August 10, 2025 • 27 mins
Hess and Delbert have a great conversation this morning about mentoring. When we mentor, it helps someone else, but it also helps ourselves. Hess just attended the Freedom Dinner for the Healing Place the night before. The Healing Place is a free addiction and recovery facility in Louisville and now in Campbellsville Ky. They honored the past director Jay Davidson for his over 35 year career at the Healing Place. There are 125 employees and 85% are alumnae. Hess read that the International Space Station crew safely splashed down yesterday morning. They were replaced last week by a new crew. Anne Mclain who had been in space for 148 days talked about how amazing things can get done with world collaborations. The predominant theme was gratitude for the experience together, and the things they accomplished. It was a “snapshot of humanity.” “When you reach your goals, send the elevator back down.” McClain wrote. Delbert and Hess expand on that in their own lives, how they have learned and then passed on down their knowledge and experiences. Even our loves get passed down—Delberts love of the water to her kids and darlings, and Hess with her horses, and her pastime on her boat. Peace and love, Listen and share and give us some feedback!
I am still collecting for José's cancer treatments. We are awaiting the next CT Scans that will tell you where he is after his second round of treatments. Thank you for your continued support!
https://gofund.me/e6f61999
In addition to being a podcast host, Hess is also an LCSW--if you'd like to learn more about her work as a therapist, check it out at www.jessicabollinger.com
One of her mission's is for all of our lights to shine--when we see each other and allow ourself to be seen--and we can say to the person in front of us, There You Are! the world will be an amazing place!
Delbert is a top realtor in Louisville, KY, and you can find her at Kentucky Select Properties She will help you find your home, and also help you get the most equity when you sell your house.
Her philanthropic work to continue her sister Carole and niece Meghan is Carole's Kitchen. Blessings in a Backpack helps feed the many hungry students in our schools. The instagram account is: https://www.instagram.com/caroleskitchen.nonprofit?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Hess (00:00):
Hey, welcome to our Sunday morning chat.
My name is Hess and I'm lookingout from my little white chair
by my bedroom window at the sunshining on the green grass.
I'm glad we've gotten a littlebit of rain.
Delbert, what's it look likewhere you're at?
Delbert (00:15):
Oh my goodness.
Of course I'm on the green couchas always, and I'll tell you the
sunrise this morning.
I had a little bit of a goldencast to it, and so the sky is
not a brilliant blue.
It's like a pale blue and white.
It's a beautiful sunny day heretoday again in Louisville,
(00:35):
Kentucky.
Hello friends.
Welcome to our podcast.
Hess (00:40):
Yeah, and I wanna catch you all up.
My name's Hess and I got thisnickname back in grade school.
We had some little Spanish classthat went on for a short period
of time, and my Spanish name.
Was probably Yesi with more ofan H than a J.
And there was a little group offriends here and we gave each
other names and Delbert wasHeimi Delbert.
(01:04):
That was a little bit longerstory than just Spanish class.
You didn't like your Spanishname or something right.
Delbert (01:10):
Oh, that was Enrichment, so I did theater.
And you did Spanish?
Yeah, so I wasn't in the Spanishclass.
Hess (01:17):
You have such a good memory.
So that little section oflearning was called enrichment
and I took Spanish.
You took theater.
All that makes sense.
That makes sense.
Delbert (01:26):
Yeah.
And Ms.
Baldwin, do you remember her?
She was our art teacher.
I just connected with her onFacebook through the MGC Mother
of Good Counsel Facebook page,and she is just, looks exactly
the same.
She remembers everybody and, shesaid, oh my gosh, Judy Watson, I
(01:46):
remember you had such a bigfamily and I didn't teach you,
but I had you for a few things.
And we had her for art inseventh and eighth grade.
And then she taught theater,which I always did.
Theater in enrichment.
Yeah, we did the Charlie Brownstory one year.
You're a good man, CharlieBrown.
And then okay.
(02:07):
Going back to enrichment, wealso did a talent show and I
made you do it with Dewey and I,do you remember that?
Hess (02:14):
No, what did I have to do?
Delbert (02:15):
Big Spender.
We did a little song and danceto Big Spender and my
grandmother had made me all ofthese.
She put my initials oneverything.
She embroidered my initials oneverything.
Ma'am.
All Dorothy, we're alwaystalking about her and Papa
Charlie.
She made me these like kind offlapper, drop waist dresses with
the little ruffle bottom.
(02:36):
I don't know how I got you intothat thing, but Dewey and I
talked you into it.
I had three of them and then wehad these long pearls and we did
like a little twenties versionof big Spender.
Hess (02:49):
Wow.
Del,
Delbert (02:51):
you don't remember.
Okay.
All right.
Hess (02:53):
Delbert and I go back to first grade Council.
So we're 67 now, and we're.
We have known each other for 60years, and these Sunday morning
chats help us with our week andget our, get us lined up on, on
stuff.
And so we decided we would startputting that in a podcast and
maybe to help you.
