Latest / Look Who's Talking / Julie Mink and Emma Fryman - The Nest Resources
Transcript
- 0:15listening to who's talking i am cameron mentor
- 0:19i am your co -host and our wonderful head start
- 0:23director Jessica Coffie Dickerson see you keep
- 0:27interrupting you gotta get your full name you
- 0:30the one didn't want to drop off Coffie so now
- 0:33we gotta do it okay Jessica Coffie Dickerson
- 0:37hi guys And you know what? What? While putting
- 0:42lotion on today, I took off my rings and I didn't
- 0:44put them on. So if you see someone busting through
- 0:47the doors, that's my man. Oh, that's a fart.
- 0:52So are you the jewelry wearing type at night
- 0:56when you go to sleep? Most times I do, but sometimes
- 1:00I take them off. But anytime I take them off.
- 1:04I forget to put them back on. So I try not to
- 1:07take them off. Right. I'm the guy that takes
- 1:10off every piece of jewelry before I go to bed,
- 1:14except this. Yeah. And that was something new
- 1:19for me. Now, you know, it's normal. But at first,
- 1:23you know, it bothered me. I don't know. You know,
- 1:26I like wearing some jewelry, but not when I'm
- 1:28sleeping. Give me peace. But I do take off the
- 1:32earrings. Usually the rings I'll keep on. Wow.
- 1:35Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So that's good to know. Yeah.
- 1:39You're adjusting. Yeah. I am. Yeah. You know,
- 1:44I'm still in that newlywed phase. Yeah. Don't
- 1:46nobody care anymore. But I told him yesterday,
- 1:50I said, you know something I thought about? I'm
- 1:53always going to be the bride. So I'm always going
- 1:56to be celebrating. Wow. I don't know who gave
- 2:01you your counseling before your wedding. I am
- 2:05forever your bride. Am I not forever the bride?
- 2:09So then I was like, maybe I should wear white
- 2:11once a month, even in the winters. You don't
- 2:15think so, Kim? No, bless his heart. Bless your
- 2:19husband's heart. Bless it. Bless it. Bless it.
- 2:23So what's been up? Slow motion, slow motion.
- 2:26I am just trying to survive these last few days
- 2:31of last few weeks, I would assume, of summer.
- 2:36Well, good luck. But you know what? We cannot
- 2:37complain. I can complain. No, you can't. I can
- 2:41complain. I can complain about yesterday because
- 2:43I almost had to go to the burn unit when I got
- 2:46in my car. I get that. And it singed my legs.
- 2:49I get that. I get that. But if you notice, we
- 2:53have not. had a hot summer we've had a wet summer
- 2:58yeah and you know this is how I know because
- 3:00my lawn guy I can't cut the grass because if
- 3:04I do I'll be allergies yeah I'll be out of work
- 3:08no judgment here I've never cut grass so my my
- 3:12lawn guy he's making bank off of me because the
- 3:16grass has been growing and growing you know it's
- 3:18August no it's September it is September yeah
- 3:23The grass is usually brown by now. Yeah. And
- 3:26it's just starting to get that way. So my guy,
- 3:30he's been on it. And that. He's been in your
- 3:35pockets. He's been in my pocket. He's been in
- 3:38my pocket. Mine has, too. Yeah. Yeah. So, I mean,
- 3:42it's supposed to be over. Let this grass grow
- 3:44a little bit. Well, he cut it. The last time
- 3:46he cut it, he cut it. It's going to get brown.
- 3:48Oh, we in brown season now. Yeah. And no water's
- 3:52going to touch it. Well, and I go between, should
- 3:54I water the grass? Yeah, no. Baby, you going
- 3:58to cook this year. You are cooking. I mean, you
- 4:02know, nobody wants an extra bill. No, I agree
- 4:06with that. Filling up a pool, filling up, you
- 4:09know, no, no extras. Yeah. I squirt you with
- 4:14a water bottle. And your grass is burnt. Yeah,
- 4:19it's burnt. But again, you already know I got
- 4:23to take care of my garden. Yes. So do you, I
- 4:29mean, do you go out and water it? Yes. really
- 4:33are into this i'm i am looking for alternative
- 4:37food sources because if you watch the news well
- 4:41yeah you shouldn't watch the news you need to
- 4:44watch the news you need to or else you'll be
- 4:47eating something that's gonna make you sick or
- 4:50you gonna eat something Going to make you grow
- 4:52another eyeball. Exactly. And I don't want it.
