I Need Blue

Safe Families for Children of the Treasure Coast Chapter- From Crisis to Support

• Jennifer Lee/Jessie • Season 5 • Episode 3

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When a desperate mother walked into a foster care group home asking for help, the psychologist's response, "until something bad happens, I can't help you," led her to say, "If you don't help me, something bad is going to happen." 

This moment sparked the creation of Safe Families for Children, an organization that now spans over 100 chapters across the U.S. and internationally. Safe Families addresses the needs of vulnerable parents by offering volunteer-based support networks, connecting families to resources and providing temporary care, ensuring children are supported without resorting to foster care.

Jessie, Director of the Treasure Coast Chapter, shares how Safe Families fosters connections through host families, day support from family friends, and coaches who help parents achieve their own goals. Focusing on dignity and peer relationships, Safe Families combats the root causes of family crisis—lack of support, homelessness, and childcare issues—without imposing external judgments. By empowering parents and validating their strengths, Safe Families builds resilience and offers a path for families to weather crises and stay together.

As mentioned in the episode:

Safe Families for Children – Treasure Coast

  • Intake line: 772-217-9066

https://treasurecoast.safe-families.org

Contact Jesse Ray about volunteering: jray@safefamilies.net

Hope for Family Center:

  • 720 4th Street, Vero Beach, FL 32962
  • 772-567-5537

https://hopeforfamiliescenter.org

Indian River, United Against Poverty:

  • 1400 27th Street, Vero Beach, FL 32960
  • 772-564-9365

https://unitedagainstpoverty.org/campus/indian-river

 St. Lucie Count, United Against Poverty: 

  • 2520 Orange Ave, Fort Pierce, FL 34947
  • 772-468-8543

https://unitedagainstpoverty.org

Treasure Coast Homeless Services:

https://tchelpspot.org


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Speaker 1:

You never think it will happen to you until it does. One moment. Life is normal, routine, predictable, and then suddenly you're fighting to survive. I'm Jennifer Lee, a survivor author and host of I Need Blue podcast. You belong are loved, understood and empowered to share. Welcome to season five. Listen to I Need Blue on Apple Podcasts, spotify, youtube or your favorite listening platform. Learn more at wwwineedbluenet.

Speaker 1:

Before we get started, I must share a trigger warning. I Need Blue shares real life survivor stories, including discussions of trauma, violence and abuse. These conversations are meant to empower, support and let others know they are not alone. Please prioritize your well-being and ask for help if needed. Now let's get started with today's story. Every child deserves a safe and loving home, but sadly, 75% of children in foster care are there because of unmet needs in their families. These numbers are not just statistics. They represent real lives, children and families who need our support.

Speaker 1:

Today I welcome Jesse, the Director of Safe Families for Children, the Treasure Coast Chapter. This incredible organization is dedicated to strengthening families, preventing child abuse and neglect and working tirelessly to reduce the number of children who enter the foster care system unnecessarily. Jessie is here to educate and share how you can make a difference and help support your community. Jessie has poured her heart into community development work for years. She's worked with several nonprofits from Virginia to Florida and is always deeply committed to helping others. A lifelong resident of Vero Beach, she feels incredibly blessed to serve with safe families. Jessie is a loving wife. Families Jessie is a loving wife, mom and Enneagram coach, guiding others in their journeys outside of her work. Today, let's learn how we can contribute to the change and support these families before it's too late. Jessie, thank you for being my guest today and welcome to the I Need Blue podcast.

Speaker 2:

Oh, thank you so much for having me. It's a pleasure to be with you.

Speaker 1:

Of course, you and I had an opportunity to talk before this interview so I could learn a little bit more about Safe Families, the Treasure Coast chapter. You shared the history and the story and how Safe Families came about based out of a need. Can you share that story with the audience?

Speaker 2:

Sure Safe Families for Children started over 20 years ago in Chicago Illinois. Our founder, dave Anderson, was working in a foster care group home as a licensed psychologist. A mom came in asking for help. She was frantic, trying to ask for help with her children, and of course it hadn't occurred to him that her children weren't there in the group home or weren't in foster care. So he was asking who's your case manager? And you know who have you talked to before, you know? Trying to point her to the right person. And it turned out that she actually did not have a case manager. Her children had not been removed, but she was in a crisis and she didn't know where else to go for help. And so she walked into the doors of a foster care group home and this was 20 years ago, so there were not a lot of other options.

