SPEAKER_00 0:00

Everyone has a story, a moment, a lesson, or a piece of their life most people may never hear. Hi, I'm Callie Zamzo, and this is Nobody Knows. Welcome to Nobody Knows. I'm your host, Callie Zamzo. And today I have a special guest with us, Laura Hahn. She is the CEO of WCA. And uh we're I'm having her on particularly this month because it is October and it's domestic violence awareness month. Did I say all that right? Yes, she did. Okay. So um so it's a it's a timely time to be talking about this, but let's be honest, every day is a time to be talking about this, yes?

SPEAKER_01 0:36

Yes, that's right.

SPEAKER_00 0:37

Yeah. I'm really glad to have you here. I appreciate you taking time to be here. And I know that our audience will enjoy listening to things and learning. I think that we're just gonna be a lot of learning today. I hope so. So I'm gonna come out, you know, just with a big question right from the beginning here. So um, and this is before we talk about the WCA, which we're going to speak a lot about here. Um, but I want to talk about you. And um, I'm wondering if there's something that happened in your life that made you care so deeply about people who are experiencing some of the worst moments of their lives.

SPEAKER_01 1:08

Yeah, I well, thank you so much for having me. I'm so excited to be here with you today, Callie. And I think, as you said, it's a great opportunity for people to learn. I appreciate that you're asking about me first. Um, you know, as you'll probably hear more as I'm talking, I am from England originally. So I've been living in the States now for just over 11 years. Um, came here from England in 2015, moved here predominantly for work, and then obviously met the person that I married, my husband, and he is from Boise, Idaho. So that's kind of how I got here. But my, as you kind of called out, my care has always been for people. And I've always wanted to do something that really helps sometimes some of the most vulnerable people, but just helps people live the best life that they can and reach their full potential. And I think that actually came when I was in high school. So uh high school is kind of the same sort of age in England. So I had to correct myself then. I was like, hmm. Um so, but high school age actually in England is from ages uh 10 and you go right through till 16, and then you go to college from 16 to 18. And so when I first uh started school, and it was kind of a big deal, as you can imagine, like going to what's called high school at age 10. Uh, one of the things that I had was a mentor. And this mentor was somebody that was a couple of years older than me, and they would come into our class and just help us really feel connected to the school. And I got a lot out of that. I didn't really know who I was when I joined that big school and I found some of my greatest passions there, whether those be sport or activities or really helping others. And so I decided that when I got to, in those times it's called year nine, when I got to year nine, I really wanted to be a mentor as well. And that was really my first experience of volunteering, of doing something for somebody else that really was for the benefit of them and not necessarily for myself, at least I thought. But then I realized as I kept doing volunteering and I had lots of different volunteering roles throughout my time at high school and college and university, I realized how much I got out of actually helping others achieve their full potential. So I think that's the way I've always looked at helping people, is it's not necessarily about um, you know, helping the most vulnerable. It's about helping anybody that needs it. And so, as I kind of mentioned, throughout my uh time growing up, I volunteered as a mentor for new students entering high school. I did a project that was called Behavioral Buddies, which was really interesting. It was like working specifically with uh young people that were a little bit younger than me in school that maybe were having some issues in a classroom environment. And so I would kind of meet with them, we would do quiet reading in the library, we would like hold them accountable to how they showed up in school, but it was like peer-to-peer mentorship as opposed to having a teacher do that, and it was really successful. I also, when I went to university, I did a really similar thing. I worked in like educational programs for underserved youth in different parts of my college town, and I love that as well. And so wherever I've gone, I've always kind of dedicated some time to volunteering and I felt like it could be a really important part of my work. And I think I've had many opportunities, and one of the opportunities that presented me was instead of just doing volunteering to kind of do the helping people bit as part of my full-time career. And so when I graduated university, the first thing I did actually was go and work in advertising, which was like a little wild. And I kind of thought to myself, nope, I'm gonna keep volunteering on the sideline and then I'm gonna do advertising is gonna be my job job. And then I kind of realized actually, no, I want my job to be my passion, and my passion is helping people. And so I shifted, I went back to school, I retrained, and I started working specifically in social work. And so I worked in several different areas. I worked with disadvantaged young people, I worked with alternative school programs, I worked in their prison service for a while, I worked in child protection, so I did a lot of different work, predominantly in human services, and I loved that. Um, and then I had the opportunity to come and work in a traditional sleepaway camp over here in America. It was like my year out to myself, and I loved it so much, and they offered me a year-round job. And I took that, and again, that was helping people on a different level because it was helping them on their summer experience. And I think when I was looking for, you know, what's what's next, and me and my husband were looking to move to Boise, I really wanted to go somewhere where the helping people mission was very aligned with my own personal mission. And I kind of found that at the WCA.

SPEAKER_00 6:25

Oh my gosh. I I often asked this question as an opening question to people. And um, very, very often people have all sorts of different things that they and almost thought maybe I had an inkling I wanted to do this, but I didn't think I could make any money or whatever. All these storylines, you really you really stayed on target for the vast majority. Like you kind of knew at a pretty young age, and you've been very true to that.

SPEAKER_01 6:48

Yeah, I I think so. And you know, I feel really fortunate that, you know, my parents kind of encouraged me to do whatever I wanted to do. And I and I think, you know, within every family, different things happen that shape your life. And I do think in my family, just like lots of different families, we've had our ups and downs. We've had like life's challenges that get thrown at you. And, you know, what I've realized is I'm very fortunate to have the parents and their connections with friends and family that have helped me build up that like pool of doing well and in uncertainty and having the resilience that's needed. And I recognize that that doesn't necessarily happen to everybody that's around. And so for me, that's like one of the ways that I realized that I could contribute pretty early on was, you know, not only have I, you know, myself and my family gone through our own difficult times, but I've learned how to deal with those and come through it. And so seeing other people go through those difficult times, I think at the back of my mind, it's always been that's going to be the most rewarding thing that I can do is to help others. And fortunately, I have a lot of support to do that. I, you know, and it's yeah, it's always been like my guiding star, I guess, of how I conduct myself through the decisions I've made in my personal life and in my professional life.

