Ep #278 – Law Enforcement with Heart: Officer Razo and the Power of Relationship

In this inspiring episode of Our Community, Our Mission, hosts Barry Feaker and La Manda Cunningham sit down with Officer Robert Razo of the Topeka Police Department and Daniel Dobson from TRM’s Outreach Team to explore the power of collaboration in serving Topeka’s unsheltered neighbors. Through heartfelt stories and candid conversations, listeners are taken behind the scenes of innovative efforts like the Co-Responder Program, City ID, and Take Me Home initiatives—programs breaking down barriers and bringing hope to those in need. This episode shines a light on the importance of relationship-building, authenticity, and vulnerability—both among service providers and with the individuals they serve.

Listeners will also hear about the back-to-school supply distribution, the critical need for men’s clothing, and the significance of celebrating small victories in the journey out of homelessness. With actionable insights and a call to community involvement, this episode is a powerful testament to what’s possible when organizations, law enforcement, and individuals come together with a shared mission and open hearts.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Dear Heavenly Father.
We thank you, lord, for thisday and your blessings and your
provisions.
God, we thank you for this timeand this podcast and, lord, we
just thank you for our specialfriend and guest today and, lord
, just the work that's beingdone in the community.
And, lord, thank you for theservants who are being your
hands and feet.
Lord bless this time and Lordbless the listeners who hear it
today.
In Jesus' name, amen.

Speaker 2 (00:26):
Hello everybody.
You're listening to OurCommunity, our Mission, a
podcast of the Topeka RescueMission on August, the 5th
Tuesday of 2025.
Good morning, lamandaCunningham.
Good morning we're on podcastnumber 278.

Speaker 3 (00:39):
I know that's incredible.
Do you remember when we started?

Speaker 2 (00:41):
these?
I don't, you weren't born yet,right?
Oh, that's incredible.
Do you remember when we startedthese?

Speaker 3 (00:43):
I don't, you weren't born yet right, I was born, but
I was pretty much a principal in501 while y'all were over here
doing this good work, we're justhanging out doing stuff during
pandemic and those kind ofthings.

Speaker 2 (00:54):
I'm your host today, barry Feeker, with LaManda
Cunningham, who's CEO of TopekaRescue Mission.
And before we jump into theresearch and development
Department research that they'vedone we do have the head of the
Research and DevelopmentDepartment here today, josh
Turley.
Hey, josh, give us an update onback to school, because here we
are August the 5th.
Yeah, and you've been talkingabout back to school.

Speaker 1 (01:16):
We've been talking about back to school for months
now, mm-hmm, months, yeah.

Speaker 3 (01:20):
Since last year.
Yeah, back to school last year.

Speaker 1 (01:22):
Basically, you just start over.

Speaker 3 (01:24):
That's right.

Speaker 1 (01:24):
So it's happening?
Yeah, it's happening.
Like right now?
Right, it is Tomorrow.
So if you're listening today,on Tuesday it is happening
tomorrow, august 6th, from 10 amto 6 pm Serving families in the
community.
I believe right now we've got alittle over 400 kiddos yes, 400
kiddos that are being served.
So it's incredible, that's alot of Big Chief tablets, do we?

Speaker 2 (01:46):
still do Big Chief tablets.

Speaker 1 (01:47):
I don't know.

Speaker 2 (01:48):
I don't know about that.
You don't know anything aboutthat.

Speaker 1 (01:50):
I remember those?
Oh, do you?
Yeah, because I remember you'dlike fold them and the like cool
sounds they'd make.
They made this weird sound,when you like, kind of folded
them.

Speaker 2 (01:59):
Oh, when I was a kid, big Chief and the number two
pencil, that was it.

Speaker 3 (02:02):
I thought you were meaning like the stone and the
chisel that you used when youwere in school.
That's what I use now.
Oh, that's right.

Speaker 1 (02:10):
It's called Apple.
Oh, that's true, it's still atablet.
It's still a tablet.

Speaker 3 (02:15):
You know I didn't get numbers yesterday, barry, but I
do want to give a plug that onSunday, because we were watching
donations on Friday and throughthe weekend, but as of Sunday,
we still needed a hundredbackpacks.
So I want to really do that.
Push out there.
You know the Lord provides, andI shared that story last year

(02:37):
of we had a family that had 10or 11 kiddos and we didn't have
the backpacks, and so the teamwas going back and forth of like
do we go buy these, do we not?
Um?
And the next morning, whenright before we went to buy the
backpacks, um, someone calledfrom out of town and was like we
have 11 backpacks, we want tocome bring you.
So sometimes we just have to getout of the way, and the Lord

(02:59):
works that way.
And then other times he worksthrough providing the financial
needs, and so we've had a coupleof people that have given to
this cause specifically.
Both online people candesignate there's an area on
there where they can say wherethey want their money to
specifically go to and thenothers have dropped off checks
and, in the memo line, put backto school.

(03:20):
So either way, I know for afact uh, today and tomorrow, all
of the needs are going to bemet, because that's how the Lord
works, uh, but I just want totell people if they're listening
.
Um, sometimes that prayer thatwe're asking is answered through
you, um, and that might be your$10 check or a hundred dollar

(03:40):
check, or it might be those, theone backpack you bring, or the
20 backpacks you bring, but wehave a lot of kiddos who are
depending on it.

Speaker 2 (03:48):
Yeah, so people can be part of an answer to prayer.
Yes, if they're listening tothis right now, it's not too
late, especially if they'relistening here on August, the
5th of 2025.

Speaker 1 (03:57):
Or middle of the day, august 6th, or 2028.
I mean, we can still take it.

Speaker 3 (04:09):
That's right.
Or mailing a check or droppinganything by Topeka Rescue
Mission.
You know my own girls.
There's always so much of alesson that I've.
Sometimes I feel like my lifeis a frame story of what I'm
living with my own kids and thenwhat we're doing here at the
mission.
This is a reality, show, youknow.

Speaker 2 (04:17):
It is, it is.

Speaker 3 (04:18):
And you know, at first I thought, man, I'm going
to TRM to really help and justserve and do, and the Lord was
like no daughter.
You have so much to learn andyou need to learn it at TRM.
But it's really cool because Ihave two girls and all of their
school supplies are on thekitchen counter right now
because I've not organized themand we're blessed every year

(04:40):
that my dad and my stepmomeither take the girl shopping or
get their list and they buy forthem, and they've done this for
years.
And so I have tons of memoriesof um, even sometimes it's
pictures of the big boxes thatcame because they live out of
state, and my pictures of thegirls with the boxes and I send
it to tell them thanks.

(05:01):
But anyways, this year all thestuff was out and my youngest
was looking at it all and I said, um, literally, are you excited
about all your school supplies?
And she looked at me and shesaid, as long as I know, all the
kids in the hope center havesupplies and it just.
I had this moment of like, man,I'm doing something right, that

(05:26):
she has all these cool thingsfrom her grandparents who love
her, and has that, you know, hasthat memory and the history,
the tradition of it.
But, like she had that check ofthe kids at the Hope Center,
have it.
And so I said yes.
I said, do you know?
That's what we do first.
So when we start asking peopleto help, we make sure.

(05:46):
Uh, and right now we're lookingat 48 kids not all of them are
school age, but 48 kids in thehope center.
And so I told her, I said yes,they do.
And then she looked at me andshe goes well, are there other
kids that need school supplies?
And I said, yes, honey, there'sthousands in our community, but
we're doing a drive and it'sgoing to be over 400, and North

(06:08):
Topeka Outreach is doing a drive.
And then I named off some ofthe churches that are doing the
drives and all that.
And then after that she waslike okay, I'm ready to do some
stuff with my school supplies.

Speaker 2 (06:18):
She didn't volunteer to give her school supplies up
and just stay home.

