Growing Goodwill #232

Julia Sleeper:

highlights from this week's program and yeah, Tree Street's really just it's a very youth driven place. The kids tell us and help us shape the programming, how they, how they'd like it and what they're seeing as a greatest need for themselves.

Anna Eleanor Roosevelt:

And that work is expanding as we recognize brain injury more and more, as the science in that grows.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

This is Dr. Lisa Belisle and you are listening to Love Maine radio show number 232, Growing Goodwill, airing for the first time on Sunday, February 28, 2016. Maine has been growing goodwill in its communities for decades. Today we speak with Julius Leeper, founder and Executive Director of Tree Street Youth center in Lewiston, which has been supporting area children through academics, the arts and athletics for the past 10 years. We also speak with Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, president and CEO of Goodwill Northern New England, a 100-year-old organization that helps families find stability through work and letting nothing go to waste. Thank you for joining us.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

have with me an individual that is doing some really interesting and innovative things in a part of Maine that I think seems to be a hotbed of new and innovative things these days. This is Julia Sleeper who is the founder and executive director of the Tree Street Youth Center In Lewiston. She was born and raised in the Bangor area and initially moved to Lewiston Auburn as an undergraduate at Bates College. During her time as a student, she began connecting to the downtown Lewiston community youth through service learning opportunities afforded to her as a psychology and education major. Over the past 10 years, she has continued to build on these relationships, providing after school programming for the at risk youth living in the downtown Tree street neighborhood. There's so much more to your bio than just this, but this is a start. It's really great. Thanks so much for coming in and talking with me today.

Julia Sleeper:

Yeah, absolutely. Thank you for having me.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

So you grew up in the Bangor Brewer area, you went to John Bapst, you went to Bates for college and you're still there?

Julia Sleeper:

Yes. Yep, I never left.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

So what was it about Lewiston that so drew you?

Julia Sleeper:

Yeah, I think Lewiston is just an amazing city. There's lots of emerging new things happening all the time. And in particular, what kept me was the youth that I started working with initially as just service learning opportunities in the community, volunteering, doing different things just to get to know kids, help them with their academics. And then after that, after a while, it really evolved as my passion and what I wanted to do and I was working with, with students who are just so powerful and you kind of can't get enough of like their energy and kind of their ambition. And that's what kept me.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

So you also have a master's degree in leadership and organizational Studies through USM at the Lewiston Auburn campus. So how has that, I guess, intersected with the work that you do?

Julia Sleeper:

Yeah, so when I decided to go for my master's, I was looking for a program that could be pretty versatile. I wasn't entitled. Sure. The direction I always kind of had this dream to create a youth space or a youth center in Lewiston, mainly because of the kids that I was interacting with and seeing. And I always said I just need a building. And so when I was actually finishing my master's writing my thesis at the same time was when I was starting Tree street, kind of not 100% knowing that I was starting Tree Street. And so what was great about that program is a lot of it is about like being innovative and being creative and tackling different challenges with different versatile leadership qualities and ways in which you can look at bigger issues, but break them down to kind of tangible ways to create impact in different ways as leaders or within organizations, how you can do that. So it kind of meshed really nicely.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Tell me about Tree Street. Give Me a kind of an overview of what this program looks like.

Julia Sleeper:

Yeah, so. Well, Tree street is a very exciting place, very busy. We serve about 120 to 150 kids a day through the center. We do after school programming, summer programming, primarily for the at risk kids living around the surrounding neighborhood, which is in downtown Lewiston or the Tree street neighborhood. We do academic support, arts and cultural enrichment activities which could be anything from visual arts to performing arts, dance, or extending into the athletics, karate and different stuff like that. As well as cultivating leadership and kind of future aspirations. One of our big programs is our branches program, which is a college prep program where we work with in particular seniors, but also in cultivating kind of higher education aspirations. And we work with seniors literally from application to moving day, whatever kids need in order to kind of get to that next step after high school. And yeah, Tree Street's really just. It's a very youth driven place. The kids tell us and help us shape the program, how they'd like it and what they're seeing as a greatest need for themselves. And then we just kind of create a space where they can evolve it. So yeah, but it's a very, very busy place. It is Pre K through 12. So any school aged kid is welcome to come literally from when they start school till they go off to college.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

And what type of interaction do you have with the local school systems and with the local government?

