How To Find HOPE @ Rock Bottom | Danny Looney Rock Bottom Hope & Andi Beuger | Buelah's Place

Hello, hello, hello everybody! Oh my goodness, I don't know if you can feel it today, but today is going to be the day when something magical happens. We are going to be on here live with 2, not one, but 2. It is crazy how this worked out, right? It is crazy because both of these people chose today to come on. Totally a God thing. They both chose today to come on. They are both powerful nonprofit leaders, founders of nonprofits, leaders of nonprofits, and they are both on here today. We are so blessed. To have not one, but two nonprofit leaders serving you that are going to show you that no matter what, it doesn't matter how far you go down, it doesn't matter what has happened to you in your past, because no matter what you go through. No matter what you go through in life, there's no reason why you can't rise to the top. There's no reason why you can't make the comeback. And let me tell you, you guys might have heard of someone named Thomas Jefferson. And did you know how many times he failed? Thomas Jefferson failed 99 times. I'm sorry, no, that's not true. He failed 1,000 times. He failed 1,000 times with different experiments. And let me tell you that, you know what, it doesn't even matter that he failed 1,000 times because on that 1,001th time, what he created was the light bulb. And you can tell right now because I have my ring light, I have my softbox. Light bulb gone on to change our lives, and every single step that you take, you are one step closer to achieving that thing. That's why I want to talk to you about how it is so important that you fail forward when you suck at something because you will when you doubt yourself because you will. You know there's this traditional message that we have to just do something and like. inevitably we'll just be successful in all of these things. And we don't want to, you know, try anything that we think we're going to fail. And everyone fails at business the first time. I have. I started my first business at 11. I failed. I dropped out of my successful business and went back to corporate because I doubted myself. I doubted that I could get the job done. I doubted that the success would stay. But you know what the thing is?

I didn't quit.

I didn't quit. I didn't fail, fail back. I failed forward. I failed forward. And, you know, the crazy thing about that is, for those of you who don't know my past, I had struggled with drug and alcohol addiction, mostly alcoholism. But, you know, I had caused a lot of destruction in town of Portland, Oregon. I hit my rock bottom in Portland, Oregon. And, you know, it is crazy because fast forward, not even, you know, it has almost been 10 years since that happened. But, you know, 9 years after I left that city, I went back and I got to baptize 3 women in the same river, in the same town that I had caused that destruction. And I failed in my business. But you know what? The thing is, if you fail forward, if you fail forward, and if you're not failing, you're not even trying. If you're not failing, you're not even trying. You have got to have the guts to fail. And if you don't fail, Then you're not even trying. I'll say that again. If you don't fail, you are not even trying. You have, you know, in order to get something that you've never had, you've got to be able to do something you've never done. You've got to be able to do consistently the things that other people will only do occasionally, just like we talked about in day one. And you know, if right now at the end of your life, if you went around and all of the gifts, all of the opportunities, and all of those chances that you didn't take were standing around you at your bedside saying, we came to you. You had a purpose. We wanted to be fulfilled. And they were standing there and they were like, we represent the success you didn't go after, the things you didn't chase, the opportunities you didn't take. How many of those spirits, gifted, like opportunities would be standing there before you? You can overcome your addictions. You can overcome your past. You can overcome anything that has happened to you. And if you guys, you know, if there is one message you can take away from today's amazing, powerful series, like the 2 people we are going to interview today, is that I want to encourage you right now, don't give up. Go for it. Don't throw in the towel. And even if your back is up against the wall, if you are in between The hard, the rock in the hard place. If you are at rock bottom, if you are looking at your finances right now and you're like, there's no way, you have got to fight back. You don't get the life that you want. This is the truth. You don't get the life you want. You don't get the business you want. You get the life and the business That you fight for. So fail forward. Don't give up. Keep on going. Because even if it's the 1,001st time, just like Thomas Edison and the light bulb, it's not— it doesn't matter when it happens. It just matters that you fail forward. You don't give up and you will create the life and the business that you truly desire. All right, guys. Welcome to Day 4. Oh my gosh, you guys, this has been such an incredible journey so far. If you are watching this live and you are like, oh my gosh, Val, so pumped, so lit up. Let me know in the comments that you are watching. I would love to say hello. Hello. I see that there's some people on here.

Hi, hi, hi.

Oh my gosh, you guys, I'm so pumped for today. We are just going to have so— oh my gosh, like, it is such a coincidence. It was such a God thing that both Danny and Andy are both on here right now. Hello, Iona. Hello, I Love. Hello, girl.

Hey.

Tuesday we had a She's in one of my programs, the Women of Wealth and Worth, amazing, incredible money mindset program, and she's incredible. And I just love her heart. And I missed you on Tuesday, just so you know. So today we're gonna have a lot of fun, right? Like I promised you guys I would be doing giveaways. And if you know me, you know my heart. Thank you so much, Iona, for being alive. If you know me, you know my heart is to lead with generosity. I love to serve. I love to give. I love to give back. Obviously, because we are also doing— I'm doing a fundraiser for Rock Bottom Hope, which is the first speaker we have today. He's going to share his story with you guys. And, you know, so you can know how to get involved, how to get partnered with him, with the movement. I've created this fundraiser. It's on a separate page. I'll point you guys to it this afternoon. But we are going to be— I'm going to be giving back to you guys. OK, so I'm giving back. The first prize that I have, and if you have been watching this, you know how to get involved. Oh, I was looking for my little— and if you've ever been a part of any of my programs, you know what this is. You know what this is. Kelly Jo, hello, hello, my love. Hello, Nikki.

Hi, girl.

I am so incredibly excited. Speaking of Rock Bottom Hope, Nikki is one of the new— she's the first Canadian Hope Coach. You guys are going to find out all about that, what that is. Hello, Nikki, I am sending you so much love. Hello, Kelly Jo. Oh my gosh, I'm so excited. Kelly, did you see Elena's interview? If you didn't, you'll want to see that. But today is going to be rocking. So if you shared the post, if you know, if you're watching this today and you're like, oh my gosh, somebody needs to hear this, and you know that, go ahead and share this live out. I'm giving away 3 prizes today and With that, you will also be entered— you're entered into a chance to get some one-on-one coaching as well, and also be invited into a VIP celebration that I'm doing with the speakers and the donors. And we have— you're so welcome, Nikki. We have amazing donors. I just had my husband just went fishing with one of his buddies that is speaking tomorrow, and he donated this greenhouse that people are like raving about. It's a $6,000 greenhouse, and people are like Getting strategies. Kelly says, no, I haven't yet. Oh, you should watch it. It's really super fun. It's powerful. It's in the units tab. If you go back, you can see the replay.

I had Elena on Monday.

So I'm giving away a really fun prize this morning. And this is this really cute little— it's bath fuzzes because I love to, you know, spoil people and give them some luxury, luxury bath salt bath fizz. And I am going to— so if you tag someone in this In this video who needs to hear it or share it at any point. I'm going to put you in this drawing. And so the winner is Miss Courtney Berry.

Yay!

This means I need to learn how to mail to Canada. Congratulations, Courtney. She was a speaker on day 2. Amazing, amazing woman. If you guys want to hear her story, go ahead and go back and check that out. So. Guys, today is going to be powerful. I want to share with you, see, imagine this. The year is 2008. There is a man in a bathroom. Wondering, looking at his life, thinking, you know what? I grew up in a Christian home. My parents—they—they treated me well. You're on mute. Oh no! My parents treated me well.

Are we good now? Yes.

Awesome. So I was just giving an intro. Um, so the year's twenty is two thousand eight. The year is 2008. Here's a man in a bathroom all by himself. All bridges burned. People probably aren't answering the phone when he's calling anymore, except maybe the dope dealer.

I don't even think I have a phone.

In a bathroom thinking back, things are flashing before his eyes. His life is flashing before his eyes, you guys, and he is thinking about the Christian family he was grown up in, how he wasn't raised to be this way, yet here he is. in a bathroom all by himself, skin and bones, thinking, this is the way that people are going to find me. This is the moment I'm going to die. And thinking like, oh my gosh.

Yeah.

And in that moment at rock bottom, he had this glimmer of hope, a glimmer of hope thinking, you know what, what if I made a different decision and I turned this around? Ladies and gentlemen, that was 2008. That man was Danny Looney, and he not only came out from rock bottom, but he created hope. He's creating a movement. He's creating passion, and he is here today to share with you all of the amazing things that he's done. Ladies and gentlemen, I want to introduce Danny Looney, founder of Rock Bottom Hope. Welcome, Danny.

What's up, everybody? Oh my goodness. I think that, Val, you You make me get even more excited because you're always so pumped up and I'm always so pumped up, but then you like pump me up even more. And so we just kind of play off each other. And, you know, I'm just excited to be on here. I'm so excited about Annie, that you have her on today, and then we get to hear from her about what God is doing through her and her organization, Beulah's Place, and all of that. Man, how cool is that? So I'm going to look forward to that one. I will just share anything that I can today about hope and about what God has done in my life. You know, Val, at that pinnacle moment next to that toilet, I wasn't even afraid of death. You know what I was actually? I was more embarrassed of how they would find me and the fact that that was the legacy that I would leave than I really was even dying. You know what I mean? Like, I was thinking, gosh, if they find me and I am dead and this is just, this is the body that they find, this is what they are going to remember. They are going to remember the meth addict. They are going to remember the liar. They are going to remember the thief. They are going to remember all of the things that I did wrong and all of the ways that I was so disobedient to the people around me and to God. I thought to myself, I don't want to leave that legacy. That is not what I want people to know when I leave this earth. I want people to know something more about who I was. You know, I knew it was somewhere in there. I knew that I— that there was a faith in there somewhere. And when God met me at that moment, He showed me that He was faithful to meet me right where I was at. But He was just as faithful not to leave me there.

