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Rob: Coming up next on Rob at Home.

My guest is Sister Libby Fernandez from Mercy Pedalers.

She joins us for the half hour next, right here on Rob at Home.

Annc: And now Rob on the Road, exploring Northern California.

Rob: Hi there, I'm Rob Stewart.

And I'm so glad that you are here for this half hour of insight and information from my friend Sister Libby Fernandez with Mercy Pedalers.

It is so great to see you Sister Libby.

Thanks for joining us.

Sister Libby: You too, Rob.

It's always good to see you on the road or off the road and my first zoom with you, but we pedaled a couple of times last year and we'll get back on those, uh, trikes this year.

Rob: I would love that.

In fact, Mercy Pedalers, your organization is taking food and... and services to the streets, uh, on your bike.

Sister Libby: Yep.

Rob: Um, your three-wheeled bike.

And you go directly from person to person, heart to heart and connect someone who's experiencing homelessness.

Tell me about that.

Sister Libby: Oh, thank you.

Mercy Pedalers is about bringing mercy to the streets.

So, we are all volunteers.

We have a bike or trike, and we connect with homeless people right where they're at.

So, we kind of bike maybe in a neighborhood of downtown Sacramento or Arden-Arcade, and we look in the sidewalks and the alleys and the parks, and we approach someone who's experiencing homelessness and ask, "“Hey, I'm a Mercy Pedaler, would you like a cup of coffee today?

"” And once there's an invite to say, "“Oh, I love a hot cup of coffee.

"” Then we get a little closer in our relationship.

We talk about, uh, who we are.

We ask, how can we be of help for someone today?

We give out hygiene items, nutritional bars, right now we're giving out a lot of masks and hand sanitizers, and we try to establish a trusting relationship with a person experiencing homelessness, um, so that we can help wherever they need at that moment.

Rob: Sister Libby, I have seen numerous times where you've been out, and it astounds me, first of all, how many people that we see experiencing homelessness.

Um, estimates are about 6,000.

Would you agree or disagree?

Sister Libby: Oh, I definitely agree.

Uh, and anyone who opens their eyes in the Sacramento area have noticed so many people who are experiencing homelessness.

So, 6,000 who are not in shelters is pretty, pretty close to what people are seeing and what I'm experiencing.

And really, um, COVID has brought on a different dynamic with those who are homeless.

Um, the shelters aren't, um, taking in as many people, there's not a lot of opportunity for affordable housing.

There's, um, a waiting list to get into any night shelter.

And so, you see a lot of encampments, um, popping up.

Um, and these are new people who are experiencing the inability to find a place to live at night.

Rob: Hmm.

New people?

Sister Libby: I see new people every day and they could have been on the edge of not, um, quite being able to afford the rent anyway.

And now they're on the streets.

Rob: All ages?

Sister Libby: Oh yes.

Uh, believe it or not, there's a lot of youth out there between 16 and 26, that's a good age for the young, um, who move around a lot but still have no resources.

And then there's the generation between 40 and 60, which is most common folks who are homeless.

And... and... and Rob, you know that with homelessness, it's not just about not having an affordable place to live.

There's a lot of diseases, health issues, mental illness is rampant and not being able to get the medications on a regular basis.

Addictions, there is so much, um, drug addiction from, you know, pain pills to needing something to change my mood from what I'm experiencing.

And when you get into alcohol and drug addictions, it'’s so difficult to get out of.

Rob: And I would also add to that, that during this past, you know, year and a half, um, we have seen addiction and mental illness increase across the board, whether you are experiencing homelessness or not.

Sister Libby: Oh, yes, uh-- Rob: Imagine what it'’s like on the street.

Sister Libby: Oh, absolutely.

So, if you can relate to a brother or sister or an aunt or an uncle, or maybe even your mom or dad or your children who have an addiction problem, um, there's different levels.

Um, some, you know, consider themselves well, I'm a working alcoholic.

Well, that's fine.

I'm glad you have a job, but it's interfering with your relationships.

It's interfering with, um, who you are as a human being.

And it's so difficult to help someone who, um, needs help when it comes to addictions.

Um, because you can't just turn it off like that.

Everyone has different levels of what they can tolerate, what they cannot, and their behaviors.

And it... and it's such a, um, mental health, psychological, and physical addiction related to mental health and addictions.

It's just unbelievable.

Rob: You know, I...

I wonder, Sister Libby, that at a time when someone spirals into homelessness and it can happen fast.

And once you have spiraled into experiencing homelessness, it is incredibly hard to get out.

