Latest / Hart & Hustle Podcast / How a Small Nonprofit Turned 200 Years of History into Modern Homelessness Solutions
Transcript
- Efrain: Welcome back to another episode here on the Hard and Hustle Podcast. Ms. Robin, how you doing? Good morning. Robin Senss: Hello, good morning. Thank you so much for having me. Efrain: Same. I thank you for making this ⁓ this morning. ⁓ Lena, a lot of times I I think to myself, should I be doing this in the morning? But I've been waking up earlier now, or at least try because of the kids. But what time are you waking up in the mornings, Robin? Robin Senss: Six, usually six. Yep. This was good. Efrain: ⁓ my god. ⁓ no, see. I am I am not that is it 'cause the kids gotta go to school? Robin Senss: No, ⁓ I use the mornings as my my time, so I'm already two cups of coffee in and ready to go. ⁓ like nine or ten. Efrain: What time are you going to sleep? ⁓ my god, I wish. I'm going to sleep at two o'clock in the morning. My kids I'm fighting with them to about eleven o'clock 'cause you know, the kids be like, but mom, I forgot to tell you something. Dad, just one more thing. I I just I love you. And I'm like, I love you to not get you behind ⁓ Robin, what or what organization are you representing? Robin Senss: Yeah. So the name is called Friends Association for Care and Protection of Children or Friends Association for short. Efrain: And what do you guys do over there? Robin Senss: We work with the community to provide homeless Prevention. We have a bunch of programs. We have homeless shelters for families experiencing street homelessness. We have case management to help people not enter into homelessness. And we also have an eviction prevention program to again stop people from being evicted from their rental and then coming and needing shelter. So our goal is preventing and ending homelessness. Efrain: Love it. How long have you been doing it at this organization, doing this line of work? Robin Senss: I've been here for three years at this point, and I was also there for about a year and a half at the beginning of my social work career. Efrain: What made you come back? Something made you come back. Robin Senss: I love this organization. I was an intern here in my Masters of Social Work and then, you know, worked part-time and then took another opportunity and never really checked out, always stayed, you know, tuned in because it's a small community. ⁓ you know, we're about an hour outside of Philadelphia, pretty rural Chester County, so ⁓ just love the work that we do, love how it's always been done and kind of that open door policy will work through whatever you need. And had an opportunity to come back and couldn't turn it down. Yes. Now I'm the chief operating officer, so about twelve years later it's a pretty pretty big jump from unpaid intern to ⁓ second in command, which is cool. Efrain: And a different role I can imagine, right? Intern you said you started. What is the role that you're doing today? Yeah. I love it. And you said you started doing social work. Are you still kind of doing it? Or you look like you talk maybe it changed a little bit? Robin Senss: Yes, so you know, in my career I realized early on ⁓ my social work heart doesn't necessarily need to be working one on one with people. ⁓ I like we call it macro, ⁓ like community work. Efrain: Mm-hmm. Robin Senss: and helping the organization stabilize program development, program evaluation. And really ⁓ sometimes the social work skills come out with our team. We have people who, you know, might be here from lived experience and need to work through things as they're doing the job. So still doing social work just on a different different level. Efrain: Yeah. Love them. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Leading others. I always say it's like you could do more when you lead others with everything you have in you. ⁓ I actually spoke to a leader yesterday and it's like she's like I don't I don't probably practice it, but that's who I am, right? So it's just always coming out. I can imagine Robin, it's just always coming out. That's just who you are, right? Yeah. Love it. And ⁓ what what made you choose this organization? I I know you mentioned that it was Robin Senss: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, for sure. Efrain: early on in your career, but did you choose this internship for a reason? Where you talk about homelessness ⁓ population? Robin Senss: Yeah, so I found social work by accident. I actually went to college to be a biology teacher and failed out, got asked to leave the department. Not a chemistry person here. So I took a semester off and, you know, rethought my life and somehow found social work. I to this day cannot remember how. Efrain: ⁓ man. Robin Senss: how I found it and just kind of fell in love. So my undergrad, I was at an internship with the county at the county level, who I had the opportunity to go to other nonprofits and actually do their audits for their funding to make sure they were in compliance. And so my master's level I got, you know, into