Our Community, Our Mission
Our Community, Our Mission
Ep #253 – Warming Centers, Housing Navigators, and the Power of Community
In this episode, we delve into the incredible efforts of the Topeka Rescue Mission and its dedicated community partners to protect the unsheltered population during extreme weather. From the meticulous planning and outreach involved in preparing warming centers to the vital collaborations with community organizations, we highlight the critical strategies that foster resilience and ensure safety for our neighbors in need.
We also introduce Crystal Guerrero, a TRM Housing Navigator whose inspiring journey—from being a TRM guest over a decade ago to becoming an advocate and mentor—illustrates the power of determination and community support. Once struggling with addiction and homelessness, Crystal now works tirelessly to help others overcome barriers like past debts and legal issues, secure stable housing, and rebuild their lives. Her story is a testament to the value of peer support and the strength that comes from shared experiences.
This episode goes beyond a call to action—it’s an invitation to join a united effort to uplift our neighbors and create long-term solutions. Tune in for an inspiring conversation about perseverance, trust, and the collective responsibility of fostering hope and change within our community.
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Gracious Father in heaven, we just come humbly before you and thank you, lord, for this time.
Speaker 2:Lord, thank you for this new year and God just thank you, as always, for our listeners. God, pray, your blessing over them, blessings over this conversation, and Lord, we just invite your spirit here. Lord, in your holy name, we pray, amen.
Speaker 3:Hello everybody, thank you for listening to Our Community, our Mission, a podcast of the Topeka Rescue Mission. I'm your host, barry Feeker, here on Wednesday January 22nd 2025, podcast episode number 253. I have Amanda Broyles, executive Director, marion Crable, deputy Director, here. Good morning.
Speaker 1:Good morning.
Speaker 3:It's been a bit since we've had a podcast.
Speaker 1:Where have you been?
Speaker 3:I've been looking for you guys and you're saving people.
Speaker 1:Well, you know, you know it's been a little cold. It's been a bit cold, yeah.
Speaker 3:So for avid listeners to our community, our mission, we're sorry this is our first podcast of the new year. Yeah, because there has been so many crisis interventions that have been going on Right, lamanda. Just a few, just a few. So a little update. Topeka Rescue Mission is full, beyond full. Warming centers were established. Big snow was coming in, going to get wet, going to get cold. Talk a little bit about that and kind of where we are at this time.
Speaker 2:Sure. So you know, anytime that there is kind of this change in forecast where it's anticipated that we're going to have precipitation, we're going to have horrible wind chills, dropping temperatures, those kinds of things, I and the team we start tracking it, we start watching it, and so this last one we were watching about seven to nine days out, but we also live in Kansas and we know things can change the morning of. And so just kind of looking at, hey, is this going to be what they say it is? Because, if so, we could potentially get one to two feet of snow. The wind chills are going to be bad, those kinds of things.
Speaker 2:And so, as it approached, we began realizing yep, it's going to hit. And so we collaborate with the National Weather Service, we start getting city personnel involved in the conversations, started doing all of that New Year's Day just because it really looked like it's going to head this way. What people don't know is preparation starts going in on this months in advance, and so we just did our first one ever in December of 2022. And so we're not experts, but we are risk takers on behalf of others and we took the risk and learned from it. It went well the first year. We needed to do it again in January of 24 and made some revisions based on that previous time and kept some things the same that worked well. And so then last year we started meeting internally towards the end of the summer, starting to revamp our manual, taking in effect feedback that we had received from the community. All of those things had our first external meeting in October or November.
Speaker 3:When you say external meeting, meaning what?
Speaker 2:Inviting people from the community that said, hey, we want to be at this table, we want to be partners. Let us know what you need from us Adding new personnel or new partners and saying, hey, you haven't done these before, but we'll help you. Thank you for saying yes, and we'll help with whatever we need. And so this time, because we had so much of that kind of done ahead of time, we were able to launch on that Saturday I believe it was the 4th, but even then outreaches and stuff start usually 48 hours prior to that because we've got this information piece. And so my outreach teams were out with forecasts, going into encampments all over the county and inside the city telling people this is coming, we're going to have a warming center option for you. We actually have three options center option for you we actually have three options explaining all of that.
Speaker 3:What's the?
Speaker 2:importance of that. There's a couple of reasons that that's important. One is just anything that we can do when the elements are going to be extreme. Anytime, we can be preventative and proactive and informative. It's helpful right To start getting them prepared, because some is knowledge is key.
Speaker 2:Some have no clue, they don't have any type of technology, they don't know what's coming. Another piece to this is there are many of them whether it is due to being in the midst of trauma other elements, things like that not in the right state of mind, midst of trauma, other elements, things like that not in the right state of mind. Some of them, when things are out of sight, out of mind, they can't truly wrap their brains around it, and so if we can start talking with them and then do it again the next day and the next day we see that people then really start making connections. That also gives them time to prepare to leave, and I know this is a controversial topic, but I will continue to address it.
