Our Community, Our Mission
Our Community, Our Mission
Ep #259 – Sheltering Hope: Meet Lisa Bryant
In this episode of Our Community, Our Mission, we sit down with Lisa Bryant, Assistant Director of the Hope Center, to hear her powerful story of transformation. From battling addiction and experiencing homelessness to becoming a leader in shelter services, Lisa’s journey gives her a deep, personal connection to the guests she serves. She shares how Teen Challenge helped her find freedom and purpose, as well as the rewards and challenges of walking alongside people in crisis. Her past now shapes her present, allowing her to help others recognize their own worth and take steps toward a better future.
Joining Lisa, Rachel Flenniken, Director of the Hope Center, and Christian Stringfellow, Deputy Director of Shelter Services, discuss the realities of running a shelter, the dedication required to provide warmth and stability during the cold months, and the role of case management in guiding guests toward lasting change. This conversation is a testament to resilience, redemption, and the unwavering mission to love people where they are.
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Gracious Heavenly Father. We thank you, lord, for this day and your blessings and your provisions. God, we thank you for this time to record this podcast and, lord, just all of our listeners that continue to support and hear the messages. Lord, we just thank you for this time and pray that you would speak through our guests today and, lord, that ears that would need to hear this message would hear it and be encouraged. Lord, in your holy name, we pray, amen.
Speaker 2:Hello Lord, in your holy name we pray Amen. Hello everybody, thank you for joining us for another edition of Our Community, our Mission, a podcast of the Topeka Rescue Mission. We're on Tuesday, march 11th of 2025. This is episode number 259. Good morning, marianne Crable. Good morning, deputy Director of Supportive Services. How are you? I didn't even write any of that out, isn't that amazing?
Speaker 3:You mean, you're actually getting it right all on your own Almost.
Speaker 1:Almost yes, only took 200 episodes, I know 258.
Speaker 2:Exactly, there's a lot to say at the beginning of this stuff I don't know why we say all that, but we do. But anyway, Miriam, we're going Research and Development Department stuff here at the. Rescue Mission. About what's special about this day. And you know, Josh just beams. Do we have to? Yeah, we have to, we have to. Josh is down here. He spends hours with his team. He better not Researching these things.
Speaker 3:He really better not.
Speaker 2:I don't. Oh, that's right. Google spent hours.
Speaker 6:No something in time Ten minutes, tops Ten minutes 10 minutes.
Speaker 4:Tops 10 minutes All right?
Speaker 2:Well, it's our best 10 minutes we have of the week, so anyway. So we want to get into that first, but then we want some updates from you, and then we want to talk about some really cool people in this room today. So this is March 11th, and we always recognize, you know, what's important about that day, either nationally, or globally, or universally, or whatever and so today is National Immune System Day. Now, you're a former nurse, I am, and so talk to us about the importance of a National Immune System Day.
Speaker 3:You know, there are times of the year, barry, when it's even more important. Like did you see what went through this place? Like right after the warming centers, everybody was sick. We were drinking all kinds of stuff to try to make sure we don't get sick, because we have important work to do.
Speaker 2:That's right so. So why do we have a national immune system day? Is that where everybody's going to be immune that day, or does that mean we need everybody sick that day and we should have been immune?
Speaker 3:Josh, do you hear like a buzz?
Speaker 2:I'm not hearing very right now.
Speaker 3:I don't know why they have these national days. I really, really don't.
Speaker 2:I don't either, but we've been told that they're important, so we need to.
Speaker 1:Hey, in the notes, if you read the notes, it says that we don't recognize it enough because it's kind of the unsung hero. So this is the day for it to get the recognition it deserves the immune system. So it's just thank you, immune system. Okay.
Speaker 2:Yeah, immune system. So it's just thank you, immune system. Okay, yeah, bless your heart, josh, bless your heart. So around my house is called the national vitamin C taking day, so, okay, or zinc. Vitamin.
Speaker 3:D, we could go through the list. Okay, doctor.
Speaker 2:Nurse, don't want to be a doctor. Same thing Paycheck's different.
Speaker 3:But, anyway.
Speaker 2:The next one is the National Debunking Day.
Speaker 3:You know, this one I could kind of appreciate, though, Right, and I'm pretty sure that that comment right there who comes up with these things? We have said that on this podcast.
Speaker 2:We have, we may have just recently who?
Speaker 3:comes up with this stuff.
Speaker 2:Yeah, have you ever heard a story or a news and just thought who comes up with this kind of stuff? So National Debunking Day? I think more and more that we have more daily opportunities for information.
Speaker 3:today, it's good to debunk a lot of what we say. I think it's a very good idea Social media stuff yeah News station. You don't even have to go to Facebook or Instagram.
Speaker 2:Well, they may be interviewing you later this afternoon, so be careful what you're saying there.
Speaker 3:Okay, and you were in the meeting with me yesterday so. I'm just going to say bring it.
Speaker 2:Bring it yeah. Burns and mood everybody. So, buckle your seatbelts, because we're ready for rock and roll the rest of this year and beyond. So, okay, we're recognizing National Immune System Day, the debunking day which we don't debunk the immune system day. So National Dream Day, national Dream Day, you know. Rachel asked me how everything was going and you know, just terrible. Except you know, I dream that everybody would just do what I think they should do and everything be fine. Yes, but they don't.
Speaker 3:Did you read the second sentence of this?
Speaker 2:No.