Friends Association, which is one that I had audited. So from that point, Efrain: Mm-hmm. Robin Senss: just stayed in that realm. ⁓ and for anyone who's you know, done any college work and social work, it's writing papers for days. So when if you can hone in on one topic, you're golden because then you're not all over the place and it makes it makes your thought process more easy. Efrain: You know, I would have been that guy that every time written about something completely different just just 'cause ⁓ weirdo. But no, you ⁓ you know, you saying that I'm like, it actually makes sense. If I would have just took the note one. ⁓ that is funny. I I always say, you know, you kinda mess and you got it there by mistake. I can imagine there was a moment, there was a person or there was something that really kind of got you to that moment. Sometimes we don't know, but good that it did. Look where you're at today, sitting as COO. Something that you probably never really believed would ha actually happen. ⁓ Robin Senss: Yeah. Yeah. Something. Yeah. Efrain: What's some of stories that you could really tell to those that may want to give or may not be in that world? ⁓ 'cause I always say that and those as nonprofits we're storytellers, right? And the way that we kind of ⁓ raise money and and operate is by sharing the stories and how others are being impacted. Do you have any stories on the impact that ⁓ has been created with the organization? Robin Senss: Yeah, yeah, so this organization is one of many wonderful nonprofits ⁓ that really work with people who are at their lowest. And when I say I found social work by accident, I knew the work, but I didn't know the title. A lot of times you see people, you know, at the various agencies or at the food bank or helping, but you you know, they don't you don't know that their degree is in social work. so the the impact Efrain: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Robin Senss: Of Friends Association is so widespread over the years. ⁓ we're actually over 200 years old. Organization started by Quaker, ⁓ Quaker Group in Philadelphia. ⁓ it was started to be an orphanage for ⁓ children escaping slavery and and coming up north. And it morphed over the years into children and now, you know, just serving families. So ⁓ we don't just Efrain: Wow. Robin Senss: Take ⁓ you know, minors, we we have families. ⁓ you actually have to have an adult, ⁓ we're not just a children's shelter. So we are keeping people off the street. ⁓ we are giving them a safe place to heal and time. Time is almost just as important as the safety. It really it takes you really have to sit still to think about what you've been through in order to move forward, and you can't sit still when your basic needs are not met. Efrain: Mm-hmm. Yeah. What what what is a day in a role like a COO at this organization, two hundred plus years? Can I imagine there's a lot there's a lot of legacy to keep alive as well. ⁓ what does that look like f day to day for you? Robin Senss: Yeah, so my role is I love it. ⁓ there are days where I'm working on the strategic plan. You know, we're updating our benefits package last week. We have leadership meetings. We're planning, you know, what's our next big event coming up. And there's also days where our new playset arrived. And so I'm trying to use a wrench while laying on the new turf trying to put together a play set while other people are, you know, blowing up basketballs. ⁓ so it Efrain: Let's go. ⁓ Robin Senss: It's it depends on the day, which is why I love it. There's days that you know I bring my kids with me because I'm like, you guys can help organize the books on this bookshelf so that we can get things going faster. Or there's days where it's all meetings and I think that's what keeps it fresh. ⁓ 'cause we just go with the flow. We've we've got about twenty six on our team including myself and we help In total, probably over six hundred households a year. So we move very quickly. whatever needs to get done that day. Efrain: Is it just one location you mentioned or or multiple set? Robin Senss: We have two shelters right now. ⁓ we have one building about they're only about a mile and a half apart that has six units. And then we just had our grand opening back in January for ten more units. And that building houses our office. So we just moved our office there also. Efrain: Love it. That must be exciting to see the growth, especially when you s mentioned what it was years ago coming back, COO, seeing some of these changes happen. It's rewarding. Robin Senss: Yeah. It's amazing. Yes. And to have been the driver of that, you know, with the team, but still it was yeah, yeah. I I came when we were still thinking through what to do, you know, got to do that grant application, got to work through all the plans and and see it come to fruition and now the new building is full. So ⁓ yes. Efrain: Wow. And I can imagine there's a probably waiting list for more. So now you gotta get on to the next building. Robin Senss: Not yet. ⁓ we might have ended street