Hello, everyone.

I'm Rameca Vincent Leary, and welcome to this edition of Connecting the Community.

Have you ever wondered what you could do to lend a helping hand in the community?

Then look no further during this broadcast we'll explore various ways you can do just that.

We'll have representatives from Reap Reentry Alliance's brand new Maxwell Respite Center.

You'll hear about the Pensacola State College Pirates Care Initiative and how it's helping students in monumental ways.

Plus, Escambia County Area Transit will share some innovative alternatives that can help you get from one location to the next.

But first, we'll focus on the Health and Hope Clinic, a nonprofit organization that brings accessible and equitable health care to the uninsured and medically underserved in Florida.

It's a pleasure to welcome Sally Bergosh executive director of the Health and Hope Clinic.

She's joined by Mike Johnston Pharmacy manager and Carla Davis, director of education and outreach.

It is a pleasure to have all of you here with us.

And I'm looking at those glowing smiles now.

Sally Health and Hope Clinic How long has it been in existence?

We've been around since 2003.

So we are actually on our 2021 anniversary.

So it's very exciting to see the growth with what our services offer and just the tremendous outpour from the community supporting our initiatives.

Now, one thing I love is your mission providing health and hope for the hurting.

Who could say it better?

Sally So expand on that.

Sure.

We're providing whole patient care so it's no longer just you come in from the E.R.

because you were referred to us because you don't have insurance and maybe you're into pain.

We don't just treat that tooth pain.

We actually have them go get labs done.

And we do a full workup on those patients.

Their very first visit is 45 minutes long, and we do a whole health care plan for them.

So we even have food banks next door.

We have shower ministry next door.

We do the whole gamut of patient care.

Mind, body and soul.

And I love that.

So next question, million dollar question.

How many people are seen or helped in a given year?

So we are actually our roster is pretty full.

We are.

When I, when I joined the clinic five years ago, we were sitting at about 650 patients.

We now just hit the 1545 patient mark from 2023.

So that was for a full year.

Those are called unique patients because we don't want to double count them.

And we did about 15,000 patient visits.

So it's a lot coming through our door every single day.

That is remarkable in speaking about coming through a door.

My work colleague, Mike Johnston.

Now, before we get into what you do at the Health and Hope Clinic, why don't you give us a little caveat regarding what you do right here at Pensacola State College?

Oh, thank you so much for make.

I appreciate that.

So here I am, our associate vice president of is tutoring search and Enterprise Solutions.

And I've been in this role for almost three years now.

And I've been teaching and involved with Pensacola State College for over ten years.

And it's been a privilege.

But one of the other privileges I get is also serving and being able to work and volunteer at health and help.

And that's where I can I can make two different areas that have a lot of relationships join, because we see often in situations where our students are here, many of them don't have health access, they don't have health insurance.

So it's it's something that unfortunately is is something that's not going to go away.

But I think through us coming together as a as a team in the community, we can help fight some of this this find some solutions to these issues for people that don't have health insurance.

So a day in the life of Mike Johnston and Snapshot.

As a pharmacist, describe your specific when you walk through the doors, what happens next?

So it's interesting.

It's interesting for me because I am actually not a pharmacist.

I have worked in pharmacies and that was actually the job that I had when I was in high school.

And then my first my first professional job in college.

But I started in that experience volunteering at the clinic almost 15 years ago when we were a clinic in a small little building of chemistry and road.

And we needed help in pharmacy.

And we saw that one of the biggest blockers for people is that even if they were able to get a prescription from an air or an urgent care clinic, if they don't have the money, how are they going to fill it?

And we just created another situation.

So if we can get the medicines for all of our patients, which we prescribe for free, whether it's something that Kahlo's working with and she's working with her intensive education outreach programs, bringing the ability to get labs to people in their community or some of the walks through our door, we can fill those prescriptions and we can alleviate those blocking situations.

So I get to serve in that capacity.

And I really like that because it must take a lot of work and study to do what you do.

And I know that you mentioned that you're not a full fledged pharmacist, but you have the skills, my friend.

And regarding who you serve, the expanse, regarding the prescriptions and other things that you deal with, why don't you talk some about that?

One of the reasons why I love the clinic so much and the experiences I get to work with some fantastic volunteers and for that it's such a wonderful opportunity because I meet all walks of life, even people that I never would have met in my traditional role.

But for us, we work with so many different educational organizations.

That's something that I love.

I think that health and hope helps more students get into medical schools and nursing schools and pharmacy schools and phlebotomy programs than some of the yeah, dental schools.

It was not a dental school.

We put we give students those tangible experiences that they have to write about, and then they also get to work with people like Carla.

Carla has 20 plus years of of nursing experience and she's taking nursing and she's able to use her program to to change the paradigm.

I think of a lot of traditional nursing and show people that are different, and that's why we're innovative.

So if it's not getting drugs for people, then we get to work with the students and help them advance in their and their pathways and they get to be mentored by some great individuals.

Now speaking of nursing skills, and I and I love the fact that you mentioned that, Mike, give us a little bit of background regarding yourself.

How long have you been in the field?

So I've actually been a registered nurse for over 20 years.

I have a wide array of periods in medical management, health care administration and also do patient care.

So there is something interesting going on the Amgen grant now, people love the word grant.

I know I do.