(03:15):
what we'd like to talk abouttoday and talk more about is
mentoring and lifting people up,like passing on knowledge and
all those kind of things, beinga helper.
So that's what we'd like to talkabout today.
Delbert (03:30):
And so one of the things that you were telling me
about was the NASA story has, doyou wanna talk about that?
Hess (03:39):
Right the International Space Station astronauts all
landed in the Pacific Ocean.
Pacific Ocean.
I always say Pacific Ocean.
Yesterday morning and one of theastronauts.
I think her name is Ann McLeanor something like that.
She said it is just so beautifulthat all of these different
(04:01):
countries, somebody from Russia,Japan, herself, from these
different countries, all thesedifferent countries work
together.
And we've had somebody at theInternational Space Station for
25 years and what acollaboration that is.
And unlike some of thegeopolitical things that are
going on, she said, if we worktogether.
We can do great things, shesaid.
(04:23):
And if you go up in the elevatorto, to your goal, after you
reach your goal, you need tosend it back down.
Delbert (04:31):
Beautiful.
I love that so much.
Hess (04:35):
Delbert, I was just at the Dinner for Freedom last night,
celebrating the Healing Placeand commemorating Jay Davidson
beginning to pass his baton.
And so that everything stillkeeps moving forward in, in even
greater ways and.
In that dinner, just so manypeople got up and spoke and said
(04:58):
that they're an alumni.
There's about 125 employees and85% of them are alumni, and
they're there.
They get into a mentoringprogram and then they mentor
others.
And it's being able to be anexample and be able to say, Hey,
you can get to where I am now.
It's just.
(05:19):
That's so beautiful about life.
We're all connected and we canraise each other up.
Delbert (05:23):
Yes.
I love that.
And that I had gone to theHealing Place with you.
We've talked about your dad howhe helped start the healing
place.
And we've visited before you,you did a really long visit
recently, but we, last year wewent and we witnessed the detox
(05:45):
center where it takes people solong to detox from ent.
Alcohol is one thing and then,other drugs are another, but
fentanyl takes people, I thinkhe said six to seven days to
come off, which is the longestof anything.
Yeah, it was heartbreaking to,to see the people and there,
(06:08):
there were about 30 people inbeds there, just, trying to.
Be quiet.
They, they had dim,
Hess (06:15):
the lights.
Delbert (06:16):
Yeah.
Just soothing and people werejust trying to recover.
So that's the first step.
And they is the detox.
And then the next step is themotivational track.
Hess (06:31):
right, it's also beautiful and it's this whole system, and
we're gonna get Jay on.
Some sometime real soon,Delbert, to talk about all that
because it's amazing and it's aprogram.
They have a, they have a 65%,70% success
Delbert (06:47):
That's a, that's so beautiful and so many people are
connected to the healing placehere in Louisville and around
the state of Kentucky.
It's touched so many familieslives.
It's touched mine.
And I know yours Hess in areally big way, and you, you
just can't even say the HealingPlace and somebody will tell you
a story about somebody they knowwho.
Hess (07:09):
Hi.
His wife said last night theycan't go anywhere.
They're in an airport anywhereand people come up to him.
just say, Hey, you changed mylife.
was in an Uber eight years agoor so, driving back to from
Louisville because of snow tothe, from the airport in
Louisville, back to Lexington.
And my driver said, oh, yourlast name Bollinger, that sounds
(07:32):
familiar.
Are you related to JessBollinger?
And I said, yeah, that's my dad.
He goes the healing place savedmy life.
He says I teach there now.
Delbert (07:42):
oh my gosh.
Is that elevator?
Sending it down?
Hess (07:46):
Yes.
Yeah.
Delbert (07:47):
Sending that elevator down.
Keep.
Hess (07:50):
And it, it's just if I can do it, you can do it.
Delbert (07:53):
Yes.
Hess (07:54):
yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Delbert (07:56):
So beautiful.
So beautiful.
We've gotta keep helping eachother and lifting each other up
and sending that elevator down.
Hess (08:04):
and then they were also talking about when you lift
somebody up.
maybe helped them get their kidsback.
Delbert (08:10):
Oh,
Hess (08:10):
helped this whole family, all of the other people that get
helped also.
Delbert (08:15):
And then, just the other side of that is you help
yourself.
'cause when they're in recoveryand they're helping their peers,
they're helping themselves too.
Stay sober reinforcing theprogram.
So it's just this big connectivecircle, just like we talk about
life, it's just a big circle.
Yeah.
Hess (08:35):
circle.
And also something that wastalked about Delbert that you've
talked about in here is onefellow was saying, he was told
like, get outta yourself.
Look around,
Delbert (08:45):
Yes.
Hess (08:47):
And sometimes when we're really in a bad spot and we're
feeling so bad, as we've said,you gotta feel it a little bit
and then look beyond yourselfand look at something that you
could do out there for somebodyelse.
It's exactly right.
Delbert (09:02):
Yes.
