March 12, 2025 • 48 mins
Lane and Fred speak with two special guests this episode, Integrity Home Exteriors and NAMI of Greater Toledo. Austin and Joe of Integrity speak about the importance of their faith in how they do business and deal with clients. Marriah of NAMI stresses the importance of connection in regards to good mental health and the importance of community resources. Links are below.
Integrity Home Exteriors
NAMI of Greater Toledo
Integrity Home Exteriors
NAMI of Greater Toledo
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Welcome to a Heart for Business. I'm Fred Lafever and
along with Lane Months, President CEO the Better Business Bureau
of Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan, we'll highlight a local
business weekly. You'll discover why these small local business owners
have a passion for what they do and why the
(00:26):
Better Business Bureau has a Heart for Business. Now here's
Lane Months.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Thank you, Fred, and welcome every one of the fifth
episode of the BBB Heart for Business podcast. We're recording
today from the WSPD Studios. I call it our pod
Goblin Layer in Hensville, next to the fifth third Field
and the home of the Toledo Mud Hens, right in
the downtown of beautiful Toledo and a home of the
world famous mud Hens. I'm here today with Fred Leafever
(00:54):
of the Wallbridge. Lefever's Fred disclosed that yes, and Fred
is running the big board today and keeping me from
steering us into a podcast disaster. While I have, we hope,
we hope. While we're here, let me remind all of
our listeners to please like, follow, and subscribe us on
the BBB Facebook page. When you do that, Facebook takes
notice and they like that and it helps us drive
(01:16):
a bigger audience to the podcast. Not only will you
get notice of the podcast episodes before they drop, but
you will also get tons of great information from the
BBB from time to time about scams and the state
of the marketplace in northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan. And
if you'd like to be a guest, just reach out
by email to Podgoblin at toledobbb dot org. That's pod
(01:37):
Goblin at toledobbb dot org. We have two guests today,
as always, in the first segment is Integrity Home Exteriors.
I have with me Austin roll Later and Joe Altman
from Integrity. Good morning boys, good morning morning, Thanks for
having us. Who's going to be the lead today?
Speaker 1 (01:52):
Uh?
Speaker 3 (01:53):
Probably me.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
Hey, we'll leave it to Joe. Oh, the Joe's gonna
lost and you're gonna let Joe take command? Huh yeah,
I usually do.
Speaker 3 (01:59):
I have a larger It goes with the territory.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
Honestly, you would be the alpha. If we were in
the wilderness, I would do whatever you say. Because of
that beard, I'd be afraid to do otherwise.
Speaker 3 (02:08):
You know the power of the beard.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
Yes, the power of the beard. Well, good morning, welcome,
good afternoon, whoever's listening. Whenever you're listening, let's talk about
Integrity home mixteers, but also let's talk about roofing and
what customers consumers out there should be on the lookout for. Right, Yeah, absolutely.
So you guys are both pretty young, younger than Fred
and I anyway, that's not saying much, but you're there.
(02:30):
So tell me about how you came to be at
Integrity and how Integrity came into existence.
Speaker 4 (02:37):
Yeah, you want to start with the origin story.
Speaker 5 (02:39):
Yeah, So our owner, Adam Becker, he started the business
in two thousand, so he was doing roofing himself. He'd
kind of always been in the trades, started his own company,
and we've been here for this will be our twenty
fifth year as a company. So he started working out
of his basements back in the day, and then we
moved to a different and then now we're at the
(03:01):
location we are at now in South Toledo. I came
to work at the company. I've known Adam most of
my life, so we kind of always knew about his company. Actually,
my parents' roof was the first roof that Integrity ever
did twenty years ago, which is kind of a cool story.
But I started working here back in twenty twelve, worked
(03:23):
a few summers for him doing long cair and things
like that, and then I started with his project specialists,
going out to homes and meeting with customers back in
twenty seventeen.
Speaker 3 (03:34):
I believe. So I've been with the company ever since.
Speaker 1 (03:37):
So let me cause you don't look that young or
that old. You're somewhere in the middle. How old were
you when you started to work for Integrity then we
started work for you? Said, was Adam?
Speaker 3 (03:45):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (03:46):
So when I started working for Adam doing long care,
I believe I was sixteen o six.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
All right, So you didn't know where you were going
to end up at. You hadn't picked out a trade.
Nobody said what do you want to do for the
rest of your life? And you answered fireman.
Speaker 3 (03:59):
Right right.
Speaker 5 (04:00):
I just said I wanted to work with people. So
when I left and went to school for a few
years and then came back and got into kind of
the sales side of it, which I really enjoyed. So
I was actually in school to be a teacher.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
I was just going to ask, what did you go
to school for.
Speaker 3 (04:13):
I went to school to be a middle school history teacher.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
Wow, and you ended up putting up roofs in building.
Speaker 5 (04:19):
Things, right, So now I get to educate homeowners on roofs.
Speaker 3 (04:24):
And so what took you away?
Speaker 2 (04:26):
What was it about it that attracted you so much
to change? That's a big career change. Yeah, so why.
Speaker 5 (04:32):
So when So I was two weeks before my wedding
and I was working construction at the time, going to
school as well. And the construction job I was working,
they ran out of work, so I got laid off.
So I reached out to Integrity, applied for a sales
position there and I got I got an interview, and
then I told my fiance. I was like, hey, I
(04:53):
lost my job, but I got an interview, and then
I got a job before I told my father in law.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
So good plan. That's a very good plan.
Speaker 3 (05:01):
So I've always loved working with people.
Speaker 5 (05:04):
That's one of the things that drew me to education
was being able to talk to people, new and exciting things,
educating people. So I started in the sales department where
we go out, we educate homeowners. We meet with, you know,
three or four new people every single day, and I
just fell in love with it. I loved the company,
I loved what they did. I'd always been in construction
(05:25):
all through high school and different things, so I had
a good baby.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
You were always working with your hands and yeah, doing
some kind of skilled trades without really realizing. Is your
arc the same, Austin?
Speaker 2 (05:35):
My arc is.
Speaker 4 (05:37):
I didn't start when I was a seven like Joe did.
But I was hired an Integrity back in twenty nineteen.
And I'd always been in actually sales and marketing in
some former fashion and I was really excited to start
with Integrity because my previous positions, I frankly, they lacked
integrity unintended. So I was really happy to see that, hey,
(05:57):
you could really communicate with people really and actually help
people with the product they need, not just something like
you wanted them to buy. So I started up with
leading one of our marketing teams, starting that from the
ground up. And then the person who was our head
of marketing at the time, as well as Adam, moved
with their families over to Ireland about three years ago
(06:18):
for full time missions work and they started a church
over in Ireland.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
Adam.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
Adam planted that church over in Ireland, him and a
few other people from his church. Wow is he still there? Them?
Speaker 4 (06:30):
And their families that they lived there, so we see
them a few times a year, and he really needs
the business three us.
Speaker 3 (06:35):
Well we are. We have meetings with him every week.
Speaker 1 (06:37):
Yes, sure, yeah, that's what Zoom is for, of course, exactly.
Speaker 4 (06:42):
Yeah, you can endit that part. But yeah, so there
was for anyone who was faith based. We certainly are
and we don't shy away from that. It was pretty
clear that God was preparing me for a role to
help fill that brand, and our head of marketing at
the time was leaving because I had a heart to
really kind of grow in that positioned as well.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
So yeah, now you mentioned faith based and you don't
shy away from that, and there are other companies around
the area that do too. I think there's one called
Trinity Brothers. It does like glass, cubing windows and things
like that. Is that part of the marketing that you
are that way or does it just happen to come up,
you know, if people ask or as part of the pitch.
Speaker 5 (07:22):
So definitely, I think it's something that comes up a
little bit more just how we do business. So by
example then, yeah, by example, and you know, usually when
when you say, hey, you're faith based or something you
do get also get a little bit more, you know,
a light shined on you because it's like, okay, now
you have to hold up to a higher standard.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
Which that's absolutely true.
Speaker 5 (07:45):
When we're meeting with the homeowner, usually one of the
first things we go over is our foundation and our
core values. So we are a faith based company. You
don't have to be faith based to work there, but
our core values, which come from our foundation, are what
we want to promote, which is integrity, family, serving others
in the.
Speaker 3 (08:04):
Pursuit of elites.
Speaker 5 (08:06):
So that's more of what we speak more vocally about
and when we're bringing people on board, and how we
manage our employees and how we manage our projects is
through those core values.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
So the core values are always in front. Whether the
faith conversation comes up, it's just organic. It may come up,
it may not come up, but it's it underpins everything
that you use.
Speaker 5 (08:26):
That's what you're saying, Yeah, for our business, it's the
standard we behold ourselves to and it's where we've pulled
those values from.
Speaker 1 (08:33):
Well, and since Lane's here and he's ahead of the BBB,
how does that fit into what the BBB normally does?
Because you also have an ethics arm for the BBB.
Sounds like these guys fit right into what you guys
are looking for.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
Well, they fit in with for sure. And they're a
torch winner. So we've had a number of area they
won last year. Yeah, and we've had a number of
torch winners just by happenstance that have wanted to come
onto the podcast. I didn't target them, but they came
forward forward, and you're one of them. So yeah, you know,
I worked for a faith based construction businessman. It being
(09:06):
faith based? Uh does at times cost you money? That's okay,
you have to you have to make the right decision, right.
BBB is an agnostic organization. We're not We have no
political or religious leanings. We're not allowed to, we don't
want to. But we do care about the ethics and
so if that's what causes you to create a certain
(09:27):
ethical code and it fits with the BBB, then that's fantastic.
Speaker 1 (09:30):
Well I'm really curious since it came up from both
of you. Were you faith based before you got with
the company? Did you Did you have a background you know,
in church? Is that how you were brought up?
Speaker 4 (09:42):
Yes, that wasn't a part of our recruiting or hiring
process whatsoever. And it wasn't that anything that came up,
but yes it was.
Speaker 1 (09:49):
But it comes through everything you do then.
Speaker 5 (09:52):
Yeah, So I've was raised in the Christian home. I'm
actually I helped pastor a church currently with our manager,
me and him and another guy helped pastor church.
Speaker 2 (10:02):
Wow.
Speaker 5 (10:03):
So I was one of the things I did in
between working long care and coming into sales as I
was actually a missionary out in Oklahoma and Chicago a
few years. So obviously coming to work for a faith
based company was important to me. And I've worked for
other faith based companies and some are good. Some use
(10:23):
it more just to employ their marketing or try to
selling group.
Speaker 4 (10:28):
So yeah, we're really sensitive about kind of how we
talk about it and how we mention it because of that,
because we never want to come across as one of
those companies.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
You know, there's a you know in the Catholic church
that I grew up, and you know, there's a there's
a hymn. They'll know why are Christians? By our love?
Which is really just the example, which is which is
what Joe mentioned. By example, people will understand that you're
faith based by what you do by how you present yourself,
by the way you deal with people.
Speaker 2 (10:56):
And that was how my mentor was as well, Fred,
which was in construction, like I said, and I think
that's the best way to go. So that's that's awesome.
And we didn't plan that kind of a conversation whatsoever,
but it took a turn to that direction and I'm
glad it did well.
