Our Community, Our Mission
Our Community, Our Mission
Ep #280 – Foundations of Care: Building a Purpose-Driven Team at TRM
What inspires someone to devote their career to serving people experiencing homelessness? In this episode of Our Community, Our Mission, we sit down with TRM’s HR Director, Kim Turley, to explore the unique challenges and deep rewards of staffing an organization committed to life-changing ministry. With years of connection to TRM and a passion for helping people, Kim shares what it takes to balance professional HR practices with the deeper calling that draws people to this work.
Joining the conversation, La Manda Cunningham, CEO, and Miriam Krehbiel, Deputy Director of Supportive Services, share powerful stories that highlight both the struggles and the purpose behind TRM’s mission. Staffing shortages, increasingly complex guest needs, and the tension between policy and compassion are very real—but so are the moments of transformation, both for those served and those serving. As one staff member put it, “something is different here—and it’s a good different.”
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Gracious Heavenly Father. We thank you, lord, for this day and your blessings, and this time to record this podcast. Lord, we are just so thankful for all of the staff that work at TRM. Lord, the dedication that they have and Lord, just the calling on their lives that you have placed. Lord, I pray your blessing over this time and this conversation and, lord, the blessing over our listeners. Father, in your holy name, we pray, amen.
Speaker 3:Hello everybody, thank you for joining us for another episode of Our Community, our Mission, a podcast of the Topeka Rescue Mission. I'm your host today. Barry Feaker, here with Lamanda Cunningham, ceo of Topeka Rescue Mission. Marian Crable, director of Supportive Services, topeka.
Speaker 4:Rescue Mission. Good morning, good morning how are you?
Speaker 3:I'm good. Did I say the date? I didn't say the date, did I? I don't know you guys? Okay, just catching you here. This is Tuesday, the 19th of August of 2025. Okay, episode 280. We have to do that for the FCC.
Speaker 4:Oh, we do.
Speaker 3:No, we really don't or else we get kicked off.
Speaker 3:That's right, no, anyway, yeah, we're in August 19th here today, and so we have some special announcement coming up about a night of praise. But before we do that, the Research and Development Department we've got to honor their diligent work on this, and I know people tune in to our community, our mission to find out what's really, really important about this day every year, august 19th. And so one of the things Lamanda this is a quiz for you because you've been in education before it's national photography day, right, national photography. Why do you think they made a national photography day?
Speaker 5:Photography connects all of us. It's kind of like the sound of music.
Speaker 3:Wow, that was profound that was actually really good. What does it mean?
Speaker 4:What, what. What does she just mean yeah. What does she just mean good, what does?
Speaker 3:it mean? What does she just mean? What does she?
Speaker 4:just mean she meant. She meant that it is. It is exactly like what TRM is about.
Speaker 3:It's about building relationships bringing people closer together through visual things, just like music does through auditory stuff Pretty good, pretty good.
Speaker 1:So mic drop Beautiful.
Speaker 3:That's great. You guys are awesome. You guys are on it today. Well, uh, you know, I would imagine when they establish this and we really don't have the year that they established National Photography Day, it was a long time ago, but they never realized that everybody would be a photographer. Oh yeah, Everybody's a photographer today.
Speaker 3:Isn't that the truth Everybody is, and so congratulations everybody, because you are a photographer is. And so congratulations everybody, because you are a photographer, you can enjoy your day, because if you have a phone, you've got a camera and you're taking pictures like billions of them.
Speaker 5:So, anyway, yeah, I have thought about like the whole thing. Um, you know, this generation really doesn't know what a TV remote or everything is by the TV remote. And my generation, your parent, you were your parents TV remote. Go, change the knob. I still remember that.
Speaker 5:And so when I just saw this on the sheet which means I did cheat or use my resources, whichever version you want to say when I was a kid we still had to go develop our film. So I remember that was part of like our Sunday routine. When we went to get groceries and stuff. My mom would be like, okay, go to the photography counter. And so I would go in there and give them our three rolls, four rolls.
Speaker 3:And wait until it got developed. Yep and pay big bucks too. Yes.
Speaker 5:And so, anyways, that's a fun time, cause I just thought, ma'am, I'm never going to do that, most likely with my kids, that's interesting.
Speaker 1:We had a. The kids had a disposable camera one time. I don't remember how they got it, but they took all the pictures and it's still sitting somewhere.
Speaker 4:You've never done it, you've never taken it to develop.
Speaker 1:No, I haven't. We need to.
Speaker 4:Where do you take it? Well, you can go to like Walgreens, walgreens, walmart. I think Walmart still does it too. Yeah, walmart does it. You can still. There's still their pictures.
Speaker 5:Well, now I want like I want an old camera now, just so that I could go develop my film with my kids.
Speaker 3:Okay, I can see if you took that to Walgreens, josh, the handed it to him, they'd go. Why, probably? Why are you doing this? Yeah, okay, there's one other. There are two other days we need to recognize today and Miriam, this one, you. Why is today so spectacular?