Yes.
That's how you know we startedCarol's Kitchen.
It's how your dad helped startthe healing place.
Once you feel that impact.
And you're still, and you lookaround, you can see that there's
other people hurting and thatyou can be a part of recovery
(09:22):
not just for yourself, but foreverybody around you, and you
just keep connecting it andsending that circle and that
gold light.
Hess (09:34):
Yeah.
And Delbert, I'm taking a courseright now, a continuing
education course.
Started it yesterday aboutopioids and the effects on
families, and they made thepoint, if we don't go, if we
don't go beyond and help.
The people that are addicted, ifwe don't help them emotionally
(09:57):
and mentally, if we just goafter the drug is gonna metamor
the drug's gonna metamorphosizeinto something else.
somebody else can get.
Like cocaine was very expensive.
A hundred dollars or whateverlike that.
And so that kind of limited thenumber of people that could go
to that for that drug outlet.
(10:17):
So that, that morphed into thesesmaller little bits of it that,
that these little crack thingsand these little.
These little cluster deals thatcould be like smoked or
whatever.
So that got more affordable, soas in the community that your
sister was in, because she waskilled by a drug addict.
(10:38):
The opioid crisis there inHuntington, re Huntington, West
Virginia, because that wasflooded with all of these pills
by the drug company.
Delbert (10:46):
Right.
Hess (10:47):
They saw people, hardworking people and connected
them to these pills, got'emaddicted to these pills, which
helped the companies bottomline.
And all of that became noted,and that started to stop.
And so heroin became cheap.
so heroin then became the drugof choice.
So unless we go and help thepeople themselves, we're not
(11:12):
gonna really help this addictionproblem and this overdose
problem.
Delbert (11:16):
And poverty is a really big part of that.
Hess (11:21):
Delbert, you're reading my mind.
You're reading my mind.
So the drugs become available incheaper quant, in, in cheaper
ways.
And then the de.
The people that can afford thatare expanded and the more we
don't build up this really hitme yesterday is we gotta build
up the middle class.
The more we make, either peopleare really rich or really poor,
(11:45):
if we don't have this strong,good middle class we're just
making, we're, it's.
We're making more people moresusceptible to not feeling good
about themselves and feelingdamn.
Delbert (11:57):
It's a cycle.
It's a cycle.
If we have so many people belowthe poverty level, we're
starting another cycle.
Because when you have that much,I'm just gonna say it like
Leanne Morgan, when you havethat much on you, right?
So much of a burden to carry andso much despair.
(12:19):
You can't feed your children.
You, you can't pay the rent, youcan't pay the house payment, you
can't keep the lights on.
You are going to seek an outletthat gives you some relief.
Hess (12:32):
Yeah, you are not feeling good.
Feeling
Delbert (12:35):
And so many times that cheap pie that you know, what
whatever's available is whatpeople fall into.
And and we do, we need to liftup our working class.
We need to lift up our workingpoor and take care of each
other.
And it seems like a big.
(12:57):
Huge thing to do.
Like maybe we're just making onedrop in a big, huge but I can
tell you just from the thingsI've done with Carol's kitchen,
I just sometimes feel so small.
So small, like I, I'm notfeeding enough people.
It's just such a small charity.
(13:19):
And then I think about the movieSchindler's List.
And if you only change oneperson's life, you do change the
world.
So focus on that one person,Focus on that one drop.
'cause if we all put a drop, wecan fill the well up.
Hess (13:36):
Yeah.
Delbert (13:37):
gotta stay together.
We gotta stay together Becauseit's one thing to help, the
working.
And the working poor you can'tjust say that you're for them.
You gotta show it.
You gotta do it.
You gotta really do the work.
And so many politicians saythings that are absolutely not
(13:58):
even true.
Absolutely.
The complete.
Freaking opposite of the lawsthat they're putting in into
place the legislature thatthey're passing.
When I go places locally thatare larger organizations than
me,'cause I do try to cooperatea lot with with other agencies
(14:20):
that are bigger than mine to, tostretch my dollar and to feel
like how can I cooperate withthem.
We've worked together.
They'll tell you this, a lot ofthe budget cuts for these
organizations to feed people.
It's very much on a legislativelevel that we need help, that we
(14:43):
need change.
Hess (14:45):
Let's break it down.
If kids are in school hungry,they can't really feel, they
can't, they don't have theenergy to study or to focus or
to pay attention.
And so they don't get a goodeducation.
They don't, they and kids frommy the educational thing pointed
out that.
(15:05):
There's less attunement.
Maybe in these homes wherethere's addiction, there's less
attunement, so the kids aren'table to learn socialization
skills very well.
And then they get some mentalproblems themselves of not being
attuned to, they have troublewith attachment, then they go to
school, and then plus if they'rehungry, just all these things
(15:26):
add up so much.
And if you don't have thathealthy, vibrant child who's
getting a good education.
do they see any positivity outthere in the world?
