Latest / The Rachelle Starr Podcast / More Than a Plan | The Rachelle Starr Podcast Episode 6
Transcript
- Rachelle Starr: Hi, I'm Rochelle, the host of the Rochelle Star Podcast, where we equip the church to bring the hope and love of Jesus to women in the adult entertainment industry. We're going to be having honest conversations about what that really looks like. So if you've ever wondered how to engage in this space or how to do it well, you're in the right place. All right, welcome back to the Rochelle Star Podcast. I am Rochelle, and this is my co-host, Natalie. And we are excited today to talk about case management. Favorite topic. Favorite topic. I bet you would say that. It is. Yeah. Case management is one of those things that we brought to Scarlet Hope out of pure necessity many, many, many years ago, because I was like just naturally doing it as I was walking alongside women. Now, case management. is a real social work service that many social workers offer in this world. And they do a great job and there's many agencies that offer it. But at Scarlet Hope, it looks a little bit different. And particularly because each individual and each season of Scarlet Hope and each program of Scarlet Hope has looked a little bit different. And so over the years, what we have really defined is walking alongside women, helping to meet basic needs and long-term needs if needed, and actually giving them a choice about what they want for their lives. I'm gonna share just a couple of things before Natalie jumps in and kind of shows us what does national case management look like and some really cool stories within that. But one of the things that was a very clear dis like defining moment in Scarlet Hope was when we switch to a system that was called Me rap. ⁓ let me back up a little bit. Probably the first 10 years of Scarlet Hope, I would actually, and I'm sure if you're listening to this and you run a ministry, you can relate a little bit to this, but I would very much have the perspective of I have to do everything for that person until they really feel strong enough to do it for themselves. And so what that looked like was I was running around a lot for everybody. I was filling out job applications for people. I was going to get the food and give it to them. And and that was sort of our model was like do for someone else what they really could do for themselves with some support and help. And it came with unfortunately, and I'm I hate to admit this, really the perspective of like, I know what's best for you. So if you're homeless, well. You need a home, right? If you are homeless and you don't have a car and you don't have a job, well, the first thing in my mind would be you can't have a job without a car and you can't have a job without a home, so maybe we should go with the home. But oftentimes that isn't what women wanted. And so I I went out to Seattle and met with a professor who developed this particular case management called Me rap case management, he developed it in prisons. And it stands for motivational informed interviewing case management, where it is a wraparound services. It looks at everybody in the lives of the women. So a case manager, a mentor, ⁓ a friend, a boyfriend, and it says, How can we put all of these people around you to to care for you, to help support you? on your journey, giving you a choice, a voice and a choice, we often say, and looking at maybe what you think is best for your life. Maybe I don't necessarily agree, but if you think that that's best, then how can we support you? Obviously within safe boundaries, you know, we're not gonna support someone hurting themselves, of course. But that the concept started to change in Scarlet Hope. ⁓ and it's even different today. But what we started to see is actually women move towards flourishing and being able to feel empowered to make their own choices, to feel encouraged that they could provide for themselves. And so I just wanna as we jump in, I wanna give a very practical ⁓ example of what this looks like. We used to give out toilet paper. I know it sounds silly, but We worked with a lot of homeless people. We worked with a lot of people that did have their own homes but lived in section eight. And toilet paper was one of those things that I guess with food stamps, back in the day, you only got a certain amount of toilet paper. So women would ask for toilet paper every single time they came to Scarlet Hope. But what happened was we weren't just giving that one person toilet paper. They were taking hundreds of roles across months and giving it out to everyone in their entire little village. And we started to ask ourselves, was this really the way that we should be doing things? And so what we set set up was an incentive program. Essentially, if you attend these classes or you could come work at Scarlet Hope, ⁓ we would give you cash or we would pay you like a real job and you could Buy your own supplies. Some women loved this. Some women did not like this. And I know it's pretty controversial that I'm even talking about this example. We certainly give toilet paper out. Natalie firsthand knows that. Yes. But what we don't want to do is we don't want to take away the dignity and the empowerment that a woman has natural abilities to care for herself she just might need. some support. And so case management today is run by Natalie, who is incredible. She's amazing. You're welcome. She's incredible with the women. She's incredible with our team teaching and I want you to dive in, tell us what it looks like, and give us a behind the curtain kind of overview. Yeah, so like you said, we have at Scarlet Hope a her voice, her choice model. Which basically means that in case management a woman decides not only how long she's in case management, but also what her goals are. And ⁓ so when a woman voices that she's interested in case management, I'll sit down with her, I'll meet with her, and we'll talk about okay, what does for lack of like what does flourishing look like for you? What are your next steps? What are your goals? And my And my eventual goal for her is to really, of course, have a flourishing relationship with the Lord, first and foremost, but also reach the point in her life of that ability to make her own choices. Because exploitation, the first thing it takes away from a woman is choice. And so my my desire for her is to find her voice again. And to be able to make choices. If I go into her life and say, okay, you need A, B, C, and D, and these are the things that you need to do to achieve those things, I've eliminated that choice. And just because Natalie's version of stability looks like this doesn't mean that that's, you know, Allie's version of stability. And so I have to be careful when I meet with a woman that I'm not projecting what I think a woman should do. But listening to, okay, what is God doing with her life? What are some things that she is ⁓ saying and then she's explaining? And then working with her on those things with resources, tangible sometimes I do like I do, I have given toilet paper. it is a necessity. It is a necessity, but also making sure that there's a plan for stability within