Speaker 1 (11:09):
And it's important for people to know, especially when it
comes to construction, because you were going to spend so
much money besides the cost of your house, putting in
a new room, putting in a roof, adding an addition,
those are going to be the next expensive thing that
you do, and you want to know that you're dealing
with somebody trustworthy. So when you go into a job,
(11:29):
how important is it for you to establish that relationship
with your new customers.
Speaker 5 (11:34):
I mean, it's super important for us because at the
end of the day, like every having been in construction
for as long as I have, which isn't as long
as a lot of people, but something can always go
wrong on any project any time, and so it's not
a matter like if mistakes happen, it's when mistakes happen,
what do you do about them. And so one of
(11:54):
the again, one of the things we tell all of
our customers is we hire humans. Mistakes can happen. If
they do, here's our commitment. You know, we'll own up
to it right away and then we'll do everything in
our power to make it right. I love that, And
so we kind of have a saying in the office
is everyone makes mistakes, few people make them right.
Speaker 3 (12:11):
We're going to be the company that makes them right.
Speaker 5 (12:12):
And sometimes it costs us, and that inspires us to
train better and to be more thorough and those types
of things.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
So there are so many ways for a project to
go wrong right. Good production, no matter how great your production,
cannot overcome a bad estimate right. And so there are
so many ways for a project to go wrong in construction.
I don't know if the average person, you know, the
average consumer or customer really does understand there's really only
one or two ways for it to go right where
(12:41):
everybody's happy, where you make a reasonable amount of profit,
the customer is happy. It takes an ugly turn. Sometimes
sometimes it's someone's fault. Sometimes it's no one's fault. Sure,
it's how you step forward to fix that. I want
to circle back though, because something that Austin touched on,
but he kind of went past it quickly. You said
in the past you'd work for companies and they weren't.
(13:01):
It wasn't always super ethical. Did you say that? I
get that right? So I don't want to don't name
any names, of course, but but of can you get
was it construction that that was the case?
Speaker 4 (13:12):
No? It was a TV internet cable?
Speaker 2 (13:15):
Oh okay, Well, so did you did you find that
they didn't step forward and want to fix things like
what you guys are saying integrity does. Is there a
reluctance to step forward and take an ownership of an issue?
Speaker 4 (13:28):
I would say one of the ways that they kind
of without even saying anything, kind of had pressure on
an individual was obviously it was very high expectations, and
then they had people with very low training, very low
training who were commission only, and the commissions were that
high to begin with. You're kind of in a position
where like, hey, if I got to make rent this month.
Speaker 1 (13:45):
Like, yeah, you've got to put the pressure on people.
So if I call you guys and say because you do,
it's exteriors. You can go to Integrity Home exteriors dot com.
If you want information, uh, and I need siding, what's
the start karting point for that? I call and say, listen,
I'm interested in vinyl siding or Lunu siding whatever. Where
do we start with that conversation?
Speaker 5 (14:07):
Yeah, So if you give us a call, you'll get
somebody at our office. We have three or four people
there always available to answer the phone, and they will
get some information from you, ask some questions to make
sure you know what we offer is going to be
what you're looking for, because there's so many options in
construction and we we ultimately try not to waste people's time.
So if they're looking for something we don't offer, we're
(14:28):
not just going to come out anyway and be like, surprise,
we don't do that.
Speaker 3 (14:31):
But here's what you need to do in the d
I like that.
Speaker 5 (14:34):
So if you call, we'll probably ask you a couple
of questions and see if you know ultimately we can
be a good fit for you, and then they will
schedule something with one of our projects specialists. So once
that happens, you'll get some appointment reminders. They'll set up
a day in time. It's usually helpful if both homeowners
are there because everybody has questions and we try to
answer those and then before our project specialist goes out,
(14:56):
the customer will actually receive a photo of them, a
little bit io about them, and then review the product
specialist project specialist.
Speaker 4 (15:04):
Yeah, yeah, you want to know who's coming out here,
so we try to communicate that ahead of time.
Speaker 1 (15:07):
But yeah, I would like to know sometimes, but you
don't always get that service. I like that.
Speaker 2 (15:11):
I love that idea because of course, when the good
weather returns, it will return one at Fred's next week, hope.
So when the good weather returns, then door to door
scammers will return. Sure, And they're out there and they
look professional. Some of them do, some of them don't.
Some of them do though, and they sound professional. So
you want to know if you've called Integrity out or
(15:33):
anybody out. Sure, it's great to get that advanced notice
of who's going to be coming out so you can
double check.
Speaker 3 (15:38):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
Absolutely, So after I meet with your specialist, who I
recognize because I've got a picture of him and a
little bit of bio and everything, and he gives me
the rundown. Now is he going to be on site
during the project? Does he come back and check and
everything and make sure I'm okay with what's going on.
Speaker 3 (15:54):
Yeah, great question.
Speaker 5 (15:55):
So we are project specialists, focus mainly on the new customers,
but we have a handoff to our we call them
our customer experience managers. So we've we found when you
become a jack of all trades, become a master of none.
And so once a customer, you know, puts an agreement
in place and wants a new business, then we have
a second hand off where Todd in our office, we'll
(16:16):
review their paperwork, give them a call, say hey, welcome
to integrity, talk to them there, give them proper expectations
because that's the biggest thing in construction that's frustrating is
when you don't know what's going on.
Speaker 3 (16:27):
Yeah, and so we communication break communication.
Speaker 5 (16:30):
So we try to as much as possible without bothering people,
letting them know what's happening next. And then our project manager,
so our roofing project managers manage all of our roofing jobs.
Are siding does siding, our windows do windows, So that
way they can become more proficient. So they will say, hey,
I'm going to be working on your project. My name
is Megan or my name is Greg and so then
(16:52):
they'll walk them through it, and then they will schedule
the install, and then the day before they'll remind them
of the install, and then they'll be on set managing
that project. So that way, someone from Integrity is always there.
Speaker 1 (17:05):
There's always follow through. It sounds like you guys have
from point A to the finish of the job. There's
always somebody there to follow through with everything.
Speaker 3 (17:12):
That's that's the goal.
Speaker 5 (17:13):
So and then once that's done and the projects completed,
we actually have we call it our completion satisfaction guarantee,
so we actually will do a full other inspection, take
a bunch of photos.
Speaker 3 (17:24):
Review those photos with.
Speaker 5 (17:26):
The homeowner because they're probably not going to get on
their roof, and so we get those photos for them.
We go over that with them, make sure they're happy
with the cleanup, with the process, with the work. Then
we help them if they did financing, and help them
get that finalized. And then we don't require that final
investment from the homeowner until they've signed off on everything.
Speaker 4 (17:46):
Jobs done, until they're genuinely happy.
Speaker 2 (17:48):
You guys, You guys, it sounds like you are big
on standardizing the process right so that you can deliver
the same kind of product or value from time to time.
Let me ask you if you're a consumer. So I'm
a consumer roof or a home exterior that, like Fred mentioned,
that's a big that's a big job, a big investment.
There are there are good contractors and there are bad.
(18:09):
How is a consumer going to tell the difference?
Speaker 5 (18:12):
Yeah, so one of the it seems pretty straightforward, but reviews. Right,
So when I go on Amazon, if something looks too
good to be true and it has no reviews, I'm
not buying that, you know, But if it's got five
hundred or a thousand reviews, I'm like, Okay, maybe this
is just really that good of a deal. So I
think we have thirteen fourteen hundred Google, thirteen hundred Toledo here.
Speaker 4 (18:33):
Yeah, And the key there also isn't that they have
a five star rating that's perfect or four point nine.
Speaker 1 (18:39):
Right, because I get suspicious when I see it.
Speaker 2 (18:44):
I mean a lot. Some of the statistics say up
to seventy to eighty percent of those extremely high ratings
are being manipulated by AI and and fake reviews. Right,
So how does a person tell what? You see the reviews?
But then is there some indicator in the process, the
sales process or I don't know. I mean people want
(19:06):
to know that kind of a thing.
Speaker 4 (19:08):
Yeah, So part of it is when they come out
to your home, like ask them questions. They recommend a
particular product or a process or a repair or a
full replacement, Like why do they do that?
Speaker 2 (19:18):
Like really see.
Speaker 4 (19:19):
Are they an expert in what they have or are
they just peddling a particular product because it's what the
boss told them to do?
Speaker 2 (19:24):
Right?
Speaker 1 (19:25):
Yeah, somebody gives your name brand, is it because they're
getting a kickback from that name brand or is that
the actual right thing for your house?
Speaker 2 (19:31):
Exactly?
Speaker 5 (19:32):
So, And sometimes it comes down to how much information
are you having to pull out of them versus how
much are people willing to volunteer. So nobody likes the
sales pitch, for sure, I'm aware of that. But at
the end of the day, like if you so, when
we go when we tell them about our origin, we
tell them about our company, right, we try to give
them information that would be beneficial, try to help them,
(19:52):
help them get to know us, and then we are
our main focus is education in the industry. So if
I go out and only talk about you know, one
thing I'm trying to do, it doesn't really help people.
So we try to say, hey, what is roofing as
a whole? What is it made up of? What are
some things to be aware of? And then obviously we
would like to have people buy our roofing system.
Speaker 2 (20:13):
You know, people may not like a sales pitch, but
the truth of it is, how else are you going
to determine whether or not you want to use that
company direct, whether there's a match there. So the sales pitch,
I think would be better if people would view it
as a learning experience. Sure.
Speaker 5 (20:27):
Yeah, And even in the verbiage we try to use
within our own company, we don't we don't like the
term sales pitch.
Speaker 3 (20:33):
We don't like the term sales reps.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
We was just going to say, there's sales pitch, and
there's company pitch.
Speaker 5 (20:39):
Correct, and there's that. Hey these are so we asked
this line of questioning, like, hey, do they have a need?
Are they aware of it? Do we have a potential solution?
Are they aware of it? Might we be a good
fit for one another? And so when we go out there,
that's kind of our goal. You know, Sometimes you go
out and we don't have what they're looking for, and
so we like to say if we can't help you,
(21:00):
will try to point you towards somebody who can. And
so that's one way reviews being educated by people. We
you know, a lot of our reviews that we get,
we ask people to be you know, personalized, like you know,
use our names and that kind of stuff so you
can differentiate them from you know.
Speaker 2 (21:17):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (21:17):
The good news is is Google reviews.
Speaker 5 (21:19):
They're pretty strict and so they run all kinds of
AI algorithms themselves to flush those things out. But then
also you know, going on Facebook, going on Better Business
Bureau is a great place, and like there's a lot
of other places you can go to see he is
it just Google or everyone.
Speaker 2 (21:37):
We have a full time staff member actually more than
one really, it's probably one plus that does nothing but
vet reviews that come into BBB dot org. So we
we have algorithms AI like you said Google, but then
we have if it gets into a yellow zone or
a red zone, then we we call We will call
the reviewer. Really if we reach out and personally verify
(21:59):
that there's a review and verify the information. And so
I would say that our algorithm is pretty tight and
I did not know that when I came on board,
but I had to learn.
Speaker 1 (22:06):
It's one last thing before we close up. You both
seem very passionate about what you're doing, and you mentioned
you know it's faith based. Are you bringing new people
into the company, Are you bringing them along so that
there's room for movement, and are you looking for new
people right now? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (22:24):
Great question.
