Hello and welcome to renew, restore, rejoice, the safe house ministries podcast, where we share stories of the power of God to change lives through safe house ministries. Safe house ministries is based out of Columbus, Georgia, and we are a ministry that exists to love and serve people who have been impacted by homelessness, addiction, and incarceration. I am your host, Phil Shuler, the director of development for safe house ministries here in Columbus, Georgia. Safehouse serves over 1000 people each month, as they transitioned back into our community safe house provides 213 beds for homeless individuals and families and provides many other important services such as case management for obtaining employment. Case management for finding a permanent home. Over 300 hot meals every day. Free clothing and so much more. One of the most incredible services that safe house ministries provides is our free nine to 12 month intensive outpatient substance abuse program. Which is state licensed and has no waitlist setting it apart from nearly all other state licensed recovery programs, which are often very expensive. And nearly always have a wait list of two weeks or longer. Almost 100% of those. Individual staying in our shelters who follow our three phase program and up fully employed. And 68% of individuals who stay at least one night with us, end up finding work and moving into their own home. Thank you for being with us today and listening to our podcast. We hope you enjoy this week's episode.
Phil:Good morning. This morning on the podcast, we're going to do something a little bit different. I have with me Cathy Robinson and she is the director of workforce development for Safe House Ministries. She's been working with Safe House since I believe about 2016, starting as a case manager and then just eventually working up to become the director of workforce development. So Cathy, welcome. I'm glad to have you this morning. I'm glad to
Cathy:be here. I really
Phil:am. Thank you. And I love your glasses. Thank you. They're very red and just hip, or whatever the current best word is. I'm old, so I don't know what the current language the kids use
Cathy:is. I don't either. I'm older than you are, so I'm at a loss,
Phil:too. But I like them. They're nice. I'd love to ask you, just to kick off, if you had to think about one word that would best describe you. What would that be? Tenacious, maybe. Tenacious. Nice. What makes
Cathy:you say that? I tend to go after things with a force in my position. Obviously this is a new position for the ministry, so it's a program that I've built from the grand up. So I've gone down a lot of rabbit holes. And sometimes I've come up with a rabbit and sometimes I haven't. But yeah, it's just I'm tenacious in fighting for the best things for our clients. The best training, the best jobs the best resources that I can find for them.
Phil:Awesome. I love that. That's good. Your story, I'm believing, is very different, similar to mine, whereas we never went through the darkness of drug addiction or homelessness in our personal lives. Am I correct in that?
Cathy:That's correct. I did not. And I often wonder, Why God chose me to turn right instead of turning left and I think that's brought me to where I am now. This was not my field. I went to school for accounting and worked in the accounting field for many years and then I was very blessed beyond measure to be able to be a stay at home mom to my children. I stayed home with them for 17 years and then went back into the workforce, did not go back into accounting, but went into the school system since I had been a part time. Para pro and also substitute teacher for the school district in Marion County. And I went back to work as the parent coordinator which was very similar to what I'm doing now is finding, helping people that were on the margins, find resources teach them budgeting, bill planning and things like that. It was a good fit. After doing that and then after working there, I went to work for Abbott Laboratories working in pain management and doing drug testing for them. And I learned a lot about addiction, about drugs. And I don't know, I think the two of them just fit naturally to bring me to where I am now, working in this field and working with people that are, in homelessness and addiction and on the margins.
