Ardana Jefferson: Mission Of HCEF

Welcome to Disability Matters with your host Joyce Bender. All comments, views, and opinions expressed on the show are solely those of the host, guest, and callers. Now the host of Disability Matters, here's Joyce Bender.

Hi everyone and welcome to the show, to everyone in the United States and around the world. I always have to especially thank my listeners around the world, from China to Australia, the United Kingdom, England. It's so many great, great countries and great listeners. It means so much to me because you are making a difference in the lives of other people in your country, people with disabilities, by joining our crusade and listening to this show. For example, hello, Richard Roberts in Brazil. Richard Roberts is with the U.S. State Department. I have been with him in, uh, South Korea, Japan, and soon Brazil. Oh my goodness, he is so passionate about helping people with disabilities gain quality of life. He is awesome. And Richard and Carla, I can't wait to see you and Guillermo. Then Gangyung in South Korea. Oh, he is just the most wonderful person and such a good friend and spreads the news. And so does Cheryl Harris, who's at the U.S. State Department. Right here in the United States, and Venyamin in Kazakhstan. I'm just telling you, I have great listeners around the world. And also, special shout out, Yoshiko Dart. I'll never forget you, Yoshiko, wife of the late, great Justin Dart. We remember him, Yoshiko. We remember him. Thank you, HiMark. I couldn't do any of this without HiMark. They are the sponsor of this show. And guess what? It's my 20th anniversary on Voice America. 20 years with Voice America, and I love every person I've worked with at Voice America. And of course, I love all of you listeners in the United States. That just have been there with me. You know, I'll be somewhere and I'll meet someone and they'll say, hey, I listen to your radio show, and I'm always so thrilled to hear that. And please, people send me emails with comments or suggestions. Feel free to send me emails, joycebender@benderconsult.com. Well, I, I have to tell you, I'm really excited about the show today because first of all, not only is it a great person and a great topic, it is from Pittsburgh, my home city, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. And I always love it when we have someone on the show doing work right here in the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. And today we have AJ Jefferson, Executive Director of the Homeless Children Education Fund in Pittsburgh and just a real civil rights crusader and friend. And I'm honored to be on the board of HCEF. Ardanna, who goes by AJ, welcome to the show.

Thank you so much, Joyce. I'm so happy to be with you.

Well, I'm happy to have you here. And AJ, since we have, uh, listeners not only across the United States, but in other countries. Here's what I found out. They frequently want to know, well, this is great, but I don't know anything about this person. Like, who are they? How did they get to where they are today? Tell me a little bit about their background. So now at the beginning of every show, I ask our guests to tell their own story. So, AJ, how did you— where did you grow up? And how did you move down on this train that got you to where you are now?

