Podcast Episode 91: Ken Craft

Alison: Hi, Jean.

Jean: Hi there.

Alison: How are you doing?

Jean: I’m good. You look so cute today.

Alison: Thank you.

Jean: I love that top on you.

Alison: Thank you very, very much.

Jean: Well.

Alison: I’m looking at a picture of Alex right here.

Alison: Look at him. He’s so. Hello.

Jean: I love that photo of him and… Speaking of Alex. Alex is.

Alison: Excellent Segway.

Jean: Thank you. Thank you. Yes. Alex is the one that introduced me to the man that we are interviewing today, Ken Craft.

Alison: Ken is, um, really an amazing I’ve had the pleasure of meeting him a couple of times.

Jean: Right.

Alison: With you, an incredible man who started, Hope the Mission.

Jean: Right. And, uh, he, he has grown this company phenomenally. And his mission is to get people off the streets of Los Angeles.

Alison: Right. And his dedication and they they have quite a lot of locations now, I think. Right. And I’m excited to really talk with them because unhoused, the unhoused homeless people on the streets, it’s a real, it’s a real topic here in LA.

Jean: Yes.

Jean: And not not just here –  across the nation.

Alison: Across the nation. And I really, it’s so important to speak to someone who really is in the front lines of it. Right. And, and doing something to actually help. I feel like he, um, he, he, he’s not one of those people that just talks a good game.

Jean: Right? No, he, he is,  where the rubber meets the road.

Alison: Exactly. Yeah. I’m looking forward to it so much.

Jean: Same.

Alison: He’s great. Okay, so here’s Ken.

Ken : Good afternoon. How are you?

Jean: Hi, Ken.

Ken : How’s it going?

Jean: We’re just laughing here. We’re so happy to see you. And, uh, thanks for taking time out of your busy day.

Ken : Oh, no. Absolutely. It’s great to be with you.

Jean: You are a man on a mission.

Ken : Trying.

Alison:  I just would like to have you start by telling our listeners a little bit about what you do do.

Ken : So, you know, first of all, it’s a delight and pleasure to be with you. And, uh, you know, I have had the privilege of starting, uh, Hope the Mission – 17 years ago. And we started very humbly. There was a little church in Sun Valley, CA. I kept trying to figure out where can I start from? And, and so I asked this pastor, he was a Peruvian pastor and, and he really is community minded. I said, do you have any space for me? And, and he goes, if you have a heart to reach the community, then yes, come join me. And so he gave me a little office that he cleaned up. And then he said, you know, as a matter of fact, you can use our kitchen to cook your food and, and you can use our fellowship hall to serve people. And, and he says, and, and this, uh, you know, upstairs balcony, you can store your food here. And, and he just really opened up his heart and his facility to us. And so it was, uh, in August, uh, back in 2009 that we served our very first meal and we had 23 people show up and now we do 9000 meals every day, uh, without fail.

Ken : Um, we have 33 homeless shelters. We have 3000 people that live with us, uh, every day. And then we have another 11 projects that are currently in the pipeline and will be opening up those this year. Um, matter of fact, we’ll have, we have four projects that are opening in the next three months. One of them is a site that’s just for those suffering with severe mental health issues that are homeless on the streets. Another one is for transitional age youth, those who’ve timed out of foster care. And then we have a new tiny home facility in Van Nuys and another one in Sun Valley. So that’s just in the next three months. Uh, but over the next 12 months, we have these 11 projects. So, uh, we’ve been pretty aggressive in addressing the homeless crisis. And I think it’s important that we do that and that we don’t slow down or try to, um, normalize what should never be normal, uh, is that as human beings living on streets. And so that’s kind of been our, our, our impetus and our push, uh, to do all that we can to move the needle when it comes to homelessness.

Alison: That is, that’s so amazing that you had 23 people and now you do 9000 meals. Like, are you tired?

Ken : Well, fortunately, we have a really good team, right? You know, you’re only as good as the people you surround yourself with. Somebody once said, you can’t fly with the Eagles if you run with the turkeys. And so I try to fly with the Eagles and people that are like minded and have equal passion and a real sense of purpose. Um, but yeah, we have an amazing team. I mean, our chefs, as you can imagine, just the food procurement, the food preparation, and then the food delivery. We have to deliver these three hot meals every day to all 33 locations. And so just the logistics alone on food services is significant. And then you throw on top of that that every site has to have security. Every site has to have case management. Every site has to have housing, navigation, mental health services, substance use treatment and job training and job placement. And so when you put all of that together, um, it’s a very robust system because we know it’s not enough just to get somebody off the streets and put a roof over their head. We need a comprehensive program to address what are the underlying issues that led someone to being homeless? And what are those, and once we can stabilize people, then we can begin to address those issues to help them move out of homelessness and to be self-sustainable and to be self-reliant instead of dependent upon other systems. Now, of course, there are those that maybe because of a mental health break or a physical disability, that they just can’t do that. But that’s why there is a social safety net, and that’s why there’s Social Security with disability to try to help people like that. And so, um, I’ve learned a long time ago, there is no one size fits all. Everybody has a really unique story. And so we work with them to help address what are the specific issues that they need in order to rise above the station of poverty and homelessness and to actually being self-sufficient again.

Jean: Uh, you know, You’re reminding me of how much Alex was so inspired by what you did when he read about you many years ago in the newspaper and, and the work that you’re doing, Ken is, is so inspiring. So if someone was to, um, see, when someone sees a homeless person on the street, what would you do you think it’s give them the money –  um, like, what do you tell people to do?