SPEAKER_00 8:17

Yeah. This is gonna be a good conversation. I hope so. I think so too. So uh I'm curious about um what have you learned about yourself by spending so much time of your life around people who are surviving things that many people can't even imagine.

SPEAKER_01 8:37

I think part of it goes back to that resilience. So um one of the things that I one of the skills that I think people need need, or two actually, I would say, is one being able to do well in uncertainty, and two, having the tools to be resilient. And it's not about being self-sufficient, but it's about understanding where to ask for help and how to ask for help. And so I think a lot of the times when I connect with survivors and victims of abuse, which I feel really fortunate that I'm actually in a position where I do get to talk directly to those individuals and I get to hear their stories. One of the things that I often hear that the WCA has done really well for them is help them develop those tools to become resilient, but also to help them understand when to ask for help and how to ask for help. And for me, that has been the pattern that I have often seen when people first come to us, is that potentially they've never really had those opportunities to learn that information before, because it's maybe not been a priority because they've just been trying to survive. And so I do think that's one of the biggest things that I've learned is actually if we as an organization or as individual people can help people grow that sense of resilience, but also can make it okay to ask for help, to share what you're going through with other people, then actually we we will be able to help people sooner. And we take some of that shame away of asking for help because I think that can be really hard sometimes. And so when you kind of make it uh just part of our life to ask for help and to seek that support, but also to know about all the great programs and the great resources that are available to you. I I think there's a piece of self-sufficiency there, but it can't just be about self-sufficiency. Like, in my opinion, everybody needs somebody to be able to thrive, you know. So they need that person that they can go to and have in their support network. And it it can be anybody. It can be the person that you see in the shop every day when you go to buy your pint of milk, or it can be the person, a teacher, or a person that you have a connection with. It doesn't just have to be family. And I think that's the other thing that it can feel quite lonely when you're going through something and just knowing that probably there's other people that have been through that same thing. And you know, you're you will meet those people and and they will help you get through that, you know. But you have to tell them that you need help.

SPEAKER_00 11:21

Yeah. So for for those of us um listening and and kind of processing this and thinking about um maybe our our lack of being that person, is there something that that we can do to be a welcoming person to somebody who whether where they would be willing to come to us and and allow us to help? Does that make sense? It's kind of a strange question, I think.

SPEAKER_01 11:45

But no, no, I think it makes sense because one of the things that I pride myself on is like being a great listener. And so I think that's something that we can all do is is practice our listening skills. Because when you're a good listener to someone, they will tell you more information and they will ask for help. And so, yeah, that would be my one piece of advice is like practice those listening skills. And also it's not about like being prepared for someone to tell you something difficult, but it's more about like thinking about how you might react to that information. And lots of the time when I talk to victims of abuse, because the thing that I like to say is everybody knows somebody who's a victim of abuse or domestic abuse specifically. And I and I think you everyone probably does. And so, especially in this case, it's about thinking, what would I say if somebody said that? Or how would I react? Because it can be quite challenging. Sometimes, you know, you might have experienced that trauma yourself, and so you might not feel prepared for what they say. Right. But I think part of it is being a good listener and saying, hey, I appreciate you sharing that with me. That must have been really hard.

SPEAKER_00 13:00

Yeah. I it it's interesting. This seems to be a theme lately. Uh, this idea of seek first to understand, it keeps coming up over and over and over again. It's such a simple thing. Yeah. And it seems so easy to do. And yet we get in our busy lives and in a moment like that, being able to slow down and truly seek to understand would probably be very helpful because you're not then going to be trying to solve the problem. You're just simply a listening ear.

SPEAKER_01 13:26

Yeah. And I would agree with you there. Cause one of my favorite phrases, both when I'm working with clients or talking with clients, talking with our team, talking really with anybody that I come into contact, I like to use the phrase replace judgment with curiosity. And I think that's very similar to the seek to understand kind of phrase. Because, you know, sometimes I'll talk to somebody about the work that we're doing, and they might say something like, Well, I just don't understand why that person doesn't leave. And there's lots of reasons why someone doesn't leave. And so being curious about that as opposed to being judgmental can be a really good starting point. And so, as well as the listening, I would say that's that's about it, right? That you can be curious because that person has chosen to tell you about that information. And so you can be curious to to learn more instead of being judgmental and thinking, well, why didn't this person leave? Or why is this person only telling me now? Can be another thing that might come to mind. And really, there's lots of reasons why. So be curious to that.

SPEAKER_00 14:33

Yeah, I think this is leading in perfectly to my next question. What do people who have never experienced abuse misunderstand about the people who have experienced it?

