 Hi, I am Jan Reardon and I am here representing the Jennifer Reardon Foundation. The foundation has been designed by my brother for my sister-in-law who passed away and we are carrying on her legacy of being kind, loving, caring and sharing. And four of the pillars of the Jennifer Reardon Foundation are women's empowerment, community vitality, early childhood education, and financial literacy. So many thanks to Town Meeting TV here. I have the pleasure once a month of bringing somebody in from our community here in Vermont to talk about one of those pillars. And without further ado, I would love to be able to move on to my guest today who is Mark Redman. He is the Executive Director of Spectrum Youth and Family Services right here in Burlington. And I have known Mark for many years. He's been the Executive Director of Spectrum for 20 years actually. We were talking earlier with the staff here what a gift Mark is truly to this community and to the state of Vermont and beyond. I know children that have come up through and had their lives changed and have moved on to other states to do good things. So it doesn't just stop in our state. So I'm going to turn this over to Mark Redman and say thank you so much, Mark, for being here. Jan, thank you. So great to see you again. So good to see you. I've been on the show. Thank you. Thank you so much. I am very excited and I'm really probably not going to say very much, not that I'm saying you talk a lot at all. I know you're shy. I know you're so shy. I do. I'm an extrovert. Right. I have a few questions, but I would just love to hear the beautiful stories that you can share as no one else I know can. But basically, if you could start with the mission of Spectrum for those people that might not be in this area and don't know about Spectrum. True. Spectrum was started in 1970 by a group of ministers. It was called BEAM, Burlington Ecumenical Area Ministers. It started very humbly 53 years ago as a shelter for homeless youth. And then it has really grown tremendously since then. Has it ever? Yes. So now, like last year, we worked with 1,240 different youth in our different facilities. And you say youth and young adult as well, correct? Yes, exactly. Up to 26 or? Yeah, we will go to 26, you know, 27, you know, depending on if it's the mental health program or kids who are homeless. We're mostly known for working with homeless youth, right? Right. So here in Burlington, we have 26 beds where young people can stay and we start with like a warming shelter to get kids out of the cold and the snow. They do well there. They move to what we call the landing. And we have tutor room there. And then we start to work on getting you into school, getting you a job, teaching you how to drive a car. And if you do well, you move on the next phase to apartments we have in that building too. So now, you get the key to the front door, the key to your own room. We're going to really teach you, you know, how to open a bank account, how to shop, how to budget your money, all of those things. So thorough. And then they move on to independent living from there. So it's like different. Nice transition. It's transition. Yes. You know? And our thing is you meet children, you meet young people where they're at. Exactly. Children who's really at the ground level struggling with mental health issues, struggling with addiction issues. So we'll meet them there. Other kids have come and they're really ready, you know, but for whatever reason, they lost their place to live or their family had problems so that we can meet them there and move them along. But I like that idea that we're kind of meeting each kid at different stages. Completely different scenario each time. Yeah. There's a young man on our board of directors now. He's my boss. Eight years ago. He was homeless, came into our drop-in center to get a sandwich. We helped him. He lived in our shelter. He got a job in our car detailing business. And then now he's living at home, going to CCV at night, full-time job. And I work for him. He's one of my bosses. That is one of the best stories I think I have ever heard, Mark. I love that. I love it. Right. And recently you have focused more, your organization under your guidance has focused more on the mental health side of things. Has that expanded? I would imagine the need is greater than ever. But you have expanded recently in the St. Albans area as well, correct? So we've done two things, right? So America is in a mental health crisis right now, especially for teenagers and young adults, especially females and LGBTQ kids, of whom we see a lot. And that's country-wide. The pandemic made it worse. And it very seriously increases in suicidality, eating disorders, depression. And so I think three years ago we had three mental health counselors. Now I have a dozen. Oh, boy, that's telling. Yeah, that's telling. We had a waiting list of 80 youth before. So if somebody called and said my son or daughter is depressed or they're anxious, I'd say, great, well, there's 80 kids ahead of you. Now it's down to 12. I want it to be zero. Right. Right. So we have more and more and more people who have master's degrees and license and counseling. Then we have the problem, where are we going to put