Julia Sleeper:

Yeah, so we're literally located across the street from one of the six elementary schools. We're across the street from Longley elementary, right in the heart of downtown. So we actually do a lot of collaborative activities with the various schools. We serve kids from across the entire district. And some of our activities are providing additional supports in the morning, like both within schools and also at the center in particular for kids that struggle with more social, emotional, behavioral things going on. And we have kind of a unique perspective that we work with kids. We can see them in school, but then we also see them out of school. And kind of leveraging those relationships that we're able to establish with them has really intersected nicely with some of our school partnerships at all the levels.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

What is it that education actually does for kids? I know this is a very basic question, but I'm interested in what your ideas are about this.

Julia Sleeper:

I think that's a great question. I mean, I think for what we see happening, I think for any individual, but in particular with our youth, education just literally gives them independence. It gives them a tool to define who and what they will become and how. And so for a lot of our students, they can't get enough. They want to try everything. And with about 65% of the youth that we serve being of the immigrant and refugee families of the city, a lot of it is novelty. And so, like, education sometimes is not just, like the basic, you know, math and reading and those kind of things, but it's building social capitals, it's having interactions, it's exploring the world around you. And I think for us and for kind of Tree Street's philosophy of, like, that type of education where it can span across, like, not just the traditional subjects, but also the social skills and the opportunities to just try something and see something for the first time. Like those. Those are the powerful doors that open up opportunity for. For any kid or any individual, really.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

And what has that been like to work with different people of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds?

Julia Sleeper:

Yeah, it's very exciting all the time. There's always something happening, always layers of comple that are very, very rich and really fun. Like, the dynamics of. Part of our mission is creating unity across lines of difference. So we serve kids from across the spectrum, basically, of any background, and different languages. We're up to 14 languages in the building right now, which is exciting. And it's really one of those powerful opportunities to have conversation that a lot of the times different people struggle with having, because it is complex and it is difficult at times. And we really, like, push at Tree street to not only have those conversations, but give space for the kids to have those conversations with each other, to learn about one another and to do it in a safe place where we can help facilitate and encourage the learning and the education about one another in a healthy way and in a way that, like, doesn't feel like risky or doesn't feel like, oh, I might. Maybe I'm not supposed to answer or ask that kind of question. Like, we really create a very open environment, and I think that's why we've been really successful at kind of engaging so many kids, is everyone brings something to the table. And as long as you know you're coming in and putting your best foot forward, and we'll love you on your rough days, we'll love you on your best days. But I think that's kind of the mentality that's created a really fun, positive environment, even amongst all of the levels of complexity that exist from working with so many kids from so many different backgrounds.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

It's interesting to hear you talk about the necessity of openness, because I think that one of the Things that I struggle with as a parent in talking about things like different people with different cultural backgrounds, different ethnic backgrounds is more. Sometimes I'm not even sure what language I'm, quote, allowed to use. So I'm not even sure sometimes that I even want to open my mouth because I don't want to be misconstrued as having something negative to say, but I don't know what to say.

Julia Sleeper:

Yeah, absolutely. And I think that's something that I think at any point in time, any parent in the world, like, thinks, even if it's not about this subject matter, it's one of those unknowns. Like, there's so many complexities of society now and in particular around, like, racial or cultural or multicultural kind of identities and things like that. And with the dynamics of this general society right now, where these are hot topics, they are very, very complex, and they are very overwhelming at times. I think those are completely normal, you know, feelings for anyone to have. I think it's naming them like that, you know, what I don't actually know. That's a great question. Like, let's figure out the answer sort of thing. I think that's, like, what we see as one of the powerful pieces of. When you. When you do work with kids and when they do pose those really complex questions that, like, you're very honest, and if you don't know, you seek to search the answer out in whatever way it may be possible. And I think that's actually arming them with a better, like, toolkit, you know, where it's okay to not know something because no one's expected to know everything and that, like, it's okay to go and seek your own answers, and it's okay to, like, ask questions as long as it's coming from a place of, you know, respect and love and really, you know, caring about the other person. And kids are actually really easy. Like, the kids have way fewer questions than we as adults, like, typically tend to have about these types of subject matters. And that's something that's also really refreshing, is to see the kids, as they interact and grow up and develop, like, where they, you know, they don't. They don't necessarily see the differences until they're older, and then they start to kind of understand the complexities of society and history and how that all intersects. But if they have a strong base of really knowing individuals as individuals and really getting to know their friends, I think it sets them on a good path where when they do start to learn those complexities, they can be honest about them versus fearing them.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