SPEAKER_01 14:44

Well, I think one of the biggest things that I've seen just in the work that I've been doing is around like the types of people that domestic abuse specifically can impact. So domestic abuse can impact anybody. It can impact uh the the person that maybe is homeless. It can also impact the person that maybe has a great job and lives in a really nice house and goes on some great vacations, you know. So there's no real I I couldn't tell you like this is what a victim of abuse will look like and this is how they will behave. I also think that there's a lot of misconceptions around what actually constitutes abuse. So we talk about abuse being a pattern of behavior to gain and maintain power and control. And that pattern of behavior can come out in several different ways. So obviously it can come out in physical abuse, which I think is something that people are most aware of. A lot of that is to do with the media. It might be to do with things that they've heard or experienced themselves. But there's also a whole host of other things that can happen that effectively are abuse. You know, some of those examples would be um intimidation, which often might not involve physical abuse. They could also be financial abuse. So over 90% of the people that we serve experience uh financial abuse as well as physical abuse. And so financial abuse can be things like not allowing someone to have access to finances, controlling all of the money, asking that that person's pay packet is put directly into that abuser's bank account. So there's all sorts of different ways that that can happen. The other thing that is kind of a bit of a buzzword right now is coercive control. So that's where effectively no physical abuse is happening, but that person feels under such control that they they have no control over their own life. So it could be things like an abuser leaving for the day and that uh abuser telling the victim, you cannot leave the house until I get back. And that victim will not leave because they are so fearful of what will happen if they do. Of course, another thing that abuse really impacts is, you know, involved in right now is actually uh tracking. So tracking you on your phone, using tracking devices that may be on your car, in your bag, you know, on your person sometimes without that individual's knowledge. And so what I would say is I think sometimes people believe that abuse is very focused on physical abuse, but it's not. It it there's really a broad range of abuse that someone can be experiencing. And that's the sort of thing that you can think of if you know somebody that you think might be in an abusive relationship, is don't just consider that based on uh a physical uh action, consider it on, you know, all the other things that are going on. And if there is a pattern of behavior with a specific uh, you know, reason to try and maintain and gain that power and control over that individual. I think the other thing I always like to mention is around age. So I think again, there is a misconception that potentially, you know, domestic abuse isn't really happening until you are an adult, or maybe until you've graduated college or you're in the working world. That that just simply isn't true either. Over 80% of clients that we survey in our uh shelters report that their first instance of experiencing domestic abuse was under the age of 18. And a large proportion even report of that number that it was under the age of 16. And so the the rates of domestic abuse and relationship abuse that are happening amongst our teenagers within the high school setting, within these young relationships, is really quite shocking. And I think it's something that every parent or person that might be a trusted adult to a young person needs to be aware of that this isn't just something that is maybe happening like as you enter what people might deem the adult part of your life. It very much happens when you're in that young adult part of your life too, and that youth space.

SPEAKER_00 19:14

Do you think that um I know I would imagine this is probably true, or there's something connected. Um, if if you experience abuse in those younger years, does that make you more susceptible in the future years? Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:28

Yep. So I can't remember the stats um directly right now, but yes, effectively that's one of the reasons why a lot of the work that we do is with youth and with children. So we have counseling services that utilize play therapy. We obviously have a lot of um young clients that are living in their shelter with their mother. And we tend to do a lot of what I would deem to be preventative work with with youth, because we we see that pattern and that correlation between the abuse that someone witnesses in their home, but also the abuse that they experience as a young person that then subsequently goes on for them to create misconceptions about what a relationship should look like. And so as they go through life, potentially having multiple relationships or maybe just one or two relationships, they believe that that is the norm, that the norm is this pattern of control in order for that to be a healthy relationship. And I think often the word like gaslighting is used a lot. And I would say that gaslighting is definitely something we see amongst younger populations and obviously also the use of the internet, those tracking devices. Like I am not on Snapchat and I get very confused by uh the social media technology. But there are ways that you effectively can be tracked by your friends, which I think starts off as, you know, just something that people do. But when that person is then asking questions, controlling where you're able to go through social media, when they're looking at your Instagram stories to see where you are, now it's moved into a into controlling behavior. And so, yes, I would say when you experience that when you are under the age of 18, you then believe when you move into adult relationships that that is just how a relationship should look. And it's just simply not true.

SPEAKER_00 21:28

Yeah. It's interesting when I think about, you know, whether they say it, I always say this stat to my poor daughter because she's 19. And I'm like, you know, your brain isn't fully formed. It looks like you're 25. Okay, I'm right about that. Okay, good. Rafi, I'm talking to you. Yeah. Um But I I think about then it must be somewhat compounded then when you experience that abuse abuse while your brain is forming forming. So some of those things might be very difficult to unwind. And um, that's yeah, that's incredibly challenging.

SPEAKER_01 21:59

Yeah. It's difficult. And also, you know, one of the things that I worry about is like the misrepresentation of relationships in the media. So specifically targeted at youth. Like one of the shows that always comes to mind is Euphoria, which obviously depicts several different high school aged relationships that effectively, in my opinion, are operating in pretty unhealthy settings. And so when young people are watching these types of shows or hearing about them, that too can influence what they believe a relationship should look like. And so I think there's multiple different things sort of coming together to create this like new perception of what it looks like to be in a healthy, in a healthy relationship. And I think as well, you know, that that can be really challenging for parents to deal with, for other adults to deal with in the school systems, because effectively you're trying to educate and say, hey, these are red flags. Whereas sometimes on TV shows, those are kind of presented as green flags. Right. And the type of relationship that you would would want to have and would want to seek. So there's lots of things that are impacting people's perspectives of what a good relationship looks like. And that, of course, continues into later life. And so for me, when I think about the services that we provide, you know, last year we provided over 22,000 individual services to people coming through our doors, whether that be through our community-based services, our hotlines, through our shelter spaces, that is up considerably on the last five years. So an example of that is like if we did close to 3,000 hotline calls last year, and in 2020, when I first started, we were doing closer to like 1,300 calls. So you can see that the demand for our services keeps continuing. There's lots of reasons for that. I think some of it is to do with the growth of our communities. Some of it is to do with COVID. Like a lot more people came forward during that time because home really wasn't safe for a lot of people, even though we were being told to stay at home and restrict our movements. But I think the other thing too is we're starting to see the effects of social media and the media's perception of what good relationships are that now is coming into those young adults and you know, mid to late 20s kind of age group. And those people are now also in unhealthy relationships and are seeking services.

