January 26, 2024 • 47 mins
When Nikki Johnson stepped into her role as a housing commissioner in San Antonio, she dove headfirst into uncharted waters Her journey is a beacon of inspiration, demonstrating the sheer determination required to champion community voices, especially when faced with skepticism. Our conversation peels back the layers of Nikki's unwavering commitment to authentic representation, ensuring a diverse range of perspectives are heard. Nikki's story isn't just about governance; it's about the passion-fueled change-makers who dare to redefine the status quo.
The heart of community transformation beats through the efforts of engagement and feedback. Listeners will find solace in the stories of how initial hurdles in reaching out to the most affected individuals helped shape a playbook for how dedication and clear communication can lead to positive, community-driven outcomes. This episode is a testament to the power of persistence, and it's sure to resonate with anyone looking to make a difference within their own community.
As we conclude, Nikki unveils the passion driving her life coaching business. She paints a vision of unity. Nikki Johnson's narrative is not just a tale of professional endeavors; it's an invitation to be part of a larger conversation that shapes our community's narrative.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
As the cosmos connects the universe, water
connects life.
At the Sacred Water Podcast,we're exploring the history,
mythology and future of thesacred land known as San Antonio
.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Hey friends, unfortunately we had to cut out
the first part of this episodedue to crunchy microphone sounds
, so I'd like to introduce NikkiJohnson.
She is a housing commissionerin the city of San Antonio,
which is what we talk aboutmostly in this episode.
She's also an author,motivational speaker and
(00:42):
podcaster herself, so be sure tocheck out the links to her
stuff below and enjoy thisepisode.
I wanted to bring up yougetting onto the housing
commission.
I mean, since when, what yeardid you get on?
Speaker 3 (00:57):
Oh girl, this year number three.
Yeah, she had three.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
So it was 2020?
Right before COVID, septemberof 2020.
Speaker 3 (01:08):
Yeah, COVID had already hit.
Oh okay, yeah, and at the timejust was cheering.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
Yeah, let me just say real quick how I always want to
call this out every opportunityI can.
When the mayor at one pointjust removed every single
besides you, every singlecommunity member from the
housing commission and the Sahaboard, just like, wiped them all
out within a month, everysingle person.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
Well, some of them left.
It's like one left because hegot married.
Oh yeah, it shocked all of usbecause we knew he was going to
get married, but it was like andI'm leaving too.
It was that.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
I don't know, I have no idea.
Paul, oh, you were.
Oh, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3 (01:55):
So some people were leaving and some didn't get
reappointed.
But that was a big shockbecause none of us were
expecting that it was.
Maybe he had been married abouta month or two, and then it was
like, okay, been great guys.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
I'm sick of fighting he's like married life is good.
Speaker 3 (02:15):
I'm going to go enjoy , yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
Yeah, talk to us about the housing commission.
Speaker 3 (02:21):
It was terrifying when Jess called me and she was
like I want to tell yousomething.
I don't know how you're goingto take it, If you're going to
accept it or not, but I thinkyou do amazing work and blah,
blah, blah and I would love tonominate you.
And I was like I don't want.
We had gone before them, we hadgone two or three times at this
(02:43):
point and presenting the policyyeah.
We had gone and presented beforethem two or three times, and
one of the experiences we had,when we were preparing to take
something really big before thehousing commission, we were told
they're never going to agree tothis.
You know what they're talkingabout.
They're never going to acceptthis.
(03:04):
You can't go in saying thesethings.
And when that person left theroom and, mind you, we had been
working hours with thispresentation he left the room
and I was so angry that I had agood pep talk with all of us and
I say we're going to do exactlyyou know, I think I said it
before he left, that's why heleft we're going to do it
(03:25):
exactly how we've been workingon it.
We're going to do exactly howwe've been practicing, because
the problem is is, if we keepgoing in doing the same exact
thing, we're going to keephaving the same results, and
these people need this.
We need this to happen.
And so I think, for me, my mindwas made up that the commission
was this thing, you know by howthat person described it, and
(03:50):
I'm thinking I wouldn't fit.
I can't be that.
I need to make a change.
That's exactly what I needed tobe.
And so when I had my meetingwith the mayor about the
position.
He told me he'd watched all thework that we had been doing and
he had watched my passion andhe wanted me for that very
(04:11):
reason, and that just ignitedsomething in me because they
gave me permission to go and beme and not be what someone had
told us the commission was.
And being in there has beenamazing because the community
constantly contacts me.
My phone has to be on, do notdisturb, because as they're
(04:35):
watching live, they are emailingand texting and, yeah, because
they're either excited orthey're highly upset and
passionate and I make sure Irespond to everyone because all
their voices are important.
It doesn't matter what districtwe live in.
We all live in this city, right?
We're all humans on this earth.
And so when I go to themeetings, I take everybody with
(04:58):
me.
I'm not there as housingcommission or Nikki Johnson, I'm
there as communityrepresentative and I have to
remember what they're strugglingwith and remember what they're
going through as we're in thesemeetings.
And then now we have all of thesubcommittee subcommittees that
have been created because ofthe, the needs that are going on
(05:19):
in the community, and I sit onalmost all of them because I
wanted to make sure that thecommunity voice was was
represented.
That has been life changing forme.
You know how, when we were allworking together.
You're constantly meetingamazing people with amazing
stories, but these people aretenacious.
These people are the heartbeatof this earth.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
You know what I mean.
Speaker 3 (05:43):
The committees yeah, the people that I get to meet
working on the subcommittees.
I can we go out into thecommunity?
Speaker 2 (05:49):
Who got chosen Like?
Did they really choosecommunity people A lot?
Speaker 3 (05:53):
Yes, the community representation is on the
subcommittees.
On the ones that I sit on as acommissioner.
I get to go through theapplications that we have these
meetings to vote on who we wantto sit and we really look at
someone's desire to work in thecommunity or their experience
(06:14):
working at it, as well as thosewho have been working on the
professional level, because allthe voices together are always
important, but meeting thepeople that are on the
professional level, theirpassion for helping the people
in the community, is amazing.
Speaker 2 (06:32):
And I mean the fact that they have you what they are
, to really show them how to doit, because a lot of those
professional people, it's whatthey want.
They want to help the community, but they don't know how,
because they're so stuck insideof that like data driven world
kind of you know, and it's soimportant to have people like
you kind of like continuing overand over again.
This is who we're here for.
(06:52):
Wow, thank you.
Speaker 3 (06:54):
Yeah, thank you, maureen.
A lot of them have actuallysaid that.
Now that you say it, I'm justbeing reminded.
A lot of them have said itbecause they have policies that
they have to follow and thosepolicies are paper-driven.
They're data-driven.
But when we have these eventswhere we have to go and
(07:17):
volunteer, to work in thecommunity or go and inform the
community, and they get to hearbeyond the paperwork that's what
I call it they get to hearbeyond the data and literally
sit in front of the familiesthat need it.
It's so life-changing for allof us.
That's where the change happens.
Yes, that's where it takesplace.
Yes, I believe that.
Speaker 2 (07:36):
I was just oh, I had called that ground.
I was telling Terry that Ialways say that when I have
meetings with politicians andstuff, it's like I say that I'm
like you need to, becausethey'll come to us, the Sahata.
They'll come to our uniontenants union and kind of ask us
questions, but it's just us,the leaders, and I always have
(07:59):
to say it.
I'm like look, I'm not here totalk for all of the Sahata.
Speaker 3 (08:03):
If you are really interested.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
You have a community meeting at any building, any
public housing building, andthat is what's going to give you
the grounded knowledge that youneed to be able to advocate for
our needs.
Don't just ask me Don't justlook at data?
You go to them and that's wherethe changes really happen.
Speaker 3 (08:24):
Absolutely.
That's where solutions arereally grounded, solutions are
really created.
Remember the meetings we usedto have where there were almost
50 stakeholders.
There were stakeholders fromeverywhere.
We went from having these small, intimate meetings to it was
(08:45):
stakeholders from everyorganization you can probably
think of.
We even had H-E-Brepresentatives.
We had people from the foodpantry.
It was just so many.
The good thing about it was wegot to hear the parts that we
don't know, what happens at theboard meetings and with the
paperwork and the data and whatthe federal government has
(09:08):
guidelines on.
My prayers is that they got tohear the real life experience
from the people who needed it.
The con to those meetings wassometimes, when you have a lot
more of those voices thancommunity-based voices and
experiences, those get washed.
Their voices get amplified andthe others get washed out, and
(09:31):
so we may have 20 communitymembers and then 40 some odd,
whatever heads or whatever.
There were times when peoplespoke over.
Someone would say somethingvery pivotal, very important,
but then someone over somethingwould say something is like that
would get washed away.
(09:52):
What I loved about what thethree of us did was we would be
like, ok, did you hear what theyjust said?
Well, we make notes and we madesure it came up and we would
tell the mayor himself or wewould talk to whomever.
We would have emails and havemeetings with council members to
make sure that they heard thethings that weren't going to get
reported back.
(10:13):
You know, the things thatweren't as important.
We make sure that that stayedbefore everybody because it's
important.
We don't think because peopleneed help that they're important
.
There's just a burden sometimes.
Sometimes they're looked at aslazy because you just don't want
to work, when the reality ofthese stories is some of those
(10:35):
people are working, as I said atour symposium, two and three
jobs and they're stillstruggling.
But you don't get that becauseyou don't have a conversation
with them to know.
A data told you one thing,numbers told you one thing.
But they can look at you andtell you my children's father
needed a place to stay and mykids needed a safe place to go
(10:55):
and spend time with their dad.
This program helped.
He was doing the best he could,but he was struggling, and this
is what helped our family.
Those are the conversationsthat they need to hear.
Speaker 2 (11:08):
Yeah, I see a mom holding her baby while she was
taking a nap doing apresentation on the policy.
Speaker 3 (11:14):
Or breastfeeding, maureen.
Or breastfeeding I will neverforget.
I love that story orbreastfeeding, standing before
whomever to speak, but she hadto breastfeed her baby because
it was that important.
If y'all don't know Maureen'spodcast, that was her I'm
referring to.
But go ahead, just put yourbusiness out there in the
streets, go ahead.
Speaker 4 (11:34):
When nature calls.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
I don't mind, that's actually the number I think I
showed you that video.
My first time ever testifyingin front of a political entity
was in Oregon and Brigid wasthree months old and she had
just nursed herself to sleep onmy breast and somebody just
shoved me up to speak and I waslike, ok, whatever.