I spent time with Tae Chung, who works here in Portland, and you're nodding. So you must know Tay. I think everybody must know Tay. We wrote an article about him for Maine Magazine, and he's going to be speaking at the upcoming Maine Live in March. And the way that he describes growing up in Portland as one of. I think he said one of three people of color at the time, and the other two were his brothers. You know, there's some sense of, you know, that he's had to live through some really tough stuff, some conflict, some sadness. He's got a really positive attitude, and he's really worked to affect change. But you could tell that it actually impacted him in a really profound way. You have the opportunity to impact the children that you work with in an equally profound way. That's a big responsibility.

Julia Sleeper:

Yeah. I mean, I think all of those things that you just articulated that, like, Tay experience, I think, are equally experienced for a lot of youth in general, but in particular, youth of color, and especially in a place like Maine, where it isn't necessarily common to, if you're a person of color to have someone who looks like you in the predominant culture, it's just. It's not realistic to think that way. And when you grow up in that kind of environment, I think some of the things that he cited, like, those are a byproduct of it.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

You just.

Julia Sleeper:

You're existing in a world that doesn't exactly represent you. And so I think one of the things that we strive to do in particular at Tree street to kind of help support kids through those kind of complex, like, processes is having a very multicultural staff. People of color, like, represent the majority of our staff in. In the leadership, which I think is very, very unique in. In organizations or in particular in Maine, as well as just being, again, like, no matter who you are, being open to having that dialogue and recognizing that depending on who you are and who your own identity is, you may not fully understand, like, what is happening, but that if. If something is a reality to one person, like, it's their reality. And I think that kind of helps, regardless of who you are, to be able to, like, encourage all of the kids to, like, you know, everyone can. Everyone can identify with particular emotions. Like, everyone knows what it's like to be sad or to be lonely. Maybe not because of the same factors, like, Tay was exactly, you know, giving as an example, but if you can identify, like, with those kind of human aspects of things, it allows, like, for that conversation to flourish and for that child to feel supported, even if you can't necessarily fully identify with the reasons. But we really strive to have individuals working at the center who actually can, because that takes it to a whole new level. And then they can share how they grappled with that type of experience as well, which I think is, you know, it's meeting kids where they're at and then just kind of taking it from there, letting them kind of lead and dictate, like, what it is they need. Because a lot of the times, even like adults, sometimes it's just event. Sometimes it's just. I just need to say this, you know, sort of thing or this trauma happened today, and I don't really need anything. I just want someone to know and kind of have that shared feeling. So, yeah.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

I must tell you that in talking with you, I'm struck by how much you remind me of my friend Hanley Denning, who founded Safe Passage before she passed away. But this was an educational organization for children in Guatemala who lived outside the Guatemala City dump. And one of the things that reminds me of Hanley is your enthusiasm. Is your enthusiasm and your positivity, but also. And don't take this the wrong way, your youth. I mean, you are a young woman who has just jumped in here and really. And really kind of taken it. Taken the reins in your hands and said, you know what? This is something I feel so strongly about. I'm gonna do something about this. That's. That's not an. Not everybody has that. So where did that come from for you?