SPEAKER_00 24:46

Wow. So that's a lot. So I'm I'm I'm trying to wrap my brain around that number and how much it's jumped. Um, so obviously you you've been a part of the WCA for, did you say six years? Six years. So you were part of all of that growth. Um, and now you're leading all of that. And now I'm leading it. Yeah. Um just I guess it's just a personal question. Are there moments that you're like, it's it's just too much? Like that that's a lot. Yeah, and it's a lot of growth, you know.

SPEAKER_01 25:16

That's Yes, it it is a lot of growth. You know, I um thought long and hard before I decided to, as they say, put my name in the hat when B announced that she was gonna retire. I felt like it was the right job for me in the right time. Yes, of course, I was so thrilled when I found out I got this job. And um, I've loved every minute of the first six months. I think there are definitely times that are hard, but the thing that I always say to people is I can get through those hard times because I know this is where I want to be. And I know that this is truly my dream job, not just to leaders. Um, you know, and I always say that I love being a mentor and being a CEO is like being the ultimate mentor. Um because you're a mentor to, you know, your employees, the people that work with you, clients, members of the community, but also I just believe strongly in the work. Like I think everyone should live a life free from abuse. And I think we can get there. Like prior to living in Boise, I lived in Chicago, that's where I worked. And there were several like human services challenges that I often thought can we ever solve that there? You know, can we ever fix homelessness there? And I came to Boise and I thought, we can do some of these things. Like we have the potential and the way our community is so is so rooted in community that we can actually work together to address some of these things. And so I think that's what keeps me going is I do think that we can make sure that everyone lives a life free from abuse. And it's going to take a lot of work and effort and a lot of collaboration. But it's one of the things that drives me forward in those really hard moments. And I would say for me, the hard moments don't necessarily come when I hear those big numbers. They actually come when I talk with one individual person or I see one individual person. Like the thing that I talk about is Mondays. So Mondays are always a big day for us because on Sundays, I genuinely look forward to going to work every Monday. And I think, what am I going to help today? Who am I going to help? What problem am I going to solve? Because I solve a lot of problems on Mondays too. Um, but I always remember, I'm always grounded in the work, is about the clients because every Monday when I come into work, there's usually one person waiting in our lobby who is a walk-in, who has just walked in off the street and needs help. And so this Friday, we had two people before nine o'clock. And I think that brings me down to reality that actually the work that we are doing is about impacting things on a broader scale, but it's also very much about that one individual person that we were able to help. In this case on Monday, we were able to help two people that came through the door, that needed our support, whatever that was. That's down to our amazing, you know, uh client advocates, case managers, all of the people that come forward to answer that call when it literally walks through the door. But that's my reminder of why like I come to work every Monday is because for as long as I can remember, there's always someone waiting on a Monday because the weekends are very, very hard for domestic abuse victims and sexual assault victims. We see spikes then too. The other time when we see real spikes in the need for our services is around public holidays. So Labor Day, Fourth of July, Memorial Day, because they are obviously family gatherings. In some cases, they may involve alcohol, late nights, children, childcare, all sorts of things are coming together. The same with Christmas, that can be a very stressful time for people. And so unfortunately, we we see abuse increase in those times, both on our hotlines, but also through walking clients. And so that really puts it into perspective for me because I enjoy the Fourth of July and I feel very fortunate that I get to, you know, be with my family, or if I'm working, that's what that looks like. But I know that I'm safe. And a lot of people in our community are not safe during those holidays. And so that's the reality. And that's why I think myself and a lot of our team, we come to work every day and we genuinely look forward to Mondays because we know we're going to see the true impact of our work on that day, especially.

SPEAKER_00 29:45

Wow. I think about the endlessness of somebody like me who's not working in your shoes. And just it feels endless. It kind of reminds me of that the story about the starfish on the and you know, why are you trying to throw the starfish back when that that doesn't help? It doesn't help. It helped that one. Yeah. And I I think about that. I what how do you how are you able to internally frame that so that you aren't, you don't get discouraged?

SPEAKER_01 30:13

Yeah. So I think it's by, and it's kind of a funny word to say, but I think it's by the wins, right? Like it's by the stories that we get to hear from the clients who we've been able to help. And help looks different for lots of people. So some people might believe that help's about this person leaving. But sometimes it's not about them leaving. It's about them connecting with one of our core advocates to create a safety plan so that that person feels a little bit safer in their home and knows how to get help. And those are the things that they could start collecting in case they have to flee in the middle of the night. Like that person, we help them because they now feel 1% safer than they felt before they came through the WCA. So I think for me, it's about focusing on some of those things and remembering like obviously the end goal that we would love to do is everybody lives a life free from abuse. Everybody has a safe home. You know, as I mentioned when we were getting started on this, like the number one cause of homelessness in Idaho is domestic abuse. And so there's a lot of people that need a home before they can even be free from that abusive situation. But those are real big picture things that some of that is about systematic change that needs to happen on in our organization, in other organizations as well. And so that's why I choose to focus on those smaller wins. And one thing that I've started doing, for example, at our all staff meeting is that I actually we have two slides and we talk about the number of people that we have served, and we also talk about like the the total number. So not just in each program, but the total number of people that we've helped. And I think last, so August just gone to remember what month we're in. We're in September, about to be in October. Um, but last uh last month in August, you know, we helped 280 individual families in some capacity.

SPEAKER_00 32:20

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 32:21

So whether that be with case management, with counseling, with group counseling, lots of different things happened, you know, and and I think seeing that number is motivating for myself and for our team. Yeah, for sure. Because I say, hey, look how many services. Like I think we delivered something like, you know, over 2,500 services in one month. Like that's a huge number that we're working on. And all that, you know, we are understaffed at the moment, as most nonprofits are. And so for me, like it's remembering that we are doing these great things. And even if they feel really small, they're actually huge for those clients.

