Latest / Hart & Hustle Podcast / The Hidden Network Helping 70,000 People Stay Safe at Home
Transcript
- Efrain: Welcome back to another episode here on the Heart and Hustle Podcast. We have Miss Dr. Morales is in the building. How are you doing today, man? Dr. Johnola Morales: How great yourself? Efrain: Listen, I'm good. I love your glasses. I I mean I ain't get the memo to put my nice glasses on. I would put my nice glasses on if you told me. Dr. Johnola Morales: Ha ha. Efrain: I love it. I love it. for those that are watching or listening, let them know what organization you're representing, what's your title? Dr. Johnola Morales: So I work at Asiola Council on Aging. I have two titles. One is the senior VP of Home Care and Case Management. And the second one is the Chief of Staff. Efrain: What does that day to day look like wearing those two hats? Dr. Johnola Morales: well, we have a phenomenal leadership team. So the day-to-day for me is more on the home care and the case management team, dealing with stabilizing people in our community and making sure that they're safe in their homes. so I love it. I'm a social worker at heart, so I just love what we do. Efrain: You say you're a social worker at heart. Was that what were you doing before you got into this these roles? Dr. Johnola Morales: Yes, yes. So I've been a social worker for many, many, many let me not age Efrain: Let me not age myself. Dr. Johnola Morales: myself, but I have been a social worker Efrain: Yeah. Dr. Johnola Morales: since nineteen eighty-five. a licensed social worker since nineteen eighty-nine. started in New York. that wasn't my first passion, but that's where I ended up. Efrain: Yeah. What what made you get into that line of work? Dr. Johnola Morales: So my first line of work was I thought I was gonna follow my mom and be a nurse, but I found out very quickly I do not like blood and I do not like needles. So I did not go in that path. Efrain: Yeah. Dr. Johnola Morales: But being in college in a way, I took on being a resident assistant. And you have a lot of people who come and bring you their situations, their issues, and things of that nature. And I found out that that was my niche. So when I graduated, I actually started out being a foster care worker. and just happened to fall in love with our profession and just knew that I needed to continue to be in that field. Efrain: So how long do you do that before you made that transition to what you're doing today? Dr. Johnola Morales: So it's it's been a while. I have first was a foster care worker, as I said, and then I transitioned into a preventive worker, and then I moved into child protective work. I was assistant commissioner there, and then I moved to another place thinking that adult protective services were gonna be easier than child protective services. I don't know who told me that. It was not At all easier. But even while doing that, social workers usually do more than one job. So I did that as well as being a medical social worker. Eight years ago, my husband retired from NYPD and we moved to Florida. So this is where I ended up here at Asiola Council on Aging first as the director. And then when we have our new CEO who came over, she changed a lot of our titles and she added me on as the chief of staff. Efrain: Are you enjoying Florida? I know a lot of you New Yorkans end up here in Florida. Some may go back, some say I'm never going back. Where do you lie on that? Dr. Johnola Morales: I'm in between. I'm not I'm not gonna lie. I mean we love the spaces of the weather and things like that. I miss my New York food. I miss seeing people outside. So as a social worker, you want that contact, you want to see people. I guess because it's so hot in Florida, people just run from their cars to their homes. You really don't see people outside. And I'm like, where is everybody? New York, you're outside at you know any hour, 2 a.m., 1 a.m. 6 a.m. Everybody's all over the place. So that's the only thing that I really miss for New York is that I don't get to see a lot of people all the time. And the food. We have and the food. Efrain: gonna ask, what is the best New York food? What is that New York food I go to? Dr. Johnola Morales: So the New York go-to food, I mean everywhere. I used to go to San Janeiro in the Italian section. you know, you can go to Chinatown. you can go into Queens and you're into Caribbean. so yes, I miss that New York flavor where you can go anywhere and get any type of food that you want. Efrain: Have you found your good spot here at least that you can go to? Dr. Johnola Morales: So I think I found a couple. I I I don't blow them up too much because people who come from New York, mm-mm, that don't match us. Efrain: Yeah. Dr. Johnola Morales: But I said, hey, I gotta accept what's here and you gotta love it. But we have Efrain: Okay. Dr. Johnola Morales: found some cute little restaurants, you know. I love some of the little places that look like holes in the walls, but they serve the Efrain: Mm-hmm. Dr. Johnola Morales: best food. So never go by sight. You know, you have to go in and you have to try it. Efrain: That's how it usually is too. It's