Speaker 3 (06:20):
I think you know well not that kid.
She's too social, she's beencounting down the day to go back
to school.
But I do think if there wasstill a need and she knew it she
absolutely would be the kidthat would just show up at
school like do you all havesupplies for me?
Because I gave all mine away.
My oldest struggles a littlebit more with that, but little E

(06:41):
is definitely a giver.

Speaker 2 (06:44):
Amanda.
We have a couple of really goodguests today.
We always have good guests, butthese are some guys doing a lot
of amazing things and we'regoing to get into the research
and development department, butit ties in with introducing
these guys.
So we have Topeka PoliceDepartment Officer Razo here
this morning First time on apodcast.

Speaker 1 (07:00):
Yes, it is Good to see you here.

Speaker 2 (07:01):
Thanks, yeah.
And Daniel Dobson, who is partof the outreach of Topeka Rescue
Mission and has been here for anumber of years.
Your second time on the podcast, that's correct.

Speaker 4 (07:09):
Morning, Daniel Morning.

Speaker 2 (07:11):
Yeah.
So, daniel, I want to kind ofjump.
We're going to talk what youguys do together and Officer
Raza, what you've created inthis community and manage, which
is amazing things.
But, daniel, what's one of thebiggest needs, as you are
helping facilitate the rescuemission clothing trailer for the
MAP program, that you get anidea of what the volunteers on

(07:36):
that trailer need.
That gets filtered to you.
Then you go out and try to findthe stuff so you can stock the
trailer so that on a Tuesday andThursday it's ready to go.
So what's one of the biggestneeds that you have?

Speaker 4 (07:47):
Yeah, so men's clothing has always been a huge
need for us because we just haveso many more men than women
coming in to get the clothing,but specifically men's underwear
like mediums, larges kind ofthose sizes specifically, and
it's gotten to the point whereit's become quite the topic of
conversation.

(08:07):
But I remember a few months agowe had gotten in quite a few
packages of medium underwear andwe had our volunteers on our
Friday restocking doing littledances.
It was kind of hilarious.

Speaker 2 (08:23):
But yeah, it just continues to be a the simplest
things in life sometimes can bethe most you know important
thing, right I?

Speaker 4 (08:30):
mean, I need underwear too.
You know, it's like I rememberyeah you get to that age where
you're like man, I just needsome underwear and socks.

Speaker 2 (08:40):
To that age?
Is that post?

Speaker 1 (08:42):
diaper or pre diaper.

Speaker 4 (08:48):
Well, yeah, I won't go there, but I, yeah, I think
at this point it's still.
It's still one of the biggerneeds that we have you know, and
and I think it kind of makes meappreciate too, just like you
know, some of those simplethings that I take for granted
you know, in my everyday lifeyou know, but man, it's like
it's, it's hard you know withyou know no, and you know that I

(09:10):
know that that can be such asuch a huge thing for someone to
get you know something simplelike that, you know, for
dignity's sake you know, as well, and just how much of a relief
that can be.
you know, coming to a clothingtrailer and saying, hey, like I
need a new outfit.
You know, I just fell in themud today and I am like covered
in mud.
And then here we give you, youknow, all of those pieces.

Speaker 2 (09:33):
Or show up to the clothing trailer, and there's
nothing.
Yeah, so that's the other thingtoo, and again, the clothing
trailer is part of the largeroperation called the Mobile
Access Partnership.
It's been going on for fouryears.
It lets help right now, andTopeka Rescue Mission.
One of the things that they doin partnership with that is
provide the clothes and thesupplies on a Tuesday and

(09:53):
Thursday, and so Rescue Missionsolicits donations, just like
you just did about the underwearneed to come here to take care
of folks in shelter and also offthe streets, and have that.
Well, daniel, this is reallygood timing because you know
what today is.
What is today?
The Research and DevelopmentDepartment discovered that today
is National Underwear Day.

Speaker 4 (10:15):
Believe it or not, there's a National Underwear Day
.

Speaker 2 (10:17):
That's why we had to go ahead and go there.
National Underwear Josh.
Thanks for really digging thisstuff up.
I did have to dig extra, no punintended.
National Underwear Josh, thanksfor really digging this stuff
up.
I did have to dig extra so I gotto read this.
So National Underwear Day is onAugust the 5th every single
year, and so it says let usbriefly tell you why we love

(10:39):
underwear.
Well, we're not going to readthe rest of that.
I think that we don't need toread the rest of that.
I think that we yeah, we don'tneed to read the rest of that,
so, but you know my.

Speaker 3 (10:47):
I need to ask my dad if we still had it, but my
grandmother had.
It was made out of oldwashcloths Cause, you know, I
grew up in the South, verySouthern, and she had made these
and they were tied and so theylook like underwear, it's a
family rated program.

Speaker 2 (11:02):
It is tied and so they look like underwear.
It's a family rated program, itis.

Speaker 3 (11:05):
But she made these washcloths and had sewed them
and they looked like underwearand they hung in her kitchen my
entire life.
But then there was a like noteor an index card that she used a
pen through it and it was herhandwriting and it was a poem
and I used to have it memorized.
But all I can remember now issomething about um, like, if you

(11:30):
don't act right, um, she'sgoing to get a switch and you're
going to have switches on yourbritches and you may need
stitches.
And she watched all of usgrandkids and stuff you know.
And so that was our reminder ofdo you want to go have a switch
on your bridge?

Speaker 2 (11:48):
And so she didn't call them underwear.

Speaker 3 (11:49):
They were britches.

Speaker 2 (11:50):
Everything was britches.
It's really hard to finddirectors of homeless shelters
in the country, and so Arkansasis a great place to go find some
of these folks.

Speaker 3 (11:59):
We're really grounded , Barry.
We're really grounded.

Speaker 2 (12:01):
I can just see those cloths up there that have dual
purpose in Arkansas.

Speaker 1 (12:05):
Yes.

Speaker 2 (12:06):
We wear them as underwear and we also use them
to wipe our face with.
So anyway.

Speaker 3 (12:10):
That's how it is.
I'm going to text my dad whilewe're on this podcast, because
if he still has that, that needsto be the picture of today's
thing, not a picture of Raza.

Speaker 2 (12:21):
So anyway, if we haven't got, your attention on
the need for underwear.
We need underwear Topeka RescueMission so they can help the
guests of the Topeka RescueMission as well as those who are
living on the streets or comingto the mobile access
partnership.
So, anyway, they can go to thedistribution center to drop
those off and that is at 401Northwest Norris.
Yeah, got it.

(12:41):
I used to office there.
So what was that address?
Northwest Norris?
Yeah, got it.
I used to office there.
So what was that address?
401s Northwest Norris, mondaythrough Friday, 8 o'clock until
3 pm, that they can drop thoseoff or send designated money for
National Underwear Day for thePiga Rescue Mission.
There you go and the MobileAccess Partnership.
So while we're on this, we gotone more, just one more today.
Amanda, you know what thisone's like it's National Work

(13:04):
Like a Dog Day.
Work Like a Dog Day, what'sthat mean, you work a lot.

Speaker 3 (13:11):
It's a dog-eat-dog world and you hope you get a
treat, but that doesn't happenvery often.

Speaker 2 (13:22):
Well, anyway, you know, I have a dog, my dog does
not work.

Speaker 3 (13:27):
That's what I was going to say.
I'm like it depends on whatwork I work for the dog.
Yeah, I work for the dog andyou have worked for her, like
since you brought her home.

Speaker 2 (13:35):
Well, yeah.

Speaker 3 (13:36):
She's the master.

