Highmark Health Gives Back to Its Community Through 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, welcome to the show, to everyone in the United States and around the world. And before I talk about around the world, Yoshiko Dart, you know how I always have a special shout out to you? I just want to tell you that today I did a Zoom presentation with the State Department for the country of Libya. And Yoshiko, guess what I taught them to say at the end of the show? Lead on! Lead on! Even though they speak Arabic, I taught them to say that. And I knew you'd be so thrilled to hear that. For those of you that do not know, Yoshiko's husband who passed away was the great Justin Dart Jr. And Justin Dart worked with Yoshiko behind the scenes for years to work to get the Americans with Disabilities Act signed. He is truly a legend. And how I remember him on every show is by sending a special shout out Yoshiko. And speaking of around the world, oh, special shout out to Richard Roberts in Japan, Gangyang Cho in Seoul, South Korea, um, Cheryl Harris in Tunisia. And Tunisia is soon going to be on if you go back through my shows, uh, just subscribe to Disability Matters with Joyce Bender on Spotify or Apple, and you can hear all of the shows. And you have got to hear the show last year with Richard Roberts from Japan. Oh, it was awesome. And Gangyung, you are coming. You are going to be next. Again, Libby is going to be on, so we have got to have you. And I also love so much Then you mean from Kazakhstan. But great leaders across the world. I was so honored to do a presentation today with the State Department for the leaders in Libya. And may I tell you, these advocates, you have no idea what they're going through. You know, no access, hard to go to schools. Totally marginalized. And yet you have this group of advocates that are working to make a change. We've gotta be behind them. So hello to all of you in Libya. And I would be remiss if I did not mention our sponsors. And by the way, when I say around the world, I'm meaning China, every country that listens to this show, Thank you and keep spreading the news. Um, our sponsors have been tremendous, but we've had a lead sponsor every year, and that lead sponsor is Highmark. What can I say? Highmark sets the high mark for other companies to follow, and another Small sponsor, but important sponsor is Morgan O'Brien. What a great man he is. He just keeps on keeping on in our community. But speaking of Highmark, I am so excited to have with us Joe Clark, who is the Vice President of Value-Based Care at Highmark Health. But I had the pleasure of meeting Joe because I recently joined the board of the Homeless Children's Education here in Pittsburgh, and Jo Clark is the chair. So, that's what we're going to talk about, and Jo's work. Jo, welcome to the show.

Thank you so much, Joyce Bender, for the warm welcome. I really appreciate it, and I'm excited to be on.

Absolutely. Well, we're excited to have you on. How about before you joined— for listeners around the world, before you joined Hi, Marc. What did you do? Let's hear about your career prior.

Thank you, Joyce Bender. So, I have an interesting kind of curve to my career. Early in my career, I actually worked in physical therapy and occupational therapy on an outpatient basis, and I was an exercise physiologist for about 12 years. And I also worked as a personal trainer for a while. But in my early 30s, you know, I reflected, really kind of paused and said, you know, what do I want to be when I grow up, as many of us do at that age. And I decided to pursue a career in nursing. And I'm so glad that I did. I did that in 2004. I completed my nursing degree in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at Drexel University, and I went directly to work at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania there in Philadelphia as a medical intensive care nurse. And that's where I really became connected and found a passion for working with people with you know, severe complex diseases. I worked on the inpatient realm for about 6 to 7 years, and then I had an opportunity to work for a company, Cigna HealthSpring, as a complex care nurse, and then moved through the ranks, if you will, into leadership positions, opera— as an operator in an urgent care center, where we had behavioral health services, pharmacy consultation, case management, and complex care. I've worked in operations for Allegis Care, which is a subsidiary of Cigna HealthSpring in Chicago, where I led a house call medical program providing primary care to elderly patients. And most recently, before coming to Highmark, I worked for Aria Jefferson Health System as the Senior Director of Population Health there. So, I've worked on both the provider and payer sides of the equation, if you will, in healthcare, and as a nurse for over 16 years now.