Phil:Okay. Tell us what Exactly. Is the main focus of what you do to
Cathy:help our clients? My main focus is to get them jobs, obviously because that is part of our program and that's very critical for them moving out of our shelters and moving forward. And then also because we have our housing program that we have now that we can put them in. So jobs are critical. My focus is basically to get them the best job I can get them. Obviously our people have come from incarceration, they've come from homelessness. There are a lot of skills that either they never developed or that they have, put on the back burner for a while. We utilize Goodwill for some of their training programs. We put them in our Goodwill program. They do gosh, what are the classes that they do? They do time management. They do resume prep. They do communication to succeed an attitude that works. What are your workforce expectations? We do a, they do a social media check with them. They do a resume. They do mock interviews with them. They do career exploration. A lot of, that's a great package. That's actually something that we offered when I actually came to safe house. We did it on Fridays. It was called an I want a job class. we had volunteers that came in that would assist, with classes each Friday. But then we learned of the goodwill program and it's all one package. It's something that they can complete in two, maybe three days. Yeah. And then they're on the way with the resume and able to start looking for work. Awesome.
Phil:It sounds like you have developed some relationships and helped Safe House develop some partnerships with many other organizations to really offer the best services possible. Goodwill and what are some of the other organizations that we partner with that you've developed, the relationships that
Cathy:you've developed? We partner with Goodwill, obviously United Way, Valley Rescue Salvation Army Better Work Columbus New Horizons, American Work the list goes on and on. There's so many good partners that we have and I've developed new partnerships through committees and everything that I'm on. I'm on the Mayor's Commission for Reentry. So I serve on the Employment, the Faith, and the Housing Committee for the Mayor's Commission. So I've made a lot of contacts there. I'm on the Columbus 2025 Navigating Barriers Emergency Preparedness Committee, the Georgia Justice Project, the Bradley Collaborative, One Stop Partnerships.
Phil:Awesome. Now, one of the things that you've done that I'd love for you to explain a little bit and share a little bit more about is the partnerships with companies who come in and do training, skill training, trade training, that allows our clients to, to develop skills so that they can get higher paying
Cathy:wage jobs. The first program that I investigated and I stumbled on them by accident is an organization called Construction Ready and that was actually Arthur Blank from Home Depot that started that program. He wanted the people, when they were building the Mercedes Benz Stadium, the underserved population to be able to work and build that stadium. So he did an intense 20 day training teaching construction skills. They come out of it with eight certifications. They come out of it with job interviews and they have about a 95 percent placement rate. The fourth Construction Ready class just began on November the 1st. We've had, what's that, 100, this will be 120 people that we've put through training. I also partnered with Abel Electric, Johnson Electric, Kern Electric, and Rich Electric to bring an electrical pre apprenticeship program to fruition. And we have had three of those, where we have had a class of 10 to 12 that have gotten just enough to whet their appetite about electrical and to learn the basics of it so that they can basically walk the walk and talk the talk when they go in for a job interview and get a job as an apprentice in the electrical field. And at the end of all these, we have hiring fairs. So we invite employers in so that employers can interview the students and hire directly out of our programs. Awesome. So those have worked wonderful. Our latest program, That we did was March this year, and that was a HVAC pre apprenticeship training class, and this is a story that I love. Because all of our clients that go through Goodwill, I get copies of their resumes so that I can look at their resumes. I keep a tag on the local job force and who's hiring and I can refer them out to jobs that fit you know their background and their work history. I got one that came from our client, and I'm reading it and it's got HVAC school HVAC certification, HVAC teacher's assistant while he was incarcerated. And I got thinking about it, the wheels started turning and I talked to Neil and I said, How would you feel about a client teaching our other clients a skill? And that came to fruition. So Tim was wonderful. He was a great asset. He sat down, and just built a whole program from nothing. Searching the internet and going to the library and he built a program and came in and taught the program. We had 11 clients in that program. There were ours that our own client gave back. So I think everything came full circle there. And now Tim is actually our maintenance person at Safehouse. I don't know. I just think, that the way God put all that together in that circle came back. That's pretty awesome. That
Phil:is awesome. It sounds like Tim is someone I need to get on the podcast because he started out. Similar to many of our clients and came through some of our programs, I think stayed at the Freedom House and now he's doing great and giving back so
Cathy:much. He really is. He really is. And he's begging me to do another class. Look forward to another HVAC class probably in 2024. That's awesome.
