- [Narrator] Funding for this edition of One-On-One with Steve Adubato has been provided by NJM Insurance Group.

Serving New Jersey’s drivers, homeowners and business owners for more than 100 years.

The Fidelco Group.

The Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey.

The New Jersey Economic Development Authority.

New Jersey Sharing Network.

Johnson & Johnson.

The Turrell Fund, a foundation serving children.

Wells Fargo.

And by PSEG Foundation.

Promotional support provided by Northjersey.com and Local IQ.

Part of the USA Today Network.

And by Meadowlands Chamber.

Building connections, driving business growth.

- This is One-On-One.

- I'm an equal American just like you are.

- The way we change Presidents in this country is by voting.

- A quartet is already a jawn, it’s just The New Jawn.

- January 6th was not some sort of violent, crazy outlier.

- I don't care how good you are or how good you think you are, there is always something to learn.

- I mean what other country sends comedians over to embedded military to make them feel better.

- People call me 'cause they feel nobody's paying attention.

_ It’s not all about memorizing and getting information, it’s what you do with that information.

- (slowly) Start talking right now.

- That's a good question, high five.

(upbeat music) - Hi, everyone.

Steve Adubato.

We kick off the program with Joyce Campbell, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director at the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen.

Otherwise known as TASK, T-A-S-K.

The website will come up.

Joyce, great to have you with us.

- Well, thank you so much for having me here today.

- You got it.

We saw you featured with our colleagues and friends over at NJ Spotlight News.

A feature of, is it about a mobile?

First of all, tell about the organization and then bring in the mobile unit and what it has to do with helping people who don't have access to the food they need for themselves and their families, please.

- Happy to do that.

TASK has been in Trenton for 42 years.

Our primary mission has been to feed those who are food insecure.

Food first.

No questions asked.

Our full mission, however, is also to offer programs that will increase self-sufficiency and improve quality of life for individuals.

So, in addition to all of the meals we provide at 40 sites throughout the county and in our dining room in Trenton, at our main site, we also provide a variety of services from case management, patron services, basic needs items, workforce development, adult education, arts program, and we have a culinary training academy.

So, we really try to round out what we offer for folks.

A meal can change a life.

We have people come into us, and often stay and get other services.

But those people who come into us are able to get here.

We're very concerned about access and to make access easier for people so that in the middle of March we put a mobile truck on the road.

And right now we have four sites where we are bringing hot meals.

- Hold on, Joyce.

It's a food truck?

- Yeah.

- So, describe how it works.

What food is there?

And then, how do people access it?

- So, what we did is we intentionally purchased a fully loaded kitchen in this food truck.

Right now we're just six weeks, seven weeks into it.

We load it up with food.

We go to four different spots that we have.

Two capital health spots, a church spot in Trenton, and another spot near a school up by the Ewing border.

Areas that we knew were not being served.

So, right now we're bringing the hot food and we're putting it in containers for folks, talking to them, giving them other information if they need it about other services.

You know, our goal is to be out more places, and then our goal is also to sort of turn this around so that maybe we have our culinary students practicing kitchen as if they're working on a food truck.

Also raise money through that to help pay for all the food that we're providing for free.

- Joyce, I'm curious about this.

- Yeah?

- Trenton is the state capital.

And also representative of...

Even though every community, every urban community is different, there are certain similarities, challenges, et cetera.

How serious is the problem of food insecurity in our state capital Trenton?

- It's pretty severe and it's actually gotten worse.

And I'm not alone in that.

Our other food serving organizations have found the same.

We have served over 40% more here at Escher Street.

Overall, now we are making 11,000 meals a week.

The demand has just kept going up.

As I said, I'm not alone.

We recently started Mercer County Food Security Leaders Group, which is actually meeting this afternoon, and we all have shared the same experience.

You know, we thought after COVID, things would kinda settle down, but inflation has gotten the best of folks.

We are also experiencing an influx of Spanish speaking families, particularly families with children, which is something new, at least for TASK, so that things are not necessarily improving on that front.

The cost of living is just so high.

- Undocumented folks coming into the state?

- Yes.

- Is it?

Are those folks coming into the state capital as well?

- Oh yes.

Yeah.

I mean, Trenton has always had a significant population of undocumented migrants coming in.

But it's increased more.

