The Prevention Era: Insurance, Infrastructure & the Future of Real Care

We trace how real wellness takes shape when personal grit meets local policy. From insurance pitfalls and hospital strain to community design, we focus on practical steps that move access from talk to action.

• identity beyond titles and grounding rituals
• early experiences with bias shaping a legal path
• from talk to action on functional and holistic care
• where access fails seniors, students and families
• the cost of profit-first incentives in coverage
• hospital strain and why prevention matters
• a mold-to-asthma story and real diagnosis time
• how to ask better questions at appointments
• insurance traps with PIP and health-primary
• affordability as a health determinant
• clinics, partnerships and local infrastructure
• resident input shaping medical space in development
• engagement that lasts beyond elections
• homelessness, emergency housing and legal support
• one-stop outreach and timely answers
• practical next steps and who to contact

If this episode resonated make sure you subscribe so you don't miss what's next. Our next episode drops next Wednesday, and if you know someone who needs to hear this share with them. Until next week take care of your mind body, and your soul we'll talk soon

Transcript

Season Kickoff & Guest Intro

SPEAKER_00 0:00

You're listening to the Fortify Wellness Podcast. I'm Bettina Mahoney, founder of Fortify Wellness, and someone who had to rebuild her life from the inside out. This is season 10. After going through trauma, burnout, and a lot of uncomfortable feeling, I realized wellness isn't about quick fixes. It's about mind, body, and soul actually working together. This podcast is where we talk about that. Real conversations, real tools, no fake positivity. Fortify started as my own survival toolkit and turned into a space for anyone who wants to heal in a way that actually fits real life. If that's you, you're in the right place. Season 10 starts now. Hi, Tom. Thank you so much for joining me today.

SPEAKER_01 0:47

How are you?

SPEAKER_02 0:48

Good afternoon. Thanks for having me. I'm doing great.

Identity Beyond Titles

SPEAKER_01 0:51

I'm so excited that you're here, fellow neighbor. So I always like to start off with this question just to kind of strip away all of our titles and what makes us who we are to get to the human core of our experience. So when you take away all of your titles, both personal and professional, you're at home, you're my you're sitting on the couch with your wife, the cameras are off. Who are you at your core?

SPEAKER_02 1:18

Well, I think you got right to it. I'm a husband and a dog dad. You know, I've uh someone whose family is very important to them. And uh, you know, even I like to think even without titles, my my newly new title now is councilman elect, uh, I'm still just someone who's very into family and and still has that belief and service to others.

SPEAKER_01 1:39

And I guess when when you take that even a step further, when you strip away your personal titles as well as father, um, as husband, who are you on a deeper level?

SPEAKER_02 1:50

Yeah, just someone who who loves his family and believes that there's a lot of good to do in the world and a lot of work to do in the world, and someone who feels obligated to do it.

Grounding Rituals Under Stress

SPEAKER_01 1:59

I and I see that in you when I met you, as you do with a neighbor in the elevator. You just you seemed like someone that really cared about people, which is why I wanted to support you in the ways that I did, because I actually think you care about people and helping people at your core, and that ran true to me. You were very authentic. So I know you went through a whole campaign, which can be very stressful, but outside of that, did you have any personal practices or rituals that kept kind of kept you grounded during stressful times?

SPEAKER_02 2:33

So there were two. One was just picking up a book and reading it and trying to get maybe 20 pages done a night just before bed. Uh, and the other one was was my my favorite one, which every day, uh, you know, our dog Kennedy, uh, would take her to the park downstairs and just throw the ball with her for as long as I could until she was tired or or it got too cold, or you know, as the weather got colder recently. Uh I was laughing at myself thinking about that because uh she couldn't care if there's an election or cases at work. Her main focus was getting that ball back to me so I could throw it again. And that was really uh one was grounding, two, it was fun, and three, it was just it was a nice way to step away from the craziness of just sitting on this bench listening to the sounds of our city and my dog running back and forth.

SPEAKER_01 3:17

I love that. I miss having a dog. I think I need a dog.

SPEAKER_02 3:22

So you can watch her whenever you want.

Adversity That Shapes Purpose

SPEAKER_01 3:25

I love that. I will whenever you need. So, you know, this this brand was built off of adversity. I went through a trauma in my life that made me aware of the white spaces and wellness and accessibility to care on a different level. So we're really big on fortitude here. That's a main pillar of what we believe in and a value. Was there a personal adversity or experience in your life that transformed you into the work that you do today?

SPEAKER_02 3:54

So, yes and no. So early on, maybe like eighth grade, uh and and even though my family's originally from Jersey City, I went out to school in the suburbs. So uh our experiences were a bit different there, and there wasn't as much diversity as you have here. Uh I recall uh I don't remember the exact wording, but there was a note that someone someone wrote anonymously to one of our classmates, uh who's a person of color. Uh and it was racially motivated, right? I don't again, I don't remember the exact wording, but uh it really bothered me that no one seemed to take as much uh care or attention to figure out who authored the note. I remember uh one of my classmates said, well, you know, just let the let the dead horse die, or or stop being a dead horse, whatever, whatever the phrase is. Uh and that bothered me too because, you know, it's easy for us to say when when we're not being marginalized to say, well, don't worry about someone else's struggles. So that always stuck with me from an early age, uh adding on to the fact that I always loved history and reading about the struggles of so many people to get to where we are in this country now. Uh so I think that kind of pushed me into law. And then my in my legal career, knowing that there are there is injustice and and trying to figure out a way to do the best way to combat that. And in my own both personal and professional lives, trying to to do the just thing each time, which is not always not always uh uh the solution's not always readily available.