Sister Libby: Oh, um, so, so much.

Um, when you're spiraling down to where you're actually on the streets, you've got to build yourself up to so many different levels.

First of all, you've got to feel good enough about yourself to make a difference, you know, because you... you... you got to feel good about yourself, at least enough to say, "“Where can I go to get help?

"” But we do need safe places to be.

And right now, the city is trying to work on a plan to end homelessness, at least address the issue of that.

And one of them is the safety issues.

So, we have like council member, Katie Valenzuela, who had started some pop -up safe ground sites.

And one of themis on W and 6th... 6th Street.

And something like that is very good.

It's a good start because it's a safe place that's condoned by the city.

You actually, uh, have porta-potties there, trash pickup, and then more groups like myself and other people who want to help out can actually bring resources; food, water, um, healthcare, options for housing.

So, at least that's a good start and we just need more pop-up safe ground sites in every district.

And, uh, because it can be overwhelmingly crowded now at W and 6th, I think there's over 100 tents right there, and that's too big of a community.

We need a little pocket of communities where people can feel safe and not overwhelmed by the... the amount like a large city.

Rob: Can any landowner offer that space?

Sister Libby: They can, but it's difficult.

Um, I know the city is trying to do, uh, trying to get more permits permitted.

But you know, like my good friend, Mark Marin owns property on 12th and C Street.

So, he's opened that to up for safe ground.

It's a piece -—it'’s a parcel and... and only 12 tents can fit on that parcel to give safe distance.

Rob: But it'’s 12 tents.

Sister Libby: That's right.

And it's a community that's self-governing where they try to keep drug and alcohol out of the community.

Uh, there's private porta-potty, uh, company that, uh, is paid by the community.

There's a shower there, there's trash pickup and it's all private entity.

And that's from a private property with different people outside of the city and the county resources that are helping, keeping that safe ground going during this time.

Rob: Is this a private, um, or public, um, entity solution-driven problem?

Or is it both?

Sister Libby: It's a start.

Yeah, I think private and public-— Rob: I mean in general.

Sister Libby: Yeah, it's a good start.

Um, because with the 6,000 folks on the streets, you've got to have a safe place for them to be at night and during the day and where you can find them when we start building more affordable housing with, uh, good resources, such as mental illness, uh, resources and recovery resources.

And we're... we're starting.

It, you know, it... it takes seven years to build good affordable housing.

Capitol Park is now being renovated by Mercy Housing.

Courtyard hotel has just been renovated for homelessness in the North Sac area.

We need more, uh, and, uh, the city knows what we need, but we also need the monies and the resources and the community, the developments, and the businesses to say, yes, let's do it right here.

Rob: I also want to ask you, what are people telling you, who you see every day who are experiencing homelessness?

If you could speak, uh, for all of the different stories.

Sister Libby: Yeah.

The biggest one that comes is when you can see a person eye to eye, and when they see you eye to eye, they look at your eyes, you're looking at them, there's that connection.

And then you see a smile and say, "“Thank you, you really care.

"” And that's what it's about.

And that's what makes a difference in that person's life, because it felt deep in their heart that someone really cared and now, they feel good about themselves and they spread that joy, they spread that love and they can help each other out too.

So, I think it starts at the bottom, is that heart to heart, like you said, eye to eye, that connection of care, which is the basics to anything else that you need.

Rob: So, what would you ask people who are watching to do?

Uh, take the flip side, um, and... and believe me, when I tell you this, that homeless-- people who are experiencing homelessness watch this too-- Sister Libby: Ah, yes.

Rob: Because they tell me.

Sister Libby: Absolutely.

Rob: So, what would you say to people who are not going through homelessness?

Those... those who drive by or walk by and see someone on the street?

Sister Libby: You know, it... it's... it's personal, so you have to feel comfortable, but you really have to step out of your boundaries, but you don't have to go very far.

If you're walking down a sidewalk and a homeless person is on the sidewalk that persons on your path.

That person is right there on your own path.

So, what do you do?

You can say, "“Hello, how are you?

"” And really connect eye to eye.

And then before you even, um, do that too you... you know, you want to ask them, you know, "“I'm...

I'm...

I'm Libby, I'm Sister Libby.

I'm Rob.

Um, what is your name?

"” Because having a touch of reality on who that person is as a human being, eye to eye you're connecting.

And then, then you can go on and say, "“How can I help you today?

"” You never say, "“Do you want?

Do you need?

"” You know, you don'’t put your judgment on a person, but you say, "“How can I help you today?

"” And let the person answer on what their needs are.