the mom and pop shops that are so underrated that it's like once you go there you're like, wait a minute, this right here is a hidden gem. I ain't telling nobody about this one. I gotta come here. I love it. Dr. Johnola Morales: Mm. Exactly. Exactly. Exactly. Efrain: so what does your day to day look like? Like just wearing these hats? What what what are you we doing to really create that impact as you mentioned? Dr. Johnola Morales: So one, it would depend on the time of the year. So actually we're in the height of the hurricane season and praying that we get none because one of the things that Efrain: Yes, ma'am. Dr. Johnola Morales: Asiola Council on Aging does is turn into a special needs shelter. So that changes the day-to-day for the leadership there. We become the leaders who partner with the Department of Health and our facility actually turns into a special needs shelter that they take over, but we're there for the building part to help out as well. So our normal day-to-day is because we are the social service agency in Osceola County. Day to day you have older adults coming in needing home care, needing electrical or rental assistance, just you know, in quandary of what's happening in the world. Sometimes they're just sad, don't know where to go. So it really depends on what they're walking in the door for. you have families who are coming in who are caregivers. Who are at their wits' ends because they don't know what to do with their loved ones. And we have an adult daycare, so we'll walk them through that process and what it looks like. you know, we have different departments. We have meals on wheels. so we have people who are walking in wanting to get meals for their loved ones, and what does that process look like? So there's many moving parts of the agency on a day-to-day basis. It's always crisis intervention, but it's always someone there to be able to help someone in need. Efrain: Got it. So you guys are a pretty big size organization, you would say? Dr. Johnola Morales: So the organization's mission and vision is big size. The staff, it's a few of us, but Efrain: Got it, got it. Dr. Johnola Morales: few dedicated. I mean, people think that it's like this huge 500 person organization. It is not. but everybody's very versed in what they do and they know what to do on a daily basis. And if it's not in your wheelhouse to deal with, you find the person whose wheelhouse it is to be able to help. Efrain: Yeah. Okay, so small and mighty is what we'll call it. Small and mighty. All right. Dr. Johnola Morales: Yes. Efrain: and I I'm a big believer that sometimes we don't even know what's in our own backyard. So you would say this is definitely where those that may need the resources would would come. Do you find yourself sometimes meeting people that found you guys for the first time? And how did they find you guys? Just kind of word of mouth. What that communication look like for people to find you guys. Dr. Johnola Morales: So it's really amazing. The word of mouth is from officers, firemen, nurses, just other individuals who've stumbled upon us. So unfortunately, and you know, I think we did start off 54 years, 55 years ago as Meals on Wheels program. So because we have a Meals on Wheels 5K race, people think that's all we are. They think that we're meals Efrain: Got it. Dr. Johnola Morales: on wheels. So but the word has gotten out that we're way more than meals on wheels. so you do get a lot of referrals from people in the community. and even if you call our local informational line, they will tell you to call Osceola County Council on Aging to get the information that you need. because one of the things is we are very we've been there a long time in the community, so we are connected to what resources there are. So again, if we can't help you, we will try to connect you to where you you need to be connected. So we are not the hidden gem anymore. We used to be the hidden gem, but on a daily basis, the phone calls are nonstop. We have individuals who come into the door every day. one of the things that we have done is I am also a field instructor for about Efrain: Mm-hmm. Dr. Johnola Morales: eight different colleges. So I have social work interns who may try to assist somebody as they're coming in the door with something on the computer, maybe signing up for a service or connecting them to another service. So there's a lot of moving parts all day long. Efrain: So how many individuals do you guys say you're serving on a like a a yearly basis? Dr. Johnola Morales: I it's gotta be over sixty to seventy thousand people. And we don't Efrain: A year? Dr. Johnola Morales: we don't count them all because some people may walk in the door and you may just our receptionists are phenomenal. They know what we do and they may just give them information on the triple A or give them information on who to go through. So they're not even captured in our day to day numbers. But between all the thirty eight programs it it's probably well over that. Efrain: You said thirty eight programs, is that what you guys mentioned? Wow. Dr. Johnola Morales: Yes, we have thirty eight programs. Efrain: Yeah, that