Speaker 3:National Dream Day was created to debunk that belief and encourage whatever. The belief is that dreams are like fairy tales, but not always Not always no, you know, if we don't dream, then what do we do? Well, maybe just have peaceful sleep.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I don't know. Yeah, some dreams are good, some not so good, but anyway, we can dream while we're walking and talking and we have a dream of doing something special. Josh, we had a dream of over five years ago we'd have a podcast Over five years ago.
Speaker 1:And we're still here.
Speaker 2:And we're still dreaming the dream, baby Living the dream. Okay, well, now that we got those out of the way and everybody realized you know we've kind of set the pace for take your vitamin C, don't believe everything you hear and go ahead and dream, even though you know whatever you're driving. So, Marion Crable, Director of Supportive Services, We'd like some updates. One of the updates is the weather is really nice.
Speaker 3:Isn't it beautiful. The weather is really nice, isn't it beautiful?
Speaker 2:It is absolutely awesome.
Speaker 3:When I left yesterday, I'm like okay, it is almost warm. I know which. You know what that means, barry, right?
Speaker 2:Mo grass.
Speaker 3:Well, there's that, yeah, but what did we just get finished with?
Speaker 2:Finished Like winter. No, I'm talking yes and warming centers, right?
Speaker 3:Well, you know, it just seems like the other day that warming centers were what do we plan Easter? No how about now, we'll have to worry about people being too warm.
Speaker 2:Well, that's true.
Speaker 3:So now we'll have to have cooling centers, so the planning will start.
Speaker 2:Talk about a pessimist. I'm telling you, it's not a pessimist.
Speaker 3:It's looking forward to caring for our neighbors.
Speaker 2:I see you can see the look that you're getting. Oh, I'm not even a director of shelter, Did you notice? I didn't even turn my head. We're going to address everybody here gradually, but that's Christian Stringfellow over there and he's the director of our shelter services and outreach.
Speaker 3:But you know, cooling centers are easier than warming centers. They could.
Speaker 2:They could be, because it's not like a 24-hour thing, because it usually cools down in the evening when it's cold. Because it's not like a 24 hour thing because it usually cools down in the evening when it's cold. It's just cold. So just chill out for a while and then you can go.
Speaker 6:OK, yeah, I think if I hear the word center again, I might just have a breakdown. I'm done with the word center. Ok, rachel, sorry.
Speaker 2:We're done with the Hope Center. Then Warming cooling.
Speaker 3:I was going to say, on this day of all days, to say he's done with centers. It's going to be called the.
Speaker 2:Hope Place from now on.
Speaker 6:That's it.
Speaker 2:After how many years? Since 2020? No 2000.
Speaker 3:That's when we opened that joint, so it's high time for a change.
Speaker 2:I will be getting the ladder today and ripping it down. Okay, some more updates. We're already kind of totally debunking everything we were going to talk about here.
Speaker 3:So, miriam, get serious. Come on, miriam, get serious. There's always special needs that we have at the mission. You know, with all of the donations that we get and all of our incredible donors, they respond so well when we put out a need, and right now we have a need for linens, whether that's sheets, towels, washcloths, all of those things that we need both here at the mission and also when we help folks with completion of programs. So you know, when people get to move into housing, we try to give them what they need to be able to get started Right.
Speaker 3:So all of those things are really important, whether it's furniture or dishes or whatever. But right now both in-house, so for the folks staying with us, and then then people that were moving out, were really, really in need of linen. So if folks find that they're doing spring cleaning, since the weather is beautiful and spring cleaning comes, then hopefully then they'll find some things that they can help us out with it in that way.
Speaker 2:How can people get those to us?
Speaker 3:They can take them. They can bring them anytime, monday through Friday, between 8.30 and, I think, 3.30, to the distribution center at 401 Northwest Norris, where am I 401 Northwest.
Speaker 2:Norris, you're at Harrison right now.
Speaker 3:I am in Harrison right now. It's over there, across the tracks of.
Speaker 2:Norris, exactly At the distribution center. Yeah so, sheets, linens, but you also mentioned furniture, just things to help people get set up in their home, everything dishes. So if you've got something, knickknacks not so much anymore. Right, you used to take a lot of those little things you said on yourself, not as many.
Speaker 3:We don't have as much of a need for that as we maybe did in the past, when we still had thrift stores. We had a better way to utilize those in different kinds of ways, but some things are still nice. You know, when we're helping people with completions of programs, we do want to give them things that they can put on the wall. You know so little things like that.
Speaker 2:We'll take some of those. Absolutely. Yeah, it used to be. You know, some people don't think the rescue mission takes any items anymore because we shut down thrift stores. Yeah, that was done sometime back and yeah, the rescue mission still takes things, but it's more towards helping people get set up in their homes rather than a resale shop. There's a lot of thrift store operations in Topeka, kansas, right now.
Speaker 3:Yes, absolutely, but it's also the things that we need here, you know, I mean with all of the people I mean we're running at about 250 people a night approximately. That's a lot of clothing, that's needed, lots of things. So we are always in need of food, clothing, linens, household items, cleaning supplies, just about anything that you could think of we would be able to put to use. Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 2:So people can bring it here. Also, if they forget what we just said, they can go to the website and there's a needs list on the website. Absolutely, at wwwtrmonlineorg.
