October 23, 2024 • 42 mins
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
We are back with the Roy West Show here on
News Talk five sixty KLV. Folks, it is so fun
getting to talk to people that are making such an
impact across Southeast Texas. Deacon Fred is back on the
show with Catholic Charities and Catholic Charities, y'all do an
incredible job, Deacon Fred, and I just I want to
(00:23):
commend you on the impact that you make, not just
in Jefferson County and Boma, but I think it's about
an eight county area and where your ministries extend, and
you've got a big event right around the corner that
people need to know about and they need to participate in.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
Absolutely want to start off by just thanking you for
given not only Catholic Charities, but all the other the
folks in our community who are doing this work and
beyond just this platform to be able to share the
work that we're doing. It is of great support to us,
and thank you for allowing us to be able to
(01:04):
come on and share this with yourself, but with all
your listeners.
Speaker 4 (01:09):
Yes we are. We're right on.
Speaker 3 (01:13):
The doorstep of our twenty second annual Harvest of Hope.
It is one of our two main fundraisers that we have,
the other being Breakfast with Bishop that we have in
the spring, and we're happy to announce kind of a
really unique one this year, and that is we are
(01:33):
going to have we sometimes have two honorees, but this
year we're going to honor two sisters and those sisters
are Alison Kayker and Michelle Smith. And what's fun about
that is not only the work that they do and
what they mean to our community, but we're going to
our program this year. We've kind of taken a spin
(01:56):
off of that and we're going to have the program
be the Singing Sisters.
Speaker 4 (02:01):
It's it's a play.
Speaker 3 (02:03):
On the nineteen ninety two film Sister Act that was
so popular even with the sequel that came out, and
so it's gonna be great fun.
Speaker 4 (02:14):
And so we're going to actually have.
Speaker 3 (02:17):
Some of our nuns from our diocese are going to
be singing. They're gonna have us so and we're gonna
have some others that are going to be participating, and
so it's gonna be big fun.
Speaker 4 (02:28):
We're looking forward to that event.
Speaker 1 (02:30):
And that is coming up on Thursday, November seventh, So
it's it's right around the corner and it is at
the Holiday Inn over on Walden Road, and this is
this is a huge event and it's certainly as I
can attest to. You know, this is the Catholic Church,
(02:50):
but it's also the Catholic with the Little Sea too
in terms of it's universal. The work is done for
everybody in this eight county area. So this fun or
is county wide, well area wide obviously, and it's so
important and you it's it's a lot of fun and
you get to see people that uh I oftentimes don't
(03:12):
get to see because just life is the busyness of life.
So it's always fun to attend. But it's the money
is you're given where you live. I mean this stay
is right.
Speaker 3 (03:22):
Here, yes it does, and it's it's.
Speaker 4 (03:28):
It really is. You know.
Speaker 3 (03:30):
I've been with Catholic Charities, fortunate to have been with
Catholic Charities now for about a year and a half, Mayor,
and it's really been good to see how this money
is used and how it's then turned into resources for
those in our communities who need.
Speaker 4 (03:49):
It, because I know that's very important.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
When people give, it's important to know where those funds
go and how they then go from you know, from
from their personal finances into an agency like Catholic Charities
and many others, and then how that manifests itself into
services for the folks in our community who are in need.
(04:14):
And so it is very much that we are able
to serve those in Jefferson County and Orange Chambers, Liberty,
many more around. Our footprint is actually the same as
the Diocese of Beaumont, and so those overlay are quite
neatly and so it is through these funds that we're
(04:36):
able then to serve all those who come to us
each day.
Speaker 1 (04:41):
Actually, and these are I've got the press release in
front of me, and you know, these services are something
that oftentimes, if they weren't provided by Catholic Charities, they
would be services that go unmet. These are important services
(05:02):
that are available to everybody. And I know the counseling services,
both in English and in Spanish. Mental health and emotional
support is difficult to come by, and you know y'all
provide that, and you know, I think that's incredible. Also
(05:22):
Elijah's Place, which is grief support for children ages five
to eighteen who've experienced the death of a sibling or
a parent. And again this is something that happens too often,
but oftentimes it's just not on the radar of everybody
in terms of how these young people's needs are going
to be met. And yet Catholic Charities stepping in. What
(05:43):
are some of the other services?
Speaker 4 (05:46):
Yeah we have, Yeah, we have six programs.
Speaker 3 (05:50):
Now we actually have a seventh one that I'll touch
on maybe briefly here in a minute. But you mentioned
some of our great programs, and I'm so happy that
you did, Mayor, because these are programs sometimes they fly
under the maybe the radar of people, you know, who
know that we do that work, but also for the
(06:12):
people who actually need services like that that may not
know that they exist in our community. And so that
is one of the great benefits to this program that
it lets those who need these services, maybe through directly
or indirectly through someone who has listened to your program,
to be able to come to us. In Elijah's Place
(06:34):
is one that it always comes to mind for me
when we have these things, because when I came to
Catholic Charities, you know, I live out in Liberty County,
so I was a little bit away, but I did
not know Elijah's Place or of it until I arrived
here my wife did. I asked her when I got home,
I said, do you know Elijah's place? She said, yes,
(06:56):
she did, but I had missed it. And so it
is that program that you articulated so very well that
helps the little ones that come to us that are
struggling with this grief that's kind of unimaginable. Maybe it's
their brother or sister who they shared a room with
who's no longer there that they have to deal with.
(07:16):
Maybe it's their parent, their mother at a young tender
age that is no longer there, through sickness, tragedy, any
number of things that would have them be absent now.
And to come to a place where others are experiencing
and going through that same thing is really really been
(07:37):
in the stories that you hear.
Speaker 4 (07:38):
From them just well, when you're around them, you just
want to be around them.
Speaker 3 (07:42):
But so there are those you know, we have, of
course market to Hope, which we feed through the through
the resources and donations that we get from the community,
we're able to offer food to those in need.
Speaker 4 (07:56):
Counseling you touched on counseling is very important.
Speaker 3 (07:59):
It's one of those things that we don't talk about
a lot because there's still a little different relationship to
that sometimes, but it is so very necessary for those
who need it. We have a program called Home Matters,
and that Home Matters program has two services. One service
is financial services for people who may need some budgeting help,
(08:22):
maybe help with the first time home buyer. We offer
some courses around that. But the other side of that
under Home Matters is individuals who are struggling to pay
the rent or utility bills. Life has dealt them an
uncertain event and as a results, they've been presented with
some challenges and so we have that service that we
(08:46):
offer them as well. Many people know the Hospitality Center
in Port Arthur. It is such a great place and
we feed probably there one hundred and thirty individuals a day,
a hot meal every day, so they come there to
(09:07):
get nourishment in that hospitality center is open.
Speaker 4 (09:11):
Three hundred and sixty five days of year.
Speaker 3 (09:13):
So you know, if anybody wants to participate of any
any of these things bring true to individuals, we'd love
for them to participate. I'll add the other program I'll
highlight is our Immigration Services mayor That one is misunderstood
quite often with some of the things you hear from
(09:34):
time to time about immigration. But what we we are
proud that we are the only nonprofit organization in the
region that's fully accredited through the Department of Justice, and
we have accredited representatives on our staff that are highly,
highly trained and skilled in this through the Department of Justice.
(09:56):
And so we provide that legal path to to citizenship
that so many immigrants need from all over the world
that they come to us and we're able to assist
them with that.
Speaker 5 (10:12):
Well, we are about out of town.
Speaker 6 (10:14):
I want to wrap things up by letting people know
that how can they get tickets and our make donations
for the upcoming twenty second Harvest of Hope that is happening.
Speaker 1 (10:26):
On Thursday, November seventh at holiday in on Walden Road.
Speaker 4 (10:35):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (10:35):
Absolutely, Mary, Yeah, we would love for everyone to participate.
Speaker 4 (10:38):
Come out and participate.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
Everyone, come see our wonderful nuns singing and putting on
this great presentation for us. Another little fun fact, the
Monsignor Kelly High School Choir will be there with us
backing up the nuns, so it'll be a treat to
have them on stage with our nuns.
Speaker 4 (11:02):
It'll be big fun. So come out and participate.
Speaker 3 (11:05):
Probably the simplest nown Mayor, as we get closer to
the event to call into Catholic Charities. You can call
directly to Colton Morris four zero nine nine.