Oh my goodness. I love that. Because, you know, before you jumped on, I was just sharing a little bit about how, you know, like, it doesn't matter what your story has been. It doesn't matter what the chapter is written so far, you know, because I don't believe there is I mean, there's failure in a sense, but like really your failure is what led you to where you're at today. And so what would you say to someone? And I'm just, you know, I'm assuming that there's someone out there in the internet world that is watching this right now and is like, but you don't understand because I've done these things I'm not proud of. Like, how can I be used? How can I do this? How— what would you say to them right now?

I would say that There's almost nothing that I haven't done evil. I mean, honestly. And, and, you know, if you, if you exclude murder, but I mean, let's be real, who hasn't murdered someone in their heart, right?

Mm-hmm.

And I was the worst of the worst. You know, we all think that we're the worst of the worst, right? But like, I, when I look at my life, I think, man, I was running so far the opposite direction. I loved drugs. I loved that scene. And that's all I really knew. I mean, you know, I grew up okay, but then at 14, I just, I went running and gunning as hard as I could. So, my encouragement to somebody out there who is experiencing rock bottom or thinks, and this goes beyond rock bottom, like what you think as rock bottom circumstances, somebody that is experiencing failure. I loved what you shared about Thomas Edison. I absolutely loved that because at the end of the day, we all have so many failures in our life. But is our failure what is launching us onto the next thing or is our failure keeping us stuck in a rut where we can't move forward, where we can't launch that new business or we can't step out and do something crazy or we can't get online and do a live because, oh my gosh, what am I going to say? I don't care. I'll act like an idiot. Whatever. I'm going to have fun. You know what I mean? It's okay because this is real and this is authentic and we're not going to be anything different than that. So, my encouragement is look at your past, look at your failures, and use that as the catalyst to launch you into the success that you know is in your future. Whatever it may look like. It could be starting a nonprofit, starting a business, or maybe it is just getting that first day clean and sober. You, this is what I know. As long as you have breath in your lungs, there is hope for your soul. There is hope for your future. So, take a risk and look at your past. You know what I teach people? Embrace your past. You don't have to be OK with it. You don't have to be OK with the things that happened. You don't even have to, you know, talk about the things that happened in the past. There are things that I still haven't gone into with people. But at the end of the day, I look at my past, I embrace it because I know without it, I would not be where I'm at today. And that is key, right?

Yeah. I love that you said that. And I want to just like pull on that string a little bit that you said, you know, like it, even though, like I actually had someone last night comment, they were like, oh my gosh, I went on Danny's Facebook page and he's so personable and he's just so like vibrant, you know? And so I love that you said that because I feel like some people think that, you know, if they're going to step out and they're going to be bold and they're going to do what they believe they're being called to do, that somehow it means that they have to be this open book and share every single thing on Facebook with, you know, you and I both. Like, there's things that I share in a general way, but I don't go into details on a public platform because, you know, I'm not only like— it's just not appropriate. Plus, like, there's certain people that I'm protecting in that too. But, you know, I think that there's a fear of like stepping out and being bold and acting like in your true purpose, in your true identity, then, you know, we don't have to be this like open book and share every detail.

Yeah. And, you know, Val, I think that people watch my lives and, you know, I mean, granted, they're far from perfect, but they watch me talk or whatever and they think, oh, wow, this guy is like, you know, 100% extrovert and he's just so able to get on there and just spew all this stuff. But what they don't see is, and Val, let's be honest, how many takes do we take before we go live? How many times do we practice or do we get inside our head or do we think beforehand, before pressing the live button, think, what the heck am I doing? What do I have to offer? You know? And that is a lie from the enemy because at the end of the day, every single person has something to offer.

Amen.

Every single person has something that will encourage another person. You know, just to talk about this one lady, she is in her mid-80s and I visit her a couple of times a month. I just love her. I have known her for years and she does not have a crazy, she has a crazy story, but it is so different. So, she is in her 80s, right? And I asked her, what is your salvation story? And her salvation story to me, it knocks mine out of the ballpark. Like, I don't, like, to me, hers is so amazing. And what happened was she got divorced when she was older. She, a bunch of stuff had gone on. She was in her mid-50s and she was alone in her apartment and she was so desperate. And she had been an atheist up to this point. She was so desperate for something different. She dropped to her knees. She's 50, like 54 years old, cries out to God and says, "If you are real, show yourself to me because I am hurting and my life is falling apart." No drugs, no alcohol. Bam! The Holy Spirit just like knocks her on her face, and she starts crying out and praying to God. And forever her life was changed. To me, I'm like, wow, that's an incredible story, right? Like she was. failing in life. Everything was crumbling around her. But yet there was this moment in time where she hit her own rock bottom, where she was so desperate for something different. She was all alone, had been an atheist all her life, in her mid-50s. There was no reason for her to call out to God except for desperation. And her life was forever changed. And so you never know how your story can affect somebody, because honestly, I've asked her to tell me the whole story in detail. Probably like 5 times because it is so impressive to me and it grabs my heart. So, this is what I say to everyone out there. Your story matters. You don't know who or when your story is going to change the entire trajectory or inspire somebody to keep going. And that is exactly what this lady's story did for me, is that it inspires me to keep going. It inspires me that everybody's rock bottom is different and that is why we exist.

Oh my gosh, I love that you said that because that's something I say a lot too. Like, your story matters, your mission matters. And the thing that I really want people to like hear and really like hook onto when you say that, when you share that, is that it is never too late. Ever, ever too late. Okay? And you're not too young, you're not too old, you're not too far gone, you're not too ugly, you're not too pretty, you're not too whatever that story is you're hearing. And you know what, like, everyone doesn't have to have a story like yours or mine or whatever. And I can understand that because I've had people say like, man, you know, I grew up in a Christian home and I did everything right. And I don't have a story like— I don't have a testimony like yours. And I'm like, don't envy that. Like, that's just my path. That's what I needed to go through. But, you know, I'm, I'm really curious to just dig a little bit deeper for people who are just now meeting you.

Right.

They could easily look at you and say, wow, this guy's got a great smile. He's so like, he's got this beautiful home behind him, great hair. Like there's no way. How was he that guy in 2008? So what has, how did you get from 2008 in that bathroom thinking you were going to die next to that toilet to now? Like fill us in on a little bit of that journey.

Well, You know, on July 24th, 2008, I had that crazy experience with God. I was 115 pounds, sores all over my body. Um, I, uh, when you do meth, especially like if you do it a lot, you end up really feeling like you've got meth bugs in your skin. And so you literally pick sores into your skin. There's nothing there, but you pick sores. So I had sores all over my body. And my teeth were falling out of my head. So these are fake, completely fake. The next day, I checked myself into a Program. Big shout out to Adult and Teen Challenge. They are an amazing Program and I actually send people there all the time. I really believe in the Program. Faith-based. They do a great thing. So, I did the Program for a year. I graduated. The funny thing is, you know, speaking of failure, speaking of trying again, I was 3 months into the Program and I was like, you know, as most addicts are and just people in general, I thought, oh, I, I have it together. I think I'm healed. Everything's good. I don't need to stay here a year. Why would I want to stay here a year with 40 other guys? This is not fun, right? So, um, I called my parents. I had a phone— I had a phone call. You get 2 phone calls a week. Called my parents. I said, hey, I'm, I'm thinking about coming home. I think I'm healed. I think I'm doing good. And they said, okay, well, you can come back to Oregon, but you're not coming back to our house. And I said, that's fine, I'll find somewhere. And they said, also, there's a warrant out for your arrest. And I said, never mind, I think I'll stay. And it's so funny because the motivation— sometimes it doesn't matter what the motivation is, it just matters that you have motivation, right? Let me say that again. Sometimes it doesn't matter what the motivation is, it just matters that you have motivation.

Yeah.

Because in that moment, although it was a super negative thing and You know, I don't wish it on anybody. I was like, well, I would rather be here than jail and ultimately prison because I knew that I had already had 3 felonies on my record. They were charging me with 6 more. I was like, I will stay here. So, I stayed there and you know what happened was the next 9 months, I changed. Everything changed. I had a gratitude in my heart for what the Program was doing. I had a gratitude in my heart for how God was changing me. Even though it was difficult, and I talk about this a lot on lives because I think that we know the power of words, right, Val? You and I know the power of words. Like, there is power in your words. The Bible says that life and death are in the power of the tongue, you know?

Yeah.

