Candi Milo is one of the busiest actresses in voice-overs today and is honored to have taken the mantle from the legendary late June Foray as the voice of Granny for all of Warner Brothers Animation projects. Milo is a successful actor and Annie Award nominee best known for voicing Dexter in Dexter’s Laboratory and The Flea in Mucha Lucha, along with literally thousands of other well-known characters. Her recent memoir, "Surviving the Odd," covers the topical concepts of how we deal with people experiencing homelessness as well as those with mental health problems as seen through the eyes of a child. She learned by watching how the outside world treats people experiencing homelessness vs. Her own experiences of living with people experiencing homelessness while growing up. She is a passionate advocate for people dealing with mental illness and homelessness
Amy Denhart: Effective Messaging Strategies for Housing as a Solution to Homelessness
Amy Denhart is the Director of Funders Together to End Homelessness San Diego (FTEHSD) at Catalyst, where she supports FTEHSD's strategic grantmaking and advocacy in systems change and permanent housing opportunities to reduce homelessness.
For the past 22 years, Amy held positions in fundraising, public policy, and community engagement. During more than a decade as Director of Public Affairs for Planned Parenthood, she worked with donors and the Board of Directors to advance public policy in support of reproductive health care. Prior to that, she was Area Director for US Senator Barbara Boxer, serving as the Senator’s liaison to the San Diego community, connecting constituents to the Senate and other government bodies. Just prior to joining FTEHSD, Amy worked closely with the City of San Diego and County governments as the lead finance and contract management staff for a local community engagement and design firm. She has served on the City of San Diego’s Parks and Recreation committee and is currently a board member on the Regional Task Force on the Homeless.
Gregg
At the University of Washington, Gregg enjoys teaching courses in housing, economics, and finance at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. He maintains an active research agenda focused on housing policy, housing markets, housing affordability, and homelessness. Gregg is also actively engaged in a wide range of community efforts to address the acute housing crisis
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Anna & Officer Ferry
Anna is a licensed social worker and member of Interfaith’s Homeless Outreach team, who works closely with Officer Ferry of the Oceanside Police Department’s Homeless Outreach. The H.O.T. works closely with several service providers to help accomplish this goal by connecting these individuals with the various resources that are available to them to assist them in finding permanent housing.
Dane
Dane White sees opportunities for helping one another through challenges and improving our local communities. He joins us today sharing his very personal journey overcoming homelessness, addiction and mental health challenges. Dane shares what always got him through the tough times was knowing someone loved him and cared. Dane can trace his lineage in Escondido back for five generations and is an active business and community member locally. He is hoping to help more people like himself overcome obstacles and embrace opportunities. https://www.danemwhite.com/
Isaac
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