 We are happy to be here. Aloha United we stand every Thursday 12 o'clock rock and today with Jennifer Hea the chief development officer of the Salvation Army which does a lot in Hawaii and it comes to us through the Aloha United way. Welcome to the show Jennifer. Thank you. Thanks for having me. So you've been here before you know we like to get right into things and I want to get right into your program that you're doing called CEO Sleepout which is very provocative name you know wow right and when is that well our CEO Sleepout is going to be held on Friday September 16th through Saturday September 17th and we start promptly at 6 o'clock p.m. and it goes through the next morning and we finish at 8 o'clock in the morning on a Saturday on a Saturday yes just as well there's it's a weekend right and it's going to be held at the Hawaii State Capitol Rotunda that is something that's why we're here at least right virtually in the Hawaii State Capitol Rotunda right now together that's what it is so so what is this intended to do well the intention for the CEO Sleepout is really to focus on core related issues to homelessness and that's really something that the Salvation Army faces or and works with deals with on a daily basis and it's really an opportunity for these key community leaders to come out and want to focus on a long-term issue come up with a long-term issue for homelessness it's a systemic issue here in Hawaii and we want to solve it yeah well Salvation Army had been you know looking homelessness right in the eye for from from its origins I think you're not shy about dealing with the disadvantaged you get right you get on the front line so to speak where a lot of other charities and religious organizations just give money you know it's kind of a guilt thing I think a lot of political organizations they just give money thinking they give enough money they'll feel better about it and maybe just maybe enough will rub off in the right place so that we at least have some you know some reduction in homelessness but you guys get right in there so how are you going to get these CEOs to come down and spend the evening in the rotunda some people don't like to go to the Capitol building you know right so we are very lucky in the sense that our co-chairs are two key community leaders who have been at the forefront of raising the homelessness issue and that would be Rick Landziardi from Hawaii News major major right high profile and Dennis Francis from the Honolulu star advertiser that's also major right so they will be there and they will help to help us reach out to their colleagues and peers and let them know why it's important for them to be there and to step up and find a way to create change how many CEOs can you accommodate in the program you have in mind well we would love to have at least 25 CEOs or key business leaders participate right now we have a really stellar group of leaders so we're excited at the caliber and you know this is really an opportunity for these community leaders to have a think tank session you know they're leading multi-million dollar billion dollar companies and we know that if they can use their brain power to perhaps focus on another issue for one night imagine the good that that's going to do for Hawaii yeah well yeah presumably they know how to manage things and know how to come up with ideas that are out of the box so but what's what's in it for them I mean they're gonna go and I certainly I'm impressed with the notion of having a sleep out because people tend to be very candid when they're sitting alone at night having a schmooze especially in the state capital you know in a group they would not otherwise be with that and the commitment is there and they're all they're all they're there all night that is something but what's in it for them I can I'll answer my own questions to some degree by saying well they they like to deal with other CEOs that helps their career it helps their influence it helps their you know business connections if they do that but what else right well we hope in addition to them being able to network with one another we really hope that by them coming together they can understand the issue even better understand and experience it for one night and they'll be able to then have a closer and better understanding of homelessness so that when they're driving down the street they don't just think oh that person is a drug addict or you know they're too lazy to find a job there's a reason why and we want them to we want to educate them on that on the reasons you're gonna bring in fancy beds with you know my down pillows and you know soft mattresses for them no or not they our CEOs are committed to sleep just like and out in the elements like how homeless people do will be giving them corrugated cardboard boxes corrugated cardboard boxes that's a reality and they can we'll be giving them a blanket but they can bring their own sleeping bag or some people have talked about bringing their own air mattress but yeah they'll be sleeping on in the elements and what about accommodations you're gonna have a fancy food you know peaking duck or something flown in right it's fancy food right out of our emergency disaster canteen we're lucky that one of our community leaders that's participating is Rick Nakashima and he's a co-owner of Ruby Tuesday so he'll be donating the food for us that evening oh that's great that's great yeah you can't make the food too good yeah gotta give these guys a real experience reality he's gonna do simple Ruby Tuesday yeah okay so they you mentioned before the show that they're also gonna get a walk around they're gonna take a hike before the sleek sleepout where they're gonna go well you know over the years the Salvation Army has built relationships with the people that are actually on the street you know every week we have a group of young adults that go out and they feed the homeless people on in Chinatown they've built solid relationships with them they learn who they are they're not just any person that's so important right it's about one on one yes yes and we've been able to move a lot of those homeless people into jobs housing and a new community because of these relationships we've built over the years so we'll have an opportunity for these business leaders to meet some of our friends out on the street feed them the peanut butter and jelly sandwich but also get to hear their story and learn about why they're out there so as the as your CEOs are walking down the street with one of your your Salvation Army staffers yes they'll