(11:57):
I didn't even realize that thisbaby was on me until I got up
and left and I was like, oh mygod, I was just talking the
whole time while breastfeedingand the leader of the Portland
Tendency Union put it on herFacebook and then a news guy got
ahold of it and then 20,000 or200,000 people or something saw
me breastfeeding Brigid whilespeaking to the wing.
Yeah, yeah, I mean, I was justin survival mode and then I did
(12:22):
it.
And I took the fucking kid'sbreast.
Speaker 3 (12:25):
Right, she's hungry, get over it.
Speaker 2 (12:28):
Yeah, yeah, I thought what was really interesting
about those community meetings.
Just as I analyze how tocontinue doing the best work
possible for all of thiscommunity engagement stuff,
because it's an ever-evolvingprocess.
Speaker 1 (12:42):
Right, right.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
We're always, constantly learning best
practices.
Speaker 3 (12:46):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (12:47):
Is that there was so many of those?
I guess I would say secondary,their importance was of
secondary importance because,they are the ones sort of
facilitating a lot of theseprograms that help most impacted
community, and so that was justsomething that was one of my
big takeaways from thosecommunity meetings that we
(13:09):
ultimately got to have Was thatas hard as we tried to outreach
to have the most impacted peoplethere yeah, it ended up being
mostly those secondary levelpeople too, but that there was
value in that in itself andespecially with just networking
(13:30):
like bringing all of thoseresources together.
I always find that powerful andideally to get as many most
impacted people there aspossible, but it's really, it's
just hard.
Speaker 3 (13:41):
It wasn't for naught, though, because we were doing.
There were so many things wewere doing that wasn't.
It hadn't been done before, ithad not been done before.
We were having focus groups, asthey wanted to call them.
We didn't want to call themfocus groups, but we were having
focus groups where we wereinviting the community into
different locations andliterally asking them if you had
(14:04):
this, where are the areas thatyou really could improve?
What do you see that there isan issue in?
What are some things thatyou're experiencing in your area
, and people would come and talk, but the thing is, after asking
and feeling neglected for solong, that's just another
meeting, and that was themindset that people had then,
(14:28):
but we kept doing it and wewould see increases, we would
get the news would come andjournalists would come and all
of those things.
Now, when there are events thattake place and the community is
invited, there are a lot morepeople that show.
The work is spread out, so Idon't want you to feel like, as
much as we wanted more people,we didn't get as many.
(14:48):
The impacted are now startingto show up because they seem OK.
It's not just something thatyou're saying that you're going
to do.
You actually do care Nowanytime.
We've started something newwith these sub committees.
Don't think we haven't gottencommunity members that show up
and say, ok, so this is going tobe just another gathering.
I mean we've had literally,especially when we started the
(15:08):
renter solutions subcommittee.
There were a lot of people thatsaid, if you're not going to be
giving solutions, like what areyou here for?
That was the mentality evenwhen we were doing it back then.
And so now, because of thatwork and I want you to be so
proud of it the amount ofturnout, the amount of people
that will speak up and fill outsurveys Because remember, we
(15:30):
were trying to figure out howcan we get these people to do
surveys to find out where weneed to improve and the amount
of surveys that get turned innow is so totally different as
compared to when we firststarted out.
So now the people are startingto see that there is work being
done on their behalf, versusjust another meeting, that where
no one's going to do anything.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (15:55):
My brain is so I'm like I hope that they're quality
.
Speaker 3 (16:03):
Much as I can have an input, I'm trying to, but
uh-huh, no, totally.
Speaker 2 (16:07):
I hear that Terry had said is similar stuff to you
that her community engagement indistrict five has gotten a lot
higher and.
And yeah, it is, and and what wetalked about there too, same
same exact conversation whereI'm so skeptical, right, but,
(16:28):
but you know, we just inevitablyhave these hierarchies that
exist Just how it is, and so ifwe don't have people like you,
and if we don't have people likeTerry high in those hierarchies
, then so much of that gets lostand it just doesn't happen,
like it literally just won'thappen, unless there's people
Like you continuously saying thesame things over and over again
(16:50):
about how are we getting to thecommunity, until it gets in
their heads.
That's how you would always seeit.
I'm like if I just say the same150 times, they're gonna get it
, yeah, and they would.
They would start saying itthemselves, right and that.
And then they go through theprocess where they're saying it
but not actually doing it.
So then you have to be like,okay, good, you're getting there
(17:11):
, yeah, but let's see it in reallife in real action, and then
they start doing it and then, ohmy gosh, it's like a puppy,
like job you did it.
Speaker 1 (17:23):
I can't tell you how like.
Speaker 2 (17:24):
I did that at a saw meeting last week with the girl
she.
Um, she was actually someonewho I've fought with a lot
before and she was actuallyTrying to find solutions to
these safety issues, whereasbefore they're always like, well
, we can't do anything, we don'thave any money.
I can't tell you how many timesI've had to come back and be
like find the money, have theConversations.
(17:45):
I know there's no money, but ifyou don't talk about it, then
we're never gonna get there.
And so she at least, like, waslistening to these tenants and
she was like, well, what if we?
And she looked exhausted, butI'm just thinking outside the
box if we just put like and shewas at least saying things, yeah
, and At the end I was like Ijust want to thank so-and-so for
(18:07):
being solution oriented.
I can just tell that she's like.
Well, I got a compliment, butit's me, but I'm like, I mean it
like and I felt that way withthe mayor too before, where it's
like he has all this Crappywork, but it's like when he does
it right, I'm like you did itright, like congrats, like
really.
I know that that's hard at yourlevel to figure out because
(18:30):
you're so inundated With allthis paperwork and data and
reports and deadlines and allthat stuff and so as much as I
really don't care about them andAll of that stuff, but I, I
guess I, I do like I amimpressed to some extent when
(18:50):
they can get it.
Speaker 1 (18:51):
Yeah, it is hard.
Speaker 2 (18:52):
Yeah, and so I'm.
I feel like I'm all over theplace right now.
That's how I am in my life.
Speaker 3 (18:59):
No, no, I know your passion and and I work with you
long enough to know where you'recoming from and I get it.
I would say I've enjoyed beingable to work under the mayor.
I've enjoyed the fact that Ididn't have to come in and what
is the good word for it?
He knew, he knew the work thatwe had done.
(19:20):
So when he, when, when he I wasin his office and he told me I
want you on it to do what you'redoing and and I get to see like
there's no pushback, it's, thisis what we need.
It needs to be communityOriented.
Like I signed up for somesubcommittees, I didn't know
what they were talking about,especially one that's very
(19:42):
technical, but I said that's thething.
It's all technical and it'stechnical as it is.
There still needs to be acommunity voice in there.
There still has to be, andSometimes we just forget that
the people we consider little orinsignificant are the ones that
are most important.
They are the most importantbecause otherwise, why are you
(20:04):
doing what you're doing if it'snot for the people?
Even if you create a restaurant, it's the people you're gonna
feed.
If you open up a retail store,it's the people you're gonna
serve.
So why aren't you talking tothe people?
That's why I missed.
This is so our subject with oursubject.
Do y'all remember, like theneighborhood mom and pop
(20:28):
restaurants and stores and theplaces where you went to your
neighborhood?
Everybody knew you and thepeople that owned the places
knew you.
They talked to you.
They wanted to know was thatsandwich good that we just made?
How was it?
Because if it's not good,they're gonna go improve because
they asked you.
They're not gonna assume thatis good because you are here.
They may be there because thisis the only place I can go to,
(20:49):
but your food sucks.
But I can talk to you and tellyou I miss that.
I miss the community,entrepreneur, relationship and
conversation, because theyunderstood the value of Good
customer service and rapport.
I don't exist if you don't comein here and patron my, my
business, and I can't buy ifyou're not here, familiar with
(21:11):
the business, and I can't buy ifyou're not here for me.
So we have to talk.
It's the same thing that shouldhappen in politics.
It's the same thing that shouldgo on in our cities and states.
Why are you in that position ifyou're not talking to me?
You service me, but we don'tunderstand that they we get
treated like we should beserving and it should be the
(21:32):
other way around.
Speaker 2 (21:35):
Yeah, I always say that to people to encourage them
to speak up.
Speaker 3 (21:39):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (21:41):
I'm all about public comments, cuz it's your time, I
like.
I feel like I've said thisrecently.
Maybe it was on one of theseepisodes where everyone's always
like, yeah, it doesn't matter,they don't listen to you anyway.
Yeah but I'm like but no,literally they have to.
Nothing else is going on in theroom except your voice in those
(22:04):
three minutes.
Yeah so use it.
Speaker 1 (22:07):
Mm-hmm.
Speaker 2 (22:07):
What are they?
Whether they receive it or not,whatever, who cares?
It's your time, own it.
Yeah, and that's one of thethings I tell them.
I'm like they work for you,don't?
Be scared, do not be scaredwalking up to that microphone.
They work for you.
They have to listen to you.
And if they don't, that's onthem and they're gonna suffer
the consequences of that, of notreceiving your input because,
(22:30):
you have valid input.
Yes, so say it.
You have to.
Speaker 3 (22:34):
You have to it makes a difference.
Yeah, let me tell y'allsomething.
Maureen is one of the mostfearless public commentser.
In three minutes, this chicken,this chick, will read you
everything that is right andwrong in the world, calling out
names, oh my god.
And she does it with suchfearlessness, but she
understands the power of.
(22:55):
These are my three minutes.
So what did Maxine say?
She's gonna reclaim her timeand Maureen is gonna get up
there and she's gonna speak.
And I encourage People all thetime.
I don't care if you write yourcomment, you leave a voice
message, someone's gonna hear it, somebody's gonna hear it and
you worried about.
Well, they're not gonna listen.
If you don't say it, nobody'sgonna listen because we have
(23:17):
nothing to hear and we might notbe able to respond at the time
comments are made, becausethat's that's the legalities of
it.
That doesn't mean we're nottaking those.
That mean we're not listening,because when those meetings are
over and we have these other submeetings where we can talk
about it, it's coming up.
Believe me, we're discussing it.
Speaker 2 (23:35):
Absolutely.
And I've even said to I'm likeI don't kid, they're like you.
They're not even allowed torespond.
I don't, I don't want them torespond, like I don't want to
hear your response, like it'sprobably gonna be BS anyway.
So just like, leave it.
Let me just say what I have tosay and you guys do what you
want with yeah.
And it does.
It really does make it dip, notjust my vote.
Like I've seen it, so manypeople get up and give that
(23:58):
three minutes and it getsrepeated, right.
They just like it's things thatthey don't think about.