From Talk To Action In Healthcare

Where Access Breaks Down

SPEAKER_01 5:18

Yeah, doing the right thing and not the easy thing is something that I've noticed is a gap in health care, especially in functional medicine. And, you know, when it comes to people and and their accessibility to healthcare, I believe that it it should be their right to have just basic healthcare to live their best lives across the board. Um, and over the course of my life, when I've seen adversity or injustice, like I was always taught, you know, I was always, I guess, in a debatable home because my dad was a lawyer. He would always teach me to stand up for myself. I, you know, and in different forms, I saw that through. But as I got older and adversity would come my way, I would always learn how to use my voice and advocate. And over the course of building Fortify, I realized that there's a lot of talk, not a lot of action. And you seem to be someone that wants, you know, does what he says he's going to do. And so going to a ton of healthcare conferences and hearing all the things that we should be doing, I decided for, you know, for this season, I wanted to actually see what we can do, what's the call to action for this? Like, what can we actually do to fix these injustices in the world and offer a basic human rights, I believe, for people to have access to this care that I so desperately received and needed at a time in my life where I was really struggling. And so last week we spoke to Dr. Rosina about functional medicine, holistic care, why it matters, why insurance doesn't cover it. And so today I want to talk with you about kind of like what's the call to action? We have all this talk. What are we going to do about it? And so over the course of your life, you have you've observed like so many different patterns systematically, which I think is at the height of the issue in terms of accessibility with insurance companies, their approach to coverage. So, you know, what are patterns that you're seeing over the course of your time as an attorney and as a person living, you know, in this area of Jersey City that leave people, especially in maybe different demographics, most vulnerable?

Gen Z, Anxiety, And Coverage Gaps

SPEAKER_02 7:34

Yeah, I don't know if I have a I'm uniquely positioned, but in my both professional and say civic capacities, I've seen it uh a variety of experiences. So uh as a lawyer, we talked about justice versus injustice and trying to decide what was right and do the right thing. Uh I started my legal career as a prosecutor for Hudson County. So literally our mandate was not to uh get convictions, it was really to do what the just thing was. And and you know, um so that was that was my my standard starting my legal career. Moving on to civil practice, where I for uh a time I worked doing uh auto insurance cases, which there is a healthcare component to that, which I'll get into in a bit. Uh but moving on to my civic capacity, so so I've seen everyone from people seeking uh healthcare, seeking resources from their government, to literally being on the other end of the phone trying to figure out how to get those resources to people. So there's certainly a gap there. And I noticed the gap is is, of course, largest in those who uh maybe don't have access to technology or not as good with it. So our senior citizen population, which I spent a lot of time with, I also spent a significant amount of time in public housing. Um people that are making financial decisions between paying rent versus paying a copay or putting money on the uh uh put putting food on the table for their families. Uh so so anyone, I you know, I don't want to be too cynical, but I think anyone doesn't have the ability to get information quickly, like uh or or not at the tip of the you know, at our fingertips like using computers or or or our phones, uh they're missing things or they're more vulnerable to uh fraud or or just not getting the coverage they deserve. So our senior population, for example, uh I'm trying to help a senior now get coverage for his granddaughter under his his um uh policy, and he can't reach the in the the the company representative. I've called, no answer. So my thought is of course this seems to be a scam, or at least someone who's not concerned about getting this person and his family the care they're entitled to under the policy he's paying for. Uh and there's really no reason, you know, justification for it. So you know how how how we can as a society can fix that. I think we just need to, like you said, just if we have a voice, we need to use it.

SPEAKER_01 9:43

I agree. And a lot of our demographic are millennial moms and Gen Z rising up. And as you know, we're at the highest rate of mental illness in this country. And we have Gen Zers that are easily, you know, they're on their phones all day, right? And they can't afford health care. And so a lot of my interns are approaching finals. They don't have the life experience that we have to know that it's gonna get easier, it's gonna get better, right? And so they're at this high stress point in their time. It's temporary, but it's really real for them. And some people might come from families that can afford health care and accessibility. What do you think is that white space for the up-and-coming generation of leaders in terms of accessibility?

SPEAKER_02 10:31

Yeah, that's a great question, too. Um the thing we're seeing now, or I'm seeing now, is that uh there's not enough good jobs that are offering health care to people coming out of college, or so uh that goes to mental health, like you talked about too. I got a lot of people are are saying they're coming back, they're anxious about their work status, or or maybe they're aging out from from what uh you know we we we call Obamacare, Obamacare, the age limit. So what happens next, right? Or you're on you know on some sort of other program, it's really really difficult. So I think I think the big thing is uh one, this this podcast is fantastic for getting the information out saying, you know, it's gonna be okay because you and others have uh experienced it and and it has been okay, right? So I I think I think uh that comfort zone is is is a great thing. And two, making sure that we as as government now get people resources and information. It doesn't have to be. I I mentioned senior citizens because they're less likely to use a cell phone or or you know to be you know as tech savvy as someone coming out of college, but um information is not always readily available, even to the people across any age uh um range. So we need to do a better job of getting that information out to people.

Should We Incentivize Doing Right

SPEAKER_01 11:42

The interesting thing, no, I thank you for saying that. The interesting thing in terms of tagging the system and you know how how do we amplify or mitigate the barriers? Something that Dr. Rosina talked about was the incentivization of certifying you know, insurance companies to cover certain care, right? So right now, functional medicine really isn't covered under insurance. So is it that we have to give them an inset incentify them to cover functional medicine? Because it seems like there's this like double-edged sort, which is like what is defined as quote unquote necessary care, and why should we have to incentivize insurance companies to do the right thing?