them? Because we're running out of space in our building. Somebody, God bless them, donated a million dollars to us. Somebody else who had lost a child to suicide donated $400,000. Oh, my goodness. How beautiful is that? So we bought a building on Pine Street. So now that we have their own space, so I'm really, really happy we've been able to meet that need. And speaking of space, because you have that space, but you also have space where we were talking about the housing. So you have, you know, from beds right in the shelter and then going to apartments. Right. So what's good is everything in Burlington is within walking distance. That's so key. So Elmwood Avenue is where I work and some of our staff work in a few blocks over is 177 Pearl Street. Right. Drop-In Center, Community Health Center has a health clinic in our building, medical care in the building, doctors, nurses, physician assistants, 16 beds upstairs. The warming shelters. How long has that been in place that way? That's been there since like the mid-90s. The mid-90s. Even the beds. Yes, even the beds. Oh, I didn't realize that. Yes. But then we added about six years ago. We realized in the winter, those 16 beds are full all the time. What do we do if it's 2 a.m., it's two degrees out? Maybe we put a youth up, the stay will, in a hotel. In my opinion, hotels are not really a good place for a teenage boy or girl. So first we went to Bishop Coyne. Let me use the church hall, 10 beds there. And then we moved it over to South Minewski Avenue. But everything, and now our mental health council is Pine Street. So everything is within walking distance. I love it because I'm just thinking, when people see you coming, I'm sure they just say, okay, I know I'm doing something for this guy because you have the resources that you have. One guy told me the other day, I left my wallet in the car. I'm sure you've heard that before. Yes. And he's very generous to us. And that's, you know, a lot of it is the state has supported us, but the amount that we've raised from citizens inside and outside of Vermont is astounding. What is, I know some of the numbers, but what is your biggest fundraiser? Like, I know you do, you know, so many different things that's sleeping out during the night in the middle of March and the, you know, here in Vermont when it's 10 below. But what is the biggest, you have the empty bowl? So we have the empty bowl coming up on October 10th. And I joked. 12 years ago, my development director said, hey, we're doing an empty bowl next Thursday. And I was like, what's that? So we'll just show up at the congregational church and get ready to give a speech. So it was 40 of us in a church hall with donated soups and bowls. And I think it raised like $10,000. Now we have 400 people at the Davis Center and all the food is donated. So soup is donated, the bread is donated, the dessert, and people like that because they feel like, Mark, when I go to that, I know the money is going to go to your mission. You go to the caterer or the flower person, you know. Right. All those other expenses that many organizations, nonprofit or not, you know, they have to incur. But you have a few connections around town. That will raise easily over 100, 150,000. Oh, that's so impressive, Mark. But then the sleepout, we saw that on Facebook, I don't know, 12 years ago, thought, well, let's try it, these business executives sleeping outside in Manhattan. And maybe we'll get 10 people to sleep out in the Unitarian law. And we ended up with 40, and now it's hundreds of people. And they're all over the place, right? All over, you know? Because Essex did right at the high school. Well, this one little girl from Westford, the second year we did it, she was nine and her mother emailed me and said, my daughter wants to sleep out in the backyard the same night you were. Is that okay? And I said, sure. Oh, I love it, yes. The little girl did a GoFundMe page and sent us a check for $1,600. So I said to my son, it was 10. You can do it, you can do it. So now, because of that little girl, hundreds of kids, Boy Scout troops, swim teams, church groups all over Vermont, raising, they raise like 40 or 50,000. The total event raises 300 or 400,000. Oh, that's remarkable. But again, we nominated that little girl for a college scholarship and she went to college on that scholarship. She's a graduate now. She's a chef in Boston. She's all grown up. But I never would have been smart enough to have the kids do it. But because of her goodness, you know what I mean? That spread right from there, exactly. Boy, oh boy, it just took off from there. So it's a great example of how one person with a kind heart and cares about people who are homeless started a home movement. Right, talk about organic. I mean, you can't advertise to get something like that. That is so pure and what it's truly all about at the core. It's true. And the good that will come from that for years to come is remarkable. It's really true. How about there is something more recently here that was on the news that I really want to talk with you about because I just love the concept and like to get the details, but the direct cash transfer program. Okay. You can give us the highlights of that. Well, that's our latest