Speaker 4:Oh Mary, I knew you were going to do something. It's a spectacular day. Miriam, that honestly almost hurt. Yes, it is National Potato Day there we go.
Speaker 3:Miriam is on it, on it, on it. It's kind of like the sound of music, right? Okay, all right, national Potato Day. It's been around a while and everybody likes potatoes, you know, some of them like it fried, some of them mashed, some like it baked, and there's different kinds of potatoes. But anyway, national Potato Day, it doesn't say that it is a russet potato, a red potato, a sweet potato, it just says Potato Day. So enjoy your spud-tacular day today.
Speaker 3:All right, Now here's a really important one, especially when we're in the month of August. It's today, all right. Now here's a really important one, especially when we're in the month of August, it's national soft ice cream day.
Speaker 4:Now I know, I know, I thought I knew that Dairy Queen invented soft ice cream, oh not so much, not so much, yeah.
Speaker 3:So if you look at your cheat sheet of the research and development department, you can see that soft ice cream, in some fashion, was around 200 BC. Isn't that wild? I didn't know. Dairy Queen was that old, I know.
Speaker 4:I'm serious, I didn't either.
Speaker 3:Wasn't it a drive-thru or just walk-ups?
Speaker 4:I think it was a walk-up at that point. Ride-through, ride-through, that's it.
Speaker 3:Chariots, come on, you know.
Speaker 5:There you go, make a reference to.
Speaker 3:Barry's age. I will not make a reference to Barry's age. Oh, Amanda, I'm not going to. There's a special podcast coming from you and it's going to be one of those days that you're going to say I should have stayed in education. That's right, that's right.
Speaker 3:I'm saving them up. So anyway, 200 BC, yes, and Alexander the Great and Nero the emperor of Rome, they enjoyed flavored ice snow. That's pretty cool. It's not quite the same as soft serve, but maybe it's close, and so so, bringing it around, bringing it around you didn't mention Miriam's age. And so 1740s and 1777, george Washington was known to have ice cream at his estate. For, for whatever reason, they watched him do everything and they didn't even have YouTube. So but yeah, one time he spent over $200 for ice cream.
Speaker 4:Okay, think about that. Think about how much money that would have been back then. Well, that's two trips through the Dairy Queen now. Yes, exactly, but back then that's a lot of money, that's a lot of ice cream.
Speaker 3:So what is National Photography Day? This is Amanda, this is for you, since you're so smart. What is National Photography Day? National Potato Day and National Soft Serve Ice Cream or Soft Ice Cream Day all have in common?
Speaker 5:I have no idea, uh-huh.
Speaker 3:Didn't think so, so uh-huh, Miriam your turn.
Speaker 4:What was the question again?
Speaker 3:What is National Photography Day, national Potato Day and National Soft Ice Cream Day all have in common?
Speaker 4:They make us very happy.
Speaker 3:Wow, that's profound, so anyway.
Speaker 1:So before you move on, so it's a go ahead. I had to Google this real quick because I was curious, like what was $200 for, like inflation? So that's roughly it'd be about $6,000 now.
Speaker 5:And he did it in ice cream In a summer, in a summer In one summer.
Speaker 1:And he was the first president of the.
Speaker 3:United States. He wasn't making that much dough back then.
Speaker 4:No, he was not.
Speaker 3:Anyway, apparently enough to afford a lot of ice cream. That's right. So what they all have in common it's a really cool, spectacular day.
Speaker 4:The pain.
Speaker 3:Picture perfect, picture perfect. Okay, you should have known that. So anyway, dad joke, I know Well that I am A dad joke. So, anyway, before we get into our subject matter today with our guests, which are very special but they're also internal we're going to talk about some of the details of operations of Topeka Rescue Mission. They're very important, but, josh, there's this event we've been talking about coming up. Yeah, just a little one, just a little one, that's got you chilling. Oh yeah Right, oh yeah yeah, we've got a night of praise.
Speaker 1:Night of praise, that's right, so talk about it. Yeah, night of Praise. It's Friday, september 12th. Doors open at 6. Event starts at 6.30. Yeah, just a great night to get together and worship the Lord and hear some stories of what God's doing at the mission and hopefully raise some support.
Speaker 3:It's going to be a fellowship, yes, fellowship, bible Church.
Speaker 1:They're 10th and Urish Admission is free. We do ask that you bring a canned food item to help support as well. So, but yeah, it's a great night, and this is the third night of praise.
Speaker 3:Yeah, third annual, okay. So you've got this down pat now right, sure, picture perfect.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely no problem. You're chilling out right? Absolutely. There's nothing that ever goes wrong. It's going to be spud-tacular baby.
Speaker 3:Spud-tacular. There's, like I say, free admission, but do ask that you bring an unperishable food item if you can, and there's also an opportunity to give there to help support the efforts of Topeka Rescue Mission, but the main emphasis is on focusing on Christ and what God has done for all of us and some testimonials along those lines and the body of Christ and those that maybe don't identify with the church at all can come.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely, and that's one thing we've loved about it is, every year we have multiple churches and multiple denominations and it's not just like FBC or just TBC or one church, it's all of us coming together unified, and that's I think, and some different musical groups from different churches as well.