Phil:Awesome. Man, that sounds fantastic. So many. opportunities. As I recall, some of the people that have interviewed the clients that have come through on the podcasts, one of the things that they mentioned is the blessing that it is or that it has been how that safe house just takes care of their needs and gives them. Opportunities. And you're a big part of that with the opportunities to find work, the opportunities to find skills needed to get better work. I
Cathy:think that's amazing. I love what I do. I really do. And I'm constantly on the search for things that I can do better to help our clients do better. I was actually in a meeting on Monday and I found out that Columbus Tech offers a program where you can work on your GED. and a certification simultaneously. So you can be getting your GED and your certificate in a trade. at the same time. Wow. That's awesome. So there's so many good opportunities out there. And there are people like, organizations like Goodwill and Columbus Tech and CSU and CVCC that are putting together programs now that make it easier for somebody to step forward and get an education. And get trained in a field.
Phil:Kathy you've been around Safehouse for a few years and I'm sure you have had many clients that you've, I've just seen some amazing things happen in their lives. I would love for you to share maybe a few stories of some of the clients that you've worked with and where they were maybe, and then the turnaround and how the Lord just really blessed and brought them
Cathy:into victory. Gosh, there's been so many, there's so many great stories and great people that have come through and have been so successful in turning their lives around. I think the first one and the longest running one is when I first came here I had a client named Keith. Keith was a war veteran. He was on disability. He suffered from PTSD. He did not like people. He preferred to be on his own. I was actually able to house Keith in a little... I guess it would be served as a tiny house now. It's probably about 200 square feet, which fit him perfectly because he was actually taken prisoner while he was serving. So he served some time in incarceration and he just felt comfortable in a smaller area with nobody around. We placed him in. A little tiny apartment work with the VA to get him a service dog an emotional support dog and Keith has lived there since 2016. He just recently had to go into an assisted living facility about three weeks ago. So I kept in contact with him over the years he lived right off of Edgewood, which was a frequent I frequently go that way and I would stop and check on him every once in a while. And then we have our own people when Jamie Lee first came to Trinity House I was a case manager there, so I was her case manager. I worked with Billy Wade, I was case manager. Actually I was Director of Case Management when Billy came through our program. I've seen some of our people be successes and come back and give back through our ministry. I've had Katie who came to us. She was very young. She had two sets of twins that were under two years old and she was pregnant again. She came in, she got after it, she got her CNA and last I heard she was going back to court to get her children back. Wow. And then her sister in law Heather was in the program at the same time and Heather has thrived and gone on to rebuild her life and come out of addiction. There is countless stories, there, there are so many I don't. I can't begin to think how many faces I've seen that have come through. And then you have the ones that weren't ready yet that didn't make it, they stick with you. There are the Williams and the destinies, and the Dawns and the Daphnes and the Michaels and the a Andres that, they just weren't ready for what we had to offer yet. I just pray that they'll be back and this time when they come, they're ready for what we have to offer. Yeah. The door's always
Phil:open. It is. Yeah. And it's so true. Sometimes it takes a second or third round and then it just clicks and there, I've noticed again, one of the other common denominators as I've done these podcasts is the individuals who are doing so well, they had to. To come to the place where they, Safehouse would offer everything they need and give them the opportunity, but they had to make the choice to take those steps.
Cathy:They do, and we're so much better with our resources now. I've seen, people that come in, our new employees that come into Safehouse, they see Safehouse where we are now. I can remember Safehouse where we were and seeing where we, and see where we are now. And that's been such an incredible journey to see when I first started at safe house, our case management room, and our tomorrow's hope. We were in the same room that is upstairs where the workforce development room is now. tHe way that we've grown, we had Trinity House and we had Grace House then, and now we have Freedom House, Grace House, Trinity House. We have a housing program where we used to work with other organizations to house our clients. So now we can do that ourselves. We have the Workforce Development Program now to assist people with getting jobs and getting a step ahead. So just where we've come in such a short amount of time is phenomenal and hats off to Neil Richardson, because Neil is just, he's always a step ahead. He's always, we've got this, we're here, what do we need to do next to enhance this? So I think. He's such a visionary. He's always looking forward to the next best thing. What's the next best thing going to be in 2024? I'm not sure yet, but I know Neil's already thinking about it.