Speaker 4 (11:16):
Two four four four two one and.
Speaker 7 (11:20):
He will assist you with a table if you'd like
to sponsor a table. We certainly have individual tickets as well,
but you can go online. The people will quite often
ask if there's an online option.
Speaker 3 (11:34):
There is, UH, but if you go there, it's important
that you then specifically that you specifically target the Harvest
of Hope program. But if you want to go online,
you can still call Colton or walk you right through
that process.
Speaker 4 (11:49):
UH, and we can help you any way we can
to have you participate.
Speaker 3 (11:53):
We'd love to invite everyone to come and participate with us.
Speaker 5 (11:58):
Well, we are out of time. Thank you so much,
Diacon Fred.
Speaker 1 (12:00):
Another great event happening, and folks, I know we'll show
up here in southeast Texas.
Speaker 5 (12:06):
Thank you so much, Thank you, Mayor Gunn.
Speaker 1 (12:11):
We are back with the Roy West Show here on
News Talk five sixty k LV, and again people, I
have so much fun doing this show because I get
to talk to some outstanding people that are having some
incredible events and le Chandra Cobb Eglan is the bid
(12:33):
STEM coordinator and there is the STEM Night at Doggett
Park previously known as Ford Park out there, and last
year we were talking before we went on there. I
went out there for the event and I was blown
away because I thought there must be a concert going
on because there were so many cars.
Speaker 8 (12:54):
Yes, it was a nice surprise, big deal. We actually
had a line wrapped around the building before we even
opened the doors, and so I believe everyone from the
time they entered to the time they left had a
very good time. And so our goal this year is
(13:16):
to make it even bigger and better than last year.
Speaker 1 (13:19):
Well and tell people, you know, let's talk about what
STEM education is because here in Southeast Texas, this is
our workforce and oftentimes people don't understand all the different
opportunities that are available to them and how much fun
it is, and whether it's in the process operating field
(13:41):
or whether it's in the engineering field or all the
other sites and math related fields. And this is a
chance to pu some hands on and and you have
some great sponsors that are participants and.
Speaker 5 (13:55):
It is a fun night.
Speaker 8 (13:57):
Yes, I like to say STEM is everywhere because it
is even when you're not realizing it. One of the
things I like to give an example of is the
simple trash can. You know, earlier technology, of course, you
know you had to manually open the trash can to
throw away your trash. Now you can just wave your
(14:18):
hand over the lid and it'll open by itself. That's STEM.
Or even turning on a faucet, you just wave across
it because it's motion sensored.
Speaker 5 (14:28):
That's STICK.
Speaker 8 (14:29):
You know, you walk into a into a build, a classroom,
or a room, the lights come on, that's that's STEM
and so. And now we're moving towards an era of robotics,
you know where robots are everywhere. Just something as simple
as cleaning your floor. You just program it and it
maps out your uh, your entire home, and you can
(14:52):
set it on a timer. And that's STEM and so.
Even in the industrial workforce, you know, they're using robot
arms and robotic dogs to go in places that men
can't go. But someone has to has to program it,
someone has to repair it, and someone has to always
(15:16):
improve it. And that's what STEM is. It's being innovated
to take today's issues and probably tomorrow's issues that we're
not even thinking about and trying to solve them in
a new innovative way.
Speaker 1 (15:31):
Well, that's absolutely true, and I know that you know,
I'm a good bit older than you, but you know,
they're oftentimes what people are going to school for today.
You know, it's learning how to learn, learning specific fils
because technology information education is changing quickly, and there are
(15:53):
so many careers that didn't even exist and careers that
did exist when I began my career, many of those don't.
So life's full of transitions, but uh, and we don't
even know about all of them that will be made
as we sit here doing an online interview and looking
at one another. But UH with our but all of
(16:14):
this comes from UH technology advancements. And one thing we're
so privileged here in Southeast Texas having such a huge
petrochemical UH area, is there are so many related jobs,
but like you said, you're not limited to that. You
could end up working in some completely unrelated something to petrochemical.
Speaker 5 (16:37):
But using that chemical.
Speaker 1 (16:38):
Engineer or that process operating experience that you have, that
you're able to.
Speaker 8 (16:44):
Apply exactly exactly.
Speaker 1 (16:47):
And I know part of this is to help kids
understand that, you know, these jobs can be fun but
how important it is, how how learning is fun and
and getting the taste of that because for some reason
sometimes the idea of learning and reading can be seen
as boring. But the truth is that when you get
(17:08):
exposed to the right thing, it could be very stimulating
and sometimes you just can't get enough of it.
Speaker 8 (17:13):
And that's the key when you said very stimulating in
STEM is because what makes a difference between sitting in
a classroom and hearing a professor teacher talk and you know,
sit and get this is hands on. So they're learning
through hands on activities, actually learning about a certain problem
(17:36):
and having to use their their brains, their hands, leadership skills,
communication skills, put all those things together to actually come
up with a tangible project, a product that they can see.
So they they start with brainstorming and then trying to
(17:58):
decide on what materials they're going to use to solve
this problem and then create it and then test it out,
so they're actually going through the engineering process and then
once testing it out, how can they make that product better?
And so in all fields, that is the process of improvement.
Speaker 1 (18:19):
Well, and this is what true collaboration is and for
you to have success and whether you know.
Speaker 5 (18:26):
And then and this applies to all fields, and it's
certainly across schools, but.
Speaker 1 (18:33):
Being able to engage kids and that's what I know
the STEM Night is all about, is uh you know,
because how young? I mean who's invited to the STEM Night.
Speaker 8 (18:44):
Everyone is invited from pre K all the way up
to adulthood. And so with pre K they get to
start discovering uh activities that that maybe they can see
themselves in. And what this unique is that the activities
start with pre K and go all the way up
(19:06):
until industry. So, for instance, if you take the VRS,
Career Center will be doing a exploration with the VRS
taking students through technology the timeline of technology. But then
they can go to X on mobile table and they'll
put on VRS to get a sample training. You have
(19:28):
TMAC that will have VRS that will be demonstrating a
semiconductor so they can get that relationship between them and
the elementary will have robotics there, so will the middle school,
so will the high school, and so will the colleges,
so that they can see themselves throughout the entire timeline
(19:50):
of education. And then go to a business booth and
see how all those things they learned is transferred into a.
Speaker 1 (19:58):
Career well, and I know that last year. And one
reason I love going to it is because it is
the entire community coming together and it also has a
lot of hope about the future of tomorrow. We live
in a time where oftentimes we're talking about what's wrong,
but there is so much right. And when you go
(20:19):
to night's like this, you're getting to see all the
young people that are interested, engaged and couraged. There's lines
waiting to participate, there's parents bringing these kids here, There's
all these educators and industry partners that are there showing
up for.
Speaker 5 (20:38):
The kids, and it is It.
Speaker 1 (20:41):
Is a beautiful site in Beaumont because it means that
there is huge opportunity here and part of it is
just getting plugged in and exposing yourself to that. And
I just want to applaud b ISD across the board
for how well you engage with the community and offer
these community events, because kids that may not go to
(21:03):
BID are still going to be at this STEM night.
Speaker 8 (21:06):
Yes, everyone is invited.
Speaker 1 (21:07):
Everyone Well, I just want to say that I know
I'll be there because I enjoy it and love to
see our community come together and love to see kids
having so much fun and engaged in education. And oftentimes
if you ask them how do you like being engaged
in education here, they'd say what what are you talking about?
(21:32):
And that's the idea behind it. And so this is
out at Ford Park. It is October thirtieth, and what
day of the week is that?
Speaker 8 (21:41):
That is on a Wednesday. Everyone will need a ticket.
The ticket is free if they go to event Bright
and type in Beaumonte is is DX on mobile stem night,
it'll pop up and all they have to do is
register for a ticket and we will be scanning tickets
at the door.
Speaker 1 (22:00):
Well, folks, I want to look forward to seeing you there.
I know it's going to be a great night. Make
sure you get your tickets and bring your kiddos out,
are your grandkids or just go and see it yourself.
Speaker 5 (22:11):
Yes, thank you so much.
Speaker 8 (22:12):
From five to eight thirty.
Speaker 5 (22:15):
Five to eight thirty, we'll see you then.
Speaker 8 (22:17):
All right, see you there.