Speaker 3:Yeah, absolutely, absolutely. So a lot of different variety, yeah, flavors yeah, okay, on Night of Praise on the 12th of September yes, okay, coming up. So, and it's also on Facebook and different places you can find it, trying to put it out everywhere.
Speaker 1:So if you did miss it, you live under a rock.
Speaker 5:That's right, because we're trying to give it there.
Speaker 3:But even if you live under a rock, you're welcome Absolutely.
Speaker 5:That's I would say too. You know, if you are on social media, please go to the Speaker Rescue Mission page, because we have an event set up for it that you can show us if you're going, you can invite people to it, you can share it, and that really is. You know, the heart behind it. It is our only fundraiser that we put on every year annual fundraiser and definitely geared towards trying to raise financial funds to keep our budget healthy for everything that we're doing.
Speaker 5:It takes a lot of money to be able to do so, but the other side of it is really in regards to just how else can you get involved, and for some, that could be signing up to be a monthly donor or some type of reoccurring donor. That would help us a lot. It could also be where you're learning more about volunteerism. It could be that we're going to have a neat opportunity where people can go to a section of the area for prayer but also to receive prayer requests from us. So there's some neat things that we're hoping. The entire thing, from the time you walk in the doors until you leave, is truly an experience that not only draws you closer to the Lord, gives you an opportunity to understand how the Lord really works, connected to both what we know in Scripture but what he's still actively doing, but then also potentially can get involved in TRM outside of our annual fundraiser.
Speaker 3:Well, it's good for a lot of reasons and for people who just need kind of a lift. Yes. Come and be. They don't have to do anything, they don't have to act a certain way, right? They don't have to be of any kind of a commitment of anything, but come and just be ministered to and you might see God do some amazing things in your own life.
Speaker 1:Yes, yeah.
Speaker 3:Please do join. And also an opportunity to raise those resources for Topeka Rescue Mission Do what it does every single day, 365 days a year. So, LaManda, we're interviewing two very important position people here at Topeka Rescue Mission today, and one is somebody that is with us all the time almost on the podcast. That's Miriam.
Speaker 4:I am.
Speaker 3:And so, miriam, you're deputy director of supportive services, so we are interviewing you today, yes, and we're going to interview someone else here today. That's very important in your department. That's wonderful. Before we do that, talk to us about supportive services. What does that really mean?
Speaker 4:You know, I think LaManda has changed my mind on what supportive services is, because very often we've talked about that supportive services are really those things that go on behind the scenes right, that do all this kind of stuff. But I heard LaManda talk about it one time saying, really it's the foundation of what we do, because supportive services are all of those things that make it possible for the other departments to do what they do. So, whether it's HR or finance or IT or marketing, it's really those, all of those pieces of an organization that make it possible for the other people to do their jobs. So I have this incredible team and in supportive services we do just that. We support the mission and we support everybody else that's doing more frontline work, but seriously walking alongside them to try to make sure they can do it as well as possible.
Speaker 3:I think a lot of us don't realize, until we really hear that explained that way, that any organization of any kind of size which Topeka Rescue Mission has size because it does so much has to have that support, that foundational things that are there to help it move forward, whether it's employment, volunteers, the IT piece is huge today. I mean, what we're doing right now is all that IT Right Communications, whether it's the social media platforms, you name it, still paper newsletters going out, being able to respond to a donor who wants to give. I mean the list goes on, and on, and on, and on and on. And if you didn't have that and you didn't have it healthy right, it would not work well.
Speaker 4:Absolutely. You know, and what's what's so interesting is most of the departments that are in supportive services are one people departments, you know. I mean there's just one of them and they just do amazing things. You know, even our strategic development department Um, it's not a lot of people that are having a lot of different kinds of responsibilities and jump in in different kind of ways whenever needed, so they are a spectacular team.
Speaker 3:It really is, and it's very important for the bigger mission of Topeka Rescue Mission to have that foundation. So you mentioned HR being one of those, and so we are blessed to have Kim Turley with us today, who is our director of HR here at Topeka Rescue Mission. Kim, talk about when you first started working at Topeka Rescue Mission.
Speaker 6:Well, it was a very long time ago. Well, officially working here.
Speaker 3:I don't mean officially, I just mean Unofficially working. Here was when I was eight Eight, I believe it was seven, kim.
Speaker 6:Okay, I know Me and you have that difference.
Speaker 3:Little kids always think they're older than they are, so anyway, yeah. Yeah, so, kim, talk about that. I mean, you've been involved with Topeka Rescue almost all your life, uh-huh, actually, the majority of your life.
Speaker 6:Yeah, uh-huh.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so talk about how you got first introduced into Topeka Rescue Mission and then officially where you came into this and the different roles that you've had.