Speaker 2:What one sees as trash and junk and clutter to our unsheltered neighbors, whom we advocate for, that is their belongings. Many of that is scraps that they're trying to sell. Many of that is actually very functional that we may not know, because we've not had to live like that. But people start then making a decision Am I leaving everything that I have to go seek refuge, or do I make the decision to stay and try to basically hope for the best? And so those conversations People are actually leaving everything that they know.
Speaker 2:Everything that they know.
Speaker 3:And so you're reaching out 48 hours, 72 hours, ahead of time. Isn't the first time that you have contact with people who are unsheltered? Your teams are out there every week multiple times, developing a relationship with people so that, in a situation like this, that it's life and death that people don't always understand, there is a relationship that's already been developed.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 3:So that when you say, hey, you probably need to leave and we can bring you to a place of safety, there's a bit of trust there. It's hard, but makes it a little bit easier for them to leave everything they know.
Speaker 2:It does. And even then some people are like, make sure you come back and get me, I'll be the first one to go. And then we have some people that trust us. They know what we're saying is true, they feel safe around us, but they're still torn, and I try to personalize that for us. Look at our friends out in California. My heart breaks for them.
Speaker 2:We could name a lot of cities right now that are experiencing things that one they've never experienced as far as natural disasters, or two. They've experienced them, but not of this magnitude. And so I say and I've said this a lot the past probably 30 to 45 days when I hear people say well, why are you and your team risking it, especially if you're telling them a second time or a third time once the storm has started and everything. And I tell people, what would you be doing right now if someone said you have 24 hours to leave your home? And then we tell them, and you can only bring one bag Right.
Speaker 2:And so I don't say all of that to be dramatic or mushy, but there is so much more to this than just being like, oh, they're not choosing to come in. It's a reality. It's a reality that they are facing and that they are trying to make the best decisions based on what they can, and so all of that starts happening. We're coordinating it and I think it's important to say with nothing here stopping. So food distribution is still happening.
Speaker 3:Nothing here to be a rescue mission saying, okay, we're going to put all that on pause.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 3:The 250 to 300 people that you're sheltering, plus all the meals, plus all the people in the community. They're able to get out to drive by to get food, yes, and everything else.
Speaker 2:And our shelters are housing the guests that are here right, which is 260 plus, but the other side of it is something long before my time.
Speaker 2:You might even have the exact date, I'm sure I just can't remember my time you might even have the exact date we enacted these, what used to be called cold weather rules, weather related lifts, and so we've changed the language of it. Some but anything that hits when the temperatures hit 40 degrees, then we lift some of the restrictions. People can begin coming in at 11 PM. They can. They can stay all night, and then they have to leave in the morning. Then, if it hits 32, and that's in addition to our guests, so our shelter staff are navigating the safety and the logistics of all of that, and then we welcome unsheltered neighbors in if it drops to 40. Then if it hits 32 degrees, there's another realm of a variety of options, right? So then we're allowing people during the day. You can come in and warm up every 15 minutes, we're going to give you hot cocoa, we're going to give you coffee, we're going to give you hand warmers, all of these things all while we're encouraging. Please come register.
Speaker 3:Come with us. That makes them a guest. That's a registered guest versus somebody who's just dropping in because of weather, who really doesn't necessarily want to be a guest. Correct, they don't want to take advantage of programs and those things. But you're saying, okay, we're not just here for people who register. If the weather's bad enough, we're going to allow some other people to come in. Right, if you have space.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 3:And that's an issue.
Speaker 2:Because of variances and everything else In addition to that. Then when it hits 20, we allow people to stay all day during the day. So we have at any time when the temperatures drop to 40,. You can look at it as TRM is operating as an emergency shelter for 260 plus individuals, but we are also acting as a mini warming center for as many people as we can truly safely provide. And within variances and all of that and there's challenges with that because we still have to keep conduct safe we still cannot allow any type of substance abuse to occur in our shelters where people are healing and rehabilitating.
Speaker 2:So I can't function the in the buildings, trm cold weather lifts and stuff. I can't function them as a true low barrier warming center. But then we also try to do above and beyond because we recognize cold temperatures and the issues with that. And so then when we start seeing all of this is brewing, we are communicating those cold weather lifts for the shelter side. We're also communicating. But we're also going to have incredible warming centers opening up because this is going to be a blizzard. Or two years ago this was going to be a blizzard, or two years ago this was going to be a polar vortex, those kinds of languages to explain. And, because of our incredible community volunteers and partners, you're going to have an option that's outside the shelter parameters, which then allows us to have help with pets. Thanks to Street Dog Coalition, it allows us to help people that are truly in the midst of addiction struggles, maybe alcoholism, complexities of mental illness those kinds of things that we can't do primarily because our primary goal is the guest, and so all of this is being juggled and navigated.