Speaker 1 (22:23):
We are back with the Roy West Show here on
News Talk five sixty KLV. And folks, I love getting
to do this radio show because I get to talk
to all the cool people in town doing all the
cool things.
Speaker 5 (22:36):
And Sarah Harden.
Speaker 1 (22:38):
With the Arc of Greater Bauma falls in that category
big time. The Ark of Greater Bama is incredible for
people that are unfamiliar with it. Let's talk about what
the Arc of Greater Beaumont is.
Speaker 9 (22:51):
Okay, So, the Ark of Greater Beaumont is a nonprofit
here in our community that serves adults and children with
disabilities in their families. We offer a whole range of
social and support events that anybody can come to that
has a disability here in our area. We don't just
serve people in Beaumont. We've got people that come from
(23:14):
as far as Jasper sometimes, but Winny, orange Bridge City,
all over the place, and we do a lot of
just fun stuff up here that really just give our
our adults and kids with disabilities a chance to hang
out with their peers and get some good support and
(23:34):
work on socialization skills and everything.
Speaker 2 (23:37):
It's it's a it's a fun place to be up
here at the ARC.
Speaker 1 (23:41):
Well, and I've had the pleasure to be there many
times for different events and it is a great community
UH program that offers so much to all the participants
and it's a joyous place to go and certainly families
and UH and and it's unique because there's problem, are
(24:02):
there any other places similar to this in Southeast Texas?
Speaker 9 (24:06):
There are places that have some social stuff I wouldn't
say on the same scale is what we do here.
Speaker 2 (24:14):
And also we don't charge for any of the services
that we provide. So that's why it's.
Speaker 9 (24:18):
So important for our community to come out and support
us when we have our fundraisers. When you have some
extra money hanging out in your bank account, put somewhere
to go to a to go to good use. We're
a good spot for that too. But yeah, we we
do really provide kind of unduplicated services for certain things
in our area for a population of people that live
(24:41):
on very limited incomes already. And so we are we
are kind of different from other organizations here that kind
of serve the same population of people, but just in
a little bit different way.
Speaker 1 (24:52):
Well, we want to make sure people know how to
give and also how to volunteer. But we've got a
big event coming up right around the corner that everybody celebrates,
but not everybody don't celebrate it on this same day,
So we're looking for volunteers and always financial supporters.
Speaker 5 (25:10):
Yep.
Speaker 9 (25:10):
Okay, So one of our big I would say it's
probably one of our favorite staff wise events. And a
lot of the people that come to our events is
our Thanksgiving feast. It happens every November, and a lot
of our people don't live with their families, they live
in group homes, or they don't have a lot of
(25:32):
family around, and so this is our way of giving
them that traditional, typical Thanksgiving feast experience. We hold two
different sessions. We have an early one in a four
point thirty and then a six o'clock one so that
we can get more of our people in here and
give them all the opportunity to come share a good
(25:52):
meal together with their friends and just kind of celebrate,
celebrate Thanksgiving, to be thankful for what they've got, to
be thankful for each other, and you know, we get
to be thankful for our community that supports us that
day as well.
Speaker 5 (26:07):
Well.
Speaker 1 (26:07):
And you know, this is something that I believe in,
given where you live, and this is something that doesn't
cost you money to go up there and volunteer. And
like you say, on that day, you need a lot
of volunteers. And I will let people know they're going
to be blessed a lot more than they're going to
be doing the blessing. And it is certainly a you know,
(26:29):
uh it is. It is a blessing to serve others.
But this is a community that is so grateful and
uh it is you said, some of them don't have
a traditional family available to them, So the Ark of
Greater Roma is a family and uh and so it's
and it's an important time for everybody that participates.
Speaker 9 (26:52):
Yeah, and our volunteers really, like you said, they do get.
Speaker 2 (26:55):
A lot out of it.
Speaker 9 (26:56):
You know, they number one, gain a new appreciation and
how to be thankful for all of the blessings that
they have in their life. And they're blessing our people
so much by being here and serving them and celebrating them.
And one of the best things about volunteers coming up
here is seeing them interact with our people with disabilities
just like they would.
Speaker 2 (27:17):
Any other friend that they have.
Speaker 9 (27:18):
That means so much to our people and it's important
for their comfort with disability, I mean, with people with
disabilities to grow and you know, it just leads to
a better, more inclusive community.
Speaker 1 (27:32):
Well, and it's about socialization and that's exactly right. And
you know, and whenever I go, it blesses me. We
just recently had an event about voting and y'all brought
in an actual voting booth, which can be intimidating.
Speaker 5 (27:48):
And for people that hadn't voted.
Speaker 1 (27:49):
I'm not trying to scare anyway anybody from the polls,
because they're right around the corner and at the polls
they will help you.
Speaker 5 (27:56):
But it is electronic.
Speaker 2 (27:58):
It's going to be overwhelming, and it.
Speaker 1 (28:01):
Can be and they will certainly help you at the polls.
But this was something that I thought was so cool
because so many of the people that are apart haven't
voted before and maybe intimidated by the process as many
of us are. And you know, so you had some
people come in from some elected officials come in and
(28:21):
speak to them. But also it was a training time
as well, and every time is just as a time
of fellowship and gether Oh.
Speaker 9 (28:30):
And they had a blast. They had so much fun
doing that, and we were talking about it just the
other day.
Speaker 2 (28:36):
They were so.
Speaker 9 (28:36):
Proud of being able to put their votes in for
the made up candidates and stuff. But comfort levels on
voting actually did rise, So it was a good a
good day.
Speaker 1 (28:47):
Well, and you know, but y'all have activities every month,
and y'all got a great facility right over by Park
Delle Mill. I can't recall the street, but I know
right how to get there.
Speaker 5 (28:58):
Yep.
Speaker 9 (28:58):
We're forty three thirty West Lane right back behind cons
and we do.
Speaker 2 (29:03):
We've got a full schedule.
Speaker 9 (29:05):
We on average we probably have twelve to fifteen events
going on weekly between our book clubs and our art
classes and game nights, monthly meetings and stuff like that.
And the best place to find out the schedule of
our events is through our Facebook page. If you're on Facebook,
you can go to the arc or just search for
the Ark of Greater Beaumont and it'll pull it up.
(29:27):
Each event that we've got going on has an event
in there that you can go into, and often there's
a registration link and if you have any questions, they
can just call up here at the office and we'll
get you help, get you set up and make sure
you have all the information about whatever event it is
that you're interested in.
Speaker 1 (29:45):
Well, Sarah, you've got a passion for this and you
bring so much energy and this is a great place
to participate in. So whenever you have extra money you need,
you need to share this and and it is it
difficult to get on the volunteer list.
Speaker 9 (30:06):
So on our website w W W A, r C O,
F b MT dot org, like arcobaumint dot org, there
is a link right there where you can click on
and fill out a quick little volunteer application. It'll take
you to a quick little background check that you don't
have to pay for, just making sure that there's nothing
that we would be concerned with you being around our people.
(30:29):
And then you go onto a list and as we
need for volunteer need volunteers, you can do that, or
you can simply call up here at the office and
one of us will say, hey, this is what we've
got going on this week or coming up, and we
think you would be helpful in this spot, so we
can kind of assign.
Speaker 2 (30:44):
You to a duty.
Speaker 9 (30:46):
But we do we have multiple events each week where
we need volunteers and it can be as simple as
helping us kind of clean up or set up or
pass out food and snacks if we've got them. A
world popular event that we are I'm doing every other
month right now is our Guys' Nights. We do girls'
Nights on the alternating months, but we want typical guys
(31:08):
and girls from our community to come hang out with
our people because those social interactions with people without disabilities
are really really important for them to gain confidence and
make new friends, make new friends like from different circles.
And so we would love volunteers for those two events
for sure, and.
Speaker 1 (31:27):
That is on Facebook and go fill out the volunteer
forum as well. And you know, I just want to
remind people it is November twenty first. It's four point
thirty and six thirty, is that right, Yes, sir, And
I was excited to hear the times. We've got the
state of the city at lunch, but I'm planning on
getting by there. Yeah, I'm going to try to get
(31:50):
by both of them because it's going to be a
fun time and I always enjoy the fellowship and getting
acquainted with all the people people that are there, whether
they're volunteers or just participants in the program.
Speaker 5 (32:05):
It's a great day.
