More Than Keys: Make It Happen Yolo Turns Empty Apartments Into Homes For Young Adults

Jan Judson: [00:00:00] I literally served a young man several years ago, and he literally had nothing in the apartment, and we brought all this stuff. He was sleeping on a sleeping bag on the floor with his backpack for a pillow. He had nothing in the kitchen to cook with or eat with. It was bare. He had a stove, but he couldn't use it 'cause he had nothing

Jeff Holden: Welcome to the Nonprofit Podcast Network. Our purpose and passion are simple, to highlight the incredible nonprofits that make our communities stronger. Each episode is a chance for these organizations to tell their story in their words, sharing not just what they do, but why it matters to the people they serve, to their supporters, and to all of us who believe in the power of community.

Through podcasting, we hope to amplify their voices, inspire connection, and give them one more tool [00:01:00] to impact the hearts of donors, partners, and neighbors alike. This work is made possible through the generous support of our incredible partners, CapTrust, offering fiduciary advice for endowments and foundations, Western Health Advantage, a local not-for-profit health plan that believes healthcare is more than coverage, it's about caring, Core Executive Leadership and Comprehensive Support Services, they work in it so you can work on it, and Five Star Bank, a local trusted advisor to community nonprofits for over 25 years.

This episode is powered by SMUD, Sacramento Municipal Utility District's Shine Awards program benefiting nonprofits for energy efficiency. Apply today. Imagine finally getting the keys to your own apartment after foster care, homelessness, or involvement in the juvenile justice system. Now imagine walking inside.

No [00:02:00] bed, no table, no dishes, no towels. Nothing that makes that empty space feel like a home, like a functional household. That's the gap Make It Happen Yolo is working to fill. In this episode, I talk with founder and board president Jan Judson and executive director Kathy Schmidt about furniture poverty, about dignity, independence, and the simple but powerful idea that getting someone housed is only part of the solution.

For young adults already facing enormous challenges, the basic necessities of a home can provide something even more important, stability, confidence, and a better foundation for whatever comes next. It's a need most of us probably never think about. 

After this conversation, you will. 

Jan Judson, Kathy Schmidt, welcome to the Nonprofit Podcast Network.

Jan Judson: Thanks for having us. Mm-hmm. We really appreciate the opportunity. It's nice to be here. Thanks. 

Jeff Holden: You are such a unique [00:03:00] organization, and I, I think it's one that people don't think about. And I was recently having a conversation with some people about foster youth and the fact that maybe we're making a little bit of a dent with some of the, you know, donations and organizations to get foster youth into housing.

I mean, we know it's a big, big issue for these kids transitioning, and that's great. And we don't think about the next step. You know, we, we get these kids into a living quarters And then what? Thank you very much. There you go. And literally that's all they have is the roof over their head, but they don't have any means to get the rest of the pieces to make it a home.

And somewhere along the line, Jan, you saw this. Tell us a little bit about how this came to be. 

Jan Judson: In a nutshell, I'm a retired nurse practitioner, Jeff, and during the course of my practice, I was [00:04:00] in different settings like the emergency department, urgent care. I did pediatrics for a couple of years, family practice for more.

And during those times I occasionally would run into situations where I would see foster youth that were brought in for various different reasons, and not all the time, but enough, enough of the time it seemed like there was a disconnect between the youth that was brought in, and they were all different ages, and the adult that was bringing, or adults that were bringing them in.

And that was really troubling me. And I remember one specific incident where there was a young infant who just wanted to interact, was in a car seat on the exam table, and the parents or guardians were across the exam room just paying no attention to this child at all. And it, it just broke my heart. And I've always had a soft spot for underrepresentative, underrepresented groups like animals, and the elderly, and children that can't speak for [00:05:00] themselves.

And so I became... I kept saying, "I have to, I have to do something. I have to volunteer." And I have two children. My daughter was a senior in high school. She said, "You keep saying you're gonna do something. You need to do it." And she was right. So I joined, volunteered with UC Davis Guardian Scholars as an adult mentor, and I also joined another organization called the California Youth Connection.

I don't know if you're familiar with them. Mm-hmm. But they're a nonprofit in the state of California that is driven and led by foster youth, former and current foster youth, and they work to create legislative change around foster issues. And so I came in as an adult supporter, and that increased my awareness of more...

made me more aware of the needs of that group. We subsequently had a fundraising event. I met one of our first board members, who was a co-founder, Elliot Jones, and he at that time was a YOLO Casa [00:06:00] with a transition age youth- Mm-hmm ... was his child that he was supporting. And he, he was the one that brought it to my attention that while resources, as you mentioned, existed for housing, some for food, some resources for clothing, education definitely has some, but nothing to address furniture poverty, which is the inability to afford, access, or maintain the basic items needed- For a home to make it safe, like a bed to sleep in.

So we started it informally through his garage, word of mouth, just accepting anything we could find, and in 2014, we became a 501[c][3]. We were very fortunate to rec- start to receive funding, and we served 12 youth that first year, and we're hoping to serve 72 this year. 

Jeff Holden: That's it. Which is, is just amazing, and we'll get into the conversation about steps and, and how this all happens [00:07:00] in, in just a minute, but As a founder who recognized that, and now you've given, uh, this year it'll be 70.

Each year there's been some compounding or growing number from, you know, 12 to 72. 12 years old now, congratulations. Mm-hmm. 

Thank 

you. You've, you've certainly crossed the hurdle of existence and sustainability- Thanks ... uh, which we'll talk about too. But let's address who it is you serve. There's, there's, there's...

Is there an age cutoff, uh, entry? We, we know it's transitioning foster youth, but tell me what that looks like. 

Jan Judson: If, if I may, Jeff, we, we do actually serve transition age youth. They don't have to just be foster youth. 

Jeff Holden: Thank you. 

Jan Judson: We also work with youth that are c- have, um, experience with the juvenile justice system, and we also h- help youth that have been unhoused.

We are trying... We work... To answer your question, we work with the ages of between 16 and 24. 