Ken : You know, for the most part, I don’t necessarily recommend people just giving money. Um, but, you know, I also would never want to be emphatic about that because I think if there’s times that if you’re kind of listening to that inner voice within you, maybe there’s a, there’s a moment that could be the right thing to do. Um, but what I really try to do is encourage people to have, um, you know, kind of survival packs that they would keep in their car just with, you know, baggies that might have, you know, something simple to eat a bottled water, uh, and some basic nutrition that you can hand out to somebody, um, if they need that. And also it would have a card in it that would have, you know, say like, Hope the Missions phone number that they could call or they could call our access center so they could, you know, the key is they need to get in touch with somebody that can help them because, navigating the homeless labyrinth of services can be somewhat challenging in Los Angeles because LA is so big. And so you almost need a guide, you need someone to point you in the right direction and to connect you with the right people. And, you know, I was, uh, not long ago, I was driving and I needed to get gas and I pulled into a gas station on Nordhoff near the 405 freeway.

Ken : And as I was just fueling up, I looked to my right and there was I saw something in the bushes, and it was a gentleman who was there, and he wasn’t moving. And I thought, oh my gosh, is he is he even alive? And I went over and I said, excuse me, excuse me. And I, and I wrestled him a little bit. And, uh, you know, he said, yeah. And I said, are you okay? And he says, he goes, I just I’m. Can you give me some money? And I was it was just one of those moments. I knew that money wasn’t what he needed. He needed real help. And I don’t recommend this, but I said, listen, I want you to get in my car, let me take you somewhere. And I mean, he was just super filthy dirty. And I’m like, okay, my car is going to definitely smell after this, you know? And I took his his backpack, I put it in my trunk and I set him in my car and I drove him to our access center. And when I got him there, we got out of the car and we went up to, you know, the kind of the check in point. And I said, are you thirsty? And so I got him a bottle of water.

Ken : He downed it. I got him another bottle of water. He downed it and I said, are you hungry? And he goes, yeah. And so we got him a meal and he ate the meal. And then he ate a second meal. And I was like, okay, this guy was really in bad shape. And so we then gave him a shower and we gave him clean clothes. And I was chatting with him after and, you know, I introduced him to our case managers, our case managers call me. I had to leave a couple hours later. And, uh, he had, he had a severe mental health issue. He had wandered from the East Coast getting rides and buses and made his way all the way here. He didn’t even know where he was. And so we were able to then connect him back with his family and, uh, and send him back home. Um, you know, but that was just one of those moments where I had just felt in my heart that, you know, this wasn’t a money issue. This was a service issue. Uh, and so I as, as a leader, I try to be sensitive to that. Um, but, you know, I think, um, we have so much resources that we need to connect people to. Uh, and so whenever we can do that, I think that’s definitely to be preferred.

Alison: Are all your facilities full?

Ken : Yeah. They are. And that’s important to note because there seems to be this false narrative, at least as far as I’m concerned, that, oh, you know what? Yeah. The city, you know, the in the county, we, they’ve built all these homeless shelters, but, you know, nobody’s even in them. Uh, nothing could be further from the truth. Uh, as a matter of fact, there was someone at a couple people forward me an Instagram of this guy that over the weekend, he went outside of one of our shelters and he was trying to and he was recording and he had a lot of followers and he goes, I’m here and I’m going to expose fraud and abuse. And he goes, you know, hope the mission receives money from the state. And and I want you to look I’m looking through the fence right now. I don’t see any people in there? I don’t see any kids. And, uh. And then he tried to just barge in and our security stopped him. But he’s recording all of this, and he’s got all these people saying, oh, yeah, way to go. Way to discover, you know, fraud. And I responded to him, you know, online, you know, and I said, listen, my name is Ken Craft.

Ken : I said, I’m the founder and CEO. Here is my cell phone. And anyone in the in the chat could read it. And I said, call me. I will personally give you a tour of the site and you can video it. And I’ll explain to you where every dollar goes. And the reason you didn’t see kids on on the campus is because they’re in school when you were there and parents are working. And I said, not to mention our security will not let you just walk on because we have so many women on site that are fleeing domestic violence. And if we don’t know who you are, no, you’re not walking on site. And you know, and so, but you have these people that are trying to create these narratives that aren’t based on reality. And for us, we are at capacity at all 33 shelters every night, and the only way we would have an empty bed or two is if somebody moved out and we’re in the process of getting somebody in. But no, we do not have any empty beds.

Alison: Wow. So then when you see someone that’s unhoused, where where would they go?

Ken : Well, fortunately there is what’s known as there’s a connective system, the coordinated entry system, CES, where just we are connected with all the other service providers, just as they’re connected with us. And the central hub of that is Lhasa, which is the Los Angeles Housing Services Authority. So anybody, if they came to us and we didn’t have a bed, we’re going to contact Lhasa and say, who does have a bed within this coordinated entry system and then get them to go there. So, you know, because we might be the ones that have an empty bed because we’re in transition. Somebody has just found permanent housing or somebody left or someone was reunited with their family. And so, you know, on any given day, it’s very fluid and dynamic, uh, when a bed becomes available. But if it’s not with us and we’ll work to make sure that we get it with somebody else.

Jean: Wow. Mhm. That’s fantastic.

Ken : Yeah.

Jean: So can you have a partner?

Ken : Yes.

Jean: Right. Yeah. Talk. Just share with our listeners how you met Rowan and what you guys do that’s so out of the norm in your in your fundraising strategy.

