EAST TEXAS UNFILTERED w/J. Chad Parker: Featuring Andrea Wilson-Lobaugh

Andrea Wilson-Lobaugh joins East Texas UNFILTERED with J. Chad Parker for a look at the work PATH is doing in East Texas. She explains how the organization helps local families who are struggling with food, rent, and basic daily needs. She shares how PATH has grown into a major lifeline for people who have nowhere else to turn.

This episode gets into the real numbers behind the need. Andrea shares that PATH spends about $15,000 a month to keep the food pantry stocked to feed more than 2,000 families. She explains that PATH sees about 150 families a day at the pantry and why the demand keeps growing. She makes it clear that many people in East Texas are living much closer to the edge than most folks realize. 

Andrea talks about PATH’s bigger mission and why the organization has reached a point where it must grow. She explains the need for more space, more storage, and a better setup to serve families with dignity. She also shares why the upcoming capital campaign matters and how it will help PATH expand to meet the growing need. This is an honest East Texas conversation about poverty, service, and the people working every day to help their neighbors.  Be sure to like and subscribe for more East Texas stories that matter.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

We spend about $15,000 every month and that feeds over 2,000 families.

SPEAKER_01 0:06

Sure that with inflation, that $15,000 a month, you know, is not going as far as it used to go.

SPEAKER_00 0:12

You know, five years ago I said we spend $10,000 a month to keep our food pantry stock. So it's it's really changed.

SPEAKER_01 0:17

I think we've got a slide that kind of it's on your website, but it it talks about the need, and I don't know if that means 16% of the people inside of Smith County or Tyler.

SPEAKER_00 0:27

That is what that's saying. But as a matter of fact, I would anticipate that those numbers, as soon as they get printed, they're already too low.

SPEAKER_01 0:33

Is this Smith County? Is it just Tyler?

SPEAKER_00 0:36

It's East Texas, just Smith County, and the county surrounding us. If certainly if someone from outside the area comes to us with a need for food, we're not going to turn them away. We see 150 families every day that come to our food pantry. So don't just come one person per family. It's usually a mom and a couple of kids. And so you can imagine the crowd.

SPEAKER_01 0:59

Welcome to another episode of East Texas Unfiltered. I'm your host, Jay Chad Parker. Today's episode is about charity in Smith County. It's about uh an organization that's been around uh just over 40 years. Uh the name of that organization is Path. Most people don't realize it's people attempting to health. The person running that organization today is Andrea. Andrea, thank you for being here. You bet.

SPEAKER_00 1:24

Thanks for having me.

SPEAKER_01 1:25

Andrea, I know you grew up uh I think I know you went to Chapel Hill.

SPEAKER_00 1:29

I did.

SPEAKER_01 1:29

Um after Chapel Hill, uh, where did you go to school?

SPEAKER_00 1:33

I went to TJC for a year and then I went to Texas AM.

SPEAKER_01 1:37

Any of your studies uh help you or lead to being executive director at at uh at a 501?

SPEAKER_00 1:44

Absolutely not.

SPEAKER_01 1:45

Okay. This is just something eventually you somehow fell into?

SPEAKER_00 1:48

Yeah. You know, I started out in education. I was a teacher and then assistant principal. And I was always drawn to those kiddos that f fell through the cracks, right? Yeah. And so I've ended up in a career that's continuing to help people who are falling through the cracks.

SPEAKER_01 2:04

Aaron Powell Yeah, that's a good that's a good way to describe it. What what type of teaching jobs did you have?

SPEAKER_00 2:09

Aaron Ross Powell The only teaching job I had was a U.S. history job in White House ISD.

SPEAKER_01 2:14

Really?

SPEAKER_00 2:15

I taught there, and then I was assistant principal in their junior high.

SPEAKER_01 2:18

Um were you a history major?

SPEAKER_00 2:20

I was a history major.

SPEAKER_01 2:22

I was a history major.

SPEAKER_00 2:23

I know that.

SPEAKER_01 2:25

I love history.

SPEAKER_00 2:26

I do too. I thought I would go to law school. I never made it there.

SPEAKER_01 2:29

Aaron Ross Powell Well, a lot of people that have a history major, they can either only teach or go to law school, right? I mean, it's hard to use that degree. Trevor Burrus, Jr.

SPEAKER_00 2:37

It's exactly what my dad said when I had my degree in my hand. He said, What are you going to do with this? I said, I'm going back to school, Daddy.

SPEAKER_01 2:44

What about uh, you know, the charity work? You know, there's executive directors uh in Smith County, Tyler. They move around sometimes. Uh what about you? Where were you if you were before you went to work at Path?

SPEAKER_00 2:56

Aaron Powell Yeah. So before I went to work at Path, I was a volunteer and eventually a director at the Salvation Army here in Tyler. And I started a feeding program where we fed people on the streets of Tyler out of a mobile kitchen, about two to three hundred people every Tuesday night.

SPEAKER_01 3:16

Aaron Powell Was that under the bridge?

SPEAKER_00 3:18

It was not. We had a couple of different locations. One was at an elementary school and one was at a church. And it was really just practicing for our disaster services team on how to serve during a disaster. And, you know, one thing led to another, and we learned that there's a lot of hungry people in Tyler, which is a disaster in itself. Right. And so we fed folks on the streets in Tyler for a couple of years.

SPEAKER_01 3:41

Aaron Powell Well, the need certainly seems more and more apparent in and around Tyler, say, over the last 10 years. Would you say that's true?

SPEAKER_00 3:49

Aaron Powell Absolutely. I mean, it's it's certainly changed a lot. The cost of living expenses have gone up incredibly. The housing expenses are really difficult for folks to be able to afford their own home, and rent is so high.

SPEAKER_01 4:04

I mean, Tyler's rental prices are are sometimes a sticker shot for people that move in from outside.

SPEAKER_00 4:14

After COVID, cost of living went up so much because of those housing costs, and it really priced people out of being able to afford to live on their own. So you got a lot of people who are doubled up.

SPEAKER_01 4:26

Yeah, I mean, I guess you y uh you know, the the optics or the visual I have in my mind that something's happening is over the last several years, just traveling to and from Dallas and other places, the R V parks that have that have sprung up and then filled up in the last several years, to me says something about affordable housing.

SPEAKER_00 4:48

Yeah, it's it's really hard to find affordable housing here in Smith County, in East Texas for that matter. There are limited places where folks want low-income housing to be built, which is evident in the apartment complexes that are springing up, and the lack of affordability of those.

SPEAKER_01 5:10

Yeah, that's a whole separate problem, but they're all connected. Um and luckily, Smith County is unusual in the sense there's so many charities and there's so many people that are willing to give to the charities. Um and it's I don't know if it's competitive, but there's certainly a lot of ask, you know, from a lot of individuals from a lot of organizations.

SPEAKER_00 5:32

Sure. We work as a group of nonprofits to to try to complement one another rather than to compete with one another in duplication of services. Now you see lots of food pantries around because food pantries like paths. We may give folks food that lasts them for three to five days. Well, that's not long enough. And so for them to go to a different food pantry and get more food is certainly something that we encourage. We share with them other opportunities. But we don't have that many places that offer the same services that we have. We don't want to duplicate those services, and we try really hard as a group not to do that.

SPEAKER_01 6:13

Aaron Ross Powell, I mean you can kind of see that with the collaboration that y'all sometimes seem to have with a place like Bethesda, where there's medical treatment or care in some way that's at a you know much reduced price.

SPEAKER_00 6:25

Trevor Burrus Sure, absolutely. And not just Bethesda, but also we don't have an emergency shelter at Path because there is another emergency shelter already in Tyler Show, not putting our dollars towards emergency sheltering. Trevor Burrus, Jr.

SPEAKER_01 6:37

I guess that would be the Salvation Army. Yes. Now you're working your way uh into a director position uh at PATH, and then ultimately I'm assuming someone, the board of directors, someone approaches you about running the organization.

SPEAKER_00 6:51

Sure. It was actually Greg Grubb, the executive director before I was at Path, working on a succession plan, which we should all have, right?

SPEAKER_01 6:59

And so I guess if Greg wanted to leave or not leave, I mean Sure.