be introduced to some homeless people yes and they'll be able to talk to them ask them questions understand how it is to be homeless right you know it's having that one-on-one on time you know we're not parading these homeless people it's people that we have built relationships with over the years and so that these business leaders can learn about who they are their people and how they can help personally why would a homeless person be engaged in that conversation what what's in it for him I feel that for the homeless person they're just like any other person you know a human being where I feel that sometimes you know they have a story to tell and sometimes they want to share their story they want others to know why they're out there you know it could be because they couldn't afford first and last month's rent because housing is so expensive here in Hawaii it could be where they were laid off of a job and they don't know how to get connected to another new job or it could be that they are addicted to drugs and they need help in that next step to rehabilitation so there's a story out there and we like stories right that's what we do here stories that's the most interesting thing if you know if I were and I have considered this of the heavy a show about homeless I would bring in homeless people to tell their stories not all the same story all different stories yes there's there are amazing stories of transformation that we hear on a daily basis at the Salvation Army so a lot of some of the time that evening will be spent having people whose lives have been changed through the Salvation Army come in and share their story with this with their CEOs and you know talk about how their lives have been changed so they'll come back some of these homeless people will come back to the road Tanda and join the CEOs right um not the homeless people that are out in Chinatown but people who for example the person that is leading our or in charge of our counseling for the addiction treatment services he went through our he was homeless he went through our program and we provided him a job at the end and that's always a good thing to do and his life has been turned around and so he'll be sharing his story and there's many stories like that yeah okay and you mentioned also there were some policemen involved in this HPD is them tell me the involvement of HPD what why did they join why they part of this and what are they doing in it well we'll have HPD and the Sheriff's Department participating and we want we invited them and they were very willing to participate because they're out there too in the community they work with these people and they help us in the sense of connecting the Salvation Army to these homeless people and we wanted them to share their stories with the business leaders and CEOs and provide their perspective on how they think we can find a story because they're on the street also yes you need all the data you can get to understand what's going on right and we need different perspectives and so HPD and the Sheriff's Department will provide those different perspectives are you gonna be there actually yes I'll be sleeping out okay have a sleeping bag or you gonna do the terrazza floor I think I might bring my sleeping bag okay so you know so now it's getting late the CEOs have walked around they've had their meal and they're talking among themselves you know and there's only one subject really in a situation like this that you created around them this set of circumstances they're gonna be talking about what to do right and I mean if I was there that I would be so focused and as you want them to be focused they will be focused on that what do you expect that that conversation will be like well I hope that the conversation is well I know with these business leaders the conversation will be not only lively but just provocative and full of tons of ideas on what the Salvation Army can do to move forward in the next step and how we can partner with other agencies and organizations to solve this issue you know one of the I think fun things about the evening is after the CEOs come back from their time in Chinatown they'll be broken up into different groups talking about topics related to homelessness and we'll have program leaders from the Salvation Army but also a local United Way will be participating and you know they'll be talking about front lines what how can we solve the issue hearing from a frontline person perspective we're gonna take a short break that's Jennifer he's she's the chief development officer of the Salvation Army Hawaii and this is a very interesting program it's the CEO sleepout at the rotunda very interesting we'll take a minute break we'll come back and we'll talk more about what might be discussed and what you know choices and decisions might be under consideration by these creative and you know well-trained individuals who run the companies of Hawaii aloha it's summertime in Honolulu Hawaii my name is Steven Philip Katz I'm your host for shrink wrap Hawaii we're on every Tuesday at three o'clock and we talk about mental health and general health join us thank you hi my name is justinie spirit to this is my co-host Matthew Johnson every Thursday at 4 p.m. we host the Hawaii food and farmers series this is the place you can come to for insight on the perspective and history and passions of Hawaii's farmers and all folks involved in Hawaii's local food system what kind of folks we have on so we have everyone from local farmers we have foodies chefs we also have journalists researchers anyone who's actually working to help make Hawaii's local food system that much better so join us every Thursday and tweet in the us and ask us some questions and leave your comments as well thanks we're back we're live we're here with Jennifer he she is the chief investment officer of the Salvation Army and we're talking about a really interesting program that they're setting up for September 16th right in the in the state Capitol building on the rotunda and it's the CEO sleep at work created by dear this is first time it's the first time here in Hawaii your idea so I like to spend a little time with you trying to get into the mind you know of the CEO who might be there so you're first you're going to show them data you're gonna walk them down the street you can have and talk to people that you know that your your soldiers so to speak know on the front lines and and that would be really opening I opening experience I mean I think most people have not had the experience of really engaging with homeless