Community Lifeline

Steve Roese is an out of the box thinker who wants to change the world by connecting dots, and people, to make things happen that others do not expect to succeed. He has travelled much of the world, is burdened for and amazed by the people he knows there. Impatient with the status quo, his focus is on both the haves and have-nots of society and whose cultural ethos is to do whatever it takes to collide the lives of both. Steve founded Water is Basic. Water is Basic finds local solutions to local water problems. Water is Basic mission is to innovate sustainable, women led, local solutions to basic water problems. Visit them @ https://www.waterisbasic.org/!

Angie Wehrer is the Executive Director of The Battered Women's Foundation Mary Lou's Place. Before the organization's Founder, Mary Lou, passed away, Angie assumed her role, transitioning from a board member to acting director.  Having had many issues with different types of domestic violence over the years, Angie knew more than most people about this issue and how life-altering and difficult it can be to break the cycle of abuse. She takes pride in her and her staff's work for their clients and the children they help. She wants everyone to know if you hear something, see something, know something, then say something because it takes a village to break the stigma of domestic violence, get the knowledge and word out there, to break the cycle of domestic violence. The Battered Women's Foundation Mary Lou's Place is "Changing our World ONE Life at a Time." They do this by, first and foremost, operating their Domestic Violence Survivor Program, which helps battered partners, women, and children to break the cycle of abuse by becoming self-sufficient. Their Domestic Violence Survival Program is a four-year long-term care program in which they provide many different resources, including but not limited to physical, mental, spiritual, educational, and at times financial assistance.  They give their clients the skills and strength to live a safe and comfortable life and have long-term success. With our times' ever-changing and evolving resources, they have also expanded to provide much-needed help and services to Families in Need, Families in Crisis, and Crisis Clients. These programs offer necessary daily living items, such as clothing, household items, cleaning products, hygiene items, and a food pantry.  Mary Lou's Place philosophy is based on this understanding and designed to complement the work of other organizations by providing long-term client services and resources to these partners, women, and children that are attempting to break the cycle of abuse, despair, and hopelessness, to create the life they have always dreamt about and deserve. Abuse is not the victim's/survivor's fault.  Visit them @ www.marylousplace.org/

Toby Owen has led Presbyterian Night Shelter as Chief Executive Officer since 2009, with over 20 years of experience in the social services sector. Toby has overseen multiple expansions of the shelter’s housing programs, facilities, and services. Under his leadership, Presbyterian Night Shelter opened the Morris Foundation Family Services Center, True Worth Place resource facility and launched a social enterprise and employment training program, UpSpire. Toby has also overseen renovations to the Lowdon-Schutts Women’s Center and the Karl Travis Men’s Center. Toby continues to lead Presbyterian Night Shelter with a strong community presence and passion for the organization’s mission of ending homelessness in Tarrant County. Founded in 1984, Presbyterian Night Shelter serves 90% of Fort Worth and Tarrant County’s homeless population. It is the largest provider of services for its county’s homeless neighbors, sheltering over 700 guests each night. As a low-barrier shelter, they welcome anyone without a home and help them find one. They focus their efforts on three equally important things: giving people immediate shelter helping them find a home providing them employment opportunities through UpSpire, their social enterprise, so they can earn a living wage and afford to keep their home Through their various programs and by providing access to critical support services and resources, their goal is to place their guests in a position to successfully transition to a safe, stable, and independent lifestyle. In 2022, they helped over 1,602 people move out of homelessness including 565 children.  Visit them @ https://www.journeyhome.org/!