Absolutely. I love talking a little bit about my history because it, it actually speaks to what I am currently doing in my role with HCEF. So I was born and raised up to the age of about 8 and a half in a small little town called Niagara Falls, New York. We're a small town, but we have big attractions. Specifically the falls, the American Falls. So I grew up there, again, until about 8 and a half. I am the daughter of an Army brat, so we often traveled, but home base was always Niagara Falls. And I still love it there, and I take my son there as often as possible. You know, in the midst of our traveling, my parents decided that, you know, they should go their separate ways. And so my mom decided to take us and move us to the the town that you just finished talking about, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She thought that was major opportunity for us here in Pittsburgh, in which there was. She was young, she had just acquired her degree, and she was ready to explore the next journey in her life. And I, of course, was there right by her side, coming to Pittsburgh when I was a little over 8 years old. But what I often talk about in this new role that I have here at HCEF, although my mom decided to come to Pittsburgh and my mom knew there was wonderful opportunity for her, especially with her just securing her bachelor's degree. You know, the first steps into a new town are often tough for families. And so we had to stay with relatives. And a lot of people don't realize that that is one of the markers of homelessness, when a child or an adult has to double or triple up in someone else's household. So we actually moved to Pittsburgh, and we were welcomed in by my Aunt Ruth, and we call her Aunt Ruby. She's no longer with us. And we stayed there for a good period of time while my mother got her footing in her career. And grew up, I had a lot of wonderful experiences at Aunt Ruby's house, but also had some challenging experiences being the fact that it wasn't my mother's house. It wasn't my primary caregiver's home. There was a person in the house that didn't really care for a child being in that house. And so it did something mentally to me as a little girl. Because I was coming into a new land, and because I'm coming into someone else's home, it was a big challenge for me to feel comfortable in that home, to feel like I could relax, like I was safe, like, you know, that I was supported and I was stable. And that kind of manifested itself in my education. When I went to a new school, I went to Holy Rosary here in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Is no longer existing, but I still see the building time and time again. Went there, and I didn't speak for the first year that I was there because I didn't feel comfortable. I wanted to go back home to my grandmother in Niagara Falls. But my mom made the right decision, and she did what she had to do to get us out of that situation. So technically, I was homeless for a period of time and experiencing all of the emotions and all of the setbacks that a child experiencing homelessness would experience. But again, my mother got us out of that situation. I went to Holy Rosary School. I went to Rogers Kappa, the middle school for the performing arts. I went to the high school for the creative and performing arts, which is Kappa. And then I went to college in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, which is Seton Hill University. And I actually stayed in Pittsburgh, started my first job at the YMCA of Greater Pittsburgh, specifically the downtown YMCA, where I learned how to— give back to my community. My mother taught me how to do that. She was on the board of one of the branches of the YMCA, and I started working at the YMCA, and I learned the importance of nonprofit work and building— building and girding up a community. And so when I started in that career of working the front desk at the downtown YMCA, I knew nonprofit, or at least the YMCA, was where I wanted to grow my career. And I did just that. So after graduating, I worked for the YMCA of Pittsburgh, the corporate office, for a period of time. Then I was recruited down to Orlando to work at the YMCA of Central Florida in their corporate office as well. And I had the wonderful experience of working under one of the most amazing CEOs in the YMCA movement. His name is Jim Ferber. And I learned a lot from him. I learned how to run a multimillion-dollar organization. I learned how to impact community. I learned how to build— partnerships and collaborations that had a great impact on people's lives. I learned a lot under his tutelage, and I stayed in Central Florida, in Orlando, for 18 years. I got married there. I had my son there. But all good things eventually come to an end, and I made a decision to move back up north. There was a transition in my family, and so I had to— I wanted to be around my other side of my family. And I wanted my son to know his grandmother and his great-grandfather and his great-aunts and uncles. So we moved back up here to Pittsburgh. And I've been back since 2017 in Pittsburgh. Left in 1999, back in 2017. I made a little jaunt between those years to Rochester, New York, but just a small little time in Rochester. Ultimately ended up here in Pittsburgh. Pennsylvania, back where I grew up, back where a lot of my family is. And I'm so happy I came back. Just, I got to experience being a schoolteacher when I came back. I got to experience working at a smaller nonprofit. You know, for so many years working for the international, national and international movement of the YMCA, you get the feel of working in a nonprofit that's kind of a big box nonprofit. It has a long, steep history. It's been in this— it's been in the United States for over 200 years, and there are multiple YMCA throughout the country and abroad. But coming back to Pittsburgh, I had an opportunity to work in a much smaller nonprofit, Hosanna House, and for 4 years I had a wonderful opportunity of working under Leon Haynes, the CEO of Hosanna House, and learning from him how to put your heart in your your work. That was critically important, and how to let your faith lead your work. And so I value that 4 years that I had with Hosanna House here in Wilkinsburg in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. And last year, in March of 20— 2022, I'm sorry, not 2018, 2022, the board, in which Joyce, you are one of the board members that welcomed me to Homeless Children's Education Fund. And for almost a year, I've been this organization and trying to grow its presence in the community, develop more collaborations and partnerships as it relates to having options for our students who have been identified as housing unstable to have and be able to provide them. But the best thing that I could ever do for the students, I think, is tell my story of being in their shoes and experiencing what they have experienced and having to share someone else's house and live with multiple people that weren't necessarily your caregiver's home, but other people's homes, and the challenges and the nuances of that and how to overcome that. So that's who I am in a nutshell, Joyce.