Speaker 2:I call it organized chaos. And then, finally, it is communication with the partners to say, hey, we're ready to go, and so that Saturday morning we were briefing by 8 am and I think we had about 14 people in there hearing about. The city is divided up north, south, east and west. Here are the names that we're trying to reach. It's prioritized based on physical ailments, mental illness, complexities, all of those things, so that we know what we're going into. And then we do that for three hours, see how much we can get done, come back and debrief and the people who either weren't ready yet or the people that we didn't make contact with, they weren't home in their tents or encampments we do what's called a second sweep and our teams go out and do it a second time. And then I and Iron man John Cantrell did a third one at midnight in some areas that I had not been able to all day see the people and I just could not turn my brain off. And that's how the warming centers begin and the proactive parts to them.
Speaker 3:How many warming centers did you have in the community? Topeka Rescue Mission had its own internally at the Children's Palace.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 3:Plus Full House and the shelters. Right, but there were other warming centers that were networked together, as you'd mentioned. Some people will go one place, some people with pets. I think they came to the rescue mission.
Speaker 1:Yes, and then?
Speaker 3:street dogs stepped in to board their pets, and so it was quite a system. How many different locations were there?
Speaker 2:So Fellowship Highcrest this was their second year to partner with us and so they opened up. When we did High Crest this was their second year to partner with us and so they opened up. When we did, we had let's Help open up for a couple of days. We were so thankful for them to say yes and operated when they did. We had True Vine Church. They opened with us last year. We were thankful for that. They did as well this year and we also have kind of a coordination with Central Park Christian Church. They really are a part of us Right and we're thankful for all they do. But they do a lot of neighborhood outreach.
Speaker 3:With their own neighbors.
Speaker 2:Yes, 365 days a year. So I still try to include them when I give thanks and gratitude for what they do, but I mean them with Mary Flynn and Rick Fleming, like they do stuff all the time as a church body for unsheltered neighbors, and so they were running theirs as well.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so all that sounds complicated, but it's more complicated than it even sounds, and one of the challenges is that most of this is run with volunteers.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 3:And so you have to have a robust volunteer system with TRM, the United Way, coordinating all of that. And then at least one or two of the shelters had a little challenge getting enough volunteers, so they couldn't continue on, because you can't just open up a building and expect everything to be okay, and so some people in the community think all you need to do is have some of these vacant houses and let people come in and they're going to be fine, and it's just a little bit more challenging than that, to say the least. And so there has to be a good system so everybody is safe and taken care of. And if there's a medical emergency. I know the first Saturday you opened up.
Speaker 3:I came down that morning and there was an ambulance here already at Topeka Rescue Mission the first 30 minutes. First 30 minutes, the guy who'd come off the streets. It was extremely cold. We didn't have really even the snow yet. It was coming Right. But that's the challenges and realities. You have to have people who have some form of training and people overseeing that, and I just want to say I think that you and the team and everybody that centered around this just amazing job, amazing job, and I just hope people know that Um and and uh, but it's the 22nd of January, it's still cold and we don't know what's ahead.
Speaker 2:Right and I think that's what's a challenge right now is navigating. Um, there are lots of powerful opinions out there, um, about how I haven't opened another warming center. We saw Amanda all over the news and now she hasn't been when it's cold. And why did the rescue mission do this two weeks ago and they're not doing it now? And so that's always a challenge for me as the ED to navigate.
Speaker 2:I can't respond to every positive or negative opinion, right, just capacity things and such.
Speaker 2:But I do think that there is not the proper education out there and I will own that if I haven't communicated that well or if we need to, I definitely will.
Speaker 2:But when we enact community wide warming centers, when I take the lead of of that and TRM is saying we're opening and we've got incredible partners that follow suit, that really is for a combination of extremes, a combination of extreme temps, extreme wind chills, extreme precipitation, challenges that prevent my outreach teams from being able to be out. When I know I get nervous when I know I can't get trucks or UTVs or even walking on foot in some of the areas. That's also a factor, and so, yes, it is so important that no one has to be on the streets of Topeka or in Shawnee County and be cold, and I agree with that. Topeka or in Shawnee County and be cold, and I agree with that. The other side of it is the Topeka Rescue Mission cannot continue to do these huge operations every time it's cold or every time it's hot, every time it snows, every time it rains, any time that could be harmful to our neighbors.
Speaker 3:And so Because they're already doing big operations all the time and you compromise those when you stop and do this other.