And we feel that maybe half of the reason we've seen more increase at TASK is because we've made intentional efforts to be welcoming, to hire bilingual staff.

And we recently had some focus groups where folks did say, "Yes, that made a difference.

We felt very welcome."

What we do know though is sometimes the families only really come to us for a few months.

They don't stay on.

- Joyce, let me ask you something.

- Sure.

- You've been involved in anti-poverty work for more than a couple years, right?

- Yeah.

Yes.

- What's?

I'm sure there are many reasons.

What's the greatest motivation for you to be doing this work for four decades now?

- Because it's just not right.

It's all I can say is, I mean, even as a child, I didn't understand why some people had their basic needs met and others don't.

And if we don't do it, then, you know?

People are hurting.

They can't survive.

I mean, I look at children.

Their parents have to be strong.

They have to be strong to go to school, to learn.

I mean, hunger is just such a basic need.

And you know, the other part, Steve, is that we know there's so much wealth in this country that there's really no reason so many people should be struggling.

That's my opinion.

But we believe in providing what people can and where people can maybe leave our services.

That's great if they're able to get employment and be able to be self-sufficient.

It's just really a struggle for a lot of folks.

- You know, speaking of struggle.

For a lot of folks who, again, our first responsibility is to take care of those in our own home, our family.

We get that.

It's what we do.

But if someone wanted to be helpful, is it primarily money?

- Yes.

(chuckles) I will always say that.

And you know, one of the things over my years, I've learned now not to shy away from saying that.

Because money can really help us wrap around the things that people need wrap around them.

We can purchase better, we can purchase more food in bulk.

We can purchase hygiene products in bulk.

We also, you know, we need a staff here.

These are all the things that we need funding for.

And I feel like we're very good stewards of the funds.

And probably people don't know.

We're about 95% privately funded.

Government sources are great and government benefits like SNAP are wonderful for the people we serve.

But a lot of the government funds have a lot of strings attached to them.

And with private donations, we can help people do things that just might make the next difference.

Okay.

You got a job at UPS, you need boots?

We're gonna get the boots.

(chuckles) - I wanna thank our friends at New Jersey manufacturers who told us about your organization.

And then again, seeing you on NJ Spotlight News precipitated us reaching out for you.

I cannot thank you enough.

To you and your colleagues at TASK, the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen.

Well done for the work you're doing, and I know you'll continue to do important work moving forward.

Thanks so much.

I appreciate it, Joyce.

- Thank you so much.

Take care.

- You got it.

Stay with us.

We'll be right back.

- [Narrator] To watch more One on One with Steve Adubato find us online and follow us on Social media.

- We're now joined by Dr. Eric Alcera, who is Vice President, Chief Medical Officer at Hackensack Meridian Health Carrier Clinic, and also a child psychologist by background.

Dr. Alcera, good to see you, my friend.

- You too, Steve.

Happy to be here.

- You got, let me say that.

I say my friend, also my former student.

Let me disclose that.

I've been teaching in the HMH Hackensack Meridian Health Physician Leadership Academy for several years, and you were one of our better students, four years in.

- Four years in, that's, I really appreciate the compliment.

- Well, I'm not gonna ask what you learned from it.

That's another story.

Hey, Eric, do this.

Help us understand what the crisis we are facing in 2024 and beyond as it relates to youth mental health.

How bad is it and are we addressing it in remotely the way we need to?

- Yeah, it's the, you know, the teen mental health crisis is certainly something that is on everyone's top of mind.

You know, the American Psych Association, the American Pediatric Association, all of them have declared a teen mental health crisis, probably most in part due to the after effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

You know, we're seeing kids that are suffering more with, you know, symptoms of depression, anxiety, the suicide rates in teen and adolescent girls continues to rise.

And, you know, this is problematic for our society.

- You and I were having a conversation offline recently about this major grant, $10 million grant, that has gone to Hackensack Meridian Health, an underwriter of our programming, dealing directly with this issue from Steven and Alexandra Cohen funded, the Cohens who own the Mets?

- Yes.

Go Mets.

- I'm a Yankee fan, but in this case it's go Mets.

We agree.

What is the $10 million for and what impact will it have, Dr. Alcera?

- Yeah, you know, the Cohen Foundation, Steve and Alexandra were so kind to provide that money for us.

They, you know, we met with them and they really understood the need and the crisis that existed and they wanted to do their part.

