Transcription of Growing Goodwill #232
Lisa: Today, I have with me an individual that is doing some really interesting and innovative things in a part of Maine that I think seems to be a hotbed of new and innovative things these days. This is Julia Sleeper who is the Founder and Executive Director of the Tree Street Youth Center in Lewiston. She was born and raised in the Bangor area and initially moved to Lewiston-Auburn as an undergraduate at Bates College. During her time as a student, she began connecting to the downtown Lewiston community youth through service learning opportunities afforded to her as a psychology and education major. Over the past 10 years, she has continued to build on these relationships providing after-school programming for the at-risk youth living in the downtown Tree Street neighborhood. There’s so much more to your bio than just this but this is a start. It’s really great. Thanks so much for coming in and talking with me today.
Julia: Yeah, absolutely. Thank you for having me.
Lisa: You grew up in the Bangor Brewer area. You went to John Bapst. You went to Bates for college and you’re still there.
Julia: Yes. I never left.
Lisa: What was it about Lewiston that’s so true to you?
Julia: I think Lewiston is just an amazing city. There’s lots of emerging new things happening all the time. In particular, what kept me was the youth that I started working with initially as just service learning opportunities in the community volunteering, doing different things just to get to know kids, help them with their academics. After that, after a while, it really evolved as my passion and what I wanted to do. I was working with students who are just so powerful and you can’t get enough of their energy and their ambition. That’s what kept me.
Lisa: You also have a master’s degree in leadership and organizational studies through USM at the Lewiston-Auburn campus. How is that intersected with the work that you do?
Julia: When I decided to go for my master’s, I was looking for a program that could be pretty versatile. I wasn’t entirely sure of the direction. I always had this dream to create a youth space or a youth center in Lewiston mainly because of the kids that I was interacting with and seeing. I always said I just need a building. When I was actually finishing my master’s, writing my thesis at the same time was when I was starting Tree Street not 100% knowing that I was starting Tree Street. What was great about that program is a lot of it is about being innovative and being creative and tackling different challenges with different versatile leadership qualities and ways in which you can look at bigger issues but break them down to tangible ways to create impact in different ways as leaders or as within organizations, how you can do that. It meshed really nicely.
Lisa: Tell me about Tree Street. Give an overview of what this program looks like.
Julia: Tree Street is a very exciting place. It’s very, very busy. We serve about 120 to 150 kids a day through the center. We do after-school programming, summer programming primarily for the at-risk kids living around the surrounding neighborhood which is in downtown Lewiston or the Tree Street neighborhood. We do academic support, arts and cultural enrichment activities which could be anything from visual arts to performing arts, dance or extending to the athletics, karate and different stuff like that as well as cultivating leadership and future aspirations.
One of our big programs is our branches program which is a college prep program where we work with, in particular, seniors but also in cultivating higher education aspirations. We work with seniors literally from application to moving to whatever kids need in order to get to that next step after high school. Tree Street’s really just a very youth driven place. The kids tell us and help us shape the programming, how they like it and what they’re seeing as a greatest need for themselves. Then, we just create a space where they can evolve it. It’s a very, very busy place. It is pre-K through 12 so any school age kid is welcome to come literally from when they start school till they go off to college.
Lisa: What type of interaction do you have with the local school systems and the local government?
Julia: We’re literally located across the street from one of the six elementary schools. We’re across the street from Longley Elementary right in the heart of downtown. We actually do a lot of collaborative activities with the various schools. We serve kids from across the entire district. Some of our activities are providing additional supports in the morning like both within schools and also at the center, in particular, for kids that struggle with more social, emotional, behavioral things going on. We have a unique perspective that we work with kids. We can see them in school but then we also see them out of school and leveraging those relationships that we’re able to establish with them has really intersected nicely with some of our school partnerships at all the levels.
Lisa: What is it that education actually does for kids? I know this is a very basic question but I’m interested in what your ideas are about this.
Julia: I think that’s a great question. I think for what we see happening for any individual but in particular with our youth, education just literally gives them independence. It gives them a tool to define who and what they will become and how. For a lot of our students, they can’t get enough. They want to try everything. With about 65% of the youth that we serve being of the immigrant and refugee families of the city, a lot of it is novelty.