Ken : Well, there’s, you know, when it comes to nonprofits, there’s funding and fundraising and they’re very different, right? You know, funding could be contracts with the city or the state or the county. Uh, funding, uh, you know, comes in many different forms, but fundraising is actually trying to raise those dollars. Uh, you know, we do have thrift stores, which I’m thankful for. We have social enterprise, and we’re reopening the original Pantry cafe in downtown LA, which is going to be a social enterprise where 100% of the profits are going to go back into homeless services. But early on, Rohan and I realized, you know, we needed to raise money. And so for a number of years, we just ran the LA marathon and asked people to sponsor us. Then Covid came and they shut down the marathon. So we said, well, let’s do something else. Let’s do something ourselves. So we said, you know, let’s run from our furthest shelter north, which was in Lancaster. And so we said, let’s run from Lancaster to LA, you know, and down to the valley. And so we did that, and we visited all of our shelters and we raised some money. It was good. And we said, well, what if we go further? And so we developed this campaign called, uh, you know, it was all about going from your lowest place in life, Death Valley. Okay. Running from Death Valley back to a place called Hope. All right.

Ken : And so we did this campaign. We ran from Death Valley all the way back to LA. And, you know, I think we raised about 300,000 on that. That was great. So let’s go a little further. So we said, you know, let’s go to Vegas. That’s even even further. So we went to Vegas. We jumped off the stratosphere. And it catches you at the bottom 108 stories. And then we run into the casino. We pushed in all these chips, and we looked at the camera and said, we are all in for housing. That was our all in campaign. And then we went out to the strip. We had a fire escort, a fire truck escort in front, a police escort behind us. We ran all the way down the strip, all the way down to the to the far south end, and they peeled off. Then we ran to Primm and then we ran across the dry lake bed and the Mojave Preserve all the way back to Los Angeles. And so that one, you know, we raised about $350,000. Oh, this is great. And we said, okay, let’s, uh, you know, we know that homelessness isn’t just an LA problem. It’s a national problem. So let’s do something that’s national and neither one of us are cyclists. Okay? I don’t even own. I didn’t even own a bicycle. But we said, let’s ride our bicycles from Santa Monica to Washington, D.C. and, uh, so we did.

Ken : And we rode, uh, you know, to Palm Springs and then to Phoenix and Albuquerque, Amarillo and then Saint Louis, and then all the way back to D.C.. Well, while we did it, we also did a documentary. And the documentary is titled- Breaking the Cycle. And so it’s been in film festivals. It’s actually won seven film festivals for best documentary, and it’s going to be released in the next, I think, 2 to 3 weeks. Uh, so people can watch it. And it’s about two idiots, you know, who decide to really try to change the world. And, you know, let’s ride bikes across America. And I didn’t even wear clips because I didn’t have time to train to figure out how to use the clip. I just wore tennis shoes and rode all the way across America over the Southern Rockies, the Ozarks, the Appalachians, and came to DC. And, you know, we met with a lot of politicians and we’re doing advocacy work. But ultimately, you know, I politically, I probably lean a little right of center. Definitely. Roman leans left of center. And so you have these two guys even arguing politics across America, going through red states and blue states and cities. And but ultimately, when we got back to DC, we’re sitting on the steps of the Jefferson Memorial. We look at each other and we say, you know what? Somethings aren’t political. They’re moral. Yeah. And it’s immoral to leave people on the streets.

Ken : And so really, this documentary is about a call to unity for us to come together and to find common ground and to work for the common good of humanity. And so, and I think that’s really been one of the strengths of Hope The Mission – is that Hope the Mission we we are a 501 C three faith based organization, but we’re an inclusive, faith based organization. So we have people on our board of directors of Jewish faith, Christian faith, Muslim faith, no faith. But the important thing is, is that we all respect each other, and we’re working together in harmony, in unison, to address a humanitarian crisis that is too big for any one organization to address. And so we need to come together. And to me, I love it. I love the fact that we can work together, set aside any differences, and, and come together, grab hands across the aisle and build bridges, not walls and barriers. And so yeah, so we did that. And then after we did the bike ride, uh, we did another one. This one was called the Long Walk Home- where we walked from Seattle to Los Angeles. Uh, and that one was interesting because, um, we’re going through, I would, I would walk from, uh, 2 a.m. until 2 p.m. and Rowan would walk from 2 p.m. to 2 a.m. and we just kept doing this nonstop. We had a support vehicle that would kind of, you know, be in a stationary place and I’d have to walk there.

Ken : So I’m walking pitch black forest at night. I had my bear spray my bear horn and it was some little sketchy at times. It really was. And, but what really impacted me was just outside of Portland. I ended up developing a stress fracture in one of the bones in my foot, and my foot started swelling and I still didn’t know what it was. I thought it would just go away. I made it to Bakersfield and out just outside of Bakersfield. The bone snapped and, uh. And all of a sudden I heard it. It was just like, okay, something seriously happened here. Um, but like an idiot, uh, I figured, no, I gotta finish this thing. And so had to walk up and over the Tehachapi Mountains and then through Lancaster, Palmdale and I walked all the way from Bakersfield to Los Angeles on a with a broken bone in my foot. When I finally went to the doctor and they did the X-rays and it was like just totally broken in two. And he said, what were you thinking? And I said, well, maybe I wasn’t. I just knew. I mean, we were raising money and I wasn’t going to quit and I wasn’t going to let Rowan beat me, you know, because he would never let me hear the end of it. And so I’m going to finish this thing.