The power of life and death are in the tongue. So, here is the deal. I just stopped complaining. I stopped looking at my situation as something bad and I started looking at it as this is a time to recoup. This is a time to heal my mind because as everybody knows, you are as young as when you started using mentally and you have a lot to rebuild. I mean, a lot to rebuild. So, I did the Program and I graduated September 2009. And you know what is so awesome? A short little miracle that I don't share often and I will do it in a nutshell. But I went and I thought, oh, I did this 1-year Program, so I got to turn myself in on this warrant now. They are going to be like, just give me a slap on the hand. And you know what? I went into that jail and boom, officers on both sides threw me on the ground. I had just graduated the program the day before and I find myself sitting in jail after a year in rehab. And I am like, God, I thought you were going to take care of me. You know, how many of us have that thought when something goes bad? It is always God's fault, right? Like, oh God, why did you do this to me? Oh God, I can't believe that you let this happen. But it wasn't God. These are the consequences of my worldly actions, right? Like this had to happen. So, I am sitting in jail. get a Bible and I'm just reading and I'm asking the Lord, you know, just meet me in this place. I'm like, and you know, I had a couple of hearings and then I had my sentencing hearing. And at the last minute, the judge was changed at my sentencing hearing. So I'd had one judge and his nickname was Maximum Mauer because he was always known to give the maximum sentence. And the DA was trying to give me 13 months in OSP. And, you know, I mean, I was pretty by this point. So I didn't want to go to prison.

No.

And I was a little worried and concerned about it. But on the way to the sentencing hearing, God just filled the car. And I had this, this thing from God. And he said, Danny, whatever happens, I'm with you. And you're going to be okay because I'm with you. And I said, okay, Lord, like if I go to prison, I go to prison, you know, and that's just what it is. And at the last minute, right before we went into the courtroom. My attorney comes up and he says, hey, we're in a different courtroom. They switched judges on us. And I'm like, what? So we go in, right? And the DA is ripping me up one side and down the other. And she's like, this man is a menace to society. He's a multiple offender. We want him locked up. He needs to do some prison time, you know? And the judge let her talk for a really long time. And she says, I don't believe in this program. He says he graduated Teen Challenge, but we don't think it's a credible program. And the judge says, well, ma'am, not only do I know what Adult and Teen Challenge is, but I served on their board of directors for 20 years. And he said, I believe in Teen Challenge, and I agree with it, and I think it's an amazing program, and I want this man released immediately. So I was released, and I moved to Bend. I helped with the Teen Challenge startup here in Bend. I worked on staff there for 2 and a half years. And again, this is just walking through the doors. Now listen, When I moved here, I was so afraid, and the directors at that time can testify, I was so afraid of walking even to the store. We lived about 2 blocks from Safeway. I was a live-in staff. I was so afraid to walk to the store because I thought if I walked to the store, I'm going to use, I'm going to get high, something bad is going to happen, you know. And I was so fearful in that time, I had to overcome it. So another thing going out to all of the people watching, there are going to be hurdles that you have to overcome. Think about this. I am talking now, but at that point in 2009, I wouldn't even walk to the grocery store. I couldn't even talk to people because I was so afraid and insecure with who I was. I didn't, I still didn't know who I was. I was still learning who I was in Christ, right? And learning what He has called me to do. So I keep walking through the doors and I end up A campus pastor. I was on staff for 8 and a half years with Mission Church Bend. And in 2015, God laid on my wife and I's heart this term, Rock Bottom Hope. Bringing hope to the furthest heart. Bringing hope to those at rock bottom. Redefining what rock bottom is and giving people a safe place to be able to talk, right? So, in 2009, I resigned. I put all my eggs in one basket. I quit a full-time job, a steady check, a salary that was decent. and I could live on. And I went to $0 a month.

Hmm.

And I said, you know what? I said, the risk is worth it because when you know God is in it, when He is moving on your heart, you have got to be obedient because obedience is better than sacrifice every single time. So, I jumped all in, right? And that was, gosh, we launched a year, a little over a year ago, January 2020. And it has been the most incredible ride since. And Rock Bottom Hope, it is just a relational-driven organization that provides hope coaches, Community, and resources for people who are experiencing rock bottom. It is giving them a safe place to be able to talk, and our volunteers are filled with people who are ready and willing to share their story so that other people feel safe to share theirs.

It's so cool. And I love that you said that because, you know, I'm noticing a pattern with a lot of people who've been on this summit is that, you know, they knew, they felt that pull in their heart. And this is my story too. They felt that pull to take a leap, to take action, to do something different. And it wasn't all lined out. I mean, for goodness sakes, I'm a recovering perfectionist. And it's like I want to know all of the details. But right? I had a feeling you were too, just knowing your personality. But like—

Just a little bit.

I want to know the details. I want to know every single thing. I want to have the that safe thing to leap to. But when we really take that risk without knowing like what's ahead or being fully prepared, I think that's when like that test of faith really happens.

Right.

And I heard you say that a couple times in your story. So I would love to hear, well, I want to give a shout out first because the comments are blowing up here. We have Kelly Jo Ball. Hello, hello.

What up, Kelly?

Hi. And Iona and and Ethan Evans. We have Nikki on here, your new Hope Coach in Canada. We have Beth. Hello. Hello. So, I want you to share a little bit for people who aren't familiar yet with your, with your organization. So, what exactly is a Hope Coach? Can you share a couple of examples of the amazing things you guys are doing?

Absolutely. So, first of all, our mission is just extending hope for every person in any situation through connection, accountability, and attention to individual needs. We aim to inspire individuals and families all over the world who have found themselves at rock bottom or affected by rock bottom circumstances. We offer them the eternal hope to find, for people to find freedom, to find purpose, to find breakthrough. What we realized very, very soon is that the missing piece in so many organizations, and this isn't a bad thing because other organizations can't do this because they're professional. They're either doing professional mental health assessments, they're doing professional counseling, they're running homeless shelters. But the missing piece is the relational piece, right? So what we thought was, why don't we have an organization that can come alongside anyone or any other organization and offer that relational piece, that hope coaching piece? So, it is not a life Coach, although we do that a little bit, but it is a hope Coach. It is somebody, it is a friend. It is somebody who is going to meet you where you are at, but not leave you there. It is someone who is going to encourage you along the way and you get their phone number. You get their, you get to call them, text them, Zoom them in places where you can meet up. Meet up. I am all about face to face. Sorry, COVID hasn't stopped me doing that, but— I am cautious when I need to be. But the deal is, is that we are relational beings. We are meant to have relationship with one another. And so a hope coach is literally that, someone that you are assigned with that has maybe a similar story or that you connect with that is coaching you back to a place of hope. Now, within that, we work with people to be connected to shelter, to find housing. to find, um, cars, vehicles, transportation, uh, people that need professional mental health, professional counseling, people that are looking for resources. We help guide them to those resources, and amazingly enough, we're able to actually give out money and help people tangibly, monetarily, and through in-kind donations. You know, last year, between our time of launching, January to January, January through December, we brought in $115,000 as an organization. And just in giving out, like, organizational resources monetarily and in-kind, we gave out $30,000.

Wow.

We helped people literally get into homes. You know, we got somebody a motorhome that they could live in and actually, like, park it somewhere. And we actually just helped somebody, partnered with 2 other organizations this week to help somebody get their motorhome here to Bend so that they have a place. They've been sleeping on the streets for months. So we help people of all types, all shapes, sizes, backgrounds, whatever it looks like. We have hope coaches who have come out of sex trafficking. We have hope coaches who've come out of prostitution. We have hope coaches who have come out of abusive relationships. Hope coaches who have struggled with resentment and bitterness. Hope coaches that have struggled with alcoholism and addiction. And these are all people who have come out of that and now are using their story, just as Revelation 2:11 tells us, that we overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony. So, we are helping people overcome and find that place of hope. We have helped hundreds of people since we launched. The amazing thing is that just this year alone, we have helped 5 people get into rehab. We have helped multiple, like I would say more than 5 homeless people find the resources and things that they need, helping them find shelter, helping them get a place to cover their heads, helping them with clothing, helping them just find that hope, you know. But more than that, we have conversations going with people all over the world who you would never think are experiencing rock bottom. Their life looks totally fine on Facebook. How many of you out there have a really good looking Facebook? I want to let you know, Danny Looney knows how to use filters well. All right. I am pretty sure this Zoom has a filter, too, because I can look at it and this is not what my face looks like. But here is the deal. At the end of the day, it is not about what somebody's Facebook looks like.

No.

It is about what their heart looks like. It is about what is going on inside of them that you don't even see, that you don't even know is going on. You know that we have hope coached children's pastors back to a place of hope? I would love for Cami to come on and share her story sometime, but she was desperate. She was in a low point in her life and she was a children's pastor at a church and she reached out, finding us on Instagram and reached out. And now she is one of our hope coaches and opening, you have seen it, Val, Opening your own business in downtown Salem, Paint with Cami. The girl is like on top of the world right now.

Yes.

You never know when somebody needs to be led back to that place of hope. And so our Hope Coaches are on standby. Not all of them are working with somebody all of the time, but they are always available when somebody reaches out and it is a good fit for them. They make the phone call. They are there. They are available. If you don't want to talk on the phone, they text. They are just available and availability is huge when you are talking about meeting relational needs.

