levels. Pedro, it's great to hear your vision and got a chance to know you over a few years now and to see it's not just talk, it's walk, and it'd be game changer in regards to even how we talk about things we used to say in regards to housing for people who were struggling low income housing that's still a term that's used. Then we said we got to get away from that and call it affordable housing. You've kind of upped the ante and called it obtainable housing and I think we need to start using that language. When we have someone who comes from the business sector, who is interested in and understands the value of obtainable housing, I mean that's a game changer. It is. That's excellent there. That's excellent there.
Speaker 3:Pedro, you were invited in to what's called the City Innovation Team to be on the core team to study the homeless concerns in the community. The city of Topeka employed a consultant, Silver Consulting, Brianna Silver. With Brianna Silver, she then invited into a space I think 15 or so people on a court team, then an auxiliary team, but you were invited into that to study the homeless issue. That eventually was going to turn into some recommendations for our city council to consider about the homeless concerns. So you were invited in there and you said yes to that. Why did you say yes to that? Because I understand there was quite a bit of time that had to be put into that. So, number one, why did you say yes and what was your takeaway from that experience?
Speaker 4:I mean, I was honored that I was asked to join the group or the team. It was just one of those things that I felt like I needed to be involved in order to educate myself and understand what we were actually going through. Because I think that's that's a problem with Topeka, right, we look at something and we just judge it really quick. You know. We're like, oh you know, start making our own ideas of why the problem is and not understanding it.
Speaker 4:So I was guilty of that, you know. I was guilty of, you know, seeing somebody and be like, oh, you know, there's all these other options this individual can do, and I wanted to be, honestly, more educated on it and, as a noto business as well, I wanted to make sure how we can contribute to try and fix the problem, you know. So, yeah, it was one of those things that they asked and I was excited about it and I learned a lot, perry, I learned so much and you know it even challenged my views and I challenged, you know, the city's views and other organizations.
Speaker 4:So why they did things a certain way, you know, and you know, homelessness is not an easy you know an easy problem it's one of those things I think our first session they wrote the word homelessness on the board and I was like that's just, we can't do that. We can't just write the word homelessness on the board and I was like that's just, we can't do that. We can't just write the word homelessness. You know there is so many layers on that word and we don't. You know, we don't try to figure out the symptoms of it. We're never going to cure it, you know. So I started saying you know, homelessness can be anything, you know, and a lot of different variations of it. You have addiction, you have somebody that can't afford something, you have trauma, you have PTSD. There's so many issues of why an individual is homeless and I feel like we needed to understand that. So, after meetings, after the whole process and there was a lot of time- there were some meetings that it was, like, I would say, nine hours long.
Speaker 4:We had to sit there and just, you know, it was all brainstorming and trying to figure it out. It was very insightful. I learned a lot. I learned about you know how long it takes to even identify a problem, not even have a solution, just identifying it, you know, and then learning that problem has so many layers, you know. It's just one of those things that I feel that everybody's trying to solve this problem, not just Topeka. But there's so much we can do. But there's also so little we can do because any of you want to add policy or federal level and all these other things that can sometimes restrain us from doing things. It just becomes harder and harder. So I learned a lot. We try to create recommendations. I think you were.
Speaker 1:I mean you were part of it too.
Speaker 4:So, yeah, it was just very insightful about learning everybody's perspective and just having those kind of like group, you know meetings where everybody was like, why think this? And I'm like, why never thought of that? What about we just do this? You know, I just it was very insightful and, honestly, like it changed my perspective about even what the mission does, what other organization does.
Speaker 4:He has like everybody of like how I feel like everybody's trying, you know, and everybody. I just want to make sure that the people know that it's something that we're just not looking, you know, we're actually trying to figure it out, but we need to understand these are human beings as well. So the decisions that we make are not easy, you know, and we need to make sure we do them with a good conscience, you know, because it could be easy to be like, you know, let's kick them all out or let's put them in a bus and ship them wherever you know. But these are individuals, these are human beings. I mean these are brothers, sisters, mothers, everything that you can imagine, you know, and I had family members that were homeless in Chicago and it just when I went to the camps and stuff like that, it kind of made me feel like you know we have to figure this out, but realistically, this is going to take time.
Speaker 4:This is going to take organizations getting together, you know, creating coalitions where you know we are transparent and we're actually trying to fix the issue right, and removing our egos and that's one thing that I have my staff members right now that I have at the organization. Let's remove our egos and let's make decisions that are good for the problem, not the individual or the organization right? If we usually make a decision that it's good for the problem, then 99.9% of the time we are correct on making that decision. Now, if it's a decision for ourselves or for our organizations, take the time to kind of evaluate that and why we're making that decision, if we're truly trying to make an impact on the problem. So yeah, it was very insightful. I really liked it.