Ken : And so yeah, so we’ve done a few crazy things, but part of it is, is, you know, we, we do silly things sometimes to inspire people to want to support the work that we do. And, you know, I don’t want to just focus on someone in the midst of their calamity and try to seize that moment to raise dollars. I’d rather tell the story and encourage people to be part of the solution. And speaking of, you know, part of the solution, which is really beautiful, what Alex and Jean did, if I may tell that story, because it’s such a beautiful story. Um, you know, I was, uh, this was a number of years ago. I was in my office in Pacoima and, uh, little tiny office, and, uh, I get a phone call and it’s from an unlisted number, but I picked it up and he says, hello, is this Ken Craft? And I said, yes. And he says, This is Alex Trebek. And, and in my immediately in my mind, I’m thinking, Alex, is this like the Alex Trebek or is this Alex Trebek from Pacoima? You know, it’s like, uh, and, uh, and I said, yeah, this is he goes, I hear you’re opening up a lot of different housing facilities. I’d like to come look at one, if that’s okay with you. And I’m like, I mean, come on, who doesn’t want to meet Alex? Right? And I’m like, yeah, we’re open.

Ken : How about in North Hollywood? Here’s the address. I can meet you there tomorrow at 9:30. And he goes, I’ll see you then. And so there was almost like we had this bet going on in the office. Do you think it’s really Alex? I don’t know, it’s like, you know, maybe it sounded like him, I couldn’t tell. And so I’m there at 9 a.m., you know, I’m just waiting, okay? You know, and then, you know, at about 930, here comes this Ram truck. Okay. I’m like, oh, okay. And, uh, and at first I wasn’t quite sure when I saw him from a distance, you know, because he didn’t look like he did on Jeopardy. Like I said, you know, a lot of a lot of work goes into that. He doesn’t look like just normal, you know, normal alex and with a ball cap on and he was um, and so, you know, he, he got out of the truck and, and I greeted him and, uh, I gave him a tour of that particular site, which was under construction. And I was amazed because, I mean, Alex knew a lot about construction. I mean, he’s just, he’s noticing how things are being done. And, and he was, you know, very engaging. And, uh, and I, and I thought, well, you know, would you like to see another site? And it was one right down the street. It was in the access center we were building.

Ken : And he says, yeah. So we went there and I gave him a tour there. And about halfway through he goes, you know, Ken, he goes, uh, I probably shouldn’t have come today. I’m not feeling well. Uh, you know, I ended up taking nighttime cold medicine, and my wife Jean said I should just reschedule, but I really wanted to see it. Uh, if you don’t mind, I’m going to go, but I’ll get back with you. And so I honestly, I hear that oftentimes people say that, you know, and I didn’t have his number, so I couldn’t call him back. It was unlisted number. And so one week goes by, two weeks go by, three weeks go by nothing. I’m like, oh, maybe it just wasn’t his thing. You know, after three weeks, I get a phone call from an from an unlisted number, you know, oh, Ken, this is Alex. And I said, hey. And, uh, he goes, and the first thing he asked me, he goes, how much money you make? And he was very direct and to the point. And I said, you know, at that time I was a little over 100,000. And I said, would it help you if I sent you our audited financials? He goes, yes, I sent him our audited financials. And he calls me back. He goes, Ken, I’d like to see you tomorrow morning. If you don’t mind, I’d like you to come to my house.

Ken : I mean, come on, who doesn’t want to go to Alex Trebek’s house, right? I mean, come on. And so I, I drive there and the gate opens and I pull in and, uh, you know, and I walk towards the house and he’s standing outside his one door and he invites me into his library. Okay. And there on the desk of his library is all of our audited financials. They were like highlighted and notated. And he had me, you know, go ahead and have a seat. And so I sit down and, uh, and he says, I just want you to know that, uh, my wife and I have been looking for an organization that we can get behind that we can support and believe in. And so, uh, and that was kind of this, uh, he handed me one check, and then he spoke at the, at the opening of another facility. And then, you know, Jean came and I, I took them to another site and showed them a new facility we’re opening. And they ended up giving a, an even much larger gift. Okay. And I looked at it and I said, would you guys be open if I used this gift as a down payment on the next facility? And they said,  we’d be very open to that. And so now I’m trying to find this facility, you know, and I and I found that it was Skateland.

Ken : Okay, an iconic roller rink in, um, in Northridge, uh, in the San Fernando Valley. And so I was negotiating on that. And the pot growers, they were trying to get it. And I’m like, no, we should get this. This is better for our use. And, uh, and finally, we, we won the negotiations. And, um, and I was so excited and we’re going to close the deal. And I thought, you know what? And this was like on a Friday. And then the weekend came. I said, I’m going to call Alex on Monday. And I remember it was that weekend. I was just driving. I was listening to KNX and they announced that Alex passed away. And I’m like, no, no, no, no, I was going to call him on Monday. And I remember calling Jean and, you know, certainly extending my condolences. And I said, you know, , I, I was getting ready to call Alex and I was so happy, you know, we’re going to this facility. And I said, I don’t mean to sound disrespectful at all, but would you be open to us naming this site – it has  107 beds? Um, you know, after Alex and calling it the Trebek Center. And she said in her gracious fashion, she said, you know, let me make some phone calls, uh, and I’ll get back to you. So she called the kids and said, how would you all feel? And they said, yes.