SPEAKER_02 12:31

I think you still you to still word right of my mouth there. I would say uh we really really should not not need to incentivize people to do the right thing, but anytime we anytime the profit margin is gonna be be into question, right? So it's not uh someone's like oh oh, someone's gonna lose money. I was like, they're not losing money, they're not gonna be at a at a deficit. It's just that they're gonna make less money than they would have otherwise. And it's still a crap ton of money, right? So I think we need to get to a position where we're we're we're doing a better job taking care of each other and and and buying into this idea that you know we're still one society, we're all breathing the same air. We all we may look different, we may have different, you know, different uh belief practices or moral compasses, but we all breathe the same air, we're all living this experience. So maybe it's okay to instead of the you know the the$100 billion, you're making$99 billion instead. And that could that could solve a lot of problems, a lot of the world's problems.

SPEAKER_01 13:26

Right. I mean, I would be happy with 99 billion. But but I don't but so but I hear that word incentivize used a lot across different healthcare forums, different, you know, seminars, and it alarms me because then it makes me question, you know, what what is it really the goal to put people first or is it to make money? And and so I'm kind of leaning into they want to just make money, they don't care. So, like, how do you solve that practically? Like, how do you bridge that gap to to make it like to make it prioritizing the people first instead of the money first? Because it seems like this has been going on for a really long time.

Hospital Strain And Systemic Costs

SPEAKER_02 14:10

Yeah, I would agree with that. So so my my the first word that comes to mind is is me is cynicism, right? I'm I'm cynical to the idea that uh, you know, why do insurers not want to pay for functional medicine or different type, you know, holistic uh medicine? Um and I'm hearing, you know, my my grandfather's voice voice in the back of my head, you know, and he passed many years ago, but saying something like that they want you to they don't want you to get 100% healthy because then the money stops flowing, right? It's the same way our roads don't get fixed, uh and they yeah, there's so much construction. If the roads got paved and they didn't need to be paved again, it's lost a lot of lot of lot of jobs and a lot of uh uh money for for construction companies, right? So same thing, I think we see the same thing with healthcare, is is you know, if you really cure somebody 100% uh from whatever condition they're in, then they're not coming back, right? Uh on the other flip side of that, you know, let's let me be less cynical. You know, I I I didn't step into government yet, uh, so I don't be too jaded, but um be less cynical is we're with what we're seeing from from DC uh and our national politics and how it's trickling down negatively to impact our medical providers here. Uh being more efficient with medicine and our health care will decrease the strain that we're seeing on local providers. So uh I I didn't get to see the the show from last week, but I can imagine that uh your your your your guest was talking about how strained the medical the healthcare system is now because we're seeing with Christ Hospital in the Jersey City Heights uh facing closure, uh they've limited their services. Uh and you know, when people don't have uh good health care, a good primary doctor that they can see, they're gonna go to the hospitals and put an incredible financial strain on the hospitals, which is one of the reasons why Christ Hospital is uh is closing.

A Mold Story And Functional Medicine

Ask Better Questions, Get Better Care

SPEAKER_01 15:58

Yes. And the interesting thing in terms of my health in my journey, I spoke about this with Dr. Rosina last week, was I used to live in Midtown. Long story short, I moved to Jersey City, and it was because there was black molds in my apartment and I didn't know about this. Of course, the landlord knew about it. Long story. But cut to, I had got asthma from it. I got a bunch of health issues and I'd be working out, hacking, coughing. And I used to be a competitive dancer, never had a problem hopping on a Peloton, never had a cough. And I would go to primary care doctors and they would just say, Well, we can't find anything on the x-ray, you know, the chess x-ray. So here's an inhaler. And me being who I am, I always ask questions and I said, Well, aren't you just putting a band-aid on the issue? And she said, Yes, yes, I am. So then I go to a functional medicine doctor. He spends like two hours on me and he's asking me mind, body, and soul questions about my physical health, mental health, soul health. And he is a medical doctor, but he took some time to really get a full picture because when you only get the physical side, you're missing the other half of the story. And so, you know, that was a$500 visit. Most people can't afford that. And so it was so unfortunate to me. And it made me even more passionate about this care because obviously the functional medicine doctor, you know, uh can't get can't get this covered under insurance, which is so silly because, in terms of necessary care, the leaps and bounds that I've traveled in terms of my health is huge, like by 80%, I would say. And it's huge. And so I was struggling for like a year. I see this doctor, he's not covered by insurance. He helped me extremely. And so it made me question like, what is necessary care? And it goes back to your point. Maybe on the opposite side of the spectrum, we might not want someone to be cured. You know, we, you know, so I'm really big on preventative care knowledge, understanding how to tag what's going on in the body, being able to make an educated uh choice on what to do about it. And once you understand what's going on within your body, it can empower you to stay healthy, stay on your treatment, whatever it is, which I think for young people, they especially need. They don't have the life experience to know, A, it gets better, like I said, and also what to do about it. So there needs to be almost, I've been thinking about this for a long time, but almost like education in school systems from a younger age on tagging emotions, tagging how they're feeling, asking for help. Because as we pointed out on multiple occasions, being able to advocate for yourself and question is something that I think can really help empower you in terms of call to action when you're working with a doctor, understanding your health and not being ashamed to ask why. I think we kind of blindly go into certain, you know, doctors' offices just accepting the answer. And I don't typically accept the answer. I want, you know, I want to know why and ask questions to better my health. So, and in that, we've talked about that a lot over the course of the seasons of, you know, asking questions, coming in with questions and knowing that, you know, you deserve to live a really healthy life. So, from that perspective, from like boots in the ground, that's one thing that I think, you know, I want to empower the next generation to ask questions, to not be afraid to ask questions. So, in terms of your experience, I like to kind of talk about patterns in terms of what you've seen. I know you've done a lot of auto automotive insurance cases, but in terms of like patterns that you've seen that the public really sees in terms of defense cases, um, in terms of errors and things that, you know, listeners can think of in terms of protecting themselves and in terms of their relationship with their insurance carriers.