Education sometimes is not just the basic math and reading and those kind of things but it’s building social capitals. It’s having interactions. It’s exploring the world around you. For us and our Tree Street’s philosophy of that type of education where it can span across not just the traditional subjects but also the social skills and the opportunities to just try something and see something for the first time, those are the powerful doors that open up opportunity for any kid or any individual really.
Lisa: What has that been like to work with people of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds?
Julia: It’s very exciting all the time. There’s always something happening, always layers of complexity that are very, very rich and really fun. The dynamics of part of our mission is creating unity across lines of difference. We serve kids from across the spectrum basically of any background and different languages. We’re up to 14 languages in the building right now which is exciting. It’s really one of those powerful opportunities to have conversation that a lot of the times, different people struggle with having because it is complex and it is difficult at times.
We really push at Tree Street to not only have those conversations but give space for the kids to have those conversations with each other, to learn about one another and to do it in a safe place where we can help facilitate and encourage the learning and the education about one another in a healthy way and in a way that doesn’t feel risky or doesn’t feel like, “Oh, maybe I’m not supposed to answer or ask that kind of question.”
We really create a very open environment. That’s why we’ve been really successful at engaging so many kids is everyone brings something to the table. As long as you’re coming in and putting your best foot forward, we’ll love you on your rough days, we’ll love you on your best days. That’s the mentality that’s created a really fun, positive environment even amongst all of the levels of complexity that exist form working with so many kids from so many different backgrounds.
Lisa: It’s interesting to hear you talk about the necessity of openness because I think that one of the things that I struggle with as a parent and talking about things like people with different cultural backgrounds, different ethnic backgrounds is sometimes I’m not even sure what language I’m “allowed” to use. I’m not even sure sometimes that I even want to open my mouth because I don’t want to be misconstrued as having something negative to say but I don’t know what to say.
Julia: Absolutely. That’s something that at any point in time, any parent in the world, even if it’s not about this subject matter, it’s one of those unknowns. There’s so many complexities of society now and in particular, around racial and cultural or multicultural identities and things like that. With the dynamics of this general society right now where these are hot topics, they are very complex and they are very overwhelming at times, I think those are completely normal feelings for anyone to have.
I think it’s naming them like that, “You know what, I don’t actually know. That’s a great question. Let’s figure out the answer,” sort of thing, that’s what we see as one of the most powerful pieces of when you do work with kids and when they do pose those really complex questions that you’re very honest. If you don’t know, you seek to search the answer out in whatever way it may be possible. I think that’s actually arming them with a better toolkit where it’s okay to not know something because no one’s expected to know everything. It’s okay to go and see your own answers. It’s okay to ask questions as long as it’s coming from a place of respect and love and really caring about the other person.
Kids are actually really easy. The kids have way fewer questions than we as adults typically tend to have about these types of subject matters. That’s something that’s also really refreshing is to see the kids as they interact and grow up and develop where they don’t necessarily see the differences until they’re older. Then, they start to understand the complexities of society and history and how that all intersects. If they have a strong base of really knowing individuals as individuals and really getting to know their friends, it sets them on a good path where when they do start to learn those complexities, they can be honest about them versus fearing them.
Lisa: I spent time with Tae Chong who works here in Portland. You’re nodding so you must know Tae. I think everybody must know Tae. We wrote an article about him for Maine Magazine and he’s going to be speaking at the upcoming Maine Live in March. The way that he describes growing up in Portland as one of the … I think he said one of three people of color at the time and the other two were his brothers, there’s some sense of, that he’s had to allude through some really tough stuff, some conflict, some sadness. He’s got a really positive attitude and he’s really worked to effect change but you could tell that it actually impacted him in a really profound way. You have the opportunity to impact the children that you work with in an equally profound way. That’s a big responsibility.
Julia: Yeah. I think all of those things that you just articulated that Tae experienced, I think, are equally experienced for a lot of youth in general but in particular, youth of color especially in a place like Maine where it isn’t necessarily common to, if you’re a person of color, to have someone who looks like you in the predominant culture. It just is not realistic to think that way. When you grow up in that kind of environment, I think some of the things that he cited like those are a byproduct of it. You’re existing in a world that doesn’t exactly represent you.
