There's No Place Like NoHo (Home Alliance)

In the season 2 finale, Leo interviews his NoHo Home Alliance colleagues Antoinette Scully, Jolly Hollamon and Lex Roman. They discuss their work with NHHA, debunk common myths about homelessness, and explain how to get involved in your own community.

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By: Leo Yockey

Transcript

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Hello, and welcome to the season two finale of the Leo Yockey Show, the show where I Leo Yockey interview guests about the universal truths and their unique life path. And honestly, nothing can be more universal than collective liberation. That's a lot of what we talk about today with my three. You heard me right, three guests today. Now, throughout the majority of 2021, especially after I quit my job back in February, there were two things that provided me a lot of consistency and stability. One was this very podcast, the Leo Yockey show. And the other was the work that I did with Noho home Alliance, a housing program in my neighborhood unlike any other, we are truly community driven. And I think that's one of the reasons why it's so great that I have three guests today, because each one of them Antonette, Jolly Lex, they all bring something different to this conversation. And they all bring something different to the work that they do. And together, I think we have a really important conversation about the housing crisis and things that we can do about it. This work has been incredibly important to me. If you feel so compelled, there is a link in the show notes to donate to know her home Alliance. Also, if you're in the San Fernando Valley, we would love to have you as a volunteer. All of that information is in the show notes. And without further ado, here is Lex Antonette. Jolly and Hi, my colleagues over at Noho home Alliance Alright, it is bound to be the most chaotic episode of the Leo Yockey show ever because I we didn't prepare anything hardly at all. And I have not one not two but three guests with me. Jolly Anjanette Lex. Hello, how are you all doing? Hey, great to see you. Yeah, thanks for having us. Thank you all for coming. I'm, I am really excited to be doing this. I've talked on the show a little bit about, you know, some of the work that I do I know home Alliance I've had like Murphy and Trish on the show previously, although they were both mostly talking about like their music and stuff. So you know, the listeners are aware that I do something with helping the unhoused in my community and that I'm really into it, but they don't. I haven't really explained what that means. And I figured why not bring three of my friends onto the show to explain what it means instead of just talking about it myself. That makes a lot more sense to me. So before before we get too far into it, can you all just kind of explain. Like Introduce yourselves for listeners and just say like what you do for no ho hum Alliance? Start with Lex. Hey, I'm Lex. I'm primarily a web designer. I make websites for a living and an App Designer. But I've been a lifelong volunteer but coordinating volunteers and running projects volunteer project since I was 15 years old. And I actually started the drop in program over at seila in Silverlake and then moved over to Noho home where I now co lead the volunteer outreach team. Nice Antonette Hi, I'm Antonette. My pronouns are she Bay, and I am the housing coordinator and a field outreach worker and a site manager for one of the sites at the Studio City sites specifically at Noho. Home Alliance, so I wear multiple hats throughout the week. And mostly I spend a lot of time engaging with guests and their needs around housing and all of the resources to get them there. Hi, I'm jolly, I use they he EO pronouns. I, I also worked with Nova home Alliance as the assistant to the site manager at the studio location. You know handing out resources also an outreach specialists where we work with a couple of different targeted encampments along the borders between CD two and CD four. I do a lot of the drop in program like helping people navigate paperwork. Because you know, living outside it can be really tough to get the resources that you need, like applications are just a huge hurdle for people. And I also help our house neighbors to apply for the rental assistance that's going on right now with the pandemic. Nice. Thanks again. Thank you all for coming on and for I guess for the So just for the context of what I do at Noho HomeAway. And that is shifting a lot right now, as I'm going back into tech, but I, for a few months, there was also a site manager at the North Hollywood location. And now I'm just kind of a volunteer bopping around doing whatever. But okay, so far, so I don't, I don't know if any of y'all really know how I got involved with no hope. But for me, I think it kind of echoes a lot of, you know, just people who are trying to get involved in general right now. I had heard about, you know, like mutual aid groups and people that are out there helping people in the streets through like podcasts and stuff I had actually heard specifically about, what's it called solidarity and snacks, which is a group that works, I think, mostly in Skid Row. And I wanted to get involved somehow I wanted to do something I wasn't working at the time. You know, I obviously been like, really affected by like, stuff that I was seeing in the news over the last year. So. So back in April of this year, 2021. Solidarity snacks, again, was the only group that I knew, but I live in the valley like y'all do. So I was like, Hey, guys, I DM them on Instagram, hey, do you know of anything that's in North Hollywood? I mean, I'll go to downtown if I have to, but I really don't want to. And they told me they sent me the IG page for no home Alliance. And so have there just happened to be like one of those volunteer info session is like the next day or something like that. And the rest is the rest is history. But I think that I think that there's a lot of people out there that kind of have similar sentiments of like, I want to do something, and I don't know what to do. And it feels like just in the little bit of time that I've been involved in the home lions