Katrina Harris, The Director of Operations of Viola’s House, used her cross-functional abilities while leading. She brings expertise in planning, clinical quality, efficiency, and operational knowledge to her team. She is armed with articulate written and verbal communication, bilingual in English and Spanish. She is a great translator for innovative solutions and has managed engagements for planning and programming throughout the Dallas Area.   Katrina is known for being a multifaceted leader when assigned to managing various tasks in her areas of expertise in operations, training, and coaching. She enjoys working with the client planning team to discover solutions and explore options to provide the optimum environment for our residents, families, and staff.  Katrina discovered her passion for working with women in Prison, working with Special Olympics and Teenage Moms. She understands life’s challenges being a teen bride at 15, dropping out of school at 15, and being a single mother of 4 with one having Cerebral Palsy.   Her passion for each can be traced back throughout her life, as she has experienced each in her lifetime. Viola’s House’s mission is to provide maternity housing and support services to mothers facing unplanned pregnancies. Formed in 2008 as a “Maternity House” to provide temporary housing and support services to expectant teenage mothers aged 12-21 in the Dallas area. Viola’s House utilizes a holistic approach in order to help expectant teen mothers make enduring, positive changes in their lives. The Program provides basic life necessities of housing, food, clothing, life skills, education, and training in financial literacy, parenting, and counseling. Visit them @ https://www.violashouse.org/

Wanda L. McArn is the driving force behind the forming of Next Step Development Corporation (NSDC) and serves as the CEO and Chair of the Board of Directors.   Wanda lived in and traveled to some of the largest cities in the U.S. during her career and was overwhelmed by the sheer number of homeless Americans sleeping under highway underpasses, in tent cities or the parks, streets, and storefronts.   Closer to home, she has several family members dealing with substance abuse issues and mental illness. Others are couch surfing, paying daily for hotels, or sleeping in their cars, all with jobs but can't find affordable apartments.   This firsthand experience has made her an advocate for an improved and more robust mental health system and affordable housing strategies that meet the community's needs.  Wanda developed the idea for Next Step Development Corporation and contacted seven passionate and community-focused individuals to serve on the Founding Board of Directors.    Next Step Development Corporation addresses the issue of chronic homelessness in North Carolina. Their mission is to provide supportive housing for individuals experiencing homelessness or unhoused by developing tiny home villages, affordable housing units, and emergency shelters.   They provide case management, job training, life skills training, mental health, and substance use support groups, as well as, resident focused community services such as vegetable gardens, food pantries, clothing closets and basic essentials.   They aim to address their need for safe permanent housing and give them a sense of belonging.   Contact her at wanda@nextstepdevelopmentcorporation.org or visit www.nextstepdevelopmentcorporation.org!

In this special episode I am talking with Wanji Banda! She is the other half of Elevated Co. and the Community Lifeline Podcast. She is here with me to teach the audience about Social Determinants of Health (SDOH). This is the beginning of our SDOH series as we will talk in detail about each of the determinants for the next 5 weeks.

Tiffany Beaudine, the Chief Executive Officer of Rainbow Days, Inc.⁠, served on the staff for over 20 years with a background in communications and development. ⁠ As Chief Executive Officer, Tiffany provides the strategic vision of Rainbow Days and works closely with the Board of Directors to help further organizational goals through impactful and measurable services, fundraising, community awareness, and fiscal oversight. ⁠ Rainbow Days' mission is to help children and youth in adversity build coping skills and resilience to create positive futures. Their award-winning prevention services have supported children's social, emotional, mental, and behavioral health for over 40 years. Using Rainbow Days' own evidence-based Curriculum-Based Support Group (CBSG®) Program and trained staff mentors, Rainbow Days improves children and youth's self-confidence, ability to cope with difficult problems, awareness of healthy choices, ability to resist negative peer pressure and set goals for a positive future, including staying in school and staying drug-free.⁠  Through weekly support groups at partnering schools and shelters, classroom presentations, themed summer day camps for homeless children, mentored events, family outings, and tangible items to meet basic needs, Rainbow Days is making a positive impact in the lives of over 9,000 children, youth and families annually. ⁠ ⁠ Additionally, Rainbow Days expands its impact beyond Dallas through training services, which trains other nonprofit staff, teachers, and counselors throughout the U.S. in its award-winning CBSG® Program.⁠ Visit them @ https://rainbowdays.org/ today!