that. I ⁓ have talked with women before where, you know, they're like, Well, can you ⁓ bring me food every week? And I've sat down with her and I've said, I can't be the only reason that you're eating. That's not sustainable. And it's not healthy for me to be in that position, and it's not healthy for you to be in that position. So let's make I call it a food safety plan and how can we get you food? What does that look like that you can get yourself food that you feel like you have you're in charge of that in your own life? recently we started to see an increase in need for case management nationally, especially with the increase that we have in digital outreach. So we have actually ⁓ created a form, a program for women nationally to request to see me for case management. And ⁓ recently that has just really thrived and I ⁓ am so excited about the Lord what the Lord is doing with that. ⁓ recently I'll call her Sarah. ⁓ I met a woman ⁓ through that national case manager program. She's somewhere, you know, I am hours and hours away from her. ⁓ but she recently left the industry. ⁓ she recently became a believer and she was like I don't have really anyone around me who's been through this I I've left all my friends who are in the industry. I I need help. And so being able to meet with her ⁓ virtually on a weekly basis, going through Bible studies, going through books, meeting goals, and just giving her that kind of contact, that community has been super great. So super excited about that. Yeah. ⁓ my gosh, I love that. And I mean you kind of showed us what it looks like to ⁓ to to say we can't provide everything. I can't. And one of the things that I love about your approach and the approach we started taking, you know, eight, nine years ago is what that woman believes is best for her and Of course it's in the context of conversation, right? Like some people think what's best is staying with an abusive boyfriend. Well, no amount of convincing her for me from me or f really from you is going to to change her mind. But s conversations over time help women see ⁓ their value, help them see what's possible on the other side of a decision, maybe to leave that abusive relationship or what have you. Or If they have been stuck in survival mode and they're in crisis and they they truly can't think about all the resources and connections that they have, how can we step into conversation and help them see, ⁓ wait, they actually do have people they can call on for food or they can think about this job that they can get. I'm actually working with a woman that I'm praying comes to you and feels like your ⁓ national case management form, but I met her in Florida through digital outreach at the World Cup. And she's pregnant. She's twenty weeks pregnant. She actually is hemorrhaging. She's gonna they're gonna take the baby early. They're trying to get her to thirty weeks. But she s texted me last night and said, I desperately need a job, but no one will hire me because I'm pregnant. And it's heartbreaking. It's devastating. And I said, What I just slowly s asked her questions and she goes, ⁓ I could call so and so or I could do this. And she started coming up with her own ideas. And I was like, Yes, that's a great idea. You should do that. And sh I was like, Would you like me to check back in with you when you've done it? And she's like, Yes, call me or text me tomorrow and see if I've called this person. And she had called that person and and so there's a a pregnancy center down there that can help her until she has her baby and through her baby. So it's it's just amazing what You know, when we're in fight or flight or in crisis mode, it's hard to solve problems. It's hard to come up with solutions. And so often case management or I call it more like care management, just like I'm caring for women and a lot of our volunteers are doing that as well, are just walking alongside women and it sometimes looks like a formalized plan like what you do, but oftentimes it's just helping women come to their own realization, their own choices. And feel empowered to make those choices. It is always better if someone comes to their own realization themselves rather than you and I tell them what they should be doing. Because women own choices that they've made. Yeah. And so just in my own experience leaving an abusive relationship, there were people telling me like, This is abusive, you need to leave. I was not listening. I had to come to my own I had to make the decision myself and then I stuck with it. ⁓ but that's why we walk alongside women wherever they're at. Yeah. So while while we could talk about case management forever. Literally eons. Yeah, eons. ⁓ are there tools or tips that you can give our audience if you are doing case management with women? ⁓ you know, we have looked, we have of course a CRM that we use, ⁓ and We have different things that we have done, but what are some tips, tricks for case management for people helping women along their journey? First listen, listen, and then when you think you've listened, listen some more. I can't listen. Listen. It's really important to listen because that's when you really get to know them as a person who God God created them to be, what He's teaching them, what He's showing them, where she's at. ⁓ because one that will tell you what are her goals. And if she has already put like, this is my goal, she's more likely to stick with it than if you make your own goal. And two, you can really hear what are her barriers to the gospel. Does she believe she is a s too much of a sinner and God couldn't love her? Well, now you know the barrier to the gospel and you can speak into that. So first, listen. Second, motivational interviewing, you kind of already said it. Motivational interviewing is basically asking good questions. Yeah. Jesus did this in the gospels. Yes. You can see it over and over again. He doesn't come up with, Hey, this is what you need to do today. He says, Hey, do you wanna be well? Yeah. Or can you give me a drink? Yeah. He starts with questions. So listen, questions. ⁓ I would also say know the resources around you in your area and not just like, ⁓ here's the link, here's the phone number. But I know so and so at this resource place. Let's talk to her together. Women are much more likely to feel comfortable if they trust you and then you say, I trust this person than just sending them a phone number or a link. Yeah, that's perfect. Okay, so we hope and pray that God will continue to use case management at Scarlet Hope, but also around ⁓ in many ministries that we partner with because it's important. It's important, it's empowering, it's important and it helps. Women flourish. So thank you for all the case management that you do at Scarlet Hope. Thank you so much for the talk. Thank you for listening to the Rochelle Star podcast. If this conversation encouraged you or challenged you, I'd invite you to take the next step. Whether that's learning more, getting involved, or sharing this episode with someone else. At Scarlet Hope, we believe consistent presence changes lives. And there's a place for you in this work. You can learn more at ScarletHope.org.