Speaker 2:

When he tells this story, he very defeatedly, you know, looked back at this mom and just said I'm really sorry, but until something bad happens I can't help you. But she was very brave and she would not take that for an answer. And she looked back at him and said you don't understand that if you don't help me, something bad is going to happen. So this was a mom who clearly cared about her children, loved her kids, was concerned for their well-being, but there was no structure, there was no organization, there was no opportunity for her to go and get help on the front end. There was no organization, there was no opportunity for her to go and get help on the front end. So, being a Christian, dave's in a small group with his church and his small group that night and said I had a really lousy day at the office and you know he's telling the story of this mom and just really was lamenting how the church had really stepped back. And for so long in our church history, even from ancient church history, christians were the ones who were helping in Rome and caring for the lame and the vulnerable and the babies who had been discarded outside the city, and we were the ones who started orphanages in the United States. This has been a part of our church history for so long to care for the vulnerable. Over the last several decades we'd really stepped back and he was lamenting that and saying what if there was a way that we could get involved before something bad happened? What would that look like for us to really help families who want help. They're not abusing their children, they just are struggling and they don't know who to call in this time of crisis. His group, his friends, were really inspired by that. They wanted to help him and they said we will, you know, we'll help you, dave. So he and his wife, karen took these children into their home, mom resolved her crisis and then kids went back to mom, and so that was really how Safe Families was born.

Speaker 2:

It was this very organic, heartfelt, you know, passion and desire to want to strengthen families and support them in the ways that all of us have experienced. So many of us have friends, we have family members, you know. We have relatives that we can call when something crazy starts to happen or if we hit a rough patch. And it's just shocking how many people that we encounter now who don't have that kind of support system, for whatever reason. Sometimes it's moving away, you know, sometimes it's more complicated than that, but at the end of the day, it's just that desire to have somebody safe that you trust with your kids, that you trust is going to have your back and is in your corner and rooting for you. And so that's really how Stay Families got started. It was just this very organic vision of how can we become like extended family to people in our community who don't have anyone, so that they can keep their kids safe and so that their family can stay together.

Speaker 1:

I think that's great and you brought up a couple of really great points, you know. Number one we take for granted those healthy relationships that we have, like you said, whether we have a trusted babysitter and you're right, not everybody has that, and that's where you all want to create awareness, so nobody has to wake up and say, oh my gosh, I'm in crisis, what do I do?

Speaker 2:

now it is. We see that regularly. It's often single moms not always, but often single moms who are low income and they've been in survival mode. You know this was how they were raised. That's what they're used to seeing. They've been making it on their own, you know they've had to figure it out and so they're often very resourceful. You know, and very adept at, you know, navigating different resources. But the place where they can often get stuck is who watches my kids. But the place where they can often get stuck is who watches my kids. That is a lot of what we have started to see, and you know. Be able to respond to parents who finally, are willing to acknowledge I need somebody else. You know I need to be able to call someone else for my children.

Speaker 1:

Absolutely. You know, they say everything is figureoutable.

Speaker 2:

I will figure it out this woman daily. Right, I will figure it out this woman daily right?

Speaker 1:

Yes, and you know, it's true, you manage to figure things out, but I guess the question is what support have you had along the way? What resources were there to help you as you figured it out? Can we talk about the different volunteer programs that you have to offer these families?

Speaker 2:

Of course. Really what evolved from the different needs that our Chicago headquarters was seeing, and then Safe Families, grew very quickly. You know we have over. I think we're at 100 chapters or something across the United States. We've been in the UK for gosh 12 or so years. We have a network in Canada. It very quickly grew to the sense of people go, oh my gosh, we need this in our community. And so what evolved from well, how can we serve families with different types of requests for help has been what we call our circle of support. The national office submitted this for research and it's been reviewed and evaluated. The circle of support is now vetted as an evidence-based model, which is pretty cool. It's been proven that this can now keep children out of foster care and that they can receive the same level of support as even like in-home services from child welfare agencies. So that can look like a few different roles.