You know, the money that they're giving us is gonna go directly into our Child and Adolescent Expansion at the Carrier Clinic.

You know, that's a $35.9 million project that is going to make a huge impact for the kids in the state of New Jersey.

Currently at Carrier Clinic, we have 36 beds.

The money that we're getting is gonna allow us to go to 52 beds, which is gonna be critical to provide support for kids in crisis.

It also is gonna allow us to add an additional eight beds for latency in kids.

So, kids between the ages of seven to 11, which people don't often think about, but they struggle as well.

And the number of beds in the state of New Jersey is not enough to say the least.

And to have the ability to expand that is gonna be very important to provide the services for those who really suffering with severe cases.

- But Eric, you're talking about beds, important, but many people, and I've also talked to you about this, so many friends of mine who are looking for help for their children are saying that there aren't enough psychiatrists, there are not enough mental health professionals.

And that it's, oh yeah, you could have an appointment for three months.

No, it's not three months, we're in crisis right now.

Talk about not beyond the beds, the people, the professionals, please.

- Yeah, I mean, it's not only immune to HMH, there's a national shortage in child psychiatrists and clinicians in general.

I think that's something that's affecting the nation as a whole.

But with HMH, we're trying to do our part.

We recognize that we really have to meet kids where they're at.

You know, we have one of the biggest state initiatives called the Pediatric Psych Collaborative that helps with pediatricians address kids when they're meeting with their primary care providers and provide those mental health services.

And that's a statewide service that has just been absolutely phenomenal.

We have other services, too, that we're trying to improve access points with our child fellowship and behavioral health and urgent care.

HMH is trying to do their part to address, you know, some of the needs and decrease some of those waiting times that you mentioned.

- Dr. Alcera, what advice do you have, and I know it's case by case, but what advice do you have for parents watching right now who are really struggling because their kids are struggling?

I don't even know what post-pandemic means, and I don't know what impact COVID has had.

I want to talk about that as well.

What about for a parent watching right now who's lost?

They don't know where to turn.

Talk to them.

- It's, you know, you're not alone.

I mean, I think that's the biggest message is that sometimes when you're struggling and you're questioning whether or not you're doing the right thing for your kids.

Sometimes you need to reach out to people and get that validation or support that is absolutely necessary.

And sometimes you can find that in your local community.

But, you know, in our network, we have trained professionals 24/7 that can support you, service you, connect you, and give you access to those necessary services.

You know, parents struggle.

It's hard raising kids.

Let's just sort of say that from the start, but you're not alone when it comes to, you know, the services that you need to help, especially when you're trying to help your kid get through a mental health crisis.

- Eric, what are they looking for?

I know this is so ridiculous because it's so individual to each kid.

We have three children.

I have a son from a, older son from a previous marriage, and they're all different.

And so, the thing, like, what should we be looking for?

Such a ridiculously generic question because our kids are so different, but are there certain signs, are there certain indicators that should raise our antenna to say, "Hey, we need to deal with this and not just hope it gets better," please.

- Yeah, it, you know, with mental health, I always tell parents they know their kids better than we do.

So understanding, you know, how they're functioning.

What we typically use the term baseline.

What's their social life like?

What's their academic life like?

What's their interactions with the family like?

When those things change, when kids become more withdrawn, less social, not eating, and even start, you know, falling academically, those are signs that mental health might be creeping in.

And especially if they start talking about things like suicide or self-harming, those are absolute signs that you need to reach out to a crisis counselor and get help.

- COVID's impact?

Do we have any idea, even though it's 2024, do we have any idea or in four plus years in?

- I mean, it's not good.

I think, you know, the traumas that were felt, the association with loss, you know, I can't, I've spoken to many people.

There's very few people that have not been touched by someone that was lost or injured or, you know, impacted by the COVID pandemic, and that resonates in kids.

You know, when that happens, it's hard to sort of get your arms around when it happens on such a large scale.

And I think, you know, what we know about trauma is that it's everlasting.

You know, it changes you, it affects you.

And sometimes when you're not the best at expressing yourself or managing some of your feelings and stress, that can be problematic.

And we want make sure that kids, we recognize this in kids and support them as they work through that.

- Eric, before I let you go, any real progress on the stigma attached to mental health?

I mean, please tell me we're better than we were.