Wow, that is quite the bet. Well, we're lucky we have you at Highmark. Where— I never asked you this. Where did you grow up?

I grew up in a small town in Illinois called Knoxville. It's not just in Tennessee for the U.S. listeners. Knoxville, Illinois, a town of about 3,500 people in central Illinois near Peoria.

Well, if you think that's a small town, I grew up in— I grew up in Keighley, a suburb of Waltham, a suburb of Newcastle. So you know what, small town, that's my— it's more like small township. That's where I grew up. But it's, uh, hey, got to do it all when you're there. Well, then, you know, as I told you in our conversation, Joe, I'm a woman living with epilepsy, and I was telling Joe that a lot of people don't realize this, but when I fractured my skull and had an intracranial brain hemorrhage, a subdural hematoma, I was rushed to the hospital and had life-saving brain surgery. So if my listeners have heard of a craniotomy, that's what I had. And I was telling Joe, it's a miracle that I went from there to where I am now.

Indeed it is. You were very fortunate.

Yes, I am very fortunate. Well, first of all, as someone with a nursing background, you know I have to say this on my show to people everywhere: Nurses are our champions. They are the healthcare providers. They are the upfront care during COVID And you know, there have been nurses that came out of retirement because they felt a call to go help patients with COVID And often are the people with that patient at the end holding a cell phone while they're saying goodbye. Now, can you imagine how hard this is? So to me, for the rest of my life, I will see them as superheroes. So thank you, Joe, for what you did all of these years. And I mentioned just now what can happen, you know, even in that situation. I've wondered about this. How the heck do healthcare workers prepare for something like I just described right now during COVID all of this grief and sorrow? How do they ever prepare for that?

Well, I'll tell you, there's no preparation for what we've seen in the last year, to be honest. Grief and loss are significant issues for healthcare workers at any time, but the accumulation of feelings of grief and loss during the pandemic has been overwhelming. For so many, and we've all seen the stories, read the stories, and even known people who have been so affected by it. It's really so important that healthcare workers have access to bereavement support programs and initiatives aimed at helping caregivers process grief and loss rather than remaining stoic and avoiding the natural emotional response to illness and death. And yes, they are heroes, and thank goodness for all of them stepping up. And as you said, many stepping out of retirement even. But self-care and formal support mechanisms are really fundamental to ensuring that healthcare workers can remain emotionally well and able to care for others.

I'm wondering, do they ever offer or suggest going for care in reference to post-traumatic stress disorder?

Yes, there are programs available. Many health systems, most of the bigger health systems, have, you know, formal support mechanisms for post-traumatic stress disorder and the effects of such enormous grief and loss, especially for nurses and healthcare workers who work in the emergency department setting. You know, prior to the pandemic, that would— that is an area where nurses and doctors and other healthcare workers would often experience some kind of trauma, right, on a regular basis that would accumulate and where that type of service would be really important and is offered.

Right. Well, I, you know, I can't imagine the trauma and how important that would be. And I just want to mention, everyone knows if you've listened to my show how much I love Highmark, and think of Highmark, Highmark Health, all of the subsidiaries or hospitals that they own, because the leadership from the top has been committed, can you believe this, 25 years partnering with me to hire people with disabilities. And if you haven't heard it, oh my goodness, you have to hear the show with David Holmberg that was the first first show of the new year and the show with Larry Kleinman. And actually for Black History Month at the end of this month, we're gonna have Bob James from Highmark on as a guest. But why I bring that up is, Joe, I think so highly of Cindy Hundorfean and the great work that they're doing at Allegheny Health Network, Allegheny General Hospital. I'll never forget one day I talked to Cindy and she said to me, I am working every day to keep people alive. And Highmark just did something special at PNC Park, or was that Heinz Field, this past Saturday?

Yes, at PNC Park, that's right.

Yeah. Do you want to tell everyone what I'm talking about?