for sure and they don't understand they don't know and then of course you're gonna have them you know your people talk to to the CEOs they get back to the rotunda by the campfire so there's no campfire by the virtual campfire right and the virtual marshmallows back in the rotunda but what what kind of what issues do you want the CEOs to be familiar with at the moment they sit down for their hard-nosed discussion right I think that we want the CEOs to delve inside the mind of a homeless person they need to get a sense of their mentality and understand that it's a deep issue and what's the cause of their inability to take the next step so we want the CEO to be able to understand that there are deep-seated issues we want our CEOs and business leaders to also know how to treat homeless individuals or groups I mean in dealing with them right I think my no Emono right people to people it's about building relationships with these people and truly understanding their story and you know I think a lot of times people get intimidated or they think you know handing them a sandwich isn't going to do much good they get angry at them this you know they say you're invading my space you're taking away my public space you're shrinking my world because you're you know you're subsuming it right you're occupying it and why don't you leave me alone go away I think a lot of people react that way exactly and so this is really going to be a safe place session where these business leaders can ask questions like that how do I deal with a homeless person when they come up to me and they ask me for money or food so it's a it's providing them a safe place to talk story basically and learn about the homeless yeah I hope you are able to convey to them the the community of homeless you know rather than just the limited individuals you know that the person-to-person individual because I think we've had I mean it's easy to find somebody who's homeless who's been homeless for five years now you know I we've come to that point in the in the in the process and so we we have a community out there how do they get along how do they deal with each other how do they borrow beg steal whatever they do in order to get the things they need to live from day to day and and what role does the other fellow play in their lives you know that right and I think that's another topic that will be addressing is why are these people still homeless you know it could be that they're facing so many challenges that deter them from getting off of the streets like affordable housing like a job like a connection to a new community those are three pillars that the Salvation Army really focuses on and so we want these key business leaders to help us come up with a solution of how we can help these homeless people focusing on jobs housing and a new community yeah and I mean they're going to be thinking about it but maybe you could offer them some help on it too is what does it cost you know to deal in the immediate and of course there are much longer term problems involved but what does it cost to you know get people housed was a cause to get them fed was a cost to you know to get them off the street was a cost you're gonna have somebody telling the CEOs about that well definitely have our front lines program directors will be there they work with these homeless people on a daily basis so they know the costs and that's one thing that we hope to convey or share and share with the CEOs look this is how much it costs and perhaps you can step up and make a difference and through financial resources we can start to create lasting change for the community yeah yeah so but it's this is more is it not than just raising money definitely I mean it's this money there's got to be money involved because we have to raise money to deal with the immediate problems but but it's got to be more than just writing checks here or knocking on legislative doors what's the next step beyond just raising money you know we started this event as a fundraiser and we quickly realized that this is something that the business community needed and fundraising encouraging them to fundraise for this wasn't going to get them there and so we're really focusing on getting their brain power in one room or one location and really having an opportunity to take advantage of their time and how they how they think you know there's a reason why they're in these key leadership roles and so we want to take their knowledge and be able to apply that to create better change for you're calling on them to do more than they you know usually ordinarily do I mean it starts with fundraising and I and I think fundraising has got to be a central part of because you know CEOs in this town anyway I don't think most towns part of their job is to do charitable things part of their job is who you know attend black tide dinners and raise money for the right organizations that's their civic duty and you can't be a CEO you know who is accepted by other CEOs by the community in general if you don't do that you must do that right so you start out on fertile ground so to speak right and we want them to know that you know it's our responsibility to care for the people in Hawaii and yes they can do that by attending a black tide dinner but they can also do that by contributing their time and this is one way that they can participate in doing that and it takes an army of leaders to create change yeah that's an appropriate term for the Salvation Army yeah so okay going to that next step that these guys are smart they didn't get to be see and girls they didn't get to be CEOs for nothing and they got to be creative and they got to have organizational skills and good communication skills and you know a good analytical thought process so you're gonna put him in a room essentially the rotunda is the room and you're gonna ask them to identify consider and and settle on some options some takeaway points from you know this evening of CEO sleepout right what are the options that you expect will be prominent well I think that one of the biggest options that we would want them to walk away with is that yes they can do something whether it be getting their company to start volunteering at the Salvation Army or or anywhere any IHS you know wherever get their employees engaged and giving back to the community and that's one of the things that I love about aloha united way for example they get they engage with many different companies so that would be one take away is community so it's the extension of the of the charitable thing to get other