I think one of the things that we strive to do, in particular, at Tree Street to help support kids through those complex processes is having a very multicultural staff. People of color represent the majority of our staff and the leadership which I think is very, very unique in organizations or in particular, in Maine, as well as just being again like no matter who you are, being open to having that dialogue and recognizing that depending on who you are and who your own identity is, you may not fully understand what is happening but that if something is a reality to one person, it’s their reality.
That kind of mentality helps regardless of who you are to be able to encourage all of the kids to … Everyone can identify with particular emotions. Everyone knows what it’s like to be sad or to be lonely, maybe not because of the same factors like Tae was giving as an example but if you can identify with those kind of human aspects of things, it allows for that conversation to flourish and for that child to feel supported even if you can’t necessarily fully identify with the reasons.
We really strive to have individuals working at the center who actually can because that takes it to a whole new level. Then, they can share how they grappled with that type of experience as well which is it’s meeting kids where they’re at and then just taking it from there, letting them lead and dictate what it is they need because a lot of the times, even adults sometimes, it’s just to vent. Sometimes, it’s just to … “I just need to say this,” sort of thing or, “This drama happened today. I don’t really need anything. I just want someone to know and have that shared feeling.”
Lisa: I must tell you that in talking with you, I’m struck by how much you remind me of my friend, Hanley Denning who founded Safe Passage before she passed away but this was an educational organization for children in Guatemala who lived outside the Guatemala City dump. One of the things that reminds me of Hanley is your enthusiasm, is your enthusiasm and your positivity but also, don’t take this the wrong way, your youth. You are a young woman who has just jumped in here and really taken the reins in your hands and said, “You know what, this is something I feel so strongly about. I’m going to do something about this.” Not everybody has that. Where did that come from for you?
Julia: I’m actually not 100% sure. I came into Bates wanting to be a bio major and was going to be a veterinarian. That didn’t work out justifiably so but no. I think I realized when I was figuring out my path, I think what I realized was the world is complex. It’s messed up. There’s lots of negativity out there and lots of things happening. As I was trying to figure out the direction through college and through all these different experiences, I tried to seek what gave me the most joy. I realized that it wasn’t even necessarily the kids themselves. It was seeing the kids or anyone for that matter doing something for the first time.
It was just this amazing thing that I realized every time I got to witness a kid write their name for the first time or say their ABCs and in particular, the first placement I ever had was at Lewiston Middle School in the seventh grade English language learning class. These kids were 12, 13, 14 years old coming in and they could not even spell their name yet at that age. It was their first time going to school. Everything was a novelty. It was as challenging as that was, it was also this amazing experience and beauty that you could see in just the enthusiasm around doing something for the first time.
I think when I began to realize that that was something that fed me was being able to witness those kind of things, I was able to formulate opportunities where I get to witness that every single day which in working with kids, it’s almost a guarantee especially a whole lot of kids and especially kids from all different backgrounds because every day, you see them working through something. Every day, you see them challenging themselves. Kids naturally do this. They’re not afraid of anything so they try everything which can be to the dismay of others sometimes but it’s one of those things where if you can be a part of that and you can help encourage that and then show them or give them opportunities that blow their minds a little bit and let them know anything that they choose to do, they can do but being also brutally honest.
I also really love honesty. I think a kid can become whatever they want to be but they need to actually know exactly what it’s going to take. I think that kind of combination of all of that just emerged throughout my life. I’ve been very lucky in growing up in Maine how much I’ve been blessed with and been able to experience. I could go from fishing on a lake with my dad to coming to Portland and navigating the downtown and Old Port and going to a place like Lewiston where it was so uniquely different from my experience growing up in Bangor Brewer area but at the same time, it’s Maine.
You’re very nice to people. Everyone’s very open. Everyone wants to, though we can sometimes be fearing change, the reality is people really care about one another. I think all of that’s been poured into me from between my family and all of my experiences and my education that I was able to get. All of that came from Maine. I think that’s a big part of my spirit and then also just seeing where there was a really great need as well was really, really powerful.
Lisa: What type of an impact do you think that the work you’re doing at Tree Street has on the families of these children and perhaps the community at large?