SPEAKER_00 32:58

What are what are the various things that a person might have to overcome before they're quote, ready to actually walk in your door or to reach out in some way, shape, or form? Or because from what I understand, it may be many, many, many things that they go through before they even get the courage to say something to the neighbor or yeah.

SPEAKER_01 33:18

Well, I would say the first thing is actually understanding that they are in an abusive relationship. And so one of the ways that they can do that is by um calling a hotline just to talk to somebody to understand if they are in an abusive situation.

SPEAKER_00 33:36

Okay, you're saying the actual person may not realize that they're they may be questioning that interesting. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 33:42

So I think that is something that we see. And one of the things that we show people when they walk in, we have this great re visual resource and it's called the power and control wheel. And it actually shows all of the different types of abuse that constitute domestic abuse. And you'll notice as well that like I use the term domestic abuse and not necessarily domestic violence, because domestic violence really suggests it's just violence, but abuse really encompasses all of those things that somebody could be experiencing. So I actually think first it's it's about you as an individual understanding that you are in an abusive relationship and understanding what types of abuse that you're experiencing, whether it's intimidation, whether it's isolation, whether it is physical abuse, you know, because some people think physical abuse is only extreme abuse, right? And a lot of people talk sometimes about strangulation or those types of physical abuse. Physical abuse is pushing, it's kicking, it's pinching people. So I think it's actually having the opportunity to understand I am in an abusive situation before you actually decide, well, what are the next steps to this? The other thing that I like people to understand and know is that, you know, you don't have to not be in an abusive situation to seek services from the WCA. So a lot of our community clients are still living in those abusive situations, living with their abusers. And that's okay. Like it's not our role to tell you that that's wrong. It's our role to help you understand that you are in an abusive situation, to help you process that information and to seek a path to not being in that abusive situation anymore and support you on that journey. And so I think that's the other thing that I hope people realize is that you can call the hotline, you can seek help and still be in that abusive situation and not and not be ready to leave yet.

SPEAKER_00 35:44

That's extraordinary. I think about just getting stuff done. And your role is you you in a lot of ways, purposefully, that doesn't apply. You it's you're not just getting things done. Everything has to be finessed and everything that you want, everything to be finessed. I I think it's extraordinary that because it would it would seem to me that at some point you'd be like, you just gotta get out of there. And like, but that's not the way that's the way so in that when that comes about, and probably when people come into your organization, you have to talk to them about that. How do you help people understand that willingness to help somebody be where they are and meet them where they are, even though it you there might be part of you just everything in you just wants to remove them from that situation or fix it for them?

SPEAKER_01 36:35

You know, I was talking with uh just a member of the community the other day that was like, I just don't understand why they don't leave. And I explained the statistic that actually it takes people on average seven times to leave before they leave for good. And the other, the other thing I shared is, you know, as I talked before about um homelessness and the number one cause of homelessness being domestic abuse, the question that I always say back is where are they going and who is helping them get there? Because I think that people can understand that because that is a ra that is a rational reason, right? If somebody is in the throes of domestic abuse and has had no access to money, has no access to financial stability or security, and also would not have a home to live in, it can be a really hard challenge. The other thing that I would say is that sometimes people abusers will threaten to take their children away from them if they leave. And so staying for children can be a really big piece of that. And one of the things that we do is we do have the court advocacy program that helps people get a civil protection order, which is an order, it's a it's a civil um process where somebody effectively can get a protection order against their abuser and specifically keep them away from a specific address or location. So it's kind of like a restraining order. Um, but it works very well in that, in that case. The other thing that we do is we provide people with access to Idaho legal aid. So we actually have an Idaho legal aid attorney that is in our office uh Monday through Thursday, and those appointments are booked through our court advocates. And so that gives people another opportunity to understand the process of how they might effectively be able to leave. The other stat that I like to share is the most dangerous time in an abusive relationship is when somebody tries to leave. So my hope is that by explaining these situations, and a lot of our team that come to work at the WCA have experience in working with domestic abuse and sexual assault victims because a lot of the things that I'm talking about are very specific to that type of client group. And so when our staff join us, we obviously explain to them these things. We use the tools like the power and control wheel and the cycle of violence to help educate them. But we're very fortunate that a lot of people that come to us have that background knowledge. The greater challenge, I think, is actually with people that are in our community, different community groups, that I would never expect to have an understanding of the real nuanced issues that actually directly impact domestic abuse victims. And so for me, that's where our education comes in through our outreach programs, through our table and get events to help people understand and get in that mindset that people aren't just not leaving. Like there's a very there's very specific reasons why they're not leaving. And to for us, like we do have an emergency shelter. We do have people that we take in as what we call emergency intakes. And often those people will leave with nothing. Sometimes they will just come to our downtown location and we will get them there. But often when someone calls and has an assessment and we are able to offer them a place, that is then the start of a new process where we have to work out how do we safely help this individual and often their children get to our safe shelter. Because, like I mentioned, that is the most dangerous part. So my hope is by, I mean, you're giving me a great, a great opportunity now. Like I'm sharing some of those nuances, but often those nuances do not get shared. And I think, no, this kind of goes to the broader picture of how we as a society and a community tackle some issues that are human-centered issues like homelessness. Often I find my role in that is to actually be the voice of, you know, domestic abuse and sexual assault victims and explain the nuances that are preventing them from accessing services, you know. Um, that can be anything from, well, you need to you need to take this phone call. Well, they don't have access to a safe phone, you know? So it's like these types of things that are the very nuanced approach to working with domestic abuse victims that are often lost.