Speaker 2:

What started in that sort of original crisis is what we call our host family opportunity. So there are some situations where it's not safe or, you know, maybe the parent is living in their car and they just want to give their kids a break while they're trying to get into their next apartment or place to live. It could be that maybe a parent is finally ready to go into a treatment center for a drug addiction. Part of what's been holding them back is that I don't know who's going to keep my kids. I don't want them to go into foster care just because I'm finally going to get treatment. It could be domestic violence, you know. It could be that there is an unsafe situation and I want to have my kids stay somewhere safe overnight, and so that's what our host families can do is that they can keep children in their homes overnight without parents losing custody. So this is a voluntary arrangement. We fully vet our volunteers. But it is an opportunity for the parent to say I need to know that my kids are in a safe place so that I can go and focus on this other stuff that's going on. So it's voluntary. The parent chooses to participate in that way. Nothing is forced. We have legal paperwork, we have all the safety paperwork, things like that that they agree to it's for a set amount of time, and then we stay in communication with the parent. They get to see their children throughout the week. You know we set up times for them to talk and see each other so it doesn't feel like their mom or dad has now abandoned them. We minimize the trauma for the child. They stay in relationship with their parent. It's just like, okay, you're going to go stay with Miss Jessie for a little while, you know, while while mama goes to work on these apartments or something Right? So sometimes it has to be overnight hosting, but it doesn't have to be.

Speaker 2:

We work very closely with our childcare centers and our homeless shelters to offer support to families. So these are families they need that day help. Sometimes it's more about the parents or the grandparent who needs a friend We've had a grandparent raising a grandchild or the single parent who's just lonely and they don't have friends and they need someone to talk to, and so that's what we call our family friend role, which can, like I said, be focused more on the adult or on the child. My family and I we are going to do day hosting this Saturday. We are family friends with a mom at the Hope for Family Center right now. They have, like I said, overnight shelter, but occasionally mom has to work on the weekends and so she can call us and she has another family friend and so we'll keep her kiddo during her day shift and then at the end of her shift we take him back to mom. We get to bond with him and we get to bond with her. So that's our family friend role.

Speaker 2:

We also have what we call our family coaches. So this is one of the professional pieces that we hold. You know we're a small professional team. We want to be professionally supported, make sure we're following guidelines and our fidelity model all of those kinds of things that the assignments are being overseen by more well-versed in community resources. They will support a parent who maybe they do need to fill out job applications and they need some job coaching on how to prepare for the interview. Maybe they need help with medical appointments, sort of navigating some of the medical system either for themselves or for their child, and so the coach might let them know about different resources and places they can go. It's been as simple as they need help paying for groceries, and so we say do you know about United Against Poverty? Coaches are going to help our families connect to the additional community resources. Besides, just Save Families, that will help them stabilize and really be able to stay together. So those are our three main volunteer rules within the circle of support.

Speaker 1:

That's a lot of great information and I took away a lot of things, and some of them I want to dig a little bit deeper. The first one is I love hearing the collaboration with other nonprofits in the community. That is great, so thank you for that. And one of the things that you recently said is you're kind of a smaller organization and that's by design, right.

Speaker 2:

Yes, the vision was always to mobilize volunteers. We wanted to mobilize the community to be better neighbors, you know, to come alongside families. There's such a difference when you have that peer-to-peer relationship than just the professional to client relationship. We value the professional services in our community. We're very focused on this is our lane, we're very relational. You know, that is the gap that we fill and we couldn't see and support families in all of the different ways that they need it without our community partners. So collaboration is huge to us.

Speaker 2:

I tell this story a lot. If I've been to the doctor or if I was working with a professional in some way and they make a recommendation to me, I go. Oh, thank you very much. You know it's a good information.

Speaker 2:

But when I'm struggling, I need to make a change around how I'm living, when it comes to whether or not I'm going to work out or eat right. Or, you know, when I'm frustrated with my kids and I'm trying to remember what that parenting educator said about something, I'm not going to call the expert. I'm not going to call my doctor. That's not who I turn to for support. I'm going to call my friend who's willing to go walk the bridge with me or go for a walk instead of going out for drinks or something like that. I call my friend who's had a child with special needs and needed to go through the school system.

Speaker 2:

And how do you apply for a 504 plan and what's an IEP and how do we do that right? I can ask questions of professionals, but it's my friends who are really going to walk me through it and help make that difference in my life. And that's the other important piece for us if we can take out that power dynamic between the professional and the client scenario and help it feel like it's peer to peer. We very intentionally don't stipend our host families because that makes it feel a little bit more forced. It makes it feel a little bit more like foster care and we are really trying to create that familial like relationship, absolutely.

Speaker 1:

And you know, going back to having that friend to talk, to get advice, sometimes what we need is as simple as just someone to listen, absolutely. Yeah, we forget about that. We're so engaged with everything right Social media and whatnot that sometimes just a lending ear is all we really need.