Oh, my gosh, I love every single thing you just said and I want to just emphasize for people who are watching, like here you have 2 extremes, right? You shared your story of being in that bathroom downtown Portland next to the toilet, you know, 115 lbs. So, on the contrast, I want to share with you guys what a little bit of my story was. I lived in downtown Portland. I was going out every night, you know, the party girl. Everyone knew me, got into clubs. I was modeling, acting, going to college, holding it together, making good money. And on the outside, you would think everything was perfect. Honestly, I had a lot of people fooled. Even the guy I was dating at the time didn't even know I drank. He didn't even know I drank because I would be like, you know, having a bottle of something and like sipping the vodka. And he wouldn't even know because people were like, Like they just thought that was my personality, right? So I just want to share with you guys that, you know, my intention in bringing Dani on and doing the fundraiser for Rock Bottom Hope is not just to partner with them, but I just want to bring awareness that you guys, like, you know, at 26 years old, I looked on paper, it looked like I was on top of the world, but on the inside, I was dying inside. I honestly hoped that one of those nights I was getting in my car and driving home that I just I would just wreck and die. I would get angry at God when I would wake up in the morning. So you guys, you don't know that even those people closest to you might be struggling. And I just want to bring awareness for that. So I encourage you, you know, go check out the Rock Bottom Hope page. And if not for you, you know, you might not be experiencing something right now. But if you would please, and I don't ask you guys to do a lot of things, but if you would please go to that page and just share it to your page and say, I don't know who needs to hear this. Because like, I feel just like this, this urgency right now with isolation and all the things happening in the world.

Right.

It's the people that— I mean, I hate to use this example, but like, look at Robin Williams. I think the reason why that shook us up so much was because he is the funniest, joyfullest man in the world, seemingly. And he killed himself sober. You don't know And I hate to be like that heavy, you guys, but this is what, you know, God is really laying on my heart to spread awareness. If not for you, please just go share out Rock Bottom's page and bring awareness to the amazing things that they're doing.

Absolutely. Yeah, that would be so huge, uh, sharing it with your friends and family, just letting them know that there is hope even at rock bottom. Uh, because, Val, I mean, you know, talking about Robin Williams, it just reminds me of in the last 2 years how many Pastors have committed suicide. Pastors, people who you think when you look at them, or when you think about a pastor, you think about them having, having it all together. You think about them having— serving God and loving their families and being that leader and that example. But you really have no idea somebody's story. And a lot of people's story is on the inside.

Mm-hmm.

Because how many times do we catch ourselves being so insecure. You know, I think that one of the things now that I struggle with the most now, you know, almost 13 years later of sobriety, is insecurity and feeling unworthy and comparing myself to all of the people that are way, way, way better. You know, I say way better with quotes because they're not way better. Nobody's way better. We're all here and we're all living our lives and we all have a calling and we're all being pulled in that direction. And we cannot live a life of comparison because comparison will kill contentment every single time, you know. And so each one of us has something that is going on in our own hearts and our own minds. And there is never a day when you get to stop surrendering.

Hmm.

There is never a day when you get to like you have arrived until you pass the pearly gates, right? There is never a moment on this earth. And it is not about striving. But it is about thriving in that surrender, you know? So, my encouragement is, yeah, just live it out and understand that you don't have any clue. Somebody's Facebook page, they can have all the filters in the world. They can have all the smiles in the world. But at the end of the day, Facebook isn't reality. What is reality is what is going on inside.

Amen. Oh my gosh, I love that, you know, we went here. Like, I love that we are being raw and real because, you know, there could be someone right now watching this on, you know, in the group, in the summit, you know, on YouTube or, you know, watching a replay. And the thing is that I just want to urge people from, you know, both of our stories, like, thank God we both had victory because I honestly, I did not believe I was going to live to be 18, much less, what am I now, 30, almost 38, right? Like, I did not know. I had no plans for this time in my life. And so if there's anybody out there that is like resonating with that and they're wondering or they're feeling, you know, something going on, like Please, please, please don't just sit in that alone. Because I agree, you know, we've both been in that pastoral role. And like, we're human at the end of the day. Like, I still had, you know, doubts. And, you know, women or men would— we had a couple guys in the church that were like, she's a woman, she can't be on stage. And believe me, like that, I try not to let that affect me, but it kind of does, you know.

Yeah.

We're humans at the end of the day. And, you know, So if anybody's feeling that, like, don't just sit in that and hope it gets better or whatever. Because you know what, like, the thing is, even though our depression and our darkness and that, that place we go sometimes, you know, it's been a long time for me, but we, we can go to that place. It will tell you, the enemy will tell you you're alone and no one understands and it isolates you.

Right.

So please, please, please. If anybody out there is watching this right now, raise your flag. Let someone know because we all, we take turns, right? Like if you need someone to be there for you and hold space and just help you along, you get to return that later. So please just don't go through it alone and think that it's somehow going to get better waiting for COVID to end or the government to come in or whatever. Just please raise the flags.

Right.

I know you guys just opened your national hotline, so can you please share that so that we can—

Absolutely. So we opened a national hotline that you can call or text, which is awesome, and that is 877-423-HOPE. 877-423-HOPE. And you can call or text that at any time. Now, this is not a crisis hotline, so if you are experiencing a crisis, if you are you know, experiencing self-harm or there's harm to others, we urge you to call the emergency. If you're having thoughts of suicide, we urge you to call the National Suicide Hotline because that is really, really important and we don't want you to be alone. But if you are looking for somebody to talk to and to begin sharing with and to begin opening up to, somebody to walk you through Rock Bottom, to meet you where you are at, but not leave you there. Give us a call.

Yes.

Begin a conversation. You can choose the extension that works for you and then let's go from there. 877-423-HOPE. Also, I just want to remind you that at Rock Bottom Hope, every single one of us here, we have got about 30 volunteers, we say we don't know you yet. We love you now. Meaning when you talk to somebody, you're going to find a judgment-free zone that's going to meet you right where you're at, flaws and all. Because guess what? We're not exempt. We may know how to use filters, but we're not exempt from the flaws. All right, they're there.

Yes. Oh my gosh, and I just posted that, that number in the comments too if anybody needs it. It's right there. We'll also post your links to rockbottom.org as well. You guys can be on that. But definitely, guys, check it out, you know, just even if not for you, for someone else, because you never know what people are going through. And, um, you know, I want to just ask, because, you know, I do have a lot of people who say eventually, like, I hear this dream of like, I want to start a nonprofit and give back to moms or drug addicts or offer opportunities or all of that. And, you know, like, you and I both know starting a nonprofit is a little bit— it's scary. There's a lot of tape that you can go through. I know you had some favor there, but share with me, you know, for someone who's thinking like, you know, I want to get involved, I want to do this, I want to do a nonprofit, what would you tell them in this moment?

I would say be able to articulate your vision and your mission well. Really know who you're serving and how you're serving, and be able to get it down on paper. If you need somebody administrative, I am not administrative. And you know what? I am blessed. I have favor because I am married to an incredible woman who gets stuff done. You know, and I know that God really shined favor on our organization, and a lot of things happened really quickly. In fact, I was just having a conversation with one of our board members yesterday, and I said, I don't know if I can keep up. It's so crazy. But God finds a way, right? And, and, and he finds a way through each of us. But here's the deal. Be able to get it down on paper. If you're not administrative, get somebody, whether it's your spouse, a really good friend, and go for it.

Mm-hmm.

You know, and you may not be able to quit your job. I was able to quit my job cuz my spouse made enough money to support us while I got to where I needed to be. But You can, you can still, you know, and a lot of people don't know this about me, but I actually do. I used to do a lot of janitorial and I only do one now, but I still do it twice a week. I go and clean toilets and it's, I'm not embarrassed about it at all. It doesn't bother me one bit. I go and I clean and I put my earbuds in and I have fun worshiping or listening to podcasts and I clean. So we got to do what we got to do, right? There are these things that we have to do sometimes in order to see our dream come to fulfillment, in order to see God's dream come to fulfillment. So my encouragement is go for it. Yes. Don't give up. Remember, Thomas Edison failed 1,000 times. But here is the deal. If you get it on paper and it looks good and it sounds good and there is passion behind it, You're going to get your 501 approved. My 501 is faith-based. It is a faith-based 501 nonprofit, tax-exempt, all the bells and whistles. You can find links to fill out the forms. You can get an attorney to do it for you if you want. We just did it ourselves. But you have it in you to do it. So if God lays on your heart to start a nonprofit, You know, find a good name. Find a really catchy name. Find something that you feel is going to grab your target audience. Find something that has meaning. And it doesn't just, it doesn't just have to be catchy, but, but think about it, pray about it. And it needs to be something that's going to grab people, that's going to grab at their hearts, that's going to tug at who they are. So, because you're going to want not only people to help, but you're going to want people to help you.

Yeah.

You're going to want people to come alongside and to grab onto it and run with you. I cannot tell you, Val knows almost everybody on my team. And I cannot tell you, I wake up every day and think I have the A-team.

Hmm.

I have the most amazing group of volunteers. And, you know, every time we add one on, I just think, wow, the team just keeps getting better and better, and it's so cohesive. Another thing to go along with it is remember when you were launching a nonprofit and you've got a team, I, 'cause I have 5 volunteers that don't even live in the state of Oregon. And so when you are doing it, you need to find a way and really be intentional because your team needs to be a family wherever they're at. Maybe they're all local, maybe they're not, but they still need to be a family. They need to feel like they are a part of the heartbeat. And I can tell you that there may be moments in time where some of my team feels distance.

Mm-hmm.