homelessness for families with this expansion. Yeah. Efrain: Yeah? I love it. And you mentioned this event coming up. Is this a fundraising event? Robin Senss: Yeah, so we have we're We have our annual event every December. ⁓ it's like a a fan a gala, we call it the charity ball. But we're doing a run in August, we're doing a sleep out to raise awareness in November. So we're trying to, like every other nonprofit, make sure we're on the top of people's brains because you know, we all have busy lives and it's easy to forget when you don't see and that's what our shelters do. they take people off the street, but that doesn't mean That there's not that need and those expenses to keep them off the street and to help. So constantly raising awareness. Efrain: How much you guys looking to raise in ⁓ December? Robin Senss: At our big event, our big event usually raises about two hundred thousand. It's a big Efrain: Love it. I love to hear all these numbers. I'm throwing on my first event as leading this organization. That's thirty some years old. And my ask was, I think we could do fifty thousand, right? And then I heard I spoke to a leader f maybe a week or two weeks ago and he had a gala. Their organization is thirty some years old. And how much do you think they raised? Robin Senss: One fifty? Efrain: A million dollars. I said, wait a minute, my ask exactly, wait a minute, my ask is too low. ⁓ you know, you you don't realize it though. And then I say, How do you make that happen? Right? Because ideally a organization thirty-seven years old, we're kind of in that same age bracket. ⁓ a million dollars, then he says it's relationship building, right? It's the networking, it's getting to the right people, ⁓ it's thinking differently, and I Robin Senss: A million? I need to add my games. Yeah. Yeah. Efrain: You know, I I do agree with a lot of that. It is really relationship building. It is partnership. It is ⁓ letting telling the story, you know, on how people's monies are really giving that impact. and I'm super excited because I do have ⁓ this event coming up and when I thought fifty thousand and and knowing just the storytelling and the relationship buildings and what we have some in store, I'm like, yeah, I think I really would pass fifty thousand. And you're telling me what your event is doing. I'm like, you what? May maybe I'm short selling myself here. Robin Senss: Yes, we got this. Efrain: But it's it's always exciting to it's exciting and nerve wracking to put on this event. And what I did this year is I actually got an event coordinator that is going to really kind of ⁓ from now till October second is dealing with sponsors, dealing with the the vendors. It just takes its weight off my shoulders. It is so stressful putting on this event, Robin. Do you feel the same way that I feel during these times? Robin Senss: Yeah. Y well, not not entirely. We have a team who does ⁓ we have an advancement team and they take that on, so I I can't take too much credit for all the prep, but it is it's intense, yes. Absolutely. But worth it. Efrain: Yeah, it's it's it's a lot. ⁓ what is your what is your kids you say your kids ⁓ also kind of know the line of work that you're doing. What do they think about it this all? Robin Senss: Well, they live it, 'cause they hear me all the time. And you know, I've been doing this work since the you know, before they were born and it's it's difficult to have children and go to work. So I'm thankful to work at a place and to do something that I'm so passionate about that I know that I'm making a difference, not just going to work to punch the clock. ⁓ it's im the work that we're doing is important and then when it's done I come home and sometimes, you know, maybe it's something that we can do together. so they have a pretty good understanding of Efrain: Love it. Robin Senss: the things around them, I would say more so my three girls than than other kids their age, ⁓ because they just just that increased awareness and we're constantly talking about, you know Efrain: Mm-hmm. Robin Senss: People's struggles, everyone has their own struggles, and most times you can't see someone's struggles. So it's better to assume that they have something and to just be kind. And I think that changes your perspective. I can only imagine what I would be like now if I had learned that as a child. ⁓ I probably wouldn't have gotten so many speeding tickets. I'm reformed now, but now I'm like, you can go ahead, you get in front of me. Because I don't it's just a mindset. Efrain: Yeah. Love it. Robin Senss: shift like a you know when you're younger, a younger driver, you're like, you're not I'm not gonna get in front of me. And now I'm like, ⁓ maybe you gotta go to the bathroom. You go. Just assume there's a reason, you know, behind the behavior. Efrain: It is. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. ⁓ When I'm on I four and see somebody speeding, I'm like, clearly he gotta go to work or something like Stay out of his way, all right? That's gonna happen. Stay out of that way. That part, that is so true. No, I love it. It you are right. You don't know what you don't know. And ⁓ there's some things I think we should keep away from children to for them to live children's life. ⁓ but there's some things that we should definitely educate our kids on and and it is those moments and I can't wait to Robin Senss: Yeah. Someone's having a baby. Efrain: be at certain places where my kids get to see the work that dad does. ⁓ because it is truly passion purpose work. Like it's nothing I say this probably every ⁓ you know podcast, but it's not about the paycheck. You just mentioned I wanted to do something that I knew I was really making a difference. And a difference is being made. I mean you just mentioned the second location and what you guys are doing to end homelessness in your areas. Like kudos to you and the team to be able to always show up. when things are not always beautiful, right? Some some days it it doesn't look as beautiful and you still got to show up and you're still helping families. ⁓ do do you recall a family that may have n used ⁓ you guys but now are in a better place. I mean there's there's those stories, right? Like they people don't just stay here, people get here and transition to better opportunities. Robin Senss: Yes. Yes, absolutely. ⁓ that is always the goal. ⁓ but we do have an open door policy because even if someone's with us, you know, for six, nine months, things can still come up. ⁓ so we do have people call a year or two later with something that they need help with and we always make sure we make time for them because it's a long road and if you if you enter a shelter, it means that you had no friends, no family, no dollars for a hotel, absolutely no one and nothing. And so going from that moment to success is not a quick road. It's a long road. And so we try to establish ourselves along that road for them, not closing that door and making sure, you know, setting them up for success with other agencies. But it's also nice because sometimes they'll come back, they'll come to our events. We've had families, we just did a you know, a breakfast to raise awareness and had a few people come and talk about their successes. Small business owners. you know, chefs who their their catering business has taken off, ⁓ nail salon owners, or just people who went down and did their, you know, credit repair and bought a house with habitat for humanity, you know, passing along to stability. So there's there's many, many families. With six units last year, we had twenty-one families go through ⁓ in those six units and ninety-five percent left to stable housing. So those are now we have sixteen, so we we can make a bigger impact in a smaller amount of time, but it it doesn't shorten the amount of time that they need assistance. It just lets us help more at once. Efrain: Wow. Wha what are some stigmas that we should debunk here that people probably have of homelessness, those that they see out there? Because I think there's sometimes you don't want to talk to them, you stay away from them. These are not bad people. Life was lifing to them, you know, and and they got in these situations. Are there any myths out there that we could debunk? Robin Senss: Yes. Yes. So I'm so glad you brought that up. My most recent soapbox is that this is not a just world. So people who are experiencing homelessness, it's not because they did something wrong. You know, you and I aren't sitting here today because we did something right. You have to do more than that. Things sometimes it's dumb luck. You know, good things don't just happen to good people and bad things to bad people. And so when you take away that perspective of I'm successful because I did the right things and they didn't, so it's their fault. It's not their fault. You know, they didn't pick their parents, they didn't pick where they were born, they didn't pick all the adversity that came at them. And so we just need to meet them with kindness and see what they need. And sometimes just that kindness, if you don't have financial means to help, just that kindness can make a difference for them. We do have I mean, even not not homeless, we have people who struggle with, you know, domestic violence, drug and alcohol abuse. There's so many things that can go sideways as a as an adult. And it's really about who catches you. You know, do you have people that would catch you because the person sitting by the trash can at the Wawa, they had no one there. And so that doesn't make them less than. Efrain: Yeah. I ⁓ do you think that like It's because people had the experiences, right? Like I've had my own experiences with homelessness here in Orlando and like there's times that I want to help and then you realize someone doesn't want the help. You know, I think that's what kinda gives people that bad ⁓ taste in their mouth. ⁓ but as you mentioned, there are people and one of the things I heard is how hard, especially for a woman, right, that has kids that to kind of be out in the open. Like you really don't see a lot of woman homelessness. And