Jeff Holden: [00:08:00] Okay. 

Jan Judson: And the, the 24 upper limit i- is to accommodate those youth that have been in foster care and are transitioning past that. So the older, older young adults - Right ... if you will, allow me that. We only take referrals, so all our clients are referred to us by partner, referring partner agencies, and all of them have to be connected to Yolo County in some way.

And the reason that's important, they don't have to be in Yolo County, because we know as of about three years ago, and I'm sorry I don't have updated data, um, after that, but I n- I know from the Transition Age Youth unit in Yolo County through Child Welfare Services, that about 30% of youth were able to be housed in Yolo County because of housing availability.

30 were housed about s- within 30 miles outside Yolo County, and the remaining third-ish [00:09:00] percent would've been over 30 miles away, which is, again, a need for housing. But so any- 

Jeff Holden: And transportation at that point. 

Jan Judson: And absolutely, transportation- Mm-hmm ... is another huge issue. Thank you for mentioning that. So anyway, w- they have to be connected to Yolo County some way.

So a student, they have to have their... They may not live in Yolo County, they may live in Sacramento, but their case is, case manager or social worker is in Yolo County. Mm-hmm. That, those are the kind of criteria we have. Kathy, am I missing anything? 

Cathi Schmidt: And we try to make sure that they're not receiving duplicate services from another organization.

Yes. Thank you. Um, that, th- that's really our criteria for the youth. 

Jeff Holden: Okay. And it is Yolo County specifically at this point in time? 

Jan Judson: Yes, because we're a really small organization, and we really honor the fact that if we say we are going to serve someone, then we will do it, and we have done it. But we, if we were to open it up to a different county, we would not have [00:10:00] the capacity.

Sure. The com- the need is tremendous, and we, we know that there's far more need in Yolo County than, right now than we have identified. Mm-hmm. And that's one of our goals ultimately is to, to try to outreach even more with our referring agencies and new referring agencies- Mm-hmm ... especially in rural Yolo County, maybe more in West Sacramento.

Jeff Holden: I, I can't help but ask, and, and there may be a better point in the conversation to do it, but now seems appropriate. Just the need is so great in Yolo County. It certainly exists in Sacramento or Placer or El Dorado. The need has to be there everywhere. Mm-hmm. 

Jan Judson: It is. 

Jeff Holden: Has there been... I, I'm certainly unfamiliar if there's another organization doing some similar work in the other counties, or have they approached you to say, "Can we look at some collaborative or affiliation opportunities in these other counties?"

Jan Judson: There, we have not been approached. That is... I love that idea. Practically speaking, I'm not sure we could [00:11:00] work on that right now, but there are other organizations. I know in Sacramento there's a few, and I'm sorry, I can't probably come up with the correct names. That's okay. As 

Jeff Holden: long as... I just 

Jan Judson: haven't run across them.

I'm, I'm not sure that all of them... We, we have a van that was donated to us, which was a lifesaver. Thank you, Ron Brown Construction. Mm-hmm. We do not charge anything for our services, and we deliver the items to the youth's home. If they are within, we're a little flexible on that, but we try to make it within 20 miles- Mm-hmm

of, of where we are located in Davis. We have our storage units. So but there, there is also another organization in Solano County in Fairfield, um, that does similar work, and I mentioned that there's... I think there's two in Sacramento. There might be one in Placer too, but there is nobody else in Yolo County doing this.

Jeff Holden: Yeah, and they might make themselves known after the episode releases too, 'cause it'd be nice to know- [00:12:00] Oh, that would be great ... that, that they exist- Right ... for each county. That would be great. Because I'm sure people are gonna hear this and go, "But I'm not in Yolo County." 

Jan Judson: Right. Yeah. Right. 

Jeff Holden: Or, "My, my organization serves foster youth."

Or youth who could use the service- 

Jan Judson: Absolutely ... 

Jeff Holden: but oh my gosh, what a, what a great concept. Yep. And is there another? Yep. 

Jan Judson: And Jeff, if I may. 

Jeff Holden: Yeah. 

Jan Judson: Uh, furniture poverty is not limited to transition-age youth. We, we sometimes will get other organizations reaching out to us. Often get. Uh, actually often. With we, we recently had this phone call from a man who identified himself as being on SSI, and he wanted...

He said, "I really need a sofa, and another organization referred me to you." And I said, "Can you please tell me how old you are?" And he said, "I'm 45." And a few months ago, we had a social worker working for our hospital that had a couple that had [00:13:00] previously been unhoused that needed everything. Sure. And we were the only organization that they came to.

We, we can't. 

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. 

Jan Judson: And I say that sadly, but we just, we really can't. We have to be true to our funders, and we, we have to be true to ourselves. Yeah. We don't have the capacity. 

Jeff Holden: Oh, and I would imagine at some point, too, we're gonna start to see this age migration since seniors now are some of the most impacted- 

Jan Judson: Exactly

Jeff Holden: people for homelessness. 

Jan Judson: Mm-hmm. Exactly. 

Jeff Holden: You know? They're on fixed incomes. They may even own their own home, but they can't pay the property taxes. Next thing you know, they're out. 

Jan Judson: Mm-hmm. 

Jeff Holden: And what do they do? 

Jan Judson: This... Exactly. Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. 

Jeff Holden: Yeah, so it, it's gonna be an interesting dynamic as we see how all this changes over- Mm

the course of the next, you know, couple of years in terms of demand and what it looks like. Tell me a little bit about what, what it is that you provide. What can one expect when they've engaged with you- 

Cathi Schmidt: Mm-hmm ... 

Jeff Holden: in their vacant residence? 

Cathi Schmidt: Mm-hmm. Yeah, sure. So just to follow up on one thing [00:14:00] that Jan said, I think one thing that also makes us slightly unique compared to some of the other organizations that we do know exist but have slightly different models is we really make an effort to make this as simple as possible for these youth, because they often have h- had- Too many barriers.