Speaker 2 (13:37):
She trained me really because she was seven months
old when I got her and she wasalready ready to teach me.
So anyway, no, she's good.
But anyway, yeah, work like adog, don't really know what it
means.
But you got to work hard,working, hard, working hard,
yeah, okay, well, we'll go pastthat into back to our guests
today, who really do work hard.
Yes, and they're doing so manythings, daniel.
I want to start with you,daniel.

(13:58):
You and I met for the firsttime.
I don't remember, if youremember when we met, you were
actually waiting tables in arestaurant and there was an ice
storm and nobody came except meand this other guy who was a
missionary from around, and youserved us like we were the only
guests in the restaurant becausewe were Daniel's, like I could
have went home if y'all weren'tthere.

(14:21):
And he stayed engaged with ourinformation that we were talking
about.
I didn't know anything abouthim.
Next thing, I see you.
You're working at thedistribution center at Topeka
Rescue Mission.
So, daniel, what brought you toTopeka Rescue Mission to work
here, and how long ago has thatbeen?
And tell us a little bit aboutyour journey.
Sure, briefly, of course.
Yeah, briefly.

Speaker 4 (14:40):
That's good.
Well, so after that encounterat that restaurant, so I had
actually left that restaurantback in 2022 in the summer,
right at the end of May, and Ikind of long story short, had
been led kind of, I guess I'dsay to me uniquely through that

(15:03):
time and I felt like the Lordwas asking me to go out to
California and I didn't knowanyone that was doing this at
the time.
Um but um, I just I I kind ofleft, everything, went out.
Uh, didn't really have any plan, any money or anything, just go
to California.

Speaker 2 (15:19):
Just went to California.
That's what I particularlocation in California uh, san
Diego.
Oh, okay, Okay, Now we'regetting a little.
You know small little town.

Speaker 4 (15:26):
Yeah, a little bit, and I had one guy that I did
have a contact with there thathad a little Bible study home
Bible study but other than thatI didn't know why I was felt
like I was supposed to go outthere, but every time I was
praying that whole year up untilthat summer.
That's what was on my heart, andso I went out and saw some

(15:47):
amazing things, got to meet somepeople through that contact and
through many other people thatI met out there.
But one of the things thatreally impacted me was I got to
for about six weeks justinteract with so many different
people that were living on thestreet and I saw things that I
didn't even know were a thing upuntil that point.

(16:09):
You know, I'd heard about thosethat were living on the street
in California and in otherplaces, you know, and I'd
interacted with a few here inTopeka, but up until that point
I didn't ever really think aboutthe reality of the situation as
a whole in a community.
And so when I went there to SanDiego, I remember stepping off

(16:30):
of a Greyhound bus and theentire downtown area of San
Diego that I could see, as faras I could see, was one massive
camp, and so I my, my world,just kind of shifted right there
.

Speaker 2 (16:43):
From Topeka to San Diego.
Yeah, yeah, you know a tentcity there.

Speaker 4 (16:47):
Uh-huh yeah, and just walking up these streets and
you know, for like a quartermile, all that's on either side
of the street along thesesidewalks was just tents, you
know, and just um, getting tomeet people, hear their stories.
Um, you know, there would bedays where I would just be
walking around, I had nothingelse to do.
So I just like sit with a guyfor like five hours and just
talk with him and hear his storyand just listen to what he was,

(17:10):
you know, going through, and Ijust was like blown away by some
of the things that I washearing, some of the things that
I was seeing.
One other experience I'll shareis I met a city bus driver full
uniform, worked every Mondaythrough Friday, regular job and
he lived in a homeless campbecause he couldn't afford the

(17:30):
cost of living.
And that's not something thatwe see maybe as much here in
Topeka, but again, just areality shift for me.
And so, coming back from that,I just sat for a couple months
and just kind of processed someof those things and really kind
of wrestled with some thingswith the Lord for a while and

(17:51):
then, come October of 2022, Ifelt like the Lord asked me to
come here, and I had also beenencouraged by Christian
Stringfellow, who was a friendof mine before that as well, to
come in.
So, yeah, applied to come tothe DC and became a driver for a
little bit, and so that was inNovember of that year.

Speaker 2 (18:13):
And so from that point you came on the street
reach.

Speaker 4 (18:16):
Yeah, yeah.
So from that point worked aboutfour months at the DC and then
I got offered the position in akind of fun way and then
Voluntaled, voluntaled,voluntaled.

Speaker 3 (18:28):
So hey, I gave you a couple of months for you to walk
that out with the Lord.

Speaker 4 (18:35):
Yeah, For him to reveal that to you.

Speaker 3 (18:38):
I just told him hey, this is coming.
I can tell your gifting is onthe streets.

Speaker 4 (18:43):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, and I think it was, it was like it
was, it was even that like a,just a process of like, wow,
like okay.
So I've, I've encountered this,I've seen this.
Now I get these touch points.
You know, working here at theDC with people, you know, at the
door.
They'll come up to the door but, lord, does that really want

(19:08):
you know something you want meto step into, like this?
You know, in the, in thatcapacity where every day, I'm,
you know, going out and you know, um, you know, helping with the
resources and these things.
You know what I saw from theoutside, you know, and, um, man,
um, it's been quite the journeysince then.

Speaker 2 (19:28):
So you went to a bootcamp in San Diego.
There's a lot of people go tobootcamp there for different
reasons, but this is a differentkind of bootcamp on the streets
and then we're shipped back toTopeka, kansas.
What a journey.
And so, just before we get to,officer Razo, tell us what is
important to you about what youdo now.

Speaker 4 (19:39):
Sure, yeah.
So I think what I do now it'slike I get up every day and, you
know, just thanking the Lordthat I get to be in a position
where you know, honestly, beforethis, like I said, I'd had
interactions with people righthere in Topeka and then in San
Diego and you know, you passsomebody by on the street, you

(19:59):
know you talk to them for acouple of minutes and man, maybe
they need some food, and so weget them some food to them for a
couple minutes.
And man, maybe they need somefood, and so we get them some
food.
But now it's like in myposition, I actually get to go
and be intentional with myrelationships with people and I
think that, like beyond anythingelse, you know, because you

(20:20):
know we want to be able to help,we want to be able to provide
resources, we want to be able to, you know we want to be able to
help, we want to be able toprovide resources, we want to be
able to, you know, help peoplekind of with that next step up
right in life.
But I think for me, like theone thing that I have loved so
much about what I do now is Iactually get to build
relationships right every daywith people that I, honestly, at

(20:41):
times have been afraid toconnect with in my life.
I can remember times, even inthis position, where I was
questioning wow, like, am I thekind of person that's going to
be able to connect with thatperson that I see right in front
of me?
That's on the street, you know?
with all of their experience,with all of their trauma, with
all of the things that they aredealing with, do I have what it

(21:04):
takes to connect with them?
You know, and is that going towork?
You know, and just realizingthat man, like so much of the
time, like that's really themost important thing, not just
yeah, yes for me, but I'venoticed for a lot of other
people and I think, for a lot ofus.
You know, we can all relatewith this.
Like, you know, that relationalaspect, if I don't have healthy

(21:26):
, good relationships in my life,like I crave that, like I want
that for myself, I want that, um, you know, for those that I
love, you know, and so, um, justgetting to see that and getting
to, to, to be with people inthe midst of whatever they're
going through, you know, so Iguess you've discovered that
this is something that God hasequipped you to do yeah, and

(21:47):
you're enjoying it, even thoughyou weren't sure.