Sure, they had a vaccine drive for people over the age of 75. They were able to vaccinate, I think it was over 2,500 elderly people in the community in one day at that PNC Park Drive, and there were many, many people across Allegheny Health Network and Highmark Health involved in that. Incredible initiative.

Yeah, that was, that was so awesome and not surprising with Highmark. Well, Joe, one of the main reasons I'm having you on today, although I love talking about Highmark and your background, is because as I said earlier, I met you not through Highmark, but as the chair of the Homeless Children's Education Fund. I am so excited to be on this board because I think so highly of the organization. Would you mind explaining the organization to our listeners?

Absolutely, thanks for the opportunity. So the Homeless Children's Education Fund has been committed for over 21 years to creating equal access and opportunity for students experiencing homelessness through various programs and community partnerships in Pittsburgh. Our mission at HCEF is to advance the education of children and youth experiencing homelessness in southwestern PA, guiding them to be productive and empowered citizens. And we believe a quality education is a civil right, and we advocate for our students and children daily.

Wow, it is a civil right. That is a civil right. You know, I never understood this, like what happens? I mean, how do you educate them? What, what exactly, like how do you meet them or how are they referred to you, these children, and then what happens next?

So there are several ways in which we get involved with families and children. They are most often identified through school systems, but we have afterschool and summer programming available called Building Blocks for Success. We have teen outreach programs which are active in 4 public high schools. We have the STEAM and cultural enrichment that engages children and families in varieties of hands-on learning activities that foster creativity and critical thinking skills. We have learning centers and educational spaces, spaces with partnering shelters and transitional residences. We offer mini grants and field trips, and we have an annual backpack distribution where we provide over 2,000 2,000 backpacks filled with school supplies to children at local homeless agencies and community organizations. We also have the Hope Through Learning Award, which is a $2,500 award available to youth who have experienced homeless— homelessness during their school attendance years and who are going on to post-secondary education programs. And then we also have an Emergency Education Fund that provides funding for young people up to the age of 24 who are currently in a homeless situation. So, we have many ways in which we can both educate and provide crisis support for children, teens, and families in need.

Now, I know this sounds like a You know, simple question, but I'm sure it isn't simple. How do they get to school? You know, if they're homeless, how do they get to school?

Yeah, so that's a great question. Transportation and the need for transportation is often the way in which someone is identified, a child is identified as being homeless. I think it's surprising to most people to learn that there are, there is a significant, you know, child homeless population. Homeless children are not likely to be visible to us in the way that one might think of an adult as homeless, right? A child meets the definition of homeless if they lack a fixed, regular, or adequate nighttime shelter. So this could mean a child of a family who is living with a relative for a short time, or living in a shelter with a parent, or sharing the housing— sharing housing with other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or other similar reason. So when you ask, you know, how do they get to school, it really depends on where they are at any given time. And they're often, you know, what we kind of think of couch surfing, right, and moving around from family to family or other people who might take them in for short periods of time, or living in a homeless shelter. But transportation is often a way in which they're identified through the school system as being homeless.

Yeah, because I was thinking about this. You know, a child, for example, that's living with grandma and then because they don't have their own residency and then something happens and they have to go to the uncle's house. Like, wait, these homes could be in different school districts. I mean, this seems terrible for that child. I'm just trying to understand What happens? They just go to that other school? Is that what happens?

Well, I mean, that is one of the biggest issues, right, is missed school days. So if they're only staying with someone for, let's say, a week, they would likely try to continue going to school where they're registered and where they were going to school. But if they're bumping around every couple months, the parent would need to get them registered in the new school district. So missed days of school is the biggest issue and risk to the educational disparity between homeless children and their stably housed peers.

Yes, because— and not only that, I'm sure the psychological impact. For example, I'm imagining being 2 months at one school district, then I have to go to someone else's house. Now I'm gonna have to start all over again. That's hard. That's hard to start all over again, you know, and make friends and fit into the school and have new teachers. Is, is there anything schools do to provide like counseling or assistance if they know the child is homeless?