Speaker 2:

Well, and what's really neat about that is many of us know that intuitively and that relationships matter, that these social connections, listening matters. It's become a joke in some relationships, right, Like, I just want you to listen, I don't need you to fix it. And so sometimes our volunteers can feel overwhelmed and they go oh my gosh, there's so many needs, Like I don't know how to help them. We say we're not asking you to solve all their problems, we're not asking you to fix it all. We're asking you to be present.

Speaker 2:

We use the phrase being a faithful presence in their lives. You are that steady, that calm, reassuring connection. When they're freaking out about somebody in their family calling them, asking for help or something that's happened with their kids, and when you can bring that calm and that support and that encouragement just by listening, it makes all the difference. And the science is backing that up. Now you know all of the research is showing how important that is. So you know we tell our volunteers it can feel like a lot, but we're not asking you to own that, we just want you to be that friend you know, to be that good listener in their lives.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, by simply listening, you're telling that person that you matter, your feelings matter, your thoughts matter, you matter, right, it's so important thoughts matter, you matter, right, it's so important, yes, and the difference that that makes in confidence.

Speaker 2:

We talk about resilience. There's an evidence-based framework called the protective factors, so that's kind of the method behind our madness. You know people go oh relationships and that's kind of squishy, but there is science, there is research backing up what we do and why we do it, and it builds resilience. Families have hope, and when families can self-report that they're feeling more confident and you know some of these different criteria than that framework then that's what builds their persistence and their ability to then be able to push through hard times and keep going and not give up. And then they're less likely to spiral and they know where to go for help so that even if something happens again and which it often does they're still more able to navigate those challenging circumstances.

Speaker 1:

Absolutely. How do you assist? Let's say, the parent is harboring feelings of I'm not good enough, I'm not a good parent, I can't take care of my child. How do you support them?

Speaker 2:

we talk about a strengths-based approach. It's certainly more individualized per parent, you know, kind of depends on their situation. But yes, our coaches and volunteers, we train them and paying attention to the good, you know, finding the strengths in what they're doing, whatever it might be like. We call those out so that they can can have some perspective and hopefully put the judgment down and learn to be compassionate with themselves too.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, the validation can be really hard to ask for help. It can be a very humbling thing and that could be part of the reason really hard to ask for help. It can be a very humbling thing and that could be part of the reason people don't ask for help. They don't want to feel like they failed or something. But at the end of the day they didn't fail and you show them like, listen, here's all of the amazing things that you are doing within your control and now let us help you further advance where you are right now.

Speaker 2:

You know we work directly with the parent. That's. Our initial conversations with them are around what are your goals? This isn't about imposing our standards what we think is a good child care center or what we think you know should be their top priority and it's about working with them to really kind of realize the dreams for themselves and help them, you know, be able to calm down enough, right, that's that crisis mode. But then once they're calm and kind of out of their brainstem and able to start to think critically again and, you know, dream again, we say what are your goals? You know where would you like to start.

Speaker 2:

What do you think would make the biggest difference for your family? You know where would you like to start. What do you think would make the biggest difference for your family? We really let them lead when it comes to goal setting so that it feels like a win for them. Right, it's something they chose and that they accomplished for themselves and that it's also sustainable for their family. It's not a crime to live in your car, it's not a crime to be homeless, and if they're making that work and a lot of families do it then great way to be a resourceful parent and you are still providing for your children. We really work within what makes sense for them and their situation and what they feel like is going to be most helpful to getting their family to that next level of stability.

Speaker 1:

For however they want to define that, you know the question how can I help you is so powerful, especially as parents, because you're in that caregiver role of you know you're helping, helping, helping that to have someone come in and say how can I help you is powerful. Can you share some additional reasons why a parent might reach?

Speaker 2:

out. I think our top three reasons that parents call us are lack of support and homelessness and lack of child care. Those are usually some of the first things that we start to address Now. Housing obviously is far more challenging in the last two and a half years than it was previously, but we are always keeping up with what are the new opportunities in our community and who are the Treasure Coast Homeless Services Council and United Against Poverty or Community Services. What are those resources? How can we help them navigate those? But sometimes it's more focused on that lack of support and they just really need a friend.

