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January 21, 2025 • 29 mins

Today's special guest is Richard C Johnson , Director of Grants at the Dream Center in Los Angeles, California. He joins Hosts Ramses Ja and Q Ward to discuss how the Dream Center is working to help families impacted by the recent wildfires.

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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Richard C.

Speaker 2 (00:01):
Johnson is a prominent figure associated with The Dream Center,
a nonprofit organization primarily focused on providing support and opportunities
to marginalize communities in Los Angeles, California, particularly known for
its work with homeless individuals and at risk youth. The
Dream Center Los Angeles and iHeartMedia are stepping up as
a beacon of hope and resilience for those affected by

(00:23):
the devastating fires sweeping across Los Angeles County. As a
trusted Los Angeles community hub, the Dream Center is committed
to providing immediate support and resources to individuals and families
in need during this challenging time.

Speaker 1 (00:37):
Here with us to discuss the ways.

Speaker 2 (00:38):
The Dream Center is taking on this challenge and to
explain the ways that we can all support is the
man himself, Richard C.

Speaker 1 (00:45):
Johnson.

Speaker 2 (00:47):
This is the Black Information Network Daily Podcast. I am
your host Ramsy's.

Speaker 3 (00:52):
Jah and I am your host q Ward.

Speaker 1 (00:55):
All right, mister Richard C. Johnson, Welcome to the show man.
How are you doing today?

Speaker 4 (00:58):
I'm doing wonderfully. Thanks, thank you so much, appreciate the
amazing introduction. I'm honored to be in your company and
to just share all the great things that humanity is
coming together to do in response to hurting people.

Speaker 5 (01:16):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:16):
Well, if I'm honest, I appreciate your energy. I know
that there's a lot of people that are dealing with
an emotional weight and that's got to be like a
kind of a contagious energy out there. But you seem
to be in a very positive mood, and I'm sure
people need that right now. But then again, I think

(01:38):
that you're kind of known for that. So let's do
what we always do here on this show. We like
to start our stories at the beginning. Do us a favorite,
tell us a little bit about yourself, a little bit
about your background, maybe where you grew up, just so
that our listeners are familiar with you. Give us the
quick and dirty version of your story that led you
to the work that you're doing.

Speaker 5 (01:56):
Now. Well, I would love to share.

Speaker 4 (01:59):
I'm originally from El Paso, Texas, as far western Texas
as you can go without being in Mexico. I'm fifth
generation Pentecostal preacher's kids, so you may be getting a
taste of that. I'm the oldest of three siblings. My
younger brother's an orthopedic surgeon in El Paso, and Phoenix

(02:19):
and my younger sister is the law enforcement attorney for
the Law Enforcement Union or the attorney for the Law
Enforcement Union in Opaso. I had a career in Opaso.
I was a pastoring for a period of time and
circumstances led me to the Dream Center worked at That's
a longer story for another show. But in my transition

(02:44):
to LA and worked with the Dream Center, I'm the
grants manager and developed into the grants director and leading
all relationships that are funded through organizations and institutions like foundations,
and so I've got to see firsthand the transformation that
comes through the Dream Center. I had a crisis point

(03:08):
in my life where the Dream Center was a resource
even for me, and so I have a personal relationship.
Again that's a longer story with the resources at the
Dream Center. But now I'm privileged to give back and
the energy that you may feel despite of the heaviness
of the situation. I feel it's a service to maintain

(03:31):
an energy of positive expectation, positive intention to lift those
whose heads are down or who may be in a
low mood just because of the circumstances are so dire.
So it's my privilege to serve both through the resource
hub of the Dream Center and personally. I do live coaching,

(03:53):
nonprofit consulting. All that again for hopefully when you invite
me back for another.

Speaker 3 (03:58):
Show, I'll say thank you again for the spirit that
you're sharing with us. Watching what's going on in La
from a distance, for Ramdas and myself and for others
all across the country, it looks like a really scary movie.
And even if you don't know anyone there, it's easy
to feel the weight of what's happening. For those of

(04:20):
us that have friends and family in La County, it
feels completely different. It's genuinely scary, it's genuinely kind of
heartbreaking watching what's going on. And then we have a
conversation with someone like you who's not only doing incredible work,
but who brings such an incredibly positive spirit to the conversation.
So I'll echo what Ramda said and just thank you
for sharing that spirit with us. Talk to us a

(04:44):
little bit about the resources that the center provides in
ways that displaced and people who are dealing with loss
in this moment can use the Dream Center as a resource.