Julia: I think the impact is really significant. One, just the fact that kids have a safe place to be is really, really powerful but as we’ve cultivated the students, in particular with our branches program, the college prep piece, we’ve had 100% graduation rate from our seniors for the last two years running. Last year, we had our all-time high. We had 95% college acceptance out of our seniors. Last year was a group of 28 seniors. Those are the pieces that, the ripple effects out further beyond just that one child getting into college. Then, the next child is expected in the family to go or the bar set gets set a little bit. It also shows other kids in the community even if they’re not related that that’s possible and that you can overcome all these complexities and challenges and all of that.
It’s also very empowering. One of our other programs is what we call Students Leaders. They’re high school youth who we hire on. It’s often their first job. They work as mentors and role models to the little kids. They get paid a small stipend but it’s a big deal to become a street leader. The idea is that it’s a role, it’s not a job. What they do inside the program or outside the program needs to be modeling the behaviors. Giving kids that, it’s really just an engine or an opportunity to demonstrate what they already have in them as leadership skills but giving them that title, giving them that opportunity and that little pocket money is a really big deal. They can lead to really significant ripple effects where a lot of the pride in the community and a lot of any fears that may exist about diving in or trying something different goes away because you’re doing it together.
I think the impact we’re having is really positive and really great. We are a relatively young organization. This is just our fifth year. We’re very progressed in different areas, that we’re still like we’re a baby in other areas but that’s something that as the programming keeps evolving, we’ll keep being able to see those ripples continue out. Our first four-year college attendees are graduating this coming spring. That’s we’re starting to see how those choices of some of those young individuals then are going to start to come back into the community as young professionals now with their degrees and armed with lots of excitement and passion around the community.
Lisa: Julia, how can people find out about the Tree Street Youth Center?
Julia: We have a website. If people want to visit us there, it’s www.treestreetyouth.org. You can also stop in if you happen to be around. We’re at 144 Howe Street in Lewiston. You can call and set up a tour if you’d be interested in coming and checking out the center. Our number is 207-577-6386 or obviously, you can like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter, any of the social media outlets.
Lisa: It’s really been a pleasure to talk with you today and I thank you so much for the work that you’re doing in Lewiston. I know that it’s going to be very interesting to see and gratifying to see what happens with all of these kids as they continue to go up and continue their education and work in the community. We’ve been speaking with Julia Sleeper. She’s the Founder and Executive Director of the Tree Street Youth Center in Lewiston. Thanks so much for coming in today and the work you do.
Julia: Thank you for having me.
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Lisa: My next guest is an individual that Maine Magazine has known about for quite some time. Her name has been floating around there, someone that we’d like to talk to. It’s my good fortune as the host of Love Maine Radio to actually get to speak with her first. This is Anna Eleanor Roosevelt who is known as Ann. She’s the President and CEO of Goodwill Industries in Northern New England, a not-for-profit social enterprise with over 2,000 employees serving Maine, New Hampshire and Northern Vermont. Goodwill operates diverse retail, healthcare and workforce services that help individuals and families find stability through work while extending a hundred year practice of letting nothing go to waste. Thanks so much for coming in today.
Ann: Thank you. It’s great to be here.
Lisa: Ann, you have a very interesting background. You have an interesting educational background, an interesting employment background, interesting family background. There’s lots of good stuff to talk about here but first, I want to talk about Goodwill and why you went from Goodwill after being at The Boeing Company in Chicago where you were the Vice President of Global Corporate Citizenship. Why did you decide to do that?
Ann: There is a little story there as there is in life. I retired from the Boeing Company and was set on moving to Maine to be near my grandchildren. The search firm, who was in charge of the Goodwill search, happened to be at a gathering with where my brother was. She said, “Do you know anybody who’d like to move to Maine?” He said, “Yeah, I do.” I was introduced to the search and came out and talked with the board and talked with the senior team. While I hadn’t really planned on having a job, I was just so attracted to the opportunity once I got here and was talking to the people who were doing this work at Goodwill. It has proven to be everything and more than I thought it would be.
Lisa: I was impressed when I went to do some more research on Goodwill because I’ve been donating to Goodwill for years.
Ann: Thank you.
Lisa: I have bought things at the Goodwill stores. I’ve seen really the expansion, really nice facilities, the drop-off places but I had no idea that there were so many other things that Goodwill was involved in.