Delbert (15:37):
Exactly, and it just, that becomes a cycle too.
Another circle, a destructivecircle that becomes another
circle.
And not only to your body.
Does this breakdown happenBecause you don't have a
nourished body, so you're notgrowing correctly.
It also happens to your mind aswell.
You're, you, a lot of thesechildren have behavioral
(16:00):
problems because they're notgetting the nutrients to their
brain either.
Hess (16:05):
Good point.
Good point.
Delbert (16:07):
Thankfully in Jefferson County, here in Louisville,
Kentucky, every child can get afree breakfast and lunch at
school.
Which is so important.
'Cause sometimes they've gonethe whole weekend without food.
And so charities like Blessingsin a backpack and Dare to Care
here in Louisville really do tryto fill that gap and, so
(16:28):
thankful for them and all theother charities.
I just work more closely withthem and we've talked about this
topic before, but I'll probablynever shut up about it y'all,
until there aren't any anymorehungry people in the world.
Hess (16:42):
Okay.
Delbert, I expect that from you.
If we get away, let's talk aboutour own life.
How we've sent the elevator downafter we've reached a goal in
our life.
one thing here at the farm thatI love, just being at the farm.
Seeing everybody that might havea horse that has a horse here,
seeing them reach their goalsand dreams, I've reached goals
(17:04):
and dreams and I like that to beable to have the place where
they can reach their goals anddreams.
So that is just really fun.
And then when I get when I getrequested, when I find out
people are in.
Getting their master's of socialwork or getting their counseling
degrees I say, Hey, give me acall.
I wanna, I'd really love toshare what all I've learned and
(17:25):
what modalities I think arereally effective.
I'd like to spread that.
Like my grandpa always said, youlearn from others who have
learned from others and.
In your story, Delbert youyou've talked about how you got
into the, to the firm thatyou're in, and can you say more
about that and how you've sentthe elevator down to, to people
(17:46):
also.
Delbert (17:47):
This is very serendipitous because I
actually, this week I've had thebusiest week, but I've had two
agents who've sent me contractson my listings who have said,
you know what I.
This is the first contract I'veever written.
I just got my license, so I havetwo first time agents I'm
(18:07):
working with, and I said, youknow what?
I'll tell you, I love workingwith new agents because you're
fresh, you're enthusiastic, andwe're gonna work this out
together.
I'm older.
I've been doing it a long timeand I'm so happy because I was
around great seasoned agentswhen I first got my license and
(18:28):
I love listening to them.
I loved, asking them questionsand getting great answers.
And so I'm gonna pay thatforward to you.
I'm gonna send that elevatordown.
Actually this is a good week totalk about that because it's
actually going on in my life ina really big way right now.
And it's just been really fun.
Really fun to work with theseyoung agents.
Hess (18:51):
I can imagine them and their vulnerability, Hey, I'm
new.
I've just begun.
And what it feels like for themwhen you hear, say, when they
get.
when they get the response fromyou, Hey, that's wonderful.
I'm glad.
I love to work with new agents.
I bet they just exhaled and theyfelt oh, this is good.
This
Delbert (19:10):
Yeah.
Yeah.
So it's a great time.
It's a great time.
We're heading into the end ofsummer.
All of our listings are goingunder contract, and it's just a
great time to be working, but tohave these new agents coming in
it's been really super fun.
(19:31):
Love it.
Hess (19:32):
Are there any other parts of your life?
Where have you sent the elevatordown?
Delbert.
Delbert (19:37):
I hope so.
I hope so.
Carol's kitchen, I feel like Ido that with our family's
charity.
Just teaching other people whatwe're doing and just lending a
hand, I think.
But I also hope that I do thatwith my friends.
When I figure something out thatmaybe they're working on.
(19:57):
And I feel like I do that withmy children and my family.
My daughter sent me a reallyfunny meme on Instagram, had
this one mom sitting on a boatand she says, you only have 18
summers with your children.
And then it.
Turns to this lady that kind oflooks like how I go to the pool,
with the matching sunglasses.
(20:19):
She's got heart-shapedsunglasses and a matching
bathing suit.
And she says, I just had my 44thsummer with my kids because
that's, I'm just make themparticipate.
I send the elevator down to themabout the water and being on the
water and being outside.
Whether they like it or not.
So anyway, that was super funnybecause, we just all went to the
(20:41):
beach together and we go to thepool together a lot.
So I just thought that wasreally funny and so true.
So true.
I'm not letting it go, man.
Hess (20:51):
Yeah, so that's a whole aspect of sharing is something
that you love.
Inviting people in and sendingthe elevator down and letting
them come up to, to, to thewater or whatever your path,
whatever your sport might be oryour that you love.
Delbert (21:06):
exactly.
And you do that for me too,Hess, because I love to be on
the water, but I don't have aboat and you've always shared
your boat with me and gave methe confidence, to go and rent a
pontoon and tube my grandkids,that's probably something that
you did sending the elevatordown without even thinking about
it.