Wow, what a great story. And I have to say, I see why, you know, that credibility with the young people that were helping at Homeless Children's Education Fund because you've been there, done that. They know that, they feel that from you. And here you have, you know, this great education, you've so successful now, but you still kept your bearing with where your heart is. So, you know, that, that is really great. And in case you're wondering, Homeless Children Education Fund is hcef.org. That's hcef.org. Uh, go to the website, read about what we do, and make a donation because you'll see why. You will see why in a few minutes.

Can I just— it's homelessfund.org. You can type in HCEF and you'll still get our, our information, but the website is homelessfund.org.

Okay, homelessfund.org. There you go, homelessfund.org. Uh, well, uh, AJ, would you explain to our listeners what is HCEF? Uh, what is your role? You know, what, what do you do there? And what made you decide to become an advocate?

Absolutely. Well, HCEF, Homeless Children's Education Fund, is a nonprofit organization right in the heart Pittsburgh, and it was founded over 24 years ago by Dr. Joseph Lagana. Dr. Lagana is an educator. He's always been an educator, and it was extremely important to him that when he discovered the number of homeless students that have been identified in the county through his work with Allegheny Intermediate Unit, that he simply do something about that. So he gathered his friends, his network, his colleagues, the people that he he connected with in this community. And he said, it's just unacceptable that these students have to go through what they're going through. So we need to do something to help these students. So he formed Homeless Children's Education Fund, HCEF. And the first initiative that they engaged in was a book bag drive. Because what we do know is something, something as simple and rudimentary as a pen or a a pencil or a ream of paper is critically important to a child feeling like they belong, okay? They're experiencing so many different other traumas that occur because they are housing instable. When they walk through the door, they don't want to be identified as not belonging or not being a part of or not having things. So it was vitally important that Dr. Lugana and the board, the founding board, and his supporters work to raise the money to purchase school supplies for these students. And as the organization started to progress, of course, we were going into shelters and identifying what the needs were for students who actually were living in shelters. And another early initiative of Dr. Lugana and HCEF was to actually build learning centers inside of shelters. And learning centers are areas where students can go if they are living in a shelter they can go and there are hundreds of books and learning tools. And now there are tutors that are stationed in these learning centers. They have office hours there to support the educational needs of our students that are living in shelters. One thing, again, that we know in this work is that every time a child moves his or her residence, that child regresses in their education 4 to 6 months. So in the case of our students, they're moving multiple times throughout a school year. So that gap, that loss of education, that gap widens and widens. So we are intentional about providing tutoring support to our students because we want to fill in that gap. We want to get our students back to grade level in reading and math and science or whatever subject that they are suffering through because of their situation. So in those learning centers that Dr. Lozano started building is that we have educators stationed in those learning centers after school hours to tutor and support those students, to be a consistent support for those students. Now, if you speed it up 20+ years, we are still doing the work that Dr. Lugana set forth decades ago. We're still doing our bookbag drive. It's important that a child has a sturdy, reliable bookbag filled with school supplies. They don't want to look different than their peers. And also, this could be the only belonging that these students have. Because their mom or their dad or their caregiver has had to whisk them away immediately through a crisis, and they weren't able to gather their things, or they've lost their things in transit. It could be the only thing that creates normalcy for that child, so it's very important that we provide them quality book bags and supplies filled in those book bags. But also, we do a mobile learning program where we go to wherever the students are. 30% of students who are experiencing homelessness live in shelters. Joyce Bender. The other 70% of those students are doubled and tripled up, as I told you with my experience with living with my Aunt Ruth. The other students are living in temporary hotel spaces, like, you know, weekly stay hotel spaces. They are living in inadequate dwellings that there is not running water, there is not heat, you know, there are foreign particles growing in the spaces that are unsafe for children to breathe in or to experience, or they are living in their in their cars, or unfortunately, there is a very, very, very small percentage of students, children who are actually living on the street. So that makes up the other 70% of the students that we support. So given that, we know that us being mobile and active and going to where these students are is critical in our mission to support them and help level the playing field for them and get them back to grade level in their different academic subjects. We have this mobile learning program where my team goes out to— on church steps, they go to schools, they go to shelters, they go to parks, they go wherever that child needs us to go, where that parent needs us to go to support that child. We also have teen programs. In our teen outreach program, we have college and career readiness programming. We have programs that provide internships where we actually pay for our students to experience various work sites during the summer. We place them at various work sites. Websites, for them to experience working and what real work looks like and what the expectations are. And we teach them life skills while they're going through that—how to build resumes, how to interview, how to be ethical in the workplace, bring values into your workplace. That's all a part of our CEO program. And we work with them to chart a pathway of college and career success for when they graduate high school. So the number one objective is getting the child to grade level academically. The second area of focus is for us to get that student through high school graduation. When a child experiences housing instability, they're 87% more likely to drop out of school and then fall into young adult homelessness. Our staff, HCEF, feels wonderful in the fact that when students are enrolled in our program, we're graduating these students through high school at a 90% rate. Rate. So 90% of our students are getting their high school diploma or their GED, and the greater majority of those students are now going on to a training school program or a 2-year or 4-year college experience. Statistically, we know that continuing their education after high school is critically important for them to create a livable wage so they can break the cycle of homelessness that they've experienced throughout their lives. So that is why getting them to high school and charting that path of post-secondary education is so critically important. And our team does it seamlessly and successfully with our team, with our, with our students.