And if it's no, maybe you haven't built up enough trust yet to have that conversation.

But simply anyone can connect, uh, and it'’s very personal.

Very personable, very personal, it'’s something that is on your path and what can you do at that moment?

Rob: That is such a good viewpoint to ask, "“How can I help you today?

"” Instead of-- and I'm not criticizing anyone, I mean, I do it too.

You take food and you give it to someone or... or money, but to say, "“How can I help you today?

"” Because when I've said that to people, sometimes there'll be a long-- there will be a long pause because truly thinking, where do I begin?

Sister Libby: Yup, yup.

Yup.

You started the conversation and the thought and the process of where do I go from here?

Rob: So, is-—you... you mentioned the... the land situation earlier.

Um, and I'm thinking about people who have lots of land, but they're not near services.

Sister Libby: Right.

Rob: Um, and so when you get into a city, that's where you need the permits.

And, uh, and then the arguing starts with the... the groups that say, "“Not in my backyard.

"” And then you have those that say, "“Yes in my backyard.

"” The NIMBYs and the YIMBYs.

Um, but when you take all of that out, it really is about someone's life and that is someone's child.

No matter what you say.

Sister Libby: Yeah.

Rob: Someone on the street has got a mama.

Sister Libby: That's right.

You can't just place them somewhere in nowhere land because we, as human beings have some basic necessities.

Um, you know, we need to go the restroom how many times a day?

We need to eat how many times a day?

We need to sleep.

But most importantly, we need that human connection.

And you know, I wanna feel good about myself.

So does anyone else.

You want to feel good about yourself.

You want to feel worthy as a human being.

So, you need that human connection, um, and the sense of care.

Uh, and it's not a gimme, gimme, gimme world it is let's work together.

So, it's not about just being homelessness or just about, um, businesses, this like, how do we work together?

You know, because even businesses, um, have some good... good issues.

You know, you don't want your door blocked by someone.

You don't want it smelling like urine and all that.

So where do you... where do you work together to say, you know, "“This is not the best place for you, but I do think that this, um, safe ground here which is a couple blocks away is very useful and I'm going to help out.

I'm going to bring some resources to you too.

"” Because it's not a matter of just get rid of someone, it's about collaborating, working together with where that place is going to be in that land that, um, is accessible and safe for homeless people.

City Hall is very good about opening their doors at night.

Um, and it's understandable that you can't sleep during the day there because people have businesses and all that.

Um, but we need opportunities, places to go at night, places to park your car, and places to be during the day.

Lots of lots of opportunities.

Rob: There... there are.

And one big opportunity that I take away from this is... is simply a smile and joy.

Um, if everyone hearing this could share that smile and joy with someone who's going through homelessness.

Like you said it spreads.

Despair spreads, but joy spreads.

Sister Libby: Absolutely.

Rob: And if you can turn someone's day around with kindness then there's a ripple effect.

Sister Libby: Absolutely.

I mean, don't you feel good about doing something for another person?

When you give back from your own heart, it gives you more energy and strength to continue to do something more and your needs get taken care of too.

They always say, you know, if you give way to dollars, you always get back four.

That's exactly what it's like.

If you can connect with one smile and you see that ripple effect of that homeless person smiling, it's like, "“Oh my God, that person has joy in their life for that day.

"” That may make the biggest difference in their life for tomorrow.

Rob: And I understand, and I know that there are people who pass by, um, and... and can't even, and don't look, um, because for whatever reason, I don't really know.

But frankly, for whatever reason, whether it's too much, whether it's, um, just something that someone looks down upon, or whether it's something that someone feels like they can't help with.

Erase all of that.

And in the moment, what can I do?

Sister Libby: Yeah.

Rob: You can at least smile and make eye contact.

And nine times out of 10, nine times out of 10, I have not been asked for money when you do it politely like that.

Sister Libby: Absolutely.

Oh, and once someone gets to know you, that you're a person who cares, sometimes they'll just come up to you and say, "“Oh, I just came to say hi, I don't need anything today.

"” That is a miracle right there.

Rob: You know, I...

I can't help but think, Sister Libby, that every day of your life you see the worst and the best of humanity.

Sister Libby: Yes, yes.

Rob: How do you decide where to lean in?

Sister Libby: Yeah.

Uh, sometimes, um, I want to lean in now because that feeling of wanting to care, wanting to help someone.

And if you lean in too much, um, you-- my heart will be broken.

Uh, you know, I could cry every day if I leaned in too much, uh, because it's a tragic world out there.