Speaker 3:Absolutely. And you know the other thing, they can find. There is ways that they might want to help us out, whether it's through volunteerism, volunteer opportunities or also to check out the staff openings that we have. Or also to check out the staff openings that we have. We have openings in almost every area of the ministry right now in our shelters, the men's, the men's shelter, the women's shelter, women and family shelter, the kitchen, the distribution center, administrative positions. There's just a lot of open positions right now. So if people feel called to come walk alongside us as we walk alongside folks that are struggling and experiencing difficulties, we would love to have them apply or come in and talk to us or just even give our HR department and Kim Turley a call to talk about what's available. But there's lots of opportunities and this is a really special place to work. We get to watch some amazing things Not that they're always easy, but we get to watch people change their lives and transform in ways that I think most people would not be able to imagine. So it's a special place.
Speaker 2:It really is. So a lot of opportunities for people to get involved, absolutely, and a lot of people do and have been for a very long time. But it never stops, it's not done, it's not finished Right. Homelessness in our community, like every community, is at an epic, all-time high, and so we're taking steps to address that every way we can. But we can't live on yesterday's accomplishments. We have to move forward with what we need to do today. So got some great people here in the room. Today we have Christian Stringfellow. He's deputy director of shelter services and outreach. Christian, good morning, good morning, good morning. You don't like the word center anymore.
Speaker 2:No no, so we'll just leave that there. We'll just leave that there. Okay, I want to talk to you, but also I have Rachel Flanagan, who is the director of the Hope Place, former.
Speaker 3:Hope Center.
Speaker 4:Already changed the name.
Speaker 2:And so, Rachel, good morning, Good to see you here this morning. So how are you both? I mean, we've had full shelters, both the Men's Shelter, Hope Place Center, plus warming centers, three of them like the back-to-back. It's warm out today. Well, it seems warm comparatively. It just seems like it was the other day that it was life-threatening weather, I mean even last week it pretty much was, it pretty much was Uh-huh, that's Kansas. We have, yeah, Kansas. Well, hopefully Kansas has done me in Kansas for a little bit.
Speaker 6:I hope.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so. So talk about just briefly, um what it was like to encounter these warming centers. Topeka rescue mission. There were three others in the community um helping coordinate all that, plus help the people who were coming in the shelter, which was ranging 240 to sometimes pretty close to 300, from what I understand how I mean you look back at that that wasn't very long ago. How'd you do all that?
Speaker 6:Well, a lot of my involvement was with the warming centers, particularly with outreach and going out and gathering people up off the river or other encampments and then bringing them into warming centers, transporting people around to different warming centers based on where there was room, and then managing certain things inside the warming center. So that was my primary focus throughout that time, which meant that I had to lean and rely pretty heavily on my my staff in the shelters, and I'm really fortunate that I have some incredible directors in in both in both of the shelters and so that's the benefit of having good leadership is that when I get pulled in another direction, I don't have to worry as much about the day-to-day operations and the functioning. For the most part, it was a shift of focus of supporting and assisting them to where they were just running with it and, you know, carrying things on. So Rachel did an amazing job of just carrying a heavy load there in the Hope Center. She had some great help too with with Lisa and then her her team.
Speaker 4:We do have a mighty team.
Speaker 6:Yeah, especially that first warming center when we had freezing rain and then about 14 inches of snow on top of that, um, nobody was getting into work. It was, uh, quite the challenge of just getting you know coverage. It's a 24 seven shelter, it doesn't close down and you don't have any off days, and so, um, being able to cover that plan for that, uh, rachel did a lot as far as coordinating rides for people, with some four-wheel drive vehicles going around to pick up staff members, but there for the first couple of days she had a team that was essentially working around the clock.
Speaker 2:Staying here with the guests who were staying here the same three staff covered like two and a half days of shifts back to back. How'd that work, Rachel?
Speaker 4:Well, we created one of our dorm rooms into a staff room and one would go in and take a nap, the other one would clock in, one would clock out, one would clock in, and it was just back and forth. With that weather it wasn't necessarily safe to get people home or to get people in, and I wouldn't have wished for a better three people to be in that building when that happened. The Lord knows what he's doing, yeah.
Speaker 6:I think a lot too. You know that flexibility that they displayed in that kind of crisis situation really speaks to the culture that has kind of grown there in the Hope Center the flexibility, the support of one another, and really a lot of that falls on Rachel's shoulders. She's done an amazing job over there.
Speaker 4:God is good.
Speaker 2:Rachel, thank you for just the dedication that you personally have put into this and then creating this incredible team. Rachel, what was it like? You're director of Hope Center. We'll still call it center right, christian.
Speaker 3:Just say it really fast and he won't catch it. Hope Center.
Speaker 1:I'll tolerate it.
Speaker 2:Describe the Hope Center to people that maybe know the name generally or maybe nothing about it. What is Hope? Center of Topeka Rescue?
Speaker 4:Mission. The Hope Center is a place for people to get help and not just for a place to sleep and a place to eat and a place to have a roof over their head. It's more of a place of. It almost feels like togetherness with the guests and the staff, like the relationships that are being built and you know you have to have boundaries because there are staff and there are guests. But it's just amazing to be able to be the hands and feet of Jesus, without having to necessarily preach the Bible or verbatim quote scripture, but just being able to love people, regardless of where they came from or what they're doing or what they said. There's a lot more under the surface than what we know. So just being able to be the love of Jesus to people and show them that there is hope beyond their despair.
Speaker 2:So at Hope Center you have women, single women, who come, and so you have some women's norms. And then you have families. Sometimes those families are mom and kids, sometimes a mom and dad and kids, sometimes a dad and kids, and so that's quite a mixture in a two-story facility. How many kids, roughly on an average, are there? And again, the kids are there not by themselves, they're there with a parent or guardian. But the common denominator is they all don't have a place to live.