thing. So, right. So, you know, one of our staff, she was an AmeriCorps worker. We get AmeriCorps workers and she read an article out of the University of Chicago and sent it to me. And there was a report that said according to Merrill Lynch, 78% of American parents help their kids financially in some way from the age 18 to age 30. And, you know, with college or first car or first apartment. And I always say I'm exhibit A. My parents paid for my college tuition in Villanova. When I graduated, they lent me the money to buy my first used car. When I bought a house years later, they co-signed on the mortgage. Beautiful. My wife and my ex-wife have paid for one son to go to Providence College. No debt. He's a nurse today. Our other son. Oh, that's beautiful. We're paying for him to go to Notre Dame. So, but the kids who come to Spectrum who are homeless, most of them. They don't have that opportunity. They don't. They don't have that. No, it's a gift. It's a gift, as we know. Their parents might be missing. Their parents may be homeless. Their parents may be suffering from substance abuse disorder. Parents might be living in the pods or a home. They don't have that. They don't have that. They don't have that. So, we have kids who are kind of stuck. They're living with us. We've taught them how to get a drive a car, to start a bank account, how to cook. Kids who are in foster homes, they're kind of stuck. They can't make that next leap. So, we caught on to this with the first ones to do it in New England. Somebody donated half a million dollars. And then Peter Welch got us a congressionally directed spending. Beautiful. So, I'm grateful to Senator Welch's office. Absolutely. So, what we did is, we picked 10 youth. We did a whole. We explained it all to our staff. They nominated 60 different youth who they thought would be appropriate. And we picked 10. So, these are our kids who have jobs. Right. It's a readiness type of concept. Start a bank account. Right. We believe they're going to use this money well. Absolutely. They're going to get on a debit card for the next 18 months, $1,500 a month. Beautiful. A year from now, we pick another 10. A year from then, another 10. And we'll be able to compare. We have an outcomes specialist. She will compare how they did versus the kids who didn't get the money. Oh, this is exciting. Finding an apartment. Getting a car. Going back to school. Maybe going to a coding academy. That opportunity. Right. We think it's going to work. We're the first ones in New England to do it. If it works, we would love to expand it. But we are very, very. And we're not just handing the money out. Not at all. The criteria that's in place. That's right. And they need to come back once a month. Me with their case manager. And we're able to track because of the monies on a debit card, where the money's being spent. Exactly. Right. So we believe they're going to spend it well. And this is just the boost that they need. One month in, two youth already moved out of our shelter into an apartment, opening beds up for two kids who've been on the street. That too. There you go. Exactly that benefit. They use the money to clear out their credit card debt. So their score. It just gives me chills. I think it's an area. And I like that we have a culture where someone who's an America worker who works in a drop-in center can give an idea to an executive director. Well, that exactly. Just going back to your development director and then people, sure, that's why all of these events. Let's try it. I mean, you said on Facebook about the sleepout. Exactly. And you are so good in that sense. This kind of gets off topic a little bit. But I just want to share it with you. I drive Uber once in a while, which I love to do. And I tend to pick up a lot of people that work at Spectrum. I can't tell you. I'm a undercover boss. I don't say anything. I don't tell them I know you. The way they rave about you, Mark, as a leader of that organization. And it's been people at all different levels. That's very nice. And I just wanted to share that with you, because that's not always the norm. We love when that happens. And we have great leaders, certainly, in our state. We do. We're very blessed in many ways in the profit and nonprofit worlds. We have some great people that are so committed to Burlington and to Vermont and to the health and wellness of our state. So it's a great place to live. But you're right there on the top of that list when I hear these stories. And I just wanted to be able to share that with you. Well, we got picked in the best places to work last year. We have the number one nonprofit. And that is an anonymous survey among your employees. That can go in a lot of different directions. So when you do it right, you know, and we've won it twice in a row last year, we have, again, the top of the nonprofit. So that was really cool. So that's a good sign that people are happy here. That's significant. You know. So the other thing we talked about is St. Albans, you know, because you mentioned that. So we have had two workers in St. Albans for about 10 years working with Youth Enforced to Care. And you have a site? Is there a building in St. Albans? Yeah. Back then we did not. We just rented