Julia Sleeper:

Yeah, I'm actually not 100% sure. I came into Bates wanting to be a bio major and was gonna be a veterinarian. That didn't work out justifiably so. But, no, I think I realized when I was kind of figuring out my path, I think what I realized was, you know, the world is complex. It's messed up. There's lots of negativity out there and lots of things happening. And as I was trying to figure out kind of the direction through college and through all these different experiences, I tried to seek, like, what gave me the most joy. And I realized that it wasn't even necessarily the. The kids themselves. It was actually it was seeing the kids, or anyone for that matter, doing something for the first time. It, like. It was just this amazing, like, thing that I realized, like, every time, like, I got to witness a kid write their name for the first time or say their ABCs. And in particular, the first placement I ever had was at Lewiston Middle school in a seventh grade English language learning class. So these kids were 12, 13, 14 years old coming in, and they could not even spell their name yet at that age. And it was their first time going to school, so everything was a novelty. And it was really. It was as challenging as that was. It was also this, like, this amazing, like, experience and beauty that you could see in, like, just the enthusiasm around doing something for the first time. And I think when I began to realize that, that that was something that kind of fed me was, like, being able to witness those kind of things. I was able to kind of formulate, like, opportunities where I get to witness that every single day, which, in working with kids, it's almost a guarantee, especially a whole lot of kids, and especially kids from all different backgrounds, because every day you see them working through something. Every day you see them, like, challenging themselves. And kids kind of naturally do this. Like, they're not afraid of anything, so they try everything, which can be to the dismay of others sometimes, but it's one of those things where if you can be a part of that and you can, like, you know, help encourage that and then show them or give them opportunities that, like, blow their minds a little bit and have. And let them know anything that they choose to do, they can do. But being also, like, brutally honest. Like, I also, like, really love honesty. Like, I think, like, a kid can become whatever they want to be, but they need to actually know exactly what it's gonna take. And I think, like, that kind of combination of all of that, like, just emerged, you know, throughout my life. And I've. I've been very lucky in growing up in Maine, like, how much I've been. I've been blessed with and being able to experience. And I could go from, you know, fishing on a lake with my dad to, like, you know, coming to Portland and navigating, you know, the downtown and, like, Old Port and, you know, going to a place like Lewiston, where, like, it was so uniquely different from my experience growing up in Bangor, Brewer area. But at the same time, it's Maine. Like, you're very nice to people. Everyone's very open. Like, everyone wants to. You know, though we can sometimes be fearing change. Like, the reality is, is people really care about one another. And I think all of that's been kind of poured into me from between my family and kind of all of my experiences and my education that I was, you know, able to get. And all of that came from Maine, you know, And I think that was. That's a big part of kind of my spirit. And then also like, you know, just seeing where there was a really great need as well, I think was really, really powerful.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

What type of an impact do you think that the work you're doing at Tree street has on the families of these children and perhaps the community at large?

Julia Sleeper:

Yeah, I think the impact is really significant. I mean, one, just the fact that kids have a safe place to be is like, really, really powerful. But I think as we've cultivated the students in particular with our branch, the college prep piece, we've had 100% graduation rate from our seniors for the last two years running. And last year we had our all time high. We had 95% college acceptance out of our seniors. And last year was a group of 28 seniors. And it was really, I think those are the pieces that the ripple effects out further beyond just that one child getting into college is. Then the next child is expected in the family to go or the bar kind of gets set a little bit. And it also shows like other kids in the community, even if they're not related, that that's possible and that you can overcome all these complexities and challenges and all of that. And it's also, I think, very empowering. One of our other programs is what we call street leaders. And so they're high school youth who we hire on. It's often their first job. So they work as mentors and role models to the little kids. They get paid a really, you know, a small stipend and. But it's a big deal to become a street leader. And the idea is that it's a role, it's not a job. And so what they do inside a program or outside a program needs to be modeling the behaviors. And I think kind of giving kids that it's really just an engine or an opportunity to demonstrate what they already have in them as leadership skills. But giving them that title, giving them that opportunity and that little pocket money is like really big deal. And it can lead to like, really significant ripple effects where a lot of the pride in the community and a lot of the, you know, any fears that may exist about diving in or trying something different kind of goes away because you're doing it together. And so I think the impact we're having is really positive and really great. And we are a relatively young organization. This is just our fifth year, and we're very progressed in different areas. And then we're still like, we're maybe in other areas. But I think that's something that as the programming keeps evolving, we'll keep being able to like see those, those ripples kind of continue out. Our our first four year college attendees are graduating this coming spring. So that's kind of like we're starting to see how those like those choices of some of those young individuals then are going to start to come back into the community as young professionals now with, you know, with their degrees and armed with lots of excitement and passion around the community.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Julia, how can people find out about the Tree Street Youth Center?