it's not because it's not tr it's not happening, is that they're very hidden. and do you experience that? Do you feel like there is this like males getting more help than women because for women it it's not wanting to see themselves and put their kids in that kind of predicament or what are you seeing in that sense? Robin Senss: So for us we We see we see the families that are female led, ⁓ but they're not where ⁓ you would typically think of a man sleeping. They don't sleep in the park because that would be an added level of vulnerability for them. ⁓ we see them in units that were condemned or on a friend's front porch who can't take them in because they'll lose their own subsidy. ⁓ and a lot of times in the car. ⁓ we've seen we've seen moms sleeping in the car with, you know, teenagers who Who are nonverbal on the spectrum, right? Like the most difficult situations, but it's a step up from on the street, and it takes that tiny, it it gives them that little bit of safety, right? You're on a porch of someone you know, or you're in a unit that has no heating or electricity, but the door locks. So we we find that families are resourceful. ⁓ and for our county, that is still considered homeless. If you're in a place not meant for human habitation, it's still the same. Efrain: Mm-hmm. Robin Senss: It's still street homeless. So Efrain: And you mentioned resources like habitat of humanity. Is that something that you guys partner up with? Is that something that you guys kinda lead them in that direction? Especially when someone's in the ⁓ under your facility, it I'm gonna imagine it's not that we're just housing them. We're providing resources. Is there a mental health to that? Is like what kind of resources are being provided in this in this home? Robin Senss: Yes. Yes. Yes. Everything. ⁓ we start from the kids. We do early intervention, we do intermediate unit referrals, we do mental health for the parents, we talk to the school social workers for the teens. You know, we're taking them to the food bank on their first day to get all the food they need. We're providing the case management while they're with us and typically one year after. And we're passing them to agencies for the next step who do budgeting, credit repair. Who do long-term savings plans, you know, what all of the things, ⁓ car savings programs, habitat for humanity. We have an organization in our area called the Housing Partnership of Chester County, and I joined their board back in January. So they're one of our partners. They do credit counseling and first-time home ownership, and they walk you through that kind of case management to go from, you know, it can take a year at minimum to go from bad credit. And work it up to be able to buy a house and they help you with down payment. So we have a lot of partners along, we call it the steps model. ⁓ and you work your way up the steps until you're you're self-sufficient. It can be home ownership, but it doesn't have to be. Sometimes people don't have a goal of homeownership, and that you know, ownership doesn't mean stability more than renting. If that's your goal, that's fine too. Efrain: Yeah. Yeah. Mm-hmm. I don't know about and the reason I ask all these questions is so important to people realize is ⁓ we all either go through it or have someone that may have gone through it. Maybe we haven't experienced it yet, but we will. ⁓ and I don't know about Tody this, but my mom is homeless and has been most of her life. Most of my life I would say. You and always think about that. When I think about homelessness, I was w talking to another leader and and her was w more of that ⁓ woman shelter and how she gave up being a a developer to start developing more woman shelters, realizing the need of it because in some of her properties she was seeing some of these women go to these fountains and showering and realizing that there was a kind of a lack of resources ⁓ for women as well. And ⁓ it always just makes me think about my biological mother, you know, that I really never had a relationship with, but knowing the work that you do it is always so important because you don't know who you speak to that may be have someone going through it. So it's always ⁓ just listening to you and realizing, man, there is so much opportunity, there's so much help. ⁓ people just also have to want it, you know. ⁓ It is very hard sometimes to put your pride aside and your ego. But ⁓ I'm just so glad that someone like you has kind of given your life to this because so many people n need it. You know, life do be lifing. You mentioned the trauma, the experiences. Not everyone gets to see the other side. You know, I am one I am one of eighteen kids and I could tell you that a lot I have siblings, sister. I have a sister that recently called me and she was telling me she was homeless. ⁓ and I felt so bad. You know, I think she was like 19, 20 years old, and probably by choice because she wanted to be with this guy. But then ⁓ I'm not from Boston. My brother says, Efraine, there's so much help in Boston for people