Speaker 3 (21:50):
Yes, yeah, lamanda what do you hear there?
One thing that I hear Danielsaying is just how like the
vulnerability of can I do thiswork, mm-hmm, of can I do this

(22:11):
work, and sometimes I thinkwe're our own worst critic, and
there's different reasons why,whether it's a volunteer,
whether it's Daniel or myself asthe CEO, where we go, can we do
it.
One the need is great.
Two, we might not have the samelived experience as the person
right across from us that we'reencountering.
Maybe it's the fact thatsomeone truly seems so far gone

(22:36):
and so many other whether it'sagencies or quote unquote the
system, whatever has given up onthem.
It's like quote, unquote thesystem, whatever has given up on
them.
It's like can I do this?
Can I make a difference?
And so I love how he said.
You know that there's a level of, of kind of fear with it, of
can I do this?
And, and sometimes there isalso a level of fear because you

(22:59):
are, you're trying to makeyourself a guest in someone
else's world, when, sometimes,their world doesn't even make
sense to them, and so, um.
What I think is so neat, though, is that the Lord makes the
connection a common ground, andwe see that time and time again,

(23:24):
where it doesn't matter if it'sDaniel, it doesn't matter if
it's Raza, it doesn't matter ifit's myself, that there are so
many times where, if we justhave the right heart, a smile
and are willing to listen, thatit might take several times, but

(23:44):
there is a breakthrough thathappens almost every time, where
there is more commonalityamongst ourselves and them than
difference.
It's just sometimes thathappens quicker, sometimes that
happens after years.
Sometimes that connection andthat common ground, you take

(24:05):
five steps forward but you mighttake two steps backwards with
someone, but it's incrediblethat it happens.
And so, um, one thing that, asDaniel was talking, I just love
that Daniel is who he is andthat he doesn't try to be
anybody, that he's not yet.
And I think the world would besuch a better place, myself

(24:28):
included, if we all had thislevel of acceptance that what
we're good at, what we're notgood at yet and what we need to
be better at, if every day, werealized where we were with the
Lord, um, so that we know ourlimitations when we're trying to
do a job, or we know when theLord's asking us to get through

(24:50):
that comfort zone, or when weshouldn't be um being too hard
on ourselves because that personwasn't ready for a breakthrough
yet, those kinds of things.
Um, and so I love the, the walkin the relationship that Daniel
has with the Lord, because thatdirectly connects how he walks
and interfaces with all of us,but also those that he serves.

Speaker 2 (25:14):
Well, and that is very important to all of us, but
maybe even more so with peoplewho have trust issues, who don't
have been hurt a lot in life,have compound trauma, to know
that the person that's cominginto their world is authentic,
that really does care and thatwants to be there to serve.
And so, Daniel, I'm really gladyou went to San Diego, glad you
came back, glad you're a partof this.

(25:35):
And so part of what TopekaRescue Mission does, I think
very well, is network with otherentities in the community that
have special things to offer towhat our common goal is to help
our neighbors.
And so one of those is workingwith the Topeka Police
Department, which has been alongstanding, great relationship
.
And it's only great not becauseit's the Topeka Police

(25:59):
Department, it's because of thepeople who work in the Topeka
Police Department, and we've gotone of those guys here today.
Officer Razo, Again thank youfor being here today.
You've got a lot of hats inyour responsibility as a law
enforcement, as a foreign lawenforcement officer, so we have
something called the BehavioralHealth Unit of Topeka Police

(26:21):
Department.
Tell us a little bit about that.

Speaker 5 (26:23):
Well, first off I'd like to say thank you for having
me.
It's great to be, here and Godbless everybody.
But also it's so it's kind offunny that we do have a program.
We'll get back to it.
It's called the co-responderprogram with TRM, which is great
starting at it.
But I got to know Daniel andthe difference between me and
Daniel is the fact that you knowhe could be my son like he's

(26:46):
actually half my age, that'sbecause you have a gun and he
doesn't.
So we got to know each other alittle well and then I don't
remember if you had told me thatyou went and did this retreat
in San Diego.
I know we talked about it, butI couldn't remember if it was
San Diego or not.
But it's kind of ironic thatthat's where you went, because
I'm actually from California andso I was born in Redlands,

(27:07):
raised in San Bernardino andthen raised some of my teen
years in San Diego, so I livedthere for a while, so I actually
saw that stuff.
Yeah, it was at a later timethan you went or earlier, but I
think it's pretty much all thesame.
I mean, you probably saw thesame stuff because they were
going through the same issuesback then as well.

Speaker 4 (27:24):
Yeah.

Speaker 5 (27:25):
And that would have been like the nineties or
something like that.
So, um, but yes, and then I gotto move here, um, so, and then
joined the force, uh, probablyabout 23 years ago, so, uh, you
name it.
I've been through thedepartment, concerned with
different units and stuff likethat, then had kids.
One of my sons is artistic andhas a disability learning

(27:48):
disability.
Once we and his mom or when Isay we, me and his mom found out
that that's what he would bedealing with for the rest of his
life, it had me given anotherpassion in life.
And besides enforcing lawenforcement laws and working in
that part of the community ofthe police department, they

(28:08):
created the BHU unit BehavioralHealth Unit which acts to
response to individuals that arein crisis, ongoing in crisis at
the time of those events, whichis accompanied with a social
worker, and then when theyrespond to that, they try to get
them the services that theyneed.
Shortly after that I think Iwas already three years plus in

(28:32):
that unit I got deployed.
So I got deployed for a littlewhile over in Cuba.
Basically it was a small 164personnel unit that I basically
was like a small policedepartment.

Speaker 2 (28:45):
So are you in the reserve as well?

Speaker 5 (28:47):
Yes, so I'm in the National Guard as a captain.
I was a commander for the 35thMP Company and then.
So we took them over there andI basically had a small police
department around Grittomino theprison down there that they
have and so managed all that Toperson down there that they have

(29:09):
and so managed all that.
Um, to my knowledge, I didn'teven know that.
Uh, the whole unit changed.
So I had one supervisor, um, hewas my supervisor when I left.
When I came back I had a newone.
So not only that, the wholeunit changed and expanded.
So um had different people.
Had to get coming back and getused to it, didn't realize what
was going on, trained back upbecoming a police officer again
doing all the stuff on thecivilian side, and then worked

(29:32):
the crisis side for a little bit.
Sergeant Matt Rose, who's nowhis lieutenant.
I had spoke with him and toldhim hey, I need to some more
flexibility with theco-responder unit as far as the
crisis side is concerned.
And it couldn't happen justbecause of the social workers
having a strict timeline thatthey had to be on at work and

(29:53):
stuff.
And he said well, if you takethe homeless outreach officer,
you can be as flexible and helpyou out.
And the reason why I needed.
It was because of my son anddealing with his schedule and
what he needed to provide forhimself and then didn't realize
I was going to like it so much.
But I think for me at the timewas that I was needing something

(30:15):
more.
And you know, you talk aboutvulnerabilities and stuff like
that, like the difference inexperience between me and Daniel
, obviously because I had somany years on him that I went
through a lot of myself personaltraumatic events, stuff like
that, and growing up as welljust not a very good life, I

(30:36):
guess you can say.
And then so I learned how todeal with all that stuff on my
own and learn how to deal withall that stuff on my own, and so
, with that being said, I wasnever how you explain like can I
do this work?
Is it able?
I always had the confidencethat I could do the work.
It's just being vulnerable todo the work because of the

(31:00):
traumatic events that I've beenthrough.
You know, how can I be thatvulnerable to someone who has
gone through those things?
How can I be that vulnerable tosomeone who has gone through
those things?
Would I be able myself?
to deal with it mentally andwhat they're going through on
those days and stuff.
But what it did help me do isbe vulnerable and understand
their trauma and understand whatthey're going through or you
know not everything they say,because I'll call it the way it

(31:21):
is.
Sometimes within lawenforcement profession you do
get jaded and you thinkeverybody's bad, and so when you
come and experience theirlifestyle and understand like
they have a story too and it'snot always bad, it's just they
had circumstances that were bad,that helped them or that got
them to where they're at andthey don't know how to get away

(31:42):
from those situations.
So but I don't know how it cameabout, but I guess LaManna can
let me in.
I know that I.