Julia Sleeper:

Yeah, so we have a website if people want to visit us there. It's www.treetreetouth. you can also be stop in if you happen to be around. We're at 144 Howe street in Lewiston. You can call and set up a tour if you'd be interested in coming and checking out the center. Our number is 207-577-6386. Or obviously you can like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter, any of the social media outlets.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

It's really been a pleasure to talk with you today and I thank you so much for the work that you're doing in Lewiston. And I know that it's going to be very interesting to see and gratifying to see what happens with all of these kids as they continue to go up and continue their educations and work in the community. We've been speaking with Julia Sleeper. She's the founder and executive director of the Tree Street Youth center in Lewiston. Thanks so much for coming in today.

Julia Sleeper:

Thank you for having me.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

next guest is an individual that Maine Magazine has known about for quite some time. Her name has been floating around there, someone that we'd like to talk to. So it's my good fortune as the host of Love Maine Radio to actually get to speak with her first. This is Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, who is known as Ann. She is the President and CEO of Goodwill Industries in northern New England. A not for profit social enterprise with over 2,000 employees. Serving Maine, New Hampshire and Northern Vermont, Goodwill operates diverse retail, healthcare and workforce services that help individuals and families find stability through work while extending a hundred year practice of letting nothing go to waste. Thanks so much for coming in here today.

Anna Eleanor Roosevelt:

Thank you. It's great to be here.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Anne, you have a very interesting background. You have an interesting educational background, an interesting employment background, an interesting family background. There's lots of good stuff to talk about here. But first I want to talk about Goodwill and why you went from Goodwill after being at the Boeing Company in Chicago where you were the Vice president of global corporate sales citizenship. Why did you decide to do that?

Anna Eleanor Roosevelt:

Well, there is a little story there, as there are, as there is in life. I retired from the Boeing Company and was set on moving to Maine to be near my grandchildren. And the search firm who was in charge of the Goodwill search happened to be at a gathering with my, where my brother was. And she said, do you know anybody you'd like to move to Maine? And he said, yeah, I do. And so I was introduced to the search and came out and talked with the board and talked with the senior team. And while I hadn't really planned on having a job, I was just so attracted to the opportunity once I started, once I got here and was talking to the people who are doing this work at Goodwill and it has proven to be everything and more that I thought it would be.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Well, I was impressed when I went to do some more research on Goodwill because I've been donating to Goodwill for years. I've bought things at the Goodwill stores. I've seen really, the expansion, really nice facilities, the drop off places. But I had no idea that there were so many other things that Goodwill was involved in.

Anna Eleanor Roosevelt:

Yeah, we are. I sometimes think we are the first social enterprise because we're over 100 years old here in Maine. We're over 80 years old. But the Goodwill concept of having a business for a social purpose started 100 years ago when the minister at the Church of All nations in Boston in the settlements there saw immigrants who were hungry and cold and they didn't have good housing and no one would hire them. So they had no way to support their families and they were in a terrible place and he wanted to help. So he went up to Beacon Hill with a burlap bag and a horse and buggy and asked for donations. And he gave those donations out of their generosity to the people who didn't have much, but it didn't solve their problem. And when he understood that, he started a business that created jobs of collecting clothes and household items, sorting them, repairing them, and then reselling them, creating jobs all along the way. That is a social enterprise, and that's been the model for all Goodwills, even though every Goodwill is an independent organization. But that business model serving a social purpose is what drives us here at Northern New England. The revenue from our stores, which we try to make a really pleasant environment for our workers as well as for our shoppers. That revenue goes to support our workforce, services that are the core of the philosophy behind Goodwill, which is that if you have a job, you have a means of supporting not only yourself, but your family, and your family has the means to be a member of their community. And the community then grows and flourishes and becomes sustainable. So that's the virtuous circle that we employ. And we have, over the years, expanded the work that we do, including into the healthcare arena, where we do really wonderful work in neurorehabilitation for persons with an acquired brain injury. And that work is expanding as we recognize brain injury more and more, as the science in that grows. We also have a network of wonderful homes, safe and loving homes for persons with severe disabilities who can't be at home with their families. And we provide wonderful living arrangements for them so that they can develop as much as they can. Some of them even go out to work from their homes, but it allows their families to be able to work themselves instead of staying home to care for a person who needs a lot of care. And we bring that professional and loving touch to their lives. We also have day services for persons with disabilities, again, focused on helping them to live their fullest life, which is focused on community. So we don't just squirrel them away somewhere and keep them occupied for a day. They are out in the community being helpful. They do projects in the community. They also have fun in the community. They also take care of their own personal needs in community. They go shopping, they do their grocery shopping and keep their. Keep themselves on task and learn how to be a part of the community. So we have a wide variety of activities that are supported and from the beginning, have been supported by the revenue from our retail stores.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

