Friends In Deed Podcast

In this episode, Rabbi Joshua continues the conversation about the Grants Pass decision, and specifically how this might start directly affecting our city of Pasadena. He welcomes Friends In Deed's Director of Street Outreach and Housing, Tish Inong, MPA, MSW, LCSW. https://friendsindeedpas.org https://friendsindeedpas.org

In this episode, Rabbi Joshua discusses the recent ruling by the Supreme Court, which overruled the 9th circuit in saying that 'camping' on the streets if you are homeless, even if you don't have anywhere else to go, does not constitute cruel and unusual punishment, and can be punished with citations or arrest. This first discussion is with one of Friends In Deed's MSW interns,...

In this episode, Rabbi Joshua shares the highlights and findings from the recently released Pasadena 2024 Homeless Count report.  In the next episode, he will bring on other folks to discuss the report and talk about what it means for the state of homelessness in our city. A link to the full report is included below. More about Friends In Deed: https://www.friendsindeedpas.org Full report: https:/...

In this episode, Rabbi Joshua speaks with Stacey McCarroll, the Director of our Eviction Prevention and Rental Assistance program, about the overall state of evictions in our community, and the rising rate of older Americans in particular.  There is a link to the report that we discuss below. https://friendsindeedpas.org/ https://endhomelessness.org/blog/paint-by-numbers-older-americans-and-homele...

On this episode, Rabbi Joshua speaks with therapist and psychologist, Dr. Julie Moore, who has a private practice, but has been volunteering her services at Friends In Deed, offering twice a month walk-in sessions for both Street Outreach and TWR clients. This conversation covers a wide-range of topics around the area of mental health and how it relates to homelessness. And the answers are not alw...

On this episode, Rabbi Joshua talks with Suzanne, a woman who has seen a great many challenges in her life, including cancer and the loss of her parents and siblings in just a few short years. Before getting sick, she was a successful paralegal with a solid career and a stable life. She tells her story of going from that place to living in her car for 2 years to finally getting back into housing....

It is often said that "dogs are a person's best friend." This is certainly true, and perhaps more so, for our unsheltered neighbors experiencing homelessness. On this episode, Rabbi Joshua speaks with Christine Kim, founder of a non-profit called My Dog is My Home, which does advocacy work around the issues of emotional support animals specifically for the population living on the s...

In this special episode, Rabbi Joshua talks at length with Anthony, a man our Street Outreach team worked with and helped get permanently housed. He has a pretty inspiring story, albeit difficult, which includes his incredible son winning chess tournaments while sometimes living in a motel with his dad. This is one you won't want to miss--and will want to share! www.friendsindeedpas.org Music...

Welcome to 2024! In this first episode of the new year, Rabbi Joshua talks about the Bad Weather Shelter as this is the first time we will be operating in 3 years! There is a new location, Trinity Lutheran Church, and so Rabbi Joshua has a conversation with Pastor Sharon Richter, who shares her faith journey and why the church is so supportive and excited to be the new host.  Learn more about Frie...

For this final episode of the year, Rabbi Joshua shares some of the numbers and highlights of how our services were provided this past year. It was a record year in all of our programs, both in number of people attending and in the new ways we have been able to serve. Our staff has grown, our budget has grown, our visibility has grown, our volunteers have grown, we have new board members and we ar...

We are back! After a bit of a hiatus, we are thrilled to post a brand new episode. After sharing some updates and highlights from the past few weeks, Rabbi Joshua has a wonderful interview and conversation with Jane Armbruster, The Women's Room Program Manager and Case Counselor. Jane shares deeply about her life story, which includes being a professional vocalist and stage performer, struggl...

In this very special episode, Rabbi Joshua has a wide-ranging interview with Steve Lopez, an award-winning journalist and best-selling author, who has been a columnist with the Los Angeles Times for nearly two decades. Mr. Lopez is the author of the book, The Soloist, which chronicles his journey with a man he met on the streets, Nathaniel Ayers, who was playing a 2-stringed violin in Pershing Squ...

In this episode, Rabbi Joshua talks with Ondina, a guest in The Women's Room who worked with our staff first to find a domestic violence shelter for safety, and then locate permanent housing. Ondina is an inspiring and energetic woman who shares her story with passion, emotion and immense gratitude. You can't help but be moved listening to her share her journey in her own words, telling...