Speaker 6:Yeah, I was actually just talking to someone this weekend about how long I've been a part of the rescue mission. So unofficially started when my mom started as a volunteer, and you know what they say about volunteering around here If you stay too long, you'll get hired.
Speaker 3:You might get a check every once in a while. Yeah, so she got hired.
Speaker 6:And then she worked here for several years and then retired, probably a handful of years ago now. But when I started coming here, like you know, the mission was much smaller obviously, and I've got to see it grow and change over the years. Remember when the Hope Center was first built and putting up the borders that everyone hated taking down just recently when we remodeled and seeing that open and putting all the little stuffed animals on the beds and things like that. So like there's just the different memories of when we first got the distribution center and cleaning that out because it was a hot mess when we first bought it Very dirty. So just those different memories of growing. I worked here for a short stint in high school. That was not a very good work ethic time for me.
Speaker 4:Did you get fired?
Speaker 6:It was just for the summer, so I was going off to college. It was a temp job.
Speaker 4:Yeah, it was a temp job.
Speaker 6:Yeah, it was a temp job.
Speaker 3:She survived it, we survived it.
Speaker 6:Yeah, we all did so, then moved away and ended up getting married and then came back here, and that's when Josh actually got a job first, and then I got a job quickly after that. We've been here for 11 years now.
Speaker 3:So if you haven't put the two and two together, that's Josh Turley over here, this is Kim Turley over here, and Josh is the head of the strategic development. Yes yes, yes. Title changes there. So, kim, you haven't been the head of the HR department the whole time that you've been here, since you've been back, so you've done a number of roles. Talk about those different roles.
Speaker 6:I've had different titles here started as volunteer services coordinator, assistant, assistant director and then director after that and then moved into executive assistant role probably it was right around the transition time for you too and then after I asked you to do that, and then I told you I was leaving it was.
Speaker 6:it was a shock. It's like, hey, do you want to do this? Actually, by the way, which was a great growing opportunity for me, though I had no idea what I was stepping into as an executive assistant. I thought that'd be a cool rule, and then I stepped into it and definitely learned a lot and grew and then had the opportunity to start taking some college classes and my first college class I took was an HR class and hands down best class ever took.
Speaker 6:Professor was amazing. It was through City Vision. Really enjoyed that and that's kind of what opened my eyes to HR. Obviously I have a dad that grew up in not grew up, he did HR all his life but I was definitely like I'm not sure that's for me. Then I took the class and was like this is very interesting. So that really kind of opened me up to it.
Speaker 3:What about HR? I mean you had worked in some different capacities in the rescue mission you started when you were eight years old and of getting involved in this as a volunteer, and then a little bit of work before you went off to college and then you came back. So you came back, you've had some roles of back office type thing with volunteers and then executive assistant. What about HR? Because a lot of people number one maybe don't know what HR really means, but what attracted you to HR when you really weren't sure that you'd want to do that?
Speaker 6:You know when I really think about it. So I was in the executive assistant role with Lamanda and I was trying to picture what would be a next step, because that's what she's really big about. What's another step for you or help you grow? And I kept thinking like what is another step that I could do to help me here at the rescue mission and help the rescue mission as well? And I was like it's kind of protect the organization, that's kind of like the next step I can do and HR does that. It's kind of like the next step I can do and HR does that.
Speaker 6:You're kind of that gatekeeper to hiring the right staff and also for keeping everything in line and in order as much as it can be. And so that was kind of like I was like I can do that. I know enough about the mission, I know enough about the type of people we're looking to hire here. I have a good relationship with the directors just because I've been here long enough, and that's a big key is that relationship with staff, and I really enjoy doing that, learning more from LaManda on what the staff are needing and just nurturing them too.
Speaker 3:So obviously having a good understanding of the organization is helpful and you had pretty good background. You had a lot of years to be able to process that. And you had pretty good background. You had a lot of years to be able to process that and then stepping into being the HR director, working with staff, knowing the organization. So explain to us kind of what your job is. Then Hiring staff you mentioned that In other words, interviewing them, making sure that they're the right fit, but what all of the different moving parts of HR are there and how many employees? We have a volunteer department which the volunteers are numerous and it takes a whole different level of organization of that. But these are the paid employees that you are managing.
Speaker 3:What does it mean? What do you do?
Speaker 6:Goodness, it's a lot. I mean the day-to-day stuff. You can just list off a number of different things, whether it be answering staff's questions, things like that, but overarching it's really just talking with staff on the questions they may have, going through policies and making sure directors understand what their job is as a director and helping them teach that to their staff and just walking through those day-to-day disciplinary actions or questions they have on different things. Goodness, a lot of times I'm a listening ear too for staff. They may just need to talk for a little bit. That be staff directors, anyone writing policies. There's a lot of policies sometimes that just pop up and we're like, oh, we should probably have a policy about that, sure, if I enjoy that part or not, but, um, but it's a continual job, like you think you get things in order and then there's always new things that come up, so she's forgetting a lot.
Speaker 4:I know a lot well.