Speaker 5 (22:25):
So we One of the reasons we've systemized a lot
of what we do is because if you don't systemize it,
you can't bring new people in. You have to find
very specific people. So we're actually in the middle. We're
currently onboarding ten new people on our team this week,
and so they are they actually go out and they
talk to some people at the doors. One of the
(22:45):
things we do is we do like inspections. So instead
of just doing like a salesach at the door, we say, hey,
I can look at your roof and tell you if
you have any issues, here some photos and if you're
interested to give us a call. If not, you know,
we're just in the area. I'm gone, you know, But yeah,
I mean we our goal is to always continue to grow.
So we've come from a very small out of a
basement company to a location company where we are now,
(23:08):
and so we're always looking to bring new people on board.
Speaker 4 (23:11):
And to answer your question about if there's upward movement
or not, Yeah, almost every single senior person or even
manager started at the entry level of some kind.
Speaker 1 (23:19):
Correct, And that's important for anybody who's looking for work,
who wants to come and work for you, because that's
not always the case.
Speaker 4 (23:26):
Yeah, my wife is a nurse, and people will get
hired right in as directors of nursing the doctors and
they're fresh.
Speaker 2 (23:31):
Out sport or worse. To lead a nonprofit like the
Better Business Bureau, I get hired in with no experience whatsoever.
Speaker 1 (23:40):
Well, but to speak to their experience, you know, when
you hire somebody in at a managerial position, while I've
been here, you know for X number of years, my
attitude towards that company is going to change right away.
And it sounds like you want a good attitude from
everybody who works for.
Speaker 5 (23:56):
You well and with also maintaining like the culture you've built.
And so when you bring in someone from the outside,
like sometimes you can find a great person, but other
times like did they just interview well? Or but when
you a known person in your organization who believes in
the culture and believes in the core values and has
built into that. You know, those are the people you
(24:18):
want to rise up and continue that.
Speaker 1 (24:19):
They've got their own farm system.
Speaker 2 (24:20):
Yeah. A friend of mine used to say, a new
broom sweeps good. But in other words, all new employees
look pretty good for the first couple of weeks, but
you don't know, and so by bringing them up from
the inside, you've already vetted them. Yeah, we got to
wrap up. We're running out of time. Guys. I want
to thank you for coming in and talking about RUSS.
I'd like to have you back again and go deeper
on things like roofing warranties and things like that, where
(24:42):
a little bit more of the nuts and bolts of
the roofing industry. If we have time to do that,
would you be willing to absolutely? Yeah, thank you both
of you. Joe Austin.
Speaker 1 (24:51):
Thanks Integrity Homes and Steer exteriorsm I knew I was
going to screw that up. Integrity Home Exteriors dot com
if you want follow along online.
Speaker 2 (25:02):
Did you know our area has over forty thousand businesses.
Some are old, some are new, but they all have
a story to tell about why they sell, how someone
took a chance once upon a time, someone with a
heart for business. Hi, this is Laine Monts, the host
of the Better Business Bureaus Heart for Business podcast. We
know a thing or two about our area's companies, after all,
(25:22):
we've been keeping tabs on them since nineteen nineteen. Join
me in Toledo Radio Legend Fred La Fever every week
as our BBB superheroes tell their origin story and share
a few industry secrets along the way. All right, welcome
back everybody to the program I have with me Guest
number two today, episode number five, Mariah Kornoa from NAMI.
For those of you that don't know, that is what Mariah.
Speaker 6 (25:43):
The National Alliance for Mental Illness.
Speaker 2 (25:46):
You signed so cheery when you say that is what
is the National Alliance for Mental Illness.
Speaker 6 (25:51):
We are the voice for mental illness. And honestly, just
to start, if I could take that word illness out
because I feel like it's stigmatizing because mental health is
part of are everyday wellness.
Speaker 2 (26:01):
So to be honest, I thought of that before. When
when I look at the acronym, I'm like, I wonder
if that should change at some point.
Speaker 6 (26:07):
But well, and there is the prevalence and reality of
mental illness in our society. One in five have a
diagnosable mental illness, and I challenge if that's even underreported.
Five and five of us are impacted.
Speaker 1 (26:21):
Well, everybody's got something that they could probably consider a
mental illness, whether or not psychiatrists and psychologists have put
a name on it. Yet everybody has a level of
stress and that goes right to your mental health, doesn't it.
Speaker 2 (26:34):
Yeah, good days, bad days, And if it's not you
at a particular moment of time, you know somebody that
is that. That is the one thing is the BBB
is pivoted towards supporting your cause and becoming invested in it.
And I talk about that to people. The first thing
they I say, if it's not you, it's somebody you know.
There's never been a no shake, a no headshake back
(26:55):
to that.
Speaker 6 (26:56):
Right right, Yeah, it impacts all of us and a
lot of who now these serves are the families impacted
by mental illness.
Speaker 2 (27:04):
So why don't you talk about that a little bit
and you can talk about the organization first, whatever you
want to talk about. But I think we should definitely
touch on what do we do the burden, the burden
that it puts on families and friends. And I don't
know if burden is even the right word. That might
be the wrong word, but it is something that you
have to deal with, and it's hard. It can be
very difficult.
Speaker 6 (27:23):
Yeah, and if you've never had a need to engage
in these large health care systems, it can be overwhelming.
So core to nami's mission is support, education and advocacy
really around the premise that earliest interventions stop brain damage
can really change the trajectory of someone's recovery. Right, So,
(27:47):
earliest intervention's best possible care, trauma informed, culturally relevant, as
well as diversion from the criminal justice system. A lot
of folks end up in detention versus treatment, So how
do we make sure that folks are Our motto for
this coming year is know us before you need us.
Speaker 1 (28:07):
I just attended a diversion program that the Lucas County
Court system does along with the Toledo Plation, and one
of the things that they stress they're trying to get
low level, nonviolent offenders out of the system, and one
of the things that they stressed was when they get here,
we need to give them the resources for their mental health,
(28:27):
because a lot of times that's all it is. They're
arguing with the police, not because they hate the police
or anything else, it's that they have a mental health
problem that nobody recognizes, and we need to find a
place for them to go.
Speaker 6 (28:40):
I agree. I actually just learned of a reality that
most major episodes of mass violence are due to a grievance,
not a mental illness. People are angry and hurt and uncertain.
So we need to help people develop positive coping skills
accessing resources before they get into a crisis. So those
(29:02):
early interventions are really important.
Speaker 2 (29:04):
I remember growing up as a kid, right, I think
I've talked about this with you before, Mariah. When I
was young, Fred, maybe you remember this too. Every county
basically had a mental health facility. There was a building
that when people were going through a tough time or
if they couldn't cope with life, that's where they went,
and that's where or that's where they were sent. And
I'm not saying we should go back to that. There
(29:26):
were problems with those institutions, but the problem is nothing
else filled the gap. They were all closed down for
various reasons. Legal liability, county finances or whatever. They closed
down and nothing stepped forward to fill the breach. And
I think it's strange to me that thirty five years
(29:47):
later or more, we're just now starting to realize that
a lot of the problems that we're having in society
are because the mental health support network is lacking.
Speaker 5 (29:58):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (29:58):
I think the movement is to keep people at home
and to have community based treatment, get them back into
the communities where connection and resiliency can be found. And
in theory, that sounds great, but there's so many people
that fell through the cracks, excuse me, and or didn't
have the wherewithal to know how to engage in these
(30:21):
systems or get help. So people fall through the cracks,
and the problem is greater now than ever.
Speaker 1 (30:26):
Yeah. Well, and I'm curious if you believe, because I
know you use social media and you're on social media
and you're online and everything with Nomi, But how much
is that contributing now? Just by her reaction, I wish
you could see it. Yeah, just the sigh. You probably
heard the sigh. How much is that contributing? Because I
(30:48):
just feel for these kids who are getting bullied and
having their mental health just ruined by being on social media.
Speaker 4 (30:55):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (30:55):
I'm going to talk about that from two perspectives. One
as an adult, where we are constantly putting out these
happy facades of everything is perfect, yeah, and so keeping
up with the Joneses, trying to you know, put out
this again, all of this beautiful.
Speaker 1 (31:11):
Class, beautiful laws.
Speaker 6 (31:14):
Yeah. And then kids on the other hand, and even
as adults, we're chasing these unreachable expectations. And I think
our kids, where bullying has always been a part of life,
I guess, or comparison, power and control, whatever, they don't
get a break from it.
Speaker 1 (31:33):
And so.
Speaker 6 (31:35):
When they go home where it used to we used
to be able to, you know, find our safety and
respite at home. These kids aren't getting that. So not
only are they always making comparisons, we have this pressure
for perfection. Still you're supposed to have it all figured out,
and adults don't, but we keep putting this pressure on
(31:56):
kids to have it all figured I.
Speaker 2 (31:58):
Got bully the old fashioned way in the hallway at
school by bigger classmates. Yeah, not at scale. So you know,
my pastor used to say, no matter who you meet,
everyone is going through a battle. Everyone is fighting a battle,
and I really believe that that was one hundred percent true.
And I think we're starting to see that there is
(32:19):
a problem with connectivity. There is a problem with everybody's
fighting some battle with mental health, even if it's not diagnosable.
It's somewhere on that spectrum like Fred was talking about,
and it's affecting us. And we have to get to
a point where there's better support. And I don't think
it's going to come from the national level. I think
it has to come from the ground up locally first.
Speaker 6 (32:41):
Yeah, I appreciate you bringing that up, because this is
our hope. When people come to NAMI, we already know
they have a problem. How do we ever challenge the
mental health landscape. We have to get upstream, I believe,
into workforce as well as into our school systems. We
have to really talk about compassion building. What are the
components that make some people more resilient than others. They've
(33:02):
got support systems, they have belonging and connection and purpose,
and so how do we just bring these topics to
everyday spaces. So thank you Fred for letting us be
here to talk about this. I'm really appreciative of the
Better Business Bureau helping us reach other folks us before
you need us, right, And there are.
Speaker 1 (33:21):
People out there who are doing that kind of work.
We've had the Lukens Foundation on and they build little
kindness rooms and local schools and you would think that
every school would jump on that, right, Oh my god, Yes,
a little room where kids can go and not be
bullied and find some friendships. The Buffalo Soldiers teach an
anti bullying class when we go out to the schools
(33:42):
and get the kids to promise that they will not
be a bully and they will stand up when they
do see bullying and things like that. There's just so
many groups that are out there. Is there some cohesiveness
between what you do and all these little groups that
are working also, So.
Speaker 6 (33:57):
I'll say from the mental health perspective field, we have
the Mental Health Recovery Services Board that helps us really
drive collaboration and connection as a system. And so we
just this morning had a prevention education network where prevention
providers come together and talk about like what is it
like for you? And I think that's part of our
(34:18):
destigmatizing is we talk about this all the time as
if it's all those people, but it's us. So if
we don't start having these conversations honestly and vulnerably, then
we're still putting it sort of out of our reach yet.
Speaker 2 (34:32):
So I think, no matter what else happens, until it
becomes something that we're willing to talk about more openly.
And I do see some changes there. I think we're
in the early stages of that, but I do see
some changes. For all the problems that COVID brought, it
may have unintentionally, you know, accidentally raised the awareness of
(34:52):
mental health issues in a community, and so that's great
because that's going to be a catalyst for improvement. What
does NAMI do. I mean, I know that you're a
part of a larger organization, but you're the local chapter.