Speaker 1 (31:52):
I know that I know that my boss came in one day.

Speaker 5 (31:56):
My boss came in and he goes hey, I need you to meet
me at TRM.
And we got a meeting and I waslike, okay, am I in trouble?
What did I do?
Because when you hear from yourboss and knowing that
everything's going good, and allof a sudden he goes, hey, I
need you to get here now.

Speaker 3 (32:12):
Okay, Go to the principal's office.

Speaker 5 (32:16):
Go into the principal's office.
So, and then that's well.
We met, I think, occasionally,every time, throughout, when I
first started, and then I thinkthat was the first big meeting
with LaManda.

Speaker 2 (32:31):
So you haven't asked for a transfer.

Speaker 5 (32:33):
No, I have not.

Speaker 2 (32:36):
So thank you for being vulnerable.
I think it's important forpeople to realize that law
enforcement officers are people.

Speaker 5 (32:43):
Yes.

Speaker 2 (32:45):
And that they're not robots, they're not AI with a
gun and a badge.

Speaker 5 (32:48):
Right.

Speaker 2 (32:49):
They are people.
I grew up in a law enforcementhome, so I know that's from that
angle, where my dad was apolice officer at Topeka Police
Department, and so you know it'simportant that we understand
the responsibilities of lawenforcement, but also that
they're our neighbors and theymay have children who are

(33:11):
struggling, or a marriage isstruggling, or or or or, and yet
we expect them to be perfectout there on the streets, which
you really strive to do that andyou do.
You do really, really well.
So part of the behavioralhealth unit is to understand
vulnerabilities, not justenforce the law, but also you
are a law enforcement officer,so you got to play that balance

(33:31):
there of understanding wheresomebody's at and having empathy
for that, but also not empathyto say, go ahead and shoot up
right in front of me, thosekinds of things, right.
So part of Topeka RescueMission's working with the
homeless in this regard.
Obviously we have a Daniel herewho's been doing this for some
time now and this program's beengoing on for a number of years.

(33:53):
But you guys decided withLaManda and your now lieutenant,
who told you to be here, thatwe're going to look at doing
something called co-responder,and so talk about what
co-responder is and how you andDaniel have intersected on
co-responding.

Speaker 5 (34:11):
So, coming from the crisis side, we have a
co-responder, but I didn't knowhow it was going to work
originally.
None of us did Right and Iactually didn't know it was
going to be Daniel.
So when I was pitched the ideaprior to the meeting that we had
, I'm like well, I don't do TRMbecause I didn't know anything

(34:33):
about TRM.
Does TRM have social workers?
Is it going to be that kind ofaspect?
And I wasn't given any answersbecause we didn't have them.

Speaker 2 (34:39):
Exactly Because there were no available.
Exactly yes.

Speaker 3 (34:43):
Now, Lieutenant Rhodes and myself, we were
building the plane as we wereflying, but let me tell you,
Daniel and Razo have been greatco-pilots of that plane Still
flying still building that'sright, exactly.

Speaker 5 (34:56):
So we came to the meeting.
They said, hey, we got thispilot program, this is what
we're going to do.
Let's get some numbers, let'ssee how this is going to work
out, especially with you, I mean, if anything else right like a
relationship, building thoserelationships and building
relationships with partners is agood thing, and to see if we
can mesh together One.
I thought you know just whereI'm at in my life as far as like

(35:17):
my career and stuff like that.
Could I mesh with somebodywho's younger than me and God
bless, we had some experiences.
We had some conversations, deepones too.
Just not about religion,different aspects of people's
lives.
We even talked with about, youknow, people that are out there
that we help and our neighborsand stuff and what causes those

(35:37):
issues and stuff like that.
So it was a good uplifting andit helped me be more vulnerable.
And it helped me be morevulnerable and he actually
helped me go through that andmake me want to go back to when
I was vulnerable at his age andnot have all the heartache that
I went through.
So it was kind of a blessingand I know at this time in my
life and my career that that'swhat I was seeking for.
I knew that I wanted to do that, but am I going to put this in

(36:03):
action?
Like, am I really?
going to seek out the Lord andwant to understand that concept
because I've had and have nothad it in my life for so long.
But I think it was a blessingfor him to be in my, the whole
program itself to be in my carand we go out and help out other
people, because he helps meunderstand a lot about life and
from his angle.

Speaker 2 (36:22):
So it's it's really important to gel with your
partner in this regard.
And so what do you guys dotogether?
You get in the car, you go dowhat.

Speaker 5 (36:35):
So basically what we do is we get together, we plan
out our day and see who we needto go talk to.
We go out there and kind of tryto see what kind of service
they're needing.
It's not just giving out, youknow, new clothes or new stuff
like that, but actuallyproviding resources and

(36:55):
understanding who to talk to.
One example we had was anindividual who was out there,
had housing ready for them, hadeverything.
They were out in the street fora while.
However, this individual didnot know how the system worked.
So it was kind of being aliaison through the agency that
was providing the housing andfinancing for it and try to

(37:18):
understand.
So I didn't understand theprogram and when it was
explained to me and, mind you,this is all over the phone,
we're trying to act, you know,get all this stuff together all
over the phone and it could getfrustrating, especially when
you're trying to understand.
So now I understand why it'sfrustrating to them because they
don't understand and they cangive up so easy.
Right, and so when I wastalking to the person that was

(37:39):
providing the service, you know,I was like okay, step back,
explain back.
Explain to me, like I'm afive-year-old what you want me
to do?
Yes, because if I can'tunderstand how the system works,
how do you expect thisindividual to to understand?
And then they explained it to meand not but what we got it done
in that day, and then they werehoused the next week and

(38:01):
because there were some kind ofthings that that they needed,
some kind of that they need tojump over so they can get it all
scheduled, which she didn'thave completed, like signatures
and being able to meet with thepeople that she was getting the
monies from to help out, right,so we got her to where we need.
Sometimes we give rides,sometimes we to wherever they
need to go, depending on what itis that their day.

(38:21):
So we're just basically amobile service that we can take
them to wherever we need to goas well, and sometimes get them
off the streets into housing.

Speaker 2 (38:30):
Yes, yeah, daniel, what's it feel like to come this
direction and now see what youhave an opportunity to do with,
officer Roso.

Speaker 4 (38:39):
Yeah, I think honestly it's a lot of fun.
You know, I was kind of like akid in a candy store oh my God,
I get a radio.

Speaker 5 (38:50):
Do not touch me.

Speaker 4 (38:53):
It's like what's this button do?

Speaker 3 (38:57):
And I just have to say, those first couple of days
when I'm going to get tingled,days when I'm going to get
tingled, you know, we I want tosay there was a lot of thoughts
and prayer and stuff from nowLieutenant Rose and myself for
months, okay, so we did justlike slop it together.
There was a lot ofintentionality with it, but we

(39:20):
knew like, hey, this is notreally piloted and so we're
going to have to really do itand then learn as we do it.
And so I had a couple ofmeetings leading up to this.
But then, you know, it gets tothe part where we're like
signing off on, well, what canRazo have access to here and
what can Daniel have accessthere, and those kinds of things

(39:42):
.
And so I love Daniel because heis so honest.
And I just giggled so manytimes when we first started this
because I would get an email ora text message from him and it
would be like am I able to dothis?
They're going to take mypicture for this.
And I'm like, yep, you can doit, you can do it and then it
was hey, I might have a spacehere, is that okay?