Speaker 2:Correct. And just in five days, barry, that was 220 hours of overtime for my staff. We said that's equivalent of how many full time? Five and a half, and that's just our hourly staff. That does not include myself, any of my deputies or the people that said I'm just going to be here to volunteer, don't pay me.
Speaker 2:Um, and so I know for a fact there was one night where three of us had worked 20 out of the 24 hours physically here, and so there's no telling how many hours. And that's not including all the every night when anybody is hot or cold, I worry about dehydration and such in both elements, all of this stuff. But the other side of it is I feel very strongly that the Lord is moving and moving and using TRM as a tool and a resource to show what can be done and the why right, why we should care. But that doesn't mean it's the sole responsibility for TRM to meet the need of every person struggling in the city or county. And so I'm thankful that in the last couple of days Central Park Christian Church went ahead and opened a warming center.
Speaker 2:I couldn't, based on the parameters of what we have and the fact that I'm at 300 almost in the shelters.
Speaker 2:But just because TRM has parameters and we function under that, we are not limiting anyone else in the city or county from doing what they're called to do. And if every church did something, if every business or organization did something, even if it's not a warming center, even if it's just you know what, I want to provide a box of hand warmers and I'm going to send them to Central Park Christian Church because I know they're doing a warming center. That would be that business or that organization's yes, their part. And so it's been rough. I mean, there's a lot of negative talk that has gotten traction, and so I will continue to navigate, trying to explain and to educate. I will also own anything that could be done better, but I'm also standing very firm that the Lord is loving and fighting for his people and that he is calling more than just the Topeka Rescue Mission to have that mission and to care for people who are broken. And our city needs to respond.
Speaker 3:Well, that's well said, and and LaManda, lamanda I think that we all recognize, when somebody steps up to the plate to do something well and you have in the team of rescue mission and all the other agencies that were participating in this, did it well there is this mandated expectation you're going to do it well every single time, even when you're really not equipped to do it all the time. And so the question is whose responsibility is this? Whose responsibility is it to protect the citizens, regardless if they live in a house or they don't live in a house, from harm's way? And I think that, if we stop and think about that, it's not the Topeka Rescue Mission's responsibility. Topeka Rescue Mission has been willing to do what it can, as well as let's Help, as well as Scent, as well as Central Park, the other folks that stepped up to the plate on this. All the volunteers do what they can, but there's some entities out here in this community of Topeka, kansas, that aren't doing what they should be doing. And so I think that, without going there in depth, those of you who are listening and would like to help educate, who is responsible for our neighbors out here, who is responsible for the people who are ill, who may be having a medical emergency or may be freeze to death in our community, topeka Rescue Mission. Some churches and other nonprofits have said we're going to help, but it's really not the responsibility of TRM. So if you're on TV and saying, hey, we're doing this, this and this, thank God that you are and that people are recognizing and supporting it.
Speaker 3:But unless it becomes the 24-7, 365 days a year to be a warming center or a cooling center, topeka Rescue Mission, which has not been identified at this point, whose responsibility is it? And so those are conversations we're going to have to have going forward, and at the same time I'm going to throw it out here because I'm not your executive director anymore, I'm your host of this podcast we have decisions that have been made at the level of our governing body, leaders in our community to go ahead and close homeless camps with nowhere people to go, and that is being discussed this week. It's being discussed again next week to do more of that. And so, if you're listening to this and if this offends you, I'm very sorry, but whose responsibility is it to take care of our citizens, regardless if they live in a mansion or they live in a tent, or do you even have one of those to be able to take care of others?
Speaker 3:I mean, that is where the rubber meets the road, and so I think that more education, yes, is important, but more people who are starting to think rather than respond to what these issues are, I think, is going to be where we're going to be known as a community that really cares, or a community that has a few people that care and miss the boat. So, amanda, thank you for being transparent on this. I know there's a lot more. Is there anything else? I want to go into housing here in a second, but is there anything else you'd like to say around this issue?
Speaker 2:not everything with the rescue mission, not everything is feel good stories that I can put out there. Sometimes there are, and that's great, you know, and the warming center, we had one gentleman who it was? I don't even know what time it was, but we pulled up, picked him up. We pulled up, picked him up, got his dogs registered and he was so excited because he was close to his final round of being hired on at a local plant and he was really worried that this storm was going to prevent him from being able to walk on foot and get to this final round of interviews and all of that. And so we picked him up. We said, well, will you come with us? Yes, and we're so thankful, I'm so thankful that you're doing this and brought him back. And he worked TRM's warming center every day and because of generosity of donors, we got him a pair of new boots. Because of generosity of donors, we got him a pair of new boots because he was out shoveling parts of our warming center and socks and slippers and I don't know how long. He did that while I was out on the UTV and we were doing transports and rescues. I came back in and saw that and I said why are you helping me in socks and slippers? And he looked at me and he said why would I not with how you're helping me? And so I hugged him. But I did wrestle him some and told him I was about to, he was about to get grounded and he laughed. So we got him some boots and all of that.