From what I understand, you also do work with veterans. We do also. You help people get involved with farming.

Anna Eleanor Roosevelt:

Yes, yes. The farming program that you're talking about is called Agrability, and it is a partnership with the University of Maine Extension, and it's funded by the Department of Agriculture. And it is for farmers or people who want to farm who have been disabled, perhaps in an accident or some other way that has made them have adaptive problems in their profession as farmers. So we work with them to figure out what they need to be able to do the job of farming, if it's adaptive technology, prosthesis, learning new skills, learning different ways of operating machinery or other, doing other farm chores. And we do help about 400 people across the state in various ways to participate in agriculture, which is one of our states real claims to fame. And a lot of those farmers are organic farmers, which, again, I think is becoming a brand for the state of Maine. Farming is, you know, working with the earth is very. Is often soothing for persons with disabilities. It's very tactile, and they know where they are. So it's a very good profession. And if they have a sense for it, we can help them reach that goal. Our veterans, you know, we've always helped veterans in various ways, but we had a new employee who joined the organization about the same time that I did, who is a vet herself, and she really brought to our attention that we could be a little more focused on the needs of our veterans, because that has grown, obviously over the last decade, almost 20 years. And so we did start really focusing on a veterans fund where we focus resources and we act as advocates on behalf of veterans who need just that little bit of help to get them along the way. Our veterans are very purposeful people and they want to drive their own lives, but they face a lot of challenges when they come back from combat. Some of them physical, some of them emotional or mental. And so while the VA might help them with the clinical side of that, we can help them. If there just isn't enough money this month to go to the dentist and they've got a tooth that needs to be taken care of, we can help them with that. Or if they need a new pair of glasses and they just don't have that money, we can help them, and that then helps them move along. We also are seeing a lot of our veterans in our neurorehab clinics with the acquired brain injury. And again, our goal is to help them reach the goals that they have for their lives and understand themselves and their capacity and their capabilities. And so we're just honored to help them reach those goals.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

As you're Talking I'm thinking about the many patients that I've had over the years for whom getting past the point of illness or getting past the point of traumatic brain injury or whatever it is that has caused someone to be incapacitated for some period of time or perhaps for always, that's not enough for people that I deal with, it's fine to not be sick anymore, or it's fine to get past your acute brain injury. But there's something bigger. There's something bigger about living one's life, about actually having something meaningful to show up and do every day, about having a community to work with.

Anna Eleanor Roosevelt:

Absolutely, absolutely. And that notion about community is really important. Often when there's been an acquired brain injury, they lose the community that they had and don't really know how to get a community again. And so that's one of the big areas of focus for our clients, to help them build that supportive network, not just from a clinical standpoint, but from an understanding, community, neighborliness kind of way that you and I know is so important to our being able to function independently.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

It's interesting to hear you talk about this too, because in my clinical practice I work with, and we have a very good clinical practice, a very good medical practice, and we work with teams of people that try to help with social issues. But I'm not sure that anybody has ever said to me, oh, maybe you should look into goodwill. Which seems like, it seems like a no brainer. I'm a doctor, I can help people with some of their clinical stuff. I can't help them necessarily with that next step, but it sounds like that's what you're doing. So I wonder. Now I'm wondering why I didn't know more about this before I came in and talked to you.