Sure. The school districts, you know, in Pittsburgh, they— and across the country, right, that are dealing with this, they do the best that they can to provide assistance and support through the counseling services there at the schools and in partnerships with agencies and programs such as the Homeless Children's Education Fund. But there is, You know, there is only so much that they can do. And it really is a significant stress and burden to the families and the children. You are right. You know, children do not want to be different, right, from their peers. And so they will often hide the fact that they are homeless. And they will try hard to keep up. And so, therefore, the issues are not well known or easily identified, even by the schools. So there is— it is a significant problem that is difficult to solve.

Yeah, that really is. You know, in my mind, I am trying to envision that, you know, going from school to school, the support, who does support? Is there an agency that supports them? Like, is it vocational rehab? I mean, who supports, if they have a disability, who supports children during this time?

I think, you know, I'm not sure about disability, Joyce Bender, but I know for children who are homeless like this. It is the Homeless Children's Education Fund is in Pittsburgh the agency that is partnering with these, with the public school system to provide these services that are so needed like afterschool programming, additional learning education, funding, resources, access to technology. Right? So if we think about this year, students, you know, experiencing homelessness already lag behind their, you know, their peers academically, even in the best of times. Right? Again, due to missing days of school. But the impact of the pandemic, including poor access to and constant issues with technology and Wi-Fi access, in this remote learning environment is really causing homeless children to miss even more days of instruction than ever before. And that is just greatly exacerbating an already serious problem of educational disparity. According to 2019 data, for example, students in the Pittsburgh Public Schools were about 2 times more likely to fail a course than their stably housed peers.

Oh yeah, well, I brought this up for a reason. I assumed that there would be more, but I knew we were the main player. Now I see we are the player. So, if you're listening to this show right now and you're hearing this story, you know what? We can't do that by ourself. We need help, we need money. You know, I always say people want— oh yeah, go on, help, go on, do all of this, but you can't do it without resources, uh, helping these children. So you can make a donation to homelessfund.org. Homelessfund.org is the website for the Homeless Children's Education Fund. You know, $5 matters, anything matters. But you're hearing about these children in this situation, it's terrible, you know, going from home to home, trying to keep up with their education. And by the way, this is how people fall through the cracks. And if you have a learning disability or some other type of disability, it is terrible. To keep, to keep support as you're doing this. So, uh, remember homelessfund.org. And with that, it is time on the half hour for our news break, Advocacy Matters, with our newscaster Perry Jude Radesik. So Perry, happy to have you. What do you have for us today?

Well, Joyce, we're going to continue to talk about the 2020 elections, the 2020 elections, and all of the surveying and assessments and lessons learned related to the accessibility of the elections that just happened. These surveys and assessments and webinars on lessons learned have really only just begun. And there's one federal agency who is reviewing and assessing the accessibility of our elections, and that's the U.S. Election Assistance Commission. Now, the Election Assistance Commission was established under that federal Help America Vote Act of 2002. So they're— they were established by law And it's an agency that's independent and it's bipartisan. And that's all they do is study elections and they engage experts and provide voluntary voting system guidance to election officials in Pennsylvania and across the country. They're also a clearinghouse on election information. Now, we have a link to the EAC— to the Election Assistance Center. Commission on our website at disabilityrightsPA.org. But here's, here's what's happening. They have a roundtable discussion scheduled on accessibility lessons learned from our 2020 elections, and that roundtable is going to take place next Wednesday, Wednesday, February 17th, It'll be live streamed on the Election Assistance Commission's website, the YouTube channel, and it's open to the public. And the roundtable runs from 1:00 PM to 2:30 PM Eastern. We also have a link to, to that page on the EAC website that'll take you right to that roundtable discussion next Wednesday. And according to the EAC website, they're going to have two parts to this discussion. They're going to unveil a survey conducted by Rutgers University on disability voting and accessibility. And then the next part of the meeting is going to be discussing what really worked and what didn't work during the 2020 elections. With regard to voters with disabilities, and they're doing this with experts and election officials across the country. So that's a lot. It's going to be a great meeting, and advocacy matters. So if you want this national perspective on the accessibility of our 2020 elections, I really urge you to go to our website at disabilityrightsPA.org, find those links links to the Election Assistance Commission and, uh, be part of that discussion. Uh, we have those links, and again, it's disabilityrightspa.org, and you can get hooked up and registered for that important meeting next Wednesday.