And then I hear them repeat itin other spaces the
subcommittees or wherever elseum it does it amplifies.
Speaker 4 (24:12):
It really does amplify.
Speaker 2 (24:14):
I think it was on the record a lot of times too, they
have to write it down Like Ilike to record it.
Yeah, yeah and kept in the citywebsite.
Yup, yeah, yeah, yeah, I thinkabout that sometimes.
Speaker 3 (24:28):
How like you should have a whole episode of all of
your public comments, like amontage.
That would be so fly.
You did a montage of all youryour public comments.
Speaker 2 (24:40):
I'm out.
Go and find them all.
That would be hilarious.
I like to think I'm diplomaticto fierce, but diplomatic you
are till you get ticked off.
Speaker 3 (24:50):
And if you, if you if you come in fired up child.
There were times when I waslike, go ahead, maureen, I'll
wait, like you got it.
Go ahead when yeah, when she'sfired, she's fired, but I'm
going to tell you her passion orheart's in the right place.
You piss many a person off, butyou did it because I'd rather
piss you off, but I'm going tomake sure these people are
(25:11):
getting helped, so yeah, I'mwilling to take the pride of the
anger at community and theneveryone else is like the good
cop on the back, like I come inand freak out, and then everyone
else just sounds real.
Speaker 2 (25:24):
Like okay, listen to that.
Speaker 3 (25:26):
There were a couple of times she would say my name
is Maureen Galendo.
Yeah, I know some of youalready know me, like I know we
have beef, but yeah, so youshould do a montage of your,
your public comments.
Speaker 2 (25:39):
I still say that I'm not trying to sound scared, just
like they already know who I am.
Speaker 1 (25:42):
So that's how I am.
Speaker 2 (25:43):
Every time, in front of us all, I'm like.
You want to know me.
It's me again.
My favorite three minutes ofthe month.
Speaker 3 (25:49):
Hello, it's me again.
Yeah, I do do that.
Speaker 2 (25:54):
I love it.
I love my three.
I want to do like a um gosh,how can we do that?
Like train people on publiccomments.
Speaker 3 (26:04):
Just have the meetings, just try them.
You know the training is, letit start right now.
I don't care if you do, if youspeak broken English, if you
don't speak, but maybe threewords.
Well, if you only speak Spanishor whatever your native
language is, I don't care if youcannot read.
Open your mouth and speak.
Let me tell you, I was a partof our sale work group that had
(26:30):
to create a policy and we hadpeople show up that were
affected by the reason we neededto create that policy, and they
would come and speak everysingle meeting and I would have
them reach out to me afterwardand some of them was like you
know, I know I didn't.
I didn't.
You know sound right, I knowyou sounded perfect.
(26:52):
I don't need to hear youtalking proper, I need to hear
you tell the truth, and that'swhat everyone else needs to hear
.
When it came down to the votebefore council, those people
came and spoke the very way theyspoke and our meetings is how
they spoke before council and itgot passed because the people
heard the truth.
(27:12):
So let this be one on one inpublic speaking.
Just get them to tell you truth, just that's all.
You don't need anything butyour truth, that's it.
You don't need to go over it,rehearse it.
I mean, if you need to, youneed to, but all you need is
your truth.
And who can tell that betterthan you?
Speaker 2 (27:31):
Yeah, yeah, whatever it is, it's going to sound good.
Speaker 1 (27:34):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (27:35):
I would say this people out.
There's been many times where Igot up and just sounded
ridiculous.
Speaker 3 (27:39):
Or you thought you didn't.
Speaker 2 (27:43):
Everyone always thinks, they do I always say
everyone always thinks that theysound ridiculous afterward.
I always tell that to peopletoo.
I'm like you're going to bedone and you're going to think I
should have said this.
I should have done that.
I sounded like this and like itwas amazing.
Speaker 3 (27:55):
It was perfect.
Speaker 2 (27:56):
It was exactly how it was meant to be.
You have to believe thatAbsolutely and just keep on
doing it and every time you'llget better and better and more
confident.
And then, when you start seeingyour voice make the impact,
make that ripple effect, there'sjust no greater feeling in the
world.
It was giving me chills whenyou were talking about those
people Going up coming to citycouncil and speaking their truth
(28:19):
.
That stuff just like it iseverything for me, because
representative democracy is notthe ideal framework for a
government.
It would ideally be a peoplepowered government, but it's
what we have, and so if ourrepresentatives don't hear you,
then they're not going to know,they're literally not going to
(28:40):
know.
Speaker 3 (28:40):
Yeah, I mean, we had one she.
She showed up in an arm castBecause she had asked management
to fix something at herapartment complex repeatedly and
they didn't and she ended upfalling and breaking her arm.
(29:04):
We had people show up withblown up pictures of the mold
and how the walls and ceilinghad fallen because of leaks
above them and you can see sherocking everything in their
living room and mold everywhere.
Had they not have come eventhough I was on this?
(29:25):
I was selected because of mywork, but I said yes because of
my passion.
I went in with passion.
That right there ignited adynamite in me because no human
should ever live like that.
But has she not a common sharedthat I would only go off for
what I thought I knew.
(29:45):
So they were literally passingaround.
They made posters andeverything.
They passed these pictures andposters around so you could see
we're not just going to tell youwhat we're going through.
How about we show you proof?
Do you know what that did forme, girl?
I went home and I was studying,taking notes and trying to
figure out what is it I couldbring to the next meeting.
To make sure, because I knowwe're always being recorded to
(30:09):
make sure, even if I just haveto say whether everyone else
votes or not is it gets said byme.
When they went before thecouncil and shared, I was
watching online because Icouldn't make it in person.
That day I was bawling andscreaming, I was cheering and
clapping because I was so proudof them.
It takes a lot to get up andtell someone that you're living
(30:32):
in these conditions.
That takes a lot ofvulnerability and heart.
But when the council respondedand was saying thank you for
sharing your, you can tell itwas that public comment section
on top of what we ended upcreating.
I think it was the publiccomment section beyond what we
(30:53):
created.
What we created just had toback up the need.
But them talking oh my God,that was it.
So anyone, anyone, please Idon't care what city or state
you live in show up.
Show up at these meetings.
Don't just let them makedecisions on your life for you.
Show up and open your mouth.
(31:13):
I don't care if you feel likeyou made a mistake.
I don't know how many times wethought we bombed, but you know,
if you feel like you didn't doa good job, you don't know who
you are affecting, because I'mgoing to say this.
I'm going to be quiet becauseit's not my show.
You think that they're not goingto understand because of who
they are and what they do.
You don't know how they grew up.
You may remind them of theirgrandmother, you may remind them
(31:36):
of what they grew up in thatthey've never discussed with
anyone.
At our symposium, that womancame up to me.
She was one of the ones thatcried the entire time I was
speaking and after where shecame up to say thank you and
started crying again and shesaid you reminded me of what I
went through when I was growingup, as if she forgot.
As if she forgot.
(31:56):
And she said you made me lookat people in those situations
differently.
Mind you, she grew up like that.
So somewhere up in there therewas a disconnect.
When she became an adult, nolonger had to struggle, she just
remembered.
So you never know who yourpublic comment could affect.
So yeah, I agree with you.
Speaker 4 (32:18):
I encourage everybody go and speak and I imagine,
even if you see that reflectedin data, to see pictures and the
person experiencing it is waydifferent, absolutely, because
then you put yourself in, youhave that empathy and you put
yourself trying to sleep underthat moldy cracked ceiling or
whatever or your baby's tryingto, so that really is effective.
Speaker 3 (32:41):
Because that is going to say woman, so you're going
to be put in category as afemale.
If you're black or Hispanic,it'll put you there.
What else was?
What would that be able to say?
Speaker 2 (32:52):
We put, we made them put single mom onto the right
data.
Speaker 3 (32:56):
Right.
So maybe that maybe that, butwhat else?
What else can what I describedyou with by the broken arm and
mold and sheet rocking yourliving room on the floor?
What?
How can you put that in data?
Yeah, it's going to saystatistics of female Hispanic
income level below AMI.
(33:17):
That's it.
Speaker 2 (33:19):
Head of household.
Speaker 3 (33:20):
Head of household.
Yeah, how many children?
Maybe that's it.
What about the broken arm?
What about how long they beggedto have something done and
couldn't get help?
That's not going to be in there.
That's why opening your mouthand us representing and us
helping and speaking up, that'swhat they need to hear.
Thank you for the numbers, Iappreciate that, but thank you
(33:42):
for showing up with your brokenarm and your baby on your breast
.
Speaker 1 (33:45):
Thank you, mm-hmm.
Speaker 2 (33:47):
Yeah, that's what's making the difference.
Thank you, nikki, for doing allof that.
I want to ask you about yourpodcast and I want you to you
know.
Let us know All about it.
Um, two podcasts.
Yes you're coaching businessand kind of what your goals are
(34:07):
there.
Speaker 3 (34:08):
So I actually have a few podcasts, and right now the
main ones are the queen'stakeover.
The queen's takeover podcastairs live every Tuesday at 7 pm
Central standard time onfacebook and youtube
simultaneously.
I'm sorry.
Speaker 2 (34:25):
We got you talking all um, my solo podcast.
Speaker 3 (34:30):
Um, I have a new one that starts in november.
That's called dearly becoming,and I'm crossing it over Along
with my life coaching businessbecause I want to help people
become the best version ofthemselves, and a lot of the
times, to become the bestversion of you, you have to
become some things that you'vebeen, some mindsets and some
(34:50):
ways and habits.
So what I'm going to have isamazing guests on that will
share their stories of how theygot from where they were to
where they are.
We're going to have this openand honest conversations,
because even if you are becomingthe best version of yourself
Doesn't mean you don't gothrough life and life does not
life, because sometimes life belife and right things happen.
(35:11):
So I'm super excited about that, which I will be recording here
in this amazing studio.
Thank you more, rean, for that.
Um, yeah, so very excited aboutit and it will be released.
It'll start being released latenovember.
Um, my life coaching business.
So I have been doing lifecoaching before at a term I was
(35:34):
the person that was alwaystrying to coach someone through
Difficulties of life, and thatpassion comes from a lot of what
I talked about today.
When you go through things andyou have the answers to help
other people come out of it orgo through it.
Why not share it's like withyou and your, your therapist Um
business?
I'm sorry, was that supposed totalk about that?
(35:54):
Is that okay?
Yeah, you know you want to helppeople get through the
complexities of life and helpthem to overcome, and so that's
a joy and passion of mine.