Insurance Traps And PIP Pitfalls

SPEAKER_02 19:51

Yeah, that's an important question. And and to a prior point, too. I wasn't suggesting that our medical providers uh are keeping people uh from being completely cured, but I think the system by not covering certain uh uh medicines, that's a natural result, right? So so uh so love our doctors, uh they do a great job. And it sounds like the one that finally finally listened to you that did a great job too. Um but yeah, I agree. We should be asking more questions. And as a lawyer, that's uh, you know, I I love asking questions. Uh so from an from an auto insurance standpoint, um it really starts at that, you know, we're required to have car insurance, right? If you're on the road, you're required to have insurance. It really starts with your broker. And uh I from this is a personal story. So many years ago, my auto insurance broker would call me and said, Hey, you can save a lot of money if you switch your coverage from uh PIP, which is personal injury protection, uh that's the uh that that covers your medical bills if if you get into a car accident, uh, to your health care primary. And I I and I actually canceled my policy with this this company because that's terrible advice. And I I only know that because I practice these, this I used to practice that type of law. Uh if you get into a car accident, you don't want things to be health care primary, because that means your health insurance, whatever it is, whether it's good or bad, is required to pay for your medical treatment. And not all health care, health insurance companies cover things from car accidents. So you can get stuck with a bill, with a lien, you can be in substantial debt. And if you don't uh file a lawsuit, if you're not, or more importantly, if you're not successful in a lawsuit that will cover your bills, you're gonna be in in in some real trouble. And that that's even worse than whatever pain you're in from a car accident or whatever trouble you had from a car accident. So that lack of knowledge, that that kind of gaming the system uh troubles me and it's something that uh most people don't talk about because they're unaware of it. Uh so I think on a on a statewide position, I I think our state legislators need better to pass better legislation that mandates uh high PIP coverage, personal injury protection coverage for all uh motorists. Uh yeah, they're gonna pay more monthly, but you're protecting. On the long on the deep end, on the long end, sorry. Um, you always see those commercials for dollar general or general auto. I don't want to uh malign any uh personal or any in particular uh auto insurance company. But if you have a dollar a day policy, it sounds great, but it's horrible if you get into a car accident, whether you're at fault or not.

SPEAKER_01 22:20

No, I agree with that. And so I kind of want to transition a little bit in terms of, which is very exciting, serving Ward C in Jersey City. And so, in terms of your background and in terms of what you're planning to do to in locally, how does that kind of inform your perspective? I know we kind of talked about it or alluded to it earlier, in terms of local accessibility and community needs.

Affordability As Public Health

Community Clinics And Partnerships

SPEAKER_02 22:48

Yeah, so my number one issue during the campaign that I'm gonna take up uh when I take office on in January is affordability. And the reason why affordability is so important is obviously you need some somewhere uh that you can afford to live in, have a roof over your head for you for yourself, your family, whoever you live with. Uh, but also because uh less money for rent or or mortgage payment every every month is more money for other needs, including healthcare. So I mentioned earlier, I I have residents who who often call me saying they're they're deciding between paying rent or putting food on the table or paying rent and paying a copay. And this is where the conversation with our medical providers comes in uh into play. And I've talked to many doctors who who are friends, supported my campaign, or other medical professionals just looking, hey, how can we make things easier for our patients? Because obviously uh you know there's they're struggling, and of course, doctors want to get paid for their work as well as they should. But uh, you know, we're again we're all breathing the same air, right? We all we all we don't want people struggling or unable to pay or unable to see a doctor because they their their housing costs is too much. So it's really interconnected in that sense in the fact that uh affordability from a where I'm living standpoint is gonna impact uh our health care too. There are a lot of uh incredible uh medical facilities that are community-based. I I am currently on the board of one of them. I'm not uh bumping it up, so I won't mention its name, but uh good community health care, good access. Uh I I'm I'm very I work very closely with Hudson Hudson Pride Group. Uh they provide children's education services for the LGBTQ plus community. And really it's it's about all working together in that sense with support from local government, uh, and of course state government to have grants for so that they can do the great work uh to make sure people are are in a in a healthier place. Um you know, I mentioned Christ Hospital before, uh, and and just again some background, it's it's now University Heights Hospital. It's gone through several owners the past several years. They're they're all claiming poverty and that they don't have enough money operating budget. Uh I got elected on December 2nd. Say on December 5th, I got an invitation to uh uh the owner of Christ Hospital's holiday party. And of course I'm not going, but I was like, could you could you be any more tone-deaf in the fact that you're you're you're you're laying off employees, you've closed most of the hospital except for the emergency room, but you want people to celebrate the holidays after you just ruined the the month and and several next months for several of your employees and people seeking quality health care. And that there's a real disconnect there. Uh it just happened, it just happened a couple days ago, so it really bothered me when I saw that invitation. Uh and and of course, like I said, I will not be attending their their party.