SPEAKER_00 7:02

Or if anything were to happen, I mean, you know, you want to make sure that those folks continue to be served. It's not about the executive director, it's about the organization and the service that it provides to the community. So you always have to have a plan. And so Greg, Greg did bring me alongside him and help fill in the gaps for me with experiences that I didn't have before I came to Path. I mean, I certainly have a heart for service, but I didn't have any experience in media. I didn't have any experience speaking to groups. And so Greg put me in my place that I was a little more uncomfortable and trained me. And so over a period of time, I began to acquire skills that I didn't have before I met Greg.

SPEAKER_01 7:48

Well, you need to be able to speak uh on behalf of an organization. It seems like the last uh Path luncheon, you were able to, you know, you've you've kind of mastered that or you've gotten you've gotten pretty good at it, it seemed to me.

SPEAKER_00 8:01

Aaron Ross Powell Well, I I really enjoy talking about Path. It's been part of my family since I was a senior in high school when my mom volunteered at Path. And so I think that when you fall in love with what an organization does, it gets easier and easier. You get past your stage fright, right? Right. And so then you're just telling people what you do.

SPEAKER_01 8:19

Aaron Ross Powell So you take over as executive director for Path when?

SPEAKER_00 8:24

In July of 2020.

SPEAKER_01 8:26

All right. July of 2020. So we are right into, you know, the first few months of COVID. Trevor Burrus, Jr. Correct. I'm sure. Tricky times. I'm sure that was very uh difficult, you know, with what Path did to try to interact not only with their their workers maybe concerned, but the people that were coming in. I mean, this was a little bit unknown about health right then. Trevor Burrus, Jr.

SPEAKER_00 8:50

PATH is very dependent on our volunteer base. And so we had a large percentage of our volunteers who were retired, older folks, and we lost our volunteer base overnight in March of 2020. Aaron Powell Is that because they were older and and older people concerned about themselves getting sick and interacting with the public that Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:13

I mean that's certainly a valid concern. I mean, if if I was retired and volunteering at Path and I had any health issues back then, what they were saying, you know, I'm sure people were very concerned. Trevor Burrus, Jr.

SPEAKER_00 9:25

Well, sure. If they had a a wife or a husband at home that had health issues, that's another thing. Yeah. And so so certainly we understood that completely, but the need of folks coming to us for pantry assistance for food rapidly increased. So we were met with the challenge, and then you know, it just kind of played out. You have businesses that closed down, you have the Rose Festival that closed down, you have colleges that sent kids home, and so we had volunteers who had some free time on their hands. And so those people began to show up. And so it really worked out really well.

SPEAKER_01 10:00

Well, let's circle back. I'm sure that in in all the work that you've done thus far at Path, that you've probably learned about the history of the organization, how it got started, who was involved, why it got started. Uh can you tell us a little bit about the history of of what Path, you know, uh what Path is and how it came to be?

SPEAKER_00 10:20

Aaron Powell Sure. It's a really great story. You know, I was a senior in high school, just like you were back in 1985. And Gertrude Windsor, a very um influential family in Tyler who lived over on Chilton, was feeding people out of her back door in her kitchen. And she brought together a group of ministers from all different denominations, as well as civic leaders and community leaders. And the legend has it that she said, Boys, we can do better than this. And she was 90 years old at the time. So you can imagine. She was that age. Yeah. And so people listen, right? And so you can imagine what happened at that point is that they began to serve people in a better way. First started out of the basement of Christchurch before it moved a couple of times until we ended up where we are now on Front Street. And what began in 1985 as basically food assistants turned into utility assistants, gasoline vouchers, bus tickets, and rent assistants, and but all of those things had one thing in common back in 1985, and then still today, 41 years later, they're all based on relationships. It wasn't a transaction. You're just handed somebody a bag of groceries. You're really working with them to understand why do you need to come here for groceries and can I connect you to get your SNAP benefits, your food stamps, if you will, so that you won't need to come here as often to get groceries. So it's relationship building to lead people to a better place in life.

SPEAKER_01 12:03

Aaron Powell Has PATH ever had any government funding or has it always been privately funded?

SPEAKER_00 12:08

We have from time to time had limited amounts of government funding. When I first started working at PATH, we had funding through the federal government. It was called EFSP. And it was specifically to prevent homelessness by assisting folks with their utility bill when their lease said that if their lights got turned off, that their landlord could evict them, because it's a common phrase in leases. And so it was a very limited amount of money. And in January of 2025, that federal funding dried up, and we have not had that since. You know, it's it certainly has changed our asks when we're reaching out to let people know what we need help with. But it's really nice to know that we don't have Washington or Austin telling us how to run business here in East Texas. So we can pivot and we can change and help folks who we recognize the need for, not because somebody else told us to look for it.

SPEAKER_01 13:03

Aaron Powell Yeah, I mean the government does sometimes attach some strings to the way that you uh run the charities if you get money from them, right? Aaron Ross Powell Sure.

SPEAKER_00 13:12

Absolutely. You've got metrics that you have to meet to for that funder's reports.

SPEAKER_01 13:18

But initially, you know, the collaboration, you mentioned civic leaders, uh church leaders, um I guess these people somehow had to come together, have some meetings, have some planning in order for there to be a place that would start out as Path.

SPEAKER_00 13:36

Aaron Powell Sure. So Path started really as a clearinghouse for congregations to give mission dollars to that they could then send folks who were in need to. So it was one single place rather than folks hopping from church to church for help with their rent, then those churches, congregations would send money to Path, and then they would send folks to Path who were in need and help allowed us to be the ones to vet them properly. Trevor Burrus, Jr.

SPEAKER_01 14:05

Yeah, just to make sure that people were genuine about what their need was.

SPEAKER_00 14:09

Aaron Powell Yeah. I mean, because you know, we've got a lot of people who um are really big-hearted, very kind-hearted, very generous community that we live in. But we also have to be really careful to make sure that we're being good stewards of that funding and that we vet to them the folks who need that appropriately. So it is doing the most good, if you will, for that family.

SPEAKER_01 14:30

Aaron Ross Powell So I guess um the churches, they would initially kind of be the funding for what was Path initially.

SPEAKER_00 14:38

Aaron Powell And absolutely still are. And so we we do rely on that congregational support and we receive support from churches on a monthly basis.

SPEAKER_01 14:48

Aaron Ross Powell And are is this just a few churches, or I mean, uh do most or a lot of the churches have a program at their own church where they send money to some place like PAF?

SPEAKER_00 14:58

Aaron Powell We have about 25 churches regularly that donate to PATH either monetarily or in-kind donations. And we have over 80 churches who provide volunteers or distribute our information to their congregation through a newsletter or through a program. And, you know, we're we're always reaching out because there are new churches that are forming in the area all the time. And so we try to continue to spread about what Path does to those new churches.

SPEAKER_01 15:27

Aaron Powell I'm assuming there are also uh just people in the community that make donations on a reoccurring or a monthly basis. Aaron Ross Powell Sure.

SPEAKER_00 15:36

We have about 80 families that donate to PATH monthly and have for years. Um, you know, what it was interesting as we were doing some research for our 40th anniversary last year, I was able to find one family who is still donating to PATH since 1985. They've been monthly donors. So there's, you know, an an older generation of folks that we certainly are losing some of those, and it's so heartbreaking. You know, we know we we're losing that generation of people who were the foundation and the support for Path when we first got started.

SPEAKER_01 16:12

Yeah, you know, people that are older have been perceived, you know, to have more money maybe than the young people of today, right? And more able to, I guess, contribute. And they're some of those people are aging out.

SPEAKER_00 16:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:27

You know, I don't know to operate. I would assume that it your hope would be the churches, the individuals that you could count on a certain amount every month to kind of predict how you'd be able to operate. Sure. Trevor Burrus, Jr. I mean, is that the way it path is kind of run like that, plus other fundraisers that that you guys put on throughout the year?

SPEAKER_00 16:48

Aaron Powell Yeah. So I mean, primarily our funding comes from individuals, congregations, businesses, and foundations. We also have a development director who writes grants all the time for for specific things, whether that's restricted funding, a capital funding, or operational funding.

SPEAKER_01 17:06

Aaron Powell When you say rights grant, that means apply for grants that are out there that may get awarded to PATH to give y'all some additional funds to do something? Correct. Those funds are they are they designated just to help with one thing or can they be utilized, you know, at y'all's discretion?

SPEAKER_00 17:22

Aaron Powell Actually, both of those things. So the operational funds that are just general PATH funds, those are the ones that keep our lights on and pay our staff to be able to operate the services that we have. But we also have restricted funds that allow us to pay rent assistance or utility assistance or to operate our transitional housing program or to pay for our food that we stock our food pantry with. So those specific restricted funds are also very important to us.