Speaker 4 (04:55):
Definitely, the Dream Center is known, it's been operating over
thirty years helping people respond to personal crises and devastation.
So there's a camaraderie or some sort of fraternal spirit
here on the campus because many of the people that
have come either through or to the Dream Center have

(05:17):
had an experience of devastating loss. And so we represent
what it means to be resilient. We represent what.

Speaker 5 (05:25):
It means to find a path forward.

Speaker 4 (05:30):
I say, in my experience, when I lost everything, I
thought I needed to be happy. I found that nothing
made me happier. And so just to communicate the hope
that is beyond things, the hope and the value in
humanity and in life that is not in the material
yet understanding that there has been a trauma in losing

(05:51):
and having such a sense of loss. And so the
Dream Center has residential housing programs. We normally normal circumstances
or housing homeless families, veterans, a youth that are emancipated
out of foster care.

Speaker 5 (06:07):
We have a.

Speaker 4 (06:08):
Recovery program that's a residential program. All our services are
free of charge, So if you're dealing with a life
controlling issue, you can become a part of our recovery program.
It's not the traditional recovery program. It's more like a
a restoration and reintegration program where you can come in

(06:32):
free of charge for an entire year and get free
room and board up to two or three years after
you graduate, and all in effort to help people rebuild
their lives. And so we've leveraged those resources in addition
to our outreach resources of having one of the largest
food banks in Los Angeles, having food distribution to twenty

(06:55):
six low income sites around Los Angeles.

Speaker 5 (06:58):
We do a lot.

Speaker 4 (06:59):
It's kind of hard to explain all that we do
for people to get wrap their minds around it. That's
why we invite everyone to have a visit. We'd love
to give tours to any VIP that I'll spare some
time to come to Los Angeles and let us share
our story in person. But we've leveraged all those resources,
all that experience to serve the people who have been

(07:23):
impacted by the wildfires, and we're happy to do so.
We're seeing people come and they're needing to get everything
from underwear and socks, toilet trees, to food and groceries,
and we're here to help meet those needs.

Speaker 2 (07:40):
Okay, well, so you mentioned a couple of things that
people are dealing with, and I think that that gives
some insight into what it must feel like and what
it must be like on the ground to be a
person that doesn't have toiletries and socks. But I want
you to talk a little bit more about that, maybe
share some stories of what it is people are in

(08:00):
during because I think that by knowing what it is
that people are facing and families are facing right now,
I think that it makes a little bit more real
and I think it might inspire some creativity or maybe
motivate people to take certain actions that they maybe they
hadn't considered because all they have so far is what,

(08:23):
like you mentioned, you know, what they're seeing on TV
that just kind of plays like a movie and they're like, oh,
that's so sad. But you know, people can donate a
borrow soap or something like that. So yeah, I talk
a little bit more about maybe what it is people
are really up against out there on the ground.

Speaker 4 (08:37):
Yes, Well, the fire and the devastation from it has
been indiscriminate. It's touched people of all backgrounds, all races,
and we've even it's even touched us here with our
co founder, Pastor Matthew Barnett was displaced and is living
on the property. We had another one of our executives

(09:00):
who also was displaced, and we here are so used
to responding to the needs of the people, they were
not realizing that they were in the same situation. One
of the pastors stopped me and told me that someone
gave them a bag of toiletries, underwear, socks, things, the basics,

(09:21):
and said this is for your family. And it took
her a little while to realize I'm one of the
people impacted to you know, I'm hesitant to call them victims,
even though the dire circumstances have put them in a
vulnerable state. But the vulnerability, when it hits you, it

(09:44):
takes you a while to register what's happened to you.
It takes you a while to respond to the trauma.
So you have people here who are actually impacted by
the fires that are serving other people impacted by the fires.
So we're all in this together, and so there's there's
it's not one group of people who's been impacted. It's

(10:06):
not one type of people, not one economic status. Many
people across the spectrum of humanity are suffering right now,
and those who weren't personal, those whose homes weren't affected,
are being affected by the air. There's still ash in
the air. It's it feels like we're in a movie,

(10:27):
like an apocalyptic movie when you see the end of
the world and the haze in the air, and it
has that error to it. And so it's a very
very serious matter. It's very very important that we remain
vigilant because the news cycle it is so fickle that

(10:48):
in a two, three weeks a month, the need will
still be here and the urgency might not. So I'm
grateful that you're giving us this space to communicate the
need and the earth urgency for people just to be
compassionate and care because devastating circumstances can happen to us
all and it's so important that we as a human

(11:11):
race support each other and stand up and are there
for each other in a time of need.