No question, education is the key. Education is the key. Now, a couple questions I have. These learning centers, are they— where are they physically? Where are they at? Yeah. Like, are they part of the school? Are they separate? How— where are they located?

So we have learning centers in about 4 different shelters across the greater Pittsburgh area in, you know, the Hill District area, in the Garfield area, so on and so forth. So right now we have 4 learning centers with the goal of creating a few more in the next couple of years that are actually actually inside of learning— inside of shelters, actual inside of transitional shelters and emergency and crisis shelters.

Okay, because my question is, if you are a child that is in a home but not your home, as you described earlier, and you need this help, how does that process occur? Like, how do they end getting to that learning center?

Yes. So we work with schools to partner and refer students to our services. So 9 times out of 10, typically there is a homeless liaison or a social worker in that school, or someone who carries those responsibilities that understands some of the flags and some of the signals that are exhibited and expressed when a child is experiencing housing instability. So when it's determined that that child is experiencing transition in housing and there is a need, that school then submits a referral to HCEF, and my team takes that referral, and a social worker then reaches out— our social worker, our family engagement coordinator reaches out to that family and then interviews them and does a triage process with them to identify what their immediate needs are. Do they need food? Do they need clothes? Do they need emergency shelter? And we provide active live referrals to that family. And I say active and live, I mean that our social worker is making sure that if a family needs food or shelter, that they're doing a very warm handoff to a partnering organization that is going to provide the needs that that family family need, and then we start focusing on the education component of supporting that child. So HCEF, our staff, we are not confined to the four walls of a learning center or a shelter or even a school. Our classroom, our laboratory is the community. We go wherever the student is. So I do not want anyone to think that we have to do this work in specific building or a specific place. It's the environment that's best suited for that child.

Oh, that is so awesome. Now, for you listening— and by the way, if you say, oh my goodness, I wish this other person heard this show— oh, but they can. The show's on demand, so they can go to Spotify, voiceamerica.com, benderconsult.com, uh, Apple. I mean, there's so many social venues that this show is out on. But I, I want to say to you listeners, try to understand being a child and then having to live in another house, whether it's your aunt or whomever it is. As AJ said, it's not your house. And always be thinking, I have to be careful of this, or can I do that, and not wanting to get reprimanded because again, it is not your house. Okay. Imagine holidays. Imagine things like that. That is hard for a child. It is also very hard for a child when people say, "Where do you live?" So, why am I saying this? You know, you cannot turn your eye. You know, for those of you that are people of faith, faith, we know that our Lord said, "The least of these." These are the least of these, and they're children. Therefore, homelessfund.org— is that right, AJ? Yes, it is. Yes, it is. Okay, go to homelessfund.org. I mean, come on, can you not give up a Starbucks? Yes. Make a contribution, never too small, never too small, but never— it counts. Think of one child. If you can make the difference in one child's life, and stop and think about it, that will make all the difference in the world. Uh, and right now Oh, my favorite time. It is time for our news break on the Half Hour with our anchor Perry Jude Radesik, who is with us every week giving us an update on what is happening nationally. And as we're celebrating our 20th anniversary, please know Perry has been an instrumental part of our success. I love her. She's so awesome. So, newscaster, are you with us?