Jean: yeah

Ken : That was, uh, a very, very special moment. And even to this day, I can’t walk through that site without remembering and without telling that story, which I tell all the time. Um, because it just shows the difference we can make. You know, I mean, Alex, he didn’t have to call me. He didn’t know me. I think it was one of his camera. Actually, one of his camera operators had said, you know, maybe they must have had a conversation. And one of the camera operators, you know, said, well, I know this guy. You know, you may want to give him a call. And so Alex, just out of the blue, he called. And, uh, and do you know how many lives have been radically transformed and changed because of that gift of love, uh, that Alex and Jean gave. And so every day, people are no longer living on the streets. They’re no longer eating out of trash cans. They’re no longer, uh, numbing themselves with addiction to try to stay, uh, to address the inhumane conditions of homelessness. So it really, uh, I love telling the story. I tell it frequently. And, uh, you know, Alex and, and Jean will always have this incredibly special place in my heart.

Jean: We feel. Well, I’m speaking for Alex now. We feel so in alignment with you, Ken. And, you know, lastly, and then I want to move on to some other stuff. What Alex saw in you was that you were a man that was actually doing something. You just weren’t a lot of lip service. I mean, he actually saw saw as something tangible, beneficial for people on the streets. So, um, thank you so much. We we love you and your staff and. Yeah.

Alison: So it’s, it’s a beautiful story. Ken.

Jean: Yeah. It’s a great and you tell it so great.

Alison: And it just highlights that, you know, there are really generous people in the world and you may not have the same amount of income as the Trebeks, but you can still make a difference.

Jean: Absolutely.

Alison: You know.

Ken : Everybody can do something. You know, I always say it’s it’s not equal gifts. It’s equal sacrifice,  You know, for one person to give $10, you know, may be the same level of sacrifice for somebody else that gives $1,000, And, you know, I think it sometimes people feel overwhelmed at the magnitude of the problem and they feel like, how can I, you know, they feel like I’m putting a drop of water in the ocean. What difference does it make? You know, one of the best stories I’ve heard on that was a gentleman who’s on a sandy beach. And he’s, he’s walking. And he it was after a big storm and there was all these, you know, starfish that were on the sea. And as he was walking, he noticed a little boy was picking up and throwing these starfish in the sea. And he and he stopped and he said to the little boy, son, stop for just one moment. Look to your left. There’s just like hundreds of thousands of starfish. He goes, look to your right, hundreds of thousands of starfish. He looked at the little boy. He goes, son, do you really think you’re going to make a difference? And the little boy, without hesitation reached down, picked up another starfish. He said, I will for this one. And he throws it back into the ocean. And I think sometimes, you know, we may not be able to change the whole world, but we can change the whole world for one person.

Ken : Uh, when we can be that point of intervention to help them to, you know, and the stories that that I see and hear every day of life transformation, that’s what inspires me. Um, it wasn’t too long ago I had cracked a tooth and I was like, oh my gosh, okay, I got to get this fixed. I called my friend who was my dentist and he goes, oh, hey Ken, sorry, I’m not doing dentistry anymore. He says, uh, here’s a number. Call this guy. He’s a, he’s a dentist, a friend, another friend of his. So I called him up and the lady behind the, you know, the receptionist said, yeah, you know, we can see you today. Feel free to come on in. So I drove there. When I got there, I opened the door and I walk in and this lady, this receptionist, she immediately looks at me and she says, do you work with the homeless? And it’s like, have you ever, like, not wanted to talk about what you do because I just wanted Novocain. I just need-  this hurts. And, uh, and I said, uh, I said, yeah, I do. And she said, and she looks at me and she says, do you remember me? And I’m like, I said, can you help me out? She says, yeah, a few years ago, me and my husband came to the shelter with our two daughters.

Ken : We had nowhere to go. You took us in and housed us. And she said, you know, she says, I’ve always prayed that one day I would have the chance to see you again and say thank you. And, and it was just so. And she says, I want you to know Both of my daughters are now in college. My my husband has a really good job and I work here. She says, can I get a picture with you? And I said, are you kidding me? I want a picture with you. I said, there’s so many times we we’re fortunate enough to help others, but we don’t get to see the chapters of what really happens with that compassion intervention. And so it was just really one of those special moments. But that story can be replayed time and time again when we care enough to act and to intervene, and to show compassion and love and to be sensitive enough to that because we’re all busy, we’re all in a hurry. And, and just to take those moments to say, is there something I could do right now to not think of myself, but to think about somebody else and to help them in their time of need?

Alison: You have got me crying. Oh, This whole. And it’s ridiculous. Um, is do you think first of all, I wanted to tell the listeners, I’m sorry, a little bit about when you were on the street.

Jean: Oh, that is a great story.

Jean: That was amazing to me. It was you and Rowan, right?

Ken : Yeah, yeah.

Jean: Please  tell us that story.

Ken : Okay. Because that honestly, it marked me. It imprinted me. And this was, you know, uh, back in 2020 when 2021. And we thought, you know what? We need to do something to really put a spotlight on homelessness in Los Angeles. And we said, okay, well, what if, you know, we document the process, but we’re going to be homeless for one week on the streets of Los Angeles. Each of us would have $5 to last a whole week. And so I’m like, okay. And I remembered it was, I believe it was December 13th on a and, uh, I was watching my weather app on my phone only to discover that, you know, and I knew, but a big Pacific storm was coming in at 5 p.m., so I asked the person who was going to dictate the terms of living on the streets for one week, because just leave it to myself, i’m going to cheat because it’s like I want comfort over inconvenience. And and so I said, well, can you at least put us out at 3:00 before the rain starts at five so we can make provisions for the night? And he said, no. He said, some people don’t get to choose when they become homeless. And I said, all right. So 5:00, sure enough, it starts raining. Then it’s pouring and it’s 7 p.m. it’s pouring as you can get in the van now. So Rowan and I, with backpacks and just the clothes on our back, we get in the van and they take us to an undisclosed location and they say, you can get out now.