that's a lot of programs, a lot of people to take care of. And some of the people may receive multiple programs if that so you talk about that number times however many programs as well, so they have to come back sometimes to see. Is that correct? Dr. Johnola Morales: Yes, yes. Wraparound services is very important and and something we talk about all the time. So someone may be on our Meals on Wheels program, but they also may be in our case management program. So the case management program, I just want to be clear, is not a program that people can walk into. They get their referrals from adult protective services as something called high risk. And these are individuals who are usually in some kind of crisis situation and we need to stabilize them in their homes so they're able to be sustainable in their homes. And that may look like giving them home care so that a a a CNA can give them a bath or make a meal for them or making sure they get a medical guardian alert, something of that nature. and so we also may, as a case manager, refer them to Meals on Wheels, or we may refer them to our adult daycare program. So there's some wraparound services that are going on throughout some of the clients. Efrain: And is this just Ostiola Base? 'Cause I'm in Volusia, so some ways out. But if I was to g come to your center, is it just kind of in the county base or are you guys serving all central Florida? What's that look like? Dr. Johnola Morales: So we serve Alceola. one of our programs does do some orange, but each county should have something like a council on aging. The triple A's that are in each county do have different agencies that actually do what we do. Maybe not to the magnitude, but they do service the elderly. Efrain: Got it. And do you have any any just like stories that always kind of fuel you or and remind you of why you do the work that you do? I know there's plenty of but what's the one that comes to mind? Dr. Johnola Morales: So, bring being an Afro Latina, I mean you can't hide my skin color, Efrain: Ha ha. Dr. Johnola Morales: coming to Florida. you know, you come from New York, you're coming from the melting pot. You really don't think much about racism, coming from New York because either you like me or you don't, and or I like you and you don't. We're just like that in New York. that's a New York Efrain: Yeah. A New York thing I'm about to say a New York thing for sure. New York thing for sure. Dr. Johnola Morales: thing. but landing in Florida and landing in a place called Saint Cloud, I was told that, you know, there were some people who would not like the color of my skin. And I was like, Okay. but one of my clients, her husband, every time I entered into the house to meet with her, he would leave. And I was like, Okay, maybe he's giving us our privacy. I'm not thinking anything of it. until she said to me one day, he doesn't like your kind. And I said, What? Pretty pretty brown girls, what? You know, just making ch China trying to bring it down a little, you Efrain: Let's go, yeah. Dr. Johnola Morales: know. and she was like, No, he doesn't like your people. and that's why he Efrain: Wow. Dr. Johnola Morales: leaves all the time. And I said, well, that's really sad. I said, because if he got to know me, he would he would really appreciate me. Long story short, he took very good care of his wife, but I noticed he was getting looked thinner and thinner every time I saw him. And I actually said to him one day, I think you need to go to a doctor because you look like you're getting very thin and you may not be doing good well for yourself. And he acknowledged me that day and he said, You're right, I'm not feeling that great. He said, you know, and I really need to go. And I said, yeah, you know, sometimes as caregivers, we forget about ourselves and we often always take care of the person. But sometimes the caregivers, you know, they leave the earth first if we don't do what we need to do. Long story short, he went to the doctor. Unfortunately, he had an illness. He became my client as well. And Before he passed, he told me, he said, I've never met anybody like you. I misjudge you. I love you because I know what you did for me and my wife. He said, You went beyond what you're supposed to do. You ignored who I am and you still used to pop in our house every day on the way to work to make sure the two of us were okay. And that just stuck with me because, you know, sometimes we go by what other people say or we don't want to be involved in the the real challenge. Yes, you know, but he never had a, you know, a New York Afro Latino who wasn't gonna leave him. You know, so Efrain: Yeah. Mm-hmm. Dr. Johnola Morales: it didn't. So to me as a social worker, it proved my my professionalism that you treat everybody with dignity and respect. You know, everybody has a power of their story. I don't know what happened, why he thought like that, but I know like the last year of his life we bonded. We did a lot of things together, me, him and his wife into their home because they really couldn't come out. And so that just showed me that, you know, people can change and people will change if Efrain: Yeah. Dr. Johnola Morales: you don't treat them differently. Efrain: And I think the importance of being authentically you and never changing for nobody is important as well. Right? Like just Dr. Johnola Morales: Yes, exactly. Efrain: just kinda from your perspective is like, hey, I can't change who I am. This is this is who I am. Love me for, you know, who I am type stuff. And and so many times people want to fit in this this box and it's like, For what? You know, we gotta love each other for who we are, whatever the color of our skins are, 'cause it's the stories that truly matter. I always say Dr. Johnola Morales: That's right. Efrain: you know, we we always look at representation as a color, but it's the stories that we tell that allow us to know that we're humans. We all go through something, you know. Dr. Johnola Morales: That's right. That's right. Efrain: And we can help each other when we sit here and drop that color guard, Dr. Johnola Morales: Mm-hmm. Efrain: to be quite frank. I'm actually seeing it, you talking about New York, I'm actually seeing it in the and I don't know if you've been following this, but they've told Mayor Madame Madame, I feel like he's everybody's mayor at this point, that he should not show up to the nine eleven, I guess, Dr. Johnola Morales: No. Efrain: situation. And He's like, why? Like, why do why you telling me I can't show up? You know, and I guess he dropped all these receipts about how the New Yorkans were really hurt because there were so many people that were actually there and experienced all that smoke and have lost your lives because of it, right? And he dropped so many different documents on like you guys failed these people, but you're telling me I can't show up? And it goes to show, man, like he could've easily just tucked his tail between his legs and says, Nah, I got something to fight for. I'm not going to allow someone to bully me and say to not show up. so it is crazy. He shows up authentically himself. I I truly appreciate him for it, for sure. Yeah. Dr. Johnola Morales: And I mean, it's funny, we I had that conversation with somebody earlier today. I said he he he wasn't a part of it. and we weren't Efrain: Mm. Dr. Johnola Morales: talking about him, we were just talking about racism in general. and she's a nurse practitioner. And I said, we would do better as a country if we understood we're not blaming anybody for what happened 400 years ago. Let's acknowledge it and move on and embrace each other and learn from each other and treat each other better. I think we're still stuck on like you said, they're blaming him for something he wasn't a part of. so let's do better. And I am a nine eleven survivor as well. Efrain: Really? Dr. Johnola Morales: I I don't have an issue of him showing up. He had nothing to do with it. Efrain: What what was what was that like for you? I mean, that experience of of nine eleven and seeing your your home, you know, devastated. I I'll tell you before you you even tell me that, you know what was crazy that I got to experience was one the memorial and I sat there. I actually went to New York with my wife for the first time and we ended up at this like small Irish pub. And some guy that was just there says, he says, I visit this pub all the time. Hey, have you seen the photo album? And I'm like, no, what photo album? So he calls the bar owner, he says, Hey, come bring out the photo album. And the photo album was like all the pictures of what it looked like outside of this pub. And I'm sitting here like, Holy crap. And then he's showing me like the the pub is is is covered in in badges from the firefighters and police departments and everyone that went to just kind of get space or get away. And he says, Man, you really gotta go to the memorial, but make sure you do something fun after. Because it is very Dr. Johnola Morales: Yes. Efrain: emotional. And you know, I was a young kid. I was probably in middle school when this happened. Plus, I was not the best kid. I was suspended. So I'm hearing all this from the radio. And if anybody's watching or listening, yeah, back in the days, we just watched listen to the radio. but to see some of these things and hear, especially hearing the phone calls, it was so devastating. But someone like yourself that you were there, what was that experience like? Dr. Johnola Morales: It was it was traumatic because my my secretary and me on a daily basis used to go into the trade each morning for coffee. That morning I did Efrain: Mm. Dr. Johnola Morales: not go. I was busy talking to my sister and my sister actually worked in the in the trade, which saved her life from talking to me and we being delayed. so it was scary of them telling me that my secretary was there, but when she came to the office, they had to literally shake her because she was thinking I was there. But we weren't that far. We were in child protection. We were down the block. It literally was kind of in front of us. this is not my real voice anymore. it is impacted from that. many of us had to go back. Those of us who were over departments went back, I think I went back like a week after in all that dust, all