SPEAKER_01 25:28

Yes, that is very tone-deaf. It's not surprising. And again, I I've had doctors that have saved my life. Um, and so I think that they're also burnt out on the other side. You know, they're they're seeing so many patients during the day. They're, you know, they're not getting much rest, doctors on their side. And so I feel I feel bad for them because the doctors, the the medical profession, the hospitals, and that systematically need to hire more people to be able to support the inbound of patients coming in on that side as well. So I'm kind I'm curious, you kind of mentioned about some affiliations and partnerships. What what else locally um is gonna help sort of bridge that gap in terms of coverage gaps?

SPEAKER_02 26:17

I would say access to health care and and just having more more facilities. So uh close to where we live is is is is a provider, right? And and to be honest with you, had they not moved in across the street, uh I probably would have made more excuses as to not find a new primary health doctor, right?

SPEAKER_01 26:33

They're great over there.

Building Health Into Development

SPEAKER_02 26:35

Yeah, yeah. It's yeah, it's literally across the street. They have a lab there, everything's great. Um, but you know, for years I I I I passed off on I don't really need a checkup, I'm still young-ish, and and you know as I'm as I've uh you know approach my uh the end of my 30s here, I was like, you know, there's certain you know preemptive things I should probably be doing, and and that's the same thing is it is uh location of health care, uh enough facilities that are that people have options. And the only way in this city, in Jersey City and Hudson County, where we're gonna have enough options and what the city can do to facilitate that is to be open to the conversation of infrastructure. So for example, we obviously we've seen a lot of new development taking place, and and you know that's the time to have the conversation. Well, what's gonna fill the bottom floor? Is there gonna be retail, is there gonna be medical office space? Uh, because we you know we do need dentists and medical primary care doctors and other other specialists. So from a city level, city government level, it it's important to have the conversation, and this is what we can do to make things easier, is to start the conversation early uh about making sure that the builder is putting in the infrastructure we need, and in some in certain cases, that'll be more doctors.

SPEAKER_01 27:50

Interesting. So is there a role that residents and and citizens locally can play to kind of help push that into action?

How Residents Shape Infrastructure

SPEAKER_02 28:01

Yeah, I'm hoping to have in my in my term as council person, hoping to have a robust community input uh um status um method for for community input. So whether it's virtual meetings uh monthly or or good um uh constituent services. Uh generally, every time a new development is proposed, the local community association is uh notified so they can weigh in. Uh that wasn't always the case, and I'm not sure if there's one person to blame for that in in the past in our neighborhood here in the drone square area in the heights. Uh but I'm gonna I'm gonna fix the fill that hole so that uh our residents are notified of uh impending development. And if, for example, if you want to, hey, I you know, we what do we need? We need a you know a doctor's office. We need we're getting a new target down the street, right? That's all infrastructure building community here. So my intention is to uh have a forum or summit sometime in the new year, bringing in all the stakeholders, people who own property and tend to build on it, uh, community associations, or uh other elected officials and residents who are concerned and just say, hey, this is how we map out the next five to ten years of our community. This is what we want to see. And it needs to include uh, I mean, I would include my wish was would be a school, uh uh medical facilities, uh grocery stores, things like that.

SPEAKER_01 29:22

Yeah, and I think you're nailing it right in the head because I think they, you know, in terms of building a community that has accessibility, I think having those conversations with the stakeholders, with the builders, that is something that needs to happen. Because of course I love a great target across the street from us. But I do think that we could have filled that space with, you know, a dentist office or another, you know, doctor's office, things like that that can, you know, again, we have an amazing hospital across the street, but I think we do need to offer more, especially because Georgia City is getting so gentrified and so many people, you know, travel into the city for work. And we're seeing a lot more millennials, Gen Zers in there. And that brings me to my next thought is how can the next generation that is so, you know, on technology 24-7 that, you know, really wants to build change within Jersey City, how can they, you know, become a part of that more? I know that you have meetings that you're planning on building, but how can they kind of amplify that process as well?

Engage, Don’t Just Relocate

SPEAKER_02 30:29

I'd say the the first thing you do is to find whatever limited time they have to engage with the local community. So we have a great community association in Journal Square. I was uh uh I'm not saying this because I was president of it before becoming councilman or councilperson elect, but um you know they do virtual meetings, uh, it's really easy to sign up, you get up to date. And what the problem is we are seeing in in Journal Square or other, you know, sadly gentrifying areas is that the people moving in are generally it's it's temporary and they're not engaging or investing in the local community. That's bad for local businesses, obviously. That's bad for um you know restaurants, but not having physicians who who are closer to you. Again, part of that is is making sure that we have access to that, but also encouraging our residents to shop local for lack of a better term. Um so it's kind of a chicken and egg situation where we'll build you know infrastructure gets built when people move there, or do we build it and then they come out? You know, do they come, do we build and then they come, or they're here and then we build it. So, you know, it it's some there's a happy balance there, I'm sure. I'm I'm trying to find that. Um but but the best thing I can say is definitely get involved in the local community and and um you know that's not gentrification, right? That's progress. When people move in, and instead of dictating what the future will be like or not engaging in in what the culture is currently, uh that's gentrification. But moving in, living and breathing the experience, that's more that that's progress, and that's coming together as one community.