So why don't you tell our viewers what that is and how it is help the health.

So the nice thing about a grant, especially when you're dealing with a pharmaceutical company, you know, many people think in in big industry that they don't have a care or a love for the community.

So through their health equity challenge, they were able to offer exactly what Sally and Mike talked about, hope.

But also behind that hope is health.

And with that it requires resources.

So that Grant allowed us to be able to provide resources to our community through education, and we're able to outreach and provide cardiovascular education to the African-American community.

But even though that's our targeted population, we provide that to all members of everyone.

So the overarching impact, because I think about success stories about little kids that see someone who is a doctor and they say, I might not have the means now, as you stated previously, Mike, but I am going to work very hard to achieve this dream.

So have you observed any outcomes in the community as a result of this?

So I definitely have.

And most recently on Friday I had an opportunity to take education and look at it through a different lens and go actually into our local school system.

So it was Florida High School had an opportunity through a career day to actually share my experience as a nurse and share a different spin of nursing to the class.

And we received a lot of emails as early as today or latest today, I should say, from several students who really want to go and practice in the medical profession to say, Hey, how can I come to the clinic and volunteer?

So with my what Mike said, we actually see it every day where students are very curious about how can I go and really gain experience.

And that gives them hope and it gives them an opportunity to see that there is hope for them to accomplish their dreams.

Well said.

Now, Sally is, I think, about the kinds of care provided.

When I went to your website, I looked at information regarding the Narcan program.

Will you expand on that, please?

So we are the official distribution site for Northwest Florida for something called Narcan, which is our remedy to revive somebody from an opioid overdose.

Our county is up to 5.5 overdoses a day reported by our EMS and that is unacceptable.

So what we're doing is providing hope to the community.

It's completely free.

We give it to about 30 different organizations picking up large quantities at a time, other nonprofits.

But additionally, we're supplying it to thousands of individuals and saving lives.

Another thing I noticed on the Web site, online prayer request, you cover so many areas.

I smiled as I was perusing the pages.

I said, Health and Health Clinic is doing so very much to assist our community.

Mike, let me come back to you because we're thinking about the past 15 years, right?

And changes in our community.

You and I have both covered several events for the college.

I've seen him here.

They're everywhere.

And with your time, volunteer.

Talk about the influence you think the 15 years has meant to you.

I mean, knowing about the things that have transpired and how you have added to that.

It's fascinating.

I've learned I've learned a lot about myself and I've had a lot of personal growth there.

And I often think that that Health and Hope collects so many different types of people.

And it's not just the patients that I think that are often go in there seeking help.

I think that it's many of the individuals that are coming to volunteer, people that have lost spouses, and they want purpose or they want to fulfill a continual obligation to provide support.

So for that, I feel so lucky.

15 years we've changed.

This is my longest lasting job and it's my out of every job.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So I still can't believe it's been 15 years, but 29 is when I walk through the door off of Kim Strand Road and.

And I saw an impact that was so different because when people are sick and they don't know what's wrong with their bodies and they don't know how to find help, then that has such an implication.

I think that's even worse than just the malady by itself that now it starts feeling on their emotional and their emotional abilities because they can't they can't fix it.

So.

So it's change because we used to be limited in our capacity.

We have grown.

We've expand to in the building.

We have grants that are from national international organizations and we're able to target populations that are normally, as we we it's a great thing to be able to provide Narcan.

I love it.

It's it's it's it's a great resource because we can't help someone if they're dead and sometimes will get some criticism because we give out so much in our can.

But again, we want to try to help people because they're at a at a state that that the sun our job to the judge is to provide that resource.

So we've evolved quite a bit and we've been able to help more individuals and we've been able to provide more opportunities for people to get healthy and then get back potentially to the workforce for them to go to school and advance their education.

And that's when you can change lives for them in their families.

And Mike, it's interesting because we have some excellent video inside the clinic and I'm looking at the Dennis working the doctors and I'm looking at the supplies and I see all these faces of volunteers smiling into the camera.

And if someone were to walk through the doors, they would be amazed, wouldn't they?

Oh, it's it's it's amazing.

I think I think, you know, we actually Carla hosted and invited a group of community members to the clinic, and Sally was pivotal in that.

And it was I did tours and I didn't know what to expect.

But on my tour I had a physician that was coming to learn more about the clinic, and I learned about that at the end.

And I had such a different amount of people that have lived there in the community our whole life but didn't realize the resources available.

So a big part of what we have to do is also educate those that that live here.

Just absolutely.

And it's not just the medical education, which Carla, you know, hits a home run, but it's just letting them know this resources here are up to 338 volunteers today.

Good.

And a lot of people don't realize that, that we're almost like a Doctors Without Borders for the local community.

Yeah, I love that.

And I know that you had a recent open house, Carla.

I'm talking about people all over the community coming in tastic.

What would you say is the number one message you would like to share with the community?

I think for me, for the community, it's to really understand and to know what's available in your community.

So many times we think of Pensacola and the fact that sometimes we have a small community, but our community has a large heart.

And so when you really look at the donors and those who donate to ensure that members of our community have access, for me, it's really being able to shine a light of hope on the community and on the clinic and the fact that the clinic is there to not just provide medical resources or dental resources, but the hope behind it.

Our encourages every day give a dose of inspiration.