Speaker 1 (11:17):
We are here today with Richard C.

Speaker 2 (11:19):
Johnson of the Dream Center, a nonprofit organization primarily focused
on providing support and opportunities to marginalize communities in Los Angeles.

Speaker 3 (11:30):
So you were talking about the urgency of the situation,
and right when something like this happens, it's when the
maximum amount of eyeballs are on it when people feel
most inclined to help and be supportive. But like you said, media,
television and outlets like ours really shape the way people

(11:51):
view a tragedy like this. Moving forward, like you said,
a month from now, two months from now, another story
hits and we forget that people are still reeling and
still dealing with the wake of these fires and what
it does to change people's lives in such a dramatic way.
How do you think the fact that this has been
such a highly politicized tragedy affects the type of work

(12:14):
that you guys are able to do there on the
ground in La.

Speaker 5 (12:20):
Well.

Speaker 4 (12:21):
The beauty of our leadership here, Pastor Matthew is really
good at not getting caught up in political fray. He's
really good about it because he prioritizes the needs of
people and meeting those needs. One of the mantras of
our organization is find a need and fell it, find

(12:41):
a hurt and heal it. And we have that in
our minds as we move forward to avoid the distractions.
But before the fires, we were already in a housing crisis,
and what this fire hit were people's homes so on
top of there being a lack of housing, you've had
thousands of homes consumed by these wildfires. So it exasperated

(13:06):
something that was already a devastating circumstance of homelessness. And
so to rebuild and build is going to take some time.
You don't build and rebuild a community. You don't build
a home, rebuild a home overnight in a month, in

(13:27):
two months. And in addition to that, there's going to
be the processes of people going through their insurance and
running through the obstacles to get what's due, where there
may be some that don't even have insurance, you know.
And we're trying to deal with the challenge, the economic
challenges that all of us are facing, and so the

(13:48):
different the needs are on different levels, but none of
them are going to be resolved immediately. What we can
do is we can comfort and support and help us
sustain and uplift and ease the pain of this UH
crisis in the moment and be there for them on

(14:09):
the way to restoration and rebuilding.

Speaker 5 (14:12):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (14:13):
So one of the things that you mentioned earlier is
that how everyone is kind of there for each other, right,
And I think to Q's point, you know, the fact
that things have been kind of politicized, at least to
those of us on the outside looking in, has really,
I'm sure for some people that you know, they're it

(14:35):
confuses what would be a normal human response, which is
an outpouring of support and empathy.

Speaker 5 (14:42):
Right.

Speaker 2 (14:45):
But one of the things that we've noticed, and we
talked about this before, is that, you know, while people
a lot of people are looking at this like, oh,
it's just a bunch of celebrities homes, they're rich, you
know that, you know, this is what they deserve. You know,
there's there's death, definitely that rhetoric. You know, they got
what's coming to them. They got enough money, they can
take care of it. They'll buy another house and be fine.

(15:06):
Nothing to see here. There are some people out there
that feel that way. What we've seen is you know,
celebrities actually getting out there and supporting people affected by
the fires. What we've seen is some of the countries
that the president elect has been insulting the people sending

(15:30):
firefighters to help, you know, put these fires out. So
discuss you know, some of the maybe the more surprising
displays of support that you've seen on the ground there
to maybe imbue those who've been kind of listening to
the chatter, the politicized chatter, with a little bit more
in the way of understanding and empathy of really what's happening.

Speaker 4 (15:51):
Well to the point of it just being celebrities. Again,
I want to say that this has hit a spectrum
across the board, high income, low income, and even affected
a historically black community in Altadena who has much history.
In blacks who are escaping the racism and the segregation

(16:15):
of the South who've come to California. There was a
hub a community, a black community that was devastated by this.
This is a generational wealth gone where there's already a
wealth gap. And so those are some of the story
that may not get as much press, but they are
real stories. So I'm comforted though, even when I see

(16:41):
the diversity of the celebrities that have been coming, and
they've been they've been coming discreetly, they haven't been coming
with cameras. They have been coming with their pr and publicists.
We've had I believe, I believe yesterday niece Nash was
here coming in just with a tour of other notables