Speaker 1 (32:06):
And Sarah, I just want to thank you for your
continuing contribution to Beaumont and Southeast Texas because your leadership
means so much.
Speaker 5 (32:16):
So thank you great much.
Speaker 9 (32:17):
Sure, thank you for being here for us, being here
for our people and listening to our concerns as well,
because it's important.
Speaker 5 (32:24):
Absolutely. Well, we'll talk again.
Speaker 2 (32:26):
Soon, all right, thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (32:30):
You're listening to the Roy West Show, and folks, you
can hear us every Sunday right here on News Talk
five sixty klv I, but you can hear us anytime
on the free iHeartRadio app We're podcast and also on
Spotify and all those platforms. And I love my job
on the radio because I get to talk to people
(32:51):
across the community, inform people about things that are going
on in their own backyard that oftentimes they may not
be aware of or they only know a part of.
And I have recy Goodman with me and she is
with communities in schools of Southeast Texas.
Speaker 5 (33:09):
Welcome to the show today.
Speaker 8 (33:11):
Thanks for having me.
Speaker 5 (33:13):
It's a pleasure.
Speaker 1 (33:14):
And everybody, I mean, my kids are all grown, but
I have grandkids that are in school. And if you
don't have kids, and you don't have grandkids, you were
a kid, and you certainly know kids and education is
so important. And yet in this time there are so
many challenges and so many needs that are additional that
(33:37):
you know may have been there, but not to the
degree that they were.
Speaker 5 (33:42):
You know, twenty thirty, forty years.
Speaker 1 (33:44):
Ago, and so schools have constantly tried to figure out
better ways to meet those needs and communities in schools.
Speaker 5 (33:54):
Southeast Texas is one of those ways. So tell people
a little.
Speaker 1 (33:57):
Bit about what communities in school of Southeast Texas is.
Speaker 2 (34:01):
Recent communities and schools.
Speaker 10 (34:04):
We're a nonprofit located here in Southeast Texas. We partner
with school districts and on campuses to serve students and
help students navigate the academic process, to help them remove
barriers that are preventing them from being successful in the classroom.
We've been doing this work here in Southeast Texas since
(34:26):
nineteen ninety one. We work with students that are considered
at rich students, dropout prone students, low income families, under
resource students, but in all actuality, we work with all students.
If there is a need on campus, unmet need on campus,
and communities in schools, we're called upon to help our
(34:47):
students and their families meet those needs well.
Speaker 1 (34:51):
And I suspect there can be different unique challenges because
you're each of the students is an individual and they
come from different families, and so you know, meeting those
needs and knowing where those resources are because I know,
serving in the city as mayor, you know, often the
(35:14):
last things you want to do is create or recreate
something that already exists and that's working. So you don't
want to duplicate services. But sometimes just learning where those
services are are putting people with those services can be
life changing and really make a difference in people's lives.
Speaker 10 (35:33):
Absolutely, we allow the educators on campus to focus on
educating our students communities in schools we're there. We have
a holistic student centered approach focusing on addressing the various
barriers that students face in and out of the classroom.
We implement a range of programs and services designed to
(35:54):
support students academic success. We consider those services integrated Students support,
mental and behavior health, academic enhancement, health and wellness services,
parental and family engagement, attendance and re engagement for our
students as well. What we find often is that society
(36:14):
expects students to show up, attend school and learn, but
often students are faced with so many barriers to success.
Expectations often conflict with the realities of the issues that
our students face today. Those issues can be as simple
as basic needs, uniforms, clothing, belts, food, whatever that issue
(36:38):
may be. But it can also be as extreme as
students needing severe mental health services. And so we provide
those basic needs, those resources, and we also provide licensed
mental health professionals that work with our students on campus
during the day at no cost to the students and
(36:58):
the families.
Speaker 5 (37:00):
Well, where do y'all provide that?
Speaker 10 (37:04):
We provide those services in seven school districts here in
Southeast Texas. We work with Beaumont Independent School District, Port
Arthur Independent School District, Jasper Niederland to Care, charter schools,
Bider Independent School districts. We work with those seven school
districts and we devise a plan to help the school
(37:26):
districts navigate the needed resources for the students, and we
navigate and then we're able to provide those students those
resources to those students. Some of the berries, like I said,
it's basic needs, but oftentimes it's attendance.
Speaker 2 (37:42):
We look at the family that may not have a car.
Speaker 10 (37:44):
To get a student to school in case here she
missed the bus, and so we work closely with our
school campus leadership to make sure we devise the right
plan for the right campus and the students and families
in those communities.
Speaker 1 (38:00):
Well, I know that y'all make a big difference here
in Beaumont and in Beaumont Independent School District and so
and I've gotten to see some of your people at work,
and you know, that was one reason I wanted to
highlight this because oftentimes people are looking at you know,
how what can I do? And and I'm also encouraging people. Hey,
(38:22):
you know, if you want a better Beaumont or whatever
community you're in, get plugged in. And oftentimes through the
schools is a great way to get plugged in, and
not always is that necessarily through the actual school district,
like in some cases where communities and schools of Southeast
Texas exist. Y'all are a charitable organization, so y'all, y'all
(38:46):
need funding. Y'all need volunteers at times. So if if
somebody's interested in that, how would they go about getting
with you?
Speaker 5 (38:56):
Thank you?
Speaker 10 (38:56):
Contact us, reach us on our website at see set
dot org. There's also if financial funding if they want
to donate to communities and schools, there's a button that
they can hit donate now. If they want to volunteer
or ask questions. They could submit questions or information on
(39:17):
our website as well, or they can contact us at
for zero nine nine five one, eighteen ten. We're always
looking for support from our community, whether it's volunteering or
financial support. So however anyone can contribute and help our
organization meet the needs of the students, we welcome that well.
Speaker 1 (39:38):
And for those that might be parents are grandparents that
have kids in public school and they're having some challenges
that they're not sure how to navigate, can they reach
out directly to communities and schools to see if y'all
might be able to, you know, point them in.
Speaker 5 (39:58):
A direction of resources.
Speaker 10 (40:00):
Absolutely, if we are on their campus, they can reach
out to their campus leadership and identify our counselors that
we have on campus, or they can call us directly.
We are in seven school districts, so most likely we
are in a school near you, and so if there
is a need, ask your campus leadership or someone on
(40:21):
your campus. If there is a community's in schools. If not,
then they can contact us directly at our administrative offices
at four zero nine nine point one, eighteen ten.
Speaker 5 (40:33):
Well, thank you so much and I appreciate you. We're
out of time.
Speaker 8 (40:37):
Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (40:39):
We are back and we are wrapping up the Roy
West Show here on News Talk.
Speaker 5 (40:43):
Five sixty KLV.
Speaker 1 (40:45):
And remember, folks, if you missed any part of this
show or any of our shows, you can always download
the free iHeartRadio app and check out our podcasts because
all our shows that are heard every Sunday from noon
to one pm are also podcasts through iHeart, Spotify and
all those platforms. Today we began with Deacon Fred Lamone
(41:07):
with Catholic Charities talking about Harvest of Hope that is
happening November seventh right around the corner at the Holiday
Inn Walden Road, great fundraiser.
Speaker 5 (41:18):
Everybody needs to.
Speaker 1 (41:19):
Check that out.
Speaker 5 (41:20):
Then I was talking to La.
Speaker 1 (41:23):
Shawn Egland with Bid talking about the Still Night that
is also at Doggett Park Doggett Park October thirtieth. Folks,
this is a great thing to bring your kids or
grandkids to. There'll be exon Nobile and other partners.
Speaker 5 (41:38):
L T. Lamar also out there.