Speaker 2:

We've had several single moms recently who were just lonely. Maybe their children had some challenging behaviors. It might not be appropriate for us to host them or even day host them right away, but it's how can we support you? Where are you feeling the most discouraged? Does that need to be another referral? You know we've certainly connected people and pointed them to, like the Mental Health Association, or you know other counseling types and teams. You know other counseling services, things like that. So sometimes it is more of a direct referral, but other times it is that friending, it is that child support. So those are the top three reasons that they come to us Do people find you on their own or are they generally referred to you?

Speaker 2:

That's a great question. We often get referrals from organizations, but families can self-refer. That happens a lot too, especially, you know, the longer we're in a community, and then other families talk about us to other folks and you know, oh my gosh, they were so helpful to me, you should call them. And so there is some of that happening for sure. It kind of comes in waves, is really what we've seen. Last year we had a few parents who ended up needing to do short jail sentences and they needed someone to watch their kids. So we did that last year a couple of times. So yeah, it kind of comes in waves.

Speaker 1:

What ages do you serve?

Speaker 2:

The majority of children are under the age of 10, but we can support 0 to 17. If they are 18, then we would consider them an adult and there have been a couple of scenarios where it was a child who had maybe aged out of foster care, or maybe they never went completely into foster but were functionally not in a healthy home and ended up kind of being kicked out or would move out on their own, and so they don't have to have children if they're in that young adult range. But maybe they need a mentor and they need their own friend, you know, just to kind of coach them and parent them a little bit. We had two who needed to learn how to drive they never learned how to drive and one he was working and he had never been apartment hunting. He didn't know what he was looking for. You know, wanted someone to teach him what do you look for in an apartment, what questions do you ask and how do you figure out how much you can afford and that sort of thing. So that was a young adult. You know he didn't have any children or anything, but we were still able to support him. That's great.

Speaker 2:

Otherwise, families it can be anyone, but they do have to have custody of the children. So it could be a grandparent, it could be an aunt or an uncle, but if they've been given custody of the child and they can, you know, sign paperwork and make decisions on behalf of the child, then we can support that family unit. But once they've been sheltered or if it's like a kinship placement within foster care you know some of those kinds of scenarios, when they've been removed from the parent and the state is involved then that's not our lane anymore. You know that really is foster care. But then once a family, if they are set to be reunified with their children that date is within about six months that they are going to get reunified with their children, that date is within about six months that they are going to get their kids back we could also come back alongside that family and start to get involved then too and help them with a family friend Awesome.

Speaker 1:

I wanted to ask you what the process looks like. So the scenario is, say, I'm a homeless mom and I have a child and I need somebody to help take care of him. Right now, while I figure out my living situation, and let's say I've been referred to you, what does the process look like now that we have been connected?

Speaker 2:

So we start with an intake interview. We do have a form that we would have parents fill out, but we usually would just do that with them over the phone too, just to get a little bit of background on their situation and best way to contact them. And who are the family members. Is there anybody else that they would consider, you know, like an emergency contact, and then we do an interview. We just have a lot of different questions that we go through. You know, how are you feeling now and how did you get here? What are your goals? What's your priority? Where would you like to start? Who are they already working with, or what kinds of other resources do they need? We have a child information form and a parent information form, so they give us a little bit of their background. We don't always get the whole story, but are there mental health concerns that we should know about? Are there behavioral concerns for the child that we should know about? What are their favorite foods? What's their bedtime routine? What school do they go to? Do they have teachers that you've talked with, or after-school programs? We really want to try and maintain the child's schedule and relationships as much as we can, and so we are able to keep them in their home school, whether that's child care center or a public school and we really work with the parent to know, you know, how are we going to make them comfortable in this volunteer's home, you know, is there a levy or a blanket that's important to them, and what are the foods that we should have on hand? And then we would set up, you know, a visit schedule. Yeah, so we get all that information from the parent and then our staff member, my intake specialist and family coach supervisor, then she puts out the ask to the volunteers. So in that scenario it sounds like there would be overnight hosting that would be wanted. So then we would contact the host families and say we have this opportunity, you know, for you to serve who's available. So then we have a meet and greet that we set up. So once a volunteer says, yes, available. So then we have a meet and greet that we set up. So once a volunteer says yes, we have the volunteer and the family meet in a neutral location.

Speaker 2:

We still work protectively for our volunteers. We do not give out their addresses. We just never know who, even if it's not the parent, who the parent might be connected to and that's also something that's in the paperwork, you know, for our volunteers. So the parent has to sign what we call temporary guardianship and so that gives the host family permission to take them to the doctor or take them to school, you know, get school information, that sort of thing, kind of act on their behalf.