Phil:Awesome. It sounds like you really love what you do and you love just helping people.
Cathy:I do. I really do. Maybe that comes from being the oldest of four and always having to take care of siblings. Now, I don't know where it came from, but this ministry's been a good fit for me. It's allowed me to grow. It's fascinating to me what I do because I never made that journey into addiction or homelessness and just learning about their journey and what got them there and, um, the circumstances and I think listening to a lot of those stories give me some insight to what I need to do to develop better programs by making notes and talking to people and how can we Transcribed Help them overcome this and become this.
Phil:Yeah. You mentioned learning some things, I would love to hear a little bit about some of the things the Lord has taught you as you've been working and building relationships with our clients and helping them. Maybe some of the preconceived assumptions that you had. Before and that the Lord has broken and just the things that he's maybe taught you that you didn't realize
Cathy:I tell people or early on I would tell people that I work for safe house ministries and they're like Aren't you scared being around those people? And it's I've never had any fear because they are just people. They are people just like we are. Yes, they made some different decisions that we did. That brought them to where they are. I've never been fearful of any of our clients. I love listening to their stories. I've been able to offer a compassionate ear. Some solace to those who, were... I guess distraught didn't know where to go. I just love spreading the word of what we do. And it's been such an amazing journey. And it's been humbling very humbling. Eye opening. Sad at times. Joyful, happy. You get the full range of emotions. Yeah. Working here. Yeah. On a daily basis.
Phil:So often you're right, there's people that seemingly have stability in their lives. Maybe they've got jobs, they've got families, they're taking care of their bills. There's often quickness to judge others. And it sounds like you've learned as I've learned, the Lord has taught me a lot about how wrong I was. And you see someone and the first thought may be why don't they just go get a job? And there's just so many assumptions and so much judgment that comes. And it's misplaced, and I've learned so much, and it sounds like you have as well, about the grace of God.
Cathy:I was guilty of the same thing, I was, oh, he's homeless, ick. Basically, but, I've learned to ask what got him there. What was his journey like? How was his journey different than mine? And I guess my granny always said, You never know someone until you've walked a mile in their shoes. And that, I keep that with me at my heart because I don't know where they came from. All I know is where they are now and what can I do to help them.
Phil:Yeah. And so often, I think the truth is with what many people have had to deal with and just the struggles that they faced, even from young ages their lives are still possibly better than if I would have been in those situations where I might be. It's just, yeah, we can't control the family we're born into. We can't control some of the circumstances that at times come into our lives. Sometimes we don't make the right choices, but many times we don't know what the right choices are. And we just try to do the best we can. And the Lord has really convicted me to let go of that. Judgment because it's
Cathy:misplaced and I think I a lot of our clients think that they really are doing the best that they can And I think part of our job or part of my job is to let them see the future To let them see that they can be more than what they are right now I'm big on training let's get you a skill this is going to last you. Let's look forward to where you want to be in the next five years. Do you still want to be here or do you want to be here? Okay, so let's make a plan. What's it going to take to get you there? Do we need to get you your GED? Do we need to update your resume? Is it as simple as that when you already have a skill? What do we need to do to get you where you need to be? And I'm a big part of that because I can connect them to the jobs. I can connect them to the training. So yeah, I just, I want to see all of them succeed. And we've had some wonderful success stories. We've had some people that have gone on and got some amazing jobs and have thrived at their jobs. We've had some that have become electricians, electrical apprentices. We've had some that have been entrepreneurs like Billy Wade. Billy Wade left and opened his own company and now he gives back by, hiring some of our clients to work for him. There's, we've just got some great stories. We do,