Anna Eleanor Roosevelt:

Well, it may be a capacity issue. We are a not for profit and so we operate with very thin margins. So we move ahead as we can and we are finding that there is more need than we often have capacity. And so we work very hard to raise more revenue. That's a role of the stores and our other businesses. And we fundraise and we try to raise that money so that we can reach more people. We do get referrals from doctors and from hospitals, but again, it may just be a capacity issue. We have two clinics, one here in Portland and one in Lewiston, called Westside in Lewiston and Bayside here in Portland. So we would welcome any referral you would like to send us and we will do everything we can to help them reach their goals.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Someone who works here at the magazines who suffered a stroke in his 50s is going to neurorehabilitation and getting some occupational therapy. Chris Kast. And I know he won't mind using his name because it's been quite a journey for him. And he's so grateful for the work that he has done made possible by Goodwill. And this is something that he never thought would happen to him. He's been working with the Brand company and Maine Magazine and 75 Market street for 10 years. And to have this happen to him so acutely and without any particular risk factors and know on the other side that there are people who can help him with this has been such a life saver for him.

Anna Eleanor Roosevelt:

Well, and he said to me, he said, I had no idea that Goodwill did that. You know, I just thought it was stores. And so we're really, really happy to have him be part of our family. We're very happy that he's doing so well, and we're glad that he has a broader view of Goodwill because that is one of the things that's a challenge for us. We operate our business to raise the revenue, but we're not big self promoters because we're just busy doing the work. And we also do a lot of our work in partnership with other organizations. So we're all there just working hard. But we're very happy to get people acquainted with what it is that we do so that we can help them. And if we can't help them, we try to connect them with who can. One of our important programs is called Job Connection, and it is a new approach to workforce development. So for years and years, we've done workforce services that is place based in an office. And we offer help to people who have challenges getting a job. And we are the contractor, for instance, for WIA federal funds to help people find jobs. But what we were noticing is that people who have challenges in their lives, they don't just have one challenge. And so if they're without a job and they get a job, there are probably other things that are problematic in their lives. And so the question is, if you just help them find the job, are they going to be successful in that job? And what do they need to help them really find success? Well, they probably need more support and attention beyond that first day on the new job to make sure that they can manage having a steady job, manage that responsibility. And we all know, you know, it's sometimes you get up and you don't feel like going to work, but instead of saying well, I'm not going to go to work. If you have support to retrain yourself and say, yes, I am going to go to work because it's important and it's how I build my reputation as a reliable worker, well, then you're going to be more successful. If you have a bad situation at home, if you are okay on the job, but then you go home to an abusive situation or illness that's beyond your capacity to deal with it, or other elements of poverty, you know you're going to have trouble holding that job and keeping it. So we developed this notion of job connection, which is a team approach that works with these individuals on a one on one basis. This team helps them sort out what all their challenges are and deal with them. And when they're ready to get a job, that this team stays with that person until they are sure and we are sure that they can be successful in that job. And that's a new approach. We had never done that before and we just started that. And it's really because we need to be committed to one another. If we really want to see the overall result of people being useful citizens and stable community participants, we have to help each other. And you and I know maybe we've got family or friends that can help us out when something goes wrong in our lives, but there are a lot of people who don't have that. And so we have to step up and offer ourselves to help people have that support so that they can find that fulfilling place of being on their own, stable and contributing to their community.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

This reminds me of a conversation that I had with a gentleman who had been homeless for a while, and he had been working with Preble Street. And he said that when you're homeless, your goal is to find a home. And you don't often think beyond once you find the home, what that's going to look like? And so what you're describing is almost that. Is that like, what is the next step behind. Now we need a job, and then to keep a job, what do you need to orchestrate in order to make that possible? So it sounds like it's sort of recreating a culture that somebody can thrive in, really.

Anna Eleanor Roosevelt:

Exactly. I think that's a really great way to put it. And we work with Preble Street a lot, and one of our partners is the Portland Housing Authority, so we recognize all of those social determinants of health. Housing. Do you have safe housing? What is your environment like? It's not just only about your physical health, it's also about the surrounding life that you lead. So we seek out those partners that do the parts that we don't do. We don't. Except for our group homes, we don't do housing. So we partner with them, and then we bring in the workforce services. And if somebody has an addiction problem, for instance, we don't do addiction counseling, but we have partners who do. And it's really. It's how you can tell, I think, that a community is strong is if these pockets of goodness are working together and talking together to achieve the goals, the outcomes that everybody wants for the place that they live. And, you know, that's what we work on.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

It strikes me that they have brought in at Goodwill someone with not only a great. A great work background, they also brought in a person who has a great educational background. You have a bachelor's degree from Stanford and a master of science from University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. So they wanted somebody who could help tackle these problems, who actually had, like, all the stuff they weren't going to bring in, Somebody who didn't know how to get stuff done and didn't have the smarts.