And Perry, do they go to advocacy matters, or where do they go, or is it just on the front of the website? Where do they go?

It's right on the front of our website. So when you go to disabilityrightspa.org, just scroll down that home page and you will find the latest links to Disability Matters and Advocacy Matters. So that's where you'll find it on the home page. Just scroll down the page and it'll be there.

And this will be talking about accessibility for people who are blind, deaf, mobility issues, Intellectual Disabilities, Wheelchair Everything. Is that what it is?

Absolutely. It's, it's called 2020 Disability and Voting Accessibility Survey, and it was conducted by Rutgers University for the Election Assistance Commission, and they'll be doing a presentation on what they found.

That is so exciting. So I hope All of you, you need to go. I hear people talk about accessibility in voting, and remember, 2 years, another big election. Uh, Perry, one more time with that website.

Yeah, come visit us at disabilityrightspa.org, and you'll find links to the important information at the Election Assistance Commission.

That is awesome. Thank you so much, Perry, and we look forward to talking to you next week.

Hey, thanks Joyce Bender, take care.

You're welcome. You know, um, that is such great information that she is providing us and that Rutgers has provided. So you know, when I did that presentation today to Libya, oh my goodness, like there isn't anything. I mean, to vote is almost absolutely impossible, even with a new election they coming up with, you know, new people that will be in administration. They're fighting for that right now. So we also have a, you know, we're obviously way ahead of them, but we still have a few things we need to work on. So make sure, make sure not only you listen to that, but I would send everyone else to that, what she's talking about. You know what, Joe, when you were talking about homeless children in Allegheny County, why do you think there are so many people that ignore this and find it hard to believe? Because I will go to people and I'll tell them, now I'm on the board, and they'll say, homeless children? I never see homeless children. What do you mean there's homeless children? And at the same time, when people hear about this, you know, I don't understand why everyone would not be, you know, up in arms about all of this. But we'll start with the fact people do not believe it. Do you run into that also?

Absolutely. I'd say, you know, even for myself, I was surprised at the the number of homeless children. So, you know, as I mentioned before, you know, we think typically of homeless people as people we might see on the street or holding a sign or adults. And we're not likely to see children in that way. But in 2000— in the 2018 and '19 school year, as an example, more than 3,400 students in Allegheny County were experiencing homelessness. And in 2019, every single Pittsburgh Public School building reported students experiencing homelessness at some point. Now, over this past year, reporting was down across those school districts because, again, the school School districts rely heavily on data like a new need for transportation or, you know, to trigger counting a child as homeless. This type of data was not available this year given the remote learning environment. So in a time when we as a community most need to know what families need, we've had less information about who is in crisis. I am looking forward, though, to understanding the data around meal programs. Many of the schools— the Pittsburgh Public School System is offering lunch programs where families can go pick up lunch for their children. So we should have data available from that to be able to better gauge how many people and how many children are really in need. But can you imagine? I would have never thought, you know, over 3,000, near 3,500 children in Allegheny County alone.

No, I would never imagine that. I mean, that is mind-boggling. And by the way, I almost forgot this, also a special shout out to Dr. Joe Lagana who started all this, my friend who I call Dr. Joe. I remember one day he told me the average age of a homeless— what's the average age of a homeless person? And they're guessing everything, and he said 11. And I think that's because he was talking about that 3,500 people that you are talking about. But make no mistake about it, There are little camps up on the hill, the wooded area right behind the city, where there are homeless children. They're not all in shelters. You'll see a lot of these kids coming down, but you're envisioning seeing children out on the street, and that is not the situation, as Joe pointed out. It is really in different locations. Now, what about the homeless shelters? Are there all different shelters that help children who are homeless, or is it specific shelters?