like her. She has to want it. You know, and and it's like you don't know what's out there if you don't know, you know, but listening to these stories that you're sharing today and some of the resources that you guys do bring to the table, people may not even know that. They just may think it's a place to stay for the night. Robin Senss: Mm-hmm. Efrain: But you're ta you're saying that people can go and stay as long as they want, like is is that correct? As long as or up till they get on their feet, I guess, or what does that look like? Robin Senss: Yeah, typically ⁓ there's like a month of honeymoon for people to settle. It's daily unit checks to make sure that the building is being taken care of. ⁓ there's nothing illegal going on. You know, we also have to look after the other residents and the other children in the building. if they're meeting the case management requirements, they're coming to the mandatory workshops, we're seeing progress in their goals and they set their goals. You know, they they set their goals and how quickly they'll get them and if they can't or they change their mind, you know, change change it on the forum. Efrain: Mm-hmm. Robin Senss: Typically people take six to nine months to be comfortable to move out. Sometimes people need a little longer because it's a single mom with multiple kids. You know, we got they have to get daycare set up, where's she gonna work? And we're located in one town and a lot of the affordable housing is in another town. So it can take extra time because you might be able to walk down the street and find a job. But if you want to go back and live across the street from your aunt 30 minutes away and you Have no car, we're not gonna get you set up on a job here and move you there, and then you get let go because the bus is late. So working through those sustainability things and letting people really have that firm foundation. By the end, a lot of times people are so ready to go. ⁓ but we do offer case management after for up to a year, you know, if they if they desire, it's totally based on their needs. ⁓ but sometimes things come up like who's gonna help you set up the PICO? Do you know? Efrain: That's good. Robin Senss: when the trash comes. Where's the food bank there? How do you sign your kid up for school 'cause now you're in a different district. You know, all of those things that when they come up for me personally, I'm like, I don't know how to do this. They have someone to call. You know, registering someone for kindergarten is not easy. Efrain: Yeah. I don't even know where to start, Robin. Let me start. I don't even know what? now this is cool. I ⁓ when I think about just what you guys are doing, it is definitely phenomenal. People have to want it. I love that you guys also kinda play those accountability partners, right? It's not like we just give it to you. You you you have to want it and we're going to help you through it. And I think that's the best way is to hold somebody accountable, especially it's their plans. We're going to meet you at where you're at. We're going to create the plans around what it looks like for you. And just make sure that you could Robin Senss: Yeah. Yes. Efrain: you know, do that. ⁓ and it's it would help them so much. We talk about mental. Mentally it just helps somebody so much. That organization piece, the accountability piece, ⁓ and those people continue to pass on to their kids and XYZ. But where could how can people get because I can imagine you mentioned so many units that there's volunteers. Could imagine we need donors. How do peop someone get involved into what you guys are already doing? Robin Senss: Yes. So our website is friendsasoche dot org. We have events, we have a tab to donate. ⁓ we do take volunteers. Funding is not good right now. We had COVID money flowing. Millions of dollars. It's ending. You know, what's not already gone, the last deadline for those funds is December. So shifting back to more donor focus, more foundation focus. But ⁓ unfortunately what I'm seeing with a lot of foundations now is they want to fund growth. And what we've worked really hard to do is to grow and now to stabilize because what we're doing is working. And so losing, we're losing some funders because we're not able to promise that growth because we're we're gonna stabilize what we have. So raising awareness, advocating, you know, we have the support of our commissioners, our senators, our state reps. ⁓ it's just the dollars to them isn't as much, you know. Everybody's kind of in this financial hold. ⁓ but if somebody has the ability to give, I can guarantee you it will go to very good work. Efrain: Mm-hmm. Yeah. ⁓ if you had an ability to say I can change this today in this or in your own organization, what is that thing that you feel that definitely probably needs some attention? We just haven't been able to get to it or it's been a work in progress, we're still working on it and I would love to fix this today. What is that thing? So those that are listening it may want to contribute in somehow in