Picking up the pieces after her husband fell off a 40 foot cliff

Gail Conn’s life shattered over a decade ago when her husband’s body shattered literally after falling off a cliff. In this week’s Common Scents Podcast, we learn how she coped and overcame (and what happened after that fateful day).

TAMAR: Hi, everybody, I am so excited to bring to you a friend of mine from the industry and the founders community. Gail Conn. Thank you so much for joining. Where are you located?

00:32

GAIL CONN:  I live presently near the UN. So, in Midtown Manhattan.

TAMAR: I know New York City in particular has been hit pretty hard. I was reading about how a friend of mine had seen as kind of procedure  a ghost town. What’s your experience right now?

00:52

GAIL CONN: Well, New York, definitely, don’t have enough. There’s not as much activity. But the truth is, the traffic is up. I live right off the corner of Second Avenue. And when I see more traffic and more people on the street, things are happening. We did have tremendous uptick in this area of homeless people. Because our mayor has decided to use some of the hotels that are not being used by diplomats for homeless people. And when they’re not in, they’re out on the street. So, we have a lot more people on the street, doing interesting things. Depends where you shine your lens, but it’s kind of frightening that there’s a lot more people who are doing drugs on the street, having sex on the street, and drinking. So, we are supporting them. Because as liberal people, people feel so terrible. So, we just give blankets and money and tents and all that kind of stuff. But I’m not sure that’s the answer to help people when they’re in need.

02:00

TAMAR: Right? Yeah, I’ve been reading about that. I’ve been invited to a few and I live outside the city,   have been invited to a few Facebook groups where mothers, young mothers in particular feel threatened. And yeah,  it’s literally like bringing the 70s back. That’s what it feels like.

GAIL CONN: It’s not funny because some people I know, I lived in California for over 20 years, and there is an extreme problem in California. It’s just extreme with homeless people. And the thing is, as a country, I think we have the ability to decide if we want to help people. So, if people are drug addicts, they need to go to drug rehab, if people are alcoholics, they need to either attend or go to rehab, people who fall off the wagon lose their job, and all of a sudden, they’re homeless on the street. Let’s try and help them get jobs and get back on their feet. But there’s also a group of people that don’t want to do any of those things. They just want to be on the street. I have friends that have worked in that community for a long time, 30 years of experience with homeless people. But we have to make decisions and some of them are tough. And we either help people or it’s very disconcerting when they disrupt businesses and frighten people and do things because we’re people too. So, what about our rights?

03:30

TAMAR: Right, right. Yeah, it’s difficult right now, it’s just an incredibly crazy time.

03:35

GAIL CONN: It’s a  storm of having it get worse. But talk to people in California, there’s a big lawsuit right now in California, of a homeowner suing the city of Los Angeles because he can’t get out of his house, he can’t use his garage. Because people have built tents in front of his garage, and he can’t use his garage.

03:55

TAMAR: That’s crazy. This is insane. We live in like, the craziest time, like, what a time to be alive. And like there’s obviously pros and cons. But like seriously, what a time to be alive.

04:07

GAIL CONN: This takes tremendous problem-solving capabilities and people with, not only compassion, but really people who are willing to bring solutions. And that’s why entrepreneurs are so great, because we’re trying to find solutions to things.

TAMAR: Right.

GAIL CONN: I hate to say it, but homelessness somewhat is a business opportunity for somebody new. It is as redefining prisons, because we’ve turned prisons into business in the United States. So, if anybody wants to figure out how to make prison light or prison serious, or whatever you want to do, art prison, whatever you want to do, there could be a business opportunity, but you have to be really creative and want to sort of take on the established business.

04:50

TAMAR: Right, 100%. So, let’s talk about that. Because you talked about