Uh, it is— to my knowledge, it is primarily, um, the women's shelters where children will live with, um, their their parent, their female, you know, their mother or parent in these shelters. So I think there's a handful of them in Pittsburgh that take children in. And we have after-school programs partnered with several of those women's shelters.

Yeah, because I'm trying to envision Children living in a shelter, once again, how do they get to school? And I guess you're saying there is, is there special transportation that goes to the shelter or how does that work?

Or they're within walking distance. I think they utilize the usual transportation methods for the Pittsburgh Public School System. But it's the ability to get these children connected to those services that is often disjointed and not as readily available.

Yeah, that's something we could work on in Allegheny County because like right now it's, you know, what, it's gonna be tomorrow 12 degrees. Or something, and it's snowing. So I'm trying to imagine a 7-year-old child, you know, what are they doing or how are they getting, you know, to school? Now I'm not sure about this. Do you provide— are you meaning, homeless children education fund, that we partner to or fund training at the shelter? Do we do that also?

We, we provide volunteers at the shelter and partner with employees of the shelter to provide the afterschool enrichment programs. Not so much training, but we have volunteers come in and read to the children, help them to create, you know, visual charts, help them with their homework, etc.

Yeah, because we all know that you need, as you get older, you need a computer. You need the internet. So, does someone pay for those at the shelter? Is that what happens?

Yes, we do have the ability to help to fund, you know, Wi-Fi services or you know, MiFi, personal kind of hotspots, and, and ways in which to get the children connected. Pittsburgh Public School District also had some funding available to students in need, not only homeless children but other children who might be in, in a socially or economically depressed, you know, situation where they needed help with Wi-Fi for remote learning. So the school systems in the area have had some resources available to be able to get kids connected, but it is still a little bit clunky, if you will. I know a story of one teen who had a computer on loan and the cord. You know, it was probably had been used for several years. These are not necessarily brand-new computers, and the cord was not working well, so she had to try to type with one hand and hold the cord in with the other. So they're still struggling with the equipment that is available.

Oh my, hearing that story, wow. You know, even with healthcare disparity, if I was— the other day I did get a vaccine at the pharmacy and there was a lady in line, not for that, for something else at the pharmacy. And of course, you know, I have to talk to everyone. So, hi, how are you? And, you know, I don't know, late 70s, early 80s, and And she said she was doing fine. And I said, oh, are you here for your vaccination? She said, oh, no. I said, why? You know, you need to register. You could get this. And she said, well, how do I do that? I said, well, you have to make an appointment, you know, on your computer. I don't have a computer. I said, well, you could also use the phone. I don't know how to do that either. Oh, think about that, how many people there are that can't do that, that don't have a laptop or don't know how to use the laptop during this COVID crisis, they can't even make an appointment.

Yeah, absolutely. You know, the, the social and economic disparities in a time like this are extraordinary. Just having the access to these types of resources, you know, puts one ahead of the healthcare curve in being able to stay well and stay healthy. You were so fortunate to be able to get the vaccine already, Joyce Bender, and I'm glad that you did. But, you know, it is a good fortune to have the ability and the resources to be able to have access to that type of healthcare.

Yeah, and I am very blessed. I was of the age, and although I have epilepsy, I did not ever mention that because I feel the underlying conditions such as cancer, uh, or, you know, respiratory, uh, are so critical. I mean, I, I really am all about the civil rights part of all of this, uh, but if you can listen, get that vaccine if you can. If you can't, though, wear that mask. Wear that mask, wash your hands, and stay that social distance. Because a friend of mine who's an epidemiologist said that COVID can be transmitted in seconds, even when someone's talking, so you've got to be careful. Well, Joe, I am sad to hear how many children are homeless in Allegheny County, and you've sort of talked about the situation with education. I wondered if you could share a success story with our listeners of someone that was homeless but through being connected with us changed their life around.