Speaker 4:I actually just saw I met a lot of friends you know, I still see them and Irma was a great person, a great friend, and you know I still see him and Irma was a great person, a great friend, that you know. Congratulations to her. She had a new job too. It's just, it was very insightful. I learned a lot, barry, and, like I said, I think everybody, hopefully everybody can be part of something like that, and I would encourage the city, you know, our residents, everybody, that if they have an opportunity to go to a survey, go to a meeting, you know, educate yourself. You know and understand why we're in this situation and you'll be surprised I mean, you'll be surprised why you know homelessness is an issue and it's not a Topeka issue.
Speaker 4:You know, that's what I want to tell people. It's not a Topeka issue. I mean Chicago, san Diego, everywhere has this issue right now.
Speaker 3:A little town like Holton Kansas, this issue right now It'll sound like Holton Kansas has challenges. Now, lawrence, obviously From kind of just the status quo, the normal course of events, it would seem to stand that you're an invested business owner in the North Topeka area. There's a rescue mission down the street, across the tracks, up against the river. Now you are the new CEO of NOTO. You have an invested interest there to protect it, which is true, and so how do you balance out with the need to steward well, protect what is on your plate here and then also navigate through what could be considered a huge problem for the no-to district with the homeless?
Speaker 4:Yeah, I mean that's a hard question. I would say that I've always seen the mission as an asset to Noto. You know, I think we had this conversation about a lot of people. See, a lot of people think that we think that the mission is an eyesore, you know, and I felt that in reality you guys are an asset. I mean, amanda has worked immensely with us on our group meet to try and figure out how we can help individuals that are in need, and I think the business owners understand that. You know, you guys contribute a lot to Noto as well, you know, and if we remain transparent with one another, we can grow even bigger and better. Right, and making sure that we are united. And I feel like in the last couple of years, I mean, we've been growing. We've had our hiccups to some business owners not understanding or, you know, coming to conclusions that were not real. You know, I feel like we grew a lot. So we're trying to change this narrative right now, where the mission is an asset and making sure that our business owners also say that to other people, because you guys have helped a lot. I mean, amanda has been a great supporter of Noto and we just had a conversation last night of like on our group meet, about you know how we can help each other, how we can talk to the business owners and so on and so on. As a business owner, as an Oro as well, I want to make sure that, obviously, that my businesses, you know, survive. You know, but not just my business, right, making sure that you know my neighbor survives. You know that we have a healthy neighborhood Because, again, if I'm taking my Oro hat off, my business needs to be in an area where you know it's growing and it's healthy and it actually creates partnerships and we know each other and that's another reason why I love Noto. I can honestly say here that I know about everybody in Noto. You know all the business owners, the landlords and things like that, where I can just say hi all the time and wave, it's just a community. It's just a community.
Speaker 4:A lot of people, when I ran for this position, or I ran when I applied for this position, they asked you know, well, wouldn't it be a conflict of interest? You know, you being the CEO and being a business owner, and I said well, you know, I don't see it like that. If anything, I see it that I have more skin in the game than any applicant. You know I will fight for the healthiness and the growth to Nodo, to no end, to be completely honest, not just for the organizations but, yeah, because I did invest there.
Speaker 4:I believed in Nodo in the beginning or not in the beginning, but in the process of growing and I wanted to make sure that it stayed there and I wanted to tell the board and other people that I want to do it right. I want to do it with morals, where we do it right, you know, and that's kind of something that I've been trying to push. But it is hard. It is hard to balance, you know, being a CEO and being a business owner, you know. But if you think about it, I feel like organizations, like nonprofits, are businesses, right. I always felt that in my head. You know, the CEO has his board of directors. You know, just like any organizations, and you have your staff and you have a product and you have to sell your product and making sure you have good margins, make decisions that are going to help the organization, but also be conscious of the decisions that you make are impactful for the neighborhood as well.
Speaker 4:We are a business, right? We need to figure out how do we sell our product, and our product is our experience. We need to sell the experience of that's right, call you about that, because I've been saying that to Tom that we need to sell the experience. We need to understand the experience and making sure that our consumer visualize themselves there. If we can do that then we can really move forward and figure out how we can grow the organizations. Because as we sell the experience, as we grow the neighborhood, we'll have more sponsorship, we'll have more people coming in and looking at us. But we need to scream it out. We need to believe in ourselves and making sure that we are telling people we are here and we're going to move forward. We're not going anywhere. How do we work together? It's better to work together now than to keep competing for the next 10 years and not having any growth. So I feel like that's kind of the way that I've been.