Ann: I sometimes think we are the first social enterprise because we’re over 100 years old. Here in Maine, we’re over 80 years old but the Goodwill concept of having a business for a social purpose started a hundred years ago when a minister at the Church of All Nations in Boston in the settlements there saw immigrants who were hungry and cold and they didn’t have good housing and no one would hire them. They had no way to support their families. They were in a terrible place. He wanted to help. He went up to Beacon Hill with a burlap bag and a horse and buggy and asked for donations. Then, he gave those donations out of their generosity to the people who didn’t have much but it didn’t solve their problem.
When he understood that, he started a business that created jobs of collecting clothes and household items, sorting them, repairing them and then reselling them creating jobs all along the way. That is a social enterprise. That’s been the model for all Goodwills even though every Goodwill is an independent organization. That business model, serving a social purpose, is what drives us here at Northern New England.
The revenue from our stores which we try to make a really pleasant environment for our workers as well as for our shoppers, that revenue goes to support our workforce services that are the core of the philosophy behind Goodwill which is that if you have a job, you have a means of supporting not only yourself but your family and your family has the means to be a member of their community. The community then grows and flourishes and becomes sustainable. That’s the virtuous circle that we employ.
We have, over the years, expanded the work that we do including into the healthcare arena where we do really wonderful work in neuro-rehabilitation for persons with acquired brain injury. That work is expanding as we recognize brain injury more and more as a science in that growth. We also have a network of wonderful homes, safe and loving homes for persons with severe disabilities who can’t be at home with their families. We provide wonderful living arrangements for them so that they can develop as much as they can. Some of them even go out to work from their homes. It allows their families to be able to work themselves instead of staying home to care for a person who needs a lot of care. We bring that professional and loving touch to their lives.
We also have day services for persons with disabilities, again, focused on helping them to live their fullest life which is focused on community. We don’t just roll them away somewhere and keep them occupied for a day. They are out in the community being helpful. They do projects in the community. They also have fun in the community. They also take care of their own personal needs in the community. They go shopping. They do their grocery shopping and keep themselves on task and learn how to be a part of the community. We have a wide variety of activities that are supported and from the beginning, have been supported by the revenue from our retail stores.
Lisa: From what I understand, you also do work with veterans.
Ann: We do.
Lisa: Also, you help people to get involved with farming.
Ann: Yes. The farming program that you’re talking about is called AgrAbility. It is a partnership with the University of Maine Extension. It’s funded by the Department of Agriculture. It is for farmers or people who want to farm who have been disabled perhaps in an accident or some other way that has made them have adaptive problems in their profession as farmers. We work with them to figure out what they need to be able to do in the job of farming. If it’s adaptive technology, prosthesis, learning new skills, learning different ways of operating machinery or doing other farm chores.
We do help about 400 people across the state in various ways to participate in agriculture, which is one of our state’s real claims to fame. A lot of those farmers are organic farmers which, again, I think is becoming a brand for the State of Maine. Farming is, working with the earth is often soothing for persons with disabilities. It’s very tactile and they know where they are. It’s a very good profession. If they have a sense for it, we can help them reach that goal.
Our veterans, we’ve always helped veterans in various ways but we had a new employee who joined the organization about the same time that I did who is a vet herself. She really brought to our attention that we could be a little more focused on the needs of our veterans because that has grown obviously over the last decade, almost 20 years. We did start really focusing on a veterans’ fund where we focused resources and we act as advocates on behalf of veterans who need just that little bit of help to get them along the way. Our veterans are very purposeful people. They want to drive their own lives but they face a lot of challenges when they come back from combat, some of them, physical, some of them, emotional or mental.
While the VA might help them with the clinical side of that, we can help them if there just is enough money this month to go to the dentist and they’ve got a tooth that needs to be taken care of. We can help them with that or if they need a new pair of glasses and they just don’t have that money, we can help them. That then helps them move along. We also are seeing a lot of our veterans in our neuro-rehab clinic with the acquired brain injury. Again, our goal is to help them reach the goals that they have for their lives and understand themselves in their capacity and their capabilities. We’re just honored to help them reach those goals.