Ken : And so for the first time, I’m thinking I need to survive the night in this weather. I said, okay, come on, let’s go. We got to make it to a freeway overpass. So we’re running through the rain trying to get to a freeway overpass. I’m soaked. That night, the temperature got down to 38 degrees. And I remember sitting underneath the freeway. I could see the rain, you know, just the silhouette with the from the street lights, the rain pouring down. And I was doing jumping jacks every 15 minutes because I was so cold just to keep the blood circulating. And the ground was so hard. And, uh, and I had the option to tap out and it was about four. It was after four in the morning that I turned to Rowan and I said, and I hadn’t slept a wink. And there’s two things in life I hate. I hate being cold and I hate not getting my sleep. Okay. And I said, um, I said, Rowan, I said, I said, I don’t think I can do it. I think I’m going to tap out. And he looks at me and he goes, yeah, I bet our guests wish they could tap out too. And I’m like, I really don’t like you right now. And and I said, okay, but then we got to go. I can’t sit here anymore. I am so miserable. And so we took off running down the street and there was a donut shop and we opened the door. It was the only thing open. We went inside and they had the heater on and oh my gosh, I started to thaw out.

Ken : It’s like, oh, heat had never felt so good. I took my $5 and I went to the counter. I said, can I have a cup of coffee, please? I spent half of my $5 on a cup of coffee. Best cup of coffee I’ve ever had. Then I got a refill, drank two cups of coffee. Um, now I need to use the bathroom. But they didn’t have a bathroom, so I had to run across the street to Taco Bell, use their bathroom. But now my phone’s going to die. I’m like, okay, we got to find a place to charge our phones. I said, okay, look, there’s a Starbucks on Sepulveda Boulevard. Let’s run there. So we run to the Starbucks on Sepulveda, on Sepulveda Boulevard. We go in there only to find out they’ve taken all the plugs out. They don’t want the homeless in there charging their phones. But while we were there, there was one homeless gentleman sitting in the corner. I said, let’s go talk to this guy. And so we went and I said, hey, how are you doing, man? He goes, good. And I said, where did you sleep last night? And he told me and I told him where we slept. And I said, look, man, I’m newly homeless. What advice would you give me? He goes, oh, you need to go to Hope the Mission. I said, really? I said, do you think they’d help me? He goes, they help everybody. I said, they help everybody.

Ken : Why are you here? And he said, well, I was part of the program. And when I was there, they helped me get a job. I saved my money, I moved out, I was living on my own, but the pandemic hit. I lost my job. And, and, and because of that, I became homeless again. He goes, I’m on the streets. He goes, but I’ve been calling him every day, but they’re full. And I’m like, oh, I feel like undercover boss. Like, this guy has no idea. I can make one phone call and change his world. And so I called our nearest shelter. I said, listen, I don’t care what you got to do. I need you to send a van as quick as you can. And so I went back to him. His name was Christian. I said, hey, Christian, look, I haven’t been totally honest with you. It’s like I am homeless, but only till Friday. And he’s all, what? And I said, yeah, I said, my name is Ken and Ken Craft. I’m the CEO at Hope the Mission. And his eyes got as big as saucers. And I said, listen, I said, I didn’t think I was going to make it last night. I was so miserable and cold, and the thought of you having to spend one more night in these elements is more than I can handle. And I said, so I made a phone call and about that time, here comes the van. I said he saw the van with the markings of hope the mission on it. I said, you’re back in.

Ken : He started to cry. I started to cry. I gave him a big old hug and said, you’re going to be okay. And he got in the van and took off. And, you know, I checked in with him and I checked in with him a couple of weeks later and he was doing great. Got another job and he was working. Um, but for that next week, every day, every night, um, I lived on the streets and I’ve never been homeless a day in my life. I’ve never been unsheltered. I’ve never been without food. I had to beg to try to get enough money to buy sleeping bags. I didn’t have a sleeping bag. Um, I went to a restaurant and I sat down next to someone and they got up and left. Or just the booth next to them because I looked homeless. If I showed you the picture of what I looked like at the end, you’d see. And it was one of those things that it truly marked me because I couldn’t sleep at night, because I was afraid and I would fall asleep in the daytime because I wasn’t sleeping at night. And, um, and my takeaway after just one week on the streets is that it’s nearly impossible to stay sober, sane, and safe living on the streets. And that’s why we have, as an agency have said we will do whatever it takes to bring people indoors. And so because of that, you know, even though we’re 17 years old, Hope the Mission, we’re the largest rescue mission in the United States.

Alison: Wow.

Ken : Okay. Just for perspective, many people in LA, maybe they’re used to the Union rescue mission, the LA rescue mission, the midnight rescue mission. We’re actually larger than all three of those put together. Times two.  And we are the largest provider of interim housing in LA County and in Southern California. And part of that, the impetus of that drive and that passion was I knew I could barely make it. And if I could barely make it, how are other people making it? And unfortunately, they’re not. They’re falling apart. They’re having mental health breaks. They’re numbing the pain with addiction. And so, I mean, for goodness sakes, if we can put a man on the moon, you mean to tell me we can’t solve homelessness? It’s a solvable problem. It’s not a funding problem. It’s a it’s a allocation of those resources. And that’s what we need to do, is to double down on things that work and be relentless. Um, I say it this way. God forbid if there was an earthquake in Southern California and there were 76,000 people that became homeless, um, because of apartment buildings that collapsed and they uninhabitable places, I say I use the number 76,000 because that’s how many people are homeless on our streets. But if 76,000 became homeless, the National Guard would immediately be mobilized. And we would make sure that nobody had to suffer and live on the streets. We would open up, um, community centers, we would open up park and rec centers, we’d open up churches and synagogues and other, uh, places for people to sleep inside. And yet we have a crisis on our hands that people living outside. And sometimes we just yawn and say, oh, well, you know, we’ll deal with it tomorrow. And, uh, I think, uh, our fellow brothers and sisters deserve a more compassionate response than that.