Speaker 4:I would say we've been averaging about 43 to 45 a night, which is huge. That's anywhere from zero to 17 years of age and it's a full house and particularly in this cold weather we have been shut in and it has been very homey in the Hope Center and it is I'm very grateful for this warm weather, that In the Hope Center, and it is I'm very grateful for this warm weather that kids are able to get out and play outside in the playground in our breezeway and it's just been really nice.
Speaker 2:It's hard for kids to be inside.
Speaker 4:To be shut in.
Speaker 2:You know, kids today have a home, they probably have the Internet, they've got games, they've got movies, they've got whatever they do Not. All that happens in a homeless shelter. And so how do those kids and their parents, how do they navigate through being kind of confined? It's nice facilities, have nice rooms, nice amenities, nice food, nice, but it's still locked in, not locked inside, but can't go out very far and be out there very long in those cold, cold temperatures. How do people do? It's not like sitting around roasting marshmallows over the fireplace, right.
Speaker 4:Right, well, you know they're mom's phones. That's a big one. But also we see a lot of kids interacting with other kids and playing with each other, and there's Barbie dolls. We do have a playroom inside the Hope Center and they do like make-believe stuff and you see different families' kids interacting with other kids and there's coloring, there's artwork. We have volunteer groups that have come in and done crocheting and in some evenings we have a church group that comes in and they're doing Bible studies and crafts with kids. So there's just a lot of various things. But technology I think anymore is is the thing that's keeping the kids' attention.
Speaker 2:Okay, so we still have the ability for that to occur as well. Yes. So, rachel, I want to get to our other guest here today, which is your new assistant director, rockstar, before we jump there. So paint a picture for folks, maybe in this, what is the most enjoyable thing that you, as director of Hope Center, find in what you do and what is the most challenging. So start it with the most joyous thing.
Speaker 4:You know, miriam mentioned earlier when she was talking about staffing and being called. I think there's a huge difference of being called over just needing a job.
Speaker 2:Talk about being called. What's that mean?
Speaker 4:For me, particularly like I knew what the Topeka Rescue Mission was. I knew that this place existed, but never in a million years did I think that I would be right here right now, and I'm a crybaby. So I just I feel the being called is this is where the Lord wants me. I've had my share of bad choices. I've had my share of things that I shouldn't have done, but I've done and I've learned from that. The Lord has put me in this place to show hope that, despite what you've been through, you can do big things. So being called, I think, is the Lord puts you in a place where you are able to share his love and relate to the people that we're helping, and then having those same people like everybody comes with different skills and different talents and different ways of helping people and showing that love and our staff right now, I think, is a mix of all of that.
Speaker 2:So your biggest joy, if I'm hearing it correctly, is the know you're called and to be in that place where God called you to be. Yes, what's the biggest challenge that you face as director of Hope Center?
Speaker 4:The hurt, the trauma, the stories that you hear. We all have a past. Everybody has unique reasons that led them to this place. Everybody has unique reasons that led them to this place, whether it be for shelter or for work. It is really challenging to hear those things and it is heartbreaking to know that. And just one family and, like you said, we're anywhere from 250 to 300 a night.
Speaker 2:Just taking the time to talk to one individual and knowing what led them here is heartbreaking, so it would be one challenge to have one person who's gone through heartbreaking times in their life maybe currently are but when you have a whole lot of people all together, you add on warming centers at the same time, with people coming off the streets who you know. Their life is challenged in a different way than people who are in shelters, challenged in a different way from people who have a home. We all have challenges, but right in the midst of that, with a lot of crisis going on all the time. So how do you handle it, rachel?
Speaker 4:Well, the in and outs, that part is so hard with our guests. What do you mean? Like you have one or two or three people that they're in for two days and then they're out, and then they're in and then they're out and there has to be like it can't. It's not my choice, it's not my like. I can't judge what it is that's happening. Each person is worthy, regardless of why they're leaving or what is causing them to go back out, and that's you know, I've been cussed out. I've been called every name in the book, I've been all the things, but I can't use that as a reason why I'm saying no, you can't come in there.
Speaker 2:It it's, they're god's child so you talk about some boundaries that have to be created, and so those are the kind of things. It's not a drop-in motel, right. It is a place where, if you're in a need that you come and then you also have an opportunity. But you need to take advantage of the opportunity, because there's a lot of people needing to get in that can't get in if you don't want it. Christian, you're going to say something.
Speaker 6:Well, you would ask, you're going to say something. Well, you would ask you know how are we able to do this?
Speaker 6:And that's a really good question, and it's a really hard one to really kind of articulate or be able to answer, because there's some pretty complex factors and so, you know, one of those being, our psyche is very self-defensive and so over time, when we're submitted or around kind of a traumatic environment over and over, it can be kind of a natural tendency for us to become jaded, and so there's kind of that natural tendency to become kind of calloused or jaded. Why is that? Because it hurts when you're constantly in an environment that just constantly hurts.
Speaker 2:So it's a defense mechanism from too much empathy that maybe is going to cause us to lose our perspective, so we can become defensive in that regard. Well, at some point.
Speaker 6:I've seen it happen where people just stop caring. They've been around it all the time. You see so much of it and then you just deal with it on such a regular basis Well, everybody's got it, why does it even matter? And then you're also dealing not just with the trauma of that individual but you're also dealing with, some of the times, the behaviors that come from that.