(40:05):
Yep, it's okay, um, and therewere a couple of different
things like that.
And then finally, I remembertelling him you can do
everything but sign employmentwith them.
I am not losing my Daniel toTPD, um.
And then I remember one of likeChristian's touch bases because
Christian uh is uh the deputydirector over street reach.
And I remember one of likeChristian's touch bases because

(40:25):
Christian uh is uh the deputydirector over street reach.
And I remember tellingChristian now, if it gets to
documents, you make sure thatyou know what Daniel's signing,
because I don't want them totake him on as an employee and
we lose him and he justlaughed.
But then he was kind of gettingall of this stuff and and I
love how there was some crosstraining because, um, really on

(40:46):
our end it was about deepeningour welcoming of razzo and
making sure that razzo knewwhatever resource we had here at
trm was razzo's and we had donethat with rose, um, lieutenant
rose.
So tpd had a whole section ineither 401 or 206 where it was

(41:06):
like, hey, that's y'all section,you can pull from it and if
there's stuff in there that youneed for the back of your police
car yes, Um, and then gave abadge um, so that they would
have, you know, access where hecould come and go.

Speaker 2 (41:18):
It's not as fancy a badge you already have.

Speaker 3 (41:21):
I have told Lieutenant that a couple of
times I was like I gave you abadge.
And I have told Lieutenant thata couple of times I was like I
gave you a badge and I have yetto receive a badge.
That's not right.

Speaker 2 (41:27):
These little stick on badges.
That's right.
The sticker.

Speaker 3 (41:31):
So we did work on that, but really on the other
end it was a lot more for Danielto be kind of welcomed into the
TPD world and and Razo did thatwell with him.
But anyways, go back to being akid and a candy store.
I just had to say it was sofunny on my end yes, yes, no,
you can't be employed with them.

Speaker 2 (41:49):
You really look right now.
You look like you're a kid in acandy store.
Right now, you're rememberingthis, your eyes are sparkling.

Speaker 4 (41:57):
Well it's, it's.
It's so fun because, like Ithink, you know, as a kid, like
I, you know, I I think in someways, like every kid like wants
to be something that is awesome,right, and for me growing up
and I know that this is noteverybody's story, so I
understand that but, um, I justthought police officers were
like so awesome, you know, likethey were just out there doing

(42:18):
all the cool stuff, you know, soI'm like getting to come in to
that world, but like I have likeI didn't have to go through
training, I didn't have to jumpin the car with a guy that like
has all this experience and I'mlike man, you know, like so what
?
And like I'm trying to listento the radio, I'm like, how do
you understand this?

(42:39):
This?
is like a foreign language, youknow, and then like all these
things, and I was just, and youknow, and then like all these
things, and I was just, and youknow, like walking in the office
, I know it's, it's just sofunny, but like like there was
just so many little details ofthings that I was just blown
away by you know, um, likefinding out that animal control
is a part of the policedepartment.
I know, that sounds kind offunny, but like I just didn't

(43:00):
put the two and two together,you know, at first, and just
like all these different piecesof that, and then, like, as
time's gone on, like I feel likeI've found more and more,
that's like, yes, like I stillget so excited about all these
pieces, but also like, just likeI've not realized, maybe, how

(43:21):
important it is to have like afunctioning law enforcement in a
community and like theappreciation that I've had for
TPD has like just went throughthe roof because of all the
different things that they do,you know, and just the respect
for people that have dedicatedtheir lives to serving a
community in a way that mostpeople, like you, don't want to

(43:45):
hear about.
The stories that people bringhome, you don't want to hear
about that night or that day,but these guys are living that
every single day and so, likeyou know, I think that I know
that that's a little bit of adowner, but like I just I have
to add that in there becauselike it was all of those things

(44:07):
you know, and it's still beenall those things like, as we've,
you know, gone out or as I've,you know, you know I've gotten
calls sometimes you know fromRazo and like you know he's kind
of dealing with a situation orsomething and I'm like, oh yeah,
and there's also that, and likeyou know, all of these things
that I think um have just helpedme to understand, you know, as
a person, just like in thecommunity, like what, what is it

(44:28):
that TPD does?
What does it mean to be apolice officer and to function
in that way?

Speaker 2 (44:33):
And, um, yeah, I get excited to this day about so,
officer Razo um, in addition tomaking this young boy very, very
excited about what he gets todo, um's the value from a law
enforcement side, and what youdo in outreach, to have someone
like Daniel.

Speaker 5 (44:51):
A lot of it is resourcing.
When we started the programwith the crisis side and
understanding that is utilizinga resource that is not just law
enforcement related and how theyrespond to calls right, this
help out gave me anotherresource on what to use.
Like if I wasn't connected withDaniel or TRM itself, I

(45:13):
wouldn't have known that this iswhat you guys do, or?
you know, what services you guysprovide and how does that work
and where does the money comefrom and where does this?
And learn about all theresources that are there.
You know if you are not in lawenforcement or you're not in
these type of TRM, vleo or theseother services that provide for

(45:36):
Topeka and you're just living.
You know your everyday life.
I don't want to say normal,because what's?

Speaker 3 (45:42):
normal right.

Speaker 5 (45:44):
But you know, if you're not related to all that
stuff and those have thoserelationships and you're just
living life like you don't knowthese exist.
But when you have the chance todo this, oh that's great.
I didn't know that you know, oryou know, and it helps out
those resources that we canrespond or help somebody that's
in need.
And you know, growing up in thedepartment like it's always in

(46:07):
the need of criminal aspect,right, not the humanity and the
civil aspect of what we do andhelp provide those things and
understand, you know, people'shumanity and where they're at in
life?

Speaker 2 (46:20):
What do you think the advantage is to both of you
working together to go to wherethe homeless are living at this
point the unsheltered underbridge and a homeless camp,
whatever, living in their car.
What's the advantage of youdoing it together versus not
doing it together?

Speaker 5 (46:37):
One would be I think a lot of it is basically if I am
in a situation where they lookat me because we wear different
uniforms than patrol.
So that's one thing that helpsout.
We're dressed down a little bitmore, just khakis and a black
T-shirt or black polo, should Isay, and we're able to do that.

(46:57):
But, however, if someone is notwilling, even though I still
have my weapon on me and I stillhave camera, you can still tell
I'm a police officer andthey're not willing and it's
somebody that I don't know, Ihave Daniel there and they're
able to speak with him becausehe's actually you know it's a
bridge, it's a bridge.

Speaker 2 (47:14):
Well, we've said it many times, in order to
potentially end chronichomelessness in our community,
we have to have effectiveoutreach.
We can have the mobile accesspartnership and we can have a
tiny home village someday, or wecould have a safe rest shelter.
Those kinds of nobody's goingto come unless there are
relationships that are builtright where people are, and
that's a big part of what you'redoing.

(47:35):
Well, there's so much.
There's a lot of excitingthings that you guys are doing,
but before we close today,officer Raza, I want to talk
about a couple of programsreally quick that you oversee.
One was started back withSergeant Clam a number of years
ago.
It's called the City ID Program, because one of the biggest
challenges that people face tomove forward in life is they

(47:56):
don't have an ID.
They don't move forward, theyjust don't.
They get stuck, and if youdon't know how to get that,
nobody's there to guide youthrough it.
You can't get a job, you can'tget housing, you can't get
benefits, you can't get anythingbecause you don't have a way to
prove who you are.
And so what was started here inTopeka, which is now kind of

(48:18):
branched out nationally, as youknow?
You've taken some calls on this.
As you know, you've taken somecalls on.
This has been handed off to younow to help people to get a
very basic Topeka, kansas cityID that then gets that down the
road for an official ID with thestate of Kansas and so forth a
driver's license or a state ID.
So you oversee that program,explain what it is right now and

(48:40):
talk about the magnitude ofpeople that you're working with
or cases that you're workingwith every single week.