Lisa: As you’re talking, I’m thinking about the many patients that I’ve had over the years for whom getting past the point of illness or getting past the point of traumatic brain injury or whatever it is that has caused someone to be incapacitated for some period of time or perhaps for always, that’s not enough. For people that I deal with, it’s fine to not be sick anymore or it’s fine to get past your acute brain injury but there’s something bigger. There’s something bigger about living one’s life, about actually having something meaningful to show up and do every day, about having a community to work with.
Ann: Absolutely. That notion about community is really important that often, when there’s been an acquired brain injury, they lose the community that they had and don’t really know how to get a community again. That’s one of the big areas of focus for our clients, to help them build that supportive network of not just from a clinical standpoint but from an understanding community, neighborliness kind of way that you and I know. It’s so important to our being able to function independently.
Lisa: It’s interesting to hear you talk about this too because in my clinical practice, I work with, and we have a very good clinical practice, a very good medical practice, and we work with teams of people that try to help with social issues but I’m not sure that anybody has ever said to me, “Oh, maybe you should look into Goodwill,” which seems like a no-brainer. I’m a doctor. I can help people with some of their clinical stuff. I can’t help them necessarily with that next step but it sounds like that’s what you’re doing. Now, I’m wondering why I didn’t know more about this before I came in to talk to you.
Ann: It may be a capacity issue. We are a not-for-profit. We operate with very thin margin. We move ahead as we can. We are finding that there is more need than we often have capacity. We work very hard to raise more revenue. That’s a role of the stores and our other businesses and we fundraise. We try to raise that money so that we can reach more people. We do get referrals from doctors and from hospitals but again, it may just be a capacity issue. We have two clinics, one here in Portland and one in Lewiston called WestSide in Lewiston and Bayside here in Portland. We would welcome any referral you would like to send us and we will do everything we can to help them reach their goals.
Lisa: Someone who works here at the magazines who suffered a stroke in his 50s is going to neuro-rehabilitation and getting some occupational therapy, Bruce Kast. I know he won’t mind me using his name because it’s been quite a journey for him. He’s so grateful for the work that he has done made possible by Goodwill. This is something that he never thought would happen to him. He’s been working with the Brand Company and Maine Magazine in 75 Market Street for 10 years. To have this happen to him so acutely and without any particular risk factors and know on the other side that there are people who can help him with this has been such a life saver for him.
Ann: He said to me, he said, “I had no idea that Goodwill did that. I just thought it was stores.” We’re really, really happy to have him be part of our family. We’re very happy that he’s doing so well. We’re glad that he has a broader view of Goodwill because that is one of the things that’s a challenge for us. We operate our business to raise the revenue but we’re not big self-promoters because we’re just busy doing the work. We also do a lot of our work in partnership with other organizations. We’re all there just working hard but we’re very happy to get people acquainted with what it is that we do so that we can help them. If we can’t help them, we try to connect them with who can.
One of our important programs is called Job Connection. It is a new approach to workforce development. For years and years, we’ve done workforce services that is place based in an office and we offer help to people who have challenges getting a job. We are the contractor for instance for WIA federal funds to help people find jobs but what we were noticing is that people who have challenges in their life, they don’t just have one challenge. If they’re without a job and they get a job, there are probably other things that are problematic in their lives. The question is if you just help them find the job, are they going to be successful in that job? What do they need to help them really find success? They probably need more support and attention beyond that first day on the new job to make sure that they can manage having a steady job, manage that responsibility.
We all know sometimes, you get up and you don’t feel like going to work. Instead of saying, “Well, I’m not going to go to work,” if you have support to retrain yourself and say, “Yes, I am going to go to work because it’s important and it’s how I build my reputation as a reliable worker,” then you’re going to be more successful. If you have a bad situation at home, if you are okay on the job but then you go home to an abusive situation or illness that’s beyond your capacity to deal with it or other elements of poverty, you’re going to have trouble holding that job and keeping it.
We developed this notion of Job Connection which is a team approach that works with these individuals on a one-on-one basis. This team helps them sort out what all their challenges are and deal with them. When they’re ready to get a job, this team stays with that person until they are sure and we are sure that they can be successful in that job. That’s a new approach. We had never done that before and we just started that. It’s really because we need to be committed to one another. If we really see the overall result of people being useful citizens and stable community participants, we have to help each other. You and I know, maybe we’ve got family or friends that can help us out when something goes wrong in our lives but there are a lot of people who don’t have that. We have to step up and offer ourselves to help people that don’t have that support so that they can find that fulfilling place of being on their own, stable and contributing to their community.