Alison: Talking about narratives, thank you for that. Talking about narratives is, um, I’ve heard a lot. Oh, they don’t people don’t want to go into shelters. People don’t want to be off the street. What do you think about that?

Ken : And the best way I can answer that is with a true story. And that is there’s a judge, a federal judge named David Carter, who’s been very involved in addressing the homeless crisis in Los Angeles. But before he addressed it in Los Angeles, he dealt with it in Orange County. And here’s what they did.  it’s illegal to have a tent in a park and to live in a park. Okay. Um, so what they did, they said, okay, we need to, you know, we have to balance law enforcement with compassion, right? That’s America, uh, without laws, it’s anarchy. And everyone does what they think. You know, you have to have laws. But we’re also a nation of compassion that cares about the vulnerable, the hurting, and those that have been misplaced. And so what they did is theoretically, let’s just say there are 100 people living in a park. You can’t do that. So they went to those folks and said, listen, it’s illegal. But we also want to show compassion. So we have created indoor space in housing for 100. All 100 of you. And what they found is that 20 of those people and they said, and we’re going to be back here next Saturday, and we will have enforcement to make sure you cannot be here. 20% of those people, when that was told to them, they self resolved. In other words, they had something else they could do and they did it.

Ken : Another 20%. They were shelter resistant and they said, no one’s going to tell me what to do. And they wouldn’t access it. But 60% of the people immediately took advantage of the other resources that were provided. And so, you know, I look at it that way. Um, if we can address the 60%, that’s the low hanging fruit of those that are saying, I need help, I will take help immediately. Then we do that. Um, and then the 20% that are shelter resistant, sometimes there’s many reasons for that. Uh, maybe there’s a lot of mistrust. They’ve been hurt. Uh, they don’t feel safe. Okay. Well, we can address those issues. And so, um, there certainly are people that, that, um, will at this moment are choosing to prefer that will say no to shelter. But oftentimes, um, those are issues. We build relationships with people and with relationship. We build their trust that a gentleman one time came into one of our tiny homes and he had never been inside since the Northridge earthquake. Never been inside. He was so traumatized. But he finally said he would give it a shot. And even though he had a bed in his tiny home, instead he slept with the door open and his feet outside. You know, being outside, in his body, inside. And sometimes we don’t know how people have been impacted and traumatized. So instead of judging someone, eventually he was able to sleep in his bed and sleep inside.

Ken : But sometimes that takes a minute when someone you know, I look at the numbers of people that have been, especially women that have been sexually abused and traumatized. You know, we had one woman, just a heartbreaking story. She was raped multiple times in North Hollywood on the side of the freeway. She started wearing a three pairs of pants, jeans, whenever she would try to sleep at night so that if any thing would happen and she had a whistle that she could blow that whistle and scream, hoping somebody would be there for her. When we finally convinced her to come inside, she was terrified, untrusting of anybody. But she came inside and she discovered she had a lock that locked from the inside. And she locked the door. And after a few weeks and she had actually shaved her head because she didn’t want she was. She was actually an attractive woman, but she didn’t want to look attractive because she didn’t want to be sexually abused. And when she finally, after a couple of months, she said, you know, you know what I really want more than anything. She says, I just want to feel like a woman again. She says, she said, I want eyelashes. We asked her, is there anything we can help you with? And she wanted eyelashes and we got her eyelashes and she put them on and she said, you know what? I just want to feel like a woman again.

Ken : And so just the pain that people go through, uh, it’s, it’s silent suffering and it’s easy to judge. Well, the homeless, it’s not the homeless. It could be a child. It’s a mom. It’s a domestic violence, uh, you know, issue. It’s a veteran, it’s a senior, you name it. And so, you know, I think if anything, we just have to we have to tap into our compassionate side and, and be willing to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes. And by that moment of me for one week living outside, um, on the streets, it, it definitely created deep empathy and compassion for those that are going through a horrific situation. You know, I love speaking to elementary kids. And when I do, I ask the question, how many of you, when you grow up, you want to be a fireman? How many of you want to be a professional athlete? You want to be a doctor. How many of you, when you grow up, you want to be homeless? Raise your hand. No one has ever raised their hand. Nobody thinks they’re ever going to be homeless, right, as a child. But something happens along the way. The wheels fall off. Something happens to them. And so instead of judging, let’s love. Yeah, let’s reach out. Let’s serve. Let’s help people at their point of need. And when we do, that’s how we change our world.

Alison: Thank you so much. You really focus on the individual. Like I think what you said is so profound. Don’t just say, “the” homeless, the whatever this segment, that segment, really remember that we’re all people and we all basically want the same thing.  we want a chance. We want to be treated with respect. We want to feel safe, you know, and we forget that. So in the dialogues that we’ve heard that’s going on in the world.

Ken : Yeah.

Alison: Everything is so categorized.

Ken : Yes, yes, absolutely. And so for me, this has been that incredible opportunity to live out my faith and to live out my humanity to others that are hurting and broken. And I say it this way, nobody comes to the mission on a good day.

Alison: Right? Right.

