NEW DIRECTIONS WITH KATHY JENKINS 6/23/26

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Tuesdays for Hope with New Directions right now on the Liz Callaway show with Nick Summers talk for the entire grand strand.

SPEAKER_01 0:08

All right, and joining us is the CEO, Kathy Jenkins, and we have somebody. Oh, you have to give it a little knock a little bit until we get both ears on there while she's talking. Can I keep talking, Kathy?

SPEAKER_00 0:22

Do we have both ears now?

SPEAKER_01 0:24

Yeah. You have to wiggle it. Okay, there you go. All right.

SPEAKER_00 0:27

So um I forgot where I am. Yes, I am Kathy Jenkins. You're gonna wiggle it.

SPEAKER_01 0:33

I am the Libby.

SPEAKER_00 0:37

CEO. Yeah. And I've been the CEO for 13 years. We are starting our 14th fiscal year on July 1st. And on December 31st, I am handing over the reins and retiring. So with um say it ain't so. Yeah, well, you know, I've said it quite a few times. But um so so we have really been working on um uh the leadership and how how do we structure? Do we need to do some restructuring? Um who do we have that's right for the the roles that are opening up as William moves up to take my position as the CEO? And um so today I have brought Danielle Walters who started as our family shelter case manager probably very soon after we acquired the family shelter. So um between 11 and 12 years that she's been um running and managing our family shelter. And then two years ago, we expanded her responsibilities to oversee the women's shelter as well. And uh so the women's shelter case manager has reported to her. And um with the new restructuring, we have just made Danielle our chief program officer for all the shelters.

SPEAKER_01 2:03

And it's a new position, right?

SPEAKER_00 2:04

Yes, it is.

SPEAKER_01 2:05

So how did you create this new position and what is the job description?

SPEAKER_00 2:10

Well, Danielle, um Danielle is gonna talk about that. Of course, the way we created it is we looked at everybody's strengths and determined that the the best person to take over William's role as chief operating officer was John Myers. And with that, um who is best suited to manage our programs? Because we needed to get the program piece um which John has handled at the men's shelter for quite a few years. Um we needed to get that off of his plate, and um and so we developed this role as uh chief program officer, and we we felt like there is nobody in this organization better prepared, better suited to take on this role than Danielle Walters. So I brought her today to talk about it.

SPEAKER_01 3:07

Oh, before we go on and and talk to Danielle Walters, I just did you mention who would be CEO? Does that go to William?

SPEAKER_00 3:14

CEO will be William House.

SPEAKER_01 3:16

Okay, so he's executive director.

SPEAKER_00 3:17

Yeah. January 1st, um they uh the board named him as executive director to work with me and be prepared to completely take over by the end of the year. So William and I have been working closely together. We've been working on the budgeting together, all of the things that that um that have solely been on my plate for a number of years. And um uh so this is how everything is evolving. We're everybody's very excited, I think. I think Danielle is excited and she's thrilled.

SPEAKER_01 3:55

All right, Danielle. Well, congratulations, Chief Program Officer. Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_00 4:00

CPO.

SPEAKER_01 4:01

Yes, CPO. That's it. Um now the thing is that if anybody has ever heard Danielle Walters on the show before, I always say, What is it about you? Everybody loves you. When I go up and do the yearly Compassion Through Fashion MCing position, uh the people giving testimony as to um how New Directions has helped them always says, I could have never done it without Danielle and Danielle this and Danielle that. I'm like, I gotta meet this woman. And um, she really is truly amazing. And now this promotion is a big deal.

SPEAKER_02 4:32

It is.

SPEAKER_01 4:33

So what is the role?

SPEAKER_02 4:34

So as a chief program officer, am I right there, right there? Okay. So I will basically be responsible for maintaining the integrity and the effectiveness of all the programs across all the shelters. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 4:47

Um so she's gonna make all the case managers as good as she is. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 4:51

Okay. So are you gonna put them through some kind of the new direct the Danielle Walters version of case management?

SPEAKER_02 4:58

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 4:59

Is there is there a a protocol that you follow that has made you so successful in this role as case manager?