- 4:55I don't want it. So, yeah, that's been a concern
- 4:57of mine. And so I'm trying to, you know, be more
- 5:00self -sufficient. But, you know, I've been wanting
- 5:03to, like, grow my own. Yeah. And. I'm scared.
- 5:06I just don't like bugs, though. Oh, well. That's
- 5:10there. See, my granddaughter. I just can't get
- 5:12over that. My granddaughter is the same way.
- 5:14She wants to. You know, get mad at bugs and stuff.
- 5:17I said, you're in their house. I understand that,
- 5:20but. You get mad in your house, but when you're
- 5:23in their house. Yeah. How you going to tell them
- 5:26to get out your house? Well, I mean, they try
- 5:30to get in my house, though. Yeah. See, that's
- 5:33what I don't like. That's when you can draw the
- 5:35line. Draw the line. But you know what? Sometimes
- 5:38I don't even draw the line. Do you know those
- 5:40little, those, I'm sure I've talked about them
- 5:43on the show before. Those million leg bugs. And
- 5:46do they call them silk? I don't know what they
- 5:49call them. I mean, these things, I just, I get
- 5:53so offended. When that thing comes out and shows
- 5:59itself. Ooh, that'll catch y 'all. Well, there
- 6:03was one in my bathroom. Oh, my God. Just this
- 6:05week. Yep, yep. And I just sat and stared at
- 6:10it. And watched it. I did. Have your way. And
- 6:13then somehow, somehow I got out. I escaped from
- 6:17the room. Uh -huh, yeah. I got, like, my Swiffer
- 6:20because the pole was long enough. And I hit it,
- 6:25and I didn't. make it. When I tell you this thing
- 6:29ran so fast, then I hit it again. But when I'm
- 6:31hitting it, I scream the whole time. Where's
- 6:36your husband? He's gone. He was gone to work.
- 6:41Yeah, he was gone to work. And I'm in here or
- 6:46in the house and this million -leg bug done took
- 6:51over. So you're afraid of bugs? I am terrified.
- 6:56So whatever, we need to, I need to get you on
- 6:59film in these terrified moments. No, you don't.
- 7:02Just like, what was that, Fear Factor? Yeah.
- 7:04You know, this generation. But you know what?
- 7:06Things that I should be scared of, I'm not. Like,
- 7:10I can kill a spider. Yeah, that's no big thing.
- 7:14But these million leg books. And I don't even
- 7:18know the real name, but they're the Million League
- 7:20Bucks. But everybody knows exactly what you're
- 7:22talking about when you say Million League. Like,
- 7:24I'm just like, I've never seen these things before.
- 7:26In Paducah, we didn't. I didn't see no Million
- 7:29League. Now, we had camel crickets. And these
- 7:32are these brown spotted crickets that can jump
- 7:36like 175 feet. Because... I think you're making
- 7:41something up, but we'll go along. We'll go along.
- 7:43It felt like... And I hated them. Like, I'm terrified
- 7:47I will not kill them. So when you were young,
- 7:49did you... I didn't kill them because I felt
- 7:51like they were going to kill me first. Did you
- 7:53grab the lightning bug and pull its... Oh, yeah.
- 7:56Pull its light off and put it on your ears? No,
- 7:59I did not. That's just torture. Oh. I don't want
- 8:01to pull something off. Well, I mean, that's what
- 8:04we did. No, now I grab lightning bugs. I actually
- 8:08like doing that. Until they stop, you know. We
- 8:11put it on our hand as a ring. No, so I was the
- 8:14lightning bug catcher where I had a Ziploc bag.