Ken : Nobody comes to the mission on a winning streak.

Alison: Right

Ken : Everybody that comes to us.

Jean: Yeah.

Ken : Has been humbled. Yeah. They’re broken. And it’s hard to ask for help. And it’s funny, I, I to this day, uh, you know, we’re a very large organization now. And, uh, you know, we have over 800 employees. And, um, I, I’ve to this point, I’ve always said every time we hire a new batch of employees, I want to speak to them. And the reason why I want them to hear some of the stories I tell, and I want them to realize that this work is sacred, this work is special, and it’s not easy, and it’s not for the faint of heart because you’re not dealing with people on their best days. You know, it’s so much easier to deal with people that are kind of happy. And, you know, life’s going well.

Jean: That have had a shower the morning.

Ken : Yeah. And so we’re dealing with people that are so broken. And so but I want people to know and I tell them, I said, if your heart’s not in this work, I said, save yourself some heartache. Go get a job at In-N-Out Burger or Target. You’ll probably get paid the same. Okay. But if you really want to make a difference, then work with us and work with people and don’t give up on people. And oftentimes people will say to me, well, how long can someone stay with you? Until we get them permanently housed and back on the road to self-sufficiency. And why is that important? Because oftentimes people give up on themselves long before we would ever give up on them. People get weary. They get tired, they get worn out. They feel that, you know, they’re not going to get that break. And there’s a real challenge. There’s not enough affordable housing. So people end up getting stuck in interim housing much longer than we would ever want. And then when people get stuck in interim housing, then that impacts the ability and numbers of people that can move from the streets into interim housing. And with some of the budget cuts that we’ve seen from the federal government and the lack of a time limited subsidies and other subsidies, it’s impacted the whole system. And so I just encourage people, just be gracious, be kind, you know, try to try to put yourself in someone else’s shoes and, and let’s practice empathy and radical hospitality and love. And I think that’s how we change the world.

Jean: Well, Ken, thank you so much. You are very inspiring in spirit. Inspiring. Thank you.

Ken : Well thank you. It’s it’s been great spending some time with you. Uh, and.

Jean: Two wrap up questions, which we ask all of our guests. So what does the the word insidewink mean to you?

Ken : I think an inside wink is you get it, don’t you?

Ken : Yeah.

Ken : You get it. Yeah. I think that’s what it means to me is we’re helping people to get to that place where you get it, don’t you? Yeah. And and but sometimes we need to help people get it. And when they do, we can give them that insidewink. You got it.

Alison: Mhm. That’s perfect. You asked the second one.

Jean: Okay. I’m going to do both questions.

Alison: I feel like I’m going to cry again.

Jean: Okay. Ken, do you prefer cake, pie or ice cream.

Ken : Cake pie or ice cream? That’s an easy one for me. I’m taking pie all day long. Uh, I am a, I love like a peach pie or a cherry pie or berry pies, and I can’t do pumpkin pie. I’ve never been able to do that or like, uh, you know. Yeah. Rhubarb. You know, banana cream is still okay. But so yeah, pies is I love, uh, not lemon meringue. Um, key lime pie is like the world’s greatest pie. Uh, so yeah, I’m a pie guy.

Jean: I love that.

Alison: We’re on a, we’re on a, we’re on a pie streak. Ken.

Ken : So I okay, okay. Well, wait till you see the pies we’re going to have at the original pantry cafe. Oh, I’m going to blow your mind. Uh, our chefs are amazing.

Alison: Thank you so much. I feel so emotional just talking to you, Ken. I really appreciate everything you’re doing. Really.

Ken : Thank you. It’s it’s been a real privilege and joy. Thank you.

Jean: Yeah. Many blessings to you, Ken. And we’ll be in touch soon.

Ken : Okay. Sounds good. Thank you. Talk to you later. Bye bye.

Alison: Wow, Jean. I didn’t think I was going to get through this. He’s so amazing.

Jean: Yeah. You know, I think when you have such a passion to, um, be of service, be of benefit to something other than yourself, you’re you you just speak so eloquently and so, um, enthusiastically about whatever your mission is. You could be a doctor, a teacher, you know, whatever that is for you. Uh, making beautiful coffee in the morning. But I gotta say, Ken Craft is he is a hero.

Alison: Thank goodness for him. Yeah. Thank goodness. Really?

Alison: Can you think that he’s making he’s in charge of 9000 meals. And just like, like what he said, 17 years. Yeah. And, and it made me feel so good to get some clarification on sort of the talk and the, the things that you hear either online or, you know, about, about unhoused people, homeless people.  Because really the narrative is like, oh, you know, they don’t they. And I love that he was like, they’re people, It’s not a they.

Jean: Yes. No, he, he makes, he brings it home into the personality, into the person, individual human. And, um, and I also love that you can give, if you see someone on the street, you can actually look on your phone, look up, just Google Hope the Mission you’ll see their phone number, give that to someone and say, hey, call this phone number. They will send out someone to to help.

Alison: And I feel like it made me realize sometimes I do feel like hopeless. Like what am I going to do now? Like everything just seems to be in a tailspin. But he made me feel like you do make a difference, a small amount. I’m throwing a starfish back in the ocean. Yeah. Do you know I love that. And so I know it was beautiful.

Jean: Oh, Ken, thank you so much. And and continue to do what you do. And, you know… Thank you.

Alison: Yes.

Jean: What an angel you are.

Alison:  Everyone, Everyone has the opportunity to be an angel, large and small.

Jean: Yes.

Alison: Right. Which I think is wonderful. Thank you so much, Ken.  Have a great day.