In part 2 of the conversation about the National Low Income Housing Coalition's report, 'Out of Reach," Rabbi Joshua dives into the wage rate needed to live in and around Pasadena, which is 3x the rate of the minimum wage! The statistics aren't pretty, but they are real. During the break, learn about FID's upcoming movie night fundraiser, Stories from the Street, where we...

In the first of a multi-part series, Rabbi Joshua begins to unpack a report called 'Out of Reach,' published annually by the National Low Income Housing Coalition, which tracks the cost of rentals in every state, and compares them with the wage rate need to afford a modest one or two bedroom home. This episode focuses nationally, hence the title of 'Don't Make $24/hr,' and...

We are back after a few weeks hiatus! On this episode, Rabbi Joshua talks with Olivia Esteb, the Substance Abuse Specialist on our Street Outreach team, who shares her story of growing up in Pasadena, having health and personal challenges as a kid that led her to a dark place, heroin addiction, homelessness, prison. And how, after many stints in rehab, love from her family and support of therapist...

For this very special episode, Rabbi Joshua speaks to one of the guests in The Women's Room, who opens up about her life and experience of being homeless for the past 5 years. Having had a stable upbringing, a career and loving parents, the death of her mother sent her into a downward spiral, causing PTSD, which led to the loss of jobs, inability to pay rent and eventually homelessness. The i...

Continuing with Mental Health Awareness month, Rabbi Joshua is joined by two experts, and local celebrities in the work of homelessness and housing, Dr. Joe Colletti and Dr. Sofia Herrera.  In this wide-ranging conversation, we hear about the latest data from around the state; a focus on women and their unique struggles; the benefit of tiny homes and transitional housing; the difficult aspects of...

May is Mental Health Awareness month, so Rabbi Joshua is talking with Tish Strickland, Program Director of FID's Street Outreach and Housing. Tish is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with a speciality in mental health. The conversation covers mental health stigmas, trauma-informed care, street medicine opportunities and how we best care for, and offer treatment to, those suffering on the str...

In honor of the holiday of Passover, Rabbi Joshua discusses the concept of leaving the narrow places, a key theme, as it relates to our thinking around homelessness and potential solutions. We need to have a more expansive approach to using empty building for housing; empty storefronts for mental health clinics; closed nursing homes, hospitals and motels for bridge and interim housing. This episod...

Today, Rabbi Joshua shares the wisdom and thoughts of Matthew Desmond, Professor of Sociology at Princeton, who has a new book called Poverty, By America . His previous book, Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City , won the Pulitzer Prize. Learn about the billions of dollars collected each year from the poorest Americans by the fees and interest rates they get charged. The "War on P...

On this episode, Rabbi Joshua discusses the recent homeless count, which is a national "point-in-time" count that seeks to identify as many of those living without shelter in the cities across our nation. We are joined by the Pasadena Housing Department's Homeless Programs Coordinator, Jenni O'Reilly-Jones, who shares her knowledge and expertise about the count itself, as well...

On this episode, Rabbi Joshua speaks to a few people at our Bad Weather Supplies distribution, including a 71 year-old Pasadena native living on the streets, and one of the Azusa Pacific Nursing students that provide care each Thursday night. The title of this episode comes from a story related to us by the groundskeeper at First United Methodist Church; be sure to listen until the end.  Learn mor...

With the winter months bringing cold and rain, Friends In Deed is operating its Bad Weather Supplies distribution, and emergency motel program. With all of the press about this last week, Rabbi Joshua wrote an op-ed in Pasadena Now, which he expands upon in this episode. One potential solution: like the city of LA, might there be a motel open to a master leasing contract that would offer all of th...

Recorded on MLK Day, Rabbi Joshua welcomes Dr. Peter Dreier, E.P. Clapp Distinguished Professor of Politics at Occidental College, and Ryan Bell, Southern California Regional Coordinator at Tenants Together, to discuss the recent passing of Measure H, a Pasadena ballot measure approving rent control. Both Peter and Ryan were active in the organizing effort that helped pass this measure, and the co...