SPEAKER_01 17:52

I mean, I'm assuming that the food bank plays some role or interacts with Path based on you having a food pantry.

SPEAKER_00 17:59

Aaron Ross Powell Sure. We are one of the agencies, the partner agencies for the East Texas Food Bank. As a matter of fact, they are our primary um we purchase food from the East Texas Food Bank more than we do from anyone else. And to keep our pantry stocked, we spend about $15,000 every month to buy food to put in our food pantry. And that feeds over 2,000 families.

SPEAKER_01 18:26

And I'm sure that with inflation and increasing need, that that $15,000 a month, you know, is not going as far as it used to go.

SPEAKER_00 18:36

Aaron Ross Powell No, we actually I used to, you know, five years ago I said we spend $10,000 a month to keep our food pantry stocked. So it's it's really changed quite a lot.

SPEAKER_01 18:46

Well let's uh I think we've got a slide that kind of it's on your website, but it it talks about the need and and really uh in the numbers what represents the people that are coming to path that need help. Uh you are you you're familiar with these numbers, I'm sure.

SPEAKER_00 19:04

Very much so. As a matter of fact, I would anticipate that those numbers, as soon as they get printed, that they're already too low, right? We see 150 families every day that come to our food pantry.

SPEAKER_01 19:16

Aaron Ross Powell And that's the number that I did want to get out, just so people would have a perspective on the facility that you're running. There's 150 different people showing up how many days a week?

SPEAKER_00 19:28

Aaron Powell Yeah, we are open four days a week, Monday through Thursday from eight to six. So for 10 hours, our food pantry is open, and we're a 40-hour a week food pantry. It's the largest one here in East Texas. And to push those numbers through, number one, we're busting at the seams. It's it's our space is in much need of an expansion, improvement to make it easier for folks to get through. Um, but yeah, 150 families. They don't just come one person per family. It's usually a mom and a couple of kids. And so you can imagine the crowd related to that.

SPEAKER_01 20:05

And and each day, i I'm assuming it's not the same 150 people that are coming.

SPEAKER_00 20:11

No, no, no, because they can only come. We have restrictions on how often you can come to our food pantry. And so for most people, you can come once a month to the food pantry.

SPEAKER_01 20:19

All right. So Monday through Thursday, four other weeks out of four weeks out of the month, that's a different 150 people.

SPEAKER_00 20:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:26

Um and I'm sure you see people, you know, week I mean like every month. Month to month. We sure do.

SPEAKER_00 20:32

We we certainly do. As a matter of fact, um, we have about 800 senior citizens, and we classify seniors as anyone that's 65 and older that come through regularly. Nine plus times per year is what we consider them regular, and they're just trying to make ends meet. So they come to our food pantry and they depend on that.

SPEAKER_01 20:53

Aaron Powell Yeah, because seniors, you know, uh over that age generally have worked their whole life, um maybe only have Social Security as their discretionary income, right? And and as things get more expensive, what they have to work with is is less to work with.

SPEAKER_00 21:07

Aaron Ross Powell The percentage of what they spend on their food continues to go up because the food is going up.

SPEAKER_01 21:13

Aaron Powell And then if they have medications, you know, there seems to be more expensive. And so it's just really kind of a squeeze for a lot of people that are, you know, at or near the poverty rate for sure, right?

SPEAKER_00 21:25

Exactly right.

SPEAKER_01 21:26

Aaron Powell I mean I don't know the poverty rate. I don't know if that means sixteen percent of the people inside of Smith County or Tyler are at the poverty rate or below you know is that what that's saying?

SPEAKER_00 21:36

That is what that's saying.

SPEAKER_01 21:37

And uh is this generally Smith County? Is it just Tyler? Because I know Path only serves what, Smith County or Texas County.

SPEAKER_00 21:47

So it's East Texas, so Smith County and the counties surrounding us. If s certainly if someone from outside the area comes to us with a need for food, we're not going to turn them away.

SPEAKER_01 21:56

Sorry, you're from Canton. Right.

SPEAKER_00 21:58

But but typically if somebody's coming From Dallas or Houston or Austin, they're looking for rent assistance. Those dollars are not going to go to them. They're going to stay here in East Texas.

SPEAKER_01 22:05

All right. And you know, that kind of leads to a question. You know, there are uh organizations that score charities because people are interested. If they give money, you know, they want the charities to be good stewards of their money, right? I mean and uh tell us about, you know, how you guys score or or or or match up in the charity world as far as the way they keep score.

SPEAKER_00 22:29

Aaron Ross Powell Well, our our ranking is the highest that they give, and that's specifically based on our audit. It's an audit that has to be submitted to them annually, and we jump through a lot of hoops to get to that.

SPEAKER_01 22:41

And the hope is that people who are looking to donate to a charity would look for the the breadth of services that you guys provide as well as the you know, you know, the integrity of the way that you handle what you have to work with. Trevor Burrus, Sure.

SPEAKER_00 22:56

And the the fiscal responsibility and the transparency of our numbers and all of that is available on our website. We're very proud of the work that we do, but it isn't it's expensive. I mean, it we have a $2 million budget to operate and to operate all of the services that we have. But when you look at that, we are assisting over 27,000 unduplicated individuals every year with an array of services. We don't do everything, we don't want to do everything. But the things that we do, we want to do really, really well because we want to impact change in folks' lives. We've got programs that address the line that's waiting at our front door. But the most impactful thing that we do is our housing program, which aims to shorten the line of people who need to be at our front door to get help. And that is where change happens. It's through the housing program, it's through the relationships that are built with our case managers and the work that those single moms and families do to move themselves beyond where they were when they came to us.

SPEAKER_01 24:01

Yeah, and and people that don't really understand how Path runs. Um, you mentioned the word caseworker. Path actually assigns a caseworker to an individual who shows up desperate, needing some food, not really, maybe they're not equipped to find themselves out of that situation.

SPEAKER_00 24:19

Yeah. You know, Chad, people come in our door, and I've I say that the 20 steps that you take from our parking lot into our front door are the hardest steps that some folks are ever going to take.

SPEAKER_01 24:30

It's humiliating to some people.

SPEAKER_00 24:31

Absolutely. It's hard to ask for help. I don't care what you're asking for help for. If you're in a position that you're asking for help with food or shelter, you are desperate. And what we want to do is we want to make it as easy as possible when you get in. So our culture at path is that we make people feel like they are cared for. They are heard. They're important. Their voice matters to us. And that's the most important thing because it is scary to walk in the door and ask for help. And so we want you to have a place that is private, that is safe, where you can sit down one-on-one and talk through what is going on in your life.

SPEAKER_01 25:08

Aaron Ross Powell And there could be some bad things going on in their life that uh they have not had anyone at all to talk to about.

SPEAKER_00 25:15

You know, and and like I've said, people come in our door with cancer diagnosis or a job loss or something's going on with CPS. We can't fix any of those things. Right.

SPEAKER_01 25:26

No, it's very overwhelming.

SPEAKER_00 25:27

But we can certainly let people know that they're in a safe place and they've got somebody who cares about them. And you know, I have I want to tell you a story about one of our volunteers who shared with me a situation that she had. Her name is Wendy. And Wendy said, Andrea, I gotta tell you about this lady that came in to see me the other day. And I said, Okay, and she said, I'd I'd seen her one time before. She'd only been to Path one, to Path once. And she said, Wendy, can I close the door of your office? And Wendy said, sure. And she sat down and she said, Okay, I just lost my job and I need practice saying that before I go home to tell my disabled husband because I don't want to cry when I tell him. And so she sat and she felt safe enough with Wendy to talk to Wendy about something that Wendy had absolutely no control over. But what she did have control over is the fact that that lady trusted her with that information and she knew that Wendy could pray with her, Wendy could talk through her and and give her some suggestions on how she might move forward. And so that's the relationship approach that we do at Path. With every single person that walks through our door, you get to talk one-on-one with a caseworker, whether that's a staff member or a volunteer, you won't even know the difference. Because we have volunteers who are there every single day who have a heart for folks that are hurting, and we just want to make their day better with something that we are able to do or say.

SPEAKER_01 26:52

Yeah, you know, and people attempting to help, helping the community, um sometimes it's not enough just to give somebody something, right? I mean, sometimes they need some encouragement, sometimes they might need some guidance or education, like you said earlier, about, hey, I think you could apply for these benefits or this, and maybe that help you.