people on board and to get the public sensitized in the right way to dealing with this I'm a lot of people in the public you know as I said it's like you know it gets people away from me but in fact they need to understand that those people are our people and that we share this community together and we have got to care about each other or we lose we lose something profound right so these CEOs could be leveraged to go in that direction right and we want these CEOs to also walk away with a story there's nothing more powerful than sharing your own personal story of what you experienced and we want these CEOs to walk away and say hey you know I just spent my Friday night sleeping out in the Hawaii State Capitol rotunda and it was a remarkable experience it was an amazing about some of the people I met whoa and what I learned whoa exactly and this is the reason why yeah it'd be very happy they'll carry that message to their companies to their associates to other CEOs who are not there but I want to go we have a few minutes left and I want to study one thing with you and that's we talked about the immediate we talked about the intermediate now let's talk about long-term right I think we all agree you know there's tons of charitable organizations out there that wanted that try that that exists you know for dealing with this issue but the issue is very profound and it's connected with so many other things you ticked off a few of them you know the cost of occupancy in the state is too high there's a disparity of income that's much too wide there aren't enough good jobs the education is lacking and essentially disrespected there's a disconnect with government people don't feel the government's going to help them properly and the economy itself which is focused on you know menial jobs in hotels so these are all things that are my view and I think in a lot of people's views that are connected and they are collectively they they create a situation where we have an increasing number of homeless and other states are like this too we're not the only one but we have more than our fair share here for one reason or another including weather so can you get these CEOs to look deeper to look longer to see five ten years away to deal with these profoundly difficult you know structural issues in our community and our economy can you get them to do that how can you get them to do that I believe that we can and the reason why I believe that is because these business leaders in Hawaii I believe are true visionaries just like our divisional commander when major John Chambers came to Hawaii he believed strongly and passionately that the key to solving part of this homeless issue was jobs housing and a connection to a new community so those are the three main pillars that we'll be focusing on that night and I know that the business leaders that are there are experts in these areas and that's what I hope they will lend their expertise in to solving helping to solve those three main issues now I know you're gonna put words in their mouth you're gonna let them do their thing you let them come together and come up with some really hopefully you know very useful suggestions if not you know the the core of some legislation but but if I could just ask you what you think the kind of action points might be as examples what kinds of things would you be hoping for them to do legislation some a letter to the governor some action with respect to charitable organizations some kind of way to bring the whole effort together any thoughts about what you you know if they come if they come to you on the size of Jennifer you know having this conversation but what do you think I should actually insinuate into the discussion so we get an action point that will do something I would hope that for me personally that they walk away with a new piece of just knowledge or education about the homeless the homeless that are out there you know I think there's a lot of miscommunication or lack of education about these people that are out on the streets so I would want them to learn who these people are and why they're out there and then I want them to say okay how am I gonna help that person that I met on the street how am I gonna get them to a job training program what can my company do to assist this person that I met they obviously have some say construction skill so perhaps you know I know someone in construction business maybe I can make that connection or I know someone that teaches at a community college maybe I can get them connected there so that's what I hope some of the takeaways might be what about some of the more big money things like how how can the state incentivize the construction of affordable housing for tens of thousands of people where they're gonna make any money okay but they will provide they will build and provide on a sustainable basis housing for people who cannot otherwise afford housing any thoughts I mean which I assume you will put that question to them any thoughts about what the options are I don't know specifically what the options are but you know I think about leaders like doing Chris who is working on the project out in San Island area and the plantation style homes you know those are for families that are not just homeless but they've gone through rehabilitation and they needed that extra boost and support and a key community leader like that saw the problem and thought okay this is how I think I can solve it so we want these CEOs to think big picture you know they may not have personally have the resources but they know they know someone that can do that here in Hawaii you know they have the contacts I think your point is very well taken they should share what they know about how you do this and Chris is a perfect example they should know why he did it how he did it whether you know they can do it too so that's that's another great benefit of putting them together they can compare notes on taking action either in business or in government Jennifer there's been a very valuable discussion this is going to be a terrific program I hope we can talk about it after the fact and and see what you learned it with they learn and maybe we'll see you out there maybe you will okay thank you Jennifer he chief development officer of the Salvation Army organizing a really interesting and provocative discussion called CEO sleep out in the state capital on August 16th and September 16th and if you want to know more go to the website for the Salvation Army which is Hawaii.SalvationArmy.org I knew you'd say that thank you Jennifer thank you