that sud. and it didn't hit me until my doctor said to me, Are you? back down there. I yeah, we had to get records and we had get stuff. The staff are in different departments. and then she said, You know what you're breathing in, right? And I was like, then it hit me how much stuff was going on. and then when you just kind of our hospital was around the corner and half the people were around the corner who had gotten hurt and the our commissioner had said he saw people jump out the window. So it was traumatic. And I think a lot of us just went like this. were in trauma and in shock and kind of didn't want to acknowledge what we saw or what we heard. but the real impact started happening years later when my staff started dying. and people started getting cancer and breast cancer Efrain: Mm-hmm. Dr. Johnola Morales: and different things. that's when it really hit you that this thing didn't just happen that day. It had a lasting impact on you forever. So My husband who's a police officer, he actually went down there as well. so we're both on CPAPs, machines and it just has an effect on people's lives for a long time Efrain: Yeah. Dr. Johnola Morales: to come. I don't think we can I have not gone to the memorial. I I don't know if I can. I want to, but I have not yet. Efrain: You're man, I was in tears. Me and my wife were definitely in tears. I thought they did a really good job with the memorial, but it is very when he told me do something fun, I completely understood what he meant by that because I left there. and I'm not even in New York and right, but you being from there, that's home for you guys. and to what you mentioned, I I guess one of the things, and I was looking at this last night, it's crazy that we're jumping on this call. It was that more people have actually passed away because of the smoke and all that than people. people actually died in nine eleven over the years. And just hearing some of these stories is like you don't know this, right? If you don't live in New York, you didn't experience that, you probably don't even talk about it. but now through social media, it really opens your eyes to what that day really did to New Yorkans. you know, so very devastating. W where where do you when you think about just human life, it seems like you care about humans. What makes you care about humans so much? What do you care about life so much? Where does that all start from? Dr. Johnola Morales: I I think because I my father was in the service and I think as a kid, and I think I know as a kid being a a service kid, you know, you just wanted a friend. You just we Efrain: Mm-hmm. Dr. Johnola Morales: moved around so much back then when he was in the service that you just wanted a friend. So you never really thought about color, you didn't think about gender, you didn't think about anything, you just wanted a friend. and I think that went for the the parents as well and the families. The families were just happy to bond with each other. because you know you can move instantaneously. But I also haven't have an amazing mom who as a nurse, but just as a woman who our house was always the safe haven house for some reason. You know, everybody has one of those. That was our house. So if some woman was going through something, a sickness or something, they would be at our house. If somebody was having domestic issues, they would be at our house. you know, if if somebody needed to move somebody from Panama, they were at our house. so it didn't matter where we were. They were at our house. So I already knew that you cared for people. if you could, you take care of individuals. Because I always watch her take care of somebody. So as I just in life grew up, I recognized early on that you have to take care of individuals and you have to try to take care of them the best way you can. and that also comes from my faith. you know, I just believe that you have to be the best version of who you can be. This is not a dress Efrain: Mm-hmm. Dr. Johnola Morales: rehearsal, this is reality. So if you're in front of me, I know there's a story. I wanna hear your story. I wanna know who you are, I wanna know all about you and just celebrate your life. And that's just who I am. Efrain: makes a difference. This is a gentleman that I met a couple of weeks ago virtually, just like this. And always likes to ask you why, right? 'Cause we all have a story as you mentioned. Why why are you in this space of passion and purpose and not paychecks? And with a smile on his face, he pulls out this sixty page document out of his desk and he says and he shows me, he said, This is why. He said ten years ago Ephraim, I was homeless, I was a drug addict on cocaine and heroin. He said, and Gentleman's now in his late forties, so just imagine it it took him a long time to get to where he's at. He says, Efraine, people will call this a second chance. This was my first chance. For the first time in my life, someone seen me. And then he was talk you know, Caucasian man and he's like, Efraim, but the difference is I don't know if this would have been my life if I wasn't this color. And He said the person that actually gave me the opportunity