Speaker 4:I looked at this job and making sure that I wanted to transition. I wouldn't say I was tired of restaurants. I love restaurants, but I wanted to do an impact in my neighborhood and, at the end of the day, in the city. I had a conversation with Sean Dixon, I said you know what we are, no longer what people refer to us as the screaming cats. I think at one point that was like a quote or something. So we're not that anymore. We're organized, we are getting to a point that we are knowing our worth. And you know, let's sit down and talk. Let's sit down and talk what that looks like in the next five years. And there's a lot going on. I mean the riverfront, you know. You know downtown building. I guess there's a new, there's going to be new development in housing and all these things.
Speaker 4:So we just need to making sure that the city doesn't forget to include Nodo at the table. I don't think they will.
Speaker 1:I don't think so either. I don't think Pedro will let them, but I think the time is right too, I think, for all of these different things. And in some ways, barry, I think that all of the conversation around people experiencing homelessness has opened up even more kinds of conversation, because that was a very diverse group of people that came together. It wasn't just social services right, it was all these different sectors, and I think that's why I think that's why it was exciting for Pedro and the other people involved, because it wasn't just one perspective. You're listening from all different kinds of perspectives, and that then brings about learning and the opportunity to move forward in a much more effective way than if it was just those of us in the social services sector pounding the table saying listen to us and the people that we serve. They expect us to do that. Right, but now if we have someone like Pedro, who owns businesses, who's the CEO of Noto, saying, look, we all have a responsibility here, it rings different in people's ears, and I think that's what's so beautiful about this.
Speaker 3:I think the quote that I got off the internet about you is you believe in changing the status quo, that I think we all are tempted to suffer from status quo because it's comfort, it's what we know.
Speaker 3:But, pedro, just hearing your vision and what you're thinking about the whole community is not status quo, it is way outside that box.
Speaker 3:And I think that the value of what I understand about you and I hope everybody understands this and really gives you a seat at whatever table that you need to be at is that it's not just talk with you, it's actually action. You have invested, you have taken the small thing and the thing that people were not looking at and didn't really care to look at and make it a really good thing and now I think that a great decision. Miriam, you said there probably was a lot of good candidates, but you guys picked the best that I can imagine to be able to do this, not just for the North Topeka Arts District, but for the whole community and for this issue of people that find themselves without housing and suffering and challenged and some people still want them gone. But if we give people an opportunity to do something different that's proactive and constructive rather than destructive, that we can be a healthier community, to really identify what is our values here, what is our core here as a community.
Speaker 1:And now anybody can ask either Pedro or me what NOTO stands for.
Speaker 4:Yes, right. Yeah, we brushed up on our history now.
Speaker 2:We're solid, we're ready. We'll probably just have the title on this what
Speaker 4:is.
Speaker 3:NOTO. Took us a bit to get there, but we got there. Well, pedro, is there anything else you'd like to share with us today?
Speaker 4:No, Honestly, what I'd say is you know, if people out there are confused or need information about issues, I mean, I would encourage themselves to get educated and you know, join your organizations, go to meetings.
Speaker 4:You know, try and figure out. What is it about the problem that you don't understand. You know and you'll be surprised. You know and I really I mean, I'm a big advocator that you need to understand the problem. And you know, I said it. How can I? I heard this quote I can't remember who said it and I've been standing by it for a long time about.
Speaker 4:You know, if serving is beneath you, then leadership is beyond you. You know and you need to understand that. You know you need to serve. You know in any way that you think serving is. You know, is it by volunteering, is it by going to church, is it by being a good father or, you know, helping a homeless person Like you need to understand that you need to serve. You know, and once you understand that, that you're ready for leadership. But if you're not willing to do any of that, then you know leadership will not be for you. So we need to understand that and we need to be, I'd say, better neighbors, better humans. And you know a lot of issues you know we have in the city, but, you know, hopefully there's people like you guys and other people that I've met that are trying to make a difference, but we need to understand the why and the how.
Speaker 3:Well, I think we've seen some why and we've experienced some how, and I think that we can say the least. If you've listened to this podcast all the way through, I think that you might be encouraged about our community as well. It's a total package here. It's not just this place over here or that place over there or those people. It's about us and to be able to serve and to not just go with the status quo. Pedro, thank you for saying yes to so many things. Thank you for saying yes to being here today. Thank you for sharing your vision, your heart, as, having invested quite a bit of time in the North Topeka area, I'm very, very excited and encouraged by what you're envisioning here and again, not just for the Otoe area but for the whole community. So thank you for being with us. We're going to have you back for more updates, obviously, because things are on the way, miriam. One more time on the night of praise.
Speaker 1:September, the 22nd, 6 pm, fellowship Bible.
Speaker 3:Okay, Hope you can join us there. Thank you for listening to Our Community, Our Mission. A podcast of the Topeka Rescue Mission. If you would like more information about Topeka Rescue Mission, you can go to the website at trmonlineorg. That's trmonlineorg. Thank you for listening to Our Community, Our Mission.