Why don't you tell the listeners a little bit about that?
And then we'll talk about the all important question. And
we're not soliciting funds on this podcast, that's not what
we're about. But of course making a difference at some
(35:14):
point does require some funding, and we can talk about
that second. But talk first about NAMI structure. And it's
the concept of NAMI. Sure.
Speaker 6 (35:22):
Nami was formed at a kitchen table, so we have
about six hundred affiliates across the country. We have about
thirty eight in Ohio. NAMI here is part of Greater Toledo.
We do have sister affiliates in Wood County and Four
County and what we all strive for is providing support,
education and advocacy, support groups, education classes so people can
(35:45):
dive into their diagnosis or support their loved one. We
also do advocacy at the Statehouse to make sure that
the voice of mental illness is not forgotten. So we
have our support groups are on Monday nights. I take
part and support group. I love it. It is the highlight
of my week because it gives me hope that even
in our darkest moments, we can figure out a way
(36:08):
and we come together and it really is encouraging.
Speaker 1 (36:12):
Is it tough to get the legislature to sign on
to some of these things because you know, obviously, if
I've got cancer or I'm you know, Michael Keaton, and
I appear in front of Congress, you can see that
something is wrong with me, not necessarily wrong, but you
can see my disease. You can't see that mental illness
(36:33):
all the time. So it's tougher for people to accept
that that's going on with a lot more people than
you realize. How do you break loose from that to
get those funds?
Speaker 6 (36:43):
So thanks for asking. Actually, NAMI has a national signature
program called NAMI Smarts and it's a template for everyday advocacy.
How do you tell your story in three minutes or less?
Speaker 5 (36:56):
Right?
Speaker 6 (36:56):
You only get at it, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (36:58):
You only get that that time.
Speaker 6 (36:59):
So it's got to be impactful. You need to really
state what the problem was, what made a difference, what
you need help with, and why it's important. So I
think now people I don't want to say that it's
just a fad because post COVID, I'll take whatever opportunity
came from it to bring attention to this to the issue.
(37:20):
So I don't think anybody is shying away from it.
I don't think people are in denial that mental health
is a real thing. But it's aligning back to physical
health in its matter of importance. You know, it's it's
I think it is still highly stigmatized as a fault,
it's an error, and instead we have to build awareness
(37:41):
that impacts of trauma or lifelong and some of these things,
you know, everyday health, it's just aligned with one body.
Speaker 2 (37:49):
Perception is changing. Mariah but I think the next step
is then how how do people make a difference? Right,
And so I think that's where an organization lie NAMI
has to come in. You have to help to make
an impact. You have to have more than just a
desire to make an impact. You have to have an
infrastructure that allows you. That's the cause and effect connection.
(38:11):
And so to me, that's what NAMI is doing. That's
what NAMI has to do, and we need organizations like NAMI.
You mentioned education and employer education. What's the I want
to come back to that. Tell me since I have
almost six thousand member businesses, that's a lot of employers, yes,
and so what does that mean?
Speaker 6 (38:30):
Well, we all know in employment that retention is a challenge, right,
So how do we support our employees better? That employee
wellness component it includes mental health. So if we aren't
preparing leadership and managers along with frontline staff and how
to recognize warning signs and then how to address them.
So not only do we have education for family members
(38:53):
and individuals with the mental health diagnosis, we're really trying
to support businesses to know how to support their employees better.
Speaker 2 (39:00):
So that's a challenge. I've been a boss, a manager,
whatever you want to call it. For a long time,
if somebody comes in and they need they need a walker,
or they're in a wheelchair or whatever. So that's an
easy thing to see. I can I can begin to think,
how can lane accommodate this and make this easier? It's
a little different. One thing you can't tell sometimes there's
a mental issue going on, but you can't always tell
(39:24):
from just their having a bad day, So like, how
did how do how does an employer know? That's why
I guess what the education is for.
Speaker 6 (39:30):
Huh yeah, definitely just to kind of lean in a
little bit until before a crisis occurs. We can tell
that somebody is acting different, they appear different, their their
cognitive thinking is different. So I think it's it's just
educating around what are these warning signs? And then even
at another level of leadership development, is how do we
(39:51):
teach uh, those those social skills even to know how
to lean in properly. Sometimes we're doing more damage by
you know, we think we're being funny and it's actually
a microaggression. You know, it's not helping. So I think
it's just creating this awareness. One of the things I
find really shocking right now is eighteen to twenty nine
year olds, forty seven percent are depressed and anxious. That's
(40:14):
before they've even gotten into the workforce.
Speaker 2 (40:16):
Yeah, so what is the work's going to do?
Speaker 1 (40:18):
And they're unhappy with what they do, They're unhappy with
their prospects, they're unhappy with a lot of things. I've
read one day and we had one boss who did this,
and it's an excellent way. Everybody wants to think of
these problems as as so complex and they're not on
the basic level. If your boss walks through the building
(40:38):
every single day, we had a boss who did this
and says hi to everybody. Are you doing today? That's
it and they will notice if they're smart. Normally Fred says, hey,
best day of my life. You know, still got a
job and a family I love. And you say hi
to spread the next day and he goes.
Speaker 2 (40:57):
Son you, then.
Speaker 1 (41:01):
You know something's wrong. But if you don't say hi
to everybody in the building every day, and I know
it's a pain in the butt to do that, but
it gives you that connection and sometimes that's all people
need to know is that you were there and ask
them how they were doing and we're honest in that answer.
Speaker 6 (41:17):
And you said the word connection. Yes, connection and people
paying attention and caring one of the things that really
resonated with me in this past year. And I hate
to sound bleak about this, but people feel invisible, like
their voice doesn't matter and nobody cares. So how do
we counter that? We have to show them that we
do care, that you do matter, and give them opportunity
(41:39):
for their voice.
Speaker 2 (41:41):
So let's take Fred's example and push it a little farther. Okay,
So I come in, I do that. I try to
do that most of the time. They say, we don't
go to your office and leave us alone. Really, And
that's okay, And that's okay. But let's say as a
boss or a manager. Let's say as a boss or
a manager that I say that and I get a vibe. Right, Okay,
(42:04):
that's one day. It's just a vibe. Maybe they're having
a bad day. But let's say out of the next
seven or eight days, I get that vibe four times,
maybe five times? Can I call no me like, do
I don't know the next step because the next step
could have legal pitfalls in it as well. If I
do it very personal, it could be very personal. I
could do more, like you said, do more damage. So,
(42:24):
like what kind of supervisor or a business owner do
when they begin to pick up on that vibe they
don't know what to do next. I honestly believe that's
where a lot of possible help falls off the cliff
and doesn't actually happen. So what's the next step?
Speaker 6 (42:40):
Yeah, so I'm glad you asked because that's one of
the things that I didn't mention. As far as support,
we have family navigators that actually help troubleshoot what the
person with the mental illness or the family member or
the employer is struggling with. So if we can offer
next steps or resources or again some even somebody to
(43:03):
just have a listening ear sometimes is what people are
looking for. So as an employer, you can call us.
We're gonna help with some of the policies, just to
be aware, like are they supportive to helping people get help?
Do you have an EAP? Do they understand their own
benefits and access? So I think we just try to
be that conduit and that sort of convener and connector
(43:27):
to next steps for employers.
Speaker 2 (43:29):
And do you have an EAP or do you put
people in touch with one and can you do that
to it to help a business or an employer.
Speaker 6 (43:35):
Absolutely, we are not an EAP again, we are just
that conduit to some of these gaps that we see.
So we do work with other EAPs. We work with
work Spring, we work with Harbor and their EAP a
lot of times. Again it's just helping break down the
barriers to getting access. So we talk about it from
(43:56):
a culture of awareness, a culture of access, and then
a culture of caring, like how do we put those
things into action?
Speaker 1 (44:02):
Yeah, And one of the things that came through in
this diversion program that the jail is doing was that
a lot of those folks who are coming through the
system aren't aware of all the resources. They don't know
about NAMI, they don't know about two to one one,
they don't know about the Salvation Army. They just and
so they're finally putting together a list of all those
resources from the ZEF Center on down to the NAMI
(44:26):
and everybody else and they will hand that to these
folks when they're done with the seminar that they go through,
so that they can access them either online for free
like at the library, or in person. Or by phone,
and sometimes just knowing that you can go someplace can
really brighten your mood and get you into to seek help,
because it's got to be you. You're the one that
(44:47):
has to seek help. No one could force you.
Speaker 2 (44:49):
You won't hear me pitch things very forcefully too often,
right because I try to stay somewhat neutral. But I
can tell you if you're a business owner, a manager
and execut of HR or whatever out there listening to this podcast,
or if you're an employee that wants to make a suggestion,
is in a position to make a suggestion to your employer.
I started using EAP systems twenty years ago in construction,
(45:12):
and I'm going to tell you it was the best
line in my budget. It was the best line in
my budget. I did not have to use it that often,
three or four times a year at the most, but
when I did, it saved the employee employer relationship. It
helped so much. So I just want to urge people
(45:32):
really strongly consider an EAP program. They're not very expensive,
they have a huge return on the investment to help
keep the relationship between your employee and you better and
to help them, and you're not only is it helping
the business. You're doing a good thing.
Speaker 6 (45:47):
Yeah, And we've tried to prove this business case for
mental health for a long time. It really does impact productivity.
If you don't feel good, you're not going to do
your job well. And I think the other thing that
is really important here. It's one thing to give over
the opportunity and to create awareness of these resources. It's
another for us to model utilizing them, so to talk
(46:09):
about our own journeys of mental health. We keep health
so private and so secret that it's no wonder nobody
takes that first step on their own. So I think
for us as leaders to model wellness and to talk
about how we take care of ourselves, how we balance
life work balance.
Speaker 1 (46:25):
Now, if people want to get a hold of Nami
and the resources, because the website is pretty extensive, there's
a lot of stuff up there. What's the best way
to do that? Website, Facebook, phone number, give us those.
Speaker 6 (46:35):
All of the above. Yeah, we are on Facebook, No
me of Greater Toledo. We have a website www. Nomi
Nami Toledo dot com or I'm sorry dot org dot
org yep, and then our phone number is four one
nine two four three nine.
Speaker 1 (46:52):
Now, do you have an event during the course of
the year, like a fundraising event that you do?
Speaker 2 (46:56):
Oh, thank you for good question, Freds.
Speaker 6 (47:00):
We just kicked off our breakfast of champions are Walk
Captain's Breakfast thanks to the Better Business Bureau. Our annual
signature event, NAMI Walks, is May seventeenth. This year is
a day of hope across the country. Excuse me, like
it is every year, but this year is our twentieth year.
(47:20):
It's very exciting, so we're really excited to be that
visible space where people come together to celebrate and talk
about mental health.
Speaker 2 (47:28):
Absolutely awesome, A right, thanks for stopping by and impromptu
impromptu thank you so much anytime, no me. Folks support it,
help it, use it.
Speaker 1 (47:37):
Thank you once again. You can go to NAMI Toledo
dot org. You can call four one nine two four
three one one one nine. You'll also find them on Facebook.