Speaker 1 (41:41):
It's a lot of fun at showing how steam is
so interactive with our youth and how important in a
major role at place in our day to day life,
which is science, technology, engineering, and math. Then Sarah Harden
with Thanksgiving lunch event that is happening with the Arc
of Greater Boma that is coming up on Thursday, November twenty. First,
(42:03):
we need to be sure to check that out. And
then I wrap fans up with recy Goodman with Communities
and Schools of Southeast Texas, the great organization that serves
multiple school districts but also here with the ISD and
they meet the needs of students that are beyond their
educational needs. That whether they're having emotional or mental health issues,
(42:27):
are you know, going through something in life, parents, divorce, separation,
are death, or anything else, they're there to help and folks,
until we talk again, God bless you all,
We are back with the Roy West Show here on
News Talk five sixty KLV. Folks, it is so fun
getting to talk to people that are making such an
impact across Southeast Texas. Deacon Fred is back on the
show with Catholic Charities and Catholic Charities, y'all do an
incredible job, Deacon Fred, and I just I want to
(00:23):
commend you on the impact that you make, not just
in Jefferson County and Boma, but I think it's about
an eight county area and where your ministries extend, and
you've got a big event right around the corner that
people need to know about and they need to participate in.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
Absolutely want to start off by just thanking you for
given not only Catholic Charities, but all the other the
folks in our community who are doing this work and
beyond just this platform to be able to share the
work that we're doing. It is of great support to us,
and thank you for allowing us to be able to
(01:04):
come on and share this with yourself, but with all
your listeners.
Speaker 4 (01:09):
Yes we are. We're right on.
Speaker 3 (01:13):
The doorstep of our twenty second annual Harvest of Hope.
It is one of our two main fundraisers that we have,
the other being Breakfast with Bishop that we have in
the spring, and we're happy to announce kind of a
really unique one this year, and that is we are
(01:33):
going to have we sometimes have two honorees, but this
year we're going to honor two sisters and those sisters
are Alison Kayker and Michelle Smith. And what's fun about
that is not only the work that they do and
what they mean to our community, but we're going to
our program this year. We've kind of taken a spin
(01:56):
off of that and we're going to have the program
be the Singing Sisters.
Speaker 4 (02:01):
It's it's a play.
Speaker 3 (02:03):
On the nineteen ninety two film Sister Act that was
so popular even with the sequel that came out, and
so it's gonna be great fun.
Speaker 4 (02:14):
And so we're going to actually have.
Speaker 3 (02:17):
Some of our nuns from our diocese are going to
be singing. They're gonna have us so and we're gonna
have some others that are going to be participating, and
so it's gonna be big fun.
Speaker 4 (02:28):
We're looking forward to that event.
Speaker 1 (02:30):
And that is coming up on Thursday, November seventh, So
it's it's right around the corner and it is at
the Holiday Inn over on Walden Road, and this is
this is a huge event and it's certainly as I
can attest to. You know, this is the Catholic Church,
(02:50):
but it's also the Catholic with the Little Sea too
in terms of it's universal. The work is done for
everybody in this eight county area. So this fun or
is county wide, well area wide obviously, and it's so
important and you it's it's a lot of fun and
you get to see people that uh I oftentimes don't
(03:12):
get to see because just life is the busyness of life.
So it's always fun to attend. But it's the money
is you're given where you live. I mean this stay
is right.
Speaker 3 (03:22):
Here, yes it does, and it's it's.
Speaker 4 (03:28):
It really is. You know.
Speaker 3 (03:30):
I've been with Catholic Charities, fortunate to have been with
Catholic Charities now for about a year and a half, Mayor,
and it's really been good to see how this money
is used and how it's then turned into resources for
those in our communities who need.
Speaker 4 (03:49):
It, because I know that's very important.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
When people give, it's important to know where those funds
go and how they then go from you know, from
from their personal finances into an agency like Catholic Charities
and many others, and then how that manifests itself into
services for the folks in our community who are in need.
(04:14):
And so it is very much that we are able
to serve those in Jefferson County and Orange Chambers, Liberty,
many more around. Our footprint is actually the same as
the Diocese of Beaumont, and so those overlay are quite
neatly and so it is through these funds that we're
(04:36):
able then to serve all those who come to us
each day.
Speaker 1 (04:41):
Actually, and these are I've got the press release in
front of me, and you know, these services are something
that oftentimes, if they weren't provided by Catholic Charities, they
would be services that go unmet. These are important services
(05:02):
that are available to everybody. And I know the counseling services,
both in English and in Spanish. Mental health and emotional
support is difficult to come by, and you know y'all
provide that, and you know, I think that's incredible. Also
(05:22):
Elijah's Place, which is grief support for children ages five
to eighteen who've experienced the death of a sibling or
a parent. And again this is something that happens too often,
but oftentimes it's just not on the radar of everybody
in terms of how these young people's needs are going
to be met. And yet Catholic Charities stepping in. What
(05:43):
are some of the other services?
Speaker 4 (05:46):
Yeah we have, Yeah, we have six programs.
Speaker 3 (05:50):
Now we actually have a seventh one that I'll touch
on maybe briefly here in a minute. But you mentioned
some of our great programs, and I'm so happy that
you did, Mayor, because these are programs sometimes they fly
under the maybe the radar of people, you know, who
know that we do that work, but also for the
(06:12):
people who actually need services like that that may not
know that they exist in our community. And so that
is one of the great benefits to this program that
it lets those who need these services, maybe through directly
or indirectly through someone who has listened to your program,
to be able to come to us. In Elijah's Place
(06:34):
is one that it always comes to mind for me
when we have these things, because when I came to
Catholic Charities, you know, I live out in Liberty County,
so I was a little bit away, but I did
not know Elijah's Place or of it until I arrived
here my wife did. I asked her when I got home,
I said, do you know Elijah's place? She said, yes,
(06:56):
she did, but I had missed it. And so it
is that program that you articulated so very well that
helps the little ones that come to us that are
struggling with this grief that's kind of unimaginable. Maybe it's
their brother or sister who they shared a room with
who's no longer there that they have to deal with.
(07:16):
Maybe it's their parent, their mother at a young tender
age that is no longer there, through sickness, tragedy, any
number of things that would have them be absent now.
And to come to a place where others are experiencing
and going through that same thing is really really been
(07:37):
in the stories that you hear.
Speaker 4 (07:38):
From them just well, when you're around them, you just
want to be around them.
Speaker 3 (07:42):
But so there are those you know, we have, of
course market to Hope, which we feed through the through
the resources and donations that we get from the community,
we're able to offer food to those in need.
Speaker 4 (07:56):
Counseling you touched on counseling is very important.
Speaker 3 (07:59):
It's one of those things that we don't talk about
a lot because there's still a little different relationship to
that sometimes, but it is so very necessary for those
who need it. We have a program called Home Matters,
and that Home Matters program has two services. One service
is financial services for people who may need some budgeting help,
(08:22):
maybe help with the first time home buyer. We offer
some courses around that. But the other side of that
under Home Matters is individuals who are struggling to pay
the rent or utility bills. Life has dealt them an
uncertain event and as a results, they've been presented with
some challenges and so we have that service that we
(08:46):
offer them as well. Many people know the Hospitality Center
in Port Arthur. It is such a great place and
we feed probably there one hundred and thirty individuals a day,
a hot meal every day, so they come there to
(09:07):
get nourishment in that hospitality center is open.
Speaker 4 (09:11):
Three hundred and sixty five days of year.
Speaker 3 (09:13):
So you know, if anybody wants to participate of any
any of these things bring true to individuals, we'd love
for them to participate. I'll add the other program I'll
highlight is our Immigration Services mayor That one is misunderstood
quite often with some of the things you hear from
(09:34):
time to time about immigration. But what we we are
proud that we are the only nonprofit organization in the
region that's fully accredited through the Department of Justice, and
we have accredited representatives on our staff that are highly,
highly trained and skilled in this through the Department of Justice.
(09:56):
And so we provide that legal path to to citizenship
that so many immigrants need from all over the world
that they come to us and we're able to assist
them with that.
Speaker 5 (10:12):
Well, we are about out of town.
Speaker 6 (10:14):
I want to wrap things up by letting people know
that how can they get tickets and our make donations
for the upcoming twenty second Harvest of Hope that is happening.
Speaker 1 (10:26):
On Thursday, November seventh at holiday in on Walden Road.
Speaker 4 (10:35):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (10:35):
Absolutely, Mary, Yeah, we would love for everyone to participate.
Speaker 4 (10:38):
Come out and participate.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
Everyone, come see our wonderful nuns singing and putting on
this great presentation for us. Another little fun fact, the
Monsignor Kelly High School Choir will be there with us
backing up the nuns, so it'll be a treat to
have them on stage with our nuns.
Speaker 4 (11:02):
It'll be big fun. So come out and participate.
Speaker 3 (11:05):
Probably the simplest nown Mayor, as we get closer to
the event to call into Catholic Charities. You can call
directly to Colton Morris four zero nine nine.