Speaker 2:He went either the first or second night of the warming center and went back to the second interview and got his job. And so then he I came in one night and he said am I going to be able to be excused Because I start? And I said of course we're going to excuse you for being able to work, of course we're going to excuse you for being able to work. He's then been in contact with me and asked if I would write a letter to show what all he volunteered with, which then helps with the house arrest. He's under all of this stuff. There's beautiful stories like that, but unless something changes, I'm never going to put that in a newsletter. I'm not going to just ask him to go and exploit everything Now in his timing, when he's ready to share his testimony. I would love to, but we have those moments right and they matter. And so he got back on his feet. He had a place. What would have happened if he was a no show because of the storm, all of these things?
Speaker 2:But, barry, as the ED, I also have to see the person that is sitting in a corner rocking, not sure of her name, defecating on herself the fact that she wasn't alone, the fact that she was warm, and the fact that I saw two volunteers with no training talk to this woman about the importance of getting in a shower, and I'm pretty sure it took all day. I cannot define that any less successful as I do someone that utilizes a warming center to get a job. Successful as I do someone that utilizes a warming center to get a job. In that moment, there is an individual that is a citizen of our community who gosh knows how many people probably drive by her and look at her and discard her every day, and for four days she was in this place, loved and respected, given her space.
Speaker 2:I'm not sure if that's going to change the trajectory, I don't know, but from my viewpoint and I will continue to represent this for TRM's mission that person is Imago Dei, made in God's image. Is Imago Dei made in God's image and for the fact that she was able to sit here and not really have a conversation with anyone. When we look at the mission of our warming centers, that is just as beautiful and successful as someone entering back into the workforce. And so our guest today on here, I think, is beautiful for so many reasons, and it's incredible to see the work she does every day to help people take the next step. But what makes her even more beautiful is there was once a time in her life where she needed someone to help her get to the next steps, and so I'll probably just cry during this whole podcast.
Speaker 3:That's a good segue and, amanda, thank you for sharing, helping people to get a little inside picture that maybe didn't in regards to what's been going on so far this year. Here we are again. We're past the midpoint of January. No, you can't say anymore.
Speaker 2:No, I have to tell you one thing. Someone just said hey, how are the first three weeks of 2025 going? I literally crossed my eyes and I said I think it's been three years and three weeks, right.
Speaker 3:Absolutely. Yeah, it's been an avalanche. And so, before we get to our guest, miriam, sometimes things that are really good are birthed out of problems. We've got plenty of opportunity to have for really good things. Good are birthed out of problems. We've got plenty of opportunity to have really good things right, and so one of those things was COVID, and when we, before Amanda's time here, we saw a lot of needs to make Topeka Rescue Mission smaller because of social distancing, and this meant we had to scramble for what are some different things we can create. Map was created out of that as being a good thing today, but one of the things that Topeka Rescue Mission wasn't doing a lot of was rehousing, and so we were contacted by the city that said we have some of these federal dollars we would like to give it to Topeka Rescue Mission to be able to rehouse people, and the immediate reaction was no, thank you, and so that was my-.
Speaker 1:That was your reaction.
Speaker 3:That was my no thank you, because it was government dollars. We didn't do that, and so the folks at the city said, well, we're not going to give it to anybody else but you, and if you don't take it, we're sending it back to Washington DC. Well, that didn't sound good, and so we kind of pondered over that a little bit and looked at the legalities of it and this, that and the other thing, and so we went ahead and partnered with Federal Lawyers first time in TRM's history to be able to say, okay, we'll develop a system here. And so, miriam, you got a chance to be really the developer of that system and bring different people in for some rehousing and being able to pass through these dollars to be able to get people housed. Some of those monies ran out, and so then TRM had to go out and raise funds, because it's a really good program to be able to help people to get to that next place. So, mariam, here we are today. We're in 2025. Pandemic was five years ago.
Speaker 1:I know, isn't that a weird thought?
Speaker 3:It is a weird thought and there's been a lot of people helped through this program, whether it is public dollars or private dollars coming into the rescue mission. What would you like to say before we actually talk to our guest today, Crystal?
Speaker 1:You know I think it's important that we just get to, just get to Crystal. But you know I am very passionate about the housing program. I think it's really important that we help people get to a next step. And that isn't for everybody that we serve, because people are in such different places. The community we serve is just so diverse. But it is wonderful when we get to see people move into something that they didn't even imagine for themselves. And sometimes that's housing and not necessarily the LaManda and I had a conversation the other day about it and it's like there's so some of the folks that we have housed. We don't think the places that they're living in are great and they think they are a castle.