that like, it just it seems like it's almost like the longer that I get involved, I simultaneously feel like, wow, we're doing a lot. And like also, wow, this is barely like the tip of the iceberg what we're handling. So how it, what am I even trying to ask, I guess like, what, what, what is something that y'all usually say to people? Because you're a lot more involved in like community stuff than I am like, what do you say to people who are like, I was like, back in April, like I want to be involved? But I'm so overwhelmed. I don't even know like what to do? I mean, I can go with that. Before I started it, no, whoa, I did. Well, I do a lot of racial justice work, that was the thing that I do. And outside of doing housing, I'm a big advocate of community building and plugging in exactly where you're at. So like the way that you did it to be, this is the neighborhood I'm in and I want to help the very specific people in my neighborhood, is a great example of plugging in exactly where you're at. I think that I don't want to talk too much for Lex. But Lex doing graphic design for Noho. Home lions, right like is one of those things where she already knows how to do the thing. And this is using her talent that she already has to help progress a cause that she cares about. And so I am always of the mindset that, find the lane you're already in. And then do more of that in like a justice capacity. 100%. Yeah, I like to quote Bob Akili, from Black Lives Matter who always says join an organization. I think getting involved in an organization that's doing something that you're passionate about, or that you're wondering about like homelessness is the best way to get involved because all those folks can sort of guide you through it. And you can do everything from pack a bag lunch on your first day to sort of leveling up and being involved in advocacy, and leadership capacities as you have Leo. Yeah, I'm walking testimony and looking at me now. And no, it is really interesting how I think that's a really good point. It's like once you get involved with people who are already doing the work, that's the most important like, don't, don't try to start from scratch, like join people already doing the work. And it is interesting, like just how your skills even sometimes skills you didn't even know that you had or skills that maybe in the past you hadn't had quite the opportunity to utilize. It's like well, there's a need and and if they can sense that you might be able to fill this need, they're going to you know, they're they're going to make sure that that you're available and that you're able to do it. You know, it's true. If anyone knows any videographers we always need. Yes, absolutely. So yeah, if you're a videographer listening to this, and you've been wanting to get more involved and you would like to help the unhoused people of North Hollywood hit us up So I think the the the big thing that we do at no hohem. Alliance that I don't want to say is fully unique, but it's definitely something that I've never seen firsthand is the way that our I don't know what I'm trying to say. We're basically it's weird, because we're kind of filling in gaps that like, I think a lot of people assume if you're not doing the work, you assume that a lot of what we do is kind of already handled by the government and social services. And it's like, it is, but it isn't like, because a lot of what we're doing is we're helping navigate people to things that are set up by the government and by social services. But there are a lot of holes or a lot of cracks in the system in which without kind of having someone who has, you know, a little bit more access to resources and things like that advocating for you. You might, things might not work out, you know what I mean? Like people are like, Oh, well, there's already welfare, oh, well, there's already, you know, Obama phones, oh, well, there's already you know, getting your social security card is free. But like, Can any of y'all speak to some of the experiences you've seen firsthand, of like, how those things like just getting those things isn't always as simple as it seems. And some of the things that we've done to kind of help bridge that gap. I think jelly does a lot with that very specifically at the dolphins. And so I want to hear him talk about how he navigates these, these holes, these barriers is really what we call Yeah, yeah. So let's talk about hearing hurdles. Right. living outside is tough. Getting EBT or getting a, an Obama phone or getting general relief, or, or SSDI. Like any of these things, it's a long and complicated process. And it, it's not easy to get it even if you have stable housing. Right. And so if you don't have a laptop that you can keep charged, or an internet connection, like, it's really tough to log on, and like, you know, submit an application. And, you know, if you if you don't have an ID, then you can't get one of these phones, or you can't get your EBT right. And then if Yeah, I don't know there's there's many things where it feels like, all the hurdles, like, line each other up. And so many people are just like one domino push away from all these dominoes falling. So like, if someone's living outside, and they're like, just barely scraping by, and things are looking better. And you know, maybe they just got a job or something. And then, you know, a sweep comes and they take away someone's backpack, or they get mugged, you know, people live outside, they, they are more likely to be victims of crime and violence than they are to be the perpetrators. Yeah. And so if someone takes your backpack, and it had your ID, and maybe had your phone, you know, it's going to be really tough for you to replace those things. So I don't know. It's it's nice to have some allies that are on the other side of this, like privileged divide, to be able to just say, Look, don't worry, you know, you're you've got this, I've done this for like three dozen other people so far. Here's like, easy step by step instructions, like, you know, check in with you. If Oh, if you don't have a mailing address, I'm rambling too much. And it's no, you're doing great. I don't know where to go with it. I think that I really do think that it's important to note