Tanner Smith + Katie Hyten: Bridge the Distance Through Dialogue
Rethink Community: The Podcast
Release Date: 07/01/2022
Real Stories Behind COPE: Carlos Guajardo
Rethink Community: The Podcast
“If you take a chance on us, we’ll take a chance on you.” Those were the words that first led Carlos Guajardo to join forces with Think Tank over a decade ago, and ultimately to contribute his story and insights to the creation of the Cost of Poverty Experience. Now a published author of a book about his life story, Carlos shares his deep and honest reflections in this episode about what it took for him to journey out of poverty, and the unanticipated redemption he has found along the way. by Carlos Guajardo
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Real Stories Behind COPE: Ken Moss
Rethink Community: The Podcast
Decades ago when Pastor Ken Moss’ prison term ended and he became a returning citizen, conversations were just getting started about the challenging realities of life with a prison record. Now an instrumental leader in developing and facilitating the Reentry Cost of Poverty Experience, Pastor Ken Moss shares more of his story: What it took to rebuild his life outside prison walls, and the radical relationships that helped him find a place to flourish.
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Real Stories Behind COPE: Melissa Massey
Rethink Community: The Podcast
Today Melissa Massey is a powerful supporter and advocate for survivors of domestic violence. Like many working in her field, her story is rooted in the firsthand experience of rebuilding life on the other side of addiction, poverty, and domestic violence. In this episode, Melissa reflects on where life has taken her and how she’s using that experience as a platform to help others.
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Real Stories Behind COPE: Kristin Hicks
Rethink Community: The Podcast
Poverty is much more than an issue, and more than a statistic. It’s a condition experienced by real human beings, each with their own unique story. Guest Kristin Hicks first shared her experience of poverty with Think Tank over a decade ago, to help shape the Cost of Poverty Experience. Today she reflects on that experience, the wisdom she has gained, and the relational and emotional support that helped her make the journey out of poverty.
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Build Together with Perseverance: Jimeka Holloway
Rethink Community: The Podcast
Time. Honor. Authenticity. Relationship. These are key ingredients for organizations that want to Build Together with those with lived experience - but sometimes they feel difficult to manage within the pressures of outcomes, deadlines, and budgets. Dr. Jimeka Holloway has spent years as a guide to organizations and communities seeking change. In this episode she shares her personal experience and insight about how organizations can persevere through these tensions, and the practices and beliefs that need to guide those who truly want to Build Together to see their communities thrive.
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Build Together with Creativity: Karin VanZant
Rethink Community: The Podcast
Karin VanZant is a leader who’s not afraid to challenge the status quo, especially when it comes to the systems intended to help those at the margins of poverty. Karin’s own proximity to the realities of poverty and to people who have navigated it have shaped her views on what it means to lead and what it looks like to build together to create systems that work for everyone.
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Build Together with Hope: Sharon Gilmore
Rethink Community: The Podcast
Sharon Gilmore has spent the past several decades transforming pain into purpose. Using her story and her voice to inspire others today, she is just as committed to helping organizations understand the human resources and assets they may be missing: those with lived experience. Sharon is a passionate advocate for communities to believe in the powerful potential of those who have walked the hardest paths.
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Build Together for Recovery: Blake Hobson & Roger Fox
Rethink Community: The Podcast
What if we looked at a person who needs help not just as a “need” - but as someone who has the greatest potential to help others in that same situation? The field of addiction and recovery has been using this approach for years to bring healing and change. On this episode, we hear the stories of two men who first were helped by and then became part of an organization that values their lived experience and builds together with them for greater impact.
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Build Together with Respect: Sean Walton, Sr
Rethink Community: The Podcast
This season we’re exploring the vital but difficult practice of how we Build Together to bring change. Sean Walton, Sr. has lived on both sides of Build Together: As someone who knows what it’s like to live at the margins economically, and who’s also advised and been part of organizations working to revitalize marginalized communities. Sean shares from his life experience what kind of investment it takes to build trust, communicate respect, and ultimately lead real change by building together.
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Tasha Stansell + Betsy Wilson: Bridge the Distance Through Risk
Rethink Community: The Podcast
Perhaps the greatest act of resisting the divides that exist in our communities and in our nation is the simple but radical act of building a genuine friendship with another person across that divide. Today two women join us to share the story of how they met nine years ago - one of them a single mom working to get out of poverty, the other finding herself isolated in a middle-class bubble. You'll hear about what it took to push through their initial fears and discomfort, how they've grown in those nine years, and how their friendship has helped them gain a new perspective.
info_outline When was the last time you had a conversation with someone about an issue you both strongly disagreed on - and walked away feeling like you really got somewhere? Many of us have found ourselves so deeply divided from friends or family members on controversial issues - ones we may care greatly about - that we've simply given up trying to talk about it.
And what happens when it's not just individuals, but whole communities who can't seem to talk to one another? Two outstanding and unique organizations, Essential Partners and The Colossian Forum have made it their mission to do what seems impossible: Foster healthy dialogue in deeply divided spaces. Katie Hyten and Tanner Smith share powerful insights about where our divisions come from - and how we can begin to find common ground.
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