And so when we talked about what we do at the clinic and Mike said it's the longest lasting job for me is ministry.

I mean, when you go, everything that we do is a ministry from greeting our patients to offering them a word of encouragement to giving them a prescription.

It is a ministry.

We are the hands and feet of Jesus.

We hear Sally say it all the time, but it is so true.

And we've had patients for Meeka that just come to speak to the encourager where they don't need to see a physician or a nurse practitioner.

They just want to come talk to one of our encourages in the lobby, or they just want to come talk to our nurses because they want to update them on their lives because we're their people or their person.

I think about mentorship really because people dropping in and providing a word of encouragement, it could be a smile, it could be a hug, something that someone might value as being small.

But for the recipient, worth its weight in gold and then some.

So, Sally, back to you.

Let's expand even more.

So on what you're looking for in terms of volunteers, including maybe any supplies that might be needed.

So expand on that, please.

So we're always recruiting, recruiting, recruiting.

Right.

And whether it's the big the big funny saying I say is, you know, I can I'm pretty good at getting the surgeons and the doctors and the dentist to volunteer, but I can't get people to answer our phone so I can use non medically licensed volunteers every day.

And the ratio is for every doctor that we recruit, that takes about five support staff.

So that's an interesting factor.

Yeah.

So we we need everybody.

It takes a village like you say, we've seen situations Jamaica where the patients come in, they haven't seen a provider in years and they think they're coming in for one situation and that just cascades once they start opening the box.

And you know, I love that we're doing the community medicine now, too, where we're actually bringing labs to people in their churches, in their community.

We're bringing the office through the Amazon program to our community members, not making them come to us, which is breaking boundaries.

Mike, since you mentioned that, let's talk about professional partnerships or affiliations that you all have.

MM Yeah, So I love it.

We've been we work with Pensacola State College.

We actually have a pharmacy technician student that'll be coming in and doing her rotational experience and our farm tech program we've had nurse back to I'm sorry, we've had nurse practitioner students from FSU come through and Universal in Alabama.

We work with FAMU and their College of Pharmacy.

We've actually just celebrated a ten year partnership with FAMU, College of Pharmacy.

We had their first student do a rotation ten years ago, so it's a great learning experience.

The students love it because they get hand on hand contact with providers directly.

They get to work with the patients and and they they say they see the impact of their work.

So so it's something they see right then and now.

So we got a slew of partnerships, whether it's with entities that are coming to provide medical service or a local church that comes and does a day care and makes the clinic look beautiful for the patients and the volunteers, I was I was lucky.

We did a leadership Pensacola and we built a pergola and a a little a little seating room outside for people to sit in.

And there's all these great things that people are always doing to contribute to the clinic.

And that's one of the reasons why I enjoyed it so much.

So Carl, I have a vertical situation here.

Let's say you run into someone that says, I saw Mike this way and I would love to do what he does.

Can you connect me with him?

Maybe I can shadow him one day.

Mike, what would you say to that?

Is that ever happened to you?

Absolutely.

And I love it sometimes.

Sometimes my role is behind the scenes because we have peaks and we have troughs with volunteers.

And if I can step in one day and I'm bringing doing patient intake, we all do that.

If Sally's doing patient intake, Carla is doing, you know, she's doing maybe vitals on patients.

We always have to, we just all the satisfies something be flexible.

Exactly.

So people want to come and they want to learn and they want to grow through their path, whether it's through medicine or whether it's just trying to find a purpose that that so many need to satisfy their their own self.

And we'll find a home for them.

So we have to talk about your board and one lady I know in particular in a cause he's such a little angel and we love her immensely.

And I know she'll see this and she'll smile.

But please talk about them because they don't need time and other resources.

We have an amazing board of directors starting with the leadership, and Anna just stepped down as our chair about six months ago.

We now have the wonderful next Daniel.

So he's got big shoes to fill and I know he'll do a great job and he's one of the primary partners over at Beggs and Layne, but every one of our board members are at the height of their careers and they bring a vast amount of knowledge to the table.

And I used to think of it as, Oh my goodness, I'm not sure about having ten bosses now that many.

Yeah, I like that.

Yeah.

And now I just look at it so differently.

I think of them as my think tank, so it's always encouraging to me that I get to meet with them once a month.

They go over our financials and make sure we're working with integrity and and they're there for all my crazy questions.

Sally don't you think I really appreciate having the dean of FSU College of Medicine on our board as a as a pulse about upcoming medicine?

Yes, I think that's helpful, too, that we have a medical school dean that serves as our medical director.

I love that.

So, Mike, in closing, if you could just think of one thing that you would want to share with an individual out there who's maybe even a little hesitant to seek out the Health and Health Clinton Clinic, what would you say?

I think there's a lot of individuals that are scared because they don't know what's wrong, and often they feel more comfortable not knowing and they're okay with that.

And and I think there's many that have that path where if I just don't know, then it's not going to bother me.

So I think that if anyone comes, even if they can't use, the services, will find a solution.

We've never turned anyone away saying that you're never going to get help.

And and I think that's one of the best parts about what we have.

So I invite everyone to come talk, whether it's DiCarlo, whether it's to Sally, whether it's one of our encourages and at least try to find a solution if they know something's wrong or something potentially could be wrong, let's all let's all just get them in the clinic and we can help them.

Love that.

And Karla, final word.