Um, I help Everyone, and I knowyou're never supposed to say
that you're supposed to niche itdown, but I actually do help
millennials with transitioningUm.
(36:14):
I also help people that aretransitioning through Um.
Sometimes they're experiencinggrief or loss, like they've been
married for 40 years, thatspouse dies and they don't know
how to start the new chapter oflife, and so we have those areas
of transitioning, along with somany other things, and so I
would love to work with anyonewho's interested, who's watching
(36:35):
.
Please get in contact with meand let's have a discovery call
and see if we are a great fitfor each other.
Speaker 2 (36:40):
But where they find you they can find child
everywhere.
Speaker 3 (36:44):
So I will have a youtube channel up very, very
soon.
I don't know by the time thisgoes up, but it's called dearly
becoming.
But you can email me right nowat nickyjshinatjimocom.
You can find me on instagram atcoach nick the overcomer.
You can also find me onfacebook as nicky johnson Um, my
(37:05):
podcast, the queen's takeoverpodcast.
You can find that on youtubeand facebook and I hope you can
hear me, or it's on the screenright now, but I'll put it on
the thank you so much.
I can hear you just fine.
Speaker 2 (37:17):
Oh great.
Speaker 3 (37:17):
Okay great so yeah, that's how you can get in
contact with me perfect.
Speaker 4 (37:24):
I just keep thinking of my experience with my
previous church and how I wastrying to get them.
It was your idea, but to usetheir empty parking lot back Um
during covid that was covidright.
Speaker 1 (37:37):
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 4 (37:38):
To use their empty parking lot, um, for houseless
folks living in their cars, yeah, and they rejected that idea
like, didn't even like considerit.
The pastor was like we don'twant to scare our kids and I was
just so angry with that.
And you know, I ended upleaving the church not too long
(37:59):
after that and a whole bunch ofother stuff.
But um, um, I don't regret thatnow.
I don't regret, you know,stirring, trying to stir the pot
because of that, becausefamilies?
Speaker 2 (38:14):
I don't know.
But yeah that was, I think, um.
Speaker 4 (38:17):
That came up recently it came up Um well at the
health symposium.
You shared your experience ofhouselessness and so on and then
, when you said that, I was likeshe could have been one of
those families that we couldhave helped.
Speaker 3 (38:28):
You know what I mean.
Speaker 4 (38:29):
Like, and that wouldn't have scared my kids at
all, my kids probably would haveplayed with your kids or
something you know, like youknow you know, so um, I don't
know.
Speaker 3 (38:39):
I just.
I'm glad you shared that.
I have a desire to get a lot ofdifferent churches together and
train them on how to serve thecommunity, and Part of one of
the reasons why I want to dothat is because there needs to
be education.
There could have been aconversation that that pastor
(39:01):
had with you to explain hisfears and then you in turn
explain solutions and togethersomething could have been worked
out.
Because I can, I can understandyou have to look out for your
church members, and that's thefirst thing that came to mind,
but that's because you go offthe way.
You think you know or maybe anexperience you may have had or
you may have heard about, butwhat about the thousand other
(39:23):
different experiences?
So what I want to do is bringchurches together, really train
them on how to serve, on how toProperly do food giveaways, on
how to be open and available forOutreach in the community,
because they're doing it acertain way, like the city was
at one time, and this is the waythat you've done it for 25
years.
And just because people comeand get the food, you think it's
(39:44):
working.
But what if there's a way toimprove it and do it better,
where you can really impact andI just give them food but change
their lives.
I really want to get churchestogether and train them in that.
Like you don't know how bad Iwant to do it, and that would
have been a great example.
You know what I mean, becausesometimes it just requires
educating and teaching people.
Speaker 4 (40:05):
So I'm glad you said that.
Now I'm excited to reach out tothe church communities because
they are so powerful.
They're all over theneighborhood they're everywhere,
everywhere you know.
So they, they are a resourcefor your community because
they're everywhere.
Yes so whether you go to churchor not, there's a church
somewhere in your neighborhood,or several Doing something
(40:27):
you're trying to do somethingtrying to do good right, so like
.
Um, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (40:33):
I'm excited.
I'm glad you shared that yeah.
Speaker 2 (40:37):
Yeah, um, uh.
I'll just share, I guess tofinish off, how much um Nikki's
Faith in God has inspired me Iknow that's like kind of offish
to talk about on a podcast, ormaybe I don't know.
Speaker 3 (40:52):
No.
Speaker 2 (40:52):
I guess this is.
Speaker 3 (40:53):
There's a lot of yeah , it's not off yeah.
Speaker 2 (40:55):
Yeah, it's your podcast, baby.
What do you want to?
Speaker 3 (40:57):
talk about Go ahead right.
Speaker 2 (40:59):
I guess maybe I always feel a little bit we are
talking about my personal, likeyou know, beliefs and
spirituality and stuff, but thatMaybe that's why I feel like
that, but that, um, you'vealways been really inspiring for
me to hold that faith and Justum, be, yeah, be out loud about
it.
And maybe that's why I'm sayingthis right now, because I was
(41:21):
kind of like, should I bring itup?
No, I shouldn't bring it up,like you know, but it's like
because you always are out loudabout it and, um, I really just
appreciate that.
And even, like when we were atthe um health symposium and you,
like, prayed over your meal,right, that's something that,
like, I forget to do.
I grew up doing that.
Yeah like I often forget, andit's just like reminders for me,
(41:42):
and so thank you for that andum, I love that you have to
share that faith system with youtoo.
Speaker 3 (41:51):
Oh, thank you.
Thank you so much.
This has been great.
I am, you know, I'm proud of emof you, but I got to tell you
publicly, publicly.
I'm so proud of you.
My god, every come a long way,but I'm so proud of you.
You're an amazing mom, you arean amazing wonder woman and you
are such an inspiration.
(42:11):
You inspire me all the time.
Just the news you gave mebefore we started, and I'll keep
that between us.
I'm so inspired by you, so Ilove you and I appreciate you,
and you are just as amazing.
It's been a pleasure getting toknow you and just hearing your
heart today.
You're quiet, but you're verypowerful.
Speaker 4 (42:29):
You're very, very powerful, my pleasure.
Speaker 2 (42:32):
Yeah, I make some incredible friends.
Thank you guys so much.
Speaker 3 (42:38):
Why we were all living in the same area.
Speaker 2 (42:40):
Oh my gosh, let's go hang on that land Just go cool
this water.
Speaker 4 (42:46):
For real, Seriously and you know it's so funny Um
the resilience of of humans andyou know, Because we do.
We go up, we go through theseup and downs and despite having
these, you know, differentemotions and lows and ideas.
Yeah like I.
(43:07):
I got my dba today.
I.
I, I yeah so like I thank you,so like you know, that's a big
deal for me.
You know, so even yesterday Iwas having similar feelings,
like wanting to give up onthings and everything and and
then it's like All right, new,new, new dawn, new day.
Speaker 3 (43:28):
Yes.
Speaker 4 (43:29):
Gotta keep on keeping on and yeah and not not just
that, but having faith, faith inourselves, yes, which you
definitely bring that sort ofvibe and inspire me to like,
because I can, you know, slip upon that sometime.
So so, yeah, so it's, it's beena good day, and so.
I'm so grateful that you'rehere and to share your knowledge
(43:51):
and time and space with us.
Speaker 3 (43:53):
Thank you, thank you, maureen, thank you.
Y'all are important to me somuch today, so I appreciate this
.
Speaker 2 (43:58):
I know I wish that we could just like hang out with
you and do this every day right.
Speaker 4 (44:03):
I just want to hang out here every day right.
Speaker 2 (44:06):
Right and just talk, because I love these
conversations.
The realness, um yeah, I'm justreally grateful for the
authenticity.
Speaker 3 (44:18):
Thank you.
Thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (44:21):
Yeah, any, any closing thoughts?
Anybody?
Speaker 4 (44:24):
Hopefully you can come back I would love to.
Speaker 3 (44:27):
I just want to encourage anybody out there
going through something um, keepyour head up.
Believe me, I understand I.
I almost wanted to cancelEverything that could have tried
to go wrong with my podcast.
That goes up tonight Was goingwrong on top of other things and
it was just exhausting.
(44:49):
But you know what you gothrough those ebbs and flows.
I was in a low.
I come here to do this and I'mleaving so inspired, so
energetic.
I was reminded of why I do whatI do, and sometimes those lows
come to make you give up,because there's a lot against
(45:09):
you that doesn't want to see yousucceed, but there's so much
more for you that wants to seeyou make it.
So don't give up.
Don't.
If you have to call a friend toencourage you, do so.
Whatever you do, don't you giveup.
This world needs you.
So taking yourself out is notthe answer.
Giving up is not the answer.
You've come way too far.
So I just want to encourage youin that, if you are going
(45:31):
through that, you keep your headup.
Speaker 2 (45:36):
Thank you, niki.
Did you have you addedmotivational speaker to?
Speaker 1 (45:41):
your yeah, so people can hire you.
Yeah, yeah, okay.
Speaker 2 (45:45):
Good.
So yeah, on your LinkedIn, orgirl?
I have to redo that LinkedIn.
Yeah, I have to redo that thing, but yeah it is linked in the
like that professional website,or is it yeah?
Speaker 3 (45:58):
it's this, it was professional.
It's a little bit, not now, Idon't know, but yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (46:03):
What's the thing with the?
Speaker 4 (46:04):
it has all the it's your like social media but like
job that's linked in it.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3 (46:11):
It's almost like a resume on social media.
Speaker 2 (46:14):
I'm talking about then like on instagram where
it's like you click on it orsomething and it has all of oh,
the link tree.
Speaker 3 (46:21):
Link tree, yes, yes, yes.
Um, I haven't just putmotivational speaker on the link
tree, but I think I may do thatbecause I'm in the process of
revamping all of it.
I stay so busy out in lifedoing the work that, when it
comes to social media, I youknow it was a bit neglectful,
but I understand.
That's where you drum upbusiness and you show people
(46:42):
what you do.
So I'm really working ongetting better.
Hence y'all been seeing me messwith my camera.
I'm getting some behind thescenes footage, but I'm really
working on getting better.
But I'm so busy actually doingthe work I'm like yeah yeah, we
need to like get little clips.
Speaker 2 (47:00):
Yeah, whatever, yes.
Speaker 1 (47:02):
Behind the scenes clips.
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3 (47:05):
But you get so into the work that you forget and
like I was supposed to hit thisthree or four more times with my
remote.