So as soon as the referring partner identifies that they potentially have a youth that has some need, we send them a wish list, and the wish list has over 100 items, and it's really every single item you would need to furnish a small one-bedroom apartment. 

Jeff Holden: And, and give us some for examples, because- For exam- 

Cathi Schmidt: yep

Jeff Holden: we, we, we, you, we tend to think, well, yeah, not that, but in, in your case, yes, that too. Yeah. 

Cathi Schmidt: Yep. So it includes really everything from your dishes, your silverware, your pots and pans, a vacuum, cleaning supplies, the, the items that you need [00:15:00] to set up a bathroom, bath towels, rug, curtain, shower curtain, a desk, a lamp, a chair, and then some living room items, a bookcase, potentially a nightstand, a dresser, dining room table, a couple of dining room chairs, really everything.

And then we also, we, we received some feedback from a survey that we asked them to fill out, and we identified a couple of years ago that another item that they really would love to have made available is a bike. So we've added a bicycle, a lock, a light, and a helmet, and that has been incredibly, uh, popular for all the youth we serve.

So If the youth were to select every single item that's on our wish list, and, and some do, it's roughly about a $3,000 expense that, that they don't have to. And the most [00:16:00] important thing, and I think Jan mentioned this, is we provide the transportation. We bring it to them, which is often also a huge problem for them.

Mm-hmm. You know, it's easy to say, "Well, just go down to the Salvation Army and, and get a couch," but if you're on foot, that's not possible. Right. So, um, this really solves a huge problem for them. 

Jeff Holden: How about discovery? How do people learn of you? Or is it because you do it through partners that there's just enough demand there that you don't really have to worry about discovery at this point?

Jan Judson: We do need to worry about awareness. 

Jeff Holden: Okay. 

Jan Judson: Because I was just picking up a furniture donation last, late last week, and we were working and someone stopped by. They saw our van, which has our logo on it. And the thing we hear commonly, and it's not for lack of trying on our part, we laugh, and this woman came up and she said, "I have never heard of you guys."

And it's like, "Yeah, I know, but we're [00:17:00] really trying." We have worked, Jeff, to increase awareness about us through social media accounts. We're on Instagram and Facebook, LinkedIn. We are really trying to get more articles in the local media, so The Davis Enterprise, the Daily Democrat in Woodland, the West Sacramento News Ledger, and the Winters Express ran...

We're very grateful for a series of articles earlier this year that they ran. We are grateful for the opportunity here. But it, it just, it, it's kind of a constant, I don't wanna call it a battle, it's not that. No, it's always a challenge. But it's a challenge. It's a challenge. And I think we're doing better than we were.

Mm-hmm. But we just continue to do that. And we do speaking engagements to community groups. We're very grateful for that. Like we're- So that'd 

Jeff Holden: be like the Rotary ... 

Jan Judson: Rotary, Soroptimist. We're going to be the beneficiary of, um, a soup night with the Sor- Davis, International Davis [00:18:00] Soroptimist in October, I believe it is.

Yep. We're very grateful for that, and that's an opportunity not only- To receive financial support, but to network with people- Mm-hmm ... and increase awareness through there. So we're trying to do everything we can. 

Jeff Holden: A- and that's a great segue to the next question, which is collaboration. Mm-hmm. Who do you work with?

Who are the organizations that are in and out of your organization in shared, uh, reciprocity, so to speak, whether it be through funding or through awareness or through donations? What would it look like? 

Cathi Schmidt: Yeah. So kinda twofold. We have our referring partners that we are constantly trying to stay in contact with, make sure that they're, that we're fresh.

Um, and those could be the CASA organization, probation- And for 

Jeff Holden: the benefit of those who don't know, CASA, we mentioned a little bit earlier, is Court Appointed Special Advocates, people who are the representative for that youth in the court system. 

Cathi Schmidt: Mm-hmm. 

Jeff Holden: Yes. Because [00:19:00] it can be really difficult to navigate, so they have this mentor in between.

Cathi Schmidt: Yes. Right, right. It can be a social worker- Mm-hmm ... through child welfare services. Mm-hmm. It could be a principal through the high school. 

Jeff Holden: Oh, 

Cathi Schmidt: okay. And, uh, yeah. So the referring partners we're, as, uh, Jan already mentioned, we're in constant contact with. In terms of our... There's other partners that potentially could be referring partners, but also help provide wraparound services.

Mm-hmm. So when we have this engagement with a youth, we take that opportunity to make sure that they're aware of the Yellow Crisis Nursery that provides respite care, that they're aware of agencies that provide medical, CommuniCare LA. So we're very-- It's very important to us that we take that opportunity, and we have brochures on hand, and we let them know that there are other agencies out there that can also provide services to them.

And in some cases, um, we'll make the introduction so that we can [00:20:00] make sure that there will be some follow-up. Yeah. 

Jeff Holden: And those are on the referring side. Are there other organizations that aren't on the referral side but are on the contribution side, whether it be th- furniture or donation or whatever s- m- not unlike the Rotary or the civic groups that, that exist?

Cathi Schmidt: Uh-huh. Yeah. Almost all the service organizations, whether it's Rotary, Odd Fellows... It could be the, um, Davis Co-op, for instance- Mm-hmm ... that does the roundup for a cause. At the register. 

Jeff Holden: Yes. 

Cathi Schmidt: Mm-hmm. So m- many organizations, we participate in, in activities like that or events like that. 

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. 

Cathi Schmidt: So. 

Jeff Holden: Food Bank even to, to where you're supporting and comm- communicating with the kids to 

Cathi Schmidt: I would say n- I mean, not so much food.

Okay. I, I feel like, and, and maybe this is unique, most of the youth that we serve seem to be knowledgeable about- 

Jeff Holden: Good ... 

Cathi Schmidt: resources. Yeah. 

Jeff Holden: Okay, I'm g- I was gonna say maybe that, that is too tangential, but the good news is they know. [00:21:00] Yeah. They understand, so they've already got that covered. This is the piece that they didn't understand.