What would you tell someone out there who needs assistance and might be a little hesitant?

I would tell someone to take the first step.

You take the first step.

We will meet you where you are and will ensure that you are on your optimal path to wellness and will embrace you with open arms.

As I embrace all of you.

Health and Hope Clinic, I have learned so much and I appreciate you so very much.

Thank you for being with us.

All right, folks, a short time ago, we were happy to provide a sneak peek of the new gospel documentary series from Henry Louis Gates Jr in our very own Amos studio.

During the inspirational event, we showcase performances from Zion Hope, Primitive Baptist Church Choir and the Voices of Victory Radio Choir.

Take a look.

We'll be back right after this.

Oh, good Lord.

Oh, good Lord.

Oh.

was telling me, Yeah, yeah, we're gonna do that.

And now They should have that close to the ground.

Oh.

Aaaaaaaaamenn.

Hello, everyone.

Food, shelter and clothing are daily essentials that may not be readily available for all.

Some may be wondering what they can do to lend a helping hand.

In this segment, we'll discuss these issues and much more.

I am happy to welcome Vinny Wibbs executive director of Reentry Alliance Pensacola.

He's joined by Ameena Furlow, a former client at the new Maxwell Respite Center.

To round out the segment.

It's a pleasure to welcome Dr. Lindsey Listow executive director of Institutional Equity and Student Conduct at Pensacola State College.

She'll delve into the many facets of the Pirates care initiative, a PSC that helps students in monumental ways.

So happy to have all of you.

We're very glad to be here.

All right, Vinny.

Hey, I know I've had you on the show previously, but we have a lot of breaking news, don't we?

So tell us what the Maxwell Respite Center is.

Well, the Maxwell Respite Center was opened right here 18 months ago.

Yes.

And it was done to address a specific need, primarily women and children from the northwest Florida communities that were in a situation of homelessness.

And it started out with the the the people that were residing underneath the I 110 bridge.

Okay.

So you Pensacola said, boy, is there something that can be done about that.

And about that same time we became involved working with opening doors in addressing some of the needs of homeless.

And so the next thing that happened is we were able to open up the Maxwell Respite Center.

Now, Vinny, a lot of people are curious.

So what distinguishes the Maxwell Respite Center from a homeless shelter in general?

Sure.

The Maxwell Assessment Center is designed to be a transitional program.

And right now, at any given time, it houses about 80 individuals.

And it's any different kind of configuration.

It can be men and women, children, whatever happens to be.

And there's about 40 different individual rooms.

We have case managers and interns from University of West Water to provide case management assistance.

But the entire thrust is to help those individuals transition from a position of homelessness to a secure position as independent, self-supporting.

And we'll get into some of those areas in just a moment.

But Ameena, let me tell you, former resident, you have that gorgeous smile over there.

How did you find out about the Maxwell Respite Center?

I, I was put in contact with Maxwell Respect through another housing facility, but it was for domestic violence, which did not apply to me.

So she referred me to Maxwell Respite Center, and I applied.

All right.

And how long was the process to to get in?

The process for me was actually spot on.

It was really quick, probably just a matter of days.

Actually, it was.

I called and text and I heard back within literally about two days that they had an opening and that I can come to pick up an application and move in.

So any charge.

So is it free, Vinny, for anyone who comes in.

It is is really dependent on every individual's own particular capacity.

So some people pay for nothing.

Some people have a Social Security disability checks.

They may be able to and a portion of that can be used to pay for those.

We are certainly nowhere near the most expensive places and not at all in town, so.

Well, that's good news.

Now back to you, Ameena, the skills that you learned while you were there.

Why don't you elaborate a little bit on that forcefully.

So the case management that I received helped me a lot with my budgeting, budgeting my bills and allocating my money correctly so that once I moved out, I was able to sustain, you know, my own place.

They also help me with just life skills and just thinking about my legacy and what would I like to leave for my children and my family.

That's something I've never thought about before being in the center.

Now, we will come back to you momentarily, but there is a link.

Dr. Lifestyle stepping into your world, because right here at Pensacola State College and you and I are colleagues, we help our students.

So first of all, tell our viewing audience a little bit about what you do in your role at Pensacola, say college, and then explain to us what pirates care is.

Absolutely.

So we are really fortunate at Pensacola State College to have our pirates Care Student Resource Center, which is essentially a one stop shop for assisting students with any basic needs support they may have.

So within the center, we have our campus food pantries.

We partner with Manna to provide us with bags of food for our students as well as household and hygiene items.

We also have a campus career closet, so students who are trying to get jobs or internships or who maybe just need some clothing have access to free clothes that they can get in our center.

We also have assistance with transportation.

So helping students with bus passes or gas cards so that they can get to class.

And then we have space for student parents to bring their kids into our resource center.

And then there's computers that they can study and be in a safe place, an environment for their families.

And then we also offer counseling on case management as well.

But I'm going to backtrack for just a moment because for the two of you and everybody out there, she is so modest.

I just have to sing your praises because I found some beautiful images of some of the food that you have presented to our students.

I'm talking healthy things, fruits and vegetables, anything under the sun that they may need in the smiling faces of your employees who help you out at these events.

I just want to give you props for one of your employees, Sensoria McCord, who was recently mentioned as an in weekly rising star, which is a big deal.

Why don't you tell us what that is?