But we're so into what we'retalking about and I'm watching
your eyes water up and I'm likeforget that it's work to be done
and then I go home and like,dang it.
I got some clips so I'm workingon it.
But, yeah, I would love it ifyou all come and find me on
social media.
Speaker 2 (47:26):
Yes, okay, yeah, and we'll have our video up too, so
you can Excited screenshots orwhatever Clips yeah.
Alrighty, all right.
Well, that's a wrap y'all.
Thank you so much, nikki.
Speaker 3 (47:38):
Yeah, bye everyone.
Thank you, I loved it.
I loved it.
As the cosmos connects the universe, water
connects life.
At the Sacred Water Podcast,we're exploring the history,
mythology and future of thesacred land known as San Antonio
.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Hey friends, unfortunately we had to cut out
the first part of this episodedue to crunchy microphone sounds
, so I'd like to introduce NikkiJohnson.
She is a housing commissionerin the city of San Antonio,
which is what we talk aboutmostly in this episode.
She's also an author,motivational speaker and
(00:42):
podcaster herself, so be sure tocheck out the links to her
stuff below and enjoy thisepisode.
I wanted to bring up yougetting onto the housing
commission.
I mean, since when, what yeardid you get on?
Speaker 3 (00:57):
Oh girl, this year number three.
Yeah, she had three.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
So it was 2020?
Right before COVID, septemberof 2020.
Speaker 3 (01:08):
Yeah, COVID had already hit.
Oh okay, yeah, and at the timejust was cheering.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
Yeah, let me just say real quick how I always want to
call this out every opportunityI can.
When the mayor at one pointjust removed every single
besides you, every singlecommunity member from the
housing commission and the Sahaboard, just like, wiped them all
out within a month, everysingle person.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
Well, some of them left.
It's like one left because hegot married.
Oh yeah, it shocked all of usbecause we knew he was going to
get married, but it was like andI'm leaving too.
It was that.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
I don't know, I have no idea.
Paul, oh, you were.
Oh, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3 (01:55):
So some people were leaving and some didn't get
reappointed.
But that was a big shockbecause none of us were
expecting that it was.
Maybe he had been married abouta month or two, and then it was
like, okay, been great guys.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
I'm sick of fighting he's like married life is good.
Speaker 3 (02:15):
I'm going to go enjoy , yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
Yeah, talk to us about the housing commission.
Speaker 3 (02:21):
It was terrifying when Jess called me and she was
like I want to tell yousomething.
I don't know how you're goingto take it, If you're going to
accept it or not, but I thinkyou do amazing work and blah,
blah, blah and I would love tonominate you.
And I was like I don't want.
We had gone before them, we hadgone two or three times at this
(02:43):
point and presenting the policyyeah.
We had gone and presented beforethem two or three times, and
one of the experiences we had,when we were preparing to take
something really big before thehousing commission, we were told
they're never going to agree tothis.
You know what they're talkingabout.
They're never going to acceptthis.
(03:04):
You can't go in saying thesethings.
And when that person left theroom and, mind you, we had been
working hours with thispresentation he left the room
and I was so angry that I had agood pep talk with all of us and
I say we're going to do exactlyyou know, I think I said it
before he left, that's why heleft we're going to do it
(03:25):
exactly how we've been workingon it.
We're going to do exactly howwe've been practicing, because
the problem is is, if we keepgoing in doing the same exact
thing, we're going to keephaving the same results, and
these people need this.
We need this to happen.
And so I think, for me, my mindwas made up that the commission
was this thing, you know by howthat person described it, and
(03:50):
I'm thinking I wouldn't fit.
I can't be that.
I need to make a change.
That's exactly what I needed tobe.
And so when I had my meetingwith the mayor about the
position.
He told me he'd watched all thework that we had been doing and
he had watched my passion andhe wanted me for that very
(04:11):
reason, and that just ignitedsomething in me because they
gave me permission to go and beme and not be what someone had
told us the commission was.
And being in there has beenamazing because the community
constantly contacts me.
My phone has to be on, do notdisturb, because as they're
(04:35):
watching live, they are emailingand texting and, yeah, because
they're either excited orthey're highly upset and
passionate and I make sure Irespond to everyone because all
their voices are important.
It doesn't matter what districtwe live in.
We all live in this city, right?
We're all humans on this earth.
And so when I go to themeetings, I take everybody with
(04:58):
me.
I'm not there as housingcommission or Nikki Johnson, I'm
there as communityrepresentative and I have to
remember what they're strugglingwith and remember what they're
going through as we're in thesemeetings.
And then now we have all of thesubcommittee subcommittees that
have been created because ofthe, the needs that are going on
(05:19):
in the community, and I sit onalmost all of them because I
wanted to make sure that thecommunity voice was was
represented.
That has been life changing forme.
You know how, when we were allworking together.
You're constantly meetingamazing people with amazing
stories, but these people aretenacious.
These people are the heartbeatof this earth.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
You know what I mean.
Speaker 3 (05:43):
The committees yeah, the people that I get to meet
working on the subcommittees.
I can we go out into thecommunity?
Speaker 2 (05:49):
Who got chosen Like?
Did they really choosecommunity people A lot?
Speaker 3 (05:53):
Yes, the community representation is on the
subcommittees.
On the ones that I sit on as acommissioner.
I get to go through theapplications that we have these
meetings to vote on who we wantto sit and we really look at
someone's desire to work in thecommunity or their experience
(06:14):
working at it, as well as thosewho have been working on the
professional level, because allthe voices together are always
important, but meeting thepeople that are on the
professional level, theirpassion for helping the people
in the community, is amazing.
Speaker 2 (06:32):
And I mean the fact that they have you what they are
, to really show them how to doit, because a lot of those
professional people, it's whatthey want.
They want to help the community, but they don't know how,
because they're so stuck insideof that like data driven world
kind of you know, and it's soimportant to have people like
you kind of like continuing overand over again.
This is who we're here for.
(06:52):
Wow, thank you.
Speaker 3 (06:54):
Yeah, thank you, maureen.
A lot of them have actuallysaid that.
Now that you say it, I'm justbeing reminded.
A lot of them have said itbecause they have policies that
they have to follow and thosepolicies are paper-driven.
They're data-driven.
But when we have these eventswhere we have to go and
(07:17):
volunteer, to work in thecommunity or go and inform the
community, and they get to hearbeyond the paperwork that's what
I call it they get to hearbeyond the data and literally
sit in front of the familiesthat need it.
It's so life-changing for allof us.
That's where the change happens.
Yes, that's where it takesplace.
Yes, I believe that.
Speaker 2 (07:36):
I was just oh, I had called that ground.
I was telling Terry that Ialways say that when I have
meetings with politicians andstuff, it's like I say that I'm
like you need to, becausethey'll come to us, the Sahata.
They'll come to our uniontenants union and kind of ask us
questions, but it's just us,the leaders, and I always have
(07:59):
to say it.
I'm like look, I'm not here totalk for all of the Sahata.
Speaker 3 (08:03):
If you are really interested.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
You have a community meeting at any building, any
public housing building, andthat is what's going to give you
the grounded knowledge that youneed to be able to advocate for
our needs.
Don't just ask me Don't justlook at data?
You go to them and that's wherethe changes really happen.
Speaker 3 (08:24):
Absolutely.
That's where solutions arereally grounded, solutions are
really created.
Remember the meetings we usedto have where there were almost
50 stakeholders.
There were stakeholders fromeverywhere.
We went from having these small, intimate meetings to it was
(08:45):
stakeholders from everyorganization you can probably
think of.
We even had H-E-Brepresentatives.
We had people from the foodpantry.
It was just so many.
The good thing about it was wegot to hear the parts that we
don't know, what happens at theboard meetings and with the
paperwork and the data and whatthe federal government has
(09:08):
guidelines on.
My prayers is that they got tohear the real life experience
from the people who needed it.
The con to those meetings wassometimes, when you have a lot
more of those voices thancommunity-based voices and
experiences, those get washed.
Their voices get amplified andthe others get washed out, and
(09:31):
so we may have 20 communitymembers and then 40 some odd,
whatever heads or whatever.
There were times when peoplespoke over.
Someone would say somethingvery pivotal, very important,
but then someone over somethingwould say something is like that
would get washed away.
(09:52):
What I loved about what thethree of us did was we would be
like, ok, did you hear what theyjust said?
Well, we make notes and we madesure it came up and we would
tell the mayor himself or wewould talk to whomever.
We would have emails and havemeetings with council members to
make sure that they heard thethings that weren't going to get
reported back.
(10:13):
You know, the things thatweren't as important.
We make sure that that stayedbefore everybody because it's
important.
We don't think because peopleneed help that they're important
.
There's just a burden sometimes.
Sometimes they're looked at aslazy because you just don't want
to work, when the reality ofthese stories is some of those
(10:35):
people are working, as I said atour symposium, two and three
jobs and they're stillstruggling.
But you don't get that becauseyou don't have a conversation
with them to know.
A data told you one thing,numbers told you one thing.
But they can look at you andtell you my children's father
needed a place to stay and mykids needed a safe place to go
(10:55):
and spend time with their dad.
This program helped.
He was doing the best he could,but he was struggling, and this
is what helped our family.
Those are the conversationsthat they need to hear.
Speaker 2 (11:08):
Yeah, I see a mom holding her baby while she was
taking a nap doing apresentation on the policy.
Speaker 3 (11:14):
Or breastfeeding, maureen.
Or breastfeeding I will neverforget.
I love that story orbreastfeeding, standing before
whomever to speak, but she hadto breastfeed her baby because
it was that important.
If y'all don't know Maureen'spodcast, that was her I'm
referring to.
But go ahead, just put yourbusiness out there in the
streets, go ahead.
Speaker 4 (11:34):
When nature calls.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
I don't mind, that's actually the number I think I
showed you that video.
My first time ever testifyingin front of a political entity
was in Oregon and Brigid wasthree months old and she had
just nursed herself to sleep onmy breast and somebody just
shoved me up to speak and I waslike, ok, whatever.
(11:57):
I didn't even realize that thisbaby was on me until I got up
and left and I was like, oh mygod, I was just talking the
whole time while breastfeedingand the leader of the Portland
Tendency Union put it on herFacebook and then a news guy got
ahold of it and then 20,000 or200,000 people or something saw
me breastfeeding Brigid whilespeaking to the wing.
Yeah, yeah, I mean, I was justin survival mode and then I did
(12:22):
it.
And I took the fucking kid'sbreast.
Speaker 3 (12:25):
Right, she's hungry, get over it.