SPEAKER_00 27:13

Aaron Powell Yeah, or shop your utility rates. I mean, folks don't know to shop their utility rate. They're under contract, contract runs out, so they're paying a higher rate. And so we have the computer, we have the telephone, and we have the time, as well as somebody who's willing to help.

SPEAKER_01 27:26

Well, you know, we've talked about the food pantry a little bit, um, and you've mentioned rent assistance, which is, you know, I don't know if other charities do that at all or not. I haven't heard a whole lot about that, but I know you guys have uh some help. You help people with that who are about to get evicted, and you also have some housing, uh, and I want to say maybe 40, 40 plus houses that you guys have. Tell us about how, you know, the housing, the rent assistant, how that helps in a way completely different from the food pantry.

SPEAKER_00 27:58

Yeah. So the the rent assistance, which is separate from our housing, is a service that's offered at PAF, where if you are subject to an eviction and you've had an unexpected circumstance that caused you to not be able to pay your rent this month.

SPEAKER_01 28:14

Like they lost their job.

SPEAKER_00 28:15

They lost their job, they had a car repair, they had a medical issue, and they lost X number of dollars from work, then PATH is able to step in and stand in that gap for folks. Now, can we do that for everybody? Absolutely not. We have about eight hundred people a month that ask us for rent assistance. And so they go through a pretty stringent screening to something. Right.

SPEAKER_01 28:38

I mean, you you have to.

SPEAKER_00 28:39

Yeah, so it all starts with do you have an eviction notice? Do you have a court-ordered eviction notice? And even at that, we have more people who have court-ordered eviction notices than we have the ability to help. What we don't want to do is to pay rent for somebody who's just gonna get evicted next month.

unknown 28:56

Right.

SPEAKER_00 28:58

If they're never going to be able to budget their money because they're living in a place that's too expensive, then that's not where our rent dollars are gonna go. And those are hard conversations that our caseworkers have to have. When somebody comes in who's lost their job and they have zero income, you're not gonna qualify for paths or rent assistance because you have no we have no reason to think that you're gonna have income next to the body.

SPEAKER_01 29:19

It would just be a wasted month in a way. You hate to say it's a hard conversation. Because it's just there's no other way around what you guys are doing. Because, you know, path to me, you know, it's interesting. The logo, the name, what it stands for. People attempting to help. Then you see a path. It seems like the goal of your organization is to try to give people a path back to independence in some way.

SPEAKER_00 29:46

Aaron Powell Well, sure. I mean, we don't want to be the savior, right? We just want to give them the opportunity to save themselves.

SPEAKER_01 29:53

Aaron Powell And you can't be, really. Right? I mean, talk about overwhelming. I mean, uh the need and what your capabilities are, just to begin with, has to be, you know, uh a little bit depressing at times, a little bit sad. I mean, all those things, right?

SPEAKER_00 30:11

I mean, it is all of those things. You know, our receptionist, her name is Tamika. She answers every single phone call that comes to Path.

SPEAKER_01 30:18

That's a tough job.

SPEAKER_00 30:19

And that is the hardest job at Path. And so I I make a point to go down and relieve Tamika for a couple hours and just let her go to Bergfield Park and walk around in the sunshine, you know, or just go get an ice cream or a coffee, just because I know what a hard job that is. But it's so important that we have someone who is kind, like she is, that answers our phone because there's so many people in there that at the end of their rope, and she's having to tell them, no, we don't have assistance available for that, or we've run out of utility assistance money or whatever that may be. And she does that with a very gentle touch, and that takes a pretty special person.

SPEAKER_01 30:56

Well, I think what people are hearing, if they're listening, is that between the caseworkers and the people that you choose to interact with, the people that are coming in, is that you know, those people's mental health and and and you know, respect for them is really at the forefront of how you're trying to carry out whatever you can do for them.

SPEAKER_00 31:17

Well, sure. And you know, and it's as the executive director, it's not just the folks that are walking through our door. I mean, it's my staff, like d Daniela or Carol or Damon, those people who hear the hard stories from our families, or Tamika or Noah or Aracelli who hear the hard stories for rent assistance. My my job is to take care of them because you see what we've done at Path is we've gathered a group of 15 people who are not just helping as their career, but they're the helpers in their family or in their church or in their neighborhood, and they help all day long. That's just part of who they are. And so my job is to figure out how I can make their job easier, how can I help them by providing mental health resources to them, support to them, days off so they can go and enjoy the sunshine or go fishing out on Lake Palestine or whatever it is that brings them joy. I feel like that's my job. And so while they're taking care of all of these Texas, I have the pleasure to be able to take care of them.

SPEAKER_01 32:23

Yeah, you know, I don't think people often uh think enough about what it must be like to be a person uh that's on your staff there, that you know, all week long, the only thing that they hear, primarily, is a sad story, something that they may can help with, something that they can't help with, uh, and other human beings that are really vulnerable and hurting, and and that would seem to add up uh when you mention mental health. It might be tough to exist in that kind of job for for a long period of time.

SPEAKER_00 33:00

It's certainly something that I'm very aware of as an executive director that burnout is a real thing, and and so we have to constantly be on top of making sure that our folks are okay. And I spend a lot of time with one-on-one conversations, team building exercises, some way to make this job, if you will, fun to a certain extent.

SPEAKER_01 33:21

I mean, that's a hard environment. But you have to do that.

SPEAKER_00 33:24

It's a hard environment to have fun in, but we celebrate wins together, you know? We've had twenty-seven families leave us out of our transitional housing program into home ownership. We celebrate wins as a staff because it wasn't just one person that helped that family get to that point. It was all of us along the way. And so the celebrations are pretty big. They're hard stories, but when there's a win, boy, you know it.

SPEAKER_01 33:48

Yeah, and it's it's like um you've heard before, if if not y'all, who? Yeah. Right? Who's gonna do it, right? I mean, and and the people that are listening, that's what, you know, I've gotten more involved in path over the years. Uh and and and I don't like the ugliness of it, you know, and everybody can play their role, I think, whether it's just you you donate, right? Because you guys rely heavily on donations from the public every year, do you not? Aaron Powell, Jr.

SPEAKER_00 34:16

Yes, we do. Absolutely. We try to make it as easy as possible.

SPEAKER_01 34:19

Aaron Powell But I mean, like what people need to know is that, yeah, the organization's been rolling along, but there's more people coming and it costs more, and we need more people to contribute in any way they can, right?

SPEAKER_00 34:32

Aaron Powell Sure. I I hear all the time, oh, Path is doing great because you're so big, everybody's donating to Path. Well, though they're not. I mean, you know, it it's hard work on our point part to tell our story to an audience that wants to come alongside us and support us. But we do that day in and day out, every single day, through events, in-kind drives, conversations, media events where I get to tell the story to another church or another community group. So always looking for a different place to tell the story because I think that once you do that, then people see the impact that you're making and they do want to come and be part of that.

SPEAKER_01 35:08

Aaron Powell Do people that are not necessarily volunteers, do they ever, out of curiosity, come down to Path, you know, uh as a potential donor just to see what is it that's going on down there?

SPEAKER_00 35:18

Aaron Powell Yeah, I certainly um after our Mardi Gras event, we had over 300 folks who donated to Path who'd never donated to Path before. And out of that, I have been giving tours to folks who said, you know, I've I donated to my friend who was on your Mardi Gras court, and I really want to come and learn more about your organization. And so I've been given tours left and right ever since February 17th.

SPEAKER_01 35:42

Aaron Ross Powell Well, and that's good because it you know, uh they might tell somebody. Sure. They might volunteer, donate, tell somebody who volunteers donates, right? I mean, that's what you're looking for.

SPEAKER_00 35:53

Yeah. I mean, we're not everybody's cup of tea. Maybe you come and you learn that you'd rather donate to an organization that helps animals. I I don't know. Well, I mean, but but it but they're all good.

SPEAKER_01 36:04

You're right, exactly.

SPEAKER_00 36:05

We want to tell our story so that folks can learn, is this the right fit for me?

SPEAKER_01 36:10

Yeah, you know, um I hate to say it like this, but I mean for me, human beings are a priority. Um you know, and and and that's not to say that there's not a lot of good things happening in other charities, but you know, I just think that um when you think about what people are going through and and you see it, because if you don't see it, you don't r have to think about it, right?

SPEAKER_00 36:36

That's exactly right.