Absolutely.

So every year in weekly selects local Pensacola individuals to be highlighted as a rising star.

And my office has been very fortunate that several of our amazing staff members have been named as rising stars.

And so Rhea is our mental health services specialist.

If she is one of our staff members who offers completely free counseling services to our students.

And she is certainly a rising star, not only in our office, but in our heart as well.

Okay.

So the career clothing closet, I'm going to just have to tell you, for our students who are in need of clothes and many of whom are looking for something to wear for a job interview, I had a chance to peruse and very fortunate that I've been able to donate to the closet as well.

Our students are so grateful for what has been done.

Dr. Listow, now you have scenario sometimes where a student could have been living in a car that didn't have anything to eat, didn't have any clothes to put on their backs.

And then we have this, right?

Yes.

Yeah, absolutely.

So our students, even though they're in college, they are still humans and they are still having all of the experiences that other individuals have.

And so our center is really there to say, we want you to be successful in school.

And to do that, we are going to holistically support you with your basic needs.

And so we have had students who have been homeless the entire time they've been in school with us.

And so we're there to help them, support them, work with community partners, get them resources, get them help, hopefully get them in housing as well.

But we're really there to to support all of the things that happen outside the classroom so that students can be successful in the classroom.

Now, one thing that I've noticed and I saw a few images that reflect this.

Your staff members outside in the hot sun with their tables, especially also around the time that each semester or term will start.

Smiling faces, handing out food and just directing them where they need to go.

It takes a village.

I know we've heard that time and time again.

But you have a close knit herd, as I would say.

All those hands in the pot working collectively to make things happen.

So I'll be back in just a moment with Vinnie.

Let's expand on some of the services.

Okay.

So I saw that we have food, right?

We have council being providing a place to sleep, making sure that the children also go to school.

Why don't you talk a little bit more about that?

I think the first step that we do in each case is to do what I would call a needs assessment, where you sit down one on one with a case manager or an intern meeting with the individual or the family, and to determine exactly what their particular needs are and what their goals would be.

And then you try to develop what I would say is, is a plan of action like that, where you sit there and you say these are the steps that need to be done to accomplish this particular objective.

And so the people that we have and we're very fortunate in our community.

Yes.

To have individuals that are skilled in this, what I call this case management, where they sit there and they can go through that process and end up with a plan that is going to lead to that success.

And that's our goal at the Maxwell Center, is to take an individual and work with them for a period of like 90 days.

And it's not a hard time, but that's a goal for us to get them.

So they're in a position where they can move out on their own, identify a home, a place for shelter.

Yes.

And move forward from there.

Now, I saw some images, women, children and babies also around the holiday time with Santa and the little babies and even one of my former students.

Troy, what's holding a baby during a time we had bad weather in the Pensacola area?

Is this the only place that will house women, children?

There are some other places, but but Maxwell Center is by far largest center.

And I can say this, that that in the 18 months that we've been open, we've had no less than I think it's the number now is nine actual babies that were born to women that were residing there.

And we've been able to to see their progress, which is the secret.

That's one of our philosophy, is that if we can work with the women and the children at that early age, you can break that cycle.

All right.

And so that's our goal.

Now, is there a waiting list?

There is a waiting list.

And it's normally we have about 100 people that have indicated their idea.

All right.

I've wanted to come, but but the availability and length of time that you would be on the waiting list varies.

For example, as I mentioned, we have like these 40 rooms.

Some of those rooms are only good for a single person.

Okay.

Some of them can work for two people.

Some of them can work for a family that is a little bit larger.

We did a family as large as a woman with six children, and we ended up putting them two adjoining rooms.

And so the the availability of rooms depends on what rooms just happen to come up, how someone moves out.

We get it cleaned up and move somebody else in as quickly as possible.

All right.

And you're taking care of business.

So, Ameena, back to you.

Would you recommend the center to other?

And I have a feeling with that big smile on your face, the answer is probably yes.

But you tell me it is a resounding yes.

And why?

They're so helpful.

The people are genuine.

The counselors, the administrators.

They're genuine.

The the kitchen staff, the security guards, everyone is there pitching in, doing their part.

And it's like a family away from home, right?

Yes.

So were there any unexpected amenities or perks that you really enjoyed?

I have to say, I love the computer room with the library.

My son loved the children's play area, which had a plethora of books also.

Um, didn't I didn't expect that.

So books from self-help to the Twilight series.

So there's something for everyone?

Yes.

Let me jump in here just for a second and say there's an addition that we work very closely with.

Other community organizations love that and other faith based organizations.

And so from time to time, especially during the the holiday season, starting on Thanksgiving, right up through the Christmas time, we've had organizations and churches that have come in and basically hosted, you know, parties.

So at Halloween, we have some images of that we had.

That's right.

Halloween.

We had Christmas.

We had a number of churches that came in and put on full meals for the for the clients.

So that's something that's how we spoke.

Now, now, the center itself provides meals on an A on a regular basis.

But let there be no doubt they would when you have a of a a host organization that comes in, they really do a beautiful job.

I'm sure they did.

And Dr. Lisa, I see you smiling over there because, you know, we have a lot of partnerships ourselves.

Why don't you talk a little bit about that?

I know you mentioned manna yet, right?

Manna helps us with our food pantry.

