Second Chances Require Compassion

Well, hello world. Change you enough here for a minute. I am going to do this recording about artists helping the homeless. I know I've done a couple about them before. It's a nonprofit that I am the philanthropy and communications manager for. And this is a story. I have the opportunity to get to interview whether it's a client, an unhoused young man who came in from incarceration or rehab or detox or inpatient. All sorts of situations which may bring someone to our services. And oftentimes they end up in a respite house or a transition house. And when we talk about wraparound services and trying to really figure out a way to best serve these young men. Education, employment, health and wellness, mental health, physical health, ID services. There are so many things that we need to try to help with in order for them to be able to really reintegrate into society and become the people that they were meant to be. But what part of that what we need is we need help on the employment side. Because oftentimes these guys don't have all of the stuff that you need from a work history perspective or an education perspective for them to be able to get jobs where they're not just surviving or less than surviving really struggling. Jobs where they can make an income that can allow them to save up a little to where then maybe they can get their own apartment or they can get their own transportation. All those things. And this is a story about an employer who works with us specifically in our Lawrence Kansas area to provide these types of opportunities for young men where they can earn some income, learn some skills and then become part of a team which then allows them to go out into the world, open new doors and find things that they can really find a purpose in or be a part of. And this is a story about Brandon Reese. He's the owner of Reese's lawn care. And you know he builds a lot of stuff and it's just more than yards. He helps to cultivate opportunity. He's been a partner with artists helping the homeless for quite some time. And he opens the door for lots of these men for employment to help them rebuild their lives. You know his willingness to offer steady work, steady income, mentorship, leadership to all of these guys who are trying to re-entering the community. This really embodies what artists helping the homeless and our belief that everyone deserves a fair chance to grow and to make up for maybe the mistakes that they made in the past. And one of those guys that came into our program a couple years ago his name is Arthur Elmer. He goes by already. And Brandon gave him a shot. So he began working with Reese's lawn care while he was living in our transitional house in Lawrence. And already didn't have all the things necessary to get a corporate job or the education necessary to go right into a certain field. But he could work and he wanted to work. And so Brandon put him to work and over time already became you know not just a reliable employee but he really became someone that Brandon trusted. You know his consistency, his showing up every day, his humility, he worked really hard, have been a sort of surprise to both artists helping the homeless to us in our program and to Brandon. You know because Brandon took a chance. And this kind of represents what can happen when compassion meets opportunity. And this is the best part of this story because recently that partnership was put to a test. It's not always simple. Brandon, he got sick very quickly with severe abdominal pain and they had to rush him to the hospital. That's where doctors discovered that he had kidney stones and they were so big that he could not pass them naturally. And for those of you who have had kidney stones, you know this is no joke. This pain is for real. And it got worse. His condition got you know gradually went downhill and he got dangerously close to sepsis. He spent four days in the hospital. Finally Brandon got let out but he was pretty weak and he was unable to work for more than an hour at a time, get on the lawnmower, do the things that needed to run his business. But in Brandon's absence, already was the man. He stepped up without any hesitation. Without even being asked, he took on every responsibility from opening and closing the shop to transporting the equipment to leading the crews at the job sites, talking to customers. And thanks to Arty's dedication, the company kept on trucking, continued operating smoothly and they didn't lose a single client. It's pretty remarkable. You know, that was a real life display of loyalty and character and proof of how second chances can transform not only the lives of those people but everybody involved in the process. Whether it was a customer, whether it was another employee, whether it was the owner, whether it was Arty, and then Arty's helping the homeless in our belief as well. You know Brandon told me he was so grateful for Arty and for the mission of Arty's helping the homeless for what we do. When I talked to him, he said this. He said, "Hey Ben, everyone needs someone to believe in them and sometimes all they need is a chance." You know, in this kind of partnership, that belief becomes a reality. It proves and it shows that when compassion guides opportunity, communities grow stronger together. I'm just really happy that we have a program in people who support us in all sorts of ways to give these guys a chance. So thank you Brandon Reese. Thank you Reese's lawn care. Thanks, Arty's helping the homeless. An Arty man, good job dude. Good job, peace.