Speaker 6:And then you are the object of their release, of that trauma, and so that can be kind of a natural tendency that makes it complex in how we handle it.
Speaker 6:But on the other side of that, god has incredible plans for that person, and so if there ever comes a place where we become that jaded or calloused in this line of work, then we're in a spot where this isn't where we're needing to be. And so how do we maintain that soft heart and, at the same time, deal with these difficult situations on a regular basis? And I think a lot of that comes down to and this is something that I've seen Rachel do, I've seen Lisa do, I've seen all our staff members do is we have to stay in this place where we're in a relationship with God and we're constantly being washed by the word, and Jesus said this in John 15, he said, for you are already washed by the word, I've spoken to you, and so there's a place where we need to spend time in a relationship with him. I'm just saying like I couldn't do this without that, maintain a long term perspective through the short term struggles without having that relationship with Jesus. I can't think of another way to do it.
Speaker 2:Sounds like there's not only a personal need to do that, but a corporate need to do that with the team here, because one out of, say, 50 staff members could be so challenged by what they see that they have a natural reaction to desensitize themselves to what they're seeing around them, and so we need to help each other to be able to be in that space, to be able to center ourselves.
Speaker 6:Well, the hard thing, though, is like we can't corporately do that. We can create a culture where we encourage people to do that.
Speaker 6:But people have to go straight to the source for themselves. So there's not really grandchildren in the kingdom of heaven, there's not, you know, friends of of friends of God. There are direct friends of God or children of God, and so, like we have this need to go straight to the source for ourselves, and so that is just kind of the culture that we try to create in the shelters, because if we don't do that it creates there's a secondary culture. That's just kind of a natural thing which we're kind of constantly fighting that entropy of reverting back to natural humanistic self-defense tactics.
Speaker 2:Maryam. We talk about the challenge for need for resources. We need, we need. We need sheets for the beds, we need furniture to help people set up, we need money to operate, we need volunteers and staff. Those are challenging to find, but it's probably the biggest challenge is what we're talking about right now Just to really be able to keep that right perspective as we're seeing so much suffering in this arena, and not to desensitize ourselves, not to be overly empathetic to where we can't be helpful. We can be so identifying with people suffering that we. So the biggest balance, the biggest challenge here, in addition to these other things that are needed practically, is this whole area. How do we ground ourselves with God? How do we look at our neighbors ourselves?
Speaker 3:And if we are called here, it's really not us Right. None of this is about us and what we are capable or not capable of doing, because I think all of us would probably agree that in and of ourselves we are not capable, because it is a lot Right, and you know, when Christian is talking about that, I think people build those walls because they care, not because they quit caring, necessarily, but they build that wall to protect themselves. Because your heart can only take so much on our own Right and when it's gotten punched a few times, calluses start to develop Right, just like on any part of your body. So to me, if our teams that are working here and the volunteers that are working here come on their own power, I think they will probably struggle.
Speaker 2:Struggle greatly, because this is a great place to struggle. If you're going to find a struggle, Rachel, how many years have you been at Peak Rescue Mission now?
Speaker 4:A little over three.
Speaker 2:Over three. Yeah, you still have that sensitivity.
Speaker 4:Yeah Well, you know, when I first came in, I'm like I'm going to save the world, I'm going to take, I'm going to get everybody. We're going to get housing and we're going to until you get there, and then I mean it's all that matters, yeah. And ultimately, we do this work for the Lord. It is not us.
Speaker 2:We don't save, we don't change people. What we do is we help people, as God does all the rest of the work. Yes, rachel, it takes a team. It does, and you have an assistant director that is here with us today. She's over here very patiently waiting for me to ask her a question, and she can with us today. She's over here very patiently waiting for me to ask a question. She can't wait.
Speaker 4:I can tell. So, rachel, introduce your assistant director. This is Lisa Bryant, my mighty assistant director, and you know she comes with experience. She actually started at the front desk and then was in case management for a little bit and then came back, so she has been a great addition to our team.
Speaker 2:Lisa, welcome to the podcast today. So this is your first time being on the podcast, and so Rachel talked about maybe a little bit of a journey coming up to being assistant director of Hope Center. How long have you been in that position?
Speaker 5:Probably, I think like three months, four Okay, yeah, it was kind of a transition from case management.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so you've come in in the last three or four months in some pretty intense times yes, due to Kansas weather and all these things. So when did you first come to Topeka Rescue Mission? Tell us a little bit about your beginnings, how you even got here. You ended up some different physicians. Now you're director of Hope Center. So start us from the beginning, as you would like.
Speaker 5:Well, it's been two years since I came and I don't even. The path was crazy. I came out of like a four-year stint in Teen Challenge and so I was in Missouri and I came here to work for a friend and that didn't really work out. So I was kind of wandering about doing DoorDash, trying to find my way, and I just started applying and I had no idea what I was getting myself into. But it was all God, None of us knew we wouldn't do it.
Speaker 2:So for people who don't know what Teen Challenge is, talk about Teen Challenge. You had about a four-year stint in Teen Challenge. Yes, what was your involvement there.
Speaker 5:My involvement was I came in off a 25-year stint of addiction and other problems, and so I did a year of treatment, which is Bible study.
Speaker 2:With Teen Challenge. Yes, uh-huh yeah.