- 8:17I put some grass in it. I poked holes in it so
- 8:20that when I catch them, the next morning when
- 8:23I woke up, they'll be alive and I'll open them
- 8:25up and let them go. That's what I did. Wow. That's
- 8:30so hard. I mean, I have a heart for some. But
- 8:35most of them, no. But when you grow your kale
- 8:40or collard greens? Kale. I would like some, but
- 8:45you're going to have to wash them first. It's
- 8:47your job. If you want them, you're going to wash
- 8:50them. Cam, someone brought me some fresh greens.
- 8:54I washed them, and I tell you, there was a worm
- 9:00in it the size of my arm. At least that's what
- 9:03it felt like. I said, come get these greens.
- 9:10There was a few other words. I said, come get
- 9:13these things. I couldn't even drain the water.
- 9:16I was mortified. And now, yeah. But I'll cook
- 9:21them. You'll cook them, but you're not cleaning.
- 9:24Nope. It sounds like me. I'll clean them after
- 9:27they're clean. I think it's time for a Coffie
- 9:32Break. So for today's Coffie Break, I want to
- 9:47say we can't add time to our life, but we can
- 9:52add life to our time. What do you think about
- 9:55that? I like that. We can't. Well, why are you
- 10:00asking me that? We can't add time to our life,
- 10:04but we can add life to our time. I love it. I
- 10:08love it. And I feel like this new adventure that
- 10:11in your garden, you're adding life to your time.
- 10:15You know what I mean? Yeah. I want to go a little
- 10:18deeper, you know, just living life to the fullest
- 10:23while you have the opportunity. You know what
- 10:26I'm saying? You know, we grew up with parents
- 10:31that had, you know, special place for special
- 10:34occasions and those special occasions never came.
- 10:36You know what I'm saying? And it's important
- 10:39to live life to the fullest while you have the
- 10:42time. Yeah. You know, my mom just died. So, you
- 10:44know, that one sticks a little closer. But living
- 10:48life to the fullest because one thing is not
- 10:52promised to us and that's time. Yeah. And I definitely
- 10:56agree with that. Yes. I feel like I really didn't
- 11:00start it. Now I was living some life. I was living
- 11:04life out in the streets. But I really feel like
- 11:10I didn't get that appreciation until I turned
- 11:1330. But then 40s have been, oh, let's see the
- 11:20world. And I even see myself not like. posting
- 11:25on social media as much because I'm literally
- 11:29living life and I'm in the moment. That's it.
- 11:31That's it. That's it. Yeah. That's a good one.
- 11:35That's a good one. So we have a wonderful show
- 11:39today. Yes. Who's on our show? So on our show
- 11:43today, we have some fabulous ladies from the
- 11:45nest. We have Emma Taylor and Julie Mink. Welcome.
- 11:51How are you? We can't hear you. hello okay great
- 11:58yes yes so what we want to do is tell our folks
- 12:04a little bit about the nest what you all do and
- 12:07yeah let's just go into a little bit about the
- 12:11nest Yeah. So the nest has four separate programs.
- 12:14We are from the family assistance program. We
- 12:17also have an intimate partner violence program,
- 12:21a small legal team, a parenting program and a
- 12:24free respite child care program as well. I think
- 12:28you all in my mind, you all are most known for
- 12:30the domestic violence protection. Absolutely.
- 12:35Yeah. So that's that was you all's bread and
- 12:37butter. But you all have. I don't know if you
- 12:40have recently expanded, but you expand to many
- 12:44different other things. Yeah, we actually started
- 12:46out as a child care center. I think it was in
- 12:49the 80s and 90s. It was long before me. But yeah,
- 12:54they. Yeah, sorry. No, you're fine. That's all
- 12:58good. So when it comes to like. Who can come
- 13:02to the nest? Can you tell us a little bit about
- 13:04that? Yeah. So we so family assistance assists
- 13:08families that have children in the home age five
- 13:10and under. And then the child care program also
- 13:15assists families with child care needs for the
- 13:17children who are five and under. We're not able
- 13:20to take child kids over the age of five right
- 13:23now. And then who comes to the nest? Julie, we
- 13:32should switch spots. No, you can. That's all
- 13:35good. Just who is eligible, I guess, is the question.
- 13:43So it just depends on the program. The family
- 13:45assistance program, you've got to have that child
- 13:47under the age of five. And then same for child
- 13:50care. And then that is not a requirement for
- 13:52our IPV team, our parenting program, or the legal
- 13:56team. Okay. Do folks come in, do they have to...