Joyce, I am. I'm glad to be here.

All right, so, Perry, what is on the news this week?

Some exciting news. I'm gonna center it around the National Council on Disability. The National Council on Disability, we also call it the NCD, NCD has announced the date and time of their next quarterly meeting. So the NCD is going to meet this Thursday, February 16th, from noon until 4:00 PM Eastern Time. These meetings are open to the public. They're quarterly meetings. They take place via Zoom. So disability advocates can join the meeting via Zoom or the telephone number and passcode associated with Zoom. You don't have to register for the meeting, but the NCD does encourage your registration. They always provide ASL and CART. ASL and CART have already been arranged for the meeting. NCD is an independent federal agency that advises federal agencies, Congress, and the President on issues impacting people with disabilities. Joyce Bender, they often look at issues related to the employment the employment of people with disabilities. Now, just at the end of last year, President Biden appointed a Pennsylvanian to the Council, Theo Brady. Theo lives in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and he was the executive director of the Central Pennsylvania Center for Independent Living here in Harrisburg for over 30 years. Even more Theo just last month was hired as the new Executive Director of the National Council for Independent Living. We're so lucky that Theo lives in Pennsylvania, has his ties to Pennsylvania, and is advocating at the national level on the Council and at the— at NCLIL, the National Council for Independent Living. Oh, that is so exciting. Now, the agenda— go ahead. Absolutely. It is just great news, just terrific news about Pennsylvania and for Theo as well. The agenda for the quarterly meeting has been released. You can view that full agenda if you go to disabilityrightspa.org. That's disabilityrightspa.org. And click on today's advocacy matter segment. What I know so far from the agenda is besides staff reports, they're going to have a lot of discussion and a vote on upcoming public policy projects. So there's always an opportunity for public comment, and if— again, if you go to disabilityrightsPA.org, you can find a link for email public comment prior to the meeting. The deadline for the submission of your public comment is 5:00 PM tomorrow. Tomorrow. So check out the National Council on Disability quarterly meeting this Thursday, uh, learn more about their national policy activities, and visit disabilityrightsPA.org for links to the meeting and even a bio on Theo Brady.

Wow, that is so awesome. I have to tell you something, Perry, I was on, uh, I'm on the board of the World Institute on Disability, and I was at the— watching the 40th anniversary today. Just today, they were talking about how Theo was mentored by Ed Roberts and Justin Dart. That is correct.

Not many people know that about Theo, so I'm glad that you saw that and have mentioned that here on your show.

That's great.

I mean, that's amazing. That is really amazing. Well, we'll look forward to having him on. And Perry, thank you so much. We will look forward to talking to you next week.

Take care, Joyce Bender.