SPEAKER_00 41:18

Yeah. So how does it help you and the WCA for me as a citizen that that um typically, and I I guess now my eyes are being open to it, I probably am around it more than I think I am. I probably am unaware of it. How does it help you for more of us in the city of Boise and the surrounding area to be aware of what you do and why you're doing it? How does that help you?

SPEAKER_01 41:43

I think it helps us for lots of reasons. Like, one, you know, the sole reason why we do outreach and education work is to reach as many survivors as possible. So, you know, the purpose of me speaking to you or having opportunities like this is I I hope that people listen and think, hmm, that's me. Because as I have said a couple of times, like everybody does know someone that is probably experiencing domestic abuse, or maybe even has experienced it in the past and has some things that they would like to discuss and work through in a bid to prepare them for future relationships. So I think it helps us reach victims. The other thing it helps us with really is, you know, the buzzword around nonprofits, which is funding. Um, you know, we need more people supporting the work that we do. And I think it's really important that, you know, community members understand that actually domestic abuse is connected to several other human-centered challenges that our communities face, whether it be access to mental health support, whether it be around homelessness, as I've talked about already, whether it be around how our children can thrive, both in their home, but also in relationships that they have in the future. Like for me, children reaching their full potential is a huge priority. And part of that is linked, I often think, well, what about the children of domestic abuse victims? Because they're not just the children of domestic abuse victims, they're domestic abuse victims themselves as well. And I think, you know, the other thing that I like to share, whenever I share, hey, domestic abuse is the number one cause of homelessness in IDO has been for the past four years. People are really surprised at that information. And so I kind of say, hey, I hope that you can use this information and influence others around we should be looking at this, we should be considering, you know, what things do we need to put in place to better support this community group because it makes up a large portion of people that are that are homeless right now. Um, I think the other thing that I always like. To mention is uh, you know, we are very fortunate at the WCA. We receive a lot of community support, but unfortunately uh domestic abuse uh organizations around the state continue to drastically lose federal funding. And this is a real challenge at the moment. And I think it's a challenge for us right now, but I'm very worried about what 2030 looks like because a lot of the funding uh that uh comes from us federally, it's VOCA funds, and that funding um specifically supports domestic abuse programs and sexual assault programs in Idaho. And so every state is provided with a distribution from the federal government, and then we have a great partner in the Idaho Council on Domestic Abuse that actually supports the distribution of that funding. But obviously, uh as the part gets smaller, uh, that subsequently means that, you know, there's less money coming into that part, so there's less money to be distributed. So what that looks like for us is, you know, four or five years ago, we used to receive just over a million dollars in these specific funds, and that directly supported our shelter. And our shelter is obviously one of the most important services that we provide. We're the only domestic abuse shelter in Ada County. So we we have to uh preserve that that function of our organization and and we will continue to, it will continue to be one of our many priorities. But I think one of the challenges is that um one of the challenges is that now we're receiving just over 400,000. So we've had a loss of close to $600,000 over five years. And unfortunately, through no fault of our partners, that that money is going to continue to decrease. And so we have to find additional funds to fill to fill that gap. Now, as an organization, we are in a very strong place financially in terms of our reserves, and we've been doing a lot of work to grow our endowments, which we're really excited about. But it is still a stretch every year for us to make up that gap. But what I'm more worried about is there are several rural smaller rural organizations that support domestic abuse victims in rural parts of Idaho that I'm concerned will not be able to survive these decreases and will subsequently potentially not be able to operate anymore or not be able to operate at the same level. And what that means is that those victims are gonna continue to move down to metropolitan city-based areas like Boise, like Twin Falls, like Cordelaine, where there's some other great programs. And we're gonna have too many people. We're not gonna be able to serve those people because at the moment, whilst I hope one day we have the sustainability to be able to expand, that sustainability does not exist right now. And so it's it's very challenging for us because as federal funds continue to decrease and it's it's kind of a really interesting place where this part of money comes from. So it predominantly comes from restitution that's collected for white-collar crimes.

SPEAKER_00 47:18

Really?

SPEAKER_01 47:19

So yes. And so when there's less restitution being collected, let's say if like white-collar crimes are not a priority for different administrations, then that means that the part is decreasing. We also saw significant decreases during COVID because there were less prosecutions of white-collar crimes, and there were also less prosecutions in general that meant that that fund decreased and there's not been any funding put back in to bump that up because that fund operates as an endowment. So the principle remains the same. The interest is what is being distributed to those programs. And so when you think about that, there's like this systemic thing that's happening, which unfortunately is trickling down and really impacting, you know, domestic abuse programs across the state of Idaho. And it's and it's not just Idaho, it's across the country. And so for me, when I think about, you know, uh what is the future for victims of domestic abuse and sexual assault, I'm pretty concerned because I recognize that my priority has to be on sustainable funding that comes from this community, because this community is the one that's going to help lift programs like this up because they believe in our mission. And we, I feel very fortunate that at the WCA, you know, we have that amazing donor base, we have those great connections in the community, we have reserves, we have this amazing endowment that Be Black actually helped start many years ago and has continued to grow and will continue to be a priority of ours. But really, you know, uh until we can get that sustainable funding impacted, you know, a lot of domestic abuse organizations are in pretty tricky ground right now.

SPEAKER_00 49:10

I uh yeah, there's a about a dozen questions in there that I I well, one, and this may just be a stupid question, but how did how was it developed that the funding came from white collar?