SPEAKER_01 36:37

And I mean, you know, I had never been inside a path until uh a couple of weeks ago. And you know, you can't help but notice the people that are there and the look on their face and the you know, the vo they seem helpless, you know. I I don't seem helpless. I almost felt guilty walking in there feeling as confident and in control and in a good space. You know what I mean? Sure. I mean, it was almost like it was embarrassing for me to be walking through and everybody else is looking and you know, trying to meet a caseworker. Uh and it just kind of hit home how important it was to have you guys there doing that every week.

SPEAKER_00 37:21

You know, people come in and they're really vulnerable. And what what I've learned, and I walk through the waiting area, you know, ten times a day, and just noticing someone, touching their arm, saying hello to them, telling what a pretty blue dress they have on or whatever it may be, people just want to be seen. People just want to know that they're important to someone. And so it is really valuable to acknowledge people and to talk to them and let them know that you care about them.

SPEAKER_01 37:49

Yeah, because it's different from you know driving through a mobile food pantry where someone says, hello, and hands them a box of food and they drive off. I mean, there's really no chance for encouragement. Sure. Sure.

SPEAKER_00 38:02

I mean, you know, and and the more people I meet who come through our door, the more I realize they're just not that different from me. They want the same thing for their children that I want for the people. You know what? They want a roof over their head, they want a warm meal for their kids, and they want a good education for them. And and that's the same thing that I want for my kids. I've had different opportunities. But at the end of the day, we have so much more in common than we have that we're different of.

SPEAKER_01 38:29

Yeah, it's uh like I said, I don't like it. I don't like to see it, uh, just full disclosure, honestly, but you know, I know it's there. Um and so, you know, I would encourage anybody who listens to this who seems to to feel they're like me, that, you know, donating to PASS should be a priority. And I would say that, you know, if I didn't know you, if I heard, okay, this is what this organization. So I'm encouraging people to donate, either on a regular basis or at one of these fundraisers, because you have them throughout the year where people have an opportunity to be involved, don't you?

SPEAKER_00 39:05

Aaron Powell We do. We have fundraisers year-round, and they range from a nice lunch that we might have at Greenechers Crosswalk to a party that we have at Stanley's for Fat Tuesday and everything you can think of in between. Lots of opportunities to learn about our story and to come alongside us. Trevor Burrus, Jr.

SPEAKER_01 39:22

And you s and you seem pretty in tune with, you know, the base level needs of people. I mean, you have a fan drive in the summer, right? Where people that may not have uh AC or only have one windy unit in their home. I mean, most of us couldn't fathom that, but that's a reality for a lot of people in Smith County.

SPEAKER_00 39:43

Trevor Burrus, Jr. Very much so. Or they have an AC and they can't afford the bill that they know is going to come when they turn it on. Trevor Burrus, Jr.

SPEAKER_01 39:49

They only run it at certain periods of time. Exactly right. It's exactly right. Trevor Burrus, Jr. You know, and a lot of us, you know, could never see ourselves doing that, but a lot of people are doing that. Aaron Powell Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 39:58

More than you think, more than you would ever imagine.

SPEAKER_01 40:00

Aaron Powell You know, you have the diaper drive, because of course, you know, children and single mothers and even families with children. I mean, that's I mean, tell people how many diapers I mean could possibly I mean a baby uses.

SPEAKER_00 40:13

Aaron Powell Oh, my goodness gracious. Uh we have thousands and thousands of diapers that go out our door every single week for families who have a need because they can't use their SNAP benefits to purchase diapers. And the kiddos go through so many of them. And so it is a huge expense for a family.

SPEAKER_01 40:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 40:33

So we do have diaper drive during the the spring, the fan drive that's coming up in the summer. Then we have coats. You got coats for the code. We do coats for kids in October. There's always something. And then we roll straight from Coats for Kids into Super Bowl with a soup drive and then blankets that we give out in January. And you know, there's always something going on because there's, you know, we want to give everybody the opportunity to be part of our team, if you will. And so maybe everybody can't give us a thousand dollar check, but you might be able to go and buy an extra couple of cans of soup. And so we want you to be part of that as well. We have pantry drives that go on four or five times a year where all you have to do is go into Walmart, pick up a couple of things for yourself, a couple of things from Path, drop it in the basket when you walk out the door, and we're good to go.

SPEAKER_01 41:15

And bring it to the location at Path.

SPEAKER_00 41:18

No, but typically we work with Walmart, either the one on South Broadway or the one on Troop Highway, and there'll be baskets in front of Walmart with a Path volunteer there.

SPEAKER_01 41:26

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 41:26

They'll see they'll say Path on it. You can either click on the QR code to donate, or you can go and do your shopping and pick a coup up a couple of extra things, drop it in the basket on your way out the door. So we make it really easy for you. You don't have to go anywhere.

SPEAKER_01 41:40

And so the QR code would be you you could actually donate money as you were going out if you decided, you know, you didn't want to buy a bunch of stuff and put it in the basket. Trevor Burrus, Jr.

SPEAKER_00 41:50

Well, because quite honestly, our our dollars that we spend, we can buy those items cheaper than you can whenever you go in.

SPEAKER_01 41:56

And you can buy them at different times when you need them and possibly when there's an opportunity at an even cheaper price to buy, right? That's exactly right. And but what's so good about Path, in in addition to a lot of things, is that, you know, your blanket, uh, your coats for kids, these are these are all timed with the reality of the seasons and the need, right? Sure.

SPEAKER_00 42:21

That's exactly right. Trevor Burrus, Jr.

SPEAKER_01 42:22

And I I don't know if these have evolved over time or whether or not these were just, you know, put in place early on, but I would imagine these were thought up later and kind of evolved.

SPEAKER_00 42:32

Aaron Powell So Coats for Kids has been around for almost as long as Path has, so has the Super Bowl soup drive, a canned food drive. But things have evolved and changed over time as needed. But most of these in-kind donation drives have been around for a pretty good while because they just make sense, right? Aaron Ross Powell, Jr.

SPEAKER_01 42:49

Yeah, I mean they do make sense. Like you know, you feel bad for people if you think about them and you say, man, it sure is hot outside. I mean, I I'd hate to be somebody who didn't have a fan. I mean, it's really that simple, right? If you care and think and if as far as the fan drive, I mean, is it an another thing where you have to buy a fan and carry it somewhere, or do you just donate?

SPEAKER_00 43:11

Yeah, the easiest way is to donate monetarily through our website at pathhelps.org because we can purchase the fans cheaper than you can. And so we typically order those fans in a pallet or seven or eight pallets of fans so that we get a whole bunch of them all at one time, and then um we just ask for donations to help us pay that bill.

SPEAKER_01 43:32

You know, I've count one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, seven looks like, you know, donation drives throughout the year. If I is that all of them? That's right. What would you say the percentage, you know, that it that represents of, you know, past you know, fiscal year as far as the need that you have to address?

SPEAKER_00 43:52

Sure. So we we end up receiving and distributing about a million dollars worth of in-kind donations every year.

SPEAKER_01 44:00

Trevor Burrus, Jr.: In kind means to the person listening what?

SPEAKER_00 44:03

The in kind means that you went and bought a fan at Walmart and dropped it off at Path and you just gave that to us. So that is your donation, your in-kind donation.

SPEAKER_01 44:12

And I know that you also have people that donate, you know, their labor for maintenance on some of your homes. That's right. If people have that skill. Sure.

SPEAKER_00 44:21

We have lots of Sunday school classes or business groups that'll come out and do a team building exercise and help on one of our properties of the 45 properties that we own that are part of our transitional housing program. Trevor Burrus, Jr.

SPEAKER_01 44:32

Because you got to keep them up.

SPEAKER_00 44:33

We do have to keep them up. Those are not subsidized housing. Those are leased out. These families sign a lease, they pay rent, they pay their utilities just like anybody else does. It's just that the rent that they're paying happens to be at a very affordable rate.

SPEAKER_01 44:46

Trevor Burrus Right. It's a lot less.

SPEAKER_00 44:49

Yeah. And so yeah, we've got a lot of work that needs to be done, and we depend on our volunteers to help us with that.

SPEAKER_01 44:55

I'm guessing Mardi Gras is the biggest one.

SPEAKER_00 44:59

Well, let me see. Path Week is actually the biggest revenue generating.

SPEAKER_01 45:05

Okay. Because uh I've been to a Path Week, and that's a little that's a uh you know, that's a luncheon that people come to that you know are dedicated, they support Path and and they understand that that is a fundraiser. Right.