- I think we are.

You know, if you look at sort of Hollywood and the media, mental health is becoming much more in mainstream media and easier to talk about.

The more high figures speak about mental health, the more important it becomes.

I think, you know, we have ambassadors with HMH that speak about it, and the more they do it, the better off people are and the less likely that they feel averse in not talking about it.

- And lemme just share this, as Eric knows, in my, and I'm not promoting my recent book, "Lessons in Leadership 2.0: The Tough Stuff."

I'll just say this, there's a chapter in it where I talk about wellness and I share my own challenges in that regard because, I'm not a celebrity per se, but the less we talk openly about those challenges, the more the stigma remains.

Dr. Eric Alcera, Vice President, Chief Medical Officer, Hackensack Meridian Health, again, an underwriter of ours, Carrier Clinic.

Good to see you, Eric, talk soon.

- You too, Steve, thank you.

- You got it.

Stay with us, we'll be right back.

- [Narrator] To watch more One on One with Steve Adubato find us online and follow us on Social media.

- We're now joined for the first time, won't be the last time, by Citi Medina, who is the CEO and founder of a great organization called Equal Space.

Citi, great to have you with us.

- Oh, so great to be here, Steve, so great.

- You got it.

We're gonna put up the website of Equal Space.

What is it and why does it matter, particularly to those who need a lot of help for the wrong reasons?

- You know, I think Equal Space, like many spaces and startups that are founded by people of color, serves a particular need in helping diverse founders find their legs, access, and resources.

So we are a share space and incubator, headquartered proudly here in Newark for the last nine years with now two campuses.

And what we do is so much more besides just providing a suite.

We actually provide programming support and community in an effort to help galvanize founders to really go forward and lead their startups to success.

And so that's really my pride point in what Equal Space does in the coworking industry.

- Other great not-for-profits over at 550 Broad Street in Newark.

Terrific things going on there.

Let me follow up on this.

How did you get so involved in advocacy and making a difference?

This, I'm gonna, let me read a quote and then you'll respond to it.

I am a queer person of color and I noticed that a lot of startups are a result of the pain points we have all felt.

I mean, it's powerful.

I want you to expand upon that please, Citi.

- So, you know, in my own initial startup, my first company, I faced a lot of the obstacles that I try to provide access to for founders now.

And that's so funny, given that it's like 14 years of being a full-time entrepreneur myself.

But the pain point of being at the intersection of being Afro-Latino and queer or being femme identifying or being immigrant, those obstacles start to have a commonality around access to funding, around not only the wealth gap, Steve, but also the knowledge gap, having access to networks that allow you to grow your businesses.

And I started to really not only understand it because I was trying to traverse the same terrain, but I was starting to see it in the community I was building here in Newark.

And so I found it to be my calling to create more resources for them because the only difference between us and other opportunities, is just being in the room.

We're talent rich.

We're just under-betted on.

- But let's stay on this.

So we're a nonprofit.

You're a nonprofit.

I'm out there raising money every day.

You're out there raising money every day.

I have access to certain people and certain doors are closed to all.

Not every door is open to everybody.

However, the doors that are open to me, being a lot older than you and being out there, right, building relationships, I can't assume that those same doors with those corporations and foundations are open to you.

How the heck do you, because you can't bang the door down, but how do you, how have you been getting into the doors of corporations and foundations with people who had them up, who often do not look like you or have your experience?

- You know, it's really been about building critical mass.

What I've found is as I build community and we build our numbers, we're at two campuses now.

So we command total with both campuses, 70,000 square feet.

We're very hard to miss now.

And so when you're seeing our programmatic impact, we held two of the largest activations in the city of Newark.

We are the re-founders of Newark Tech Week, and we are also the founders of Small Business Week here in the city of Newark.

And they double and triple every year.

So last year for Newark Tech Week, we had over 3,500 registrants over five days with 15 activations across the city, all free.

- Hold, hold on one second.

You keep talking about activations.

I'm old school, I don't know what activations mean.

Stop using language you know I don't understand.

Citi, what the heck is an activation?

- We call activations when it's outside.

You know, you could call it a program, right?

A program's inside of your.

- Okay.

- An activation's something we're standing up in our beautiful city of Newark that's outside our walls.

And that's something that I think garnered a lot of notice from the foundations.