Anna Eleanor Roosevelt:

Well, I would hope I would have some talents to bring to the picture. But I will say that when I came to interview and talked with the senior team, I was just bowled over at how good they were. And that was extremely encouraging because I knew I'd be coming into strength and we could go from strength to other, each to better. And in fact, that's what's happened. After, you know, a period of sort of getting to know everybody and seeing how it was, we literally sat down together and said, are we reaching the goals that we know we want to reach? Is the way we're doing things the right way? And the wonderful openness and creativity that has led to a lot of change in our organization all focused toward moving us to doing better, what we have done for many years. So I came into a very talented group, and I'm honored to be a part of them.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

You also have some genetic good fortune, I believe, if anyone was listening, your name is Anna Eleanor Roosevelt. And I don't think there's a mistake there. It's not a coincidence. You do have this family that was very socially aware. Tell me a little bit about that.

Anna Eleanor Roosevelt:

Yeah, well, you know, that is how I grew up. I mean, I grew up with grandparents who were. Who everybody knew, maybe almost better than I knew them, in a way. My grandfather did die before I was born, but I knew my grandmother, and I knew that she was a person who was active around the world and was doing things that helped people. And my mother, who was a child of the Depression and married my father in the early 40s, sort of filled in the backstory to why this woman, Eleanor Roosevelt, was someone to be truly admired and what our legacy as a family was, which even before my grandparents were politically active, they were active in their communities and, you know, and how much that means to simply being who we are. And I would say that those two women are really the influencers in my life. They taught me to think and to understand my responsibility in a way that doesn't feel like a burden, but rather like being. It's just the way. It's just the way it is. And so you step into it. And I guess that prepared me for a diverse career. I was fortunate to have a very good education, a liberal education, one I was an art major, which you wouldn't think would necessarily prepare me for what I'm doing now or even much of what I've done throughout my life. But it prepared me to ask questions and to think about what's the goal, what's the final outcome? And that's what I learned as I matured, was, so what are we trying to get to? And what role can I play? What do I bring to the party here? And don't try to be somebody I'm not, but know what I can bring and then see how that fits.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

And how can people find out about Goodwill, the programs that you're doing, and how they might actually donate or support your organization?

Anna Eleanor Roosevelt:

We have a great website that tells you lots of information@goodwillnne.org and they can certainly always call us at our number here in Portland, 207-774-6323. And we would. We appreciate so much every donation. They are our lifeblood. We appreciate all of our shoppers and we appreciate all of our clients as well. They teach us every.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

We've been speaking with Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, known as Ann. She is the president and CEO of Goodwill Industries of northern New England. Thank you so much for coming in and having this conversation with me today and for the good work that you and the people of Goodwill are doing.

Anna Eleanor Roosevelt:

Thank you so much for having me.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

You've been listening to Love Maine radio show number 232, Growing Goodwill. Our guests have included Julius Lee and Anna Eleanor Roosevelt. For a preview of each week's show, sign up for our e Newsletter. And like our LoveMain Radio Facebook page. Follow me on Twitter as DRLISA and see my running travel, food and wellness photos as bountiful1 on Instagram. We love to hear from you, so please let us know what you think of lovemain Radio. We welcome your suggestions for future shows. Also let our sponsors know that you have heard about them here. We are privileged that they enable us to bring Love Maine Radio to you each week. This is Dr. Lisa Bellio. I hope that you have enjoyed our growing goodwill show. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your day. May you have a bountiful life.

Anna Eleanor Roosevelt:

Sam she said baby I'm sleeping. With secrets I'm banking. Won't you play with me? 1, 2, 3. Will you sleep with me? 1, 2, 3. Three member be 1, 2, 3. She makes no sound when talking. She's off the ground when walking. Won't you play with me? 1, 2, 3. Will you sleep with me? 1, 2, 3. Please remember me 1, 2, 3 SA.