SPEAKER_00 45:19

Correct. That's exactly right. And they they also bring their friend who may not know about Path to that to introduce them because we typically will tell about Path with a video or maybe some a special special speaker who's gonna talk about that. Or last year, we did kind of a walk down memory lane with the 40-year history of Path. And so it's an opportunity for you to share Path with someone that with someone else without you having to be the one to tell them everything about it.

SPEAKER_01 45:47

Yeah. Uh Marcia Garrett drugged me to the path thing last year.

SPEAKER_00 45:50

There you go.

SPEAKER_01 45:52

I had never been. Yeah. You know? Yeah. Uh you know, I always say I don't like banquets, I don't like to go, blah, blah, blah. But, you know, I enjoyed it. Uh, and uh you it does motivate people to donate. I I can just I mean, i i you can't watch all that and think that there's not anything that you can do, whether it's small or large, right?

SPEAKER_00 46:17

That's right. There's a place for everybody to pitch in. And you know, one of my favorite ones about last year was when I was asking people if you've ever volunteered or donated or served on the board, or you know, all the things, would you stand up and looked around, I'm like, well, who's still still sitting down in this room? Maybe that'll motivate them to be able to stand up next year. So I mean, I think everybody in the room was standing up. So when you see that many people come together for one cause, it's really exciting.

SPEAKER_01 46:50

You know, I did a uh a show with Nick Pentis uh about Stanley's his life. And you know, there's a certain feeling of community that I feel at Stanley's with the people who love Stanleys. Do you you know what I'm saying?

SPEAKER_00 47:05

I know exactly what you're saying. I'm one of those people.

SPEAKER_01 47:08

But I also feel uniquely or strangely that there's the same feeling around the people that are a part of Path and that support Path and that they know you support Path. Like if they know I support Path, it feels like it's a there's a camaraderie there because I think people understand the magnitude of what's going on.

SPEAKER_00 47:29

Aaron Ross Powell Yeah. I mean they're part of the solution, right? And and you want to help in whatever way you can. Some people can't help monetarily, but they can help with their volunteer hours. Maybe they've got extra time on their hand, and all of those things are valuable and all of those things are very needed.

SPEAKER_01 47:47

Volunteers. Do you all have trouble getting or having enough volunteers, or is that something where people are just constantly offering to volunteer?

SPEAKER_00 47:55

We always need volunteers. We have a really strong base of volunteers that help us out on a regular basis. We have 64 shifts of volunteers that we need every single week to keep our doors open. Now we don't have 64 individual people that feel those shifts. We wish we did.

SPEAKER_01 48:15

Okay, so you're telling us.

SPEAKER_00 48:17

I'm telling you that we need more volunteers because people go on vacations in the summer, they're grandparents and they keep their grandkids because their kids go on vacation. I mean, you know, all the things. Somebody gets sick. Yeah. And so we always need a bench of volunteers that we can pull into duty, either in the food pantry or in casework or in our properties.

SPEAKER_01 48:38

Aaron Powell I mean, are these relatively easy jobs to learn, like as a volunteer? Like if you were going to come in and I was going to work the food pantry, you know, one day a week or whatever, I'd kind of learn the process. Aaron Powell Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 48:51

Food pantry is a we've got a couple of different roles in the food pantry. They're all very easy, whether you are forward-facing where you want to interact with the public, or maybe you just want to do stocking. And so you're working in the back room or you're doing carry-out and you want to chat with people in the parking lot. We've got room for everybody.

SPEAKER_01 49:06

Aaron Powell And that's interesting you mentioned that. I never thought of that, that some people might not necessarily want to interact with the public. But they want to help. They want to help.

SPEAKER_00 49:16

They want to help, but it's not comfortable to them to interact with the public. And there are other people who they're not going to work on a computer. They don't want to do data entry. They don't want to do any of that, but they really want to talk to people like Marcia Garrett, for example. I mean, she is a relationship person. We have lots of people like that who want to interact with the folks that are coming to see us.

SPEAKER_01 49:35

Yeah, I think I'd be, you know, man of the people like that I am. I think I'd be, I wouldn't be in the back. I'd be meeting people. I like to talk to people just like this podcast and learn back, hey, what's going on? You know, I think it'd be depressing at some point when I realized that I I couldn't help that much. But um, you know, hats off to you guys for trying so hard.

SPEAKER_00 49:54

Aaron Powell Well, we we've got a spot for you, so come on down. Our food pantry is always looking for more volunteers.

SPEAKER_01 49:58

Aaron Powell, I've thought that so many times, honestly, that uh as fortunate as I am, that I should volunteer in addition to donating. Uh I don't know what that would look like or how I would schedule that, but um, you know, or even if y'all would even uh if I could be vetted to be allowed to be in the building.

SPEAKER_00 50:17

But I'm sure you could pass a background check, you'd be all right.

SPEAKER_01 50:21

Uh but just the helping part would be, you know, gratifying, I think.

SPEAKER_00 50:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 50:27

I'm sure it is for all of you guys when you get past, you know, the the depressive nature of some of it.

SPEAKER_00 50:33

Aaron Powell, but you're there to bring joy. And so that that's what we do because we can't we can't solve all those problems, but but we can certainly be friendly and we can laugh and we can bring joy to their day just for a minute.

SPEAKER_01 50:47

You know, the reception you mentioned, uh was it Tamika?

SPEAKER_00 50:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 50:52

I mean, there's gotta be more than one of her, right?

SPEAKER_00 50:55

There's only one Tamika.

SPEAKER_01 50:56

I know, but there's got to be more than one receptionist, I would think. Aaron Ross Powell There's one receptionist. I mean, like what if she's out?

SPEAKER_00 51:01

Aaron Ross Powell Well then someone fills in. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 51:03

I was gonna say surely somebody can get in there.

SPEAKER_00 51:06

Yeah, but if if you call path typically from eight to six Monday through Thursday, Tamika is who you talk to.

SPEAKER_01 51:13

Um The building on Front Street. Um I don't know uh everybody should notice it. If they drive by, it's a white art deco building that's been there since when 1942.

SPEAKER_00 51:26

It started as a hospital. Um that's when it opened.

SPEAKER_01 51:31

You guys have occupied that space as Path since when?

SPEAKER_00 51:34

Since don't get me lying, Chad. I don't know the very I don't know the year the ribbon cutting was done, but I've seen that picture of Nancy Lamar. But Path has been in that building for over 25 years.

SPEAKER_01 51:45

Okay. And so that building has it expanded any since you initially went in there?

SPEAKER_00 51:50

One time it has. So it about twenty plus years ago, twenty-two years ago, Path went underwent a capital campaign. And at the time, Path was serving about ninety-five families a day whenever they expanded. They made a few more office spaces, they expanded the pantry to better meet the needs of the folks who were coming through. They also added an elevator and removed some ramps that the hospital used, just making it more accessible. And so then fast forward to where we are now, and we're serving 150 families a day out of the same space. And so you can imagine the challenges that that would present with logistics and accessibility and storage. Storage is huge.

SPEAKER_01 52:39

Yeah, and Path, you know, is somewhat limited by, you know, the neighbors that are around you, or, you know, what houses can you buy to use or buildings, right? I mean, you you've been on Front Street and you guys, I think, have acquired a couple of homes, um, which you the plans are for future expansion. Aaron Powell Sure.

SPEAKER_00 52:59

Our footprint has gotten a little bit bigger where we are. We're we're maxed out because we're we need more parking spaces because we've got more folks that are coming and you know, we don't want them to have to parallel park halfway down Chiltern or halfway down Bull Bowdark and manage to get to us because people come and they have walkers or they've got a stroller or they've got a couple of kids with them or they don't get around so good. So we want to make it as easy as possible to get into us. And that is a big challenge.

SPEAKER_01 53:26

Aaron Powell But the storage, I mean, when I was there, I mean, I think there was a box truck that was just keeping items that y'all use in the box truck because there was nowhere else to put it in the building.

SPEAKER_00 53:38

Aaron Powell, there isn't anywhere else to put it in the building. We are completely maxed out. So we have a very small pantry that and I'm gonna go back to my 150 families a day that come through there. And so because the pantry is so small, you constantly have a group of people who are restocking the shelves in our pantry at the same time that people are trying to shop in our pantry. And if you've ever been to Walmart or Brookshers, whenever they've got those big carts in the aisle and you can't get around, that's what it looks like in the Path Pantry. It's very difficult for folks to shop and restock at the same time. And we have to restock the shelves because our pantry area is so small that it won't hold as much as we need to get through it in one day.