space. And those two workers, we worked with Youth Enforced to Care helping them to finish high school, helping them to get a job. And they, boy, those two women said to me, over and over, a spectrum needs to be up in St. Albans. A presence there, yes. We need a drop-in center. We need homeless beds. St. Albans has, there's a lot of good things about St. Albans. Absolutely. A lot of economic activity, but there's also a lot of poverty. There's as many children in Enforced to Care in St. Albans as there are in Burlington, even though Burlington has four times the population. The size, exactly. So, again, a very nice family donated $200,000 to us to get us started. Senator Welch, again, got us some money. So we opened up a drop-in center right on Lake Street. And we didn't know when we opened, you know, let's hand out free lunch and dinner. Right. Let's see what happens. You know, it's surprising. If you go to our drop-in center here in Burlington, you're going to see a lot of 18, 19, and 20-year-olds. You know who we've seen in St. Albans? 13, 14, 15. Oh, boy. Why? Because we're so lucky in Burlington to have the Boys and Girls Club. The YMCA were used to work. Absolutely, right. We have King Street Center, Sarah Holbrook Center. Yes, so many wonderful resources and organizations. No, no. You don't have that. You can talk about something significant to say the difference between communities and the need being so great there. It's true. It's really true. So I think that is it. And so St. Albans is great. They're welcoming us with open arms. Oh, I'm sure. So now you do have a space. We have a beautiful space. And where is that located? It's gorgeous. So it's 223 Lake Street. So there's some really good nonprofits. Martha's Kitchen is up there. Oh, yes, yes. There's the Turning Point Center. What do you mean? We collaborate with the hospital, with Northwest Counseling and Sports Services. The Notch provides medical. So we're really class-a-key always, right? The collaboration. How you collaborate. You can't do it all alone. You can't just be in a community and not connect with those fabulous resources. Right. And then Champlain Housing Trust came to us a year ago. And so we just used federal money to buy an apartment complex. Would you like three of the single-bedroom apartments? Yes. Did you ever think that day would come and people are coming to you? I know. I know. Talk about a reputation. Who didn't have a place to live. So they're in there. Three is not enough, though. So now that's in my mind. We just found out we got money to start doing mentoring. We do mentoring in Burlington. We want to do mentoring in St. Albans. So what would be an example of a Burlington scenario of mentoring? Oh, man. We have about 60 mentors now. We look for adults who are, you're not the therapist. You're not the counselor. You're a stable, reliable presence in a young person's life, which for many young people, that's when they need more. That's the first time they've had that. Anything else. So Burlington High School, the guidance council will call us and say, you know, we have a young boy here, a single mom raising him. He's starting to cut school. He's starting to get in trouble. He needs a positive person in his life. So we'll find a boy who likes fishing with a mentor who likes fishing, you know, or we'll try and match them on interest. And these are people that you know in the community that are not necessarily affiliated with that group? That's right. We will recruit. We'll run ads. We'll do commercials. We'll put it on Facebook. We need mentors. We'll go to churches, national life. They're great. I met with all their executives and they've brought forth a lot of mentors. So we're always looking for mentors. Good to know. It's a one-year commitment for hours a month. It's somebody that's listening right now and is willing and interested in finding out more about being a mentor. How do they get in touch? SpectrumVT.org. We have a great website. How can I help? Oh, good. It's right there. I love your website, by the way. It's a good website. It's so user-friendly. I really like it. Yeah. Sarah Woodard, our development director. She put the website together and it is very user-friendly. You're right. So that part is good. But St. Albans is exciting and we want to keep growing there and I'll be honest with you. You know, like when Becca Ballant was running for in the primary, she visited Spectrum and she said, I'm from Brattleboro. We need this in Brattleboro. And I've gotten calls from St. Johnsbury. I've gotten calls from the city of Barry. I do believe every city in Vermont needs some version, you know, of a lot of things end at age 18 for young people, a lot of things. Right. And that's where we pick up. And even in a city like St. Albans, again, we don't have those younger things. So we need to help those kids. And that's, you know, sort of, you know, a blessing that you were able to discover that through your process and say, oh, but you really didn't know about those younger kids and the needs that they have. So what a great way to expand the program that already has such a solid foundation. It is. And I give credit to the two women who work there. And then I went up and started meeting with United Way from