Right.
Hess (21:25):
Yeah.
And you drove that pontoon boatback to the state dock through a
big, huge downpour.
Delbert (21:32):
Yes.
Oh my gosh.
The darling Society loves totell that to people.
They're like, yeah, my darling,my grandmother can drive a boat
in a storm.
Yeah.
Hess (21:43):
Yeah.
Yeah.
That's super.
Delbert, I love you and we'llwe'll talk more about this and
I'll get Jay Davidson on heresometime to talk more about the
Healing Place and how they usethat mentorship to help people
get off.
Whatever they're addicted to andpeople helping people help
people.
Delbert (22:04):
Yes, get outta that bad cycle and onto a good cycle of
healing and helping others.
And so we love you so much.
Friends we hope to hear from youhow you sent the elevator down
in your life, what you're doingand how things are going for
you.
We hope you have a great week.
Hess (22:25):
Yeah.
Peace and love.
Delbert (22:26):
Peace and love.
Hey, welcome to our Sunday morning chat.
My name is Hess and I'm lookingout from my little white chair
by my bedroom window at the sunshining on the green grass.
I'm glad we've gotten a littlebit of rain.
Delbert, what's it look likewhere you're at?
Delbert (00:15):
Oh my goodness.
Of course I'm on the green couchas always, and I'll tell you the
sunrise this morning.
I had a little bit of a goldencast to it, and so the sky is
not a brilliant blue.
It's like a pale blue and white.
It's a beautiful sunny day heretoday again in Louisville,
(00:35):
Kentucky.
Hello friends.
Welcome to our podcast.
Hess (00:40):
Yeah, and I wanna catch you all up.
My name's Hess and I got thisnickname back in grade school.
We had some little Spanish classthat went on for a short period
of time, and my Spanish name.
Was probably Yesi with more ofan H than a J.
And there was a little group offriends here and we gave each
other names and Delbert wasHeimi Delbert.
(01:04):
That was a little bit longerstory than just Spanish class.
You didn't like your Spanishname or something right.
Delbert (01:10):
Oh, that was Enrichment, so I did theater.
And you did Spanish?
Yeah, so I wasn't in the Spanishclass.
Hess (01:17):
You have such a good memory.
So that little section oflearning was called enrichment
and I took Spanish.
You took theater.
All that makes sense.
That makes sense.
Delbert (01:26):
Yeah.
And Ms.
Baldwin, do you remember her?
She was our art teacher.
I just connected with her onFacebook through the MGC Mother
of Good Counsel Facebook page,and she is just, looks exactly
the same.
She remembers everybody and, shesaid, oh my gosh, Judy Watson, I
(01:46):
remember you had such a bigfamily and I didn't teach you,
but I had you for a few things.
And we had her for art inseventh and eighth grade.
And then she taught theater,which I always did.
Theater in enrichment.
Yeah, we did the Charlie Brownstory one year.
You're a good man, CharlieBrown.
And then okay.
(02:07):
Going back to enrichment, wealso did a talent show and I
made you do it with Dewey and I,do you remember that?
Hess (02:14):
No, what did I have to do?
Delbert (02:15):
Big Spender.
We did a little song and danceto Big Spender and my
grandmother had made me all ofthese.
She put my initials oneverything.
She embroidered my initials oneverything.
Ma'am.
All Dorothy, we're alwaystalking about her and Papa
Charlie.
She made me these like kind offlapper, drop waist dresses with
the little ruffle bottom.
(02:36):
I don't know how I got you intothat thing, but Dewey and I
talked you into it.
I had three of them and then wehad these long pearls and we did
like a little twenties versionof big Spender.
Hess (02:49):
Wow.
Del,
Delbert (02:51):
you don't remember.
Okay.
All right.
Hess (02:53):
Delbert and I go back to first grade Council.
So we're 67 now, and we're.
We have known each other for 60years, and these Sunday morning
chats help us with our week andget our, get us lined up on, on
stuff.
And so we decided we would startputting that in a podcast and
maybe to help you.
(03:15):
what we'd like to talk abouttoday and talk more about is
mentoring and lifting people up,like passing on knowledge and
all those kind of things, beinga helper.
So that's what we'd like to talkabout today.
Delbert (03:30):
And so one of the things that you were telling me
about was the NASA story has, doyou wanna talk about that?
Hess (03:39):
Right the International Space Station astronauts all
landed in the Pacific Ocean.
Pacific Ocean.
I always say Pacific Ocean.
Yesterday morning and one of theastronauts.
I think her name is Ann McLeanor something like that.
She said it is just so beautifulthat all of these different
(04:01):
countries, somebody from Russia,Japan, herself, from these
different countries, all thesedifferent countries work
together.
And we've had somebody at theInternational Space Station for
25 years and what acollaboration that is.
And unlike some of thegeopolitical things that are
going on, she said, if we worktogether.
We can do great things, shesaid.
(04:23):
And if you go up in the elevatorto, to your goal, after you
reach your goal, you need tosend it back down.