Information about the walk on May seventeenth will be available
online if you'd like that. Thanks for joining us again
for another episode of a Heart for Business, brought to
(48:00):
you by the Better Business Bureau on Fred Lafever four
lane months. Have a great week and be sure to
join us and listen to wherever you get your podcasts from,
including iHeartRadio,
Welcome to a Heart for Business. I'm Fred Lafever and
along with Lane Months, President CEO the Better Business Bureau
of Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan, we'll highlight a local
business weekly. You'll discover why these small local business owners
have a passion for what they do and why the
(00:26):
Better Business Bureau has a Heart for Business. Now here's
Lane Months.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Thank you, Fred, and welcome every one of the fifth
episode of the BBB Heart for Business podcast. We're recording
today from the WSPD Studios. I call it our pod
Goblin Layer in Hensville, next to the fifth third Field
and the home of the Toledo Mud Hens, right in
the downtown of beautiful Toledo and a home of the
world famous mud Hens. I'm here today with Fred Leafever
(00:54):
of the Wallbridge. Lefever's Fred disclosed that yes, and Fred
is running the big board today and keeping me from
steering us into a podcast disaster. While I have, we hope,
we hope. While we're here, let me remind all of
our listeners to please like, follow, and subscribe us on
the BBB Facebook page. When you do that, Facebook takes
notice and they like that and it helps us drive
(01:16):
a bigger audience to the podcast. Not only will you
get notice of the podcast episodes before they drop, but
you will also get tons of great information from the
BBB from time to time about scams and the state
of the marketplace in northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan. And
if you'd like to be a guest, just reach out
by email to Podgoblin at toledobbb dot org. That's pod
(01:37):
Goblin at toledobbb dot org. We have two guests today,
as always, in the first segment is Integrity Home Exteriors.
I have with me Austin roll Later and Joe Altman
from Integrity. Good morning boys, good morning morning, Thanks for
having us. Who's going to be the lead today?
Speaker 1 (01:52):
Uh?
Speaker 3 (01:53):
Probably me.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
Hey, we'll leave it to Joe. Oh, the Joe's gonna
lost and you're gonna let Joe take command? Huh yeah,
I usually do.
Speaker 3 (01:59):
I have a larger It goes with the territory.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
Honestly, you would be the alpha. If we were in
the wilderness, I would do whatever you say. Because of
that beard, I'd be afraid to do otherwise.
Speaker 3 (02:08):
You know the power of the beard.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
Yes, the power of the beard. Well, good morning, welcome,
good afternoon, whoever's listening. Whenever you're listening, let's talk about
Integrity home mixteers, but also let's talk about roofing and
what customers consumers out there should be on the lookout for. Right, Yeah, absolutely.
So you guys are both pretty young, younger than Fred
and I anyway, that's not saying much, but you're there.
(02:30):
So tell me about how you came to be at
Integrity and how Integrity came into existence.
Speaker 4 (02:37):
Yeah, you want to start with the origin story.
Speaker 5 (02:39):
Yeah, So our owner, Adam Becker, he started the business
in two thousand, so he was doing roofing himself. He'd
kind of always been in the trades, started his own company,
and we've been here for this will be our twenty
fifth year as a company. So he started working out
of his basements back in the day, and then we
moved to a different and then now we're at the
(03:01):
location we are at now in South Toledo. I came
to work at the company. I've known Adam most of
my life, so we kind of always knew about his company. Actually,
my parents' roof was the first roof that Integrity ever
did twenty years ago, which is kind of a cool story.
But I started working here back in twenty twelve, worked
(03:23):
a few summers for him doing long cair and things
like that, and then I started with his project specialists,
going out to homes and meeting with customers back in
twenty seventeen.
Speaker 3 (03:34):
I believe. So I've been with the company ever since.
Speaker 1 (03:37):
So let me cause you don't look that young or
that old. You're somewhere in the middle. How old were
you when you started to work for Integrity then we
started work for you? Said, was Adam?
Speaker 3 (03:45):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (03:46):
So when I started working for Adam doing long care,
I believe I was sixteen o six.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
All right, So you didn't know where you were going
to end up at. You hadn't picked out a trade.
Nobody said what do you want to do for the
rest of your life? And you answered fireman.
Speaker 3 (03:59):
Right right.
Speaker 5 (04:00):
I just said I wanted to work with people. So
when I left and went to school for a few
years and then came back and got into kind of
the sales side of it, which I really enjoyed. So
I was actually in school to be a teacher.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
I was just going to ask, what did you go
to school for.
Speaker 3 (04:13):
I went to school to be a middle school history teacher.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
Wow, and you ended up putting up roofs in building.
Speaker 5 (04:19):
Things, right, So now I get to educate homeowners on roofs.
Speaker 3 (04:24):
And so what took you away?
Speaker 2 (04:26):
What was it about it that attracted you so much
to change? That's a big career change. Yeah, so why.
Speaker 5 (04:32):
So when So I was two weeks before my wedding
and I was working construction at the time, going to
school as well. And the construction job I was working,
they ran out of work, so I got laid off.
So I reached out to Integrity, applied for a sales
position there and I got I got an interview, and
then I told my fiance. I was like, hey, I
(04:53):
lost my job, but I got an interview, and then
I got a job before I told my father in law.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
So good plan. That's a very good plan.
Speaker 3 (05:01):
So I've always loved working with people.
Speaker 5 (05:04):
That's one of the things that drew me to education
was being able to talk to people, new and exciting things,
educating people. So I started in the sales department where
we go out, we educate homeowners. We meet with, you know,
three or four new people every single day, and I
just fell in love with it. I loved the company,
I loved what they did. I'd always been in construction
(05:25):
all through high school and different things, so I had
a good baby.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
You were always working with your hands and yeah, doing
some kind of skilled trades without really realizing. Is your
arc the same, Austin?
Speaker 2 (05:35):
My arc is.
Speaker 4 (05:37):
I didn't start when I was a seven like Joe did.
But I was hired an Integrity back in twenty nineteen.
And I'd always been in actually sales and marketing in
some former fashion and I was really excited to start
with Integrity because my previous positions, I frankly, they lacked
integrity unintended. So I was really happy to see that, hey,
(05:57):
you could really communicate with people really and actually help
people with the product they need, not just something like
you wanted them to buy. So I started up with
leading one of our marketing teams, starting that from the
ground up. And then the person who was our head
of marketing at the time, as well as Adam, moved
with their families over to Ireland about three years ago
(06:18):
for full time missions work and they started a church
over in Ireland.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
Adam.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
Adam planted that church over in Ireland, him and a
few other people from his church. Wow is he still there? Them?
Speaker 4 (06:30):
And their families that they lived there, so we see
them a few times a year, and he really needs
the business three us.
Speaker 3 (06:35):
Well we are. We have meetings with him every week.
Speaker 1 (06:37):
Yes, sure, yeah, that's what Zoom is for, of course, exactly.
Speaker 4 (06:42):
Yeah, you can endit that part. But yeah, so there
was for anyone who was faith based. We certainly are
and we don't shy away from that. It was pretty
clear that God was preparing me for a role to
help fill that brand, and our head of marketing at
the time was leaving because I had a heart to
really kind of grow in that positioned as well.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
So yeah, now you mentioned faith based and you don't
shy away from that, and there are other companies around
the area that do too. I think there's one called
Trinity Brothers. It does like glass, cubing windows and things
like that. Is that part of the marketing that you
are that way or does it just happen to come up,
you know, if people ask or as part of the pitch.
Speaker 5 (07:22):
So definitely, I think it's something that comes up a
little bit more just how we do business. So by
example then, yeah, by example, and you know, usually when
when you say, hey, you're faith based or something you
do get also get a little bit more, you know,
a light shined on you because it's like, okay, now
you have to hold up to a higher standard.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
Which that's absolutely true.
Speaker 5 (07:45):
When we're meeting with the homeowner, usually one of the
first things we go over is our foundation and our
core values. So we are a faith based company. You
don't have to be faith based to work there, but
our core values, which come from our foundation, are what
we want to promote, which is integrity, family, serving others
in the.
Speaker 3 (08:04):
Pursuit of elites.
Speaker 5 (08:06):
So that's more of what we speak more vocally about
and when we're bringing people on board, and how we
manage our employees and how we manage our projects is
through those core values.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
So the core values are always in front. Whether the
faith conversation comes up, it's just organic. It may come up,
it may not come up, but it's it underpins everything
that you use.
Speaker 5 (08:26):
That's what you're saying, Yeah, for our business, it's the
standard we behold ourselves to and it's where we've pulled
those values from.
Speaker 1 (08:33):
Well, and since Lane's here and he's ahead of the BBB,
how does that fit into what the BBB normally does?
Because you also have an ethics arm for the BBB.
Sounds like these guys fit right into what you guys
are looking for.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
Well, they fit in with for sure. And they're a
torch winner. So we've had a number of area they
won last year. Yeah, and we've had a number of
torch winners just by happenstance that have wanted to come
onto the podcast. I didn't target them, but they came
forward forward, and you're one of them. So yeah, you know,
I worked for a faith based construction businessman. It being
(09:06):
faith based? Uh does at times cost you money? That's okay,
you have to you have to make the right decision, right.
BBB is an agnostic organization. We're not We have no
political or religious leanings. We're not allowed to, we don't
want to. But we do care about the ethics and
so if that's what causes you to create a certain
(09:27):
ethical code and it fits with the BBB, then that's fantastic.
Speaker 1 (09:30):
Well I'm really curious since it came up from both
of you. Were you faith based before you got with
the company? Did you Did you have a background you know,
in church? Is that how you were brought up?
Speaker 4 (09:42):
Yes, that wasn't a part of our recruiting or hiring
process whatsoever. And it wasn't that anything that came up,
but yes it was.
Speaker 1 (09:49):
But it comes through everything you do then.
Speaker 5 (09:52):
Yeah, So I've was raised in the Christian home. I'm
actually I helped pastor a church currently with our manager,
me and him and another guy helped pastor church.
Speaker 2 (10:02):
Wow.
Speaker 5 (10:03):
So I was one of the things I did in
between working long care and coming into sales as I
was actually a missionary out in Oklahoma and Chicago a
few years. So obviously coming to work for a faith
based company was important to me. And I've worked for
other faith based companies and some are good. Some use
(10:23):
it more just to employ their marketing or try to
selling group.
Speaker 4 (10:28):
So yeah, we're really sensitive about kind of how we
talk about it and how we mention it because of that,
because we never want to come across as one of
those companies.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
You know, there's a you know in the Catholic church
that I grew up, and you know, there's a there's
a hymn. They'll know why are Christians? By our love?
Which is really just the example, which is which is
what Joe mentioned. By example, people will understand that you're
faith based by what you do by how you present yourself,
by the way you deal with people.
Speaker 2 (10:56):
And that was how my mentor was as well, Fred,
which was in construction, like I said, and I think
that's the best way to go. So that's that's awesome.
And we didn't plan that kind of a conversation whatsoever,
but it took a turn to that direction and I'm
glad it did well.
Speaker 1 (11:09):
And it's important for people to know, especially when it
comes to construction, because you were going to spend so
much money besides the cost of your house, putting in
a new room, putting in a roof, adding an addition,
those are going to be the next expensive thing that
you do, and you want to know that you're dealing
with somebody trustworthy. So when you go into a job,
(11:29):
how important is it for you to establish that relationship
with your new customers.