up there and different, I didn't come up like, we're coming in to save the day. I was like, do you need what we, and they were emphatically, yes. They were like, oh my gosh, it would be so great if Spectrum came up here. So. And as you say, St. Johnsbury and Brattleboro and other communities, what happens there? What are their next steps there where you have people that do go to identify these communities and start those relationships? It all comes down to money. Sure. And Tom, I mean, you have so much that's happening locally, but I'm glad because everybody thinks it's about Chittenden County. So it's so nice just to be in St. Albans to be considering Brattleboro, St. Johnsbury. I mean, it is a small state. It is. But there's such a divide between Chittenden County and many other areas. It's different. Each community is different. So different. Franklin County is very different from Chittenden County. Very, and I love St. Albans. St. Albans. There's a lot of good stuff going on in St. Albans. Yes. You know? Beta, now the airplane company. They're opening up a battery plant there. And to have them in South Burlington is fabulous to them. I know. So thankful they're here. We're hooked into them. Exactly. And they helped us. They've taken our kids flying and stuff like that, which is cool. Very. But you're right. The key is collaboration. How do we collaborate with Lund and with Cots and with St. Louis. Exactly. So many aspects. We're so blessed to have so many wonderful nonprofits. At one time back when I was at the Y, we had more nonprofits per capita than any state in the U.S. I don't know if that's the case. And breweries too. I know. Well, that's the thing. It's so funny that you say that because when I am Ubering, so many people come here, like destination stuff from Bachelor of Bachelorette parties because they're from the state of Washington or California and they want to hear about and see these breweries that they hear about. And it used to be maple syrup or number one. That's our number one source of income is beer. So I guess that's all good. Whatever works. Yeah. Let's see. How about a couple of things that we haven't talked about here. What would you say? So it's been 20 years that you've been in this role. Yes. And I can't even imagine the things that have changed over this course of time, just with the presence of mental illness and with the pandemic most recently. But what would you say is the biggest shift that may have even surprised you a bit when you first came into this position? The biggest shift, I think, is I'll tell you this. We now work with more BIPOC and new American youth than ever before. And I'll tell you, I was embarrassed because two researchers came to me, I don't know, six years ago, said, Mark, we did scores of interview with BIPOC youth and new American youth. And you know what we learned? Not one of those youth was going to Spectrum for services and not one of them even knew that Spectrum existed. And I said, we are missing an entire demographic. Absolutely. Because we know there are youth of color who could need help. Right. So many new Americans that have really come over here with such trauma. Sure. And anyway, I said, how do I fix that? And they said, you need to hire staff from that demographic. So now we have top to bottom about 20% of our board of directors is people of color. Fabulous. Now we have staff who speak about seven or eight different languages. What a gift that is. That is. And we have them in Burlington High School, Hunt Middle School, Essex is paying us. We have them in Essex High School, ADL, Essex Middle School. So we're working with hundreds of new American youth tutoring. Oh, life altering. Life altering is community. How to get a job, how to drive a car. In the summer, we took them all to the six, a whole trip to the six flags. Soccer, swimming, the sailing center. Oh. That is, for me, a big, big change. And, you know, my wife and I took in a refugee family 20 years ago, a Somali family, met them at the plane, single mother with five kids, ages one, three, five, seven, and nine. Lived with you? They lived with us. Brought them to our house. They lived with us. And I always joke, my wife said, this mother is going to need a lot of help. Doesn't know the language, doesn't know English. Five little kids, you need to find mentors for all those kids. And I said, that's a great idea, honey. Why don't we start with you? So, Marybeth mentioned Medina, who today has got a master's degree in education and is a teacher in Utica. And I helped Muna get a full scholarship at Champlain College, including room and board. And she just got a job at Vermont Legal Services, full-time job, you know? And so I heard from another daughter yesterday, another boy, runs a restaurant. So, but I'll tell you, it took, oh, we did it all. It was a lot. I mean, it's so easy. Yes. It takes a village. And it's asking, can this person do this? Sure. But I mean, I thought you had one person that came to stay with you. I didn't realize you had a family. Oh, it was. And I'll always remember and then we can end. The first night, they all came in, they lived in our house and we'd set up in the basement all these beds and I went down to check on them and I saw the mother