Um, at Loaves and Fishes I started Genesis Mental Health Counseling for those who are homeless, and I've heard lots of stories empathize with many people.

Um, but you have to know that you have only so much ability to help someone.

Uh, you can't rescue the world.

Um, you can't have a bleeding heart, um, but you can sure show someone that you care without it damaging yourself.

And that's the trick to life.

You know, you don't want to enable someone so much that they don't care for you, you don't care for them, or you feel like you're being used.

You know, relationship is about going back and forth.

It's a trust and care that both of you have and not one over the other, or one forcing one to do something, or one telling one to do something.

It really is about where do we grow without hurting each other.

And that's the trick to any kind of relationship.

Um, but to lean in with love and care, uh, is very, very-- it can be very, uh, difficult, uh, and sensitive, but definitely you want to push to that point where it's most effective without hurting your heart too much.

Rob: And it's hard.

It is hard to do.

And I... and I ask when you bring up your heart, what is on your heart today?

What... what must be shared?

What do you feel like you need to say?

Sister Libby: You know, my heart bleeds when I see not just people who are homeless, but people who you see out there or people who you know, there's that such great sense of loneliness.

I think loneliness, to me is... is so heart felt.

Uh, if you feel lonely, it's such an awful feeling.

Um, and so reach out to someone, um, whether it's a family member or someone you see who's by themselves and just say hi, because I-- you know, that sense of loneliness, it's just, if you've ever felt it, you know it hurts.

And it's an awful feeling.

So, I would say, just reach out, touch someone with a little bit of care and a little bit of love and that loneliness will rip away.

Rob: It's interesting how loneliness can be changed with service.

Sister Libby: Yeah.

Yeah, absolutely.

And during this COVID time, we're all finding less, you know, more time alone, um, more time to have to ourselves.

So, it's good time for reflection and to sense who you are in this vast world.

But don't put yourself out there where you... you're so lonely that you can't even reach out.

Um, and if you're in that position where you'’re feeling you're so lonely or so depressed that you can't do anything, that's when you want to say, "“One step forward.

Let's do what Rob and Sister Libby is doing.

Let's just move outside my door, say hi to the first person I see.

And go from there.

"” Rob: Let me ask you, why, why do you do what you do?

Sister Libby: It's the big question.

Isn't it?

Why do you do what you do?

You know, it all goes back down to, do you reflect enough about yourself to ask, "“Who am I?

"” That's the question.

Right?

Who am I, what am I, where am I going?

How am I being called to serve?

And to me, it's a daily reflection.

How can I be the best of who I am-- given who I am-- um, today?

And so, what makes me do what I do is I keep asking that question every day.

It'’s a reflection question to get me going to the next step, to make sure that, well, this sounds like the path that I am on, is good.

I'll continue on this path.

And if it's a point where I'm frustrated or I'm angry, or, um, just not going well for me, I have to reflect.

Why?

What's going on with me that day too, and do I need to change my path?

What do I need to change to get back on this path where I feel this is where I'm being called to be, to do?

And again, as a Sister of Mercy, I do do a lot of reflection, but so can everyone else, it's not a special calling.

We're all called.

And if you take the time to reflect on where you're being called by your God, by your superpower, a higher power by what gives you purpose in life.

Um, it's just one step at a time.

One day at a time, one reflection moment at a time, and it works for me.

Rob: And if you're feeling led in a different direction, just do those one step at a time and you will get there.

Sister Libby: Absolutely.

And you don't do it alone.

Um, when you're ready to process with someone, find a friend, call a friend, get advice, get direction, read something.

You know, it takes a lot of information, and a lot of input to process what your next step is going to be.

Rob: You are such a huge heart and such a gift to our entire region.

And I just, I thank you.

You are the Saint of Sacramento in my opinion.

And I just want to thank you for all that you do.

Sister Libby: And Rob, you are an angel in my life too, and that's why I think I enjoy connecting with you.

Our spirits are, you know, side by side, connecting.

Energy is going this way.

And we've got a long ways to go together and work in this community.

Rob: There's a lot to be done.

Sister Libby: Yes.

Rob: All right.

Thank you so much.

Sister Libby Fernandez -- Sister Libby: God bless you, Rob.

Take care.

Rob: With Mercy Pedalers in Sacramento.

Great to see you.

Sister Libby: You too.

Bye-bye.

Rob: Bye-bye.

We'll see you next week right here on Rob on the Road.

♪♪ Annc: Murphy Austin Adams Schoenfeld, LLP focusing on business law and commercial litigation is proud to support Rob on the Road Region Rising.

More information available at murphyaustin.com.