We also refer students to one of your earlier guests, Health and Hope for Medical Services.

We work with opening doors with housing.

Really any nonprofit that exists in our community, we have likely tapped them at some point because we we do the same thing as when he talked about We do the case management.

We work with students individually to find out what is it they need and how can we support them, and then we get them connected to the right resources on and off campus.

I'm looking at several instances where we've had bad weather.

Dr. Listow Emergency Aid.

There's one picture I pulled of you.

You were in your office with probably 100 rolls of paper towels helping our students that needed that assistance right away.

You roll up your sleeves unconditionally.

All of you do appreciate that.

But there are ever other avenues, right?

So mental health counseling, because a lot of students who are in despair need something more.

So would you elaborate on those other facets?

Yeah, absolutely.

So we're really fortunate that we were able to provide free mental health counseling to our students here at Pensacola State.

We actually just expanded and have a full time employee over at our Warrenton campus with our health services programs, offering them counseling.

But we see so many students that are struggling with their mental health and well-being and need somebody to talk with and process through everything with.

And so that's what our counsels are.

Therefore, we help students with grief, with anxiety, with depression, with suicidal ideation, whatever it is they need.

We have somebody that can listen to them, can validate their feelings, and then provide them with a plan to move forward.

I also like the academic support and financial coaching.

There are a lot of students who get in trouble with credit cards, so that's huge, wouldn't you say?

It absolutely is.

So we do whatever we can and we're meeting with the students to talk them through their budget, what they're planning when they get financial aid, how are they going to appropriately spend their financial aid, and then again, use that as a way to have conversations on the differences that are going to make in their life going forward.

I love the life coaching, mentoring and the peer connection.

You are a big sister.

Why don't you tell us just a little bit about that?

So I am a big sister with big sisters, big brothers, and I am so fortunate to have a little who's a junior in high school.

And so I know firsthand how important that peer connection and mentoring is.

And so we've been very fortunate with our parents care team to be able to embed that and create groups for students to connect with one another.

Our research center has an amazing space for students to be there.

And so just making sure that they feel supported as well.

Now, Vinnie, I'm getting goosebumps all over looking at the connections and the things that you all have done in the community.

So let's talk about volunteerism, and I peruse the website.

Tell us about the many ways in which people can volunteer in some of the resources that you need.

111 of the things that we are most fortunate is in our community, there are a number of organizations I mentioned, faith based organizations, but most importantly, you've got individuals one on one that want to come in and do something to help an organization.

And I just I just use as an example.

We had had a need for a building most recently.

There was a there was a a partial flood.

And we had had to really dispose of a number of different beds that we had an organization that's called Sleep in Heavenly Peace.

They had about 40 volunteers that came in and they actually put together assembled.

We have some computers of that complete fleet, but that's typical.

Obviously, the organizations such such as ours, the there's all different kinds of needs, but there are people in the community that will stand up and say, How can I help you?

And so so I guess the first first thing I can say is if you have some time, give us a call, because there is always something that needs to be done.

I have someone looking for a particular skills.

You welcome them.

All right.

You know what, Vinnie?

The good news is we've had the website up, and for pirates care how people can donate to help our students in Pensacola State College.

Right.

Because we are reaching beyond ourselves to help one another.

Appreciate having all of you on the show.

Now, folks, stay with us.

We have so much more to come.

We'll be back in a moment.

Hello, everyone.

During this segment, our focus is on transportation getting from point A to B, There are many resources available in Escambia County, Florida, to help lend a helping hand.

That's why I'm excited to welcome my next two guests.

First, we have Rodriguez Kimbrough, mass transit director for the Escambia County Board of County Commissioners.

He's joined by Angela Walden, mass transit information specialist.

Welcome to both of you.

We are moving, aren't we?

Yeah, we sure are.

So first, I just want to just thank you for just having us into all of the citizens actually watching everyone in the area.

We just want to talk about today about all the great things and all the great services that we're providing in Escambia County Area Transit.

Just simply we are looking to drive towards excellence, and that's one of our goals.

And we are just going to continue to move forward.

Well, I know that you're going to provide that overview for us.

Let's talk about some of the particulars.

I see on my list here, we've got some fixed routes, commuter routes.

Talk a little bit about that.

So first thing, Escambia County Area Transit or EE, which we're known within the community.

We are right now currently operating 21 fixed routes.

Those fixed routes, meaning that those routes actually are routes every day utilized by the citizens.

Those routes actually cover all of the areas of Escambia County.

And as we are looking to expand our services, we're also looking to hit the different pockets of the community that we don't actually serve.

So that's actually coming in a near future.

You can actually get a single ride ticket right now for $1 and 75 seat, and that's going to get you from point A to point B, or if you're elderly or one of our veterans with ID, you can get an 85 cent single ride.

And we even have what's called our student Transit Empowerment pass or step pass, where if you are K-through-12 or you actually go to a vocational school, you can actually ride our school, our busses for free.

And so again, we are providing all types of services for the community.

We can, if anyone ever just have any thoughts about maybe want to give us a try again, please reach us that go e-com.

Or you can call 8505953228.

And we can just get you where you need to go, because that's our goal, is to get every citizen of Escambia County from point A to point B in the most efficient and effective manner.

One thing that I noticed that the perusing your website saw so much on there, ADA Americans with Disabilities Act talk about the paratransit.