Jan Judson: Mm-hmm. For the most part, I would say. I'm sure, I think it's, it continues to be a challenge for many of our clients, I think. We don't do a deep dive into stories when they come to the storage unit. That's, our purpose is to provide them with something to furnish their homes, and many times- And with a sense of dig-

that's an uncomfortable subject ... a sense of dignity, right? We don't need- And so it w- absolutely. Mm-hmm. And so, but like Kathy was saying, we also work with Shores of Hope in West Sacramento, and they actually have housing for transition-age youth and others. They have a childcare center there. They've have case management.

They have a clothing and food closet there. It's a really wonderful organization. We've worked pretty closely with them as a referring agency for a number of years. 

Jeff Holden: That, that's, yeah, that's what we wanna hear. You know, this collaborative between organizations has become so significant, especially as budgets have been getting- 

Jan Judson: Yes.

Jeff Holden: Yeah ... you know, cut and grants are, are thinner than they used [00:22:00] to be, and people are realizing, "My goodness, I can't do this alone." Yes, correct, you can't. Right, right. And it's better that you do it together. Yep. And so we're seeing more and more of that outreach for Organizations of like services, not duplicative, but complementary.

Jan Judson: Yep. And- That's, that's it in a nutshell. Yeah. And 

Cathi Schmidt: actually, we just had a- attended an event yesterday that the Yolo County Office of Education, um, facilitated, where lots of nonprofits were there, and we were able to identify that although we may have... You know, if, if there's a pie and we've sliced out eight, seven pieces of the pie, one big piece that is missing are sort of life skills.

How do you get a driver's license? How do you- 

Mm-hmm ... 

you know, if you don't have documents, if you don't have a birth certificate, if you don't have these documents, how, how do you facilitate things that most of us just sort of take for granted? We do come together and we identify, okay, that's, that's a [00:23:00] huge gap and we have to address it.

Yeah, so there's that collaboration. And 

Jeff Holden: I can imagine too, especially our, our youth who are immigrants- Exactly ... who are really struggling to figure out the system. Regardless of where they are in their tenure in the country, it's still not easy. Yeah. You know, you have all these barriers, you know, whether it be language or financial or, uh, just understanding- Exactly

you know, directionally where to go, and there are organizations that help with that too. 

Cathi Schmidt: Mm-hmm. 

Jeff Holden: Where I can see that, that supportive nature of, okay, I got a place, and everybody's happy for you, and you don't wanna share that I don't have anything in it. I can't, I can't have anybody come over. I can't really do anything other than sleep- You 

Cathi Schmidt: hit on it.

Yeah ... 

Jeff Holden: on it. 

Jan Judson: One of our board members, Jeff, is a former foster youth and a former UC Davis Guardian Scholar, and they had that exact situation. When they came to Davis, their desk was a cardboard box, their dining room table was a cardboard box, their storage was cardboard boxes, and they have [00:24:00] shared how they were so self-conscious about that situation as a very young adult transitioning into the university that they would do everything they could not to have people over to the apartment.

They would go there. But socialization, and that's, that's another thing is that may sound simple or cavalier, but socialization at that age is hugely important. I thi- I think it would be fair to say for most people, perhaps not all But that's a huge impact of not having those items which we can supply, and we know that it makes a difference with mental health, as well as physical health too.

I mean, I literally served a young man several years ago, and he literally had nothing in the apartment, and we brought all this stuff. He was sleeping on a sleeping bag on the floor with his backpack for a pillow. He had nothing in the kitchen to cook with or eat with. It was bare. He had a stove, but he [00:25:00] couldn't use it 'cause he had nothing.

Mm-hmm. 

And so when we left, he had all the items that Cathy mentioned earlier, and that was really re- I mean, I know he was very happy about it, but it- it's rewarding for us to- Yeah ... to be able to provide that. And, and 

Jeff Holden: that's a great point too. There's a whole mental health issue- 100%. There is ... that we're, we're here too.

Absolutely. Because these are our young adults, and, and to your point, this is really a transition to- 

Jan Judson: It is ... 

Jeff Holden: to whether it be workforce or graduate school or whatever it may be- Mm-hmm ... that they move on to. And to be able to have that sense of pride that I'm not homeless in my car, but I'm not that much better, they're not gonna say anything.

Mm-hmm. Because they're happy to have that roof over their head. 

Jan Judson: That's- Mm-hmm ... that's... I think that's a- Right ... really important point you just made. 

Jeff Holden: We'll return to the conversation with Jan Judson and 

Cathy Schmidt of Make It Happen Yolo following a few short messages from those who help these organizations be seen and heard.

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We're Five Star Bank, a trusted nonprofit partner. How can we help you? 

Darrell Teat: We are really excited to be part of the family and contribute to the work that you all are doing. CXORE provides fractional and interim executive services along with comprehensive back office solutions that go into our client sites and do the work to give them the capacity they need in order to move through transitions, whether that's planned or unplanned, or companies also work with our accounting and finance back office solutions, human resources, technology, and [00:27:00] administration.

The reason why our back office solutions add value is because we save them time and money, anywhere from twenty to thirty percent of what they would spend on that back office solution. We work in it so they can actually work on it. CXORE.com, and contact me directly at DTEAT@CXORE.com. 

Jeff Holden: If you're interested in learning more about how CXORE may help your organization, visit CXORE.com.

Scott Thomas: Hello, this is Scott Thomas with CapTrust in our Sacramento office. I specialize in working with local nonprofits and associations. Annually, we survey private and public nonprofit organizations across the country to better understand challenges they see in today's environment. In our more recent survey, we heard concerns about proper board governance, mission-aligned investment, and how to implement alternate investments.

If you would like a copy of the survey or to [00:28:00] discuss your organization, look me up, scottthomas@captrust.com. 

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Let's talk about funding.

How are you funded? 

Cathi Schmidt: Mm-hmm. Yeah, so we are 100% funded by grants and private donation. About 50% of our funding comes from grants, so we, like most nonprofits, spend an enormous amount of time writing grants. But we have some very loyal and very generous supporters in Y- in Yolo County, so we're very grateful for that.