Phil:and we have the opportunity. to work with some great people. Some of the people that you've mentioned and others that I've had the privilege of getting to know, honestly, so there's some of the best people I know. There's some great people, just wonderful people that really had to face some hard times. And the Lord just. Turned things around and brought them up and I'm learning a lot. I'm learning a lot from people like Billy Wade, like Jamie Lee. I have so much to learn and I'm grateful that they're teaching me so many
Cathy:things. I know. That's so very true. And I am such a better person for everything that I've learned from my clients. And I'm so fortunate to work in the community with other organizations that. Have the same vision that we do that all they want is to make these people successful and make their lives better work with wonderful people like Monica Spencer, Tracy Mosley, Pat Fray, the United Way, Kristen Parker at Hiring Doing Good Richard Bishop, Stacey Rivera with the prison system. All of these people and their organizations, that's what they want to do is their, we all have the same focus. We all have the same focus and we just want to be able to have these people step out of poverty and better themselves and move forward in remaking themselves into someone else, the person that they want to be. Showing love. That's
Phil:all you gotta do. That's the number one thing is to show love and it makes a difference in people's
Cathy:lives. It really does and going back to the stigma of being homeless, years ago, I would have just looked at the homeless person out of the corner of my eye and now, I'll stop, I'll talk to them. What's your story? Where were you? What can I do to help you? Do you know about us at Safe House? Do you know about this resource? I love that. I love being able to just catch that person on the street and say, what can I do?
Phil:That's one of the things I would love to encourage those who are listening to the podcast. Come spend some time at Safe House Ministries, come get to know a little bit more what we do, get to know some of the people that we serve and it really will open your eyes. It just.
Cathy:It really will. And we love a volunteer at safe house. Absolutely. And we have so many wonderful volunteers. My favorite day is Tuesday because that's when the crock pot ladies come. So if you ever want a great lunch, come to safe house on Tuesdays. But, we have people that serve in our kitchen. We have people that come serve at our shelters. We have people that do gardening for us. We have people that plant gardens and plant trees and do devotion. We could not exist without the volunteers, because we don't have the staff to do it all. Volunteers are such a big part of Safe House. And yes, if you have have it in your heart come visit us. Come spend some time there. We'll find your niche, and we'll welcome you with open arms.
Phil:Yeah, absolutely. Kathy, is there is there anything maybe that I didn't ask that you maybe I should have or anything that you want to add a little bit more?
Cathy:Wow, there's just been so much. I've got sheets of notes here right here in front of me. For where we've been over the years and where we're going. I just think Always looking forward is the key to what we do at SafeHouse. Like I said, Neil's great at looking at the next best thing for our clients, and that's what I try to do. I try to look at the next best job, the next best training the next best availability of something that I can offer to the clients to help them be successful.
Phil:Awesome. So you started in 2016, and you mentioned, How much that Safe House Ministries has grown since then? What did Safe House look like when you started in
Cathy:2016? When I started in 2016, Safe House was small. I'm going to say we had under 20 employees. There was Charles, Cammie, and myself. And Cammie was a volunteer, so there was Charles, myself, and Kate's management. There was Darian, Bertie, and Lori that were Tomorrow's Hope. At that time, we had one shelter manager at each location.
Phil:But did we have both shelters at that time?