Speaker 5 (48:46):
So, yes, the City ID program was originally started
for the unsheltered community.
Just imagine you know you'reout here living and you have no
way to store your federaldocumentation whether it's elder
states, like your birthcertificate and your Social
Security card or anything likethat and you happen to lose it,
Right.
And so what ended up happeningwas that you need one to get the

(49:07):
other, so you need an ID to geteither one of them, and so it
was hard for them because theydidn't have those documentations
.
Well then you need both ofthose documentations to get your
state ID.
So it leaves them in this wholecircle.
Catch-22.
Catch-22.
So Sergeant Clam came up withthe program.
We were able to identify themthrough our federal data or our

(49:30):
state and federal and databasesfor law enforcement.
Once we get all that stuffdocumented and we identify who
they are, then we're able toproduce a city ID program.

Speaker 2 (49:41):
So you can verify, through the connections that you
have, if this person is whothey say they are.

Speaker 5 (49:45):
Yes.

Speaker 2 (49:46):
And that really helps them to that know-who next
level Right.
So this has grown a lot.
There's obviously a lot ofpeople who don't have the proper
ID.
That then gets that first step,which is the city ID.
How many of people or cases orsituations are you processing on
an average per week now?

Speaker 5 (50:04):
On an average per week, I mean I'm doing anywhere
from 50 to 100.

Speaker 2 (50:08):
Amanda, what's that?
Say 50 to 100 a week of peoplewho are needing help getting ID
in Topeka.

Speaker 3 (50:16):
And that's just the ones that we know about.

Speaker 4 (50:18):
Yes.

Speaker 3 (50:19):
And that's the ones that we I'm telling you that
Razo, daniel Jenny with MAP, thevolunteers at TRM, the
volunteers at MAP have formedsome type of relationship Isn't
Mirror with this program, all ofthat.

Speaker 5 (50:36):
Right.
So I ended up working withMirror, the federal and state
side.
I also worked with Scent overin.
Southeast Topeka, centralTopeka now is on board.
All these differentorganizations, the nonprofit
organizations, are coming in andasking if they can process.
What does that help?
It helps me not be able to goout there and kind of helps my

(50:57):
time so I can process a lot ofthese.

Speaker 3 (51:00):
So to me, what that says is it's a game changer for
people, but it's a game changerfor people that have some type
of touch point of someone thatthey trust to take that next
step too.
So it's not just about theexcellent job that this has kind
of evolved from Clam to Rose toRazo and the accessibility, but

(51:21):
it's also we've got to bringawareness that people know they
can access this.
There's still got to be trustwith someone in all of these
organizations for us to be ableto say, not only do we have this
resource, but you can do it,you can give them the
information, you can trust themthat they're going to get it to
you.
All of these things and so one.
I think it's incredible that wehave this many people taking

(51:44):
that next step, and sometimesthat next step is where that
person stays for a while and weas a community still need to
celebrate they took that step,that they have their IDs.
But then it also speaks to me,because you know my mindset is
you know better, you do better,and we know that there's still a
lot of other people that wecould probably double that

(52:05):
number that need this service.
That could then put them wherethey continue to move forward,
you know.
So I think it's incredible.
I love how it's continued toevolve.
We are even looking at um, attrm, uh, with an idea that Razo
had, and if another organizationhears this and they want to try

(52:27):
for it, please go to do it.
I think anything that we can doto make the community easier or
better and easier will help.
But we're looking at seeing ifwe can help kind of have our own
mobile cart and a mobile ID,the printer and all of these
things that would then enhancewhat Razo is doing as well,
because we see this even for ourguests and all of that.

(52:50):
So definitely something that,to me, is the key that someone
can hold by having these IDsthat open a lot of other
different doors for their nextsteps.
But I also, you know, I'mthinking of an unsheltered
neighbor right now.
I love her.
I love her so much and havebeen working diligently with her

(53:14):
for two and a half years.

Speaker 2 (53:16):
I know who you're talking about.

Speaker 3 (53:17):
And, yes, I've had her on lots of Facebook Lives
with me and she promises meevery time I see her that she is
going to be drug free one day,she is going to have her own
home and she is going to make mea meal in her home and I'm
going to hold her accountable.
And I, when I see her, I say Ican't wait for you to cook for
me.
And she's like, don't give upon me.
And I said you won't, I won't.
But right now, like her biggestaccomplishment for the last two

(53:41):
years has been she's got an ID.
And while, yes, I would love tohave known that she got the ID
for Razo and then applied forhousing and has already given me
that meal, but we're not thereyet.
But when you know her story,there's also a lot of trauma
there, there's a lot of abusethere.
She's lost almost every familymember in the last seven years.

(54:05):
Like there's significantchallenges.
And so I know some people don'tagree with me and look at her
drug use or look at the factshe's still on the streets or
looking at the fact she has, youknow, different relationships
and things like that that needto improve.
But I celebrate her for gettingher ID, and if that's what her

(54:25):
accomplishment is going to befor a while, that is still
success for her and I'm proud ofher.
So I love the program.
I'm supportive of it.
We're trying to figure out howwe expand it and and compliment
what's being done.
I'm thankful for all the otheragencies who have tapped into
this.
Um, I tell Roso probably threeor four times a year like, hey,

(54:46):
if we're doing anything to holdthis back, let us know.
And a couple of months ago wefound out we were.
We weren't doing some things aseffective as we could with some
of the photos he needed and allof that.
He was able to be transparentand said my whole life would
change if y'all would do it thisway, and so I love that.
We've talked about a lot ofthis seriousness and this, this

(55:09):
joy, but I have to say, from mylevel, one of the things that I
love so much about Rosso andDaniel and the program is also
the truthfulness of when thingsdon't feel good.
Good, because we talk about thatjust as much, and sometimes
it's things we can solve, likefixing what he needed for the

(55:31):
city ID so that my team wasn'tdoing stuff that we thought was
great and it wasn't helpful, butI needed to be able to earn
Rosso's trust so that he cantell me, as the CEO, hey, I need
you to do this different, thosetrust, so that he can tell me,
as the CEO, hey, I need you todo this different.
The other side of it is I needto be able to tell him when he
does have struggles or he doeshave needs.
If I can't fix it, I have to beable to tell him I hear you, I

(55:55):
feel it, there's nothing I cando about it, but I am going to
join you in prayer on it and Iam a listening ear.
And that, to me, is one thingthat sets this apart is we truly
are like family, meaning wedon't always agree, meaning
we're not always able to doexactly what we think we should
do, and it's required.

(56:18):
They're being humble, but thisprogram has required a lot of
compromise from Daniel and a lotof compromise from Razo.
Razo can't just do what he'sused to always being able to do.
Daniel can't just function asjust an outreach advocate, like
they've had to form.
What does this look like withthe balance of compassion and

(56:40):
faith, enforcing and logic, andfaith in forcing and in logic
and to me, when I look at this,I love their personalities, I
love their dedication but, man,I love who these men are and
just their authenticity of whatthey're doing.
And it is not easy what they'redoing, so I appreciate them.

(57:03):
I appreciate the program.
I don't know where it's goingto go from here, but there's
value in it and it just showswhy sometimes wild ideas can be
the most beautiful blessingsactually for our entire
community.

Speaker 2 (57:20):
I think about our unsheltered neighbors who, by
and large, most of them havesome serious issues with broken
trust.
They have not been aroundpeople that they can count on in
the system and whatever, and soone of the most valuable things
we can do is have goodrelationships in our working
together so that we can showthem hey, there's authenticity

(57:42):
here, there is somebody thatthey can trust, and that's the
bridge.
If you guys weren't workingtogether, well, there was big
silos here.
Forget it, it's not working outthere, and so can I?