But they know at the core of it and at their heart that they are a part of a family. That is going to be with them for the rest of their lives. Even if they stop volunteering, we're still going to stalk them because we love them and we're going to cheer them on for their successes. So mission, vision, articulation, paperwork, IRS, and family. Good name.

I love it. Oh my gosh. And so lastly, I would love to hear, because I'm sure there's people watching this that are thinking, Oh my gosh, I'm on board. And you know, maybe it doesn't fit for you guys. That's okay. We're all going to be called to different things. But for people who are feeling called to support you and support this mission you're doing, maybe they want to be a Hope Coach. Where can they find you? How can they contact you? What's the easiest way? And where can they— like website, all of that, right?

So we are just in the middle of revising our website. We've got a huge photo shoot, which— are you going to be there? Are you going to be watching the Super Bowl? You might actually be watching the Super Bowl.

We're watching Super Bowl. Super Bowl's important. That's when we got engaged.

Okay, then that's cool. But, um, no, I saw, I saw you mention the Super Bowl and I was like, oh, they're probably going to be at the Super Bowl or watching the Super Bowl. But, um, we're going to be doing a big photo shoot this Sunday. We're going to be working on revising the website. So actually there'll be a volunteer portal where people can sign up there. There'll be some new forms that people can get a hold of. But right now, in this moment, the best way is to go visit our website, rockbottomhope.org, and just shoot us a message via the contact form. Let us know that you're interested in volunteering. Let us know that you want to become a monthly donor, like whatever it looks like for you to be involved. If you want to be a monthly Hope donor, oh my goodness, that would be amazing. Because here's the deal. We brought in a lot of money last year, but it— you— it is very difficult to make a budget on sporadic income. It's awesome, and I love one-time gifts. I will never say no to a one-time gift. But even like a small monthly donation can go so far because it helps us to plan, it helps us to map out the following year, and it really gives us a sense of what's coming in and how and what we can depend on. But you can donate there, you can sign up to volunteer there. If you just want to be on the prayer team, or if you want to connect with a Hope Coach, if you are somebody that's saying, you know what, I need someone to talk to, You can do all of it through the website, through that contact form, or you can call 877-423-HOPE and you can get connected to donor relations. You can get connected to a Hope Coach liaison. You can get connected to our prayer lead or a community ambassador. Whatever it is that you're looking for, we can connect you through our Hope Line and through our website.

That is so awesome. And I would love to, because I'm committed to seeing this be successful, I would love to offer for anyone that goes on there is when they go to the donation form, can they make a comment? In there? Like a— absolutely perfect. So anyone between now and February 15th, if you go into the contacts— you didn't know I was going to do this? I didn't know I was going to do this. I had no idea. I just played it. So if anyone goes in there and puts comment either, you know, Hope Summit or Val Nichols, put Val Nichols. Danny, can you let me know between now and February 15th? And I will enter you in a big $100 Amazon gift card. I'm going to personally donate that to— if you make a donation, I'm going to enter you. You're not only going to be giving back to this amazing organization, but I'm going to put you in a drawing. I want to thank you. I want to personally, you know, if you can get me that information, I'd love to personally write a thank you note to anyone who donates to your organization.

Well, I'm going to be going on there to donate then.

Awesome. Yeah, you're going to donate it. Yeah, let's do it for sure. But I would love to do that because I am so committed.

Thank you so much.

I'm so committed to this because, oh my gosh, you guys, like if there would have been an organization like this 12 years ago, I'm not going to doubt my journey because, you know, it's what I needed to do. But I'm just, I'm so committed to your organization that I will do that. So let me know who, um, go on there, sign up now. I put the link in the comments for you guys. And Danny, thank you so much. I just cannot even express my gratitude for you, um, for knowing you. I've known you now for, I don't know, 8 years, 8 and a half years. And like, our relationship has grown and meshed and we've gone different ways and all those things. But every single time I connect with you, it's like nothing's ever changed, right? So we love you. My husband loves you. I love you guys. And we are just— we are so excited. You know, we are just so excited for this. And I'm just so honored that you came in and we got to share your message and what you guys are doing.

Can I say one more thing?

Yes. Oh, absolutely.

Forgot to mention this whole time. Rock our swag.

Yes.

If you do nothing else, order some Hope swag because it is such a great way to promote and it's really good gear too. So get on there, let us know what you're looking for. We've got awesome pullover hoodies, zip-up hoodies, hats, all the stuff, all the things, great t-shirts. Rock our gear, rock our swag, and let people know that there's hope Even at rock bottom.

Yes, I'll put that link in the group here so people can find that. There's a super cute for the ladies out there. It's like this color, like my brand colors, like a pink. That's the one I want. And my husband looks so handsome in the camo one. So ladies, go get that for your husband. He looks so handsome in it. And I love that, you know, when I go to church, I walk in there and I see all the people with their RVH swag. So shout out to Desert For sure. So yes. Oh my gosh. Thank you so much, Danny.

Absolutely. Thank you. I appreciate you so much. And just a reminder to everyone out there, you may be struggling with something on the inside, you may not want to talk about it. But I can tell you that when you talk about it, you find healing, you let go of the power, you take the power out of your mind, and you let it go. And it doesn't have power over you. It doesn't have authority over you. So Reach out. If it is not us, reach out to a close friend, reach out to a family member that you trust, but begin to talk about it and understand that you are not alone. There is hope.

Amen. Thank you so much. Gosh, what a beautiful message. I cannot like emphasize that enough, you guys. Just, just please, people don't know. People don't know unless if you say something and have the courage and the strength to do it, because asking for help is was actually an act of bravery and courage. It's hiding in the darkness that, that keeps you isolated. So thank you so much, Danny. And I am so pumped. You've had so much love in the comments. So I'll have to go back and like answer all those, the love we're getting. So much heart, so much hearts. Awesome. Well, thank you so much. And I will definitely connect with you very soon.

Awesome. Sounds good.

Oh, Luella said amazing. Is that your mom?

That's my mom.

Oh, Andy coming on. Do you want to jump on with her as well for just a moment?

Oh, I can join for a moment. Sure.

Yeah, just for a moment and then we'll let you go. Cool. All right, guys. So check this out. We have 2 of the most powerful nonprofit leaders here in Central Oregon that are on here right now. We have Andy Buehler coming on as well. So we just wanted to say hi, Andy. Hi, Andy. Daniel, oh my goodness!

I am just about to log off.

Oh my gosh!

I'm just about to log off, Andy.

You look fabulous.

I wanted to tell you, Andy, that you are such an inspiration, and I look up to you so much, and your organization, and what you. is just out of this world. I love you. I pray for you monthly. And I know that— I don't know that you and I have actually met in person yet, but this is a sign that it needs to happen. So I love you much. You are awesome. Yeah, I love you. And, um, I pray for you monthly. So I'm gonna message you later, and let's do coffee. Let's get together. Let's just inspire the world together.

Right? All right, logging off.

Thank you guys so much.

See you later. Bye guys. All right. Hello, Andy. So it's crazy because you and Danny are these amazing powerhouse nonprofit leaders. We've literally gone from having, you know, rock bottom things, things happen in your life, to using that as a passion and a catalyst to then launch these amazing things where you're helping tons of people in the world. And I— it's so crazy that you guys both chose today because I didn't even realize that until yesterday. And I was like, oh my goodness, God is up to something here. And so it was so cool to have, you know, both of you guys sharing these great passions that you're doing. And so, um, I would love for you, you know, I know that you have this incredible story of going from having something really horrific happen in your life and, you know, not allowing that to keep you stuck or to keep you in anger, but to help you catapult forward where now you are like advocating for people and teenagers and sex trafficking. So, um, if you could just share with our audience who doesn't know you, if they're new to you, like, who are you in life?

Well, that's a really big question, but I'll do the elevator part of it. Okay. As you mentioned, you know, and rock bottom is such a great phrase. Thank you for that, Dan, because I grew up with people that definitely did not value life. From 6 months to 17 years old, I was trafficked by all immediate family members.

Wow.

family members and a few extended family members. And my birth mother was the primary sexual predator and kind of ringleader, so to speak. But, you know, back then, just after DIRT was discovered, they didn't have, you know, any place for people like me to go or kids like me to go. And so by the age of 5, you know, the physical abuse, the torture, all of the other things that went on, and the constant reminder that she could take my life out anytime she wanted. Drove me to the curb of my house. And on that day, this little tiny 5-year-old just looked up into the big sky because I was waiting for a car to jump in front of. I just wanted to kill myself. I wanted to be dead because then no one would touch me, no one would hurt me, and I'd be at peace. But as I looked into that huge sky, Val, I just felt like, wow, it's so big and so huge. Somebody made this, or who made this? And, you know, is there somebody bigger than the people hurting me? And so on that moment, I heard this voice in my heart, and it was just amazingly calm and comforting. And he said, this is not the plan I have for you. Suicide is not the way. Now, I was 5. I don't even know how I would have known that word, let alone what it meant. So even though I didn't know God, I felt God, and I trusted that voice. So, I went up to my garage and I leaned against the door and I simply said, you know, if you keep me alive, I will do whatever you call me to do. Now, obviously, I did not know how long the road would be, how painful, you know, the suffering and things that happened. A couple more times I tried to take my life before 16 and God just always prevented it. So, after she tried to kill me the last time, I finally got to college and I started, you know, really trying to find out who Andy was, you know, what, what my place was in life. And I thought, well, I'm going to go to law school because if I go to law school, I can save all the kids that were like me. And unfortunately, you know, legal justice is not always really justice. So I saw, you know, kids going back to abusive parents, and I thought, I'm going to go to business, go back to business with my degree, and I'm going to find a way to help kids You know, some way, somehow. So fast forward through, you know, an abusive marriage and a divorce, and then finally meeting, you know, the gift that God had planned for me and my husband, Ed. We started Beulah's Place.