So again, our Paratransit service, we actually have what's called an on demand service that on demand, paratransit service it actually it's easy.

Are we are have a contract provider called ideal solutions ITIL is one of the best providers of that service.

They do a little bit over 100,000 on demand trips every year and they have been for providing that service for us now for Escambia County for about five years now.

And they've been doing an excellent job.

And so for those trips, though, Ada, you have to actually qualify.

So you have to submit an application through our website or you can actually come into our customer service, get all of the information approved by your doctor or your or your provider.

And then once that is approved, you receive that actual ability to utilize those services.

We even have what's called in the state of Florida, the Commission for Transportation disadvantage, where if you don't have the ability to actually utilize the service, meaning that you don't have an actual route near your home, you can actually, if you are disadvantaged, are low income, you can apply for this service and you can actually utilize this service during those hours of non operation of the E care facility.

So again, it on demand and that's an awesome service provided by a contracted provider.

And in the future as we look to provide micro transit to our citizens, that's to get those bigger vehicles out of the neighborhoods and get us to move forward with having smaller vehicles in the neighborhood.

Because I hear I hear some of the concerns.

Oh, that is amazing.

Angela, as I look at you and what you were telling me.

Rodriguez, I saw some amazing images.

University of West Florida Trolley, which is gorgeous.

Even the seasonal beach trolley, a lot of people that may not have known about that are probably intrigued to know that that is available.

But let's step into the community impact.

We're dealing with the ridership.

So let's let's hear about that.

Definitely that when it comes to our our ridership base, we service every one of our working community parents, our children, our students.

We just try to get them to where they need to go.

As you stated on the UW campus trolley, we have two campus trolleys and one express trolley that services UW life as well and we also have our seasonal beach trolley that is from Memorial Day to Labor Day that goes from there.

And then as Derek Kimbrough stated, we do have that student transit empowerment pass and those things are great impacts and it helps those who are who don't have any other way to get to work.

So and some might be curious, could somebody that maybe hasn't gone to the website to get a ticket or pass, can somebody with actual money ride the bus?

Yes.

Yes.

So do you accept carts up cash?

Yes.

And they can also purchase tickets on our website at go Ecom.

There there's a link.

Just navigate the system and then you can pay for that ticket.

You can either have it mailed to you or you can come to the office and pick it up.

So tell us about Route 50 in the modifications there in.

Well, Route 50 has been recently restructured as of August, September last year, when the Old Baptist Hospital on E Street closed down.

The one now is over on on Britain Lane.

And we had to restructure that that route in order to better serve the people who work there and those who needed to get to Baptist Hospital.

So there are some route changes that came about and we did that.

I think it was a little bit seamless.

So is that one of the most popular routes?

Yes, it's managing, right, Right.

Very, very.

All right.

But, hey, when you were writing, let's let's focus on some innovation because Wi-Fi is available on board.

So when we when we think about public transit, a lot of times in our community, public transit was looked at more as a poor people or poor citizen mode of transportation.

And so in every growing urban area, public transit is actually a benefit.

And that is the ideal that we actually have at Escambia County Area Transit in the entire staff leadership team.

We want every working class citizen to want to utilize our services because what we want to do is get single occupancy vehicles off of the road, right.

Freeing up our roadways in simply making an efficient commute.

And by doing that, that'll actually lower the emissions in our area.

Right.

And so by doing those things, one of the one of the most important things when I say why am I on board is because what everywhere we go, we're hearing our phones or we hearing our laptops.

Oh, yes.

And we want to be able to get work done.

And so if I'm able to add those innovations, get that new technology on board, I think we'll be able to increase the ridership and get the younger generation on board because in order to have a future of transit, we have to get the younger individuals.

And so and not to mention we did have about 900,000 riders last year for the last fiscal year.

And so we're just looking at growth, that's all.

And speaking of the younger riders and others that want to use their debit or credit card, I see future implementation of a tap and pay function.

So that's something we're working on currently, right now, we want to be able to get our upgraded fare boxes.

We want to look like not a prehistoric transit agency.

We want to look like the transit agent agency of the future.

And by doing those things right now, Apple Pay, you know, your Android, your Google Pay system, all of those things.

Everyone's walking around everyday with those things in with their credit cards.

And we want to make sure that we have that availability for everyone.

And so we're working currently right now for those things.

All right.

You have a lot on your plate, don't you?

Okay.

Angela, Community engagement.

And with that engaging smile, you're doing a bang up job.

I know Blue Angels.

I know.

That's a heavy time.

It definitely is During the so I think they're doing one July 12 through the 13th.

Well, we take forward three or four of our busses out there and we transport people from Portofino to, you know, so they can see the actual airshow.

And we had a wonderful, wonderful turnout last year.

And it was it's just amazing to to be engaged with the community because that's what we're here for.

And on top of the Blue Angels Air show, we do other things like the VA stand down the the university parent university is I think has been around since 2020 where the they have a program together where they connect the parents with the with local agencies like the Hill for health care, for child care, for transportation and things of that nature.

They're the bridge that connect the parent with those types of alarm, those types of resources.

And it also helps them be more engaged with their students while they're in school.

So we became we were vendors there for the past couple of years.

Yes.

And I like the touch a truck hiring events.

Yeah.

So that's one of the things that was new to us.