People Incorporated welcomed Veronika E. Mix from Atlanta, Georgia as the Vice President of Community Engagement in 2021. Mix brings more than 15 years of experience in healthcare, specializing in client engagement, integrated marketing, and community relations with a strong history of building relationships and programs that support the client experience.  Mix has an MBA in Marketing from Strayer University in Atlanta and a BBA in Management from Robert Morris University in Chicago. People Incorporated was founded in 1969 to believe that those living with mental illness could be ‘incorporated’ into society, and society can incorporate efforts to support these most vulnerable individuals in need of care.  Since then, People Incorporated has been committed to supporting mental health and wellness in communities through collaboration, innovation, integration of care, and training throughout Minnesota.  PEOPLEINCORPORATED.ORG | 651.774.0011

Nancy Wallace is the Dallas Metropolitan Chapter President and the Co-Chair of the National Fund Development Committee of The National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Inc. As an avid volunteer and community advocate for the disenfranchised, Nancy enjoys building strategic alliances and leveraging relationships to bring diverse communities together in the public and nonprofit sectors. She serves on nonprofit boards and volunteers in various capacities with nonprofits emphasizing leadership development, education, women, minority families, and the performance arts. For more information visit https://www.ncbwdallas.org/! 

This episode tells the story about how Community Lifeline Podcast came about. Our host, Neshe' Conley, talks about her upbringing and how public health resources helped her and her family to survive social injustices and health disparities. Her mission is to close the gap between vulnerable and low-income communities and the resources that are out there by providing health education and having guest speakers from national organizations tell their stories and services!

Dr. Mercia Martin is a physical therapist in Houston, TX, treating patients with orthopedic and neurological conditions. Originally from the Republic of Congo, Mercia immigrated to the United States in 2012 to pursue higher education.  She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Health Sciences from Sam Houston State University and her Doctoral Degree in Physical Therapy from Texas State University. Mercia’s principal areas of interest are community and global health.  In her free time, she enjoys providing pro bono physical therapy services to uninsured or underinsured Houstonians. She also mentors minority students interested in the PT profession and assists them with essay and resume editing, mock interview, and academic advice. Mercia’s long-term career goal is to extend her public health efforts into the non-profit medical world to improve access to health services in both her home country, the Congo, and here, locally, in Houston.  She is passionate about diversity, equity, and inclusion and hopes to continue working on projects that make this world a more welcoming place for all individuals, regardless of their racial, social or economic backgrounds. Connect with Dr. Martin @TheGratefulPT on all social media platforms!

Angela Burgess currently serves as the Executive Director of RaiseUp Families through her company, Broad Oaks Consulting, LLC. A former philanthropic director and financial planning executive, she now serves as a trusted advisor to not-for-profit organizations on strategic planning, revenue generation, and investment development. With over 20 years of experience she is a compassionate, business-minded leader and clear communicator who develops concrete, achievable strategies that create financial stability and drive growth in reach and impact. Angela participated in a prison ministry through The Order of Malta and has been a mentor with Big Brother Big Sisters of Houston. She currently serves on the International Committee of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and is a Court Appointed Guardian ad Litem through Child Advocates of Houston. Since 1994 RaiseUp Families has been providing financial assistance to parents of school-age children while helping them attain higher income jobs and teaching invaluable budgeting skills. This leads parents to become self-sufficient - prepared for future financial challenges where they will not have to utilize social services again. Our relational and individualized care gives parents the training and confidence to realize a better future for their children. RaiseUp Families' mission is to stabilize parents from vulnerable communities who face unexpected financial crises so their children can focus on their education, giving them the opportunity for a better life. Their vision is families across Greater Houston are stable and their children are excelling in school. Learn more by visiting them @ www.https://raiseupfamilies.org/!