Oh my goodness. So for those people who don't know yet what Beulah's Place is, like, gosh, what a powerful story. I've heard you talk so many times, and I guess like I never really picked up on the fact, like, I knew your mom was the predator and that there was some dangerous things. But oh my gosh, to be a child and think like, I could just— my mom could just take my life. Someone that gave you life could easily take it. Like, yep. Oh my gosh. And to have that— gosh.

Yeah, my first memory of her was being chased by her with a butcher knife in her hand, and she was chasing me at the age of 3. Around the house and my brother saying that she would cut us up if we touched her wallpaper. And so that's the first memory of mom, you know, and it didn't get any better from there.

Wow. And wow. Oh my gosh. What a— I, you know, like we never know. We were talking about this earlier about how, you know, we never really know what's going on behind the scenes in people's lives. And it's so easy for someone to see someone like you And you are, in all honesty, you are that— you hold a power within you, a very calm, like, confidence power that you hold. And you are so passionate, you guys, because I know Andy in real life. And we've had some interactions and you are so passionate about this cause. It could be so easy for someone to just look at the book cover of you and say, well, she must have had this easy life. You know, she's got this nonprofit and You know what I mean? Like, honestly, it could be so easy for someone to look at that and just think that you've, you've got it, you're okay. But, you know, like, to share that, that we don't know what's going on in people's lives.

Exactly. And we do look at the COVID so to speak. That's a great description. And I've actually had people who have heard me speak say, well, you don't look like someone who was abused. And okay, what does that look like? But I knew what she meant. And that's That is definitely his transformation in my life. Because one, I shouldn't be here. Two, you know, I shouldn't have the ability to speak. And the other thing that was going against me, Val, that a lot of people don't know and wouldn't know unless they knew me, I had a huge speech impediment from the time, you know, I was born up through college. I was laughed at. I was spat at. I had people make fun of me, even teachers and professors.

Wow.

And I just kept putting myself in the way of having to speak. Because I knew in my heart I had to matter or I had no value, if that makes sense.

Mm-hmm.

So, if I live, I win. And if I died or I didn't do well, then the evil people won. So, it was kind of primal, but it was very basic. And my whole life, that's what I've done is live forward, keep moving. Don't buy the lies that the world tells you, your friends tell you, you know, whoever, because it really is a choice. It's a moment-by-moment choice. It's a day-by-day choice. It's a week, a month, a year choice. By your choice to choose, how am I going to make this day best? How am I going to make this day better for someone else? Even if I feel lousy, even if, you know, I have a life that bites right now, what can I do? Can I smile at the coffee person that hands me, you know, my coffee? Can I be kind to the person at the big box store? Can I send a text to someone who might not expect it from me? And maybe that text is what they've been waiting for all week. So that's kind of what we brought. And when Beulah's Place started, you're right, my passion for these kids on the streets— because the kids we rescue— and for those who don't know, Beulah's Place rescues at-risk homeless teens off the streets of Central Oregon, and we've even helped elsewhere. But these are the teens that choose the streets because it's safer than what they're running from, whether it's abuse, extreme abuse, neglect, trafficking, being preyed upon by some criminal predator for drugs or other things. They don't have anywhere else to go. They have nobody safe in their life. And so, we intercede. And, and what we do is once we reach out or they reach out and we find each other, we make sure that they get safe, they get stable. They have temporary shelter when we have safe houses available, and they graduate high school. 7 have gone on to college. You know, they give back. These kids are good. They don't know it because of the trauma and what has sent them to this streets where it is not safe at all. So that is why, you know, every child, every child 18 or under that we can help is the win for our whole community. But it's tough. It's very hard work and not a lot of people want to do it. So, you know, we, we just feel we have to stand in the gap for the future of our community.

Oh my goodness. I love that. And you know, like the thing that I think about that I hear sometimes that people are— because, you know, I too, I came from sexual abuse in my background. And I can't help but wonder sometimes, like, the adults that were around, like, why didn't anybody ever say anything? You know, like, I've struggled with that and I've come to peace with it at this moment. But, you know, I'm thinking about the people right now who are going, okay, yeah, maybe I know a teen or maybe I know a kid that is on the streets or they're struggling or something's going on, but like, I don't, I don't want to get involved. I don't know what to do. Like, what would you say to that person?

Well, a lot of times, Val, what I tell people is, first of all, find out, go to your local authorities, find out what they want reported, what you can report, what you would feel comfortable reporting. But at the end of the day, we all have that internal intuition, you know, male or female, it's there. And if you see something, say something, because it's better if somebody would have said anything If they would have— there were people who kind of thought something was going on, but in that culture in the '60s and early '70s, you know, they didn't have that awareness to actually do something or the confidence. Nobody talked about child abuse, let alone trafficking, which is kind of like organized child abuse. So for today, you know, if you do see something, say something. Don't be afraid to pass a note. There was a national story about a waitress who noticed a little boy who was beat up and sitting in the cafe, and she slid a note to him and, you know, he wrote something amazingly without the predator seeing that. And so he was able to get help. But there are small— there's signs, whether it's a physical lack of— I never gave people eye contact, or you notice that maybe the child or the young teen with an adult, they don't seem to quite match. Maybe that adult is very controlling or very protective of that charge that they have because they don't, you know, obviously want anyone to know what's going on.

Mm-hmm.

You know, if you hear somebody verbally abusing a child, that's as bad as anything. So feel free to please step up or at least say, hey, you know, is everything okay? Can I help with something? It sounds like you guys are, you know, uh, under a lot of stress is what I use. You know, not the fact that, hey, you're abusing your kid, but you have to approach it with a little bit of of diplomacy, you know, unless you actually see them beating the child, and then of course call 911. If you see kids locked in a car, you know, I saw 2 toddlers locked in a car with the windows up. I called for help because who leaves them in a huge parking lot at a big box store like that? There was a baby in the car seat and a 2-year-old, maybe a 3-year-old girl freaking out, understandably. So So, you know, as a community, we just need to be more aware. We teach our kids about, you know, just say no to drugs. We give them sex education, but we don't teach them about being aware of their surroundings, you know, and who they're with and what adults they're with. And do we check out, you know, are there background checks for the teachers or the coaches or whoever is involved with your child? Things like that.

Oh my gosh, that's so huge that you say that. And I think that that's something I'd watched a study not very long ago how they were talking about how people can be so checked out because now everybody's walking around doing this and, you know, like—

Exactly.

You know, the kids are doing that and they showed how easy it was. They were doing this like street study where how easy it was for someone to come up and just grab a teenager. And I'm not trying to be sad or depressing when I say this, but you guys, like, this is just the awareness and the reality of what's going on. There are teenagers who disappear all the time.

Absolutely. And, and a lot of times communities write them off as, oh, they're just runaways, they're rebellious. That is not the case. I mean, there are ads out there offering teenagers, hey, come do yard work for cash, or, you know, learn to be a photographer or be a model or whatever, that lure these teenagers who are very industrious and want to work and want to, you know, have some you know, spending money of their own into traps. And also, we know, Donald Washington, who's the director of the U.S. Marshals Service, every 40 seconds in America, including our area, a child under the age of 18, 18 and under, goes missing. They're abducted. They're physically abducted. So even if a teenager may be having a rebellious moment and maybe they, you know, they walk down the street or They're not looking to be taken. They're just trying to figure out life and their hormones and their immaturity and their transition, trying to get to maturity. They have all that going against them. So if they make maybe a bad judgment, that does not deserve, uh, the end result of being abducted.

Oh my goodness, that is— that's shocking. And I know that with— you know, it's interesting, we're doing this interview and Super Bowl's this weekend because I've heard Super Bowl, maybe not this year because it's COVID, but I think you still draw the crowds. Super Bowl is one of the highest trafficked events in the United States.

Not just trafficking, highest for domestic abuse, people between alcohol and testosterone. And this is my team. And if they lose, my identity is lost. It is horrific. Any huge event, any convention, think about even Disneyland or other places where there are large crowds, you really cannot let go of the sight of where your child is. Even a young teen, they want to be adults. But again, if we take the time to create awareness, not paranoia, awareness in our children, they will be less likely to rebel against— say, hey, I really don't think that's a safe thing for you to do, to, you know, go over here by yourself, or keep, you know, keep in my sight, or whatever it is. But these large areas, how often does a parent think about a child, or I should say like a preteen, who says, Oh, I just need to go to the bathroom, or I just want to go get a Coke with my friend. It seems innocent enough, but the predators count on that. Doesn't mean you lock them to the chair. It just means that you have to take the time and say, you know what? That's a great idea. Let me go with you. Right? This way they have their dignity, but you have the protection.