SPEAKER_01 31:58

I don't want to say where we live. I love just the local businesses here. You know, um my partners from India, and we get to get a ton of local cuisine, and it's just it's great. I know like I want to I want to stay here as long as I can. I love it. I was telling Jay, I just love Jersey City, especially coming from Hell's Kitchen in New York City. This doesn't feel like a city to me. This feels like a small suburb to me, and I and I do love the area, and I'm really excited about new people coming in, you know, people that I see every day at our local grocery store. It just makes me happy. I feel like I'm in a little Hallmark suburbian town after being in New York City for so long. It's so different.

SPEAKER_02 32:46

Yeah, Jersey's a lot different than it was 20 years ago. Uh um like I said, my family's from Jersey originally. So I have that experience there and knowing what it was. So the skyline's a lot different, uh, but it's still a small town. You're right, still a small city.

What Keeps A Public Servant Going

SPEAKER_01 32:59

Yes. And I came originally, I was I was in a small suburb and then lived in a big city for five years. So coming here is it's what I needed in terms of balance. So I so I've known this about you. I I kind of have a good read on people. And like I said before, you care a lot about people. And I know you you spoke about a story about overcoming adversity and and noticing um, you know, uh biases and things like that that are wrong that kind of informed what you do today. But you don't have to do the work that you're doing in Ward C, for example. So what makes you wake up every day and go, you know what, I'm gonna continue to be an attorney and I'm gonna do this thing to help make, you know, the world a better place, or you know, in in Jersey City locally at first. Like what is making you do that? What's that light and that fortitude within you that makes you go, I want to do this for other people?

SPEAKER_02 33:54

Trust me when I say, especially during the campaign, there were mornings that I was like, you know, I just really just want to stay in bed. Uh, but but then I would get a phone call or I'd be reminded of something I I know I had to do to help someone else. Uh so you know, I I'm not anything special. There are there are a lot, there are hundreds of people that are doing great work in Jersey City and throughout Hudson County for uh for other people. Uh and they do it outside the political realm too. But what I noticed having run for office previously unsuccessfully was that uh there's a lot of attention paid to minority communities, families, children, senior citizens around election time, and then they get forgotten about the the the rest of the four years or the next four years until the next election. I always found that to be wrong. Uh I don't know if you and I are told, I I told the story to you, but someone uh I have a civic association, it's a nonprofit group focusing on those those groups of people individuals, uh 24-7, 365. But uh in a prior election, right before I lost, uh uh I said, all right, I'm coming around we're we were gave backpacks in September, and one of the community leaders said, uh, I said, you know, make sure you write the names of the kids down, their ages of the kids down so we can bring toys in December. And she said, Well, what if you lose? I said, what do you what do you mean? She's like, well, people generally uh disappear either after an election, win or lose. And so that always stuck with me. And that was about five years ago that conversation took place. So I I I always uh remember that and say, you know what, it's not about elections. If if we're truly and genuinely caring for the community, um that's the foundation, right? Getting doing something for the community is the foundation because uh the election's over now. People are still struggling with high high rents or or financial issues or lack of health care, like we're talking about. And that's really the motivating factor. And and I'm I'm blessed with the fact that I have the ability to serve. So I think I have a responsibility to serve.

Consistency Between Elections

SPEAKER_01 35:42

But you you are a great person because most people don't have that same outlook. And I'm and I'm curious in terms of your wellness practice, you talked originally in the beginning about going for a walk, spending time with your wife and crims to rewind, you know, de stress and unwind. But on those mornings that you kind of were like, oh, I don't know if I can do this. Like you, you would, I, you know, you would text me and I know that you had you're busy, it was like you're moving at rapid speed. Like what in those moments, we all have them. It's very human. Like, what got you going? Like on a human, human level of like, oh, I I don't know if I can do this. I don't know if I can make it over the finish line.

SPEAKER_02 36:24

It uh it it it was the the it was remembering the feeling in 2021 when I woke up and I lost that election. That was motive, that was very motivating. Because I I never wanted never want to or never wanted to feel that way ever again. And so that got me out of bed, that got me moving, that got me knocking doors, that got me back campaigning. Uh but again, uh, on a more on a civic level, less political level, it, you know, Thanksgiving just passed. I I couldn't oversleep. I couldn't uh uh spend too much time in bed because we we had to deliver 700 turkeys to families who needed it. Or if you missed out on a turkey, you know, maybe you got a personal donation from from myself or someone else so that you can have your family can have a good meal on Thanksgiving, which everyone deserves. So uh it it was the it was that passion that motivated me to get out of bed. And and trust me, there there were many days, uh, like I said, that it was tough to do. So it got cold, you know, cold very fast in the last couple of weeks. Uh and it was much easier laying with my dog who who would give me those eyes and just wanted to cuddle, uh, you know, as opposed to getting up and getting out into the hitting the streets. But um, thank thankfully I was motivated and it worked out.

SPEAKER_01 37:31

No, and I'm really what do you think was uh obviously there's so many different reasons for this, but what do you think was the ultimate reason or what did you do differently in terms of not winning last time versus this time?

Homelessness, Services, And Housing

SPEAKER_02 37:48

Sure. And a lot of people credited me with this, and I'm proud of this. Uh it was consistency. You know, the the election ended in 2021. I ran for the same position. I ran for count city council, uh, didn't win, had a good showing, but right away got right back into the community and focused on on helping others. Uh since I'm a lawyer, I'm I'm a you know, I'm I'm suited to better suited than some to give legal, obviously legal advice, but uh provide resources to people who need it need a voice. Whether that was trying to help find resources in the city or the county or state levels, uh making sure we connected people with with the resources that were available, or if if uh if not, try to give them the best advice I could from a legal standpoint. It was working with our senior citizen population. It was literally acting as if I had won that election uh over the last four years uh and just trying to do my best to get people help. Uh so being being consistently in the community, uh and and from every corner of our ward, which goes from uh the Marion section, which was uh was historically the Italian one of the Italian sections of Jersey City, to now it's it's much more diverse. Uh a large population uh has come from the Middle East, uh from Egypt, Pakistan, you know, uh India from South South Asia, uh other parts of Asia. So so from there to the heights, uh, which is a different experience where you have some some people that moved from our downtown section or from New York City, uh, and it has uh changed quite a bit as well. So every corner of our award, I just was was there. I just showed up for it.