Speaker 5:And so it's not just for drug, it's other problems in life. So I was there for a year and then I did an internship for a year and then I decided to go back to Kansas City and then life got tough and I was used to being in a bubble surrounded by people who were constantly encouraging and the whole atmosphere there, and so I ended up going back and working for them for a couple of years and I left and came to Topekaka, which I didn't see coming. I didn't see any any any of this coming and um, it's been a huge blessing and I've learned a mass amount here. I mean, I mean I've grown. If I want to ruffle my own feathers, you know that's an okay ruffle there.
Speaker 2:So involved from a need standpoint, getting involved with Tea Challenge, which is a very solid program for helping people. I don't know if you know Josh Turley. His dad works at Tea Challenge and so, yeah, there's a big connection there and so on the West Coast and so it's a powerful, powerful program. So you ended up coming to topeka. You were in that kind of uh that, that that place where you could heal and then come back and serve. You end up over here looking at door dash different things how did you find?
Speaker 2:out about topeka rescue mission I really honestly didn't.
Speaker 5:I knew, um, the people that I worked for before. Did you know just some? I don't know how to put? They had a food business, so there was things going on in the background. It was a ministry as well, and so it was just kind of I just heard things and I knew a few people that were always saying the rescue mission, and I've never really I've had my own experience with homelessness in my time of wandering, and so it was I went, I knew a little bit about the mission because I was in the mission in Kansas City with my four children during my, you know, wandering time. So I kind of know a little bit about family centers and things, and so it was just kind of like, well, let's just see what this is about.
Speaker 2:So you came here and did you immediately apply? Did you come here to stay? Did you come here to work? A combination thereof?
Speaker 5:I came here with a friend to work for a friend and her dad and then once I left that job, I was kind of very anxious about what are we doing here? I'm stuck over here in Topeka Like I don't even. I don't know how to get around, I don't know anybody. It was kind of I was afraid, and but I trusted God and I knew that, you know, I was near my family in Kansas City and so I'm just like, okay, well, let's just get out there and try to figure it out. I guess you know, and I had no idea what the plan was. I was just on for the ride and so I'm just kind of like, okay, what are we doing? You know? Um, you know, so that's, this is that.
Speaker 2:Okay, so you found this place called the Topeka.
Speaker 5:Reservation.
Speaker 2:And what was your first, uh memory of walking through the doors here?
Speaker 5:My interview. We were, you know, just sharing with each other and getting to know each other.
Speaker 4:And let me say during that interview I knew that I was going to hire her about halfway through, so all the other questions were necessary.
Speaker 2:But we could have ended it at that point, the process right.
Speaker 4:There's something about feeling that discernment and the authenticity.
Speaker 2:Okay, describe that for people, rachel. I think that's worthy of pausing here. I didn't know that.
Speaker 4:That's still small voice that you hear or that you feel and like you know there's. There's a way of like you can I don't know like maybe you can just tell that people are like preparing for an interview and you it just almost sounds like it's a computer in the interview, like, and then there's someone, that there's emotion and there's feelings and you can see, and all interviews are nerve wracking, but you can just tell when someone's heart is in it and their emotions come out and you can almost like feel the pain or feel the hurt or feel what it is they're telling you. And that's what I felt with Lisa and I have felt that with other individuals. But it is very. It's like the Lord tapping you on your shoulder, like this is the one, this is the one I sent.
Speaker 6:It's a very hard thing to articulate.
Speaker 4:Yeah, it is.
Speaker 6:And that discernment or kind of hearing. So we're going to step into something that's kind of weird. But we have a God who's alive and a God who is breathing. He rose from the dead and he didn't stay in that grave. And it says he talks. Jesus said I will know my sheep and my sheep will know my voice talks. Jesus said I will know my sheep and my sheep will know my voice. Um, and so there's there, that's a real thing of getting to know his voice. Now I mean, it's important that we um, we don't like hear the audible voice of God. Thus saith the Lord, but, um, there is a um.
Speaker 6:As we read, as we read the word, really we start to pick up on the nature of God or on his timbre, on. You know, in the same way, like you know as Barry, as you're talking, there's a timbre to your voice and in your timbre there's also kind of a warmness and there's a safety and security. A lot of people here, you know, and there's a safety and security. A lot of people feel hearing your voice. I'm speaking to a lot of listeners right now who would probably agree with me, but as we read the word of God, there's a timbre to his nature that we start to get accustomed to, and then there's also a spirit of God outside of that too. That's still a small voice. I believe it was Elijah that a lot of that was brought out in, and that's important for us believers, I think, probably more important now than ever.
Speaker 2:A lot of voices out here and what's his voice now than ever. A lot of voices out here, and what's his voice?
Speaker 6:Yeah, as we were talking about debunking earlier, we don't know what sources to trust, and so it's important for us to know that we have a God who's on both sides of time, and he's in all these things.
Speaker 6:He knows what the truth is and he cares about his children and he leads us and guides us, and so there's that piece, but then also you were talking about this in the interview there's a place where the deep calls out to deep. The same spirit of God that comes and resides with us is the same spirit of God that resides with other believers. We have the same Holy Spirit with us, and then that Holy Spirit leaps with joy, you know, with the Holy Spirit inside of other believers, and so I'm talking about spirits on a podcast with a lot of people.
Speaker 2:Well, it's a Topeka rescue mission, a community mission. We talk about a lot of things. By the way, christian Strickfell is a pastor of the Open Way Center. I quit of the Open Way Center. I quit Open Way Church here in town as well, so I've been waiting to drop that one in there.
Speaker 3:Way to tee it up.