Speaker 4:There's payroll insurance and there's the day to day stuff evaluations and there's training, and Kim is not lacking for things to do. It is a constant in terms of all of the things that she kind of has to keep in the air because, you know, it's one thing to hire people, it's another thing to be able to retain them Right. So how does she encourage staff? How does she find things that will make them feel like this is the best place to work ever, even when it doesn't feel like it's the greatest place to work ever, because there's chaos and there's tremendous numbers of work and there's dealing with trauma? So Kim's responsibility in trying to keep people encouraged that in and of itself could be a full-time job.
Speaker 3:I think you talked about retention and attracting people to come work. This is not the necessarily the most well-known of what Topeka Rescue Mission does in this regard. There are people that have an idea it's a homeless shelter, some people think they just feed folks, some folks see it as a ministry, some people don't know about the total package, and so you're looking for people that have an understanding and also help them to understand when they maybe make that first contact, because I know a number of folks that I have had a chance, since LaManda has become CEO here, to talk with them is they had no idea before they came here. They were looking for employment, they wanted to help people and they get in here and they go oh my gosh. So you're kind of at the front door of helping people to understand the magnitude of TRM. And also, miriam, you mentioned benefits. So organizations to retain folks need benefits.
Speaker 4:Oh, my goodness.
Speaker 3:Absolutely. What are benefits here?
Speaker 4:Benefits here would be everything from health insurance to vision insurance, to dental insurance, to disability insurance, as well as then vacation time and sick time All of those different things that really are there to support employees Maternity leave bring your child to work, kind of things.
Speaker 4:You know, mom infant or dad infant. Kind of things where we make sure that parents who have just got had a new baby don't have to separate from them right away. They can bring them to work for a certain amount of time. Obviously, we have lots of processes around that, Um, but really just making sure that we are meeting the needs of, um, our employees far beyond just what we need them to be doing at work, Um, understanding that there there is hopefully work-life balance, that you know they have an opportunity to take time off, to get away to recharge and reset, All of those things are really important and we consider those all benefits of Topeka Rescue Mission.
Speaker 3:And Amanda, you as the leader, have a lot of moving parts here to pick a rescue mission, from shelter and feeding and safety security facilities. The list goes on and on and on. Why is it important? What can you tell people who are listening? The importance of getting the right people here to work and keeping the right people here, and, of course, that has to be resourced.
Speaker 5:You can't have a cake without ingredients, and so the bottom line is we would not have this ministry without the people making the ministry work.
Speaker 5:And so, when I look at everything that the Lord does and everything that he makes happen, it's all done through his people, the employees of the rescue mission.
Speaker 5:Not only do we need their bodies, we need their minds, we need them to have good attendance all of these things.
Speaker 5:The most important thing is I need every staff member waking up every day knowing that they are a vessel for the Lord. And so there are so many things that Kim is responsible for, even if she's just facilitating, right, but this shepherding of our flock, because, one, we've got a job to do, but two, it's not just that we have a need to do the job well, and that there is a huge spiritual component in it as well, to know we have to have people that are seeking wisdom from the Lord, that their joy truly comes from Him, because there's so many things that we can do practically to try to help with all of this. There are definitely strategies that come through her ideas and all of this stuff to connect with staff, to recruit them, to retain them, but there is also this component that we really are supposed to just be shepherds and help people, as they're our employees, because they're doing the work of the Lord, and that's something that cannot be taught.
Speaker 3:You as leader here, and then the people who are your deputy directors, and then the supervisors, are sending people on the front lines of some of the most difficult, challenging and sometimes dangerous situations that exist in this part of the world. And so you know we're talking about. You know I've had a recent conversation about this is that this is not a mental health facility. It's not a nursing home, it's not a correctional facility, it's not a drug rehab program.
Speaker 3:But, yes, it is yes, it is yes. It is Because when those things don't exist outside in the kind of degree that they need to because of the magnitude, and people find themselves homeless, they come here and you are deploying people on the front lines to be able to go into those very difficult, messy, sometimes life safety issues which you know every day and you probably don't wake up every morning worrying about that. You put that before the Lord, but also you are asking a lot of people to be able to do this. Talk about the importance Again, we're talking about HR today the importance of having a robust HR program to be able to know that you can effectively deploy people into these situations.
Speaker 5:You know what Kim does and what she assists with is crucial, not only for how she is stewarding the strategic thinking of what our team members need, but I also appreciate Kim's honesty back with me when we're not doing something for staff that needs to be done. Back with me when we're not doing something for staff that needs to be done. A prime example of that is she knows my heart is really big into mentorship and you know I'm a firm believer that we all, myself included, should have a backup, because if I go out right now and am in a car accident, I don't want TRM to skip a beat. Trm belongs to the Lord and is here to help win lives every day over to the kingdom. And so Kim, knowing this, knowing my heart is mentorship, knowing that I want there to be significant training from myself to deputies, to deputies, to directors, to directors, to assistant directors, she put together this what was it? 10 weeks, eight weeks worth of supervisory training and presented it to me with thought out topics, who she felt, like the speaker, should be, the fun things and activities that were going to be embedded in some of the heavier weeks, and all of this. That's a perfect example of it's not just all about Kim doing what I feel like is needed for staff. It's when I can't see things she comes to me and says LaManda, I know your heart is that staff is taken care of like this. Here's an area that we're not doing it, and her and Miriam worked on that. And then we had the first round of that with deputy directors, myself and directors, and that was just a prime example of the importance of not only what she does do in helping train the staff, but also her seeing gaps that we are not doing and bringing it before me saying we've got to do this and knowing those things are not easy because TRM is so unique and beautiful and challenging in regards to our employee makeup here.