Speaker 4 (11:16):
Two four four four two one and.
Speaker 7 (11:20):
He will assist you with a table if you'd like
to sponsor a table. We certainly have individual tickets as well,
but you can go online. The people will quite often
ask if there's an online option.
Speaker 3 (11:34):
There is, UH, but if you go there, it's important
that you then specifically that you specifically target the Harvest
of Hope program. But if you want to go online,
you can still call Colton or walk you right through
that process.
Speaker 4 (11:49):
UH, and we can help you any way we can
to have you participate.
Speaker 3 (11:53):
We'd love to invite everyone to come and participate with us.
Speaker 5 (11:58):
Well, we are out of time. Thank you so much,
Diacon Fred.
Speaker 1 (12:00):
Another great event happening, and folks, I know we'll show
up here in southeast Texas.
Speaker 5 (12:06):
Thank you so much, Thank you, Mayor Gunn.
Speaker 1 (12:11):
We are back with the Roy West Show here on
News Talk five sixty k LV, and again people, I
have so much fun doing this show because I get
to talk to some outstanding people that are having some
incredible events and le Chandra Cobb Eglan is the bid
(12:33):
STEM coordinator and there is the STEM Night at Doggett
Park previously known as Ford Park out there, and last
year we were talking before we went on there. I
went out there for the event and I was blown
away because I thought there must be a concert going
on because there were so many cars.
Speaker 8 (12:54):
Yes, it was a nice surprise, big deal. We actually
had a line wrapped around the building before we even
opened the doors, and so I believe everyone from the
time they entered to the time they left had a
very good time. And so our goal this year is
(13:16):
to make it even bigger and better than last year.
Speaker 1 (13:19):
Well and tell people, you know, let's talk about what
STEM education is because here in Southeast Texas, this is
our workforce and oftentimes people don't understand all the different
opportunities that are available to them and how much fun
it is, and whether it's in the process operating field
(13:41):
or whether it's in the engineering field or all the
other sites and math related fields. And this is a
chance to pu some hands on and and you have
some great sponsors that are participants and.
Speaker 5 (13:55):
It is a fun night.
Speaker 8 (13:57):
Yes, I like to say STEM is everywhere because it
is even when you're not realizing it. One of the
things I like to give an example of is the
simple trash can. You know, earlier technology, of course, you
know you had to manually open the trash can to
throw away your trash. Now you can just wave your
(14:18):
hand over the lid and it'll open by itself. That's STEM.
Or even turning on a faucet, you just wave across
it because it's motion sensored.
Speaker 5 (14:28):
That's STICK.
Speaker 8 (14:29):
You know, you walk into a into a build, a classroom,
or a room, the lights come on, that's that's STEM
and so. And now we're moving towards an era of robotics,
you know where robots are everywhere. Just something as simple
as cleaning your floor. You just program it and it
maps out your uh, your entire home, and you can
(14:52):
set it on a timer. And that's STEM and so.
Even in the industrial workforce, you know, they're using robot
arms and robotic dogs to go in places that men
can't go. But someone has to has to program it,
someone has to repair it, and someone has to always
(15:16):
improve it. And that's what STEM is. It's being innovated
to take today's issues and probably tomorrow's issues that we're
not even thinking about and trying to solve them in
a new innovative way.
Speaker 1 (15:31):
Well, that's absolutely true, and I know that you know,
I'm a good bit older than you, but you know,
they're oftentimes what people are going to school for today.
You know, it's learning how to learn, learning specific fils
because technology information education is changing quickly, and there are
(15:53):
so many careers that didn't even exist and careers that
did exist when I began my career, many of those don't.
So life's full of transitions, but uh, and we don't
even know about all of them that will be made
as we sit here doing an online interview and looking
at one another. But UH with our but all of
(16:14):
this comes from UH technology advancements. And one thing we're
so privileged here in Southeast Texas having such a huge
petrochemical UH area, is there are so many related jobs,
but like you said, you're not limited to that. You
could end up working in some completely unrelated something to petrochemical.
Speaker 5 (16:37):
But using that chemical.
Speaker 1 (16:38):
Engineer or that process operating experience that you have, that
you're able to.
Speaker 8 (16:44):
Apply exactly exactly.
Speaker 1 (16:47):
And I know part of this is to help kids
understand that, you know, these jobs can be fun but
how important it is, how how learning is fun and
and getting the taste of that because for some reason
sometimes the idea of learning and reading can be seen
as boring. But the truth is that when you get
(17:08):
exposed to the right thing, it could be very stimulating
and sometimes you just can't get enough of it.
Speaker 8 (17:13):
And that's the key when you said very stimulating in
STEM is because what makes a difference between sitting in
a classroom and hearing a professor teacher talk and you know,
sit and get this is hands on. So they're learning
through hands on activities, actually learning about a certain problem
(17:36):
and having to use their their brains, their hands, leadership skills,
communication skills, put all those things together to actually come
up with a tangible project, a product that they can see.
So they they start with brainstorming and then trying to
(17:58):
decide on what materials they're going to use to solve
this problem and then create it and then test it out,
so they're actually going through the engineering process and then
once testing it out, how can they make that product better?
And so in all fields, that is the process of improvement.
Speaker 1 (18:19):
Well, and this is what true collaboration is and for
you to have success and whether you know.
Speaker 5 (18:26):
And then and this applies to all fields, and it's
certainly across schools, but.
Speaker 1 (18:33):
Being able to engage kids and that's what I know
the STEM Night is all about, is uh you know,
because how young? I mean who's invited to the STEM Night.
Speaker 8 (18:44):
Everyone is invited from pre K all the way up
to adulthood. And so with pre K they get to
start discovering uh activities that that maybe they can see
themselves in. And what this unique is that the activities
start with pre K and go all the way up
(19:06):
until industry. So, for instance, if you take the VRS,
Career Center will be doing a exploration with the VRS
taking students through technology the timeline of technology. But then
they can go to X on mobile table and they'll
put on VRS to get a sample training. You have
(19:28):
TMAC that will have VRS that will be demonstrating a
semiconductor so they can get that relationship between them and
the elementary will have robotics there, so will the middle school,
so will the high school, and so will the colleges,
so that they can see themselves throughout the entire timeline
(19:50):
of education. And then go to a business booth and
see how all those things they learned is transferred into a.
Speaker 1 (19:58):
Career well, and I know that last year. And one
reason I love going to it is because it is
the entire community coming together and it also has a
lot of hope about the future of tomorrow. We live
in a time where oftentimes we're talking about what's wrong,
but there is so much right. And when you go
(20:19):
to night's like this, you're getting to see all the
young people that are interested, engaged and couraged. There's lines
waiting to participate, there's parents bringing these kids here, There's
all these educators and industry partners that are there showing
up for.
Speaker 5 (20:38):
The kids, and it is It.
Speaker 1 (20:41):
Is a beautiful site in Beaumont because it means that
there is huge opportunity here and part of it is
just getting plugged in and exposing yourself to that. And
I just want to applaud b ISD across the board
for how well you engage with the community and offer
these community events, because kids that may not go to
(21:03):
BID are still going to be at this STEM night.
Speaker 8 (21:06):
Yes, everyone is invited.
Speaker 1 (21:07):
Everyone Well, I just want to say that I know
I'll be there because I enjoy it and love to
see our community come together and love to see kids
having so much fun and engaged in education. And oftentimes
if you ask them how do you like being engaged
in education here, they'd say what what are you talking about?
(21:32):
And that's the idea behind it. And so this is
out at Ford Park. It is October thirtieth, and what
day of the week is that?
Speaker 8 (21:41):
That is on a Wednesday. Everyone will need a ticket.
The ticket is free if they go to event Bright
and type in Beaumonte is is DX on mobile stem night,
it'll pop up and all they have to do is
register for a ticket and we will be scanning tickets
at the door.
Speaker 1 (22:00):
Well, folks, I want to look forward to seeing you there.
I know it's going to be a great night. Make
sure you get your tickets and bring your kiddos out,
are your grandkids or just go and see it yourself.
Speaker 5 (22:11):
Yes, thank you so much.
Speaker 8 (22:12):
From five to eight thirty.
Speaker 5 (22:15):
Five to eight thirty, we'll see you then.
Speaker 8 (22:17):
All right, see you there.