Speaker 5 (11:34):
I mean, it's super important for us because at the
end of the day, like every having been in construction
for as long as I have, which isn't as long
as a lot of people, but something can always go
wrong on any project any time, and so it's not
a matter like if mistakes happen, it's when mistakes happen,
what do you do about them. And so one of
(11:54):
the again, one of the things we tell all of
our customers is we hire humans. Mistakes can happen. If
they do, here's our commitment. You know, we'll own up
to it right away and then we'll do everything in
our power to make it right. I love that, And
so we kind of have a saying in the office
is everyone makes mistakes, few people make them right.
Speaker 3 (12:11):
We're going to be the company that makes them right.
Speaker 5 (12:12):
And sometimes it costs us, and that inspires us to
train better and to be more thorough and those types
of things.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
So there are so many ways for a project to
go wrong right. Good production, no matter how great your production,
cannot overcome a bad estimate right. And so there are
so many ways for a project to go wrong in construction.
I don't know if the average person, you know, the
average consumer or customer really does understand there's really only
one or two ways for it to go right where
(12:41):
everybody's happy, where you make a reasonable amount of profit,
the customer is happy. It takes an ugly turn. Sometimes
sometimes it's someone's fault. Sometimes it's no one's fault. Sure,
it's how you step forward to fix that. I want
to circle back though, because something that Austin touched on,
but he kind of went past it quickly. You said
in the past you'd work for companies and they weren't.
(13:01):
It wasn't always super ethical. Did you say that? I
get that right? So I don't want to don't name
any names, of course, but but of can you get
was it construction that that was the case?
Speaker 4 (13:12):
No? It was a TV internet cable?
Speaker 2 (13:15):
Oh okay, Well, so did you did you find that
they didn't step forward and want to fix things like
what you guys are saying integrity does. Is there a
reluctance to step forward and take an ownership of an issue?
Speaker 4 (13:28):
I would say one of the ways that they kind
of without even saying anything, kind of had pressure on
an individual was obviously it was very high expectations, and
then they had people with very low training, very low
training who were commission only, and the commissions were that
high to begin with. You're kind of in a position
where like, hey, if I got to make rent this month.
Speaker 1 (13:45):
Like, yeah, you've got to put the pressure on people.
So if I call you guys and say because you do,
it's exteriors. You can go to Integrity Home exteriors dot com.
If you want information, uh, and I need siding, what's
the start karting point for that? I call and say, listen,
I'm interested in vinyl siding or Lunu siding whatever. Where
do we start with that conversation?
Speaker 5 (14:07):
Yeah, So if you give us a call, you'll get
somebody at our office. We have three or four people
there always available to answer the phone, and they will
get some information from you, ask some questions to make
sure you know what we offer is going to be
what you're looking for, because there's so many options in
construction and we we ultimately try not to waste people's time.
So if they're looking for something we don't offer, we're
(14:28):
not just going to come out anyway and be like, surprise,
we don't do that.
Speaker 3 (14:31):
But here's what you need to do in the d
I like that.
Speaker 5 (14:34):
So if you call, we'll probably ask you a couple
of questions and see if you know ultimately we can
be a good fit for you, and then they will
schedule something with one of our projects specialists. So once
that happens, you'll get some appointment reminders. They'll set up
a day in time. It's usually helpful if both homeowners
are there because everybody has questions and we try to
answer those and then before our project specialist goes out,
(14:56):
the customer will actually receive a photo of them, a
little bit io about them, and then review the product
specialist project specialist.
Speaker 4 (15:04):
Yeah, yeah, you want to know who's coming out here,
so we try to communicate that ahead of time.
Speaker 1 (15:07):
But yeah, I would like to know sometimes, but you
don't always get that service. I like that.
Speaker 2 (15:11):
I love that idea because of course, when the good
weather returns, it will return one at Fred's next week, hope.
So when the good weather returns, then door to door
scammers will return. Sure, And they're out there and they
look professional. Some of them do, some of them don't.
Some of them do though, and they sound professional. So
you want to know if you've called Integrity out or
(15:33):
anybody out. Sure, it's great to get that advanced notice
of who's going to be coming out so you can
double check.
Speaker 3 (15:38):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
Absolutely, So after I meet with your specialist, who I
recognize because I've got a picture of him and a
little bit of bio and everything, and he gives me
the rundown. Now is he going to be on site
during the project? Does he come back and check and
everything and make sure I'm okay with what's going on.
Speaker 3 (15:54):
Yeah, great question.
Speaker 5 (15:55):
So we are project specialists, focus mainly on the new customers,
but we have a handoff to our we call them
our customer experience managers. So we've we found when you
become a jack of all trades, become a master of none.
And so once a customer, you know, puts an agreement
in place and wants a new business, then we have
a second hand off where Todd in our office, we'll
(16:16):
review their paperwork, give them a call, say hey, welcome
to integrity, talk to them there, give them proper expectations
because that's the biggest thing in construction that's frustrating is
when you don't know what's going on.
Speaker 3 (16:27):
Yeah, and so we communication break communication.
Speaker 5 (16:30):
So we try to as much as possible without bothering people,
letting them know what's happening next. And then our project manager,
so our roofing project managers manage all of our roofing jobs.
Are siding does siding, our windows do windows, So that
way they can become more proficient. So they will say, hey,
I'm going to be working on your project. My name
is Megan or my name is Greg and so then
(16:52):
they'll walk them through it, and then they will schedule
the install, and then the day before they'll remind them
of the install, and then they'll be on set managing
that project. So that way, someone from Integrity is always there.
Speaker 1 (17:05):
There's always follow through. It sounds like you guys have
from point A to the finish of the job. There's
always somebody there to follow through with everything.
Speaker 3 (17:12):
That's that's the goal.
Speaker 5 (17:13):
So and then once that's done and the projects completed,
we actually have we call it our completion satisfaction guarantee,
so we actually will do a full other inspection, take
a bunch of photos.
Speaker 3 (17:24):
Review those photos with.
Speaker 5 (17:26):
The homeowner because they're probably not going to get on
their roof, and so we get those photos for them.
We go over that with them, make sure they're happy
with the cleanup, with the process, with the work. Then
we help them if they did financing, and help them
get that finalized. And then we don't require that final
investment from the homeowner until they've signed off on everything.
Speaker 4 (17:46):
Jobs done, until they're genuinely happy.
Speaker 2 (17:48):
You guys, You guys, it sounds like you are big
on standardizing the process right so that you can deliver
the same kind of product or value from time to time.
Let me ask you if you're a consumer. So I'm
a consumer roof or a home exterior that, like Fred mentioned,
that's a big that's a big job, a big investment.
There are there are good contractors and there are bad.
(18:09):
How is a consumer going to tell the difference?
Speaker 5 (18:12):
Yeah, so one of the it seems pretty straightforward, but reviews. Right,
So when I go on Amazon, if something looks too
good to be true and it has no reviews, I'm
not buying that, you know, But if it's got five
hundred or a thousand reviews, I'm like, Okay, maybe this
is just really that good of a deal. So I
think we have thirteen fourteen hundred Google, thirteen hundred Toledo here.
Speaker 4 (18:33):
Yeah, And the key there also isn't that they have
a five star rating that's perfect or four point nine.
Speaker 1 (18:39):
Right, because I get suspicious when I see it.
Speaker 2 (18:44):
I mean a lot. Some of the statistics say up
to seventy to eighty percent of those extremely high ratings
are being manipulated by AI and and fake reviews. Right,
So how does a person tell what? You see the reviews?
But then is there some indicator in the process, the
sales process or I don't know. I mean people want
(19:06):
to know that kind of a thing.
Speaker 4 (19:08):
Yeah, So part of it is when they come out
to your home, like ask them questions. They recommend a
particular product or a process or a repair or a
full replacement, Like why do they do that?
Speaker 2 (19:18):
Like really see.
Speaker 4 (19:19):
Are they an expert in what they have or are
they just peddling a particular product because it's what the
boss told them to do?
Speaker 2 (19:24):
Right?
Speaker 1 (19:25):
Yeah, somebody gives your name brand, is it because they're
getting a kickback from that name brand or is that
the actual right thing for your house?
Speaker 2 (19:31):
Exactly?
Speaker 5 (19:32):
So, And sometimes it comes down to how much information
are you having to pull out of them versus how
much are people willing to volunteer. So nobody likes the
sales pitch, for sure, I'm aware of that. But at
the end of the day, like if you so, when
we go when we tell them about our origin, we
tell them about our company, right, we try to give
them information that would be beneficial, try to help them,
(19:52):
help them get to know us, and then we are
our main focus is education in the industry. So if
I go out and only talk about you know, one
thing I'm trying to do, it doesn't really help people.
So we try to say, hey, what is roofing as
a whole? What is it made up of? What are
some things to be aware of? And then obviously we
would like to have people buy our roofing system.
Speaker 2 (20:13):
You know, people may not like a sales pitch, but
the truth of it is, how else are you going
to determine whether or not you want to use that
company direct, whether there's a match there. So the sales pitch,
I think would be better if people would view it
as a learning experience. Sure.
Speaker 5 (20:27):
Yeah, And even in the verbiage we try to use
within our own company, we don't we don't like the
term sales pitch.
Speaker 3 (20:33):
We don't like the term sales reps.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
We was just going to say, there's sales pitch, and
there's company pitch.
Speaker 5 (20:39):
Correct, and there's that. Hey these are so we asked
this line of questioning, like, hey, do they have a need?
Are they aware of it? Do we have a potential solution?
Are they aware of it? Might we be a good
fit for one another? And so when we go out there,
that's kind of our goal. You know, Sometimes you go
out and we don't have what they're looking for, and
so we like to say if we can't help you,
(21:00):
will try to point you towards somebody who can. And
so that's one way reviews being educated by people. We
you know, a lot of our reviews that we get,
we ask people to be you know, personalized, like you know,
use our names and that kind of stuff so you
can differentiate them from you know.
Speaker 2 (21:17):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (21:17):
The good news is is Google reviews.
Speaker 5 (21:19):
They're pretty strict and so they run all kinds of
AI algorithms themselves to flush those things out. But then
also you know, going on Facebook, going on Better Business
Bureau is a great place, and like there's a lot
of other places you can go to see he is
it just Google or everyone.
Speaker 2 (21:37):
We have a full time staff member actually more than
one really, it's probably one plus that does nothing but
vet reviews that come into BBB dot org. So we
we have algorithms AI like you said Google, but then
we have if it gets into a yellow zone or
a red zone, then we we call We will call
the reviewer. Really if we reach out and personally verify
(21:59):
that there's a review and verify the information. And so
I would say that our algorithm is pretty tight and
I did not know that when I came on board,
but I had to learn.
Speaker 1 (22:06):
It's one last thing before we close up. You both
seem very passionate about what you're doing, and you mentioned
you know it's faith based. Are you bringing new people
into the company, Are you bringing them along so that
there's room for movement, and are you looking for new
people right now? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (22:24):
Great question.