All right. It's so good to always have up-to-date news for our listeners, and I have some up-to-date news News. Here it is, it's Saint Valentine's Day. Happy Saint Valentine's Day, everyone. And to those of you men that have not done anything, or women, for your partner, whatever it is, either way, better go to the store, better do something, better flowers, candy, the last minute, run for your lives if you haven't done anything. Anything. So happy St. Patrick's Day. St. Patrick's— I'm getting one month ahead. Happy St. Valentine's Day. AJ, when I was little, they used to have the shoeboxes that they would— yeah, that they would decorate. This was such a big thing, you know. I grew up in a rural area, and so not a, uh, you know, privileged area. And we— but when we took that box to school that my mother— oh, she just did such a great job. It was tissue with that glitter on it, uh, and then there you would go to school and sit there and wait for those little Valentines to come into your Valentine box. Um, and I guess you're familiar with that. Don't know how you're so young. Don't know how. You're pretty young to remember that. Or maybe they're still doing it, who knows? I don't even know, but I remember that. So again, everyone, happy Saint Valentine's Day. You know, when you were talking earlier, I, I'm so glad you explained homelessness and it being a condition, because I can't begin— I'll never forget, this person actually got angry at me me when I talked about the number of homeless children and interrupted me and said, "All right, look, I, you know, I listen to a lot of what you say, but I'm sorry, I find that hard to believe. I don't see all those thousands of children sleeping out on the street." I said, "That's because they aren't all sleeping on the street." And see, getting in your head the understanding that if you don't have your own home and you keep going from place to place, whatever the situation, you're homeless. Am I correct how I'm explaining that, AJ?

Yes, you are absolutely correct. And that is, you know, a fallacy that a lot of us subscribe to or have in our minds is that if a child is not living on the street or a person is not living on the street, then they're not considered homeless. But the actual federal definition of homelessness is if an individual does not have a fixed, stable, and adequate nighttime residence, excuse me, it's fixed, consistent, and adequate nighttime residence, they are considered homeless. Fixed meaning that their caregiver, or if they're an adult, is on the lease that they are on, the mortgage, okay? So fixed, consistent, that every single night or the majority of nights that that person reports to the same address, the same home nightly. Adequate, that there is an adequate dwelling that that person is living in. If the dwelling does not meet adequate standards, if it doesn't have running water, if it doesn't have heat, if it has broken windows, broken windows or what have you. It has to be adequate, adequate living dwelling. So that is the federal definition. If a child, 9 times out of 10, a child is not living on the street, thank goodness, okay? But if they are living in a situation that is not their primary caregiver's home, is a dwelling that is inadequate for a human being to live in, or that they are living in multiple houses throughout the week, then they are homeless, then they are housing unstable. Okay? And that definition, that broad definition, is very much so needed in order to release the federal support in order to help create a safe environment for that student to learn, in order for that student to overcome barriers that, that occur when a child is moving from one place to the other place multiple times in a week or in a month or within the school year. So birth certificate for kids get lost, Social Security cards get lost, dental and doctor records get lost, right? If you know what I know, if you are going into a new school district because your mom has to go into an emergency shelter in another county or another part of the area that you're living in, those documents are needed in order to register that child for school. School, right? Well, the McKinney-Vento Act says that if a child is identified as homeless, that they do not have a fixed, consistent, and adequate nighttime residence, they are enrolled under the McKinney-Vento Act. They don't need to have those vital records to enroll into school, and their home school is responsible for the transportation needed in order to support their education. And they're also given certain social services supports because they've been identified as a McKinney-Vento student. So yes, you have to understand the full definition of homelessness and the psychological impact it makes to understand why it doesn't matter if a child is living on the streets or not. If they're experiencing instability in their house, there's a rippling effect that happens to that child that the community is responsible for, not just mom, dad, or whomever the caregiver is, the entire community. When a person is experiencing homelessness, on average, it costs us, the community, between $30,000 and $52,000 to care for that particular person. And it just— the money depends on what city you're living in. That is what we pay as taxpayers and as contributing citizens in our community to support children and adults experiencing homelessness, and that's an annual figure. So we should be very passionate and very focused and intentional about creating solutions for these families to get out of the cycle of homelessness. Oh, yes.

I mean, you know, I did— did. If you go to the website, there are, you know, different speeches or videos that you can go see. And the one that really got me is where this, uh, child was saying how they would have to get up at 4:30 in the morning and take their sibling and get on a bus and sleep on that bus and then get on another bus and sleep on that bus and then get off at and, and, and about hunger. And you know, there's no doubt about it, especially with a growing child, hunger and homelessness impacts everything. Am I right about that, AJ?