Speaker 2:

But it also says that I agree to hold harmless, you know, this host family. I understand they're doing this out of the goodness of their heart. They're not being compensated. Even when adults are vigilant, accidents can happen, right, it's that sort of thing. So again, we're still working protectively for our volunteers and then that's what we sign and we talk through the scenario and then we work out the times that you know maybe the parent would want to see their kiddo while they're in hosting and how they're going to talk. Or you know you send them pictures of their child when they're eating or maybe swimming in the pool or something like that. And then we set them on their way and everybody's good to go.

Speaker 1:

Thank you for sharing. I think sometimes people are afraid in general to reach out because they don't necessarily understand what's going to happen next, right, what's the process? So by sharing what you shared, I hope that it will ease the minds of somebody that maybe needs some help and has just been reluctant to ask for it.

Speaker 2:

Absolutely, and even with our host families. You know, I know I said that we don't stipend them, but the last piece of our circle of support is our resource friend, and those are folks who are willing to take a meal to a host family, or maybe they donate the grocery gift card, you know, maybe they're even willing to donate some supplies or things like that, or help with goods and services in any way so that it eases the burden of hosting a child. It is a lot that we ask our volunteers to take on, but we do our best to resource them as well, so it's not a complete out-of-pocket sacrifice.

Speaker 1:

So, speaking of volunteers, in order to support, say, families, the Treasure Coast chapter, how many volunteers would you need?

Speaker 2:

We're always in need of host families to be able to accommodate the multiple scenarios or even multiple siblings. You know we've had sibling groups of three and four that we have had to split up, which really is not always a bad thing. Most of the time there's enough of an age gap that it is actually a blessing for the kids to get some alone time, and they're happy for that. But there are other scenarios that we would have liked to keep all three of the kids together and we just aren't able to because host families don't have enough room. It could be that there's a teenager, and so maybe some of our host families don't have enough room. It could be that there's a teenager, and so maybe some of our host families aren't comfortable working with teenagers or they don't have a spare bedroom Aside from being a volunteer.

Speaker 1:

How can the community support you?

Speaker 2:

Well, we are always looking for business partners. We do have what we call the Strong Families Tax Credit. It is something that's been around in Florida for about four years now. We do qualify for that. So, depending on, there are certain types of taxes that qualify. So if a business thinks they would be interested in doing that, it's their tax liability, so it's nothing additional out of their bottom line. So that's an opportunity that they could use to possibly work with us and support us. We certainly are.

Speaker 2:

Also look for sponsors for our events that we host. We like to do family fun days where we can do picnics with our volunteer families and the families we support, and so we usually provide a main dish. Or, you know, we might rent a bounce house or something like that, and so having support for that is always helpful. But just getting the word out, you know, letting people know that we're here, making referrals to families, helping people really understand who we are and what we're about, is always helpful. If you have a civic club, rotary Club or retired educators, anything like that, your church group, your small group, anybody that you think might be willing to be a part of that circle of support in any way, I would welcome the chance to talk to them and work together on those things.

Speaker 1:

Awesome. Have I missed anything that is important with you to share?

Speaker 2:

We're not the traditional after-school program and you know checkbox, all these things right, but we're about deep relationship and we go all in with these families for as long as they're willing to work with us, and so that may be six months, it's been 18 months. It really is about that depth of relationship and support to really stabilize families for the long haul. So I just appreciate all of your questions and you know getting to talk all the way around the circle of support and the families and just all of those things. So thank you so much.

Speaker 1:

Of course, funny because I say okay, 30 minutes, but then you know you get talking and it's so engaging and so informative and I'm curious. So I'm like I want to learn more and so I'm sure the audience is probably. They'll probably have even more questions after this, but nonetheless I appreciate you making time for me and wanting to come on and share your message and your mission. So thank you.

Speaker 2:

Oh well, thank you just for being curious, for asking good questions and for caring about how we can support one another in the community Because, like you've shared, you know, people want to share their stories, they want to be seen, they want to be heard, they want to be loved, and that's what we, that's what we want to do.

Speaker 1:

We are a community. Jessie, thank you for being my guest today on the I Need Blue podcast. It was my pleasure.

Speaker 2:

Thank you so much, you're welcome.

Speaker 1:

And this is Jen Lee, host of the I Need Blue podcast. You can learn anything and everything about I Need Blue on my website, wwwineedbluenet. And remember you are stronger than you think. Until next time, I love you.

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Jennifer Lee

Host