Yes, I'd love to. So I wanna tell you the story of Terrell. Terrell, at 5 years old, entered Homeless Children's Education Fund's after-school program at one of the homeless shelters. He was under a lot of stress. He was having trouble processing his emotions healthily. He was having difficulty holding attention during class and even following a routine. He had been moved around so many times. His formal schooling up until that point had been inconsistent, and he couldn't write all the letters of his name even. At 5 years old. So the instructors at the shelter and the volunteers there worked closely with Terrell to help him map out his schedule using a visual chart and teach him how to verbalize his emotions using a facial expression chart. They partnered and worked with his mother and the school to get him special education supports he desperately needed and enrolled him in an extended school year program. And so by the time Terrell entered first grade, he had visibly progressed in so many ways. He was excited to come to the after-school program every day and to go to school. He could spell his name. He could sound out certain words, so he was beginning to read, and he was always eager to get his his homework done before he ate his snack. It was so gratifying for the team at HCEF, for the volunteers and the team at the homeless, or at the shelter, to see that Tyrell had learned to trust both himself and others. That was really the greatest reward. And he walked away from the program more confident and with many of the tools he would need to succeed in school and life.

Oh, that is such a great story. And you know what? It is all about confidence, dignity, believing in yourself because you were talking about something before. I remember hearing the story about I think Citizens Bank, I don't know if they still do, but they used to donate all these bags for the children. I remember hearing them speak at some event I was at how just that one thing changes the child, the way they look at school. Is that true?

Absolutely. The motto at Homeless Children's Education Fund is hope through learning, right? So we're just trying to create hope for these children that there is something better and greater, and belief in themselves that they can do anything. They can achieve anything, that they're, that they have intrinsic value, unique gifts and deserve respect and dignity.

Yeah, because if you don't have a backpack, suddenly to all the other kids, "Where's your backpack?" At least when you have that backpack, it isn't as noticeable to everyone else because I'm sure these kids feel they don't want anyone to know. Why would you? Am I right about that?

Absolutely, they don't want to be different. Kids want to, you know, they don't want to stand out. They want to blend in. They want to be like their peers. And they just want to be accepted and loved. So anything that we can do or anyone can do to help to make their experience more normal and help them to be recognized for, you know, the value that they have as a human being is everything.

Yes, it is. Dignity. Love and dignity and hope. You're right about that. So, Joe, what, as chair, what do you hope to see accomplished in 2021, 2022 at HCEF?

Well, I hope that we can continue to increase awareness and teach others about the issues affecting homeless children, especially during this pandemic and a time of such great need for, for these children. I hope that we can attract, cultivate, and nurture donor partnerships and identify opportunities to fulfill our mission. I hope that we can advocate for policies and systems that will improve outcomes for homeless children, youth, and families, and that we continue to build on fundraising efforts to ensure HCEF can continue to offer critical programming, emergency funding, and scholarships to children in need.

Oh, and I just want to say, remember, homeless fund— If you're listening to this show, I'm sure you're moved by what you're hearing, and make a contribution. Go to the page, go to donate, and make a contribution. And first, before we go, Jo, thank you so much for being with us today.

Thank you so much, Joyce. I really appreciate the opportunity, and I'm just thankful for the chance to share these stories and create awareness of the need for people to support homeless children in need.

Yes, and I just want to say, don't forget, don't forget to share this show with others. Remember, you can go to Apple or Spotify, subscribe to this radio show, and Disability Matters with Joyce Bender at voiceamerica.com. So if there's someone you think, wow, they need to hear this, just call and give them that information, or go to voiceamerica.com and you can hear the show. So make sure you tell everyone else about that. And before we close the show today, I always end the show with a quote, and it really fits what we're talking about today, and that is, "If you can't feed 100 people, then feed just one," said Mother Teresa. Same thing applies here. All right, this is Joyce Bender. America's Voice, where disability matters, at voiceamerica.com. Talk to everyone next week.

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