Oh my goodness. You know, I know how real it is because I grew up in Portland, Oregon. And I remember being, you know, being a teen, my girlfriend and I, we were on 82nd Street waiting for the bus. bus going to the mall. I was probably 11, maybe 12. And I remember, you know, at that time you're starting to rebel, wear some makeup. And obviously we don't know how to do makeup well. There was no TikTok or tutorials back then. And so like I remember a guy approaching me and it didn't even land for me until years, decades later that he came up and he was like, are either one of you guys working girls? And we were like, what? We're 12. We don't have jobs. He's like, are you working, girls? Are either one of you working? And we're like, no, we don't have jobs. We're 12. But you know, like, that's it. It's happening. And years later, at like 28, I had a guy follow me. I was on the MAX and he ended up following me to downtown Portland and followed me into an alleyway because he thought maybe I was a prostitute for whatever reason. I was in beauty school at the time, so I had a lot of makeup on or whatever. But It's so real and it's happening. And it's crazy how we can pretend like it's not, but it's so real. And you see that all the time.

Absolutely. And Val, you're right. You don't have to look any particular way. If a predator sees product, which is what they see kids as, and now they have found or they are using tandem teams. So a male and a female, think about Epstein and Maxwell, right? He had a female who garnered trust. She looked good. She had a great job. She wanted to mentor girls, you know, whatever. So it seems like a very natural thing. Hey, I want to be like her. You know, I want to spend time with her. And with groomers, as we, as we call them, they want to create a trust factor. They want to, you know, find a need with maybe somebody who's not Either being watched well, or maybe they're a little bit older, 16, 17, 18, right? They're going to malls or they're looking for jobs, or maybe they feel a little lost. Maybe they don't have a great family situation. So they find that vulnerability. Then they do things to create trust. So one of our girls, for example, you know, mom was gone 6 days a week with boyfriend, you know, and no dad. The dad had been the violator. He's out of the picture, but she's left home alone from like 12 to 16 years old. And so, you know, along comes an older, a 30-year-old. I'm not going to say 30 is old, but, you know, an older woman to a 17-year-old girl who, you know, buys a little present, you know, buys lunch, you know, kind of buddies up. And then slowly but surely, the abuse and the process of either trafficking or enslaving that young girl begins to happen. And it— I can say for certain it does happen in Central Oregon, regardless of what any law Fort Glenn Authority says, we know. We have many, several organizations here. So the point is, is that if we as a community have discussions, if we can talk about it openly, calmly, we can save more kids and we can have less kids running out of the homes, out of the schools, and being abducted. That's my prayer. That's my hope. So you're right. Between, um, speaking, uh, interviews, radio, TV, whatever I can do out of Beulah's Place. We created Voices Against Trafficking, which is kind of the international expansion of what we're doing for awareness. But we want every voice to matter because human trafficking is 21st century slavery, whether it's labor or for sex. And we know that the majority is for sexual purposes, although labor is also very huge. But in the U.S., if we don't as a community get together on this, And work together, it will be the number one illegal activity in this country in a couple of years.

Oh my gosh. You know, it's so crazy because I look at the world today and the way that society kind of is. You know, you have a lot of these like Instagram models. And I know that there's a lot of younger kids who, when you ask them, what do you want to be when you grow up? They're like, I want to be an influencer. I want to be on YouTube. I want to be on all these things. And, you know, having been in my 20s, I did a lot of modeling and acting, and I would have these situations where photographers would approach me and I would get that red flag. Like, they'd be like, come to my house. And I remember, I mean, sorry, Mom, if you're watching this, but I remember one time, one time I went to this photographer's house that was like, you know, so legit and had all these things. And there was a woman involved. When you said that I was like, like, huh, there was a woman involved who wanted to show me the ropes. And so I show up at this place. And again, Mom, I'm so sorry if you're watching this. But like, there was cocaine laid out. There was alcohol. And it was obviously not a professional studio. I got the biggest red flag and I made some excuse that I had to go. But, you know, for all the kids out there who are like, you know, looking for that modeling opportunity, want to be on Instagram, want to be on YouTube, want to be an influencer, What advice would you tell them, like, as far as, like, keeping safe? Because there's a lot of not all that glitters is gold, like you just said. And I didn't even think of this, but those ads out there for, like, oh, looking for a high school kid to mow my lawn or this or that, like, that's disguised as something good.

That is disguised. And, and because it seems like a perfectly innocent thing. And so for the young people I get to talk to, I tell them, if you want to find odd jobs, You know, talk to your neighbors, talk to friends you trust, you know, go to the churches. I'm sure they know people who need, you know, help like that. But, or organizations like ours, we help find work for kids all the time. May not be, you know, their dream job, but it'll be a job to start them out with. But again, buddy system, there has to be some kind of code or word that maybe when you're with your friends and you want to go to this party, you have a trail. I kind of think of like the CSI shows, right? your trail. So before you even leave, you know, your home, your apartment, whatever, what is your backup plan if you're in trouble? Do you text something? And what if they take your phone? What else can you do? So we want to make sure that our kids are prepared. We want them to have freedom and to grow up, but at the same time, we have got to give them some kind of parameter of safety or bumper pads in case they do get into trouble. I would tell them never get into a car, even with someone your own age, if you don't really know who they are. Because here's what happens, or here's what happened, you know, to one of the girls. A young guy, high school, there is 17 years old, he asked her out for a Coke, right? Let's go to Target, we'll do some shopping, or, you know, we'll go look and I'll buy you a Coke and we can get to know each other. Sounds pretty innocent. You know, that's a teenage kind of thing to do. And so she did. But when they get there, he suddenly is not feeling too well. And so he says, hey, you know what, I'm feeling really sick. Do you mind if I call one of my guys, one of my friends to come get you? And she's kind of stuck, right? Because she didn't really tell mom where she was going. But mom was smart enough to have sewn her phone into her backpack. And so the boy ends up leaving. His friend comes with another friend. That girl's in the car and over a state line in less than an hour.

Wow.

Oh. Thankfully, before the phone went dead, they were able to find her because obviously she didn't show up at home. Mom got concerned, but the mom did what she should have done. And so they found her, but she never went home the sweet 17-year-old she was when she left that day. So very innocent maneuvers, and not everybody is a predator. I want to make sure people know not everyone is a predator, but they look like everyone else you know. It's not the kind you see in the movies where they're a little disheveled and, you know, grungy or international or whatever. The average profile is someone who looks as good as you do if they're a female, Val, or they look like maybe the dentist or the schoolteacher or the coach. And so we have to really know who our kids are with. And you send them out, you know, if you send them on like a sports trip, if you can't be there, then again, what is their safety net? What's the backup plan or the signal when you know your child's in trouble?

Yeah, and you know, that's a great— I love that you said that. And I wonder, you know, because I don't want to make parents, you know, live in fear or be scared or anything, but I do want to bring the awareness and the preparedness.

Yes.

What can a parent do if they're hearing this right now and they're thinking, you know, God forbid that ever happens, but what kind of safety things can they put in place Before it happens? That let's say they don't answer their phone or something goes on, you get— because moms get that feeling. I remember my mom would always have that feeling when something was going to happen to me. I don't know how, but she would literally like, she'd be there. If you get that feeling, like what kind of, as far as like maybe setting something up on a phone to track or like what kind of safety things can people put in place?

Well, I am not tech now. I'm just going to say that up front, but I know that a lot A lot of parents out there are. I learned from our kids, like, how do you do this? So if there's a way to track, absolutely have that. Like, I think there's kind of a family find your, you know, find where you're at kind of app. And so that's definitely a good idea. Again, if they take the phone, maybe have a backup phone, a cheap little flip phone or something that you can text on hidden somewhere else, you know, especially if they're going away. But let's say they can get to a phone and they can Then some code, whether you put 911 or blue or whatever, text it to your safe people, whether it's mom, dad, a brother, sister, uncle, whoever is safe. And have a couple of them because, you know, what if mom's working, she doesn't get the text right away, even if she has that instinct, you know, lots of things can happen. So have 2 or 3 safe people that your teen can count on. You know, pastor, teacher, whoever. After that, definitely, if let's say a phone is lost or taken from a teen, what would be the next thing? Like if, if they do have a chance to call, if there's a way to leave a trail, how much time are you willing to go without hearing from your teenager? If you know they're supposed to be here at 3 o'clock, I don't see them, I don't— I can't get a hold of them, how much time are you willing to wait before you put an alert out? Because better to find a teen that's okay than to not find a teen because they're not okay.

Yes. Oh my gosh, that's such a great— such great advice. And, you know, talking with Beulah's Place or about Beulah's Place, because I know you guys are doing amazing things, you know, and it's interesting because when I heard about the statistics, I don't remember if I heard about it from you or if I was talking to Pastor Gus Davison about it. But, you know, the amount of teenagers who are living in their car here— and we live, you guys, we live in a resort town. It's kind of like a suburb of a bunch of resorts. Small town, very like blue-collar workers, and it's a pretty quiet little town. However, there are teenagers living in their cars here in the area. And I know that you guys go out and you personally, like, you check on them. You make sure they're okay. Like, what can people do to support you, to come alongside you and the movement that you have?