SPEAKER_01 39:26

And I agree with you. I think you know, we have to take care of the elderly, we have to take care of the mentally ill, um, we have to care take care of people that are homeless. There's you know, I I've been here in in Jersey City maybe a year and a half, maybe two years. It's been so sad to see there's there's more homeless people than there was when I first moved here, which is very sad. You know, and we have to take care of those people. And I'm wondering, is there anything in the works that in terms of policy and local initiatives for people that are struggling on that level without help? You know, there's some elderly people that don't have family to help them, those that are struggling with mental illness and the homeless. I mean, it's those are very vulnerable groups of people.

One-Stop Access To Resources

SPEAKER_02 40:11

Yeah, uh uh during the height of COVID, uh, which was pretty looking back in hindsight, which was probably very stupid to do, but uh and this was pre-vaxx vaccination. Uh uh some of us would go out, we it was a homeless outreach committee committee of the community association. We'd go out and and find people who um not were ready to be housed, arrey for services, everyone they're all ready for services, but but had had come to a position in their own lives like, you know, I'm done with whatever issue I have, whether it's it's it's uh substance abuse or um, you know, acknowledging a mental health condition and trying to get them services, take them to lunch, you know, make sure that they they're getting their social security checks or or apply for whatever benefits that are available to them, and then connect them with the resources that are available in our ward here in Ward C at 514 Newark Avenue, um, and and through the city, you know, uh shower, haircut, uh fresh shave, you know, whatever whatever it was, uh try to find them uh jobs and housing. Um so so my concern back then though was that with all the development, we're seeing actually where the target is now used to be uh it wasn't a homeless encampment for lack of a better term, but people hang out by the path station and and be more prevalent over there. They all got displaced because of that construction. And we know because of the lack of services that they weren't housed. So, you know, they just went somewhere else, unfortunately. And and so I I think the city needs to work with the county, with the state to really have a regional idea of of getting people housing. Uh and and and for those that are are not unhoused, but at risk of it, increasing our our temporary rental assistance, uh making sure we have um you know we have right to council here in Georgia State, make sure people have law legal representation so they're not getting evicted. Uh and those that have and and and to increase our emergency housing. That's an initiative I want to work with the county on. Uh, because a lot of people call me and say they're at risk of not making their rents, they're at risk of being evicted, and and where do they go? And generally they have families. So that's something we need to need to focus on.

SPEAKER_01 42:17

And where can people get access or find is is there a website that people can go to to learn more about these types of resources?

SPEAKER_02 42:27

Again, I the it's an education thing. I don't think the education, the outreach is as good as it needs to be. But uh in terms of finding uh housing resources, the county is generally the best suited for that because they have temporary rental assistance programs, they have emergency housing. It's something that the the they're better suited to provide because of the funding than the city is.

Turning Outreach Into Power

SPEAKER_01 42:47

Wow. Yes. And that's it's so unfortunate that the resources is it easily accessible in one spot, you know. And if there's a way that I could help, I'm very passionate about that. It breaks my heart every time I see someone that is displaced and doesn't have anywhere to live. I I think about it, we're in a cold climate, it's freezing. Just walking over to get my Starbucks this morning. I was freezing. And I actually went to Starbucks because it was so cold. I usually go to Duncan, but that's a side note. But you know, it it it just it really breaks my heart. And if there's a way that I can also support, I would love to because, you know, we live in such a hard climate right now. Everything is so expensive. And yes, like we're I think we're so lucky and so blessed that we live in such a beautiful place and that we're able to afford it and other people can't for many different reasons. Maybe they are struggling, mentally ill, lost a job, you know. And and I think we have to take care of those people, you know, because they deserve to live a really good life. And in terms of next steps, you know, I'm sure not having access to basic necessities. necessities, how can we expect those people to find work and find a job? You know, and so it's it's very, it's heartbreaking. It really is. And unfortunately some people don't have the families to to be able to help people. You know, my my aunt, um, she passed away, but she was mentally ill with schizophrenia. We took care of her. I mean, but had she not had, you know, us to take care of her, she probably would have been homeless as well. You know, so, you know, we can't, it's sad. And people have preconceived notions of people that are, you know, in house and don't have a home. But, you know, everyone I think matters and should be taken care of and supported because everyone comes from a different background and struggling with different things. So if there's any way I can support is something I'm really, really passionate about. It breaks my heart every time I see it. It really does. And I see it unfortunately a lot and in our area too.

SPEAKER_02 44:54

Yeah, absolutely. I I'll share with you so you're so all your followers could could maybe access it as well. There's a lot of great organizations that feed people who are on the street and uh provide um temporary housing. I'm happy to get you those resources. And then I got into politics so that we can attack these uh uh issues from a from a larger standpoint. So we we need to focus case by case but also looking down into the looking forward into the future need to prevent it in the first place.