Delbert (04:31):
Beautiful.
I love that so much.
Hess (04:35):
Delbert, I was just at the Dinner for Freedom last night,
celebrating the Healing Placeand commemorating Jay Davidson
beginning to pass his baton.
And so that everything stillkeeps moving forward in, in even
greater ways and.
In that dinner, just so manypeople got up and spoke and said
(04:58):
that they're an alumni.
There's about 125 employees and85% of them are alumni, and
they're there.
They get into a mentoringprogram and then they mentor
others.
And it's being able to be anexample and be able to say, Hey,
you can get to where I am now.
It's just.
(05:19):
That's so beautiful about life.
We're all connected and we canraise each other up.
Delbert (05:23):
Yes.
I love that.
And that I had gone to theHealing Place with you.
We've talked about your dad howhe helped start the healing
place.
And we've visited before you,you did a really long visit
recently, but we, last year wewent and we witnessed the detox
(05:45):
center where it takes people solong to detox from ent.
Alcohol is one thing and then,other drugs are another, but
fentanyl takes people, I thinkhe said six to seven days to
come off, which is the longestof anything.
Yeah, it was heartbreaking to,to see the people and there,
(06:08):
there were about 30 people inbeds there, just, trying to.
Be quiet.
They, they had dim,
Hess (06:15):
the lights.
Delbert (06:16):
Yeah.
Just soothing and people werejust trying to recover.
So that's the first step.
And they is the detox.
And then the next step is themotivational track.
Hess (06:31):
right, it's also beautiful and it's this whole system, and
we're gonna get Jay on.
Some sometime real soon,Delbert, to talk about all that
because it's amazing and it's aprogram.
They have a, they have a 65%,70% success
Delbert (06:47):
That's a, that's so beautiful and so many people are
connected to the healing placehere in Louisville and around
the state of Kentucky.
It's touched so many familieslives.
It's touched mine.
And I know yours Hess in areally big way, and you, you
just can't even say the HealingPlace and somebody will tell you
a story about somebody they knowwho.
Hess (07:09):
Hi.
His wife said last night theycan't go anywhere.
They're in an airport anywhereand people come up to him.
just say, Hey, you changed mylife.
was in an Uber eight years agoor so, driving back to from
Louisville because of snow tothe, from the airport in
Louisville, back to Lexington.
And my driver said, oh, yourlast name Bollinger, that sounds
(07:32):
familiar.
Are you related to JessBollinger?
And I said, yeah, that's my dad.
He goes the healing place savedmy life.
He says I teach there now.
Delbert (07:42):
oh my gosh.
Is that elevator?
Sending it down?
Hess (07:46):
Yes.
Yeah.
Delbert (07:47):
Sending that elevator down.
Keep.
Hess (07:50):
And it, it's just if I can do it, you can do it.
Delbert (07:53):
Yes.
Hess (07:54):
yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Delbert (07:56):
So beautiful.
So beautiful.
We've gotta keep helping eachother and lifting each other up
and sending that elevator down.
Hess (08:04):
and then they were also talking about when you lift
somebody up.
maybe helped them get their kidsback.
Delbert (08:10):
Oh,
Hess (08:10):
helped this whole family, all of the other people that get
helped also.
Delbert (08:15):
And then, just the other side of that is you help
yourself.
'cause when they're in recoveryand they're helping their peers,
they're helping themselves too.
Stay sober reinforcing theprogram.
So it's just this big connectivecircle, just like we talk about
life, it's just a big circle.
Yeah.
Hess (08:35):
circle.
And also something that wastalked about Delbert that you've
talked about in here is onefellow was saying, he was told
like, get outta yourself.
Look around,
Delbert (08:45):
Yes.
Hess (08:47):
And sometimes when we're really in a bad spot and we're
feeling so bad, as we've said,you gotta feel it a little bit
and then look beyond yourselfand look at something that you
could do out there for somebodyelse.
It's exactly right.
Delbert (09:02):
Yes.
Yes.
That's how you know we startedCarol's Kitchen.
It's how your dad helped startthe healing place.
Once you feel that impact.
And you're still, and you lookaround, you can see that there's
other people hurting and thatyou can be a part of recovery
(09:22):
not just for yourself, but foreverybody around you, and you
just keep connecting it andsending that circle and that
gold light.
Hess (09:34):
Yeah.
And Delbert, I'm taking a courseright now, a continuing
education course.
Started it yesterday aboutopioids and the effects on
families, and they made thepoint, if we don't go, if we
don't go beyond and help.
The people that are addicted, ifwe don't help them emotionally
(09:57):
and mentally, if we just goafter the drug is gonna metamor
the drug's gonna metamorphosizeinto something else.
somebody else can get.
Like cocaine was very expensive.
A hundred dollars or whateverlike that.
And so that kind of limited thenumber of people that could go
to that for that drug outlet.