in bed. I'm starting to choke up the bed's empty. Oh, my goodness. Because that's probably how they lived. That's the only way they've ever slept. Right. I know. So anyway, I always joke the oldest boy heard me. He came up and he sat on my lap and just met him a few hours early. He was seven years old and then he left my lap and then he went and I said, isn't that amazing that he felt that trust? Then I realized he had peed on my lap. And I still remind him of that. Oh, great. He's in his 20s now. Until he gets married and he doesn't stand up with the toast. And that's how we started, that boy. That's true love. That's a commitment right there. I know. But anyway, it's been a delight to host that family and I still encourage people to do that. So what year was that? Did you say? 2004. So welcome to your executive director position and then next year you have a family. I know as if I didn't have enough to say. I thought this was a one week thing, but it's been a privilege knowing that family can develop and to grow and to become leaders in our community. And you know, UVM gave the oldest girl a full scholarship. Champlain, I give him so much credit. Absolutely. I mean it was room and board too. That's unheard of. I'd say go to CCV first like your sister. Now I want to apply to a four year college and they gave her a full ride. She was a law student and may go to law school now. Who knows? Right. But she's got a great job now still. They were in Burlington. No, they moved from Essex to Burlington to Winooski and then back to Essex a mile from where they first started. With you. Yes. I love it. The mom works. She has a part-time job, you know. Is that a success story? Yeah. And she'd be married as two other children. We have mentors through spectrum for those two kids now too. So the mentors provide such a valuable role in so many ways. Right. And so natural and genuine and all the things. And it's good for everybody. Everybody wins. The mentor as well as the mentors seems right. The mentors love it. They love it. Oh, absolutely. And now it's Joe. We lure them. It's just a one-year commitment. We just kind of lure them in. 10 years later they're paying for their college. I mean, true story. It is true. We'll ask for a year but almost everybody does more than a year which is pretty cool. It sure is. So. Well, we're going to be wrapping up here and I just want to thank you so much. My spirits for the day and beyond here when I get to hear these stories it just warms my heart. It's beautiful what you're doing Mark and I can't thank you enough. I know everybody has such great respect for you and I'm proud to know to know who you are. Thank you so much. Thank you. Yeah, we've known each other for a few years and thank you for what you're doing for the Assistant and Lewis Foundation. Thank you so much. It's an amazing thing and I give you a lot of credit for that. Well, thank you. It's, you know, bittersweet to see of being kind, loving, caring and sharing booming and I'm sure she's looking down with a lot of pride. I'm sure she is. I'm sure she is. I have no doubt. I have no doubt. So I'm glad to under the circumstances be on this journey with him and to be a board member and get to make a difference and I love every minute of that. Well, keep doing your show and what's the bear all about? Okay, so Vermont Teddy Bear is one of those great collaborators that we have right here in Burlington and five years ago when everything happened incredible man. Great person. At Vermont Teddy Bear he certainly is. I, you know, gave the idea of perhaps having a Kindness Bear. Boom, bang. People were calling me from there doing sketches. He got on it like within that afternoon there was a bear in the works. Are you serious? And so then they created this and now we have Sparky the Kindness Bear who is really the mascot for the whole foundation when you go, you know to the site you'll see like there's a Jennifer Reardon Spark Kindness Sports Complex that has been named after Jen out in Albuquerque and it's beautiful and my brother had this I don't know the dimensions of it but it's enormous Sparky Bear out there and it's all through like with Vermont Teddy Bears endorsement of the bears that we brought these on the East Coast tour my brother, you know gives these out to people that say, I mean it's just it's a great bear. Well now I can email Bill and ask for a specter bear. There you are Oh my I'm sure that will happen. I love that Bill will love that. He will. I'll give you any endorsement I can. I know you will I know you will You're so well connected that I it's you know we kid about it but the value and the you know the fact of what this bear can do for people of all ages Of course is really you know under those type of circumstances it's like do you want a lot of sales or not it's kind of nice when there aren't too many sales because it's like you know during happy times as well that's great Anyway we'll wrap up here get you going again Thanks for having me on It's great to see you I'd like to have you back someday and we can follow up maybe I'd hate to wait 18 months but to get some ideas on the outcomes of that program I would love that But then we'll have some good data Exactly Thank you so much Thank you