It does, it impacts everything. So in the case of that one situation that you are referring to, That then student had to get up that early in the morning to make sure that, again, they got their siblings to school on time, they got to school on time. But they lived outside of their home school district, but their parents wanted them to continue to go to school in their home school district. It was vitally important to that parent that that happened. And so they were traveling on public transportation because the school district could not busing out to where they were living. Traveling, traveling outside of the immediate school district is very hard for a school district to do consistently. So they gave them bus passes to travel back into the school district to go to school. And so you are sleeping on a bus. You have to take multiple buses into school. That means you are tired when you get there. That means you are still trying to cover up the fact that you have to take 2 or 3 PRT buses, or public transportation buses, to get to school. You are trying to, you know, belong and fit in, and not let on to people, not just your peers, but teachers, and administrators, and other educators, that you are having to go through this. That is mentally and physically taxing for a child. And then we expect that child to go into a classroom and be able able to perform. In this particular case, that child was able to overcome all of that, all of those barriers. That child is actually a schoolteacher right now. She graduated with her bachelor's degree. She is a schoolteacher. And in the summer, she comes back to HCEF, and she becomes an educational support instructor in the shelters, giving back to the students because she was one of those students. Students.

That is so awesome. Yes, I knew that, and that, that really impacted me. That story really impacted me. But so did when you hear about these kids going to school and they're hungry, you know, and they haven't had food. And yeah, as I said, homeless fund.org. Is that right, AJ? Homelessfund.org. Yes, homelessfund.org. Homelessfund.org. Remember, don't turn an eye to the least of these. Make a contribution. Make a contribution. Uh, make a donation. Doesn't matter how small. Of course, we would love it if it's large, but just do something. Don't sit back, do something. I wanted to ask you, AJ, and I want to make sure that I get this in, the Hope Through Learning Award. What is that? What is the Hope Through Learning Award?

So the Hope Through Learning Award is one of the programs that is such an amazing program for our teens. So our students who are enrolled in HCEF are Students who are not, but have experienced homelessness at some point in their secondary schooling can apply to this cash award. And what it does is it applauds that student for persevering and making it through and graduating high school, and then making the decision, not just in their mind, but actually in their, in their advancement, in their intentionality by enrolling into a post-secondary learning option, whether it's a training school, whether that's college, something that's going to continue their education. And when a student applies to our Hope Through Learning Award, first of all, they have to live in Allegheny County. Second of all, they have to be graduating high school and again enrolled in a post-secondary educational opportunity. They can apply to their— for our Hope Through Learning Award. It is a $2,500 cash award that we give directly to that student. We do not give it as a scholarship and it is sent to their college or learning institution, post-secondary learning institution. It is not given to mom or dad or any other caregiver. It is given to that student to help them stabilize their transition from high school into post-secondary education. So, you know, when we went to college, and even though I was a child and I experienced a measure of homelessness in my childhood, I still had a mom who made sure that when I chose to go to college— I say she chose for me, but the decision was made that I go to college— she took me to that college. She helped me set up my dorm room. She made sure that I had I had a space at that school and that it was livable. She made sure all the paperwork was done. She made sure that I had meals and I was on the meal plan. And any other thing financially that came out of nowhere through that transition, my mother went into her pocket to cover those expenses. Our students don't necessarily have that. And if their caregiver is there, they don't have the resources, 9 times out of 10, to go in their pocket and be able to put that money down for the hiccups that happen in life when you're transitioning from high school into adulthood. And so that money is for those hiccups. If they didn't realize they needed to hire a U-Haul in order to get their belongings to their college of choice or their school of choice, it's there for that. If they need to pay for a hotel room until space is made for them on the college campus, it's there for that. If they need to use it as a deposit down— a deposit down on an apartment, it can be used for that. So it's used to create a step up and a safety net for our students as they're transitioning. Last year, we awarded 13 students the $2,500, so a total of $30,000. 8 of those students were students who had just graduated high school and getting ready to go into their first year of post-secondary education. 4 of those students were were actually second-year students who have been in college or post-secondary education for a year, and then they were going to their next year of education. And we wanted to award and applaud their efforts in staying the course and being, and, you know, fighting the good fight and continuing to pursue their education. So we gave $30,000 out last year, and our hope is to give out more this year.