Cathy:Yes, we had Grace House and Trinity House at that time. So two shelters at that time. We had two. We had the men's and the women's shelter. We at times had, A mother and a child at Trinity House and the father was at Grace House. Now we have the availability of family housing where we can house those families together. That's awesome too. Which is, phenomenal and the only one of its kind here in Columbus. Yeah. So we were first to address that barrier. And that,
Phil:that's so important. The difficulty of maybe losing a job and being at risk or being homeless as a family it is hard. To have to split up and go to different shelters, so the opportunity to be able to stay together as a family, I think that makes a big difference, that a family can work together and stick together, working through
Cathy:those hard times. And I think we have a wonderful case management team that helps our clients with case management. We work on getting their identification. As case managers, we identify their barriers. They have a barrier to child care. They have a barrier to transportation. What can we do to address that need? So our case managers do a wonderful job of, connecting people. with the services where they can get their basic needs met. You can't do anything without an ID. That's critical. And that's the first thing that we focus on when our clients come into a shelter, into our shelters. Getting their ID. And then we get them in training. And then we get them a housing. And then we follow them on their journey to success. It's just an amazing experience. It really is. Yeah,
Phil:and praise the Lord for how much he has grown the scope of the ministry now with, I think around 213, 214 beds, men's shelter, women's shelter, the family apartments, the apartments for, Those dealing with mental illness just so many different
Cathy:things, supportive housing. Yeah. And some of these things came to fruition during COVID. Because COVID, there were a lot of places that closed their doors that did services or they eliminated services or rerouted services. So COVID was a big journey for us in continuing to meet the needs of our clients because so much of the availability that we had through other agencies suddenly was not there. So Thank you. We stepped in and figured out a way that we could meet those needs of those services that were eliminated by other agencies. So we were able to keep our people going forward.
Phil:Yeah, it's awesome. And then just, you're right. The expansion of case managers and case management and the expansion of the workforce development arena and the expansion of just. The Tomorrow's Hope program. It's,
Cathy:it's... Tomorrow's Hope, CARF certified. Intensive outpatient treatment for free. For free. You can't get this level of care anywhere else at no cost. We have a wonderful staff and, I've seen that program grow from three people upstairs to what it is now. I think we've got, what, six counselors? Now that our own staff trained counselors, certified counselors that just give our people the best they have to offer. When we started doing urine testing, when I started there, we used the cups. Now we have our own drug testing lab with a Siemens machine that's state of the art. We can do our own drug testing now and we also take drug testing in from other agencies to do their drug testing as well. There's just been so many advancements in what we're able to offer. And just the number of, sheer number of beds for men. 104 beds. Who else has that? Yeah. Who else has that? God is good. Absolutely. Yeah. And we've, I think the thing I love most about Safe House is how We bring our own people back in. The people that we have helped, that have stepped forward that their mission is to give back. They want to help the person now that's where they were. We've got the Christies and the Jamie Lees and the Mikes and all of our other staff Helen and some of the others that work with us that have walked a mile in people's shoes and they know where they are And they're so compassionate with people. And just, they understand. And that's, they have a level of understanding that even though I understand where they've been, I don't know that journey. I've never been there. I've never been a night without food. I don't know what it's like to be hungry. I don't know what it's like to, oh my gosh, where am I going to sleep tonight? I've always been blessed to not have to take that journey. And even though I can be compassionate and I can do everything I do to help these people, I, how, I've never had that feeling. I've never had that feeling.
Phil:Yeah. So let me ask you, Kathy, if you had to give one or two or three pieces of advice or wisdom maybe that you've learned over the years something that could help someone who's struggling, advice would you have to give?
Cathy:I've always said, my mom used to get on to me all the time, don't interrupt. So I would think the biggest skill I've learned and that I would say that everybody needs, is to learn how to listen, and learn how to listen effectively. That's the biggest skill that I've had to learn, is to just let the talker talk, and listen to what they're saying. Life's a journey, and always, Strive to learn something new. I I've got the word of the day. That's my thing. Every day, it's the word of the day. I'm learning a new word every day. Even if it's just something small, just learn something. That day. Learn something. Take it forward. Gosh. There's so many things that, that I've learned and that are important, but I think those are the two most important is to learn how to listen and to learn something new.