Speaker 5 (22:25):
So we One of the reasons we've systemized a lot
of what we do is because if you don't systemize it,
you can't bring new people in. You have to find
very specific people. So we're actually in the middle. We're
currently onboarding ten new people on our team this week,
and so they are they actually go out and they
talk to some people at the doors. One of the
(22:45):
things we do is we do like inspections. So instead
of just doing like a salesach at the door, we say, hey,
I can look at your roof and tell you if
you have any issues, here some photos and if you're
interested to give us a call. If not, you know,
we're just in the area. I'm gone, you know, But yeah,
I mean we our goal is to always continue to grow.
So we've come from a very small out of a
basement company to a location company where we are now,
(23:08):
and so we're always looking to bring new people on board.
Speaker 4 (23:11):
And to answer your question about if there's upward movement
or not, Yeah, almost every single senior person or even
manager started at the entry level of some kind.
Speaker 1 (23:19):
Correct, And that's important for anybody who's looking for work,
who wants to come and work for you, because that's
not always the case.
Speaker 4 (23:26):
Yeah, my wife is a nurse, and people will get
hired right in as directors of nursing the doctors and
they're fresh.
Speaker 2 (23:31):
Out sport or worse. To lead a nonprofit like the
Better Business Bureau, I get hired in with no experience whatsoever.
Speaker 1 (23:40):
Well, but to speak to their experience, you know, when
you hire somebody in at a managerial position, while I've
been here, you know for X number of years, my
attitude towards that company is going to change right away.
And it sounds like you want a good attitude from
everybody who works for.
Speaker 5 (23:56):
You well and with also maintaining like the culture you've built.
And so when you bring in someone from the outside,
like sometimes you can find a great person, but other
times like did they just interview well? Or but when
you a known person in your organization who believes in
the culture and believes in the core values and has
built into that. You know, those are the people you
(24:18):
want to rise up and continue that.
Speaker 1 (24:19):
They've got their own farm system.
Speaker 2 (24:20):
Yeah. A friend of mine used to say, a new
broom sweeps good. But in other words, all new employees
look pretty good for the first couple of weeks, but
you don't know, and so by bringing them up from
the inside, you've already vetted them. Yeah, we got to
wrap up. We're running out of time. Guys. I want
to thank you for coming in and talking about RUSS.
I'd like to have you back again and go deeper
on things like roofing warranties and things like that, where
(24:42):
a little bit more of the nuts and bolts of
the roofing industry. If we have time to do that,
would you be willing to absolutely? Yeah, thank you both
of you. Joe Austin.
Speaker 1 (24:51):
Thanks Integrity Homes and Steer exteriorsm I knew I was
going to screw that up. Integrity Home Exteriors dot com
if you want follow along online.
Speaker 2 (25:02):
Did you know our area has over forty thousand businesses.
Some are old, some are new, but they all have
a story to tell about why they sell, how someone
took a chance once upon a time, someone with a
heart for business. Hi, this is Laine Monts, the host
of the Better Business Bureaus Heart for Business podcast. We
know a thing or two about our area's companies, after all,
(25:22):
we've been keeping tabs on them since nineteen nineteen. Join
me in Toledo Radio Legend Fred La Fever every week
as our BBB superheroes tell their origin story and share
a few industry secrets along the way. All right, welcome
back everybody to the program I have with me Guest
number two today, episode number five, Mariah Kornoa from NAMI.
For those of you that don't know, that is what Mariah.
Speaker 6 (25:43):
The National Alliance for Mental Illness.
Speaker 2 (25:46):
You signed so cheery when you say that is what
is the National Alliance for Mental Illness.
Speaker 6 (25:51):
We are the voice for mental illness. And honestly, just
to start, if I could take that word illness out
because I feel like it's stigmatizing because mental health is
part of are everyday wellness.
Speaker 2 (26:01):
So to be honest, I thought of that before. When
when I look at the acronym, I'm like, I wonder
if that should change at some point.
Speaker 6 (26:07):
But well, and there is the prevalence and reality of
mental illness in our society. One in five have a
diagnosable mental illness, and I challenge if that's even underreported.
Five and five of us are impacted.
Speaker 1 (26:21):
Well, everybody's got something that they could probably consider a
mental illness, whether or not psychiatrists and psychologists have put
a name on it. Yet everybody has a level of
stress and that goes right to your mental health, doesn't it.
Speaker 2 (26:34):
Yeah, good days, bad days, And if it's not you
at a particular moment of time, you know somebody that
is that. That is the one thing is the BBB
is pivoted towards supporting your cause and becoming invested in it.
And I talk about that to people. The first thing
they I say, if it's not you, it's somebody you know.
There's never been a no shake, a no headshake back
(26:55):
to that.
Speaker 6 (26:56):
Right right, Yeah, it impacts all of us and a
lot of who now these serves are the families impacted
by mental illness.
Speaker 2 (27:04):
So why don't you talk about that a little bit
and you can talk about the organization first, whatever you
want to talk about. But I think we should definitely
touch on what do we do the burden, the burden
that it puts on families and friends. And I don't
know if burden is even the right word. That might
be the wrong word, but it is something that you
have to deal with, and it's hard. It can be
very difficult.
Speaker 6 (27:23):
Yeah, and if you've never had a need to engage
in these large health care systems, it can be overwhelming.
So core to nami's mission is support, education and advocacy
really around the premise that earliest interventions stop brain damage
can really change the trajectory of someone's recovery. Right, So,
(27:47):
earliest intervention's best possible care, trauma informed, culturally relevant, as
well as diversion from the criminal justice system. A lot
of folks end up in detention versus treatment, So how
do we make sure that folks are Our motto for
this coming year is know us before you need us.
Speaker 1 (28:07):
I just attended a diversion program that the Lucas County
Court system does along with the Toledo Plation, and one
of the things that they stress they're trying to get
low level, nonviolent offenders out of the system, and one
of the things that they stressed was when they get here,
we need to give them the resources for their mental health,
(28:27):
because a lot of times that's all it is. They're
arguing with the police, not because they hate the police
or anything else, it's that they have a mental health
problem that nobody recognizes, and we need to find a
place for them to go.
Speaker 6 (28:40):
I agree. I actually just learned of a reality that
most major episodes of mass violence are due to a grievance,
not a mental illness. People are angry and hurt and uncertain.
So we need to help people develop positive coping skills
accessing resources before they get into a crisis. So those
(29:02):
early interventions are really important.
Speaker 2 (29:04):
I remember growing up as a kid, right, I think
I've talked about this with you before, Mariah. When I
was young, Fred, maybe you remember this too. Every county
basically had a mental health facility. There was a building
that when people were going through a tough time or
if they couldn't cope with life, that's where they went,
and that's where or that's where they were sent. And
I'm not saying we should go back to that. There
(29:26):
were problems with those institutions, but the problem is nothing
else filled the gap. They were all closed down for
various reasons. Legal liability, county finances or whatever. They closed
down and nothing stepped forward to fill the breach. And
I think it's strange to me that thirty five years
(29:47):
later or more, we're just now starting to realize that
a lot of the problems that we're having in society
are because the mental health support network is lacking.
Speaker 5 (29:58):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (29:58):
I think the movement is to keep people at home
and to have community based treatment, get them back into
the communities where connection and resiliency can be found. And
in theory, that sounds great, but there's so many people
that fell through the cracks, excuse me, and or didn't
have the wherewithal to know how to engage in these
(30:21):
systems or get help. So people fall through the cracks,
and the problem is greater now than ever.
Speaker 1 (30:26):
Yeah. Well, and I'm curious if you believe, because I
know you use social media and you're on social media
and you're online and everything with Nomi, But how much
is that contributing now? Just by her reaction, I wish
you could see it. Yeah, just the sigh. You probably
heard the sigh. How much is that contributing? Because I
(30:48):
just feel for these kids who are getting bullied and
having their mental health just ruined by being on social media.
Speaker 4 (30:55):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (30:55):
I'm going to talk about that from two perspectives. One
as an adult, where we are constantly putting out these
happy facades of everything is perfect, yeah, and so keeping
up with the Joneses, trying to you know, put out
this again, all of this beautiful.
Speaker 1 (31:11):
Class, beautiful laws.
Speaker 6 (31:14):
Yeah. And then kids on the other hand, and even
as adults, we're chasing these unreachable expectations. And I think
our kids, where bullying has always been a part of life,
I guess, or comparison, power and control, whatever, they don't
get a break from it.
Speaker 1 (31:33):
And so.
Speaker 6 (31:35):
When they go home where it used to we used
to be able to, you know, find our safety and
respite at home. These kids aren't getting that. So not
only are they always making comparisons, we have this pressure
for perfection. Still you're supposed to have it all figured out,
and adults don't, but we keep putting this pressure on
(31:56):
kids to have it all figured I.
Speaker 2 (31:58):
Got bully the old fashioned way in the hallway at
school by bigger classmates. Yeah, not at scale. So you know,
my pastor used to say, no matter who you meet,
everyone is going through a battle. Everyone is fighting a battle,
and I really believe that that was one hundred percent true.
And I think we're starting to see that there is
(32:19):
a problem with connectivity. There is a problem with everybody's
fighting some battle with mental health, even if it's not diagnosable.
It's somewhere on that spectrum like Fred was talking about,
and it's affecting us. And we have to get to
a point where there's better support. And I don't think
it's going to come from the national level. I think
it has to come from the ground up locally first.
Speaker 6 (32:41):
Yeah, I appreciate you bringing that up, because this is
our hope. When people come to NAMI, we already know
they have a problem. How do we ever challenge the
mental health landscape. We have to get upstream, I believe,
into workforce as well as into our school systems. We
have to really talk about compassion building. What are the
components that make some people more resilient than others. They've
(33:02):
got support systems, they have belonging and connection and purpose,
and so how do we just bring these topics to
everyday spaces. So thank you Fred for letting us be
here to talk about this. I'm really appreciative of the
Better Business Bureau helping us reach other folks us before
you need us, right, And there are.
Speaker 1 (33:21):
People out there who are doing that kind of work.
We've had the Lukens Foundation on and they build little
kindness rooms and local schools and you would think that
every school would jump on that, right, Oh my god, Yes,
a little room where kids can go and not be
bullied and find some friendships. The Buffalo Soldiers teach an
anti bullying class when we go out to the schools
(33:42):
and get the kids to promise that they will not
be a bully and they will stand up when they
do see bullying and things like that. There's just so
many groups that are out there. Is there some cohesiveness
between what you do and all these little groups that
are working also, So.
Speaker 6 (33:57):
I'll say from the mental health perspective field, we have
the Mental Health Recovery Services Board that helps us really
drive collaboration and connection as a system. And so we
just this morning had a prevention education network where prevention
providers come together and talk about like what is it
like for you? And I think that's part of our
(34:18):
destigmatizing is we talk about this all the time as
if it's all those people, but it's us. So if
we don't start having these conversations honestly and vulnerably, then
we're still putting it sort of out of our reach yet.
Speaker 2 (34:32):
So I think, no matter what else happens, until it
becomes something that we're willing to talk about more openly.
And I do see some changes there. I think we're
in the early stages of that, but I do see
some changes. For all the problems that COVID brought, it
may have unintentionally, you know, accidentally raised the awareness of
(34:52):
mental health issues in a community, and so that's great
because that's going to be a catalyst for improvement. What
does NAMI do. I mean, I know that you're a
part of a larger organization, but you're the local chapter.
Why don't you tell the listeners a little bit about that?