SPEAKER_01 49:23

So, and I don't want to quote, don't quote me on this as they say. Right. But I think back in, I think it was either the 1970s or the 1980s, this fund was created, which at the time was amazing. But I think there had to be a sustainable funding tree stream, and it was felt that potentially, you know, white-collar crimes and restitution from those was going to be a way to move to move that money and to continually have a stream that would be coming in that could be distributed specifically to these types of programs that supported these types of victims. Because also domestic abuse victims and sexual assault victims are victims of crime. Right. You know, and so that can also be a misconception that it they're not victims of crime, but they are. And so, rightfully, they should have some of that restitution should be dedicated to them. But I think the problem was, you know, I don't think anyone could have predicted COVID. Right. And I don't think when different crimes are prioritized, that there was potentially a broader scoping thinking around how that would impact some of the funding for these other other programs.

SPEAKER_00 50:32

You know, as a kid, I would think about like what the government does and like and and I it I would think, oh well, this, that, and the other. And now I I hear these kind of stories and I'm like, oh, those are the kind of decisions they're having to try to make. Yes. Yeah. And and it's simply as a catch-22. It's like, it's like, uh, but you know, because I'm sure there are there are reasons for how it's there's reasons for every decision that's made.

SPEAKER_01 50:55

And I think really, you know, part of my role as the CEO, right, is to try and help be the voice of domestic abuse and sexual assault victims to help explain the consequences that certain actions have on this part of our community. And the thing that I do try and mention is everybody knows somebody. So, you know, one in three women experience some form of domestic abuse in their lifetime, one in six men. So again, if you put a group of, you know, women in a room, if you think about I don't even know, just when you go into a restaurant, there's going to be victims of domestic abuse in that space. And so it's actually pretty prevalent. And I think that's a challenge as well. Like I know that um for breast cancer, which obviously is coming up too in October, the status is one in three there. And so it's like remembering that if you know somebody that has had breast cancer, you're probably also going to know somebody that has domestic abuse. And so I just feel sometimes that domestic abuse is still quite hidden. And people's perceptions of the scale of the problem are unfortunately not necessarily connecting with the true scale of the problem in our community and and across the, I mean, the world, you know? Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 52:21

I I hope that there are listeners that are thinking to themselves, I I want to, I would like to figure out how to contribute. Is there, is there an amount that is too little? Is there and and how would one um support you?

SPEAKER_01 52:35

Yeah. I I appreciate you asking that question because I do think there's lots of ways to support us. Like one is talking about us to people, whether those be your friends, your family, sharing our information and our resources. We have this great thing, and I'll hold it up like this. Very good. Um it's called a shoe card. And so our shoe cards have information about our hotline. So our hotline is 208-343-7025. And that's a 24-hour hotline. But picking up our shoe cards from uh, you can pick them up from our downtown location, 720 West Washington. You can go on our website and look at our marketing materials and request those. Um, having a shoe card is a great thing to be able to distribute and hand out to people. And it actually helps us reach as many people as we can that might need our services. And we also put our shoe cards in several different languages. So that can be a really great thing to be mindful of too. If you think the spaces where different languages might be better, then we can we can facilitate that as well. I think the other thing that I would say is attending our events and following us on social media. So we have um Instagram at WCA Boise, we have Facebook, we're on LinkedIn. We also have, you know, several different events that are coming up in October, especially. Um, and it's great just to go to our website and you can see all about the events that we have. And coming there and supporting us is also a great way. Obviously, finally, it's through giving a financial contribution. No, uh everything counts to us. Like one dollar means so much to us, the same as a larger gift would. And I think there's lots of ways that you can contribute. But one of the things that's really impactful, which I've talked quite a bit about, is this sustainable funding. We actually have uh this group, it's called the Hope Society, and it's where people have committed to donating a set amount for a five-year period. And so the lowest amount that we start at is $1,000 a year, which is, I think it's actually $83.33. That's kind of cool, um, per month. And you commit to that for five years. And right now we have over 230 members of our Hope Society contributing at several different levels. And that brings in, you know, nearly half a million dollars in revenue every year. But what's amazing about that is that when I have to sit down and do the budget every year and work out, hey, what can we prioritize and where are we going here? I'm able to look at that and know that we have this trusted group of supporters that have committed to giving to us year on year. And our Hope Society members are people from all walks of life that feel committed to our mission and the work that we do in supporting our clients. So you can find out more information about the Hope Society on our website. Um, the best email is philanthropy at wcaboise.org. We put on different events to kind of just help people understand what sustainable funding can do for nonprofits, because having that cushion is so meaningful and beneficial. And it doesn't just help us sustain, but it also helps us consider what growth could look like because there's more people than we can serve right now. And so we continually have to be looking at options for growth, but we can't do that without that sustainable funding model.

SPEAKER_00 56:06

Yeah. Oh, that's great. That you're so well spoken. I hope everybody's listening and paying attention. If not, you can always uh go back and play it again. Close and go back. I was gonna say rewind, but that's gonna age. It's gonna age me a little bit. Um, okay, so before I ask my closing out question, I would love to hear your, and I'm sure it's going to be somewhat sentimental feelings about Bee Black and as a mentor and and about her passing the baton to you. Could you tell us a little bit about that? Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 56:38