Speaker 3 (57:53):
can I also say one more thing about that.
So, when we started thinkingabout this, having those and I
guess maybe I'm speaking toleaders right now, but really
having truthful conversationsthat are honest, not negative,
not going straight to what wecan't do, not talking straight

(58:14):
money of why we're limited, butlike, really truthful
conversations, are so importantwhen we're trying to pilot
things and I hope that wecontinue to do that.
So I kind of wish LieutenantRose was on this, but he's not.
So I'm going to tell you myversion of this story which
means he can't defend himself.
But when we were talking aboutthis that's right.

(58:37):
When we were talking about this,there were some conversations
that happened in thedistribution center.
There were some conversationsthat happened at MAP.
There were conversations thathappened in my office, and this
is what it looked like.
He would share an idea and Iwould say there's no way.
And then he would look at meand he'd go well, it's still an
idea.
And I would say, well, whatabout this?

(58:58):
And I would tell him my sideand he'd go okay, that sounds
great, but that's not how it'sgoing to work.
And there was literally, andthen we would leave it.
But because he and I have builttrust over years, we could have
those like really crucialconversations.
They were respectful, but itwas like nope, not going to work
.
Nope, not going to work.
But then there was also comingback where I would say, and I'm

(59:20):
going to own this, even though Ishould just lie because he's
not here but there were timeswhere I came back and I said,
hey, I thought about it andactually I do think it might
work.
And he did say, yeah, I toldyou so Because we had that
relationship.
But then he was like is itreally, though, or are you just
trying to be more positive andI'm like no, I've thought about
it and I do think we should trythat there were times he would

(59:42):
come back and he would say hey,I think you're right about
putting these two together, andhere's why.
And so I just I don't know, Iguess I want to speak to maybe
even you, barry Brett, everybodythat's doing incredible work
with compassion strategies, allhands on deck, like we're in

(01:00:02):
such a crucial time right now,when we're all trying to figure
out next steps for homelessnessin our community, and, um, I
just want us to continue to beable to just truthfully be able
to say I don't know what I thinkabout, that or no, that's a
great idea to push backrespectfully.
But when all of that is done intrue desire to have unity and

(01:00:28):
love and I'll even throw respectin there beautiful things come.
What doesn't happen is whenleaders have deceit, when
leaders have selfishness, um,pride, those kinds of things, um
, and so I'm not trying to give,trying to give Rose and I, like
kudos, I'm trying to betransparent that when this stuff

(01:00:49):
started to be birthed it wasnot pretty, but because our
relationship was, then that'swhat came.
And then that trickles down,because both of these gentlemen
probably at first were like whatin the world?
But because they knew, hey,we're going to try this.
One of the first things we toldthem with this Razo's the one

(01:01:11):
that asked, so, do we have aguidebook or a manual?
And we both looked at eachother and we're like, nope,
we've got nothing.
And he's like, okay, so nowwhat?
And we're like, well, you'regoing to make it.
And then he's like, well,what's my deadline?
And I'm like, well, what doesyour deadline need to be, was it
not?
And it wasn't that we werewanting to be hands off, it was

(01:01:34):
we had thought through enough ofwhat we, as leaders, knew to do
.
Then it was up to us to get outof the way.
We didn't need to just keeptalking.
We to us to get out of the way.
We didn't need to just keeptalking.
We didn't need to dictate whatthis was.
These are incredible citizens.
They're they're incredibleleaders.
They're incredible men.
They needed to be able to dothe job that God was calling

(01:01:57):
them to do and that didn't needto be dictated by Rose and
myself.
And so I don't know, this wasprobably just the first like big
lesson, aside from the warmingcenter, that the Lord used to
show me.
You can truly have transparentconversations that even include
the word no, and if you're doingit for all the right reasons,

(01:02:21):
god still brings that togetherto form a really incredible yes.
And then, as leaders, shut up,get out of the way and let your
people do the work, too, toempower them, because they're on
their journey and they have apurpose, and there is no two
better people that could haveturned this program to benefit

(01:02:41):
the community the way it has,other than these two.

Speaker 5 (01:02:44):
Well, I'd like to caveat off that you're talking
about beautiful relationshipsand stuff like that, right, and
let us fly and let us do thethings that we do, knowing that
we have the talent to do that.
So you know, we talk about thatand I want to sit there and say
I also married out two programstogether with the symbolism of
a butterfly, right, and so it'swith the symbolism of a

(01:03:05):
butterfly and so it's called theTake Me Home program.
It's always been in place.
Topeka Police Department'salways had it, and it's directed
to individuals that have adisability of dementia or autism
.
So if you haven't heard, orheard anything through
nationally and stuff like that,where police officers get a call
where the individual has walkedaway from home and their

(01:03:26):
caregiver hasn't been able tofind them, they call the police,
right, so they have no way totrack them or anything else,
we're out there, searching,trying to find this individual
who may or may not be in danger.
You hear the bad stories wherethe individual who has autism is
attracted to water, thosehorror stories where they end up
drowning in a pool or some sortof like that.

(01:03:49):
So I married these two programswith the ID program.
So now it just startedyesterday on the website.
You're able to get a logo onthe ID.
It's a butterfly with differentcolors, and the reason why the
colors stand out is because itcovers every mental or
disability health that there is.
Underneath it.
It has a hidden disability andwhat this does is that it's able

(01:04:10):
to.
If they have this on theirperson and they're out there and
about in their wallet or on youknow, whatever they have, and
they come in contact with anofficer or any individual,
they're able to photograph withtheir phone the QR code and it
gives them any information thatthey're needing, whether it's
the address, that they have, aphone number to contact, who

(01:04:30):
their caregiver is, and stufflike that.
So you're able to have accessto that Right now.
As it stands, the Take Me Hopeprogram is in an Excel
spreadsheet that the officerslook up and they have to scroll
through it and try to find theindividuals or type.
That way, this is a very easyway just to have the ID card on
their person and give it to them.

(01:04:52):
Now, the caveat of this also isthat I'm trying to find out the
question that was brought to meby the sergeant that's in charge
of this program that what ifit's a child?
Do you expect them to have anID on them?
So now what I'm trying to do isfind some kind of way to get a
program set up to where we havekind of like the Fitbit but have
a wristband or some type ofbracelet, function to where it
has some type of GPS orsomething like that.

(01:05:14):
That's going to that.
So that's another caveat offthis program that I'm getting.
So it's all about developingand building those relationships
.
But it helps really build thoserelationships for the program.

Speaker 2 (01:05:24):
Yes.
So yeah, that's innovative,thinking outside the box to.
I mean, you're talking abouthomeless prevention right there,
trying to help people to getback home, whether they be a
disabled individual or child orwhatever very huge in this whole
effort to work together.
So, guys, thanks for being heretoday.
We went a little long, but Ithink we could go longer.

(01:05:44):
I really do.
This is a pretty exciting talkand you know, what occurs to me
is that systems that we bringtogether seldom develop good
relationships, but goodrelationships develop good
systems, and that's where thishas started.
You guys have got a greatrelationship and look what is
building and building, andbuilding on things that have

(01:06:05):
been done before and in a verythings going forward, and so
thank you both for who you are,thank you for giving it a chance
to work together, and Daniel'sstill excited about what's in
your car, and so it's so awesome.
But you're making a big, bigdifference and people who are on
the streets see these two guysand they know they can trust you

(01:06:27):
guys.

Speaker 5 (01:06:27):
Yes.

Speaker 2 (01:06:28):
And that's the game changer.
So thank you for being here.
Thank you, thank you forlistening to Our Community, our
Mission, a podcast of the TopekaRescue Mission.
You've heard from Officer Razoand Daniel Dobson, who work
together in co-responding to ourunsheltered neighbors in our
community, and you heard about awhole lot more of some exciting
things that are happening.
If you'd like more informationabout Topeka Rescue Mission, you

(01:06:48):
can go to trmonlineorg.
That's trmonlineorg.
Have a blessed day.