Speaker 1:And it is such a good reminder, you know, in terms of why we do this and and helping people to feel ownership, um and stable is very, very important, and that's what our housing team gets to do. I I am a big proponent of the housing program, so housing's important, but it's not just about housing.
Speaker 3:It's about that supportive services. We call it navigation here. And so, Crystal Guerrero, thank you for being on the podcast today. So are all the nerves gone yet? Yeah, okay, good, we thought if we talked long enough that maybe you'd just be chilling over there, you know. So, anyway, thank you for being. You are Topeka Rescue Mission housing navigator. What does that mean? Thank you for being. You are Topeka Rescue Mission housing navigator.
Speaker 4:What does that mean? That means I get to work alongside with our guests and help them find sustainable housing, navigate them through what's best for them as far as where they live, where they work, how much their income is, being able to just help them understand and see where their next move is going to be and how to get there.
Speaker 3:Why is that necessary? To have somebody to help people to be able to do the things you just mentioned?
Speaker 4:Support, support. I think it's good that they have support, support and a helping hand to guide them, because not everybody gets that in life and it's an honor to be able to give my hand and walk through that.
Speaker 3:Used to be in the old days that there was in the want ads in the newspaper.
Speaker 3:I don't know if that still exists, but does it? Okay I'm not sure though, sorry, cj, haven't been there in a while that there would be a list of rentals, and so there was a phone number and you'd call a landlord or an agency or whatever, and that's how you try to figure out your housing. But that can be complicated in and of itself, even knowing that that exists, but then let alone all of the financial things that have to be taken care of to get there. Some people have got past utility debt, legal debt, maybe have been banned from housing before for a bad decision, maybe they have a felony and then people don't rent to a felon, or whatever the case might be, or a lot of different reasons that it's hard. So you represent that person who is ready for that next step. And so how difficult is that, or how successful is that to work with property owners that maybe have a place that people can go? How important is it to have that relationship with landlords?
Speaker 4:It's very important. I have quite a few that I'm working with right now and we have great relationship. I'm learning more about what's available in the community with people with barriers and it's really hard. It's really hard to navigate getting them if they have had a criminal record and you know there's a lot of stipulations on those kinds of things. But, yeah, working with the landlords, being open, advocating for our guests and just putting it out there.
Speaker 3:Crystal, getting them to that point where, oh wow, I've got some keys, I'm going to be able to get my place now. It means that maybe I need a bed to sleep in. I need some stuff in the refrigerator. Oh, wait a minute, I need a refrigerator. How do you take care of those things when people have zero?
Speaker 4:Well, I'm glad you asked. So at Speaker Rescue Mission we have a distribution center and when they are, our guests that I'm working with are getting ready to be housed, they have a move-in date. We get with the distribution center and they do a beautiful job with getting the items that are needed for that move-in. The items that are needed for that move-in, dc will contact the guest and get the list of. Sometimes, you know, people have stuff in storage. Sometimes they have absolutely nothing and I just did a move-in on Friday and he messaged me. I talked to him last night and he said you know, I'm so grateful they gave me everything I needed and I said I'll let the DC know that.
Speaker 3:So those are kind of celebration moments, right, somebody's been, maybe on the streets, maybe whatever end up at the rescue mission and they go through some training and some programs and then you get them to take them to that next level and here they are in their own place. So there are some situations where that's kind of overwhelming to folks that haven't been in that situation before, don't know how to handle paying their rent or their utility bill or keeping the place clean or whatever the case might be. So once you hand the key off and you have your celebration, thank you, the refrigerator's full, we're good, we're good to go. Is that it or is there more?
Speaker 4:That's just the beginning, okay.
Speaker 3:Talk about the rest. That's just the beginning, okay, talk about the rest.
Speaker 4:That's just the beginning. We build a relationship before that day happens, but we build a friendship. We build a friendship. And no, I talk to the people that I've helped get housed about a couple of times, a few times a month, and I go visit them once a month. Yeah, so, constant check-ins, you know, trying to help them understand that there are services out there that will like there's LEAP and there's these things, and help them do the application and so the rest of life is helping them navigate housing to get them there, to help them stay there.
Speaker 3:But then there's more about walking through life, which for some folks, is all foreign. Um, if any of you remember, uh, if you went to college, um, and you left high school and you went to your first college dorm and, uh, you're with some different, strange people and those kinds of things just think about how crazy that was.
Speaker 3:And you want to go home, back home to mommy and daddy. I mean it was scary to think about that, let alone not going to college and coming from an environment wherever they were to. Now I might be able to be successful. How important is it to help individuals that you work with that are your friends now to be able to stay encouraged.