SPEAKER_01 54:22

Yeah, I saw I saw that firsthand. Um this kind of leads us to Path is growing to the point where something has to be done, right? That's correct. Um and you know, that involves a capital campaign generally for nonprofits, right? Yes. And you guys have uh I know y'all put a lot of thought in this and uh researched this and worked on this for quite a while, and you don't plan to leave the existing area and go buy something else, right?

SPEAKER_00 54:51

No, Path is in a great location when it comes to a transportation route. We're close to where folks are who need us, right in the middle of things. We like where we are because we're easy to get to. The problem is we just cannot store the goods that we need for our pantry if we enlarge our pantry. We don't have anywhere for our storage room to go. So that that's the primary concern for us is to be able to store more items in one space in a warehouse, if you will.

SPEAKER_01 55:24

We need to build a warehouse.

SPEAKER_00 55:25

Yeah, we got to build a warehouse.

SPEAKER_01 55:26

I mean, it's that simple.

SPEAKER_00 55:27

We can't like dance around it any longer because No, we we don't have any refrigerated space or freezer space beyond the chest freezer that you would have in your garage at home. So you know, we have ten of those. But what we need is think about that.

SPEAKER_01 55:40

You have ten of those box freezers.

SPEAKER_00 55:42

That's exactly right.

SPEAKER_01 55:43

And that's the basis for the uh frozen food that uh Matt is able to give out.

SPEAKER_00 55:48

That's exactly right. And so we're constantly having to restock them and go in the middle of the day to buy more meat to put back in because it's all been used because we cannot keep enough on site to get us through the week. And so we're constantly having to transport more to us. So what our goal is is to be able to buy in bulk.

SPEAKER_01 56:12

Which is cheaper. Which is cheaper and you get more of it.

SPEAKER_00 56:14

And you get more of it. The food bank has the ability for us to get a whole pallet of broccoli or a whole pallet of carrots that we can't take now. Right even if we have nowhere for the for them to go in a refrigerated space.

SPEAKER_01 56:27

Aaron Powell That's a point we ought to make. Even if the food bank said, Here, I'm going to give you an entire pallet of broccoli for free, you would say to them, in our current condition, I can't take it.

SPEAKER_00 56:41

That's exactly. And that's what happens every single time we go to the food bank because they do have those vegetables palletized available for us to take at no charge. But we can't take them. All we can take are the broken pallets that have fallen, and we can take some of the things off of those broken pallets to put in our vegetable section at Path. But when this warehouse is built and it has refrigerated storage, then we're going to be able to improve the quality of food that is going out through our food pantry.

SPEAKER_01 57:11

Yeah, I mean, I think, you know, I'm not making a comment about other nonprofits when I say this, but some move, build bigger and nicer places, but you know, Path seems to be they have a project to address a need that allows them to serve more people, which we are having more people show up each and every week. Yep. Um this rendition here uh for people who are looking, this this represents the plan, does it not?

SPEAKER_00 57:38

Aaron Powell It does. It's one of the earlier sketches of the plan. What you can see on the left is the food warehouse with the facade that matches our main building. It's a really cool building, Art Deco. I love that.

SPEAKER_01 57:50

Aaron Powell It just blends in. You're not putting something that's an eyesore or dramatically different in the neighborhood.

SPEAKER_00 57:56

Aaron Powell Sure. One of the things that's different from this to where we are now is that that facade is going to wrap all the way around the warehouse. And so it's not going to look the like a warehouse and just a facade right there in the front. So then you'll be we'll be able to access that with a dock for our truck to back into so that our product is not getting wet in the rain, it's not sitting in the heat. We're able to back directly into our warehouse and offload it. So we're treating our volunteers and our staff better.

SPEAKER_01 58:23

And you this facility, for those that really don't know, sits on Front Street between Bowdark and Chilton. Correct. The two homes that uh Path has purchased uh are set for demolition to lay the groundwork for this this expansion.

SPEAKER_00 58:38

Aaron Ross Powell That is right. There are two structures currently, one that faces Front Street, one that faces Bowdark, that are scheduled for demo. They are in unusable condition right now for our needs.

SPEAKER_01 58:53

Aaron Powell Right. I mean they're they're houses that are in such disrepair uh that they couldn't safely function as a part of past organization.

SPEAKER_00 59:03

Correct. Correct. We we need warehouse storage and their their houses.

SPEAKER_01 59:08

And you know, this is uh I don't know if this is an accurate, up-to-date rendition, but this is a rendition that uh that I got from you that expands the park and you can see the warehouse uh in the in the farm.

SPEAKER_00 59:21

That's exactly right. So you'll see the covered area that folks will be able to pull under when they're dropping off things that they they donate to us because we have got a lot of church groups, a lot of individuals who will come and bring us either grocery bags or boxes of canned goods that they've collected through a drive or blankets or fans or whatever.

SPEAKER_01 59:38

Aaron Powell Will they be able to continue driving and go straight out to Bodark?

SPEAKER_00 59:42

They'll be able to go straight out to Bodark. So we'll continue to have two-way traffic that go all the way from Chilton to Bowdark.

SPEAKER_01 59:48

Aaron Ross Powell Because I mean now if somebody comes by there to drop something off, it seems like they'd have to get out of the car and come in or meet somebody, right?

SPEAKER_00 59:55

I mean, yeah, it's a little tricky now. And if it's raining or inclement weather, then it's not very pleasant.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:01

Um All right, let's go to the next. Let's circle, let's circle the facility.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:05

You know, one of the things that you can see really good from this, Chad, is that right now as it stands, when folks wait at our front door for us to open in the mornings and they they're the first ones that got there, so they want to be the first ones in line, right? Well, we don't have any covered space for them to wait on. So what we've done with this is create a large covered area where the line in the mornings, if there's a line to get in, which there is almost every day, I anticipate that this isn't going to change anything. Is that the covered part then that's the covered part that they'll be able to um wait under without getting whipped?

SPEAKER_01 1:00:39

Yeah, because you know, uh, if you went to the path luncheon, or you can imagine it takes a lot of energy for people to plan and get to path just to ask for some help. Well, sure. Right. I mean, you know, some people don't have a car.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:56

Right.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:56

Like you said, it's raining.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:58

Some people have two little kids with them in a stroller or or some people don't get around very good because they're very slow, because their back hurts and their hips hurt and their knees hurt. Speaking from experience.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:09

Yeah, I mean, we take for granted so much that if you I think if I challenged anybody to go sit uh in the path waiting room for just four hours, I think you would see things that would dramatically change your, you know, your thoughts about, you know, the need that exists that's not often seen.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:28

Aaron Powell Yeah, that's exactly right. I mean, I I would welcome anyone listening if they're interested in a tour or if they're just interested in visiting and learning more about path. I'd I'd love to visit with them.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:39

You know, I I would just like to get people more energized about Path. And, you know, it's not uh it's not a slight, it's not about other charities. It's simply about the volume of help to the most voluminous number of people on a weekly basis uh that y'all deliver. And I just can't think of another charity that helps as many people, you know, during the course of a year.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:06

It's the way that we help them too, Chad. I mean, I think that it's really important to stress that this is we're not just handing a box of food. People go to our pantry and they shop just like you would if you went to Walmart.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:18

Your quality volume.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:19

Absolutely. Right.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:19

I mean, that's what that's what we're really saying. We're saying that instead of just voluminously or with volume helping people, there's a human touch to it that's really intentional and a part of the mission of path is what I hear you saying.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:33

Very much so. And that that leading back to the capital campaign that's so important. As it stands right now, the traffic flow inside our building is not conducive to a good s a good feeling when you're walking through because you're you're having to folks who are coming in to see a caseworker when they're leaving, they're all crossing patterns with each other. They're stairs, they can't get around very easily. It gets very crowded with 150 families a day. Sometimes there are no seats available in our waiting area. So, in addition to building a warehouse, we are also redesigning the interior of the main floor of our building to make it one that is easier to get around in, that is more private and safer for the folks who are coming through. For example, if you go into a doctor's office today, you go into reception and then you get buzzed to go back into the offices. And then when you leave the offices, you don't typically come back out and cross paths, you go out a different door. So we're rerouted. So we're rerouting how folks come. So they come in, they check in, they get to see a casework, and then they're rerouted to the pantry. So there's not as much back and forth and crossover of folks.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:50