was an African American. And when I called him and I wanted to have lunch with him to just tell him, like, hey, I want this opportunity, he says, You don't have to prove yourself to me. I already know who you are. That gentleman is a vice president of organization. And and I just loved it because we don't know, okay, who is across from us in the stories that is being told and how hope, right? How how people hear that and have hope within themselves because someone in their family may be going through something. Maybe they're going through something, but you look at that and be like, wow, I too have a chance. So Dr. Johnola Morales: That's right. Efrain: it is very important that yes, we show up authentically ourselves, the way that we, you know, we are, the Afro-Latina, you Dr. Johnola Morales: Okay. Efrain: know, in you, because we need to stop putting on this mask. And be us, especially when we think about social media, right? Everything looks great on social media. I like to say it looks the glit and the glamour on social, but every single person has had to overcome something. And Dr. Johnola Morales: Yes. Efrain: hell, somebody that it looks just as good on social media is still going through something, Dr. Johnola Morales: Uh-huh. Efrain: you know. So I I love what were you're saying and how you just really taken everything your mom and your dad has instilled in you and you're still to this day keeping that legacy alive of of caring for others, as you mentioned. God put us in here not to hate one another, but to love one another. So I appreciate you sharing that. when we talk about like all these different resources, I think w there's so many resources, but sometimes we still don't know what's in our own backyards. Do you feel like technology, something like AI and communication has really enhanced that? Or do you feel like there's still something some some works to go? Dr. Johnola Morales: it's a it's a good start. I think we got some way to go. one of the things that I'm looking at with the seniors is I think we've kind of left older adults behind because of how fast we're moving. I won't name the brand but I walked into a pharmacy and I looked and I was like okay you've moved the people and you've put computers and then I'm looking at seniors standing there looking at the computer and they're telling them go ahead put your name in but you have to remember this 88 year old or this 90 year old didn't have this. So this doesn't make sense to them. So and then they can't tell the difference between AI or real. So that's why they're getting Efrain: Mm-hmm. Dr. Johnola Morales: scammed. So one of the things I'm loving that I'm doing right now is partner with a lot of homeschool children, youth and teenagers to partner with our seniors, to teach them some technology, teach them the difference between AI when they're not blinking and that's not real. And what filters are and you know, how to get on Efrain: Yeah. Dr. Johnola Morales: WhatsApp and, you know, how to use your phone. Because to me it also takes away social isolation. they can do telehealth with their doctors if they can't get out. So I think we're in a good place, but I think we're trying to leave a generation behind which isn't fair at all. It's it's not treating them with dignity and respect. So we have to do much better in making sure they come along this journey with us. Efrain: You said just you mentioned that about working with the young kids. It just brought me back to my two-year-old that the other day asked my my wife, Ma, is that AI? And I'm Dr. Johnola Morales: Yeah. Efrain: like, Holy crap. Like, where that's that's what we're doing now? That these kids Dr. Johnola Morales: Yep. Efrain: are learning. He's two years old. Talking about mom, is that AI? Like he's already kind of understanding, seeing Dr. Johnola Morales: There. Uh-huh. Efrain: this baby that is not a baby dancing with all this. And it it is some crazy times. It definitely needs a lot of education behind it. I think that's what there's a lot of fear comes in. It's like I don't think people don't want AI, but it's more of we're not educated around Dr. Johnola Morales: Correct. Efrain: AI. I think there's really it's a tool, right? Just like anything Dr. Johnola Morales: Mm-hmm. Efrain: else. Like the website's a tool, social media's a tool. There's resources that you can you could get from it. But if we don't understand it, if we're not educated around it, I just also feel like at the school system, you know, you're pretty close in the Orange County, I go, I was just there the other day. I was trying to use my best friend Clyde or ChatGPT and it's blocked out from the schools. And I'm thinking Dr. Johnola Morales: Yes. Efrain: to myself, but why? Like we should be teaching the next generation how to use it. But the response is that these teachers don't feel comfortable enough. You know? So there's like definitely that disconnect on Dr. Johnola Morales: Yeah. Efrain: who should be teaching who. And I love that you kind of talked about, hey, let's get our younger generation to work with our older generation. because there is that gap. And if not, they will get