Speaker 5:From a spiritual side, we very strongly believe that God definitely equips those that he calls. He doesn't necessarily call those who are equipped. So with that comes this heavy emphasis and belief that we want to be in or known for, and so we run ourselves like a business. We have job descriptions and we have all of these things that Kim's responsible for. Yet we cannot always do policy over the person. So the other thing that she navigates as she's doing, these hiring processes and all that she also knows that not just myself, but what TRM represents is a place that, if someone might not make cuts on paper, she also knows that the Lord might not be asking us to cut that person out and that we might be that exact place for who he's calling them to come and be around and that we have to be obedient to that.
Speaker 5:So when I think through her importance and what that matters to me and why I try to support it, it's this balancing act and we need people here to do what we do.
Speaker 5:But the other responsibility that Kim has, that Miriam has, that I have and other leaders have is we also have to remember that that person in front of us in that interview or after we hire them, that it might not be all about what they're going to do for TRM. It's also that God calls people at TRM for their own personal stories and that is beautiful and we see it time and time again. It can also be hard because you know, I've been called on the carpet a couple of times on people questioning why I have certain staff here working, called on the carpet a couple of times on people questioning why I have certain staff here working, and I stand behind all the time that our people matter and their stories matter, and that TRM has to be a place where people can showcase the transformation that the Lord has in their lives and in their hearts and in their minds, and so Kim has a very tough yet unique and beautiful role in playing that.
Speaker 3:Kim, I think I referred to you one time in Switzerland. You have to be Switzerland here to be a rescue mission. So you represent the organization, represent the person. You work for Miriam. Miriam works for LaManda, but yet you're that neutral place that if somebody can't have a conversation with that supervisor, you've got to have that conversation and confidence to help that person navigate it through. So in some ways, a big part of your job, it sounds like, is to watch for the health of the organization and the health of the people who work in the organization. How do you do that? How do you do that balance? You've been very involved with the ministry for many, many years. You know the ins and outs of it. Now you've moved into this role where you are a big part of the team but yet you are unique in the team, to where you're a bit like Switzerland.
Speaker 6:How do you do that Great question Carefully?
Speaker 4:I knew you would. It is very careful.
Speaker 6:You know I look back at like what I'm doing for TRM and try to. People always ask me like I'm a pretty chill person, like I don't get riled up on things too often. People always ask me like I'm a pretty chill person, like I don't get riled up on things too often, but I have, like I always know that the Lord's guiding me in every step I do, and I always know there's a plan for every reason, because I remember Miriam just asked me the question like how are you like handling all this stuff? Because we have a lot of openings right now. That's why this conversation's happening. And so you know I give it over to the Lord and I know the Lord's going to bring the right people at the right time and going to open the doors and I'm just, you know, the steward and steering what the mission needs. So the question is, how do I do it? It's honestly relying on God every day what my job is and just kind of listening for his discernment on certain things too.
Speaker 3:I think it's good to be chill in this position. Kim, what's maybe the one or two most enjoyable things that you have learned in this position that you really look forward to doing?
Speaker 6:Goodness, I just really like the part of interacting with staff and the executive assistant role. I mean we grew it a lot to have it a lot more involvement with staff. Yeah, I also like the organization of the position. There's steps and balances, checks and balances for almost everything.
Speaker 5:She's weird and I say that with love.
Speaker 3:I'm glad some people do that.
Speaker 5:I will never forget one of the things that she said and I don't think I'll ever forget it. She came in and she was like hey, can you come and look at your calendar real quick? So I came over there and her calendar looked pretty crisp and clean. And then all of a sudden she clicked my name so that my calendar showed on top of hers. And I looked at her and I said is that my calendar? And she goes yeah, isn't it so cool?
Speaker 5:And I'm like and then she goes and it's all color coordinated and so your color for this means that you're here and your color, and I'm like I don't even want to look at that. I turned my back to her screen and I said just tell me what you're asking, what we need to do with my schedule, because I can't. So when I say she's weird, it's out of love.
Speaker 3:Amanda, I use Siri every once in a while when I'm driving to say tell me what my appointments are for tomorrow. And occasionally I get your calendar and it says you have 22 appointments for tomorrow.