Speaker 4:It's very, very important. Again, I go back to when you were just talking. It reminds me of a gentleman that was housed a few weeks ago and it was his first place. 34 years old, he always lived at home with mom and dad in California and he ended up coming to Kansas, been here for a few years and he had been at the rescue mission for almost two years and this was his first place. And I just messaged him a couple days ago and I was like how's it going? And he got a game system and he's loving his own space and like I told him he would, but he was super nervous, never had that and I know he's going to love it, just like I told him, it can be really good, but you don't realize how really good it is until you feel comfortable in your space yeah, yeah, Crystal, how long have you been doing this now at Speaker Rescue?
Speaker 4:I've been here four months.
Speaker 3:Four months, okay, so why, what's your why?
Speaker 4:I've always wanted to be over here. Yeah Well, why I've always wanted to be over here? Yeah Well, since I let me back up. So I was a guest here, I lived here.
Speaker 3:You lived here to make a rescue mission.
Speaker 4:Yeah, about 12 years ago. Yeah, I had hit my rock bottom and um in addiction. Uh lost my kids, um and I. I did the program, did the program here and you guys helped me get housed, um and uh.
Speaker 3:So you've been there. Yeah, so you know. You know what all of this is about for the people that you are helping to move forward in life.
Speaker 4:Absolutely.
Speaker 3:So what's that like being on this side of that particular part of your life now?
Speaker 4:Beautiful To be on this side, being able to give my hand back and guide them and be like. I know what you're going through. I've been in this situation. I've been in a similar situation. There is hope and there is a different way about life that you can go and so I would imagine that your experience is helpful in conversations with the folks.
Speaker 3:What do you find? When you're trying to help them, they see, okay, you're a navigator, you know that's official, that's like, that's like, that's like government or something. You're just part of the system. When you have an opportunity to say I understand A lot of people that are working in social services, I hate to say it they don't understand. It is a passion that they've had, they got some education for it. They go, do a thing and they really don't understand.
Speaker 3:I've worked in a lot of different arenas outside of Topeka Rescue Mission before I got here. That sounds strange. I must have been about two years old, but anyway, I worked in institutions that were government institutions for social services, predominantly mental illness. We had a lot of highly educated people that really did a lot of good stuff in school and got some really cool stuff on their wall that talked about different things that they accomplished and all those kind of things. They had a lot of book knowledge, but they didn't have an understanding. What's the game changer of you having an understanding with the people you're working with? They go wow, you were here.
Speaker 4:You made it. I think it makes them more open, more open and willing to know that somebody else has been there. Yeah, I've had that and they're like what? Really? I said oh yeah, yeah, Like, look, my license was suspended there. You know, it took me five years to get it. We're playing a conversation I had with someone. Really, I'm like, yeah, you can do it. It takes a lot of hard work, you know, but you can do it.
Speaker 3:So there was somebody there for you, would you say, 12 years ago, when you came into Topeka Rescue Mission, and what was it like? You'd gone through some loss, some serious loss. You had an addiction. You came to the Topeka Rescue Mission. What can you help the listener to understand what that feels like to walk through the doors of a homeless shelter for the first time and how challenging that is?
Speaker 4:You come in and you're empty, you're defeated, you're tired, you're scared. I mean, there's not a lot of good feelings when you're walking through the door and trying to figure out what you're going to do next, when you've just lost everything.
Speaker 3:So it's not like, oh, I'm on rescue.
Speaker 4:We're cool now, right? No, no, not at all. No, not at all.
Speaker 3:So when does that, or why does that begin to change for something more positive than that first experience when you came in?
Speaker 4:something more positive than that first experience when you came in, I think, when you know when you start working, when they start working with their case managers, and well, mine went south, yeah.
Speaker 3:So you know again, I'm asking you to roll it back, the clock back. You know in your own experience, and that's, you know, been over a decade. But you came in, it wasn't a great time, and so the question was what began to change for you, and maybe why? It wasn't just because you had a bed in a dorm with some other women. It was more than that.
Speaker 4:No, I wanted to get my life back on track. I had mentioned I lost my kids and I was trying to reconcile um being back in their life. Um, so that time when I came through, I was focused.
Speaker 3:So you're ready at this point, yeah.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I had been here several times before that too, so, and at that time you weren't ready yet. I wasn't ready.
Speaker 3:Well, that's a story for a lot of folks, you know.
Speaker 4:Yeah.