Speaker 2 (12:28):
Yeah, yeah, I thought what was really interesting
about those community meetings.
Just as I analyze how tocontinue doing the best work
possible for all of thiscommunity engagement stuff,
because it's an ever-evolvingprocess.
Speaker 1 (12:42):
Right, right.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
We're always, constantly learning best
practices.
Speaker 3 (12:46):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (12:47):
Is that there was so many of those?
I guess I would say secondary,their importance was of
secondary importance because,they are the ones sort of
facilitating a lot of theseprograms that help most impacted
community, and so that was justsomething that was one of my
big takeaways from thosecommunity meetings that we
(13:09):
ultimately got to have Was thatas hard as we tried to outreach
to have the most impacted peoplethere yeah, it ended up being
mostly those secondary levelpeople too, but that there was
value in that in itself andespecially with just networking
(13:30):
like bringing all of thoseresources together.
I always find that powerful andideally to get as many most
impacted people there aspossible, but it's really, it's
just hard.
Speaker 3 (13:41):
It wasn't for naught, though, because we were doing.
There were so many things wewere doing that wasn't.
It hadn't been done before, ithad not been done before.
We were having focus groups, asthey wanted to call them.
We didn't want to call themfocus groups, but we were having
focus groups where we wereinviting the community into
different locations andliterally asking them if you had
(14:04):
this, where are the areas thatyou really could improve?
What do you see that there isan issue in?
What are some things thatyou're experiencing in your area
, and people would come and talk, but the thing is, after asking
and feeling neglected for solong, that's just another
meeting, and that was themindset that people had then,
(14:28):
but we kept doing it and wewould see increases, we would
get the news would come andjournalists would come and all
of those things.
Now, when there are events thattake place and the community is
invited, there are a lot morepeople that show.
The work is spread out, so Idon't want you to feel like, as
much as we wanted more people,we didn't get as many.
(14:48):
The impacted are now startingto show up because they seem OK.
It's not just something thatyou're saying that you're going
to do.
You actually do care Nowanytime.
We've started something newwith these sub committees.
Don't think we haven't gottencommunity members that show up
and say, ok, so this is going tobe just another gathering.
I mean we've had literally,especially when we started the
(15:08):
renter solutions subcommittee.
There were a lot of people thatsaid, if you're not going to be
giving solutions, like what areyou here for?
That was the mentality evenwhen we were doing it back then.
And so now, because of thatwork and I want you to be so
proud of it the amount ofturnout, the amount of people
that will speak up and fill outsurveys Because remember, we
(15:30):
were trying to figure out howcan we get these people to do
surveys to find out where weneed to improve and the amount
of surveys that get turned innow is so totally different as
compared to when we firststarted out.
So now the people are startingto see that there is work being
done on their behalf, versusjust another meeting, that where
no one's going to do anything.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (15:55):
My brain is so I'm like I hope that they're quality
.
Speaker 3 (16:03):
Much as I can have an input, I'm trying to, but
uh-huh, no, totally.
Speaker 2 (16:07):
I hear that Terry had said is similar stuff to you
that her community engagement indistrict five has gotten a lot
higher and.
And yeah, it is, and and what wetalked about there too, same
same exact conversation whereI'm so skeptical, right, but,
(16:28):
but you know, we just inevitablyhave these hierarchies that
exist Just how it is, and so ifwe don't have people like you,
and if we don't have people likeTerry high in those hierarchies
, then so much of that gets lostand it just doesn't happen,
like it literally just won'thappen, unless there's people
Like you continuously saying thesame things over and over again
(16:50):
about how are we getting to thecommunity, until it gets in
their heads.
That's how you would always seeit.
I'm like if I just say the same150 times, they're gonna get it
, yeah, and they would.
They would start saying itthemselves, right and that.
And then they go through theprocess where they're saying it
but not actually doing it.
So then you have to be like,okay, good, you're getting there
(17:11):
, yeah, but let's see it in reallife in real action, and then
they start doing it and then, ohmy gosh, it's like a puppy,
like job you did it.
Speaker 1 (17:23):
I can't tell you how like.
Speaker 2 (17:24):
I did that at a saw meeting last week with the girl
she.
Um, she was actually someonewho I've fought with a lot
before and she was actuallyTrying to find solutions to
these safety issues, whereasbefore they're always like, well
, we can't do anything, we don'thave any money.
I can't tell you how many timesI've had to come back and be
like find the money, have theConversations.
(17:45):
I know there's no money, but ifyou don't talk about it, then
we're never gonna get there.
And so she at least, like, waslistening to these tenants and
she was like, well, what if we?
And she looked exhausted, butI'm just thinking outside the
box if we just put like and shewas at least saying things, yeah
, and At the end I was like Ijust want to thank so-and-so for
(18:07):
being solution oriented.
I can just tell that she's like.
Well, I got a compliment, butit's me, but I'm like, I mean it
like and I felt that way withthe mayor too before, where it's
like he has all this Crappywork, but it's like when he does
it right, I'm like you did itright, like congrats, like
really.
I know that that's hard at yourlevel to figure out because
(18:30):
you're so inundated With allthis paperwork and data and
reports and deadlines and allthat stuff and so as much as I
really don't care about them andAll of that stuff, but I, I
guess I, I do like I amimpressed to some extent when
(18:50):
they can get it.
Speaker 1 (18:51):
Yeah, it is hard.
Speaker 2 (18:52):
Yeah, and so I'm.
I feel like I'm all over theplace right now.
That's how I am in my life.
Speaker 3 (18:59):
No, no, I know your passion and and I work with you
long enough to know where you'recoming from and I get it.
I would say I've enjoyed beingable to work under the mayor.
I've enjoyed the fact that Ididn't have to come in and what
is the good word for it?
He knew, he knew the work thatwe had done.
(19:20):
So when he, when, when he I wasin his office and he told me I
want you on it to do what you'redoing and and I get to see like
there's no pushback, it's, thisis what we need.
It needs to be communityOriented.
Like I signed up for somesubcommittees, I didn't know
what they were talking about,especially one that's very
(19:42):
technical, but I said that's thething.
It's all technical and it'stechnical as it is.
There still needs to be acommunity voice in there.
There still has to be, andSometimes we just forget that
the people we consider little orinsignificant are the ones that
are most important.
They are the most importantbecause otherwise, why are you
(20:04):
doing what you're doing if it'snot for the people?
Even if you create a restaurant, it's the people you're gonna
feed.
If you open up a retail store,it's the people you're gonna
serve.
So why aren't you talking tothe people?
That's why I missed.
This is so our subject with oursubject.
Do y'all remember, like theneighborhood mom and pop
(20:28):
restaurants and stores and theplaces where you went to your
neighborhood?
Everybody knew you and thepeople that owned the places
knew you.
They talked to you.
They wanted to know was thatsandwich good that we just made?
How was it?
Because if it's not good,they're gonna go improve because
they asked you.
They're not gonna assume thatis good because you are here.
They may be there because thisis the only place I can go to,
(20:49):
but your food sucks.
But I can talk to you and tellyou I miss that.
I miss the community,entrepreneur, relationship and
conversation, because theyunderstood the value of Good
customer service and rapport.
I don't exist if you don't comein here and patron my, my
business, and I can't buy ifyou're not here, familiar with
(21:11):
the business, and I can't buy ifyou're not here for me.
So we have to talk.
It's the same thing that shouldhappen in politics.
It's the same thing that shouldgo on in our cities and states.
Why are you in that position ifyou're not talking to me?
You service me, but we don'tunderstand that they we get
treated like we should beserving and it should be the
(21:32):
other way around.
Speaker 2 (21:35):
Yeah, I always say that to people to encourage them
to speak up.
Speaker 3 (21:39):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (21:41):
I'm all about public comments, cuz it's your time, I
like.
I feel like I've said thisrecently.
Maybe it was on one of theseepisodes where everyone's always
like, yeah, it doesn't matter,they don't listen to you anyway.
Yeah but I'm like but no,literally they have to.
Nothing else is going on in theroom except your voice in those
(22:04):
three minutes.
Yeah so use it.
Speaker 1 (22:07):
Mm-hmm.
Speaker 2 (22:07):
What are they?
Whether they receive it or not,whatever, who cares?
It's your time, own it.
Yeah, and that's one of thethings I tell them.
I'm like they work for you,don't?
Be scared, do not be scaredwalking up to that microphone.
They work for you.
They have to listen to you.
And if they don't, that's onthem and they're gonna suffer
the consequences of that, of notreceiving your input because,
(22:30):
you have valid input.
Yes, so say it.
You have to.
Speaker 3 (22:34):
You have to it makes a difference.
Yeah, let me tell y'allsomething.
Maureen is one of the mostfearless public commentser.
In three minutes, this chicken,this chick, will read you
everything that is right andwrong in the world, calling out
names, oh my god.
And she does it with suchfearlessness, but she
understands the power of.
(22:55):
These are my three minutes.
So what did Maxine say?
She's gonna reclaim her timeand Maureen is gonna get up
there and she's gonna speak.
And I encourage People all thetime.
I don't care if you write yourcomment, you leave a voice
message, someone's gonna hear it, somebody's gonna hear it and
you worried about.
Well, they're not gonna listen.
If you don't say it, nobody'sgonna listen because we have
(23:17):
nothing to hear and we might notbe able to respond at the time
comments are made, becausethat's that's the legalities of
it.
That doesn't mean we're nottaking those.
That mean we're not listening,because when those meetings are
over and we have these other submeetings where we can talk
about it, it's coming up.
Believe me, we're discussing it.
Speaker 2 (23:35):
Absolutely.
And I've even said to I'm likeI don't kid, they're like you.
They're not even allowed torespond.
I don't, I don't want them torespond, like I don't want to
hear your response, like it'sprobably gonna be BS anyway.
So just like, leave it.
Let me just say what I have tosay and you guys do what you
want with yeah.
And it does.
It really does make it dip, notjust my vote.
Like I've seen it, so manypeople get up and give that
(23:58):
three minutes and it getsrepeated, right.
They just like it's things thatthey don't think about.
And then I hear them repeat itin other spaces the
subcommittees or wherever elseum it does it amplifies.
Speaker 4 (24:12):
It really does amplify.
Speaker 2 (24:14):
I think it was on the record a lot of times too, they
have to write it down Like Ilike to record it.
Yeah, yeah and kept in the citywebsite.
Yup, yeah, yeah, yeah, I thinkabout that sometimes.
Speaker 3 (24:28):
How like you should have a whole episode of all of
your public comments, like amontage.
That would be so fly.