(10:17):
So that, that morphed into thesesmaller little bits of it that,
that these little crack thingsand these little.
These little cluster deals thatcould be like smoked or
whatever.
So that got more affordable, soas in the community that your
sister was in, because she waskilled by a drug addict.
(10:38):
The opioid crisis there inHuntington, re Huntington, West
Virginia, because that wasflooded with all of these pills
by the drug company.
Delbert (10:46):
Right.
Hess (10:47):
They saw people, hardworking people and connected
them to these pills, got'emaddicted to these pills, which
helped the companies bottomline.
And all of that became noted,and that started to stop.
And so heroin became cheap.
so heroin then became the drugof choice.
So unless we go and help thepeople themselves, we're not
(11:12):
gonna really help this addictionproblem and this overdose
problem.
Delbert (11:16):
And poverty is a really big part of that.
Hess (11:21):
Delbert, you're reading my mind.
You're reading my mind.
So the drugs become available incheaper quant, in, in cheaper
ways.
And then the de.
The people that can afford thatare expanded and the more we
don't build up this really hitme yesterday is we gotta build
up the middle class.
The more we make, either peopleare really rich or really poor,
(11:45):
if we don't have this strong,good middle class we're just
making, we're, it's.
We're making more people moresusceptible to not feeling good
about themselves and feelingdamn.
Delbert (11:57):
It's a cycle.
It's a cycle.
If we have so many people belowthe poverty level, we're
starting another cycle.
Because when you have that much,I'm just gonna say it like
Leanne Morgan, when you havethat much on you, right?
So much of a burden to carry andso much despair.
(12:19):
You can't feed your children.
You, you can't pay the rent, youcan't pay the house payment, you
can't keep the lights on.
You are going to seek an outletthat gives you some relief.
Hess (12:32):
Yeah, you are not feeling good.
Feeling
Delbert (12:35):
And so many times that cheap pie that you know, what
whatever's available is whatpeople fall into.
And and we do, we need to liftup our working class.
We need to lift up our workingpoor and take care of each
other.
And it seems like a big.
(12:57):
Huge thing to do.
Like maybe we're just making onedrop in a big, huge but I can
tell you just from the thingsI've done with Carol's kitchen,
I just sometimes feel so small.
So small, like I, I'm notfeeding enough people.
It's just such a small charity.
(13:19):
And then I think about the movieSchindler's List.
And if you only change oneperson's life, you do change the
world.
So focus on that one person,Focus on that one drop.
'cause if we all put a drop, wecan fill the well up.
Hess (13:36):
Yeah.
Delbert (13:37):
gotta stay together.
We gotta stay together Becauseit's one thing to help, the
working.
And the working poor you can'tjust say that you're for them.
You gotta show it.
You gotta do it.
You gotta really do the work.
And so many politicians saythings that are absolutely not
(13:58):
even true.
Absolutely.
The complete.
Freaking opposite of the lawsthat they're putting in into
place the legislature thatthey're passing.
When I go places locally thatare larger organizations than
me,'cause I do try to cooperatea lot with with other agencies
(14:20):
that are bigger than mine to, tostretch my dollar and to feel
like how can I cooperate withthem.
We've worked together.
They'll tell you this, a lot ofthe budget cuts for these
organizations to feed people.
It's very much on a legislativelevel that we need help, that we
(14:43):
need change.
Hess (14:45):
Let's break it down.
If kids are in school hungry,they can't really feel, they
can't, they don't have theenergy to study or to focus or
to pay attention.
And so they don't get a goodeducation.
They don't, they and kids frommy the educational thing pointed
out that.
(15:05):
There's less attunement.
Maybe in these homes wherethere's addiction, there's less
attunement, so the kids aren'table to learn socialization
skills very well.
And then they get some mentalproblems themselves of not being
attuned to, they have troublewith attachment, then they go to
school, and then plus if they'rehungry, just all these things
(15:26):
add up so much.
And if you don't have thathealthy, vibrant child who's
getting a good education.
do they see any positivity outthere in the world?
Delbert (15:37):
Exactly, and it just, that becomes a cycle too.
Another circle, a destructivecircle that becomes another
circle.
And not only to your body.
Does this breakdown happenBecause you don't have a
nourished body, so you're notgrowing correctly.
It also happens to your mind aswell.
You're, you, a lot of thesechildren have behavioral
(16:00):
problems because they're notgetting the nutrients to their
brain either.
Hess (16:05):
Good point.
Good point.
Delbert (16:07):
Thankfully in Jefferson County, here in Louisville,
Kentucky, every child can get afree breakfast and lunch at
school.
Which is so important.
'Cause sometimes they've gonethe whole weekend without food.
And so charities like Blessingsin a backpack and Dare to Care
here in Louisville really do tryto fill that gap and, so
(16:28):
thankful for them and all theother charities.
I just work more closely withthem and we've talked about this
topic before, but I'll probablynever shut up about it y'all,
until there aren't any anymorehungry people in the world.
Hess (16:42):
Okay.