Speaker 3:They come to Topeka Rescue Mission and they need a place to go, but they aren't really ready for change and sometimes that's a journey, and that's a painful journey for the person experiencing and sometimes the people helping. Yeah, Because they go, man, we just see great potential but not there yet. So this time you came back in through your journey and you yourself said, okay, I'm ready to do something different. And so there were some people here and some systems here you mentioned program and so forth that helped you in your readiness to move forward. So when you see somebody come through the mission today and I know more of what you do is the people who are ready, but how do you keep them moving forward? To stay in that, I'm ready to go to the next place.
Speaker 4:Just having conversation. Each story is different, Each individual is different but just reminding them what they're doing it for. There's some situations at times where they have debts that they have to pay and they don't want to pay it. I was evicted, but I owe this much money and I really shouldn't have to pay that much money. But you have to. You have to in order to move on to the next level and, um, walking them through that and giving them a little bit of understanding of look, you're here. This is the perfect opportunity to be able to pay on that debt, because you're going to face it for the rest of your life, so let's have it paid and go away.
Speaker 3:It's not going away.
Speaker 4:And you know, once you finally, um, the light bulb clicks and they're like okay, fine, I'll pay it, I'll start paying on it. And then to watch them walk through and make their monthly payments and they come through and say look, I made the payment, I made the payment and the debt is now paid. And they didn't think that they could do it. That's super cool, Super cool yeah.
Speaker 3:And without you and your team being there to help them, to keep looking at if you want this, you got to do this, how bad do you want this thing, and to help them to remember that and then be there to celebrate with them.
Speaker 4:Yes, that's a game changer.
Speaker 3:Yes, and you can't just do that with a shelter, you can't just do that with housing and hope that everything works out Well. Crystal, what would you like today for people to know about the housing, the rehousing program at Topeka Rescue Mission and the importance of it? I think we kind of talked about it, but what's one thing that you would like to really leave with people today in your experience?
Speaker 4:Of course, housing is super important. I would like them to understand that. You know each case is different and it's a lot of hard work, but helping them get a place is the beginning of their new journey. It's the second chance that they needed, the beginning of their new journey.
Speaker 3:It's the second chance that they needed, and somebody will be like you that years later, they'll come back and they'll start helping other people in the same place.
Speaker 1:That's what it's about, and how rich is that right?
Speaker 3:That's what it's about.
Speaker 1:Well, and you know the thing that that Crystal has shown so many times over is that there's an even bigger reason.
Speaker 1:You know, um, what I, what I have watched Crystal do, is she is sharing her life because she feels like she has been blessed and that the Lord has walked with her through so many steps, and she wants to be that reflection of the Lord to the people that she gets to encounter every day and she brings this joy and this encouragement and this, of course, you can do, this kind of attitude that I don't think you can put value to, or not enough value right To what the person that she is, how that benefits each of the people that she comes in contact with, because she does not see many obstacles. Right, because she's going to find a way. She's going to find a way when there's a will, there's a way, absolutely, and she will tap into the resources here at TRM. She is just so committed and it's just beautiful to watch and it's beautiful to see how the relationships build and what she is able to do because she builds relationships.
Speaker 3:There is a growing popularity today in many different areas of social services, whatever they be, of the value of peers. Some programs now are saying we need to go more towards peers. Well, topeka Rescue Mission has always been about peers, in other words, people who have been there have done that, not just about professionals who have never been there, and it's a mixture here at Topeka Rescue Mission. So you are a leader here at Topeka Rescue Mission, also a peer, that you can uh, help other people, um, because you can identify where they are.
Speaker 1:Crystal. Thank you for being here today.
Speaker 3:Thank you for what you're doing and, uh, just um. God bless you for um just saying yes to helping people to to move on forward in their lives. Well, amanda, last word um, what's it like, um, for you to be over here fighting to keep people alive on the streets and knowing that what Crystal just talked about is part of the big package here. What's that like? It's not just crisis intervention all the time. It's about helping people to go the distance with their life, to come out of homelessness and have an opportunity of a future. What's that like to know? As executive director, you could be a part of that too.
Speaker 2:I think there's so many things I could say, but I could just summarize it by saying there is nowhere else I'd rather be and nothing else I'd rather be doing.
Speaker 3:Thank you it's well said. Thank you for listening to our community, our mission. Today we kind of did some deep dive into some challenges that we're facing in this community and the response to some of those challenges, knowing that we really need to go deeper in regards to what we're doing with our neighbors, for our neighbors standing with entities like Topeka Rescue Mission, who are standing in a gap right now for very, very many people, and not just for a day or a few days when things aren't good, but for life, as we've heard Crystal and 12 years ago, how things changed for her. Thank you for being a supporter of Topeka Rescue Mission. If you'd like to know more information about TRM, you could go to trmonlineorg. That's trmonlineorg. You can sign up to volunteer, you can sign up to give and you can sign up just to learn. What every one of us needs to know is more about who our neighbors are. Thank you for listening to Our Community, our Mission.