We also have foundational grantors, [00:30:00] and they are, represent about 25% of our funding, and then the remaining 25 is independent personal donations. Mm-hmm. And again, a fairly good, loyal base of funders, but relatively small amounts. Um, and, and we pro- we do not receive any kind of public financing at all.

Mm-hmm. It's all private. 

Jeff Holden: To our credit today- 

Cathi Schmidt: Yep. Mm-hmm ... 

Jeff Holden: you know, there's so many people who have relied on- Exactly ... either federal grants, and they're, they're struggling. They're- Yes. That's right ... in some cases really in, in trouble because of the significance of those grants that they relied on drying up- 

Cathi Schmidt: Right

Jeff Holden: and gone away, and that's gonna trickle down to the state, and then, you know, they don't have these varied resources. And w- we all know that if you had the option, one big to service everything or many littles- 

Cathi Schmidt: Mm-hmm ... 

Jeff Holden: give me the many littles because if I lose a couple of those, I'm okay. 

Cathi Schmidt: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. 

Jeff Holden: But if I lose that one big- 

Cathi Schmidt: Mm-hmm

Jeff Holden: we're, we're in trouble. 

Cathi Schmidt: Right. [00:31:00] Right. 

Jeff Holden: So to, to your credit, and it's, it's a relatively small budget. 12 years, you know, you've been working. It's been growing, you know, each year to the point that... Are, are you all volunteer at this point? 

Cathi Schmidt: N- no, we're not all volunteer. We have three paid positions, myself being one of them as the executive director.

I work part-time. We added an administrative assistant who also works part-time, and then we also have a UC Davis former foster youth intern who only works a couple of hours a week. Maybe over the summer we'll increase the hours. Mm-hmm. But between the three of us, we're a little bit less than one full-time equivalent, and then we have about 18 volunteers, and we have a very active board.

So really the heavy lifting is the volunteers and the, and the board. 

Jeff Holden: And, and no pun intended, I mean, I hear Jan saying just she's out with- Oh, 

Cathi Schmidt: every 

Jeff Holden: day ... in the truck. Every day she's out. This is your board [00:32:00] president, and she's out delivering the heavy lifting, right? 

Jan Judson: Absolutely. Yep. We gotta keep up that strength training.

Jeff Holden: Yeah, that's right. That's right. 

Cathi Schmidt: But, but I do wanna say we're sort of at an inflection point right now- Mm-hmm ... because, you know, it's been sort of on the heart and the backs of these people like Jan that are very passionate about this. But it's not a sustainable model, and I think we are gonna... We really do recognize we need to add more Probably paid employees if we're gonna continue the growth that we've experienced- Mm-hmm

over the last few years. Yep. 

Jan Judson: And we know the need is out there. Yeah. Right. We wanna be able to accommodate that in a not bare bones way. And not a burnout- Prepare for that ... or not burnout- Yes ... volunteer 

Cathi Schmidt: base. 

Jan Judson: Excellent point. Yeah. Yeah. 

Jeff Holden: This is a fun question, and I can see w- where the, uh, the input's gonna come from, I think.

But it's somebody likes what you're doing. They see the need and the opportunity [00:33:00] for growth, and they say, "Hey, you know what? I wanna give you guys a blank check if you give me a good enough reason to write it." What would it look like? What would be that vision if money were no object? 

Jan Judson: Well, there would be a whole lot of numbers in that blank check.

Um, no, w- we, we just recently had a strategic planning session, and it was interesting because we wanted to identify our vision. And we, I think our goal very simplistically was we would love for all eligible Yolo County trans- under-resourced Yolo County transition-age youth that needed our services to be able to have them.

Cathi Schmidt: Mm-hmm. 

Jan Judson: Which, as we just alluded to, would require a whole lot more involvement, and probably, as Kathy said, staffing on our part. We would love to be able to provide that to them. That's what my vision looks like. Mm-hmm, 

Cathi Schmidt: mm-hmm. 

Jan Judson: And we identified that. That was our board and Kathy- 

Jeff Holden: Okay ... 

Jan Judson: that had [00:34:00] that. 

Jeff Holden: A- and I can...

That's an easy visualization. Now we don't know what that number is- 

Jan Judson: We don't ... 

Jeff Holden: specifically, but we do know that the opportunity is there. That does have about a 90% finite, um, opportunity. I- if somebody said, "Here it is," you know you can get to the majority. You may not get to- Mm-hmm ... everybody 100%- Right ... but you can get to the majority of them with provision.

And so I think for somebody who's listening, to hear that and say, "Hey, this is actually a problem we can really come close to solving," whereas, you know, some of them are so, so difficult and in some cases so esoteric, we know we're not gonna, you know, cure cancer with an unlimited check. 

Darrell Teat: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. 

Jeff Holden: You know, those sorts of things.

Mm-hmm. Uh, you know, we're not gonna cease homelessness. We've already proven unlimited money doesn't fix the problem. Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. But this is one that really, really could be. As, as we see in some cases too with some of the food insecurity, [00:35:00] enough money at it in a proper and well-guided way could really bring that problem to a, a very small problem as opposed to a really big one.

Jan Judson: Mm-hmm. 

Jeff Holden: And that's what I like about yours is it's almost definable. 

Jan Judson: It, it's pretty... I mean, the only word I can come up with is maybe limited. I, and I don't mean that in a negative way. No. But, but it's defined- 

Jeff Holden: Yes ... 

Jan Judson: as, as I think you're saying. Yes. Yeah, so yeah. Yes. 

Jeff Holden: And that's rare that we can actually put some guardrails on the need and say, "If this were to happen, we could really fix some of this, this issue."

And then we know what the impact is into the community. Now you have a healthier student, employee, mental wellbeing, family in some cases- 

Cathi Schmidt: Mm-hmm ... 

Jeff Holden: to where- before, where were they? Mm-hmm. They might have been, been on the cusp of- ... not able to make it, even [00:36:00] though they had a roof over their head, to where they might fall back into homelessness.