Delbert, I expect that from you.
If we get away, let's talk aboutour own life.
How we've sent the elevator downafter we've reached a goal in
our life.
one thing here at the farm thatI love, just being at the farm.
Seeing everybody that might havea horse that has a horse here,
seeing them reach their goalsand dreams, I've reached goals
(17:04):
and dreams and I like that to beable to have the place where
they can reach their goals anddreams.
So that is just really fun.
And then when I get when I getrequested, when I find out
people are in.
Getting their master's of socialwork or getting their counseling
degrees I say, Hey, give me acall.
I wanna, I'd really love toshare what all I've learned and
(17:25):
what modalities I think arereally effective.
I'd like to spread that.
Like my grandpa always said, youlearn from others who have
learned from others and.
In your story, Delbert youyou've talked about how you got
into the, to the firm thatyou're in, and can you say more
about that and how you've sentthe elevator down to, to people
(17:46):
also.
Delbert (17:47):
This is very serendipitous because I
actually, this week I've had thebusiest week, but I've had two
agents who've sent me contractson my listings who have said,
you know what I.
This is the first contract I'veever written.
I just got my license, so I havetwo first time agents I'm
(18:07):
working with, and I said, youknow what?
I'll tell you, I love workingwith new agents because you're
fresh, you're enthusiastic, andwe're gonna work this out
together.
I'm older.
I've been doing it a long timeand I'm so happy because I was
around great seasoned agentswhen I first got my license and
(18:28):
I love listening to them.
I loved, asking them questionsand getting great answers.
And so I'm gonna pay thatforward to you.
I'm gonna send that elevatordown.
Actually this is a good week totalk about that because it's
actually going on in my life ina really big way right now.
And it's just been really fun.
Really fun to work with theseyoung agents.
Hess (18:51):
I can imagine them and their vulnerability, Hey, I'm
new.
I've just begun.
And what it feels like for themwhen you hear, say, when they
get.
when they get the response fromyou, Hey, that's wonderful.
I'm glad.
I love to work with new agents.
I bet they just exhaled and theyfelt oh, this is good.
This
Delbert (19:10):
Yeah.
Yeah.
So it's a great time.
It's a great time.
We're heading into the end ofsummer.
All of our listings are goingunder contract, and it's just a
great time to be working, but tohave these new agents coming in
it's been really super fun.
(19:31):
Love it.
Hess (19:32):
Are there any other parts of your life?
Where have you sent the elevatordown?
Delbert.
Delbert (19:37):
I hope so.
I hope so.
Carol's kitchen, I feel like Ido that with our family's
charity.
Just teaching other people whatwe're doing and just lending a
hand, I think.
But I also hope that I do thatwith my friends.
When I figure something out thatmaybe they're working on.
(19:57):
And I feel like I do that withmy children and my family.
My daughter sent me a reallyfunny meme on Instagram, had
this one mom sitting on a boatand she says, you only have 18
summers with your children.
And then it.
Turns to this lady that kind oflooks like how I go to the pool,
with the matching sunglasses.
(20:19):
She's got heart-shapedsunglasses and a matching
bathing suit.
And she says, I just had my 44thsummer with my kids because
that's, I'm just make themparticipate.
I send the elevator down to themabout the water and being on the
water and being outside.
Whether they like it or not.
So anyway, that was super funnybecause, we just all went to the
(20:41):
beach together and we go to thepool together a lot.
So I just thought that wasreally funny and so true.
So true.
I'm not letting it go, man.
Hess (20:51):
Yeah, so that's a whole aspect of sharing is something
that you love.
Inviting people in and sendingthe elevator down and letting
them come up to, to, to thewater or whatever your path,
whatever your sport might be oryour that you love.
Delbert (21:06):
exactly.
And you do that for me too,Hess, because I love to be on
the water, but I don't have aboat and you've always shared
your boat with me and gave methe confidence, to go and rent a
pontoon and tube my grandkids,that's probably something that
you did sending the elevatordown without even thinking about
it.
Right.
Hess (21:25):
Yeah.
And you drove that pontoon boatback to the state dock through a
big, huge downpour.
Delbert (21:32):
Yes.
Oh my gosh.
The darling Society loves totell that to people.
They're like, yeah, my darling,my grandmother can drive a boat
in a storm.
Yeah.
Hess (21:43):
Yeah.
Yeah.
That's super.
Delbert, I love you and we'llwe'll talk more about this and
I'll get Jay Davidson on heresometime to talk more about the
Healing Place and how they usethat mentorship to help people
get off.
Whatever they're addicted to andpeople helping people help
people.
Delbert (22:04):
Yes, get outta that bad cycle and onto a good cycle of
healing and helping others.
And so we love you so much.
Friends we hope to hear from youhow you sent the elevator down
in your life, what you're doingand how things are going for
you.
We hope you have a great week.
Hess (22:25):
Yeah.
Peace and love.
Delbert (22:26):
Peace and love.
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