- 14:01be a part of domestic violence or anyone can.
- 14:05So for the, the intimate partner violence program,
- 14:07they do have to have an instance of intimate
- 14:09partner violence, but it can't just be a general
- 14:12domestic violence. It has to be with an intimate
- 14:14partner and they do have to be the petitioner
- 14:16of like an emergency protective order. So if
- 14:19they were like a respondent, like someone had
- 14:20posted a protective order against them, it doesn't
- 14:24disqualify them from the services, but they have
- 14:26to be seeking, you know, that support and trying
- 14:29to get out of or getting counseling with an a
- 14:31situation like that. Okay. But your other programs,
- 14:33they don't have to, anyone can come for your
- 14:36other programs. Okay. Perfect. Our parenting
- 14:40program does kind of, we do give priority for
- 14:43families who have open DCBS cases, but that's
- 14:47not a requirement for our parenting classes.
- 14:49You can just want to get a little bit more information
- 14:51or maybe you're going through a breakup and you
- 14:55just kind of want to get ahead of maybe a situation
- 14:57that could potentially end up in court and go
- 14:59ahead and start parenting classes. Some parents
- 15:02just want to learn better ways to discipline
- 15:04or to create boundaries for their home. Good
- 15:07deal. All right, we're going to talk more about
- 15:10the services that are available at The Nest.
- 15:13We are talking with Emma and Julie, and you are
- 15:18listening to Look Who's Talking. We'll be right
- 15:21back after the break. This past year has highlighted
- 15:42the strength of Community Action Council. Every
- 15:44day, our staff works together to help families
- 15:47recover from this crisis. We're educating children
- 15:50at home and in person, helping parents who lost
- 15:53their jobs, and helping households avoid eviction.
- 15:56Our work at Community Action Council has never
- 15:58been more important than it is right now. So
- 16:01why not join us? We have employment opportunities
- 16:03requiring a range of skills from entry level
- 16:06to advanced. Apply online at commaction. You
- 16:41are listening to Look Who's Talking. And we're
- 16:45talking with Emma and Julie from The Nest. So
- 16:48we have covered a little bit about who can qualify
- 16:52for The Nest, which is really anybody, right?
- 16:56All right. So let's go into some of the resources
- 17:01and assistant programs that you provide. Or what
- 17:04if someone came to you What are some of the things
- 17:09you would say that you all provide for family
- 17:12assistance? So within family assistance, we help
- 17:15out with those physical materials for the most
- 17:17part. So we help out with the diapers, the wipes.
- 17:20We help with baby equipment, kids clothes, those
- 17:23like soft baby materials like socks and bibs
- 17:27and swaddles, all those things. We also have
- 17:30quarterly baby showers. So we nest moms who are
- 17:35due within a certain time frame and we invite
- 17:37them to that shower and we try to shower them
- 17:40with love and with freebies. And we have community
- 17:44partners come to those events. So is that only
- 17:47for Nest Moms or is that for like the general
- 17:50public? It is for Nest Moms, but it's super easy
- 17:52to get enrolled in our program. You just got
- 17:54to come in, do a quick intake with us. We'll
- 17:56get some basic information from you, get you
- 17:58in the system, get you those first time supplies.
- 18:01And then if you're pregnant, we'll get you signed
- 18:03up for that next baby shower. Got you. Here's
- 18:05a question for both of you all. How long have
- 18:07you all been with the Nest and what made you?
- 18:10go in that direction for a career? Yeah, so I
- 18:14actually started out as an intern in, I think
- 18:18it was probably 2020. It was right in the middle
- 18:20of COVID when we were still serving people. And
- 18:22then I... Loved my time as an intern and I wanted
- 18:26to come back. So I looked at AmeriCorps positions
- 18:30because nonprofits don't have a whole lot of
- 18:32paid positions available, obviously. So I looked
- 18:35into AmeriCorps to see if they would be able
- 18:37to like sponsor a position through the nest.
- 18:39Luckily, they were. So I worked as the AmeriCorps
- 18:41housing liaison there for a year and then transferred
- 18:45into the financial assistance program manager.