We're really proud.

The Wells Fargo Foundation, Prudential Foundation are strong partners in our expansion.

And it's because we were doing these public events that were moving the needle forward, Steve, like how to perfect your pitch.

We would gather investors together in a room to tell you exactly what are the top five mistakes that they make.

This was outside of us just running our share space, just outside of our membership structure.

I think that's what really started to get everyone's attention, was that Equal Space has momentum, and we're making solutions.

And we're not just acknowledging obstacles, we're finding ways around them and we're finding ways to break through.

And I think that's how.

- In terms of relationship, sorry for interrupting.

In terms of relationships, the friends at Fidelco, Carrie Bursin, and others, by being in one of their buildings, in one of their properties, you get to work and meet with other not-for-profit leaders, other foundations, et cetera.

How much of what you do at Equal Space, Citi, is connected to what I like to call strategic relationship building, intentional relationship building?

It doesn't just happen, sometimes it happens organically, but that's not a plan.

Go ahead.

- You couldn't have said it better, Steve.

It has been all about being in the right place at the right time.

Partnering with Fidelco and also partnering with Audible have led us to be at the right space here in the Arts and Education District in Newark.

The proximity to our neighbors, like the Victoria Foundation, Big Brothers, Big Sisters, the Dodge Foundation.

- Is it Carlos there?

Is Carlos?

- Yeah, Carlos is right above us.

- And Big Brothers, they are?

- Yeah, all of them are neighbors.

- That's awesome.

I'm sorry to interrupt.

Go ahead, you start, there's a friend group, you know, and we kind of know each other, all know each other, but go ahead.

Keep, pick up your point.

- Listen, Steve, you're only only in the best of company.

I know, I know that.

That's why I was so excited about this opportunity.

But you really, you let it.

I had to build strategically over years, the kind of bandwidth for these foundations and these partners to believe in the mission of Equal Space.

And so, like our relationship with Wells Fargo, they gave us an initial grant that was a smaller amount, and then they built capacity with us.

Same thing with Prudential.

They empowered us to do several of our programs for free because we need the resources to produce the events, right?

And then they built up capacity.

The same thing with Audible.

So being in 550, like right in the heart of downtown, not only provides us as Equal Space with visibility, all of our members are now in the right place at the right time.

- Last question.

Advice for a young entrepreneurial, young entrepreneur, wants to get into business but says, I don't know the right people.

I'm not wired, I'm not connected.

Give 'em some advice.

- If I was to give advice to someone who was trying to start their entrepreneurial journey and they can't get into the right room, or they're not at the right place, right time, I would say, I know exactly how you feel.

I was there.

You have to put yourself out there.

The more uncomfortable that you are, the more in the right place you are, and if you do have obstacles and you don't got the network worth, come to Equal Space.

We will make sure to bring you into our programs.

We program more than half the year and we wanna make sure that you're seen.

- Citi, first of all, thank you for joining us.

It will not be the last time you join us.

You're doing important work, making a difference every day.

And in my hometown, the hometown of many, Brick City and beyond.

Keep doing what you're doing.

You're making a difference.

Well done.

- Thank you so much, Steve.

Thank you for providing us visibility and for seeing us and allowing us to be a part of your amazing show.

I'm really grateful because more people know about us, the more work and change we can make.

- We do the easy part.

You do the hard work.

Citi Medina is CEO and founder of Equal Space.

Thank you my friend.

We'll talk soon.

I'm Steve Adubato, that's Citi Medina.

We'll see you next time.

- [Narrator] One-On-One with Steve Adubato is a production of the Caucus Educational Corporation.

Celebrating 30 years in public broadcasting.

Funding has been provided by NJM Insurance Group.

The Fidelco Group.

The Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey.

The New Jersey Economic Development Authority.

New Jersey Sharing Network.

Johnson & Johnson.

The Turrell Fund, a foundation serving children.

Wells Fargo.

And by PSEG Foundation.

Promotional support provided by Northjersey.com and Local IQ.

And by Meadowlands Chamber.

NJM Insurance Group has been serving New Jersey businesses for over a century.

As part of the Garden State, we help companies keep their vehicles on the road, employees on the job and projects on track, working to protect employees from illness and injury, to keep goods and services moving across the state.

We're proud to be part of New Jersey.

NJM, we've got New Jersey covered.