Right. 

Cathi Schmidt: Mm-hmm. 

Jeff Holden: And, and so i- it's just a... It, it's one of those that we can, we can wrap our heads around, so I, I, I like that. I like that a- as a vision to say, "Well, we... Yeah, just let us get there, and we'll do it county by county." Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. 

Cathi Schmidt: Mm-hmm. You know? "We'll, we'll figure this out." Mm-hmm. I think I'm challenged with what is the number.

If we know what it, what the cost to serve is, which we have a pretty good idea, I think what we don't know is what we don't know, and, and those come mostly from more rural areas where m- some of these youth are just under the radar- Mm-hmm ... or we haven't managed to connect w- with the people that can identify- Mm-hmm

exactly who they are. And if they're not reaching out for services, why are they not reaching out? What, what's that barrier? For me, it's still a little bit unknown. So is the number 300, 500, [00:37:00] 1,000? I'm not- Mm-hmm ... 100% sure. We know if we're serving 72, it's a much bigger number than that. Yes. That we do know.

Jeff Holden: Right. 

Cathi Schmidt: Is it four times, five times, six times? I'm not 100% sure we know the answer to that. I- we suspect it's probably five times, I think, right? And that's just a guess. 

Jeff Holden: That's a guess. And e- even at five times, simple math, 350. 

Cathi Schmidt: Yeah. 

Jeff Holden: Okay? Well, we know what the average cost is. You mentioned it, you know, $2,500, $3,000 per 350 times 3,000.

Now we know what the number is. Right. That number would, would solve a tremendous percentage. 

Cathi Schmidt: Mm-hmm. Yep. 

Jeff Holden: And that's definable. So many are undefinable. 

Cathi Schmidt: Right. 

Jeff Holden: Whereas yours is. That's the beauty of this situation, and I think, you know, just as we're talking here, that's fundable. 

Cathi Schmidt: Mm. 

Jeff Holden: Now, I, I'm not saying it's easy, but, but there could be somebody out there that says, "I understand this.

You know what? That's it." [00:38:00] 

Cathi Schmidt: Right ... 

Jeff Holden: I'm of means Very 

Cathi Schmidt: tangible, right? 

Jeff Holden: Yes. I get, I can wrap my head around that. That's a number, and that fixes this? Yeah. Or at least a great percentage of it? My goodness. 

Jan Judson: It would fix our portion of their life. But like we alluded to earlier or mentioned earlier, we were trying to put them in touch with the resources that Kathy mentioned.

This 

Jeff Holden: is one problem- 

Jan Judson: And this is one- ... resolved. Yes ... part of their life. But yes, I really appreciate your saying that, 'cause I, to be really honest, I hadn't thought of it that way before. Yeah. But, but I like it a lot. I- Yeah ... thank you for bringing that 

Cathi Schmidt: up. To go back to answering your question, if somebody said, "I'll write you a check for a million dollars," I'd almost rather somebody said, "I'll write you a check for $200,000, but I'll give it to you over three years," and give us that opportunity that we know- Mm

that's a effort we don't have to make every year, right? 'Cause that's- To chase the 

Jeff Holden: budget ... 

Cathi Schmidt: that's what I think nonprofits, that's our demise. Everybody's problem, 

Jeff Holden: yes. Everybody's problem. Sustainability is an issue. Exactly. 

Cathi Schmidt: It is. Yeah, [00:39:00] yeah. 

Jeff Holden: And, and capacity building. Yeah, those, those are the two- Yes ... and they kinda go hand in hand.

Cathi Schmidt: Right. 

Jeff Holden: It's almost like if everybody could have this massive endowment that they could fund the organization off of, and then the rest is incremental, and I don't mean in incremental little, I mean incremental could be large- Right ... based on the scope and scale of the organization. But that's, that's it.

And I, and I- Right ... I think that's a great point. I'm glad you brought that up because so many organizations, well, this gets us through the end of the year. 

Cathi Schmidt: Right. But we can't see past that, right? 

Jeff Holden: No. We need to look at the next five. 

Cathi Schmidt: Right. 

Jeff Holden: This isn't, this problem isn't going away, so we wanna be here to work within that framework to support it and- Yeah

and work toward a solution. Let's come back to reality. And that would be the greatest need today. Where do you see that greatest need? 

Jan Judson: For our, for our organization- For the 

Jeff Holden: organization, 

Jan Judson: yes ... not for our clients. 

Jeff Holden: Correct. 

Jan Judson: Okay. 

Jeff Holden: Yeah. 

Jan Judson: Go ahead, yeah. To be just blatantly honest, exactly as we're talking about now, it would [00:40:00] be financial, and with the secondary of we need to really increase our volunteer base as well.

In 2023, Jeff, we had a... That was the year that we brought Cathy on- Mm-hmm ... which was one of the best moves we've ever made. Yeah. Thank you, Cathy. And we had a targeted outreach with a former volunteer working with our UC Davis Guardian Scholar intern at the time. So they reached out to some of the partners we mentioned, and some others we did not, the referring partners.

And in 2023, we served 40 youth, and because of that targeted outreach, there's no question in my mind, we had wonderfully successful targeted outreach. The next year, we served 60. That was a 50%... I'm not the numbers person. 50%- It is. That's correct ... increase, and it really strained us because we were smaller then than we are now, and it was like, oh, we, A, [00:41:00] there really is a huge need out there, 'cause this was just skimming the surface, but B, we need to have more capacity.

Mm-hmm. 

So if we, uh, we're, we're looking at developing corporate partnerships, which we've never done before, but we, it would be financial Because we have, we relied on community furniture donations up until the past few years, we were able to completely offer our clients donated furniture from the Yolo community, which has been incredibly supportive and gracious.

But we serve too many now, and the furniture donations aren't keeping up, so we've had to start purchasing furniture because we don't wanna tell them they can't have a sofa or a dining room table. So we're purchasing those now. We've additionally, as Kathy mentioned, hired people. We were all volunteer until 2023.