Well, right now, as you said, because of the increase in homeless— homelessness and the increase in the influx of people coming to Central Oregon from different states for a variety of reasons, we have more than we can handle at the moment. And here's the thing, the kids, if you're 16, 17, you may be working in fast food, or you may be working somewhere, but your job has been interrupted, whether it's COVID or mandates or lockdowns or whatever it is. So housing is our main sticky wicket. It's the thorn in our side right now, because I had safe houses where people would volunteer a room for 3 to 5 months. We put a teen there, I would work with them every day, you know, or one of our volunteers. They have to go by a contract that they sign with us, you know, complete high school, get a job, save money. We need for you to be able to move on in 3 to 5 months from the safe house.

Mm-hmm.

And so that kind of, you know, went away last year with all of the, the pandemic. And I get that. But what it did was it left us with one emergency safe house where there's no long-term shelter anymore. So we had the building, unfortunately, with the governor's mandates, youth clubs, youth centers were kind of shot down. So we sold the building and now we're looking at getting a residential, whether it's a duplex or a home, you know, fixer-upper, where we can actually transition them once I rescue them into this transitional house and then figure out in the next 6 months of their life how they can move out and rent. Rent is impossible for most adults right now, let alone teenagers. Even if they're 18 or 19 and they've been working, they're competing against people that have children, you know, older couples are competing with an economy that they can't catch up with. You know, they've got to eat. They've got— so with the kids in the cars, as you said, sometimes we try and put them up for a week in a motel so they can have a break from the elements. Just because we're not freezing all the time, they still need to get out of the weather, stretch their bodies out, you know, eat regularly, hot food, not just whatever they can pick up. The other part of it is, you know, If there are people willing to rent their trailer or a weatherized place, we need that, or a tiny home, that would help us tremendously. So the kids that either live in the cars, live in the parks, or can sometimes find that couch to rent, we help them with the, the financial part of it. And like you said, we try and make them as comfortable as possible until we can get a better situation. What we really need is a shelter. for youth because the suicide rate has skyrocketed, you know, with the lockdowns. And these kids are giving up before they even have a chance to know their future and the hope that God has given them. But we have no way to help them if there's not a central place where we can minister to those needs and help them with the psychological part of being a teen that really has no family, that has nothing safe around them. And they're just trying to survive.

Oh my goodness. So how can people help? I mean, I know, I'm sure that everyone watching is feeling that crunch. There's definitely a housing crisis here in Central Oregon. I know there is in several different areas, but let alone a teenage person who doesn't have the emancipation or the ability to rent a place. So how can people help you with that? How can they support you?

Yeah, what they can do is go to beulahsplace.org, B-E-U-L-A-H-S place dot org, beulahsplace.org. The great thing about that is there are helplines. So if you do find somebody or you're not sure, you can ask questions. There's all kinds of numbers listed. There's a teen hotline and a national hotline. So that's one way to help is have those numbers handy, put them in your phone in case you run across anyone. Or someone who's having trouble. The second thing is obviously, you know, donate. For the last 13 years, we've been all volunteer-driven. We're finally going to bring someone on this year because we've grown so much and I'm a little bit too old to handle it all myself. But we have great volunteers. And so the dollars go directly to the programs to help them get started in college, to help them get clean cell phones that, you know, the predator can't find, and to do basic things. like even underclothing, new underclothing, not something they get from a thrift store, stuff like that. Work shoes for the boys, you know, who are working outside, that's expensive. So the dollars go directly to everything we do for the kids. And of course, you know, food, we have people donate, you know, beef and pork and chicken. We also have people that donate supplies in kind. So, you know, as a 501, we can give tax receipts. But one of the other things they can do Is, um, I wrote a book and this has part of my story and also part of some of the kids that we rescued right here from Central Oregon. They're not all trafficking stories, um, so we've interwoven, and at the end there's a really very good upswing. It's not graphic or gritty, but that book, if people buy it on amazon.com, the ebook and the paperback, 45% of proceeds go back to Beulah's Place and victims. But today, because of your wonderful 2021 HOPE program, Val, if people want to donate $50, I will send them a signed copy of my book. And they just have to put, you know, 2021 HOPE, and they can have a book. And if they donate $100, they get 3 books. So there you go. Keep one, share one, and give one.

Oh my gosh, I love that. That is so generous. And yes, I will put that link in the comments as well. I just put beulahsplace.org as well. And what is— what's the hope, or what's the line that you guys have, the helpline?

Help, healing, and hope. So we help, Help them get healing. In doing so, they have hope. So Beulah's Place provides help, healing, and hope to teens. The 18 to 21-year-olds are the ones we can legally house, but we help the 13, 14 to 18-year-olds with everything except the housing because we're not licensed to do that. So we are going to build or buy or find a residential place this year. I feel God has that in the works, and we are inviting every business to be a partner with us, every individual in the community to be a partner with us. Because when these kids graduate— we have a girl buying her own home now at 26 years old in Redmond— it comes back to us in spades. They give back. All of the kids that have gone on to college who have wanted to, they've hit Dean's List. They are getting jobs that help others. And so it is absolutely phenomenal when you participate in helping us rescue Those who cannot help themselves. I love that.

Love it. Love it. And I would love to, because I am committed to this as well. I would love for anyone that goes on and donates or buys a book from you and puts hope or puts Val in the comments. I would love to enter them into a drawing as well. I did that with Rock Bottom Hope as well. And so if you could let me know, whoever donates and puts Val or hope in the comment line, Between now and February 15th, I'm going to put them in a drawing to win a $100 Amazon gift card.

Wow, that's great. Just, just in time for spring shopping.

So go out there and do it, you guys, because, you know, this is— it's actually, it's interesting because this is my birthday month and it's my starting my business anniversary. So I'm like, I get to give back.

And, you know, thank you.

Yeah, I love what you guys are doing. And I just want to incentivize people to, you know, get, get in the cause, get into action, because, you know, there's— we can always do something. Always. Even if— well, anyway, go ahead.

Absolutely. I was just going to add one more thing because you got me so excited. Now I want to add something. For, you know, anyone who does make any kind of donation, whether you want the book or not, We are going to have what we call a radiothon coming up in April, which is Child Abuse Awareness Month. And so if you're a business or have a business you want to promote, we will make sure you get promoted somehow, some way on that. If you do that, do what Val says, you know, put Val or put Hope in the donation line and make sure we have a great email or phone number for you, and we will make sure that we contact you and say, hey, Hey, this is coming up. You donated. We just want to give you the opportunity to be mentioned. You know, da da da da da. It's just we like to help people that help our kids.

Yes. Oh, it's like a like when my husband was saying last night, he's like, "You always create these win win win win win situations." I'm like, "That's what's great about it, right? Like we get to do that, and I'm interested in partnering with you in that in April.

So let's let's definitely do that." I do have a okay.

You're running through my mind. I'm like, "I need to connect with you. I want to connect with you because I have some." some things. I think, you know, one of my clients, Elena, and I think that—

Yeah.

Yeah, we've had ideas and thoughts that we have had, but I am so grateful for you. And, you know, I just want to share this because I'm feeling called to make this point that, you know, I, you know, we are both sexual survivors, sexual abuse survivors. And, you know, for me, it took me a really long time to say it out loud, much less actually admit it to myself because I carried so much shame, so much guilt. And I just want to say to the person who's watching this, because it happens to males and females, like it's both.

Definitely.

I just want to say, you know, for the person who's watching this right now, and if they're feeling that guilt or that shame or they're somehow blaming themselves for that, what would you say to that person right First thing is, it is not your fault, okay?

Whether it's a sexual assault or abuse, trafficking, any of that, pedophilia, whatever, it is not your fault. And God loves you. I love you. I know Val loves you, even if we don't know you, because we know the heart that you have. And you are strong enough to get through this, because if you're watching, you are still here and you still have an amazing purpose, an amazing hope. Yet. And if you need help with that, you email Beulah's Place. Go to my site. You can send me an email and just say, you know, I, you know, I need help, or, you know, pray for me, or whatever, or, you know, I'm struggling. We are here as a community, but survivor leaders like, you know, Val and I are, and many other people, we are here to help you get to the next step because you did not Cause that pain. You did not ask for it. My primary sexual predator, my birth mother, just passed a month ago, and I have to tell you, it was like this release, and no longer can that person physically show up anywhere in my life.

Mm-hmm.

But a lot of victims don't get to see that. But either way, today is the day that you can change that. Today is the day I want you to know you have value. You have worth and you are so important to our community that we need you. So please don't give up. Look up and look at your future.

Oh my goodness. That was so beautiful. Thank you so much for donating your expertise, your wisdom, your strength. I am literally like, I'm going to cry right now. Like, this is so, it's so beautiful. And I am like, thank you so much for coming on here and just saying yes to showing up and, you know, being raw and being vulnerable and just using your story to help others. Like, oh my gosh, it is beautiful. Thank you so much, Angi.

It has been an honor and a pleasure. I was going to cry with Dan's story. I am so sorry what happened to you. And, you know, I am sorry for anyone watching that anyone would hurt them. But, you know, people make their own choices. But today, all of us together, we are making the choice to keep moving and not buy the lie.

Amen. Thank you so much. I will let you go because I know you're busy and you've got a lot of things going on. But I definitely, you know, let me know who comes in and I would love to connect with you soon. So let's connect for sure.

Yeah, you got it, sister.

All right. All right. Well, thank you so much. Bye.

Bye.