Speaker 5:Way to go buddy, thank you.
Speaker 2:So, lisa, you're hearing some great affirmations here. You were along to say I'm ready to go for the journey, whatever God says. You'd had experience in Teen Challenge, so this was not a foreign area to you, that God can take you somewhere. And so you're hearing Rachel talk about. She interviewed you and boom, she knew over halfway or less than halfway through you were the one how does that?
Speaker 5:make you feel you feel Humble, I like just it was an amazing interview and I felt really good when I left, but, you know, always unsure of myself a little, so that's something you know that I really struggled with when I came in. Luckily, I, you know, have a leaders that kind of nudge me forward to kind of agree with them that I'm capable and it's yeah, it's, it's, I know I'm capable. It's just like very difficult when you're in a situation to tell people things that are hard and it's, or listen to things that are hard and know that you know the Lord is there to help us through that and it's just like Constant, every time we have a meeting we're praying together.
Speaker 2:And it's just amazing, it's amazing. So you came in working front desk, if I understand correctly, at the Hope Center.
Speaker 5:Yeah, I thought it was just going to be like you know typing and you know just sitting there answering questions, and I thought I was going to.
Speaker 2:You know it's a good place to start. Yeah Right.
Speaker 4:Answering phones and pushing.
Speaker 2:You were not very good.
Speaker 6:Answering phones, I can do this.
Speaker 3:Is this false advertising. I think so. We need to have a conversation with Rachel.
Speaker 2:They should be posted. Yeah, that is not what happened? That's not what happened. So then you moved from front desk into case management, guest management, working directly with the guests. How long did you do that? What was that experience like for you?
Speaker 5:I'm going to say it was about seven or eight months and it was, oh man, what a learning experience, just kind of switching gears and getting in there and kind of finding out. You know it may seem like do this, do this, do this, do this, do this, and it's not.
Speaker 2:I mean, you really get to sit down and get in depth with them and kind of learn what's the purpose of guest management at Topeka Rescue Mission.
Speaker 5:The purpose of guest management is to prepare the person and help them and guide them into setting goals to get housing and pay off things that they need to pay and just kind of help them. Just see the big picture of what. This is what we need and we want to get you. You know, the help that you need if they have some issues with mental health. Just set them up with resources to kind of envelop them with love and help to get stable.
Speaker 2:Christian Rachel. How valuable is guest management to what we're doing at Topeka Rescue Mission?
Speaker 6:It's crucial so much in what shelters do, for the most part is we're just managing people, sometimes in a confined space. But if you just have people there but no direction, if you just have people there but no direction, um, you know, without direction people suffer. And so there is really a kind of a place where we do provide the shelter, but then case management comes alongside and they kind of provide them with the tools and then the roadmap of the next steps that they can be taking. And they can't. They're not going to do everything for the individual, um, because that would be robbing the individual for an opportunity to then grow but walking alongside the individual as they navigate challenges and obstacles and then really kind of assist them, like Lisa said, with the resources to get from one place to the next.
Speaker 2:If you didn't do that part, probably people would just stay here and they wouldn't have any help to assist to move out.
Speaker 4:Well, and once they understand that the guest management is there to truly help them be successful, you know it's hard in the beginning, like why do you need my paycheck stubs and why do you need to know this and why do you have to know all that?
Speaker 4:And really it's just to be able to have a foundation of, like, what can you afford or what do you need paid off, or how can we help you. And once they see that and that, the goals, realistic goals once those are accomplished, I mean it's like the light gets turned on. And we've seen people that came in with thousands of dollars of debt and they don't have any form of identification. All that debt's paid off, they're moving to housing, they have all IDs social security card, birth certificate and they I mean their entire demeanor has changed and they are and they just want to. They come in like guess what I paid off? And they're telling all the staff and they're just so proud of themselves. And that's the part that is like you see them at their lowest and you see the progression. And then that's the beautiful part of this.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's the tools to be able to take the next step in life. It's one thing to even come in a homeless shelter Most people don't go.
Speaker 4:Wow, I'm so excited to be at the rescue mission and then, on the flip side, when people aren't making the right choices and they don't want to follow the policies and they don't want to follow those rules, that's when we have to step in and we're the quote bad guy for just a moment. But then once you can reflect back on that and see that this is really that tough love, this is what's helping you move forward. We all need consequences. We all need to do what's right.
Speaker 6:I think one of the best analogies for this is parenting, and so Rachel is a parent to about 117 people last night and then 43 children, but they're really like 117 grown children.
Speaker 2:Yeah, 117 total.
Speaker 6:And of those, 43 were children. Okay, but a good parent sometimes has to tell their kids things the kids don't want to hear and sometimes has to have a vision that the kids don't want to follow here and sometimes has to have a vision that the kids don't want to follow. And a good parent also walks on that, that line of loving while also still providing direction. And Rachel does that fairly gently, gently, of loving the person that's right in front of her, and sometimes that's with really like, sometimes that's with nurturing and support and care, and sometimes that's also with I really need you to do this for yourself, um, and if not, then we're not going to be able to support you with this anymore, and that's a really kind of hard line to walk.
Speaker 2:I think this would probably be a topic for another podcast because, uh, the depth that we would need to go into. But there is a sentiment with some people that says just give people a place to stay, don't do anything else, just let them be there because they're homeless and it's their right to have a place, and who are you to decide what they need? And so that's a podcast for another day.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, but answer it briefly so that we could you know the value of doing it this way versus a different way of just opening up a shelter? And you know, growing more homeless shelters, I guess.