- 18:48And then once the financial assistance dried
- 18:51up federally with ARPA and things, we took the
- 18:55financial assistance away and started focusing
- 18:57a lot more on the supplies that we could provide.
- 18:59Got you. How about you? So I started out as an
- 19:02intern as well in 2024. I transitioned over from
- 19:05medical. managing in an outpatient addiction
- 19:08facility before then, and didn't really know
- 19:11much about social work in the nonprofit world,
- 19:13but needed to do a practicum, and The Nest was
- 19:15willing to take me on, and actually really enjoyed
- 19:18my time there. It was a different side of social
- 19:20work than I was actually really knew much about.
- 19:23I was thinking my plan was to go into social
- 19:25work in the addiction realm, but then working
- 19:28with Emma and the team over at The Nest, and
- 19:30then they had a position come available and asked
- 19:32me to come on in 2025, and so I've been there
- 19:34since January of 25. As as someone who also works
- 19:39in nonprofit, folks who work in nonprofit, it's
- 19:42hard work. It's not about the money. It's truly
- 19:47about, you know, the heart. What are like some
- 19:51of the biggest lessons that you've learned from
- 19:54the this nonprofit work that you do? You've got
- 20:00to be trained to do everything. So our team is.
- 20:05five people um and we all know how to do each
- 20:08other's jobs because if one person is out like
- 20:10you can't function at all so we have to be able
- 20:13to cover that role so everybody is everything
- 20:15and that you've got to be that's that's what
- 20:19does that cross What do they call that? Cross
- 20:22training. And you have to be able to be willing
- 20:25to meet people where they're at. Like we have
- 20:27different, I mean, people from all walks of life
- 20:29are coming in. They are looking for different
- 20:32services, resources, things like that. So just
- 20:34being able to kind of step back and just listen
- 20:37to their story and figure out exactly what they
- 20:40may be looking for that they're not speaking
- 20:42about and just connecting them with those resources.
- 20:46That's a wonderful thing because. When people
- 20:50are in need, they need help. It doesn't matter
- 20:55how they got there. It doesn't matter what's
- 20:57going on in their life. If they're there, they're
- 21:01needing help. It's so good to know that there's
- 21:04a nonprofit that is also out there doing the
- 21:08work. And, you know, like Jessica said, it's
- 21:11hard work, you know. You can make more money
- 21:14in other places, but you can't make the bigger
- 21:17impact that you're making. And it takes a lot
- 21:21sometimes for them to come out and ask for that
- 21:22help. You know, there's a stigma surrounding
- 21:24using some, you know, assistance places like
- 21:27that. So just being able to get them as much
- 21:30as we can while they're there that time, not
- 21:32knowing if they're ever going to feel, you know,
- 21:34comfortable enough to come back out. Right. So
- 21:36can you talk a little bit about your parenting
- 21:38classes and what you all offer as far as like,
- 21:42you know, with a parenting class? I think that
- 21:47there are several different parenting classes.
- 21:48I know that we do have them in Spanish and English.
- 21:50They are all virtual right now. I do know that
- 21:54one of our parenting coordinators is working
- 21:56on like some support groups as well. But I think
- 21:59they're, Emma, correct me if I'm wrong, they're
- 22:01like eight or ten sessions weekly that you kind
- 22:05of just meet. And then they all, there's different
- 22:07topics every week that they go over. But they
- 22:09will be like discipline, creating boundaries,
- 22:12you know, healthy parenting. That's fantastic.
- 22:16That's necessary. I mean, I always say we're
- 22:21flying the plane while we're building it, but
- 22:25there are several handbooks of parenting, but
- 22:30there is no handbook of parenting. And if you
- 22:34add parenting on top of emotional trauma or a
- 22:37crisis situation or, you know, just... Even the
- 22:40big thing now with people not being able to pay
- 22:42their rent. Right. Trying to parent a toddler
- 22:46or, you know, I just recently parented middle
- 22:48schoolers and that is not for the faint of heart.
- 22:51You know, that's just an extra level of stress
- 22:53added on top of stress that you already have.