You did a montage of all youryour public comments.
Speaker 2 (24:40):
I'm out.
Go and find them all.
That would be hilarious.
I like to think I'm diplomaticto fierce, but diplomatic you
are till you get ticked off.
Speaker 3 (24:50):
And if you, if you if you come in fired up child.
There were times when I waslike, go ahead, maureen, I'll
wait, like you got it.
Go ahead when yeah, when she'sfired, she's fired, but I'm
going to tell you her passion orheart's in the right place.
You piss many a person off, butyou did it because I'd rather
piss you off, but I'm going tomake sure these people are
(25:11):
getting helped, so yeah, I'mwilling to take the pride of the
anger at community and theneveryone else is like the good
cop on the back, like I come inand freak out, and then everyone
else just sounds real.
Speaker 2 (25:24):
Like okay, listen to that.
Speaker 3 (25:26):
There were a couple of times she would say my name
is Maureen Galendo.
Yeah, I know some of youalready know me, like I know we
have beef, but yeah, so youshould do a montage of your,
your public comments.
Speaker 2 (25:39):
I still say that I'm not trying to sound scared, just
like they already know who I am.
Speaker 1 (25:42):
So that's how I am.
Speaker 2 (25:43):
Every time, in front of us all, I'm like.
You want to know me.
It's me again.
My favorite three minutes ofthe month.
Speaker 3 (25:49):
Hello, it's me again.
Yeah, I do do that.
Speaker 2 (25:54):
I love it.
I love my three.
I want to do like a um gosh,how can we do that?
Like train people on publiccomments.
Speaker 3 (26:04):
Just have the meetings, just try them.
You know the training is, letit start right now.
I don't care if you do, if youspeak broken English, if you
don't speak, but maybe threewords.
Well, if you only speak Spanishor whatever your native
language is, I don't care if youcannot read.
Open your mouth and speak.
Let me tell you, I was a partof our sale work group that had
(26:30):
to create a policy and we hadpeople show up that were
affected by the reason we neededto create that policy, and they
would come and speak everysingle meeting and I would have
them reach out to me afterwardand some of them was like you
know, I know I didn't.
I didn't.
You know sound right, I knowyou sounded perfect.
(26:52):
I don't need to hear youtalking proper, I need to hear
you tell the truth, and that'swhat everyone else needs to hear
.
When it came down to the votebefore council, those people
came and spoke the very way theyspoke and our meetings is how
they spoke before council and itgot passed because the people
heard the truth.
(27:12):
So let this be one on one inpublic speaking.
Just get them to tell you truth, just that's all.
You don't need anything butyour truth, that's it.
You don't need to go over it,rehearse it.
I mean, if you need to, youneed to, but all you need is
your truth.
And who can tell that betterthan you?
Speaker 2 (27:31):
Yeah, yeah, whatever it is, it's going to sound good.
Speaker 1 (27:34):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (27:35):
I would say this people out.
There's been many times where Igot up and just sounded
ridiculous.
Speaker 3 (27:39):
Or you thought you didn't.
Speaker 2 (27:43):
Everyone always thinks, they do I always say
everyone always thinks that theysound ridiculous afterward.
I always tell that to peopletoo.
I'm like you're going to bedone and you're going to think I
should have said this.
I should have done that.
I sounded like this and like itwas amazing.
Speaker 3 (27:55):
It was perfect.
Speaker 2 (27:56):
It was exactly how it was meant to be.
You have to believe thatAbsolutely and just keep on
doing it and every time you'llget better and better and more
confident.
And then, when you start seeingyour voice make the impact,
make that ripple effect, there'sjust no greater feeling in the
world.
It was giving me chills whenyou were talking about those
people Going up coming to citycouncil and speaking their truth
(28:19):
.
That stuff just like it iseverything for me, because
representative democracy is notthe ideal framework for a
government.
It would ideally be a peoplepowered government, but it's
what we have, and so if ourrepresentatives don't hear you,
then they're not going to know,they're literally not going to
(28:40):
know.
Speaker 3 (28:40):
Yeah, I mean, we had one she.
She showed up in an arm castBecause she had asked management
to fix something at herapartment complex repeatedly and
they didn't and she ended upfalling and breaking her arm.
(29:04):
We had people show up withblown up pictures of the mold
and how the walls and ceilinghad fallen because of leaks
above them and you can see sherocking everything in their
living room and mold everywhere.
Had they not have come eventhough I was on this?
(29:25):
I was selected because of mywork, but I said yes because of
my passion.
I went in with passion.
That right there ignited adynamite in me because no human
should ever live like that.
But has she not a common sharedthat I would only go off for
what I thought I knew.
(29:45):
So they were literally passingaround.
They made posters andeverything.
They passed these pictures andposters around so you could see
we're not just going to tell youwhat we're going through.
How about we show you proof?
Do you know what that did forme, girl?
I went home and I was studying,taking notes and trying to
figure out what is it I couldbring to the next meeting.
To make sure, because I knowwe're always being recorded to
(30:09):
make sure, even if I just haveto say whether everyone else
votes or not is it gets said byme.
When they went before thecouncil and shared, I was
watching online because Icouldn't make it in person.
That day I was bawling andscreaming, I was cheering and
clapping because I was so proudof them.
It takes a lot to get up andtell someone that you're living
(30:32):
in these conditions.
That takes a lot ofvulnerability and heart.
But when the council respondedand was saying thank you for
sharing your, you can tell itwas that public comment section
on top of what we ended upcreating.
I think it was the publiccomment section beyond what we
(30:53):
created.
What we created just had toback up the need.
But them talking oh my God,that was it.
So anyone, anyone, please Idon't care what city or state
you live in show up.
Show up at these meetings.
Don't just let them makedecisions on your life for you.
Show up and open your mouth.
(31:13):
I don't care if you feel likeyou made a mistake.
I don't know how many times wethought we bombed, but you know,
if you feel like you didn't doa good job, you don't know who
you are affecting, because I'mgoing to say this.
I'm going to be quiet becauseit's not my show.
You think that they're not goingto understand because of who
they are and what they do.
You don't know how they grew up.
You may remind them of theirgrandmother, you may remind them
(31:36):
of what they grew up in thatthey've never discussed with
anyone.
At our symposium, that womancame up to me.
She was one of the ones thatcried the entire time I was
speaking and after where shecame up to say thank you and
started crying again and shesaid you reminded me of what I
went through when I was growingup, as if she forgot.
As if she forgot.
(31:56):
And she said you made me lookat people in those situations
differently.
Mind you, she grew up like that.
So somewhere up in there therewas a disconnect.
When she became an adult, nolonger had to struggle, she just
remembered.
So you never know who yourpublic comment could affect.
So yeah, I agree with you.
Speaker 4 (32:18):
I encourage everybody go and speak and I imagine,
even if you see that reflectedin data, to see pictures and the
person experiencing it is waydifferent, absolutely, because
then you put yourself in, youhave that empathy and you put
yourself trying to sleep underthat moldy cracked ceiling or
whatever or your baby's tryingto, so that really is effective.
Speaker 3 (32:41):
Because that is going to say woman, so you're going
to be put in category as afemale.
If you're black or Hispanic,it'll put you there.
What else was?
What would that be able to say?
Speaker 2 (32:52):
We put, we made them put single mom onto the right
data.
Speaker 3 (32:56):
Right.
So maybe that maybe that, butwhat else?
What else can what I describedyou with by the broken arm and
mold and sheet rocking yourliving room on the floor?
What?
How can you put that in data?
Yeah, it's going to saystatistics of female Hispanic
income level below AMI.
(33:17):
That's it.
Speaker 2 (33:19):
Head of household.
Speaker 3 (33:20):
Head of household.
Yeah, how many children?
Maybe that's it.
What about the broken arm?
What about how long they beggedto have something done and
couldn't get help?
That's not going to be in there.
That's why opening your mouthand us representing and us
helping and speaking up, that'swhat they need to hear.
Thank you for the numbers, Iappreciate that, but thank you
(33:42):
for showing up with your brokenarm and your baby on your breast
.
Speaker 1 (33:45):
Thank you, mm-hmm.
Speaker 2 (33:47):
Yeah, that's what's making the difference.
Thank you, nikki, for doing allof that.
I want to ask you about yourpodcast and I want you to you
know.
Let us know All about it.
Um, two podcasts.
Yes you're coaching businessand kind of what your goals are
(34:07):
there.
Speaker 3 (34:08):
So I actually have a few podcasts, and right now the
main ones are the queen'stakeover.
The queen's takeover podcastairs live every Tuesday at 7 pm
Central standard time onfacebook and youtube
simultaneously.
I'm sorry.
Speaker 2 (34:25):
We got you talking all um, my solo podcast.
Speaker 3 (34:30):
Um, I have a new one that starts in november.
That's called dearly becoming,and I'm crossing it over Along
with my life coaching businessbecause I want to help people
become the best version ofthemselves, and a lot of the
times, to become the bestversion of you, you have to
become some things that you'vebeen, some mindsets and some
(34:50):
ways and habits.
So what I'm going to have isamazing guests on that will
share their stories of how theygot from where they were to
where they are.
We're going to have this openand honest conversations,
because even if you are becomingthe best version of yourself
Doesn't mean you don't gothrough life and life does not
life, because sometimes life belife and right things happen.
(35:11):
So I'm super excited about that, which I will be recording here
in this amazing studio.
Thank you more, rean, for that.
Um, yeah, so very excited aboutit and it will be released.
It'll start being released latenovember.
Um, my life coaching business.
So I have been doing lifecoaching before at a term I was
(35:34):
the person that was alwaystrying to coach someone through
Difficulties of life, and thatpassion comes from a lot of what
I talked about today.
When you go through things andyou have the answers to help
other people come out of it orgo through it.
Why not share it's like withyou and your, your therapist Um
business?
I'm sorry, was that supposed totalk about that?
(35:54):
Is that okay?
Yeah, you know you want to helppeople get through the
complexities of life and helpthem to overcome, and so that's
a joy and passion of mine.
Um, I help Everyone, and I knowyou're never supposed to say
that you're supposed to niche itdown, but I actually do help
millennials with transitioningUm.
(36:14):
I also help people that aretransitioning through Um.
Sometimes they're experiencinggrief or loss, like they've been
married for 40 years, thatspouse dies and they don't know
how to start the new chapter oflife, and so we have those areas
of transitioning, along with somany other things, and so I
would love to work with anyonewho's interested, who's watching
(36:35):
.
Please get in contact with meand let's have a discovery call
and see if we are a great fitfor each other.