(17:01):
saying what can we do, what's your need? And so
even I do not have an official list, but I
think it's inspiring that they're not putting out an official
list of celebrities. These are these people, even though they
may be notable and success and acclaimed, are stepping down
from that acclaim into their humanity and coming to serve

(17:24):
and so we welcome. I know that we've hosted people
like Rock Johnson, the Dwayne Johnson, The Rock. We just
recently got a shout out from Snoop Dogg on Instagram.
We've had Kanye West come and support us. I'm speaking

(17:44):
just to the black community that has come and rallied
and it's the diversity is definitely noticeable and it's definitely inspiring.
So even the different there's going to be an event,
a fundraiser for this cause on the twenty second. It's

(18:05):
a Jazz Night at the Robrado Jazz Club, which is
pretty also notable, and we welcome any of your listeners
who are interested to go to the website www. Dreamcenter
dot org slash Jazz Night if they would like to

(18:27):
contribute in an experience of an uplifting experience of music
and entertainment. But we're trying to be creative just to
do what we can to get those resources and to
touch people's hearts while while we have their attention, and

(18:48):
so hopefully even some of the celebrities that have come
or those who might be listening, will be touched enough
to come and leverage their influence to help us keep
moving forward, to to restoring families to safety and to
a home and to they're a sense of normalcy.

Speaker 3 (19:12):
You know you spoke about out ta Dina, and for
Ramses and myself both it has some really close to
home feelings for us. Rams is from Compton, California. Myself,
my aunt and uncle both lost homes in this fire.
And now to Dina. And you know you talked about

(19:33):
generational wealth. Three or four generations deep lived in that
house and there's nothing standing now but the chimney. So
it hit home for us in a very personal way.
As nonprofit owners or you know, organizers that run a nonprofit,
we understand that most people in a situation like this

(19:54):
want to help, but don't always know how. And you know,
seeing an ad on the television or seeing a website
link to click, they don't always trust where their money
and where their support is going. So directly from the source,
what are some ways that people who are listening, who
want to help, who want to get involved, can reach

(20:15):
out to. You can connect with the center, tell us
about the things that people need, and tell us about
the ways that people can help.

Speaker 4 (20:21):
Oh, thank you for that invitation. A link that you
can trust is our website, dreamcenter dot org. That those
links have been tested. It's a safe site, so I
invite people there. We also have a list on our
Instagram and through our Instagram, we have a thorough changing list.

(20:45):
Right now, we're on a hold for any used clothing.
The only clothing that we're accepting is are things that
are new, because there's just an outpouring of people who
empty their closets. But moving forward, we want to be
able to provide people with some options that are closed
that have never been worn. Grow non perishable foods. If

(21:09):
they're perishable foods them wrapped by the restaurant, just to
ensure safety and at their high quality. There's also you
can do Amazon Smile and you can order on Amazon
Smile and have it delivered.

Speaker 5 (21:27):
We have several churches that.

Speaker 4 (21:29):
Have constant stream of supplies being delivered by Amazon Smile
or Amazon and so we're excited for those types of
partnerships that have emerged out of this crisis because that
hadn't happened before this, and so those are ways you
can do it. You Our address if you want to

(21:50):
send something straight to us is dream Center at twenty
three to oh one Bellevue Avenue, Los Angeles, California, zip
code nine zero zero two six. That's where you can
send cards, letters, and financial gifts checks. We also are

(22:11):
in the process of receiving cryptocurrency as a resource. We
have complex giving opportunities. If people want to manage their
wealth with a distribution, we can work that out. Our
director of development who leads that all up. His name
is Justin High and he is an amazing, hardworking resource.

(22:36):
His phone number is two one three two seven three
seven zero one seven. His email is j High. That's
j H I g H at dreamcenter dot org. You
can email him if you want to make personal special

(22:57):
arrangements because we also appreciate allowing someone with the heart
to give, making it easy for them to give and
to feel appreciated.

Speaker 2 (23:09):
Now, you are an inspiring person. Obviously this is a
moment where we were able to see that. But I've
been fortunate enough to do just a little bit of
background research on you, and.

Speaker 1 (23:29):
I feel like.