We had never participated in it, but this past year we did.

And they have where they have the youth come out and they'll show them all the different types of big trucks, like the fire engines, the EMS, our busses and things of that nature.

It was so, so much fun to have those young people out there, even the adults.

They were like, I'd never written a bus before.

So they got on and they were sitting in the driver's seat.

Yeah, doing all that.

And we captured some of that.

You sent me some great images.

It was it was very, very engaging and I love it.

Oh, it sounds like you did.

RODRIQUEZ Upcoming projects, new busses.

I saw some brand spanking new busses and they sort of look like your shirt and tie as far as the color scheme goes.

Yeah.

So again, go kart, right?

Yes.

To the entire team there.

But again, in order for us to be able to reach the excellence that we would like to as a transit agency, the image.

Right.

You want to make sure that it's appealing to the audience.

And so by changing the color schematics that we had on our older vehicles and also in hopes of continuously purchasing newer vehicles, we are looking to just engage in, we want the public to feel comfortable.

We want them to be safe and most importantly, we want them, the citizens, to be proud of the service that we actually provide.

And one that's one of those things just being esthetically pleasing is one of the is one of the things that every transit agency should look to do.

And that's what we actually are doing.

And so not only new busses, but I want to talk about something that's really big.

All right.

So again, new busses are great, but a new transit facility.

Oh, now that would be yes, our current facility has actually been in this location since 1980.

And we're looking to break ground on a new facility in 2025 in hopes of opening our doors in 2026.

And again, it's going to be a state of the art transit facility that's actually going to be one of the best.

And that's what we look to be is one of the award winning transit agency, not only in just the state, but we look to be that in the country as well.

Well, that sounds amazing.

We love breaking news when it's good, right?

So, Angela, let's talk about accessibility and inclusion because, listen, wheelchair secure men's bike racks, definitely all of our busses are equipped to hold up to two wheelchairs and two bicycles.

So if by chance, we we already one of our busses are on the route in a person is they're in a wheelchair and they and we already have two wheelchairs on there.

What happens is our our bus operator will call into dispatch to let dispatch know we have a wheelchair passenger out here.

Can you send someone to pick that person up and take them to the nearest bus stop so we don't leave our disadvantaged people out there like that?

However, with our our bicycles, if there are two bikes on the rack already, if someone is there at the bus stop, they will have to wait for the next route, which will be a half hour or an hour.

All right.

Now our free guest.

Let's delve into the realm of rider experience and safety, right?

Travel training.

So why don't you tell us more about that?

So just being backing off of Whitman's answer was saying in regards to wheelchair accessibility, yes, safety is a priority of everyone in transit.

And as an Escambia County area, transit safety is one of our priorities as well.

And so and with our travel training, we want to make sure that if you have never, ever used our service before, we want to be able to come out to the different organizations within our community.

Anyone let them know what service we can provide and not only just let them know we provide.

We want to show them how to actually use our service.

We want you to be able to be at a bus stop, know how to apply your fares.

We want you to actually know how to be secured.

We want all the information to be provided to you because we want you to come back.

Right.

And so and by doing those things as well, we've actually even looked at changing our bus stop signs.

So right now, currently there are over 1000 bus stops in Escambia County right now.

And what we want to make it a whole lot easier for our new our newer passengers, Right.

We want the citizens to know if I'm at this stop and I'm utilizing this stop at this line, it has now what route actually is service by that stop the Coast Guard matters is actually change.

We've actually even added what's called the FA beacon to those signs where if our our visually impaired our citizens, it actually has the beacons where they can actually hear the stop.

It actually has the actual ADA signage now where you can actually touch again some of the things that are done in major urban areas or large urban areas.

We're looking to have that here in because in order for us, as we continue to grow, we want our trains agencies to grow because a growing transit agency means that your actual community is growing.

And that's what we look to do.

Yeah, I am listening to all this, Angela, and I'm thinking about not only the busses, right exterior interior, but a bus wrap, keeping it clean, reminding people about the importance of that.

So that initially actually that initiative actually started with one of our county commissioners.

And again, keep it clean.

Escambia We want to make sure that we are doing everything we can to promote healthy growth in our community.

And I think, again, getting those single vehicles off the road, lowering the emissions, having to keep it clean, Escambia vehicle out there, what that does, it just let us know that, hey, everyone, we're taking pride in our community bus stop.

Maintenance is also important.

Everything.

You haven't left a stone unturned, have you got Rodriguez now, Angela, partnerships out there because we're getting the word out, aren't we?

Yeah.

Education is essential in our society.

So why don't you talk a little bit about that.

And we have great partnerships.

We have partnerships with the United Way.

We have partnerships with the opening doors of Northwest Florida.

We have partnerships with the Florida Department of Health, the AIDS Health Foundation.

They came out last year during our day event, and they brought the mobile bus to do free HIV testing and it's been a great impact.

I love just just working with them whenever they need an opportunity for us to show up as a vendor or whenever we need them to show up as a vendor is great to just let the people that they serve know what we do and vice versa.

Oh my goodness.

What an amazing way to wrap it up.

Ray Roderick, Chris and Angela, such a pleasure.

All right, I want to thank all of our guests for joining us.

I'm Rebecca Vincent Leary.

Remember to keep it locked in right here on W sorry PBS for the Gulf Coast.