So we've hired people, so we have salaries now, and the prices [00:42:00] are going up. 

Cathi Schmidt: Mm-hmm. 

Jan Judson: So the financial support is our greatest need, I would say. 

Cathi Schmidt: Absolutely. 

Jan Judson: And then, again, a close second would be having volunteers, and we have an incredible group of volunteers. I am so grateful to them. We really do. Yeah. I mean, not only do they get the work done, but they're a lot of fun.

Mm-hmm. We have a lot of fun in our... You, you wouldn't think that cleaning out a storage unit, but it can be fun. So, so which we're doing again, thanks to Nugget Market and Food4Less. They are gonna come and help us next week, right? 

Cathi Schmidt: Yep. 

Jan Judson: So yes. 

Jeff Holden: What's the, uh, the movie that they go to storage units, and they, they clean them out, and sometimes they find- 

Jan Judson: Treasures?

Jeff Holden: fortunes and treasures inside these storage units? You have to get an alignment with the people- ... that you actually are doing- That's 

Cathi Schmidt: a good idea. ... 

Jeff Holden: you know, real storage with and say, "Those three, they, we've never seen them opened." "Can we get in there?" Good idea. "Who knows, there might be something in there for you."

Cathi Schmidt: Storage wars. 

Jeff Holden: That's it. Storage wars, yes. Yeah. [00:43:00] For you, when you look at it, what does the impact of the organization look like? What does success look like? Is there a, a story or two you can share about somebody who has been a beneficiary? 

Jan Judson: Well, I think there's two different levels for me. One is Kathy and I both meet the youth personally at the storage units, along with other volunteers, and I don't think there's ever been a time in the 12 years that I've been doing this where the youth weren't exceedingly grateful.

And one thing that I hadn't realized until I started doing this work, because I grew up with a lot of support. I, I had family, I had community, I had friends that would help me out if I needed it. And the, when we were able to buy our small appliances and many of the items that we offer [00:44:00] brand new, getting something that no one else has used in an unopened box that's new.

Cathi Schmidt: And they get to pick. Do they want the green one, the white one, the black one? I mean, y- those are huge. 

Jeff Holden: Choice is a big deal. 

Cathi Schmidt: Yeah. 

Jan Judson: It's agency. Yeah. Mm-hmm. It's dignity. Mm-hmm. It's like you choose, and sometimes they'll say, "Well, I'm not sure." And it's like, "I'm not making that decision." "You have to make that decision," in a, in a supportive, gentle- Yes

way. So the suc- one of the successes, to get back to your q- question, for me, is just the every... Well, not every day, but when we serve a youth, just the looks on their faces is so rewarding. And the second one is seeing where they go. So one of the s- stories that Kathy and I were sharing is we have a youth that was a Guardian Scholar who is now in grad school at Berkeley.

We had another youth that we served [00:45:00] that was accepted into, I'm sorry, I don't speak the... aeronautical engineering maybe, at MIT. 

Cathi Schmidt: Mm-hmm. 

Jan Judson: We have another youth that graduated from UC Davis, and she decided that she wanted to be an electrician, so she went on from there and is- I saw 

Jeff Holden: her on the website. 

Jan Judson: Yes.

Yes. Zara. Yes. Yes. Yeah. Yes. Yep. And delightful. And then another, no longer a youth, but many years ago, a Guardian Scholar graduated from UC Davis. She put herself through school with no support at all. Decided she wanted to be a social worker. Went on to a different university, obtained her master's in social work, has been working for the Veterans Administration as a social worker working with homeless veterans, and then recently took guardianship of her two very young nephews as a single parent, and is...

To me, that is, I don't know if there's any harder work than that. Mm. And [00:46:00] that, those are all incredible success stories. Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. And so those are just a few. 

Jeff Holden: Did you wanna add anything there, Kathy? 

Cathi Schmidt: No, no, I 

Jeff Holden: think- Okay. I, I- I think, yeah ... I wasn't sure if you were- 

Cathi Schmidt: Yeah, no. I think- ... she, she nailed it. 

Jeff Holden: Good. So this is the point in the conversation where we, we deviate a little bit.

We're gonna go beyond the mission. Okay. And this is to give people a little bit of an understanding about you and, and the, the personal part of... 'Cause, 'cause we're humans, you know? And, and we oftentimes, and certainly as nonprofit leadership, you tend to absorb the cause, and it's always with you. It's, it does never go away.

But you do have a human side to you. Mm-hmm. And, and you have families, and you have, uh, things that you do that aren't all wrapped up in the organization. So we're gonna start with you, Jen. I'm gonna- Okay. I'll start easy, and then I'll give them a little bit more difficult. Ah, thank 

Jan Judson: you. 

Jeff Holden: Favorite color? 

Jan Judson: Blue.

Jeff Holden: Okay. A- [00:47:00] as is in your, your, your blouse. First car. 

Jan Judson: A Datsun station wagon, also blue. 

Jeff Holden: Today that would be worth a fortune. 

Jan Judson: Yeah, probably.

Jeff Holden: Did you have a mentor, and if so ... 

Jan Judson: I think not a specific mentor, but I was surrounded, as I mentioned before, with people that supported me. My parents let me... I mean, growing up, we tried all sorts of different things, and when I made decisions to try something career-wise or education-wise, I always had the support.

And so not a specific mentor, no, but through examples, just knowing great people who were very philanthropic and involved in the community and wanted to do things for others, I think that was probably my biggest incentive. My parents were that way, and we knew a lot of people [00:48:00] like that. 

Jeff Holden: Okay. Guilty pleasure?

Cathi Schmidt: Hmm. 

Jan Judson: Milk chocolate. I'm not really a dark chocolate fan, but I really like milk chocolate. 

Jeff Holden: Okay, so milk chocolate is your guilty pleasure. 

Jan Judson: Yes. 

Jeff Holden: And when it's a rough day, what fills your cup? 

Jan Judson: Working out in the yard or reading. I love reading. Sometimes just going for a walk and exercising. 