Speaker 5:Oh, that's Amanda's calendar, so. But Kim thrives off of that, and so that to me is you know, when you look at God, god is a God of order, I mean even dating back to just the organization of the tribes and all of that. That is something that I try really hard not to overlook in Kim. Um, kim is her ability to see things that really are kind of like a ball of yarn and it's all just knotted, and then she just somehow crochets something beautiful and keeps it organized, and I don't know how she does it.
Speaker 3:Well, she's the right person for it. She's owning the position We've had those conversations a few times, didn't we?
Speaker 3:And so you've really stepped up into this. And one of the things that from just the kind of an outsider looking in now that I really think is cool is when you have new staff orientation and it's there. They're all out there in the hallway getting ready to go into a 136 for training and they look kind of like new recruits at bootcamp. They're all. They're coming from all different walks of life. Some have been guests at the rescue mission, some are coming in from a whole different area of don't know much about this, but they really feel like and some very in tune to what Topeka Rescue Mission is doing. But yeah, you're bringing them in on the same level playing field and you've helped design a lot of that. So another question, other side of the coin what is the most challenging part of what you do as the director of HR?
Speaker 6:You know, with HR there's checks and balances to everything, but you're still human and I think that's the big part too is you're dealing with humans' lives a lot of times, whether it be terminations, not getting hired, jobs are important for people and so I think it's the human side of it and I always tell Miriam, I have to, like I have to draw a line in my head because you know this is my job. But sometimes when you have to make hard decisions, I mean it can be difficult and I wrestle with that sometimes, but then I also just, you know things happen and you have to deal with it. It's a human side of me.
Speaker 3:So you're caring Switzerland.
Speaker 6:Yeah, I know that's the most difficult.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, I would imagine that would be, and so there have been some different reports and studies going on around the country where it's getting harder and harder to find the right people to work in this kind of work. This work is getting more difficult for multiple factors. Population numbers are higher than we've seen in years. In coming into shelters, we especially post-pandemic we've seen some significant challenges with people coming with even more brokenness, an aging population with medical needs. This is not the warm and fuzzy we're going to love our neighbor as ourself type thing. Only that's where it starts.
Speaker 3:It's getting harder and harder to find people. There are some shelters that have actually had to close down because they couldn't find workers, and you can't just open up the door safely and say y'all come, because that would be very dangerous and unhealthy and would be all kinds of wrong things. So, kim, part of your role here is to be able to work with Josh and everybody to get the word out there about openings and finding the right person, not just to fill a spot but to fill the spot with the right person. So, lamanna, maryam, kim, talk about the opportunities for people to check out Topeka Rescue Mission for maybe not just a job, but a calling that has a job associated with it. What are some of those things you can say that would maybe spark some interest in some folks, and what kind of positions do we have open at this point that you can recall?
Speaker 5:I'll speak on just tapping into people's interest. I think the thing that comes to my mind is there are a lot of places where I know for a fact we would all get paid more. I know that there are places where we could truly leave work. When we leave work, I know that there's a lot of places where my people could go that the benefits might even be better. The benefits might even be better. What I cling to is the fact that the Lord shows me you are the person that I need answering that phone, so it shows me what my purpose is.
Speaker 5:But when I get on that phone call and you find out something about a single mom that's in need or this just happened to me this week I was driving to a store and there's someone that I love very deeply and he was struggling on a parking space bumper and my husband looked over at me and he said do you want me to help you or do you want me to just take the kids in the store? And I said either way, it's fine. I know this person really well and I went over to the person and it's not how I planned on spending my shopping time right with my family. Talk to this individual. I love this individual. This individual was struggling. I said can I pray with you? And he said yeah. And then, before I could say anything, he said but I know, even if I said no, you would anyways. And I laughed, prayed with the person, told him I loved him. He told me he loved me, told me he hated everybody right now, except for me, all these things.
Speaker 5:Um, and in that moment I, when I had to leave him, one, I cried because I don, I don't like leaving them, but I have to trust everybody with the Lord.
Speaker 5:But the other thing was I literally said before I got in the car God, thank you that you somehow trust me enough that I can be on a shopping trip and see this person who is wanting to die and that you entrust me to pray for him and to somehow bring him closer to you. And it's a, it's a mind shift. Do I look at that as I'm annoyed because I'm trying to go into a store and my job never ends, or do I remember that I'm living with purpose every day and that purpose is for the Lord? So I get in the car and I'm a little sad because I really just want to load him up and make him be ready for his next stage of healing. And he's just not ready yet. And one of my daughters said Mama, I'm not sure that if it wasn't for TRM that you would really know how to love people well and of course I'm already in the front seat fighting the tears.
Speaker 5:And then the other one said and now we're learning how to love people. Keep in mind this is someone who he had no shirt on, sitting next to vomit. When I say, just not a pretty picture, it's not a pretty picture. And then two of my kiddos take away that they're learning to love, that's not a hallmark moment. Right for myself as my job Probably not the easiest way we're going to recruit somebody to say come be a part of our team. Like it's a hard part. It's pretty powerful.