Speaker 2 (23:32):
People might be getting a glimpse of that in this
conversation right here. So before we let you go, if
you feel so inclined, we would also like for you
to maybe touch on some of the things that you
have going on personally and also leave some connective tissue
for our listeners to tap in with you directly, because

(23:54):
I know that the work that you do extends beyond
this moment and there might be some benefit to people
tapping into you and what it is that you have
going on, So any sort of anything that you're working
on right now that you feel like it's worth sharing,
and then of course all your social media's, your personal
social media is and that sort of stuff.

Speaker 4 (24:12):
Before we let you go, definitely thank you for the opportunity.
I've been in the nonprofit space for over twenty five years,
had the privilege of doing some executive training with Harvard
Business School and Governing for Nonprofit Excellence, and I use
all that experience and additional training to do consulting for
nonprofit organizations, helping them to organize, to be more for

(24:35):
a nonprofit to be more profitable, to organize in a
way that makes it more competitive and grants pursuits having
a lot of experience in grants, and I do that
through my company Humanity Unlimited. That's h U E m
A and it Y unlimited dot com. I also do

(24:58):
life coaching for leaders and executives. I've had some amazing
transformations using my experience in pastoring and before I had
a career in workforce development. So bringing all that to
the table and serving those who are in leadership who
I say are successful butt and I'm here to coach

(25:20):
the butt off. And so if you find yourself say,
you know what, I'm successful, but that butt doesn't have
to be there, and I'm here to help. I also
have a nonprofit addressing loneliness and feelings of isolation called
Curated Community Collective and I believe the email the website for.

Speaker 5 (25:40):
That is Cure.

Speaker 4 (25:41):
I am Curated dot org and the email is Curated
Family at Gmail.

Speaker 5 (25:48):
And I help you know.

Speaker 4 (25:51):
I sit on the board of a nonprofit called Crossing
Party Lines, which helps people from polarized political perspectives to
learn how to communicate civilly and have relationships among family
and friends even if you don't agree. And I serve
other nonprofits. I'm on the board of my parents' church,

(26:13):
Destiny Family Christian Center in El Paso. Destiny for Me
dot com I think it is or dot org. I'm
not sure, but I'm just here to serve and to
help with my life. I don't want to leave this
earth full. I want to put it all out on
the table, and so I thank you for an opportunity

(26:33):
to give a little more in this moment.

Speaker 2 (26:37):
Well, I think that we're going to just kind of
send that right back to you. You know, we have
to not only thank you for your time today, but
you know, the work that you're doing on the ground.

Speaker 1 (26:48):
As being so far away, we.

Speaker 2 (26:50):
Feel you know, it feels like a moment, especially for
us with like such strong ties to you know, southern California, uh,
and these communities affected by these fires, Like I've had
family that have had to evacuate, you know, my my
sisters had to leave their house, and you know, in
any event.

Speaker 4 (27:10):
Well that changes the context of I'm here for you,
so you can here. But that's why I'm.

Speaker 2 (27:16):
Here exactly, and so that's why the thank you coming
back from us to you is equally as important. We're
happy to you know, platform you and and to to
give you a microphone and an audience to share what
the work that you're doing, and of course, you know,
get people involved so that they can support. But you know,

(27:36):
you being physically there on the ground doing doing the
actual work is something that is inspiring and you know,
in this moment our thanks UH is extended to you
as well. So once again, thank you for coming on
and sharing not only your story but the work that
you're doing, and then of course your commitment to UH

(27:59):
ensuring that people are you know, well informed, people are successful,
people are as resilient as they can, people.

Speaker 1 (28:07):
Are well supplied. You know, that list goes on.

Speaker 2 (28:10):
It's been a joy to talk to you, and you know,
keep doing the work that you're doing. Come back anytime.
We'll have some other deeper conversations in the future, I'm
sure of it. Once again, today's guest is Richard C.
Johnson of the Dream Center, a nonprofit organization primarily focused
on providing support and opportunities to marginalize communities.

Speaker 1 (28:28):
In Los Angeles.

Speaker 5 (28:30):
Thank you for having me.

Speaker 2 (28:32):
This has been a production of the Black Information Network.
Today's show is produced by Chris Thompson. Have some thoughts
you'd like to share, use the red microphone talkback feature
on the iHeartRadio app. While you're there, be sure to
hit subscribe and download all of our episodes. I'm your
host ramses Job on all social media.

Speaker 3 (28:49):
I am q Ward on all social media as well.

Speaker 2 (28:52):
And join us tomorrow as we share our news with
our voice from our perspective right here on the Black
Information Network Daily Podcast
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