Lisa: This reminds me of a conversation that I had with a gentleman who had been homeless for a while. He had been working with Preble Street. He said that when you’re homeless, your goal is to find a home. You don’t often think beyond once you find a home what that’s going to look like. What you’re describing is that, is that like what is the next step behind? What’s now I need a job? Then, to keep a job, what do you need to orchestrate in order to make that possible. It sounds like it’s recreating a culture that somebody can thrive in really.
Ann: Exactly. I think that’s a really great way to put it. We work with Preble Street a lot and one of our partners is the Portland Housing Authority. We recognize all of those social determinants of health, housing. Do you have safe housing? What is your environment like? It’s not just only about your physical health. It’s also about the surrounding life that you lead. We seek out those partners that do the parts that we don’t do. Except for our group homes, we don’t do housing so we partnered with them. Then, we bring in the workforce services. If somebody has an addiction problem, we don’t do addiction counseling but we have partners who do. It’s how you can tell that a community is strong is if these pockets of goodness are working together and talking together to achieve the goals, the outcome that everybody wants for the place that they live. That’s what we work on.
Lisa: It strikes me that they have brought in, at Goodwill, someone with not only a great work background. They also brought in a person who has a great educational background. You have a bachelor’s degree from Stanford and a master of science from University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. They wanted somebody who could help tackle these problems who actually had all the stuff. They weren’t going to bring in somebody who didn’t know how to get stuff done and didn’t have the smarts.
Ann: I would hope I would have some talents to bring to the picture but I will say that when I came to interview and talk with the senior team, I was just pulled over at how good they were. That was extremely encouraging because I knew I’m becoming into strength and we could go from strength to better. In fact, that’s what happened. After a period of getting to know everybody and seeing how it was, we literally sat down together and said, “Are we reaching the goals that we know we want to reach? Is the way we’re doing things the right way?” The wonderful openness and creativity that has led to a lot of change in our organization all focused toward moving us to doing better what we have done for many years. I came into a very talented group. I’m honored to be a part of them.
Lisa: You also have some genetic good fortune, I believe. If anyone was listening, your name is Anna Eleanor Roosevelt and I don’t think there’s a mistake there. It’s not a coincidence. You do have this family that was very socially aware. Tell me a little bit about that.
Ann: That is what how I grew up. I grew up with grandparents who everybody knew maybe almost better than I knew then in a way. My grandfather did die before I was born but I knew my grandmother. I knew that she was a person who was active around the world and was doing things that helped people. My mother who was a child of the depression and married my father in the early ‘40s filled in the back story to why this woman, Eleanor Roosevelt, was someone to be truly admired and what our legacy as a family was which even before my grandparents were politically active, they were active in their communities and how much that means to simply being who we are.
I would say that those two women are really the influencers in my life. They taught me to think and to understand my responsibility in a way that doesn’t feel like a burden but rather like being. It’s just the way it is. You step into it. I guess that prepared me for a diverse career. I was fortunate to have a very good education, a liberal education when I was an art major which you wouldn’t think would necessarily prepare me for what I’m doing now or what I even, much of what I’ve done throughout my life but it prepared me to ask questions and to think about what’s the goal, what’s the final outcome. That’s what I learned as I matured was what are we trying to get to and what role can I play, what do I bring to the party here and don’t try to be somebody I’m not but know what I can bring and then see how that fits.
Lisa: Ann, how can people find out about Goodwill, the programs that you’re doing and how they might actually donate or support your organization?
Ann: We have a great website that tells you lots of information at goodwillnne.org, O-R-G. They can certainly always call us at our number here in Portland, 207-774-6323. We appreciate so much, every donation. They are our life blood and we appreciate all of our shoppers. We appreciate all of our clients as well. They teach us every day.
Lisa: We’ve been speaking with Anna Eleanor Roosevelt known as Ann. She is the President and CEO of Goodwill Industries of Northern New England. Thank you so much for coming in and having this conversation with me today and for the good work that you and the people of Goodwill are doing.
Ann: Thank you so much for having me.