Isaac came through Interfaith twice, and has now been sober for over 20 months (longest duration in over 20 years). In his own words, “the biggest turning point was deciding to stay sober no matter what was going on, and realizing I did not have to be miserable the rest of life. Seeing my own strength. Taking the first step was hard and then once you hit a stride, nothing stops you. Interfaith is a safe place and everyone treated me like family.”
Gary
Gary Warth, journalist with the San Diego Union Tribune and San Diego resident since the 1970’s, brings years of storytelling centering homelessness throughout the region, and a variety of beats since 1989. One of the stories Gary shared in our conversation was his recent coverage of Dr. Gregg Colburn’s recent book, Homelessness is a Housing Problem. You can read Gary’s July 2022 article about homelessness in San Diego that he references in our conversation: https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/homelessness/story/2022-07-11/new-book-links-homelessness-city-prosperity
Mei Bautista/Humanitote
Mei inspires all of us at Interfaith. In Mei’s own words, she “suffered bouts of homelessness throughout her life and has managed to obtain secure housing and push forward through many years of trauma since childhood. “ In 2020, Mei opened Daydream, a gift shop located on Grand Avenue in Downtown Escondido, and launched a separate line selling her handmade “Humanitote” bags. For every bag sold, Mei donates a Humanitote bag to Interfaith filled with toiletries which are given directly to Humans experiencing homelessness. As a business owner, and Interfaith partner, Mei furthered her work by collaborating on an ongoing fundraising event called Breakfast & Bags “for a unified effort in helping Interfaith help our houseless neighbors in need,” at Sunny Side Kitchen in Escondido where she launches each new Humanitote Collection at the event. We are grateful to Mei and Sunny Side Kitchen for their support! Breakfast & Bags are held on the second Saturday of each month from 8am-12pm. Join us in supporting Mei by visiting her store, Daydream in Escondido, and supporting her Humanitote project at https://www.daydreamhere.com/page/humanitote-project.
Monique
Monique is resilient. She is a mother of eight, has many years’ experience serving as site supervisors for children’s centers, and the tables turned when her husband became disabled and the birth of a baby left the family without income. Over 10 years ago, Interfaith helped pay for rent, and steered her toward educational options. Monique shares with us her turbulent journey overcoming homelessness, domestic violence and losing custody of her kids. Monique is deeply inspiring, resilient and strong and is achieving great goals in supporting families and children overcoming trauma. “Our past does not define us, our past strengthens us to learn from our different experiences, to help others, it’s empowering, and you can do great things in the world.” Indeed, Monique is doing great things in the world.
Josh Roberts/ Change Your Mind
Josh Roberts
Join us in listening to Josh’s inspiring personal and professional journey in this podcast and at our upcoming Change Your Mind Mental Health Expo on September 10th. Born and raised in South Africa, Josh’s extensive travels include ventures deep into the state of mind called bipolar type 1. Josh combines his lived mental health experience with his education in psychology (BA from the University of South Africa) and theology (MA from Fuller Theological Seminary) to create a synergy between the inner and outer worlds. By combining insights from Western perspectives (science, psychology, and philosophy) with insights from Non-Western perspectives (traditional cultures, spirituality, and mysteries), the goal is to reframe your identity away from self-stigma, towards post-traumatic growth, and the potential gifts of your neurodiverse mind. Josh and his wife run Inspired Mind Mental Health. Josh works with Interfaith and NAMI in supporting those most affected by mental health struggles, including people who are unsheltered.
Join us on September 10th at our Change Your Mind Mental Health Expo so that you can participate in great workshops and presentations by leaders like Josh. Change Your Mind
Josh is an ongoing speaker at Interfaith’s Faith-Based Mental Health Academy. We provide a San Diego County sponsored training on Faith and Mental Health for faith leaders and mental health professionals. Learn what mental illness is, how to support those who are suffering, where they can receive treatment and how faith communities can become a part of their recovery. To learn more about the training and community education programs offered in English and Spanish, visit Faith-Based Mental Health Academy
Ashley's Hope
Lynn Solorzano, Founder and President of Ashley’s Hope. Lynn started this non-profit in memory of her daughter, Ashley. Ashley was only 25 and homeless. She passed away after 8 years living on the streets of San Diego. The mission of Ashley’s Hope is to provide people struggling with homeless-related issues dignity, respect and most importantly, hope. Lynn is providing all Interfaith locations with clean, gently used clothing on a regular basis.
Learn More About Ashley’s Hope: https://ashleyshope.org/
Randy's Story
Randy and his wife were living off of social security, in an unsafe housing situation, and on the verge of eviction. In 2021, Interfaith Community Services connected with them via our Home Safe Program, a homelessness prevention program for Seniors in our community.
When asked why Randy chose to be a guest on our podcast, he shared
“I was in a situation for a year when I saw no way out. I did not know about Interfaith, and I just can’t believe what they did for us, or that it was even possible. It was like a miracle. I get up every day giving thanks for it. Interfaith really takes good care of you and makes sure you are doing ok all the time. They don’t just say here you are…they make sure you continue to do ok.”
Contact Us:
interfaithservices.org/contact
Direct Download: https://traffic.libsyn.com/homelessinsandiego/Interfaith_Randy_final_1.mp3
This is our last episode for Season 2. We look forward to you joining us again for Season 3 this Summer!
Levi's Story (Part 2)
Joining us for this two-part podcast series, Levi Giafaglione reflects on his journey overcoming homelessness, his experience working in social services agency and exploring land investments. Levi invites us to consider how each of us can be change makers. If you have not already, tune into the previous podcast for a series you won’t want to miss!
Levi's Story
Meet Levi Giafaglione. Three years ago he started listening to our podcast and set a goal of one day being a guest and sharing his own experiences and reflections on overcoming homelessness. Levi has now made that goal a reality, and we are proud to be able to share his personal story and the various challenges he faced while living in “survival mode”. Tune in to hear about Levi’s struggles with homelessness and stay tuned for the next recording where he will be sharing his amazing success journey. This is a podcast you won’t want to miss!
giv4, Homelessness in San Diego initiative
Join us for an invaluable conversation discussing homelessness and giv4, an initiative of the Jewish Community Foundation San Diego and twelve curated local nonprofits confronting homelessness in San Diego. The goal of giv4 is to learn about homelessness, the affordable housing crisis and different solutions in San Diego County. Two of the twelve organizations receiving funding from this collective effort are Interfaith Community Services and HEAL, Homeless Experienced Advocacy & Leadership. Ollie Benn, Director of Philanthropy and Social Impact at Jewish Community Foundation San Diego, joins Greg Anglea and Vanessa Graziano, representatives of two of the organizations in this inspiring conversation you do not want to miss.
Contact Us: interfaithservices.org/contact
Interested in supporting Interfaith Community Services: www.interfaithservices.org/donate
Learn more about giv4: https://giv4.jcfsandiego.org/