some way. Robin Senss: Yeah. It's really just the funding. ⁓ it's Having people that back us, you know, financially and with their actions, that advocacy and understanding that the families that we're serving are not less than, and like I said, they it's not that they've done anything wrong. and our full name being Friends Association for Care and Protection of Children, we've kept that long name because at the end of the day, it's the children, it's that next generation. How can we support the parents to support the children so that they don't end up back here because it is multi-generational the cycles and breaking that. So the more people that understand that and that can help, you know, if if people aren't local, I I'm very sure you have a family shelter in your area. You might not know it, maybe look it up or if you are local, stop by. I'll give you a tour of the new building. Efrain: Mm-hmm. Love it. And as we start to wrap up, someone may be listening or someone may know someone that's kinda going through a situation and just don't know what they don't know, maybe nervous, maybe heard things, or they just don't want to go to a facility. How do you w what words advice do you give them for those that are listening or might want to share the message? Robin Senss: Yeah. Yeah. So in our area you can call two one one to get an operator that can help direct you to services. I don't know if that's nationwide, but we could we could find out. ⁓ we also have a number called nine eight eight for mental health crisis. I know every area has mental health crisis, suicide crisis lines. Sometimes directing someone to that professional and staying with them for that phone call because Reaching out for help and no one answers or you're put on hold can be the most devastating thing in that moment. But for us, it might not be. So if we can facilitate that safe zone and maybe take the lead on a phone call, that might be the difference between someone getting a shelter bed or not. I think it can also be helpful to say to somebody who who's looking for the help. Efrain: Mm-hmm. Robin Senss: That they deserve it if they want it. You don't have to sleep on the street. You can, that's your choice, right? That right to self-determination. But there are opportunities if you want to take the help. Efrain: Love it. And Robin, are you guys on social? I know you mentioned your website a little earlier. What's the socials? Robin Senss: Yes. Yep. I have no idea. ⁓ we have LinkedIn and Facebook. There's probably only one friends association though. Efrain: What's the website? What's the I can imagine I was the website, right? Gotta get it. I'm pretty sure if you go to the website, you'll find all the socials. But I would really love for those to figure out what's going on and and how they can be ⁓ of service is check out these websites, check out the socials. ⁓ a lot of the proof is already there, right? The data is already showcased by not just in the conversations, but I can imagine via website, via the socials, and really get involved. It's really making a difference. I mean, from volunteering to donating. ⁓ are you guys taking anything like in-kind, clothing or anything like that? Robin Senss: Yes. Yes. We don't have storage to take many things, ⁓ but we do take so every time someone moves out of a unit, we completely ref restock it. ⁓ we don't obviously we we leave the beds and like the big furniture, but everyone gets new pots and pans, utensils, plates, cups, bath towels, so things like that, we usually do an Amazon wishlist that you can find a link for on the site. ⁓ And then that that times perfectly because we don't have room to store it. So if the list is on there, it's because we need it already to put it up in a unit. Efrain: ⁓ wow. Okay. Got it, got it. Well, Robin, I thank you so much for your time and for the service that you've been doing for so many years. ⁓ while raising kids, always gotta, you know, kinda sh tell y'all moms, you guys are something else. I have a wife that is a stay home mom with two kids, and it's not an easy task. So you're telling me you got three kids, you're running a a organization as a COO, that means you still really CEO at your house, right? So that there's a lot of work going on here, Robin. Robin Senss: Yeah, of course. Efrain: ⁓ we thank you for your time. We thank you for being a strong individual and doing this as long as you have and really caring for others and thinking about passion and purpose and never paychecks. For those that are watching, we thank you. These are the leaders that we love to really ⁓ highlight because they're truly making a difference in our own communities. We don't know what's happening in our own backyards, but these conversations allow us to know that we're all humans and at some point we may need these services and there's people out there that are willing to help and guide you to get back on your feed and really give you that life that you want. ⁓ so we thank you, Robin, for being here. I'm E Fran. We'll catch you guys on the next episode. Latest.