Speaker 1 (22:23):
We are back with the Roy West Show here on
News Talk five sixty KLV. And folks, I love getting
to do this radio show because I get to talk
to all the cool people in town doing all the
cool things.
Speaker 5 (22:36):
And Sarah Harden.
Speaker 1 (22:38):
With the Arc of Greater Bauma falls in that category
big time. The Ark of Greater Bama is incredible for
people that are unfamiliar with it. Let's talk about what
the Arc of Greater Beaumont is.
Speaker 9 (22:51):
Okay, So, the Ark of Greater Beaumont is a nonprofit
here in our community that serves adults and children with
disabilities in their families. We offer a whole range of
social and support events that anybody can come to that
has a disability here in our area. We don't just
serve people in Beaumont. We've got people that come from
(23:14):
as far as Jasper sometimes, but Winny, orange Bridge City,
all over the place, and we do a lot of
just fun stuff up here that really just give our
our adults and kids with disabilities a chance to hang
out with their peers and get some good support and
(23:34):
work on socialization skills and everything.
Speaker 2 (23:37):
It's it's a it's a fun place to be up
here at the ARC.
Speaker 1 (23:41):
Well, and I've had the pleasure to be there many
times for different events and it is a great community
UH program that offers so much to all the participants
and it's a joyous place to go and certainly families
and UH and and it's unique because there's problem, are
(24:02):
there any other places similar to this in Southeast Texas?
Speaker 9 (24:06):
There are places that have some social stuff I wouldn't
say on the same scale is what we do here.
Speaker 2 (24:14):
And also we don't charge for any of the services
that we provide. So that's why it's.
Speaker 9 (24:18):
So important for our community to come out and support
us when we have our fundraisers. When you have some
extra money hanging out in your bank account, put somewhere
to go to a to go to good use. We're
a good spot for that too. But yeah, we we
do really provide kind of unduplicated services for certain things
in our area for a population of people that live
(24:41):
on very limited incomes already. And so we are we
are kind of different from other organizations here that kind
of serve the same population of people, but just in
a little bit different way.
Speaker 1 (24:52):
Well, we want to make sure people know how to
give and also how to volunteer. But we've got a
big event coming up right around the corner that everybody celebrates,
but not everybody don't celebrate it on this same day,
So we're looking for volunteers and always financial supporters.
Speaker 5 (25:10):
Yep.
Speaker 9 (25:10):
Okay, So one of our big I would say it's
probably one of our favorite staff wise events. And a
lot of the people that come to our events is
our Thanksgiving feast. It happens every November, and a lot
of our people don't live with their families, they live
in group homes, or they don't have a lot of
(25:32):
family around, and so this is our way of giving
them that traditional, typical Thanksgiving feast experience. We hold two
different sessions. We have an early one in a four
point thirty and then a six o'clock one so that
we can get more of our people in here and
give them all the opportunity to come share a good
(25:52):
meal together with their friends and just kind of celebrate,
celebrate Thanksgiving, to be thankful for what they've got, to
be thankful for each other, and you know, we get
to be thankful for our community that supports us that
day as well.
Speaker 5 (26:07):
Well.
Speaker 1 (26:07):
And you know, this is something that I believe in,
given where you live, and this is something that doesn't
cost you money to go up there and volunteer. And
like you say, on that day, you need a lot
of volunteers. And I will let people know they're going
to be blessed a lot more than they're going to
be doing the blessing. And it is certainly a you know,
(26:29):
uh it is. It is a blessing to serve others.
But this is a community that is so grateful and
uh it is you said, some of them don't have
a traditional family available to them, So the Ark of
Greater Roma is a family and uh and so it's
and it's an important time for everybody that participates.
Speaker 9 (26:52):
Yeah, and our volunteers really, like you said, they do get.
Speaker 2 (26:55):
A lot out of it.
Speaker 9 (26:56):
You know, they number one, gain a new appreciation and
how to be thankful for all of the blessings that
they have in their life. And they're blessing our people
so much by being here and serving them and celebrating them.
And one of the best things about volunteers coming up
here is seeing them interact with our people with disabilities
just like they would.
Speaker 2 (27:17):
Any other friend that they have.
Speaker 9 (27:18):
That means so much to our people and it's important
for their comfort with disability, I mean, with people with
disabilities to grow and you know, it just leads to
a better, more inclusive community.
Speaker 1 (27:32):
Well, and it's about socialization and that's exactly right. And
you know, and whenever I go, it blesses me. We
just recently had an event about voting and y'all brought
in an actual voting booth, which can be intimidating.
Speaker 5 (27:48):
And for people that hadn't voted.
Speaker 1 (27:49):
I'm not trying to scare anyway anybody from the polls,
because they're right around the corner and at the polls
they will help you.
Speaker 5 (27:56):
But it is electronic.
Speaker 2 (27:58):
It's going to be overwhelming, and it.
Speaker 1 (28:01):
Can be and they will certainly help you at the polls.
But this was something that I thought was so cool
because so many of the people that are apart haven't
voted before and maybe intimidated by the process as many
of us are. And you know, so you had some
people come in from some elected officials come in and
(28:21):
speak to them. But also it was a training time
as well, and every time is just as a time
of fellowship and gether Oh.
Speaker 9 (28:30):
And they had a blast. They had so much fun
doing that, and we were talking about it just the
other day.
Speaker 2 (28:36):
They were so.
Speaker 9 (28:36):
Proud of being able to put their votes in for
the made up candidates and stuff. But comfort levels on
voting actually did rise, So it was a good a
good day.
Speaker 1 (28:47):
Well, and you know, but y'all have activities every month,
and y'all got a great facility right over by Park
Delle Mill. I can't recall the street, but I know
right how to get there.
Speaker 5 (28:58):
Yep.
Speaker 9 (28:58):
We're forty three thirty West Lane right back behind cons
and we do.
Speaker 2 (29:03):
We've got a full schedule.
Speaker 9 (29:05):
We on average we probably have twelve to fifteen events
going on weekly between our book clubs and our art
classes and game nights, monthly meetings and stuff like that.
And the best place to find out the schedule of
our events is through our Facebook page. If you're on Facebook,
you can go to the arc or just search for
the Ark of Greater Beaumont and it'll pull it up.
(29:27):
Each event that we've got going on has an event
in there that you can go into, and often there's
a registration link and if you have any questions, they
can just call up here at the office and we'll
get you help, get you set up and make sure
you have all the information about whatever event it is
that you're interested in.
Speaker 1 (29:45):
Well, Sarah, you've got a passion for this and you
bring so much energy and this is a great place
to participate in. So whenever you have extra money you need,
you need to share this and and it is it
difficult to get on the volunteer list.
Speaker 9 (30:06):
So on our website w W W A, r C O,
F b MT dot org, like arcobaumint dot org, there
is a link right there where you can click on
and fill out a quick little volunteer application. It'll take
you to a quick little background check that you don't
have to pay for, just making sure that there's nothing
that we would be concerned with you being around our people.
(30:29):
And then you go onto a list and as we
need for volunteer need volunteers, you can do that, or
you can simply call up here at the office and
one of us will say, hey, this is what we've
got going on this week or coming up, and we
think you would be helpful in this spot, so we
can kind of assign.
Speaker 2 (30:44):
You to a duty.
Speaker 9 (30:46):
But we do we have multiple events each week where
we need volunteers and it can be as simple as
helping us kind of clean up or set up or
pass out food and snacks if we've got them. A
world popular event that we are I'm doing every other
month right now is our Guys' Nights. We do girls'
Nights on the alternating months, but we want typical guys
(31:08):
and girls from our community to come hang out with
our people because those social interactions with people without disabilities
are really really important for them to gain confidence and
make new friends, make new friends like from different circles.
And so we would love volunteers for those two events
for sure, and.
Speaker 1 (31:27):
That is on Facebook and go fill out the volunteer
forum as well. And you know, I just want to
remind people it is November twenty first. It's four point
thirty and six thirty, is that right, Yes, sir, And
I was excited to hear the times. We've got the
state of the city at lunch, but I'm planning on
getting by there. Yeah, I'm going to try to get
(31:50):
by both of them because it's going to be a
fun time and I always enjoy the fellowship and getting
acquainted with all the people people that are there, whether
they're volunteers or just participants in the program.
Speaker 5 (32:05):
It's a great day.