SPEAKER_01 45:20

Thank you for that. And so in terms of like next steps for people locally and you know obviously in the tri-state area in terms of like what practical advice or strategies that they can leave with in terms of advocating for themselves to get the care that they need I would love to see and this is something I want to usher in again starting in January is just better community outreach.

Practical Next Steps & Contacts

SPEAKER_02 45:48

And the role of the council person I see is of course legislating and and you know focusing on local issues, you know filling that pothole, make sure the garbage is picked up on time, but also making sure people have access to every resource that's available to them. So again I mentioned the the the pandemic earlier to use another example the city had offered economic assistance to small businesses through grants from the state which came from the federal government right is the PPP loans. But so few businesses took advantage of it because they didn't know. So for me is uh access to healthcare access to information should be across the board and provided equally uh you know we talked about bias earlier we talked about um you know fairness and justice one of the most uh one of the greatest examples of injustice is is people not having uh getting um access because they're they're not people someone thinks they're not entitled to it or that they they don't have the in, you know, or or the connection and and that's something I want to end completely. I I ran on on good government, you know, uh government for for all, not for the few, make not you know making sure that opportunities are there for everyone and that that includes access to information. It'll be my job and the city's job to make sure that everyone across our city and and hopefully the county feels the same across Hudson County has access to whatever resources are available. They know how to apply they're met with someone who is respectful when they do apply and that they get an answer whether it's you know yes you you're you apply you're you're you're um suitable for this you know you're you you're allowed to get the resource or you're not um missing the word I want to use but uh you get an answer in a timely manner.

SPEAKER_01 47:33

And that's something that I care about is is accessibility resources. When you get the resources when you can meet with a team of people that can help you you become empowered because you get you understand what you're going through and how to actively change it and what are the next steps to living a better life whether it's mind, body, soul, functional medicine you know, or if it's I'm unhoused what are my next steps? How how do I get into an apartment? How do I get a job? Like how do I build up my life again? And that to me should be a requirement for people to have that access. And so that's I agree. I mean that's something that I want you know on the holistic side mind body soul wellness side that's that's what I wanted to solve with Fortify because if if you don't have the basic understanding or the basic foundation how can you possibly work on yourself and live a better life you really can't unless you're outsourcing for the information and you know we have so much information but it's oversaturated. And so it it's good nice to it would be nice to have you know a program in place where people can easily find the resources on one spot and be able to go next steps from there. You you mentioned you know in terms of applying or seeking out these resources, what are the requirements in order to receive them? How do you get quote unquote approved?

SPEAKER_02 48:59

Well it depends what you're looking for right if you're if you're looking for SNAP benefits for example a lot of the requirements are at the state level but you apply through the county if you're looking for temporary rental assistance uh emergent emergency housing uh I mean obviously unfortunately there's not enough resources to go around but uh we want to make sure those who are eligible or make sure whether you're eligible or not you get you get a a timely answer. But it depends.

SPEAKER_01 49:25

Eligibility requirements depends on on what you're applying for so it sounds like what you're saying is there's going to be a place under your management where people can get access to these things to know what they have, you know, the resources that they have available they can apply and then if they're eligible they can receive these benefits. Of course there's so many people that need support and unfortunately not enough how like not enough resources available but in terms of people you know pushing for more continuing to want to better their local community which I think is amazing what you're going to offer in terms of action steps how can people from their own standpoint push for just fairer more accessibility and healthcare in all aspects of their life what can they do on their end to really help the system evolve more equitably I I always say all things through politics, right?

Closing Notes & Subscribe CTA

SPEAKER_02 50:28

So so uh politics has become a very nasty endeavor uh at the local level you can really impact your day-to-day life and and the day-to-day of your neighbors more so than any other way uh that's true at the council level also true at the state level so we have two new fantastic assembly people coming in to represent us in the 32nd legislative district which covers Jersey City and Hoboken. Also there are two new assembly people or one new assembly one of two new assembly people in the 31st district covers the other part of uh the south side of Jersey City and Bayome uh call your local representative first of all find out who your local representative is which you can you can find online but call call their staff and say we want you know at the state level we need better health care we need better access we need better information uh uh dissemination processes right and and uh again for me uh we're gonna have a community office right in journal square where my my district is it's gonna be 654 Newark Avenue uh my phone number is always readily available um or on social media I'm Tom Zupa JC at everything um stop in we'll have fantastic constituent services and and you know it's really it was our campaign office during the campaign we're chant transitioning it to a community office because you know uh I I of course we'll have an office at City Hall downtown Jersey City but uh I think we should be in the community easier to for people to get to us um but yeah reach reach out to your local representatives if you don't know who it is or or you want help call me and I'll I'll make sure that that your message gets delivered to uh to the state representative to our state senator to our U.S.

SPEAKER_01 52:05

senators or our US congressman thank you tom thank you for that um I obviously voted for you because I because not not just because you're my neighbor but because I actually I actually think you care about people I I really do I think you want to make the world a better place and we need more of that in this world we we need more doers I always joke we we need more doers there's a lot of people talking and not a lot of action so I am really really excited that you won and I know you're going to make you know WordC and this logo area just a better place. So thank you. Thank you appreciate all the support and thank you for joining me today I know you're busy and this was incredible. So thank you for joining me.

SPEAKER_02 52:48

I appreciate it. Thanks for having me and anytime you want me back I'm happy to come back.

SPEAKER_00 52:51

Thanks thank you for listening to the Fortify Wellness podcast. If this episode resonated make sure you subscribe so you don't miss what's next. We drop new episodes every Wednesday and if you know someone who needs to hear this share with them. Until next week take care of your mind body and your soul we'll talk soon