Phil:Okay. Awesome. Two good pieces of advice. Yeah. And oftentimes they go hand in hand. Listening leads to learning just listening and trying to understand. A different perspective. Yeah, that's awesome. Thank you for being on the podcast this morning. Thank you for the work that you do. It's an honor and a privilege to be able to work with you and to see how you're able to help others to find. Jobs, to get training, to get skills and just to be able to build lives of stability and success. That's a
Cathy:wonderful thing. It's such a rewarding job and I'm blessed that I have made great contacts and relationships throughout the community that help me do what I do and then help me do it even better. Awesome.
Phil:If you are a business owner or someone that works for a company in the area and are willing to offer second chances and offer opportunities for those who just want to work and to Thank you. To find stability and success, please reach out to Kathy. Please partner with us at Safe House Ministries. We are looking for all the partners that we can get to help as many people as we can help and continue to show the love of God to others. Anything else you want to finish out with, Kathy?
Cathy:No, absolutely. You've summed it up beautifully. We do need partners. And give people a second chance. Hear their story. That goes back to listening. Hear their story. Don't be judgmental that just because he's got a criminal background that he's not going to be a good employee. And that's, I guess that stigma follows you. But give people a chance. Let them show you what they can do. And let them be the best person that they can be. And sometimes that... It means taking a chance on them. We've got a lot of wonderful partnerships with businesses here in Columbus that are willing to do that. One in particular that, has an amazing program. You know who I'm talking about? Our hardware store. That has an amazing program where he brings people in and he nurtures them and he teaches them the word of God and he teaches them a trade and a skill. We need more people like that are willing to just small businesses are wonderful. I love building relationships with small businesses because they can be flexible. and the people that they hire. Some of your bigger corporations and everything that their rules are all the way up the ladder. And it's hard to get them changed. For bringing people in with second chances. But the small business owners are key, I think, to the success of our clients. And, bending their rules a little bit so that they can help someone else.
Phil:That's good. And I think you were talking about Wynnton Hardware. Absolutely. So if you want to, just in an indirect way, support the work of helping others, shop at Wynnton Hardware. Absolutely. Because, yeah, they're a big part of giving opportunity
Cathy:to others. He really is. And the program, I wish that we could get, I wish he would teach his program to other small businesses. Because what he does is so wonderful. Awesome.
Phil:Thank you Kathy. You mind if I close
Cathy:this out in a word of prayer? Absolutely not. I would love for you to do that.
Phil:Alright, father, we praise you and love you. Thank you for this time, this morning. Lord, I thank you for Kathy. Thank you for the journey that you've brought her on in how that she has just been able to be such a big part of Safe House Ministries over the years. Thank you for the journey you've brought me on and what you've taught me. Lord, thank you that. It's so true that as we listen and just spend time with other people that might be different than us, they might have a different background than us, they might have a different story than us, or a different perspective than us. Just simply listening. It leads to us learning so much. Thank you for your willingness to teach me, to teach Kathy, to use us, to use Neal, to use so many others in Safe House Ministries to do your work, Lord. I pray your blessing upon Safe House Ministries. I pray your blessing upon Kathy and the work that she does. And that you would guide her and give her wisdom to know how to best create the partnerships and the structure and the training and everything that goes into helping others develop skills and obtain great employment. We praise you and we love you and thank you again for your goodness. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
Phil Shuler:We look forward to being with you again next week as we share another testimony about the power and the goodness of God to change lives through Safe House Ministries. if you are someone listening to this podcast that loves to hear these stories of the great things that God is doing in changing people's lives for the better, and if you would like to be a part of that work, please reach out to us You can reach us at 2101 Hamilton Road, Columbus, Georgia, 31,904. You can call us at seven oh six three two two. 3 7, 7 3, or you can email us at info@safehouse-ministries.com.
Microphone (Samson Q2U Microphone)-2:Thank you so much for being with us this week for the renew restore and rejoice podcast of safe house ministries, we pray that God will bless you this week. And we look forward to having you back with us again next week for a new episode.