Speaker 5:However, when you think about the purpose piece and knowing that you can see things differently than this world sees it, I don't ever want to be robbed of that. So fast forward, several days past this morning, I get a text message from another co-worker who saw this individual and he said please reach out to LaManda and thank her for the medicine that she brought and for loving on me. So I don't know. I don't know if that person's going to take the next stage of healing or if he's going to struggle the entire time this side of heaven, but I get that opportunity to see him, see his need, relate to him, because I may never have sat on a parking space bumper, but you better believe I've been in moments of darkness, and that is what is so incredible here is it's not the pay and it's not the benefits, and it's not that any of us even get accolades, but we all have those moments where it's a reminder that we could be doing something that feels very lavish this side of earth but I also know would be so empty.
Speaker 5:And that's the balancing act that we have to do of it's a business. We've got to have people, we've got to fill the spots. We can have burnout when we don't have those spots. All of that is the reality we face. Yet we cannot let those challenges of we've got to fill this position or we've got to do this, or let's just give everybody more money, let's just get. We can't, because that takes away from the God-given purpose that will keep people motivated every time to do the work.
Speaker 3:It's really laying the right word. It's supposed to be. Love is not always fixing the problem. Love is being there in the moment, and that's what Topeka Rescue Mission volunteers, staff get to do is be in the moment with a lot of people and not necessarily fix them. We love to fix people. We never do. We love to see them fixed, but we see. The Lord, who's in charge of fixing things, has called us to do one thing love them. And.
Speaker 3:LaManda, that sounds like what you did and your kids have reflected that back to you very well. Um, I I think those are people listening that that's going to resonate with to some degree. Um, just a couple more things, miriam. Um, from your own personal experience. Um, how would you tell somebody that's maybe wondering, um, or maybe even thinking about it, and they just happened to stumble across this podcast today how do you know that you should possibly come to a place like Topeka Rescue Mission and be a part of it?
Speaker 4:You know that's probably a million dollar question that I'm not sure I can answer, um, because I think it's probably different for for every person, right? But I think that there is something, when you walk through the doors for 95% of our employees, that will make them just say something is different here and it's a good different, not a bad different. Just listen to that still small voice that's telling you something is different. Um, because it is. It was for me from the moment that I came on board and you pulled the bait and switch Um it, you know.
Speaker 3:God and I worked it out.
Speaker 4:Yeah Well, you know, apparently, apparently seven years later, eight years later, however long I've been here now but I just think I think people just need to give it a shot and recognize that this will not ever be a normal job. This will not ever be a normal kind of experience, partly because of who we have the opportunity to serve in terms of our guests and our unsheltered neighbors, but partly because the Lord just does some work on you when you're here, you know, and opens up different perspectives, and it's amazing to me the number of people that we've hired on that have said, wow, okay, love just feels different here and you actually can feel it. People care, they're happy, 90% of the time they're smiling. You know not that we don't have drama and issues. We do. We absolutely do with our staff and with the people we serve.
Speaker 5:No, this is no, this is absolutely not, which is why sometimes we have so many openings, because we also have terminations. Exactly, people quit and we have turnover.
Speaker 3:It doesn't work for everybody.
Speaker 4:No, it doesn't, but people will feel something different if they give it an opportunity and if they just listen to their heart. If you're being nudged, you probably need to at least have a conversation.
Speaker 3:That's what I was going for the nudge. If you are feeling nudged a little bit, check it out. It doesn't mean you have to sign up for a staff position. You can go volunteer, Absolutely. You can get on the website. You can come to night of praise in September. There's a number of things that you can follow through with a nudge or maybe you're already there and you know that this is what you're supposed to do.
Speaker 3:So, kim, how can somebody say, hey, I want to check out to see what the openings are? How do they find out?
Speaker 6:Visit trmonlineorg and look under the About Us tab, and you'll find job opportunities.
Speaker 3:Okay, and so what do I do with that? I see something that maybe I'm interested in. Does it guide me through on how to fill out an application? Can they call you and talk to you? Does it guide me through on how to fill out an application? Can they call you and talk to you? All the above, yep, they can call me.
Speaker 6:There's a job application right there. There's the job descriptions linked to the title as well, so people can read through all the job descriptions and figure out which one they want. But just remember, it's not about your skill set, it's about your heart too for the ministry and service. So even if you don't have the right skillset, give it a shot.
Speaker 3:Well, I would say in conclusion, and thank you all for helping unpack this type of thing which I'm not sure I've ever heard a program on HR before on a podcast or anything else because it's one of those things that people just take for granted right, can't take it for granted here and any other organization as well, but one of the things if you are feeling the nudge to maybe come help people, that's great. Just know that you yourself are probably going to be the one that gets the help, and so it's a tandem bicycle here. God is loving both ends of the spectrum, and so, kim, thank you for what you're doing. Miriam, thank you, lamanda, thank you and thank you all for listening. If you'd like more information about Topeka Rescue Mission, as Kim said, you can go to trmonlineorg that's trmonlineorg and also watch for Night of Praise. It's coming up, september, the 12th Fellowship Bible Church at 6.30 pm, and so love to see you there. Have a great day.