left behind. And and then we're blaming them because they haven't caught up. Right. So I love that. What what what do you like to s see yourself do? I always love to hold people accountable. So we're talking about right now it is September the ninth, twenty twenty six. What is your goal for the next two, three years as a leader at this organization? Dr. Johnola Morales: So as a leader in this organization, we have a lot going on, but it it is to really empower the next generation. we often talk about legacies, but mine is just I always believe pouring out everything I have because I believe God will pour it back in. So that's why Efrain: Mm-hmm. Dr. Johnola Morales: I really take on social work students. but I also wanna see us expand more in the community with youth foster care. We have mastered seniors. That is our our wheelhouse, we have that. but I wanna see us master the other half of how do we partner with foster care agencies, how do we bring more youth in to interact with our older adults. so that's what I would love to see us do in the next few years. because we have about five senior housing now. So it would be amazing that someone who's looking to do hours, they're doing ours at one of the housing or one of our events or something of that nature. so I just think that would be amazing to partner like that. Efrain: I thank you for sharing that. I listened to my mother in law that works for seniors and she says, I love to talk to them. People forget that though they at one point they were CEOs, right? They were managers. Like there's so much to learn from them, but for s for for whatever reason, we don't have enough conversations with them. And I would always remember I actually enjoy them. I used to work for at a call center and you know, at a airline industry and they were obviously called because they were trying to navigate this computer and just couldn't navigate it. And I used to I used to just love doing it. Actually, one of my board members, she was trying to book a ticket and she booked the wrong one. It was a connecting flight. Now she had to cancel. She's like, my god, I got a call. She was just freaking out, panicking. I said, Listen, girl, call me. I gotcha. And I'm just sitting here and just canceling, booking for her. And it just felt so good. And she was so happy, you know, about it as well. And I always say, Hey, I'm willing to sit down and and just teach you. When I when I showed her what ChatGPT and Cloud could do, I need that friend. I said, hey, I gotcha, girl. You know, so it's like we have to forget that they are they have so much wisdom, Dr. Johnola Morales: Yes. Efrain: right? When we talk about pouring to the next generation, we gotta allow them to pour into us so we can continue to pour into others. so for those that are listening and watching, don't forget that part. Sometimes we're so like us, us, us, me, me, me, me. But it's like, how do you ever get here if you're not allowing someone to teach you? Right. You you just kind of continue to run into that same wall instead of Reaching out for guidance and finding that person. So I love that you're in this space of just pouring into others. And and as you mentioned, God will continue to pour into you because of it. Dr. Johnola Morales: Yes. Efrain: how do people get involved into this organization? Whether it's the resources, whether they want to volunteer, you kind of mentioned that. What is the website? How do they tap in? Dr. Johnola Morales: So if they go into Alciola Council on Aging.com, we are online. We do have a volunteer page on there as well. Everything is on our website, how you can rent different things in our organization, the utilities site, everything is on there. So if they need to get on our website, they can and they will see everything. Or just come visit us at 700 Generation Point in Kissimmee. Come on in. we are friendly and we have visitors come in every day. and it is wonderful just to have families come in and just learn about how you can participate because we do have families who join us on Thanksgiving for to deliver meals on wheels to our community and some families do it together during our holidays, which is really nice to see because they're teaching their children how to give back to the community as well. Efrain: Love that. I have one more question for you. So, Dr. Johnola Morales: Sure. Efrain: Dr. Morales, do you feel like Kissimmee is like Little Puerto Rico? Dr. Johnola Morales: Yeah. sí señor sí absolute yes Efrain: Listen, you go to CBS and Walgreens, they're playing reggae thong. It says I've light ingless. What? What are you talking about? Dr. Johnola Morales: Yeah, no, there is none no more. I and I do feel for a lot of people because I'm like, my God, we have completely turned Kissimmee into little Puerto Rico and I'm like, I my friends go, they don't speak no English in the store. I'm like, sorry. It it is, it is, it is. Efrain: Dr. Morales, thank you so much for your time. Thank you for being the leader to our authentically you and hopes that we can continue to do this another time. But I'm Ephraim. This is Dr. Morales and we'll catch you guys on the next one. Later.