SPEAKER_02 5:07

It has so over the years, it it's just been something I've kind of created on my own. As she mentioned, the family shelter at when they I actually started as an intern at a men's shelter even before.

SPEAKER_01 5:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 5:20

And then um when they acquired the family shelter, they brought me on as a staff member. And so uh essentially everything at the family shelter is something that I've kind of created, and I would love to get all of the case managers on the on on board with that.

SPEAKER_01 5:35

So will you put people through specific training and yes, okay?

SPEAKER_02 5:40

I do have I've got a lot of plans.

SPEAKER_01 5:42

What are some of the things that you look for in a case manager or what a case manager needs to do? What's the process, the intake process that you go through?

SPEAKER_02 5:52

Um as as far as our our staff members?

SPEAKER_01 5:55

No, as as you as a case manager. What do you want people to do uh as you go through the intake process of someone who's coming to the shelter for help?

SPEAKER_02 6:04

So I mean that that's gonna pretty much remain the same. We're gonna right now some of our shelters are a little bit a little bit different as far as the intake process. So we're gonna streamline that, make it all the same at all the shelters.

SPEAKER_01 6:16

Um what does that entail though? What what is that process?

SPEAKER_02 6:20

So they're coming in, they're sitting down with the case manager, we're doing a full assessment to determine what their needs are, um, you know, because everybody's needs are different, everybody's got different barriers. And we take all that information and we create a case plan.

SPEAKER_01 6:35

And what is it that, you know, we always hear, I always hear from people that are giving, you know, testament to what you have done in their lives. What is it that sets you apart? Why do they say, instead of saying I know they they thank New Directions as an entity, but they always say, if it wasn't for Danielle, I mean, what is it that you're doing? So do you think? Do you think uh how do you get through?

SPEAKER_02 6:59

Um I believe, and I'm not sure if I've mentioned this on the radio before, but I I do have some lived experience myself. I've had a case manager that literally changed my life, you know, saved me, kept me alive, all that good stuff. And so I've tried to kind of model what I do after this woman.

SPEAKER_01 7:16

So what is it? Um share you want to share that with us? Uh like what was it that she did to guide you?

SPEAKER_02 7:25

It that is a it's a very long story, very sad story, but uh essentially she got me back into high school. This was when I was in a teenager. She got me back into high school. Um she got me the services that I need for some traumas that I had dealt with.

SPEAKER_01 7:43

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 7:44

Um and so I was able to graduate with with their support, and then I was able to join the military. Wow. And yeah, and then got out. They paid for me to go to college. I ended up as an intern for New Directions, and here I am today.

SPEAKER_01 8:00

What was it? That's an amazing story. Is that written down somewhere, this story? In my head. I think we need to get that down. That's an amazing story of triumph and victory over circumstance.

SPEAKER_00 8:11

Absolutely, it's an amazing story, and and uh she didn't even tell me the story until several years ago. And um um and you know, you can see I I can tell you that one of the things uh Danielle never raises her voice. She is more consistent than maybe anybody I've ever met before. And people that come in, they know that she cares, they know that what she says she means. And therefore, she never has to raise her voice. One of the stories I'll never forget is we had a we had a problem with our swing set in the backyard, in the back of the and it was Friday night, it was six o'clock, and I said, I have looked all over the shelter, Danielle, for caution tape that we can wrap the swing set. We cannot allow any of the children on it until we get it fixed on Monday. She said, Oh, that's okay. I put a sign on my office telling him not to go on the swing set. There would be consequences. And I said, Really, Danielle? That's all you did. She said, Yes, Nanny. That's all I need to do. That's all I need to do. And that was true.

SPEAKER_01 9:33

Nobody touched that place.

SPEAKER_00 9:34

Uh nobody touched it.

SPEAKER_01 9:36

Nobody touched it. So I I I get I I would have a lot to learn from you because I am the loud person in the room.

SPEAKER_00 9:42

But um we never thought that.