Jeff Holden: Okay. Kathy. Ah.

Stairs or elevator? 

Jan Judson: Yeah, I like the stairs. 

Jeff Holden: Okay. Early bird or night owl? 

Cathi Schmidt: Night owl. These are easy. 

Jeff Holden: Oh, no, no. Uh-oh. I'll, I'll get there. I'll get there. Comfort food. 

Cathi Schmidt: Wow. Comfort... Probably black licorice. Really? Yeah. Milk chocolate- I 

Jeff Holden: love black licorice ... and black licorice. Okay. It's better. 

Cathi Schmidt: And I ha- I have it hidden in my house in various places-

like a chipmunk. 

Jeff Holden: We know that's better for you than Red Vines. [00:49:00] You're on a drive: podcast, music, or silence? 

Cathi Schmidt: Music. 

Jeff Holden: What would be one thing somebody would be surprised to learn about you? 

Cathi Schmidt: Oh. Surprised to learn about me. I really have no talent, 

Jan Judson: hidden talents. That's not true. 

Cathi Schmidt: No, it is really true. I mean, everybody usually has something they can do.

I, I don't have that. Uh, nope, don't have one. 

Jeff Holden: All right. Then in that case, hobby. What do you do away from work? 

Cathi Schmidt: Okay, okay. Yeah. I do play tennis. I really enjoy playing tennis. Wouldn't say it's a hidden talent, but I do. And I like to work in the yard. I think, like Jan, if I've had a tough day, working in the yard always feels good.

Mm-hmm. Yeah. 

Jeff Holden: Good. Yeah. You guys did good on that. 

Cathi Schmidt: Thank you. Yeah. 

Jeff Holden: If somebody wants to support the organization, what's the best way to learn [00:50:00] more, donate, get information? 

Cathi Schmidt: Yeah. So coming to our website really I think is the best, fastest way, mihylo.org. And then there's tabs at the top if they wanna donate furniture, if they wanna learn more about us, if they wanna make a monetary donation.

Another thing we've added is links to retailers, so they can make in-kind donations through Target or Ikea or Amazon, where we have our wish list posted. Oh, 

Jeff Holden: there's your corporate partners. They're, they're starting to engage then. Mm, 

Cathi Schmidt: mm. 

Jeff Holden: Oh, okay. 

Not 

Cathi Schmidt: so much. We're, 

Jan Judson: we, we'd love to do more- Okay ... with them, but yeah, I, I don't think I'd put them at partner level yet.

Yeah, 

Cathi Schmidt: yeah. 

Jan Judson: But they 

Jeff Holden: have- Well, we'll, we'll get them there. 

Cathi Schmidt: They're benefiting- Thank you ... yes ... from the organization, I 

Jeff Holden: would say. Yes, yes. Yeah. 

Jan Judson: Walmart too is- Yeah ... is one. Wow. And Walmart. We 

Cathi Schmidt: purchase 

Jan Judson: a lot of our things from Target and Walmart. Sure. 

Cathi Schmidt: Yeah. 

Jan Judson: And Ikea, and a little bit now with Wayfair too. 

Cathi Schmidt: Yeah.

But that's the best way. Of course they can always call us as [00:51:00] well, but, um, and the phone number and all of our social media links are on our 

Jeff Holden: website. 

Cathi Schmidt: On the website? Yep. 

Jeff Holden: And we will put those in the show notes so that if somebody's listening, driving, happens to be doing something else, they can always go back to the show notes and the link- That'd be great

will be there as well. Wonderful. So it'll make it easy. You have hit on a service, I think, that is so desperately needed, often overlooked, not understood, and not realized. But helping these youth get what they need to function once they get a roof over their head. The great news is we are making some inroads to get them a place.

Jan Judson: Mm-hmm. 

Jeff Holden: But it's that second part of it that once they're in, now what? And your identification of that, Jan, 12-plus years ago to the point of creating an organization and seeing that organization now 12 years later that has, has geometrically grown and looks like it will continue to grow to a point [00:52:00] that we came up with in the conversation that maybe is definable, is really an accomplishment.

And for what you've done for Yolo County and for those youth in providing th- that, that sense of dignity, that sense of home that they may not otherwise have had, is extremely commendable. So thank you for what you do. And Kathy, we're thrilled that you're now there- Oh, thank you ... you know, in a, in a capacity.

We are thrilled 

Jan Judson: that Kathy is there. Well, 

Cathi Schmidt: thank you. 

Jan Judson: And it wasn't... It, it certainly wasn't just me, Jeff, and I appreciate very much, but the- ... the former board members and- Absolutely ... the current board members, I mean, it, it really does take a village. Team. And that's why we were mentioning our partners, because they're so valuable in so many ways.

Yeah. And we just... We all wanna work towards assisting the youth, because transitioning into young adulthood and independence is tough for anybody. Yeah. It's a tough time. Especially now. 

Jeff Holden: [00:53:00] Yeah. Uh, thank you. I was just gonna say tougher today than it's ever been. Ever. 

Jan Judson: Agreed. Especially in California. And being a young adult is challenging, and yes, now.

But if we can just help out, as you mentioned, with... I mean, maybe it's not a just, because it does save them some finances. But like, like you said, it's very definable, and so it's like we can go in and do this piece, and we really hope that that helps them jumpstart towards- Right ... whatever their goals are.

Cathi Schmidt: Yeah. 

Jeff Holden: And, and to the team, the volunteers, you know, everybody that's involved in the organization- Absolutely 

Jan Judson: essential, yeah ... 

Jeff Holden: well, thank, thank you for what you're doing. Yeah. 

Jan Judson: Thank 

Cathi Schmidt: you for the opportunity to tell. Well, thank you, yeah. 

Jeff Holden: And let's- Fucking exhausted ... go make something better. 

Jan Judson: Thank 

Cathi Schmidt: you. Thank you very 

Jan Judson: much.

We hope to 

Cathi Schmidt: do that. 

Jeff Holden: This episode has been powered by SMUD, Sacramento Municipal Utility 

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