So B is just a super special person in this community. I uh um she's been a very special person to me. She's the person that hired me, which is kind of cool. So I still remember having my first interview with Bee back in 2019. Um fun story to lighten the mood before I get a little teary. Uh, when I submitted my resume, for some reason I missed a digit off my cell phone number. And so when Bee tried to call me to get through uh for my first interview, she could not get hold of me. And she luckily took the time to go back through my emails and found where I had provided her with the correct cell phone number and she called me. And I still remember when she told me that the cell phone number of my resume was wrong, I was mortified. Um, and B is a very detail-oriented person, which is something I love about her. And so as I got to know her more, obviously she offered me the job and I accepted. I thought, gosh, that must have really annoyed her. Um, but she still hired me. So she saw something. She saw something in me, um, which was great. But, you know, B for me has been such a mentor, has been someone who has so graciously uh connected with me and helped me understand how the WCA works, you know, because being the CEO, it's not just about being the face of the organization. It's not just about that strategy and moving the organization forward. It's about the day-to-day operations and the fiscal responsibility that comes with that. And I feel like uh I couldn't have had a better mentor than B to really like teach me the ropes. We were very fortunate that we had a great transition period. Um I was able to throw her an amazing retirement party. She was suitably shocked by several things that we're able to do, including the mayor decided to award B with the key to the city of Boise, um, which we presented to her at the Twin Awards last year, which is our kind of corporate uh recognition event that we do. And I just remember thinking, I got you really good at that. And B is not one that you can surprise easily. So we just had an amazing relationship and we continue to have an amazing relationship. You know, B isn't just a mentor to me, she's also a friend and someone that I will maintain that connection and contact with for a long time. And I feel fortunate that, you know, I had that person in my corner when I stepped into what effectively, in my eyes, is the biggest role that I've ever had. Um and feeling very supported by the person that is stepping out of that role, I think gave me the confidence to know that I can do this. So yeah, I have a lot of amazing things I could talk about bee for a long time. Um, but I feel really fortunate that, you know, she is still in the community. She still very much supports the work at the WCA. I just saw her five days ago at an event that we put on that she came to. She'll be at some of our other events, you know, in the capacity of like participant. And I think that's really awesome that she gets to come and be a guest and really have a different type of connection to our mission. So yeah, big um, big shoes to fill. I think me and B have some similarities and some differences too. And she's been very supportive of all of the things that I have done so far and the things that I plan to do in the future.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:06

Yeah, I I think there were, full disclosure, a few of us that are like big shoes. Um but clearly she she found the right person. The baton has been put passed, and you are taking it with gusto. Yeah. And uh so I'm I'm I'm grateful. I'm really grateful that everything lined up the way it was supposed to, so that you could be running this organization.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:26

Yeah, it did. And you know, it was one of those things I remember as I as I sort of shared at the start, like I've been with the organization for six years, and I kind of thought to myself, you know, I didn't really know when I was stepping into at first. And I, but I knew I was looking for a place to stay and to be at for a long time. And as the years went on, I realized no, this is this is where I want to be in any capacity, really. I I was just excited to contribute in a way to the mission. And then when this opportunity came up, I thought, well, this is perfect. This is this is where I want to be, this is what I want to do. And I couldn't think of a better organization to be the CEO and to step into that role and have the support not only from B, but from an amazing board as well that just support all of our work and support me personally. And obviously they're my boss too. So it's kind of weird having 24 bosses, but it's good in a good way. It's intense. It is intense, but it's good because they all bring something different and but incredibly supportive of me stepping into this role.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:29

Love it. Okay, so my final question is really that that final um chance to talk to the people who are listening. I hope that there are many, many, many people who listen to this episode. So let's let's just say you have uh one bit of advice that you could give each one of us that would just make either your job easier or make the situation better or make us more self-aware. What is a what is one thing you could have all of us if we were just going to take one key takeaway?

SPEAKER_01 1:01:57

Well, I've said it a couple of times, but I think the key takeaway would be everybody knows somebody. And so as you are going through your life and as you see our materials, our information, just remember that domestic abuse is something that impacts a vast amount of our community, unfortunately, and that you as an individual will know somebody. So you you might not know who that person is yet, but you probably will know someone. And so I would encourage you to think about that and say, hmm, maybe there is a person that I want to have a conversation with, or maybe there is somebody that I want to provide like the shoe card to. Um and what does that conversation kind of look like? Because I do think everybody knows somebody, and unfortunately, I know several people, and that's what drives me to do this work. But I can't even tell you how many people I connect with on a regular basis when I'm at a coffee shop, when I'm wearing my WCA shirt, my WCA badge, and they say, Oh, I've been a victim of domestic abuse and WCA helped me. Or I'll be like the one place where it always gets me is at Trader Joe's. The crew are very friendly there when they're like packing your shopping up. And often they will say, Oh, the WCA, what's that? What do you do there? And I that just is a challenge to me because I think everybody should know what who the WCA is, but we will keep chipping away at that. But when I explain, I always think it's fascinating because I would say about 50% of people that I talk to in that context pause and then will say things like, Well, I have a friend who this is happening, or I had somebody at Trader Joe say to me a couple of weeks ago, oh, it's just for physical abuse, right? And I said, Oh no, it's any type of abuse. And I just lifted off a couple of different types. And they were like, hmm, I think I have a roommate that might need your services. And so what I would say is if you embrace the fact that everybody knows somebody, you will suddenly see the see the connections that you have quite differently and just know that you could be the person that is the connector for that person to live a life free from abuse.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:18

That's a great way to end this. Laura, I I gotta tell you, thank you for being approachable because when I came up to you and I introduced myself, I was so nervous and I just really was hoping you would come on and you just were so welcoming and so agreeing right off the bat to come to to join this. And I just I really appreciate what you're doing in this community. I appreciate you as a human. And uh yeah, thank you. Thank you for everything you're doing for all of us. We we appreciate you.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:45

Thanks for having this podcast. I think it's a great way for people to learn about different things in their communities. So yeah, I appreciate it. And I don't worry, I was always gonna say yes. I don't need much persuading, you know, even though I think this is like my third podcast that I've ever done. No, but your entire lifetime so great at it.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:03

You're great at it. So keep it up, keep it up, and and let's you know, continue to keep the get the word out. Anyway, thank you again for being on. Thanks. Hey, thanks for watching. If you or someone you know has a story to share, we'd love to hear from you. Reach out, share your story, and you could be featured on an upcoming episode. And remember, once your story gets shared, it will no longer be one that nobody knows.