- 22:56So it makes it very difficult. Yeah. So if I
- 23:01was just pregnant, I've never had a kid before,
- 23:05but can I just come? and sign up to your parenting
- 23:10classes, or does it have to be a referral or
- 23:13recommendation? You can just sign up, really.
- 23:16We have a programs administrator in our advocacy
- 23:21center, so we have two buildings, and our parenting
- 23:23classes are in a different building from Family
- 23:24Assistance. So you'll contact our programs administrator
- 23:28in that building. She'll send over the paperwork.
- 23:30She'll tell you about the classes, kind of get
- 23:32you enrolled, or let you know if this maybe isn't
- 23:35what you're looking for. What's something that
- 23:38you would like viewers to know about the nest
- 23:40that maybe they don't know? So our family assistance
- 23:45program is we are grant funded and donation based.
- 23:48We do not have an Amazon warehouse behind our
- 23:51door in the back. We can only provide you what
- 23:54we have. And I think sometimes there's a misconception
- 23:56that we're able to provide you with everything
- 23:58that you need. When in all reality, we would
- 24:01love to. we don't have the capacity to store
- 24:04things like that. And then like with us being
- 24:06donation based, I can't tell you what I'm going
- 24:09to have tomorrow. It's just going to be a matter
- 24:11of what we have, what's been donated, what's
- 24:13out on the shelves. So just, yeah, just having
- 24:16the mentality that like, we're going to help
- 24:18you the best that we can, but we're not going
- 24:20to be able to supply you with everything that
- 24:22you're going to need. I got you. And a lot of
- 24:25times as nonprofits, we work together. We work
- 24:29together to, Give references to say, hey, I can't
- 24:35do it. We can't do it here, but try over here.
- 24:38You know, try over there. And that's something
- 24:40that we do at Community Action Council. We try
- 24:43to, if we cannot meet the need, we try to contact
- 24:47the people who can. Exactly. And even if you
- 24:50don't qualify for our services, we're not just
- 24:52saying, hey, you don't qualify. We'll see you
- 24:54later. Let me give you some resources of places
- 24:56that you can go to get a hygiene bag or go to
- 24:58get clothes or go to get these things that you're
- 25:00asking for. Gotcha. So for our viewers, can you
- 25:03tell them how they can get in contact with you
- 25:06in case they need services or they have questions?
- 25:12The best way to contact us is going to be email.
- 25:14We are constantly away from our desks moving,
- 25:17and so we don't get a chance to answer the phones
- 25:19as they ring. We call back, but it's usually
- 25:22end of the day or it's on Thursdays when we don't
- 25:24have walk -in. But they would be able to walk
- 25:27in. Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. Just come on
- 25:29in. If you can, just come on in during our walk
- 25:31-in hours. We're open 9 to 12 in the morning
- 25:33and 1 to 3 in the afternoon. If it's going to
- 25:35be your first time, maybe try and get there maybe
- 25:3620, 30 minutes before we close so that we can
- 25:38get your intake in. But, yeah, just come on in
- 25:41and see us. And where are you all located? Yeah.
- 25:44We're on the bus line. We're on North Lyme. We're
- 25:47located in Duncan Park right between 5th and
- 25:516th Street. Okay. Right there. Yeah. Well, that's
- 25:54awesome. And that is a resource. Now, what is
- 25:58your website? Do you have a website? We do. We
- 26:01do. She's currently under construction, but you
- 26:03can still find most of the information that you
- 26:05need, at least contact information for us. Good,
- 26:08good. What is that web address? I believe it
- 26:12is just www .thenestlex .com. Okay. I believe
- 26:16it's The Nest Lex. That's it. That's it. Well,
- 26:20Julie and Emma, we really appreciate it. Thank
- 26:23you all being on the show. You've given us some
- 26:26wonderful information, some resources for our
- 26:28parents. And we hope you all have a fantastic
- 26:33year as you all are doing new planning and new
- 26:35things. And, hey, you all are in the nonprofit.
- 26:39So, hi, sisters. Thank you for coming on the
- 26:44show. Thank you for having us. All right, Jason,
- 26:46you got anything? Nope. All right. You have been
- 26:51listening to... Look who's talking.