Speaker 1 (32:06):
And Sarah, I just want to thank you for your
continuing contribution to Beaumont and Southeast Texas because your leadership
means so much.
Speaker 5 (32:16):
So thank you great much.
Speaker 9 (32:17):
Sure, thank you for being here for us, being here
for our people and listening to our concerns as well,
because it's important.
Speaker 5 (32:24):
Absolutely. Well, we'll talk again.
Speaker 2 (32:26):
Soon, all right, thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (32:30):
You're listening to the Roy West Show, and folks, you
can hear us every Sunday right here on News Talk
five sixty klv I, but you can hear us anytime
on the free iHeartRadio app We're podcast and also on
Spotify and all those platforms. And I love my job
on the radio because I get to talk to people
(32:51):
across the community, inform people about things that are going
on in their own backyard that oftentimes they may not
be aware of or they only know a part of.
And I have recy Goodman with me and she is
with communities in schools of Southeast Texas.
Speaker 5 (33:09):
Welcome to the show today.
Speaker 8 (33:11):
Thanks for having me.
Speaker 5 (33:13):
It's a pleasure.
Speaker 1 (33:14):
And everybody, I mean, my kids are all grown, but
I have grandkids that are in school. And if you
don't have kids, and you don't have grandkids, you were
a kid, and you certainly know kids and education is
so important. And yet in this time there are so
many challenges and so many needs that are additional that
(33:37):
you know may have been there, but not to the
degree that they were.
Speaker 5 (33:42):
You know, twenty thirty, forty years.
Speaker 1 (33:44):
Ago, and so schools have constantly tried to figure out
better ways to meet those needs and communities in schools.
Speaker 5 (33:54):
Southeast Texas is one of those ways. So tell people
a little.
Speaker 1 (33:57):
Bit about what communities in school of Southeast Texas is.
Speaker 2 (34:01):
Recent communities and schools.
Speaker 10 (34:04):
We're a nonprofit located here in Southeast Texas. We partner
with school districts and on campuses to serve students and
help students navigate the academic process, to help them remove
barriers that are preventing them from being successful in the classroom.
We've been doing this work here in Southeast Texas since
(34:26):
nineteen ninety one. We work with students that are considered
at rich students, dropout prone students, low income families, under
resource students, but in all actuality, we work with all students.
If there is a need on campus, unmet need on campus,
and communities in schools, we're called upon to help our
(34:47):
students and their families meet those needs well.
Speaker 1 (34:51):
And I suspect there can be different unique challenges because
you're each of the students is an individual and they
come from different families, and so you know, meeting those
needs and knowing where those resources are because I know,
serving in the city as mayor, you know, often the
(35:14):
last things you want to do is create or recreate
something that already exists and that's working. So you don't
want to duplicate services. But sometimes just learning where those
services are are putting people with those services can be
life changing and really make a difference in people's lives.
Speaker 10 (35:33):
Absolutely, we allow the educators on campus to focus on
educating our students communities in schools we're there. We have
a holistic student centered approach focusing on addressing the various
barriers that students face in and out of the classroom.
We implement a range of programs and services designed to
(35:54):
support students academic success. We consider those services integrated Students support,
mental and behavior health, academic enhancement, health and wellness services,
parental and family engagement, attendance and re engagement for our
students as well. What we find often is that society
(36:14):
expects students to show up, attend school and learn, but
often students are faced with so many barriers to success.
Expectations often conflict with the realities of the issues that
our students face today. Those issues can be as simple
as basic needs, uniforms, clothing, belts, food, whatever that issue
(36:38):
may be. But it can also be as extreme as
students needing severe mental health services. And so we provide
those basic needs, those resources, and we also provide licensed
mental health professionals that work with our students on campus
during the day at no cost to the students and
(36:58):
the families.
Speaker 5 (37:00):
Well, where do y'all provide that?
Speaker 10 (37:04):
We provide those services in seven school districts here in
Southeast Texas. We work with Beaumont Independent School District, Port
Arthur Independent School District, Jasper Niederland to Care, charter schools,
Bider Independent School districts. We work with those seven school
districts and we devise a plan to help the school
(37:26):
districts navigate the needed resources for the students, and we
navigate and then we're able to provide those students those
resources to those students. Some of the berries, like I said,
it's basic needs, but oftentimes it's attendance.
Speaker 2 (37:42):
We look at the family that may not have a car.
Speaker 10 (37:44):
To get a student to school in case here she
missed the bus, and so we work closely with our
school campus leadership to make sure we devise the right
plan for the right campus and the students and families
in those communities.
Speaker 1 (38:00):
Well, I know that y'all make a big difference here
in Beaumont and in Beaumont Independent School District and so
and I've gotten to see some of your people at work,
and you know, that was one reason I wanted to
highlight this because oftentimes people are looking at you know,
how what can I do? And and I'm also encouraging people. Hey,
(38:22):
you know, if you want a better Beaumont or whatever
community you're in, get plugged in. And oftentimes through the
schools is a great way to get plugged in, and
not always is that necessarily through the actual school district,
like in some cases where communities and schools of Southeast
Texas exist. Y'all are a charitable organization, so y'all, y'all
(38:46):
need funding. Y'all need volunteers at times. So if if
somebody's interested in that, how would they go about getting
with you?
Speaker 5 (38:56):
Thank you?
Speaker 10 (38:56):
Contact us, reach us on our website at see set
dot org. There's also if financial funding if they want
to donate to communities and schools, there's a button that
they can hit donate now. If they want to volunteer
or ask questions. They could submit questions or information on
(39:17):
our website as well, or they can contact us at
for zero nine nine five one, eighteen ten. We're always
looking for support from our community, whether it's volunteering or
financial support. So however anyone can contribute and help our
organization meet the needs of the students, we welcome that well.
Speaker 1 (39:38):
And for those that might be parents are grandparents that
have kids in public school and they're having some challenges
that they're not sure how to navigate, can they reach
out directly to communities and schools to see if y'all
might be able to, you know, point them in.
Speaker 5 (39:58):
A direction of resources.
Speaker 10 (40:00):
Absolutely, if we are on their campus, they can reach
out to their campus leadership and identify our counselors that
we have on campus, or they can call us directly.
We are in seven school districts, so most likely we
are in a school near you, and so if there
is a need, ask your campus leadership or someone on
(40:21):
your campus. If there is a community's in schools. If not,
then they can contact us directly at our administrative offices
at four zero nine nine point one, eighteen ten.
Speaker 5 (40:33):
Well, thank you so much and I appreciate you. We're
out of time.
Speaker 8 (40:37):
Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (40:39):
We are back and we are wrapping up the Roy
West Show here on News Talk.
Speaker 5 (40:43):
Five sixty KLV.
Speaker 1 (40:45):
And remember, folks, if you missed any part of this
show or any of our shows, you can always download
the free iHeartRadio app and check out our podcasts because
all our shows that are heard every Sunday from noon
to one pm are also podcasts through iHeart, Spotify and
all those platforms. Today we began with Deacon Fred Lamone
(41:07):
with Catholic Charities talking about Harvest of Hope that is
happening November seventh right around the corner at the Holiday
Inn Walden Road, great fundraiser.
Speaker 5 (41:18):
Everybody needs to.
Speaker 1 (41:19):
Check that out.
Speaker 5 (41:20):
Then I was talking to La.
Speaker 1 (41:23):
Shawn Egland with Bid talking about the Still Night that
is also at Doggett Park Doggett Park October thirtieth. Folks,
this is a great thing to bring your kids or
grandkids to. There'll be exon Nobile and other partners.
Speaker 5 (41:38):
L T. Lamar also out there.
Speaker 1 (41:41):
It's a lot of fun at showing how steam is
so interactive with our youth and how important in a
major role at place in our day to day life,
which is science, technology, engineering, and math. Then Sarah Harden
with Thanksgiving lunch event that is happening with the Arc
of Greater Boma that is coming up on Thursday, November twenty. First,
(42:03):
we need to be sure to check that out. And
then I wrap fans up with recy Goodman with Communities
and Schools of Southeast Texas, the great organization that serves
multiple school districts but also here with the ISD and
they meet the needs of students that are beyond their
educational needs. That whether they're having emotional or mental health issues,
(42:27):
are you know, going through something in life, parents, divorce, separation,
are death, or anything else, they're there to help and folks,
until we talk again, God bless you all,
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