SPEAKER_01 9:45

But Danielle, uh, and I get nowhere really, so that there is something to be said about um, you know, having that control. So you were talking about how you drew on on lived experience. Um the person that helped you, what was the part that helped that you felt you can trust her? Or it was a her? It was a her. Um trust her, especially after what you had been through, of people who were actually hurting you and betraying you. It's hard to trust someone when you're young. But you decided you could trust her, trust what she said. She meant what she said, she was gonna do what she said, and if you just trusted the process, you would see it through to the other side. What did she do that helped you submit to her process?

SPEAKER_02 10:35

So that was exactly right. I rem I will never forget the first day I got there. The first thing that they did was they brought me up to the storage room and they gave me a bottle of shampoo. And I still have that bottle of shampoo, not that same one, but that same brand. Um, because it it just brings me back and it reminds me that was the very first thing that she gave me, and every single thing, and I didn't trust her. I said, This woman is just she doesn't care about me. This is a job to her. That that's that's all it is. And I quickly realized everything that she told me that she would do for me as long as I'm willing to do the work too, we would we would be successful together. And everything that she said, she met.

SPEAKER_01 11:18

And I mean, look at what's happened. I mean, it's really incredible. You said you went back into high school, you joined the army, they paid for college, and then you were doing an internship with new directions, and now then you were working there helping all these people, and then now they created a program for you where you oversee all the different cases, uh the m case management of all the different shelters together because you were primarily in the women's shelter, and now you're the chief program officer. And how many years has that been? Um since I since you since you were helped as a teenager.

SPEAKER_02 11:51

Oh boy, I'm gonna show my age. Um It was uh 1999 to 2000. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 11:57

So that's that's really an amazing story of of rising, right, from what felt like the ashes, right? Yes, ma'am. Um and so have you seen other young people come through in the same condition you were in?

SPEAKER_02 12:13

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 12:14

You have? Yes. And what do you think um is the the the best thing best way someone can handle that if they recognize that someone is having that issue? You know, like what do you do to reach them and let them know they that they're in a safe landing spot?

SPEAKER_02 12:33

So for the for the longest time, um that was my I'm gonna air quote here, my dirty little secret. I didn't speak about it. That was just a horrible part of my life. And then I realized I can use my story to help other people. So now that that's something that that I I do. I do share with my clients, and it helps them trust me a little bit more because they know I'm not just this person who went to college and now I've got this job. No, I've been there. I've I've been at I've been all the way at the bottom. Yeah, and I've crawled my way out.

SPEAKER_01 13:05

I don't I'm not sure if I knew that story. I know we've talked many times, but I actually was listening to someone talk about trauma like that when you're young, and that you have to you never forget it, but you have to take it out of your body and sit it in a chair next to you. And you can use it, you can talk to it, you can whatever, deal with it when you want, but it doesn't have to be in you correct validating who you are. It's you are who you are.

SPEAKER_02 13:35

It's something that happened to me. Right. It didn't define me though.

SPEAKER_01 13:39

Yeah, and that that's probably pro part of your process, huh? Yeah. Um all right. Well, what what message do we want to send home today before we go? Chief Program Officer, Danielle Walters of New Directions.

SPEAKER_02 13:53

Chief Program Officer, I'm still getting used to that title. CPO. Yes. So I I want to work with all of our case managers, meet with them regularly, and get everyone on the kind of on the same page. And you know, everybody's everybody's story is different, everybody has a different history, but we need to make sure that we're on the same page and able to help our families in any way we can. And if I need to go and tell my story to somebody else's client, I'm absolutely willing to do that.

SPEAKER_01 14:22

Um Yeah, it's an amazing story to tell. Kathy, wrap it up. Helpnewdirections.org if you want to donate regularly or volunteer.

SPEAKER_00 14:30

Absolutely. And we are huge believers in peer support. Um, people who have lived experience are are much better able to um deal with people who are going through it now. Danielle is a prime example. We've got several peer support specialists on our on our team.

SPEAKER_01 14:46

All right, thank you so much. Go to helpnewdirections.org and we'll see you all tomorrow.