Speaker 2 (36:40):
But where they find you they can find child
everywhere.
Speaker 3 (36:44):
So I will have a youtube channel up very, very
soon.
I don't know by the time thisgoes up, but it's called dearly
becoming.
But you can email me right nowat nickyjshinatjimocom.
You can find me on instagram atcoach nick the overcomer.
You can also find me onfacebook as nicky johnson Um, my
(37:05):
podcast, the queen's takeoverpodcast.
You can find that on youtubeand facebook and I hope you can
hear me, or it's on the screenright now, but I'll put it on
the thank you so much.
I can hear you just fine.
Speaker 2 (37:17):
Oh great.
Speaker 3 (37:17):
Okay great so yeah, that's how you can get in
contact with me perfect.
Speaker 4 (37:24):
I just keep thinking of my experience with my
previous church and how I wastrying to get them.
It was your idea, but to usetheir empty parking lot back Um
during covid that was covidright.
Speaker 1 (37:37):
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 4 (37:38):
To use their empty parking lot, um, for houseless
folks living in their cars, yeah, and they rejected that idea
like, didn't even like considerit.
The pastor was like we don'twant to scare our kids and I was
just so angry with that.
And you know, I ended upleaving the church not too long
(37:59):
after that and a whole bunch ofother stuff.
But um, um, I don't regret thatnow.
I don't regret, you know,stirring, trying to stir the pot
because of that, becausefamilies?
Speaker 2 (38:14):
I don't know.
But yeah that was, I think, um.
Speaker 4 (38:17):
That came up recently it came up Um well at the
health symposium.
You shared your experience ofhouselessness and so on and then
, when you said that, I was likeshe could have been one of
those families that we couldhave helped.
Speaker 3 (38:28):
You know what I mean.
Speaker 4 (38:29):
Like, and that wouldn't have scared my kids at
all, my kids probably would haveplayed with your kids or
something you know, like youknow you know, so um, I don't
know.
Speaker 3 (38:39):
I just.
I'm glad you shared that.
I have a desire to get a lot ofdifferent churches together and
train them on how to serve thecommunity, and Part of one of
the reasons why I want to dothat is because there needs to
be education.
There could have been aconversation that that pastor
(39:01):
had with you to explain hisfears and then you in turn
explain solutions and togethersomething could have been worked
out.
Because I can, I can understandyou have to look out for your
church members, and that's thefirst thing that came to mind,
but that's because you go offthe way.
You think you know or maybe anexperience you may have had or
you may have heard about, butwhat about the thousand other
(39:23):
different experiences?
So what I want to do is bringchurches together, really train
them on how to serve, on how toProperly do food giveaways, on
how to be open and available forOutreach in the community,
because they're doing it acertain way, like the city was
at one time, and this is the waythat you've done it for 25
years.
And just because people comeand get the food, you think it's
(39:44):
working.
But what if there's a way toimprove it and do it better,
where you can really impact andI just give them food but change
their lives.
I really want to get churchestogether and train them in that.
Like you don't know how bad Iwant to do it, and that would
have been a great example.
You know what I mean, becausesometimes it just requires
educating and teaching people.
Speaker 4 (40:05):
So I'm glad you said that.
Now I'm excited to reach out tothe church communities because
they are so powerful.
They're all over theneighborhood they're everywhere,
everywhere you know.
So they, they are a resourcefor your community because
they're everywhere.
Yes so whether you go to churchor not, there's a church
somewhere in your neighborhood,or several Doing something
(40:27):
you're trying to do somethingtrying to do good right, so like
.
Um, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (40:33):
I'm excited.
I'm glad you shared that yeah.
Speaker 2 (40:37):
Yeah, um, uh.
I'll just share, I guess tofinish off, how much um Nikki's
Faith in God has inspired me Iknow that's like kind of offish
to talk about on a podcast, ormaybe I don't know.
Speaker 3 (40:52):
No.
Speaker 2 (40:52):
I guess this is.
Speaker 3 (40:53):
There's a lot of yeah , it's not off yeah.
Speaker 2 (40:55):
Yeah, it's your podcast, baby.
What do you want to?
Speaker 3 (40:57):
talk about Go ahead right.
Speaker 2 (40:59):
I guess maybe I always feel a little bit we are
talking about my personal, likeyou know, beliefs and
spirituality and stuff, but thatMaybe that's why I feel like
that, but that, um, you'vealways been really inspiring for
me to hold that faith and Justum, be, yeah, be out loud about
it.
And maybe that's why I'm sayingthis right now, because I was
(41:21):
kind of like, should I bring itup?
No, I shouldn't bring it up,like you know, but it's like
because you always are out loudabout it and, um, I really just
appreciate that.
And even, like when we were atthe um health symposium and you,
like, prayed over your meal,right, that's something that,
like, I forget to do.
I grew up doing that.
Yeah like I often forget, andit's just like reminders for me,
(41:42):
and so thank you for that andum, I love that you have to
share that faith system with youtoo.
Speaker 3 (41:51):
Oh, thank you.
Thank you so much.
This has been great.
I am, you know, I'm proud of emof you, but I got to tell you
publicly, publicly.
I'm so proud of you.
My god, every come a long way,but I'm so proud of you.
You're an amazing mom, you arean amazing wonder woman and you
are such an inspiration.
(42:11):
You inspire me all the time.
Just the news you gave mebefore we started, and I'll keep
that between us.
I'm so inspired by you, so Ilove you and I appreciate you,
and you are just as amazing.
It's been a pleasure getting toknow you and just hearing your
heart today.
You're quiet, but you're verypowerful.
Speaker 4 (42:29):
You're very, very powerful, my pleasure.
Speaker 2 (42:32):
Yeah, I make some incredible friends.
Thank you guys so much.
Speaker 3 (42:38):
Why we were all living in the same area.
Speaker 2 (42:40):
Oh my gosh, let's go hang on that land Just go cool
this water.
Speaker 4 (42:46):
For real, Seriously and you know it's so funny Um
the resilience of of humans andyou know, Because we do.
We go up, we go through theseup and downs and despite having
these, you know, differentemotions and lows and ideas.
Yeah like I.
(43:07):
I got my dba today.
I.
I, I yeah so like I thank you,so like you know, that's a big
deal for me.
You know, so even yesterday Iwas having similar feelings,
like wanting to give up onthings and everything and and
then it's like All right, new,new, new dawn, new day.
Speaker 3 (43:28):
Yes.
Speaker 4 (43:29):
Gotta keep on keeping on and yeah and not not just
that, but having faith, faith inourselves, yes, which you
definitely bring that sort ofvibe and inspire me to like,
because I can, you know, slip upon that sometime.
So so, yeah, so it's, it's beena good day, and so.
I'm so grateful that you'rehere and to share your knowledge
(43:51):
and time and space with us.
Speaker 3 (43:53):
Thank you, thank you, maureen, thank you.
Y'all are important to me somuch today, so I appreciate this
.
Speaker 2 (43:58):
I know I wish that we could just like hang out with
you and do this every day right.
Speaker 4 (44:03):
I just want to hang out here every day right.
Speaker 2 (44:06):
Right and just talk, because I love these
conversations.
The realness, um yeah, I'm justreally grateful for the
authenticity.
Speaker 3 (44:18):
Thank you.
Thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (44:21):
Yeah, any, any closing thoughts?
Anybody?
Speaker 4 (44:24):
Hopefully you can come back I would love to.
Speaker 3 (44:27):
I just want to encourage anybody out there
going through something um, keepyour head up.
Believe me, I understand I.
I almost wanted to cancelEverything that could have tried
to go wrong with my podcast.
That goes up tonight Was goingwrong on top of other things and
it was just exhausting.
(44:49):
But you know what you gothrough those ebbs and flows.
I was in a low.
I come here to do this and I'mleaving so inspired, so
energetic.
I was reminded of why I do whatI do, and sometimes those lows
come to make you give up,because there's a lot against
(45:09):
you that doesn't want to see yousucceed, but there's so much
more for you that wants to seeyou make it.
So don't give up.
Don't.
If you have to call a friend toencourage you, do so.
Whatever you do, don't you giveup.
This world needs you.
So taking yourself out is notthe answer.
Giving up is not the answer.
You've come way too far.
So I just want to encourage youin that, if you are going
(45:31):
through that, you keep your headup.
Speaker 2 (45:36):
Thank you, niki.
Did you have you addedmotivational speaker to?
Speaker 1 (45:41):
your yeah, so people can hire you.
Yeah, yeah, okay.
Speaker 2 (45:45):
Good.
So yeah, on your LinkedIn, orgirl?
I have to redo that LinkedIn.
Yeah, I have to redo that thing, but yeah it is linked in the
like that professional website,or is it yeah?
Speaker 3 (45:58):
it's this, it was professional.
It's a little bit, not now, Idon't know, but yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (46:03):
What's the thing with the?
Speaker 4 (46:04):
it has all the it's your like social media but like
job that's linked in it.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3 (46:11):
It's almost like a resume on social media.
Speaker 2 (46:14):
I'm talking about then like on instagram where
it's like you click on it orsomething and it has all of oh,
the link tree.
Speaker 3 (46:21):
Link tree, yes, yes, yes.
Um, I haven't just putmotivational speaker on the link
tree, but I think I may do thatbecause I'm in the process of
revamping all of it.
I stay so busy out in lifedoing the work that, when it
comes to social media, I youknow it was a bit neglectful,
but I understand.
That's where you drum upbusiness and you show people
(46:42):
what you do.
So I'm really working ongetting better.
Hence y'all been seeing me messwith my camera.
I'm getting some behind thescenes footage, but I'm really
working on getting better.
But I'm so busy actually doingthe work I'm like yeah yeah, we
need to like get little clips.
Speaker 2 (47:00):
Yeah, whatever, yes.
Speaker 1 (47:02):
Behind the scenes clips.
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3 (47:05):
But you get so into the work that you forget and
like I was supposed to hit thisthree or four more times with my
remote.
But we're so into what we'retalking about and I'm watching
your eyes water up and I'm likeforget that it's work to be done
and then I go home and like,dang it.
I got some clips so I'm workingon it.
But, yeah, I would love it ifyou all come and find me on
social media.
Speaker 2 (47:26):
Yes, okay, yeah, and we'll have our video up too, so
you can Excited screenshots orwhatever Clips yeah.
Alrighty, all right.
Well, that's a wrap y'all.
Thank you so much, nikki.
Speaker 3 (47:38):
Yeah, bye everyone.
Thank you, I loved it.
I loved it.
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