Oh, that is so exciting. That is wonderful. It really is wonderful. Well, AJ, you are very passionate and you are a really wonderful leader. We're so blessed to have you as our leader at HCEF. Someone obviously had a big impact on you in your life because look what you're doing today. So who was that? Who is your role model?

I would have to say, Joyce Bender, that my role model— and I have a few, but the one who reigns supreme is my mother because she did everything she needed to do to make sure that I got to this moment right here in my life. And I'm choking up a little bit, but it's my my mother. That is my role model. She made sure I knew the importance of education. She made sure that I knew the importance of giving back to the community. She has been there in every situation that I could come against. My mother has been there with me, supporting me, cheering me on, making sure she's front row center in everything. And she is my role model.

Wow, what is her first name?

Her name is Carolyn Jefferson, but she is known as CJ.

So, okay, now I want to say this, CJ, you did a great job. You did a great job with your daughter. So AJ, you better make sure she hears this show. I'm sure it would mean so much to you her. So one more time, if someone makes— wants to make a donation, how do they do that, AJ?

They go to homelessfund.org. No donation is too small, and of course there is no donation too large. I like to tell people what our mayor said a couple of months ago about HCEF: Give $5, and $5 is a powerful gift. Especially if 2,000 people are giving it. So whatever you can, give in support of this valued, valuable work so that we can keep touching lives and getting our students to that next level of success.

Yes, and you know, AJ, I believe there's such a crossover with the disability community. As you know, that's my life. Life is disability, and I live with epilepsy, but I'm going to say that a great majority of those young people that are homeless have some type of disability.

So statistics show us that. They say that a great majority of our students typically are on IEPs, or they are dealing with have some sort of disability. Our organization right now is not necessarily tracking that statistic. The number one focus for us is if a child is experiencing homelessness, what can we do to support them? But having champions such as yourself, Joyce, on our board, helping us to lead in our community, we're going to start asking that question and know specifically what percentage of our students have a disability, but regardless, we're always going to find an answer and a solution for that child to learn and to support that child and their family.

Well, I just hope all of you do. I hope when you listen to the show, remember, share it with someone else. You can get the podcast at Spotify, benderconsult.com, voiceamerica.com. Apple, many other venues. And before we go, at the end of every show, we go with what's going on at Bender. And Gerald Helmi, are you with us?

Yes, I am. Hi, Joyce. Hi, how are you? So, wonderful.

Good. Joyce Bender.

Well, we are just rocking and rolling here. We've got so many great opportunities, but, you know, we've built such a reputation with you and Chris Griffin on being the executive search firms for so many top-tier disability rights organizations across the United States, and that's continuing because we've got a great role for the Executive Director of APRIL, the Association of Programs for Rural Independent Living. Probably the only executive director role I've ever seen that's fully remote. It's a great opportunity to support rural independent living centers all across, across the U.S. Looking for that chief-level executive executive officer, an executive director looking for somebody with at least 7 years of experience managing and working in the Centers for Independent Living across the United States. Fantastic opportunity. You can find on benderconsult.com/jobs. So if anyone out there listening to the show is looking for new opportunities, communities in independent living. Great role out there. Make sure you check it out.

Oh, thank you, Gerald. I always like to hear good news because employment is great news for everyone. Thanks for calling in, Gerald.

Happy to do so. Thanks.

And we end, we end every show that we have with quote. And today that quote is anonymous, so you see it everywhere, but I don't— we don't know where it came from. But this quote says it all: Homelessness is like punishment for a crime you didn't commit. How true is that? This is Joyce Bender, America's Voice, where disability matters, at voiceamerica.com. Talk to you next week, and in the words of Mary Brooker, choose joy.

Voice America would like to thank you for tuning in. Please join us next Tuesday at 11 AM Pacific Time and 2 PM Eastern Time for another inspiring next installment of Disability Matters, right here on the Voice America Variety Channel. We are the leader in live internet talk radio. VoiceAmerica.com.