Speaker 6:I'll just say it like this, it's probably just a couple of lines. People without direction or vision are like water running downhill they follow the path of least resistance. And so, unless there is support and direction, unless there is something, sometimes someone calling them from staying in the trauma or the hurt and then providing them with a path out or hope, which is why we call it the hope Place.
Speaker 5:Center.
Speaker 6:But without that direction we're just often we're just going to keep on doing the same things that we've been doing and when you start looking at in detail, like in depth, what we have been doing, unless we've been shown another way, we're going to keep on doing it. Sometimes those things are really painful and really just destructive cycles, and so you know I can't say that I am optimistic that just providing somebody with a place without any kind of support will work. I don't think there's evidence to support that Really across the board there are places with the housing first and they provide a lot of support alongside, and those events are going to be successful.
Speaker 3:Well, and I don't think you know, if you don't feel, if you don't recognize your own worth, how do you move in a different?
Speaker 1:direction.
Speaker 3:And so what our teams do is help them see their own worth.
Speaker 2:It's huge, Miriam.
Speaker 3:Right and it's like, the rest is just. I mean, if you're so mired in not believing in yourself or seeing a different way for yourself, how can you ever change? And if you're just, yeah, if you're just sitting there and you get fed and you have a place to sleep, but that's all you get, your mind frame will not change.
Speaker 2:Lisa, I think you kind of mentioned that a little bit in your own journey is that you weren't certain about the decisions you're going to make. How important has it been for you to understand your worth.
Speaker 5:Mountains. Just I mean, it's just amazing because I had been in a very abusive relationship for such a long time and so coming out of that is very difficult. But I've grown so much since I've been here and I'm just so delighted in seeing other people where they're at and then just being able to say, hey, you know Jesus loves you and you're worthy and we can do this. You know, together, and I've been there and done that and you can get out, you can get out.
Speaker 2:So you've gone from front desk yes, just typing, and then bait and switch and then moving into guest management, which you're really intensely working with people to try to help them get to that next level.
Speaker 2:Now you're in shelter management, which is basically just managing people coming right through that front door and whatever crisis situation that they're in. To do what? What is that most important thing that you've learned? That somebody walking through the front door of Topeka Rescue Mission Hope Center needs to know it's not a scary place, it's not needs to know it's not a scary place.
Speaker 5:It's not. You don't have to um feel so bad about it. You know things happen and and and we love you and we care about what happens and we want to help guide you.
Speaker 2:How, um, how do you do that? How do you do that?
Speaker 5:Cause?
Speaker 2:you don't know what somebody is thinking when they walk through the door. You don't know if they've just come out of this domestic situation. You don't know if they've been, you know, got frostbite. You don't know anything until you know. So what's the important thing for you personally and the team that your assistant director over of the shelter services managing the shelter to make sure that those folks get what they need.
Speaker 5:Just the fruit of gentleness, I think, and caring, and just listening and just wanting to know and showing them that I want to know you. It's not just get them in and get them in the room.
Speaker 2:It's not a business. It's not just about them in and get them in the room and you know it's not a business. Yeah, it's not just about the order. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 6:We meet practical needs for people, to show them they have eternal value. And so you know, like in what you do, a lot of things that you're saying there, lisa. So when you're talking about someone coming in, the things that you want them to know like in what you do, a lot of things that you're saying there, lisa, when you're talking about someone coming in, the things that you want them to know is that they're valuable. You know, just treat them gently and welcoming them in and giving them a place and treating them with importance. You know it shouldn't really make a difference if it's, you know someone that's coming in off the street struggling with addictions. Or you know Barry Feaker himself. You know the dignitary himself walking through the door. I'm getting a look. I've been here a long time still working on it. But you know, everything we do.
Speaker 6:Jesus said it like this. Jesus said it like this whatever you do, do it as unto me, or whatever you do unto the least of these, do it unto me. And so we don't know the person. But a lot of times we know, actually all the time, I know their value Because it's the same value that was paid for me, and you know, really, the value of something is what someone's willing to pay. Jesus paid it all for us, and so the person that's in front of me.
Speaker 6:No matter what their circumstances or what they look like, they have eternal value because of the price that was paid to set them free, and that's the value I want to treat that person with and that's the. I guess the the name I want to treat them by is the name that laid his life down for theirs.
Speaker 2:Well said.
Speaker 4:And regardless, no matter if you're a guest or a staff, or a director or an assistant, we are all the same.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we're a listener to this podcast, right.
Speaker 6:Yes.
Speaker 2:Yeah Well, lisa, rachel, christian, thank you, miriam, always. Thank you. Thank you for listening to this podcast today. You yourself may have heard something here today that's made you think, not only about Topeka Rescue Mission and what it's about and some of the things that we have covered here today, but also you may have been wondering about your own value and your own worth.
Speaker 2:You don't have to be homeless, you don't have to be in Teen Challenge, you don't have to be at Topeka Rescue Mission to struggle with those particular things in life. We all struggle I think it was well said in so many different ways. God loves you just the way you are. He loves you too much to leave you there, and so he has a plan for everybody. Because he loves us all, he sent his only son, only begotten son, that whoever would believeth on him would not perish but have everlasting life. It's not just good enough to believe in something. It's better and eternally valuable to believe on him. So think about that today, and if you'd like more information about Topeka Rescue Mission, you can go to the website at trmonlineorg. Trmonlineorg. Thank you for being a part of our community, our mission.