And then we'll talk about the all important question. And
we're not soliciting funds on this podcast, that's not what
we're about. But of course making a difference at some
(35:14):
point does require some funding, and we can talk about
that second. But talk first about NAMI structure. And it's
the concept of NAMI. Sure.
Speaker 6 (35:22):
Nami was formed at a kitchen table, so we have
about six hundred affiliates across the country. We have about
thirty eight in Ohio. NAMI here is part of Greater Toledo.
We do have sister affiliates in Wood County and Four
County and what we all strive for is providing support,
education and advocacy, support groups, education classes so people can
(35:45):
dive into their diagnosis or support their loved one. We
also do advocacy at the Statehouse to make sure that
the voice of mental illness is not forgotten. So we
have our support groups are on Monday nights. I take
part and support group. I love it. It is the highlight
of my week because it gives me hope that even
in our darkest moments, we can figure out a way
(36:08):
and we come together and it really is encouraging.
Speaker 1 (36:12):
Is it tough to get the legislature to sign on
to some of these things because you know, obviously, if
I've got cancer or I'm you know, Michael Keaton, and
I appear in front of Congress, you can see that
something is wrong with me, not necessarily wrong, but you
can see my disease. You can't see that mental illness
(36:33):
all the time. So it's tougher for people to accept
that that's going on with a lot more people than
you realize. How do you break loose from that to
get those funds?
Speaker 6 (36:43):
So thanks for asking. Actually, NAMI has a national signature
program called NAMI Smarts and it's a template for everyday advocacy.
How do you tell your story in three minutes or less?
Speaker 5 (36:56):
Right?
Speaker 6 (36:56):
You only get at it, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (36:58):
You only get that that time.
Speaker 6 (36:59):
So it's got to be impactful. You need to really
state what the problem was, what made a difference, what
you need help with, and why it's important. So I
think now people I don't want to say that it's
just a fad because post COVID, I'll take whatever opportunity
came from it to bring attention to this to the issue.
(37:20):
So I don't think anybody is shying away from it.
I don't think people are in denial that mental health
is a real thing. But it's aligning back to physical
health in its matter of importance. You know, it's it's
I think it is still highly stigmatized as a fault,
it's an error, and instead we have to build awareness
(37:41):
that impacts of trauma or lifelong and some of these things,
you know, everyday health, it's just aligned with one body.
Speaker 2 (37:49):
Perception is changing. Mariah but I think the next step
is then how how do people make a difference? Right,
And so I think that's where an organization lie NAMI
has to come in. You have to help to make
an impact. You have to have more than just a
desire to make an impact. You have to have an
infrastructure that allows you. That's the cause and effect connection.
(38:11):
And so to me, that's what NAMI is doing. That's
what NAMI has to do, and we need organizations like NAMI.
You mentioned education and employer education. What's the I want
to come back to that. Tell me since I have
almost six thousand member businesses, that's a lot of employers, yes,
and so what does that mean?
Speaker 6 (38:30):
Well, we all know in employment that retention is a challenge, right,
So how do we support our employees better? That employee
wellness component it includes mental health. So if we aren't
preparing leadership and managers along with frontline staff and how
to recognize warning signs and then how to address them.
So not only do we have education for family members
(38:53):
and individuals with the mental health diagnosis, we're really trying
to support businesses to know how to support their employees better.
Speaker 2 (39:00):
So that's a challenge. I've been a boss, a manager,
whatever you want to call it. For a long time,
if somebody comes in and they need they need a walker,
or they're in a wheelchair or whatever. So that's an
easy thing to see. I can I can begin to think,
how can lane accommodate this and make this easier? It's
a little different. One thing you can't tell sometimes there's
a mental issue going on, but you can't always tell
(39:24):
from just their having a bad day, So like, how
did how do how does an employer know? That's why
I guess what the education is for.
Speaker 6 (39:30):
Huh yeah, definitely just to kind of lean in a
little bit until before a crisis occurs. We can tell
that somebody is acting different, they appear different, their their
cognitive thinking is different. So I think it's it's just
educating around what are these warning signs? And then even
at another level of leadership development, is how do we
(39:51):
teach uh, those those social skills even to know how
to lean in properly. Sometimes we're doing more damage by
you know, we think we're being funny and it's actually
a microaggression. You know, it's not helping. So I think
it's just creating this awareness. One of the things I
find really shocking right now is eighteen to twenty nine
year olds, forty seven percent are depressed and anxious. That's
(40:14):
before they've even gotten into the workforce.
Speaker 2 (40:16):
Yeah, so what is the work's going to do?
Speaker 1 (40:18):
And they're unhappy with what they do, They're unhappy with
their prospects, they're unhappy with a lot of things. I've
read one day and we had one boss who did this,
and it's an excellent way. Everybody wants to think of
these problems as as so complex and they're not on
the basic level. If your boss walks through the building
(40:38):
every single day, we had a boss who did this
and says hi to everybody. Are you doing today? That's
it and they will notice if they're smart. Normally Fred says, hey,
best day of my life. You know, still got a
job and a family I love. And you say hi
to spread the next day and he goes.
Speaker 2 (40:57):
Son you, then.
Speaker 1 (41:01):
You know something's wrong. But if you don't say hi
to everybody in the building every day, and I know
it's a pain in the butt to do that, but
it gives you that connection and sometimes that's all people
need to know is that you were there and ask
them how they were doing and we're honest in that answer.
Speaker 6 (41:17):
And you said the word connection. Yes, connection and people
paying attention and caring one of the things that really
resonated with me in this past year. And I hate
to sound bleak about this, but people feel invisible, like
their voice doesn't matter and nobody cares. So how do
we counter that? We have to show them that we
do care, that you do matter, and give them opportunity
(41:39):
for their voice.
Speaker 2 (41:41):
So let's take Fred's example and push it a little farther. Okay,
So I come in, I do that. I try to
do that most of the time. They say, we don't
go to your office and leave us alone. Really, And
that's okay, And that's okay. But let's say as a
boss or a manager. Let's say as a boss or
a manager that I say that and I get a vibe. Right, Okay,
(42:04):
that's one day. It's just a vibe. Maybe they're having
a bad day. But let's say out of the next
seven or eight days, I get that vibe four times,
maybe five times? Can I call no me like, do
I don't know the next step because the next step
could have legal pitfalls in it as well. If I
do it very personal, it could be very personal. I
could do more, like you said, do more damage. So,
(42:24):
like what kind of supervisor or a business owner do
when they begin to pick up on that vibe they
don't know what to do next. I honestly believe that's
where a lot of possible help falls off the cliff
and doesn't actually happen. So what's the next step?
Speaker 6 (42:40):
Yeah, so I'm glad you asked because that's one of
the things that I didn't mention. As far as support,
we have family navigators that actually help troubleshoot what the
person with the mental illness or the family member or
the employer is struggling with. So if we can offer
next steps or resources or again some even somebody to
(43:03):
just have a listening ear sometimes is what people are
looking for. So as an employer, you can call us.
We're gonna help with some of the policies, just to
be aware, like are they supportive to helping people get help?
Do you have an EAP? Do they understand their own
benefits and access? So I think we just try to
be that conduit and that sort of convener and connector
(43:27):
to next steps for employers.
Speaker 2 (43:29):
And do you have an EAP or do you put
people in touch with one and can you do that
to it to help a business or an employer.
Speaker 6 (43:35):
Absolutely, we are not an EAP again, we are just
that conduit to some of these gaps that we see.
So we do work with other EAPs. We work with
work Spring, we work with Harbor and their EAP a
lot of times. Again it's just helping break down the
barriers to getting access. So we talk about it from
(43:56):
a culture of awareness, a culture of access, and then
a culture of caring, like how do we put those
things into action?
Speaker 1 (44:02):
Yeah, And one of the things that came through in
this diversion program that the jail is doing was that
a lot of those folks who are coming through the
system aren't aware of all the resources. They don't know
about NAMI, they don't know about two to one one,
they don't know about the Salvation Army. They just and
so they're finally putting together a list of all those
resources from the ZEF Center on down to the NAMI
(44:26):
and everybody else and they will hand that to these
folks when they're done with the seminar that they go through,
so that they can access them either online for free
like at the library, or in person. Or by phone,
and sometimes just knowing that you can go someplace can
really brighten your mood and get you into to seek help,
because it's got to be you. You're the one that
(44:47):
has to seek help. No one could force you.
Speaker 2 (44:49):
You won't hear me pitch things very forcefully too often,
right because I try to stay somewhat neutral. But I
can tell you if you're a business owner, a manager
and execut of HR or whatever out there listening to this podcast,
or if you're an employee that wants to make a suggestion,
is in a position to make a suggestion to your employer.
I started using EAP systems twenty years ago in construction,
(45:12):
and I'm going to tell you it was the best
line in my budget. It was the best line in
my budget. I did not have to use it that often,
three or four times a year at the most, but
when I did, it saved the employee employer relationship. It
helped so much. So I just want to urge people
(45:32):
really strongly consider an EAP program. They're not very expensive,
they have a huge return on the investment to help
keep the relationship between your employee and you better and
to help them, and you're not only is it helping
the business. You're doing a good thing.
Speaker 6 (45:47):
Yeah, And we've tried to prove this business case for
mental health for a long time. It really does impact productivity.
If you don't feel good, you're not going to do
your job well. And I think the other thing that
is really important here. It's one thing to give over
the opportunity and to create awareness of these resources. It's
another for us to model utilizing them, so to talk
(46:09):
about our own journeys of mental health. We keep health
so private and so secret that it's no wonder nobody
takes that first step on their own. So I think
for us as leaders to model wellness and to talk
about how we take care of ourselves, how we balance
life work balance.
Speaker 1 (46:25):
Now, if people want to get a hold of Nami
and the resources, because the website is pretty extensive, there's
a lot of stuff up there. What's the best way
to do that? Website, Facebook, phone number, give us those.
Speaker 6 (46:35):
All of the above. Yeah, we are on Facebook, No
me of Greater Toledo. We have a website www. Nomi
Nami Toledo dot com or I'm sorry dot org dot
org yep, and then our phone number is four one
nine two four three nine.
Speaker 1 (46:52):
Now, do you have an event during the course of
the year, like a fundraising event that you do?
Speaker 2 (46:56):
Oh, thank you for good question, Freds.
Speaker 6 (47:00):
We just kicked off our breakfast of champions are Walk
Captain's Breakfast thanks to the Better Business Bureau. Our annual
signature event, NAMI Walks, is May seventeenth. This year is
a day of hope across the country. Excuse me, like
it is every year, but this year is our twentieth year.
(47:20):
It's very exciting, so we're really excited to be that
visible space where people come together to celebrate and talk
about mental health.
Speaker 2 (47:28):
Absolutely awesome, A right, thanks for stopping by and impromptu
impromptu thank you so much anytime, no me. Folks support it,
help it, use it.
Speaker 1 (47:37):
Thank you once again. You can go to NAMI Toledo
dot org. You can call four one nine two four
three one one one nine. You'll also find them on Facebook.
Information about the walk on May seventeenth will be available
online if you'd like that. Thanks for joining us again
for another episode of a Heart for Business, brought to
(48:00):
you by the Better Business Bureau on Fred Lafever four
lane months. Have a great week and be sure to
join us and listen to wherever you get your podcasts from,
including iHeartRadio,
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