Well, people need to understand uh as we ask them to uh consider committing to the capital campaign that this is well thought out. This is a time to redesign the the usable spaces at the time the warehouse has to be built.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:04

Exactly right.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:04

It's all done at once instead of you know piecemealing from here on out.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:08

Aaron Powell Sure. And the building built in 1942 has got some issues that need to be corrected. We have a significant water problem on the exterior of our building in that every time it rains, we have to put dams up or the water will come in our building and get into our elevator shaft. And so there is some significant work that needs to be done just to protect the integrity of the building.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:31

Aaron Powell But I mean, past been there, you know, using what they have uh uh until we get something, you know, different.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:38

Aaron Powell Sure. And so it it's my job to tell that story and let people know, you know, this is no dog and pony show. I'm gonna show you the good stuff, I'm gonna show you the bad stuff too. I want you to see it all because we need your help. We want you to come alongside us.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:50

Aaron Powell Yeah, I mean, there there's no secret here. Um the capital campaign uh is going to start at some point in the future, relatively soon, as I understand it, right? Trevor Burrus, Jr.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:01

We've we've been doing a lot of groundwork. I've never been involved in a capital campaign before and I've learned a lot. But we've been doing a lot of groundwork and research since 2021.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:10

And uh from what I understand about the capital campaign, we need some we need some large-size donors to be a part of this, right? We do. We want everybody to contribute and feel a part of what's about to happen when this gets built and people see how many people are, you know, helped in a better way, but we do need some large donations.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:30

Aaron Powell Yep, that's exactly right. There is a place for everyone, but certainly starting with those folks who want to come along with a large donation, we're gonna have all kinds of opportunities for you to be part of that process. We'd love to have you be part of it.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:45

You know, this is a perfect time for the for the Bible, which uh, you know, uh I'm not usually thought of as a preacher, but to much who is given, much is expected, right? I mean, is that I mean that seems that's what hits. Me when I think about Path. It's like, you know, how could I possibly not donate to Path if I lived in Tyler and they serve Tyler and I felt like I was fortunate. And so, you know, I hope people either are moved, feel bad, or educated or whatever it takes to help them get on board with this capital campaign.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:23

Don't you think I hope that people can see themselves as being part of the solution. Maybe they don't have time to volunteer. Maybe they're not going to get involved in that manner, but maybe they do want to write a big check so that we can continue to serve families in a better way here in East Texas. No, that's not true.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:48

And what I mean by that is when people listen, you know, um the same people that are dedicated each year to keeping path going, right? The capital campaign has to stand alone as a separate donation, right? Because we can't go all in on the capital campaign and the operating expenses disappear.

SPEAKER_00 1:07:07

Aaron Powell That's right. I mean the services that we offer are going to continue to go on while at the same time the capital campaign is going on. So we've got to be able to continue funding how we normally operate and the services that we provide for families. And so we're asking in addition that folks come alongside and see the improvements that we need to make, that we have to make make to be able to continue functioning in this way for the next 20 years and to be part of that. So yes, it's it's I understand exactly what you're saying. And it's a concern. I mean, you know, you can anytime you you have a capital campaign that's gonna be kicking off towards the end of the year, you think, wait a minute, the end of the year, that's when a lot of my donations are gonna come when people are, you know, trying to finish up December. And so I certainly don't want them to give to the capital campaign and not let us go on with our operations like we normally do, because those 150 people every day are still gonna be coming. They don't care whether we're building a warehouse, they probably don't even know that we're building a warehouse. They just are coming today because they have a need right now. We have to be able to continue meeting that need.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:09

Aaron Powell And they know, you know, when they show up that they're gonna be talked to and helped to some degree, and so they're gonna keep coming back if they don't have anywhere else to go.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:17

That's right.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:18

Um some of the planning, um, I would think, and I think it's true, but I don't know for sure, that there are, you know, like-minded people in construction and otherwise that are helping with this project to keep this thing uh about as affordable as can be with, you know, the goodwill and the good hearts of people involved in that part. Uh is that happening at all?

SPEAKER_00 1:08:41

Sure, absolutely. We've got a group of people who know a lot more about that kind of thing than I do, that's for sure, who have worked and developed the plan that we have now. And so what we're seeing now are some folks who w say, this is my skill, this is my company. I'd like to donate my services to you. And so we have those in-kind donations coming in at the same time that we have financial donations that are coming in. And so that is something that much more educated people than me have put a lot of time and effort into this. So we're certainly doing it the right way.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:12

Aaron Powell, but the ultimate campaign, capital campaign ask, whatever that number is, uh you feel pretty solid that, you know, that's a that's a reasonable reasonable number. It's not something that you're over asking for, it's not something that, you know, is inefficient in the way that the building has been planned or the contractors that have been hired.

SPEAKER_00 1:09:33

Aaron Powell No extravagant things are gonna be taking place here with the Path Building. We just want to be able to serve families in a better way with quality atmosphere inside our building and be able to do that well with the refrigerated storage and the freezer storage that we're gonna have in the warehouse in a way that we can't do now.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:52

Aaron Ross Powell I mean, simply put, the capital campaign is this. Um Path doesn't have enough room anymore. Path needs a warehouse, including a refrigerated warehouse, so they can buy and accept free food and food at cheaper prices, so they can continue to give to people that keep increasing in numbers every year.

SPEAKER_00 1:10:11

Right. I mean uh in a nutshell, that's exactly it.

SPEAKER_01 1:10:15

This isn't about, you know, a fancy this or that. This is about bare bone need uh at this point. And so if people hear this, this show, and they, you know, they want a help path in any way, whether it be just a donation for operating expenses or or the building, how can they do that knowing where they're donating uh where the money is going? I mean, is there a way to tell on the website? Aaron Ross Powell, Jr.

SPEAKER_00 1:10:41

There is. If you'll go to our website at pathhelps.org, if something that you've heard today interests you and you would like to donate fan money, for example, there is a way to do that on our website. Designate it as fan money. And so there it's we make it as easy as possible to help us with that.

SPEAKER_01 1:11:00

Aaron Ross Powell For people who have uh, you know more resources, I mean they can every year uh donate something for diapers, donate something for fans. But is there also something that will be up that if someone said, Well, you know, I want to donate to the capital campaign, and I'm not a rich person, I don't have a lot of money, but I want to give a thousand, I want to give twenty five hundred, something, you know, sure something even less.

SPEAKER_00 1:11:25

Yeah. Yeah. So there is a designation. There's a section that says that it's specifically designated and it's open-ended. You can designate it for whatever you would like to. If that's capital campaign, if that's fans, if it's blankets, you just type that in there.

SPEAKER_01 1:11:38

Now I know we're going to, and we talked about this, we're going to need some, you know, several large donors, right? And and large donors are, you know, 50,000, 100,000 and up, right? Right. Um and so anybody who hears this, who, you know, they have a heart for what's been talked about, and and maybe nobody's ever reached out to them from Path. Maybe nobody, maybe you didn't even know anything about Path. Um, that kind of donor, um how would you suggest that kind of donor reach out to Path and and who would they reach out to?

SPEAKER_00 1:12:15

So reach out to me directly, and my information is also found on the website, email address, telephone number, it's all there. Reach out directly to me and tell me what you want to know more about. I'd love to bring you in and show you our situation firsthand. Give you that tour, the good, the bad, and the ugly.

SPEAKER_01 1:12:33

I mean, and that's your website is path.org, is it not?

SPEAKER_00 1:12:38

It's pathhelps. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 1:12:40

There's another path, so you don't want to get confused, right?

SPEAKER_00 1:12:42

Right. So this is pathhelps.org.

SPEAKER_01 1:12:45

Okay, so every I want everybody to pay attention to that because I know there's been other uh nonprofits in the past who have accidentally not gotten money that people didn't go to the right website.

SPEAKER_00 1:12:58

Right. Well, our our logo gives it away, pathhelps.org.

SPEAKER_01 1:13:02

All right. Andrea, you are um essential to this community. And I say that knowing you, but even if I didn't, I'd say the same thing. Uh I've learned a lot being around Path. Um I wanted to showcase you guys on the show. Uh I wanted people to know about the CowPook campaign, and thank you for doing what you do, and thank you for being here today.

SPEAKER_00 1:13:24

Thank you very much. We appreciate your support.

unknown 1:13:34

Um