that that part of our job, right is just to reassure our guests that they are worth fighting for. Right? Like it is okay, that you don't know the best next step. Here's an example of the best next step, you don't have housing, we'll start with an ID, right. And we can accomplish part of that today. And then tomorrow, if I see you again, we can accomplish another step. And I think that those hurdles feel so much higher, when a person is unhoused. And they feel like they have nowhere to go, they have no one to help them. And part of what our process at Noho is, is to say that we want to build a relationship with you so we can help, whatever kind of help you think you need. We want to build that relationship. Thank you for refocusing that, because Because yeah, if you don't have a mailing address, then you can't get an ID. And if you don't have an ID, then you're never going to get into any of the shelters that's available offered anywhere. Right? You don't have an ID you're never going to get a phone and if you can't be contacted on a cell phone. Then how is someone going to let you know if you have a match to get into a show? Shelter. Right. And so I think I think that the government's kind of view of helping unhoused people is that there needs to be like a progression. Like, they're like you have to completely certain steps on like a linear path to housing. And that if you don't meet all the criteria, then you're not worth it. Yeah, speaking about the government, I think about this a lot in terms of like, I think it's really important for people to remember that, that everyone is coming from a different background, a different like, on a different footing, right, none of us are, are raised the same way. None of us come from the same background. And people are dealing with all kinds of different conditions in their life. And if you think about kids in school, we know that kids in school who have a full family support network do substantially better than a kid who is on their own in the foster care system, right. And the same would be true from anywhere outside. Without that support network, which often if you are unhoused, you have lost or become disconnected from your support network. It's really challenging to navigate what is basically the baseline of government services, right? It's not meant to be this, like, fully personalized, like Uber like experience, it is a baseline of services that they are offering. Yeah, and I think all three of you, I think, in your own way, kind of touched on something that is a big cornerstone, you know, Pat, Pastor Stephanie, the executive director of Noho, Homeline, she talks about this in a lot. You know, the, the real true, like, number one cause of homelessness is a a breakdown in the relationships of support for an individual do, would any of you feel comfortable kind of speaking more to like, what what that means? Because I think that's a big a big piece that I think unless you're in the work, it's hard to see that reality. I mean, maybe everyone's looking at onto that. Or why are you looking at me, um, I say it's a, all of these, like swirling ideas are happening. So when I think about the breakdown of our relationship, or or community, or you know, how people feel like they are, or really alone in all of this, we all survive better. When we have people who care about us, and people who we know we can depend on. Like, that's just the bottom line, whether your house or unhoused, right, like you feel more love and compassion in your own self when you know, somebody loves you, or is compassionate towards you. And so people become houseless, for all kinds of reasons. We've seen an uptick, just you know, in the past year with COVID, right is one example of people losing work and then being unable to pay for rent, right? Like, that's just one of the many reasons that people become houseless. And I think that what we're doing, you kind of alluded to this, Leo, because we do do it a little differently than other services. But what we're doing is instead of asking a person to completely grapple with the reason why their house lists and like, blame them in that space, right, we're really just asking them, to trust us to build a relationship with them. And then in that relationship, we can help navigate people into housing, or shelters, or social security or general relief, any of those places, because navigating someone who doesn't trust you, right, is, is almost impossible. And so when we talk about the breakdown of relationships, we want to be there in a trauma informed way. And in harm reduction way to say that we are willing to build a relationship regardless of what's been going on before this, right because whatever was going on before this led you to us, and so we want to jumpstart, and, you know, start over in that process as best we can. We can't erase people's past we can't erase their trauma, but we can at least hear what that is and say, Okay, this is my starting point with you. This is no hos boundaries. These are the ways in which we can treat a person that makes you feel like you're worth living and being helped. And, I mean, I personally have only been at mnoho since April or May of 2020, right? I'm a COVID person with this organization. I don't know how they were before that. It's been around five years. I've got a very small amount of time here. And for me, I'm changed. I was just a person that was pulled into hey, let's i We need volunteers. How about you come and volunteer and I've been able to Say I have changed drastically about how I feel about this I am changed, my relationships are changed because of how no hope does work. And so yeah, I think I hope I answered your question. Yeah, no, I think I think that's great. And you're absolutely right. I mean, the way I think about it too, is, you know, the value and importance of relationships is universal, regardless of your socio economic status, you know, you will listen to, you know, millionaires giving advice on how to make a ton of money. And they'll even talk about the importance of relationships. And they'll say that if it wasn't for making connections with so and so and so and so that they wouldn't have been able to make XYZ deal. You know, what I mean? Like this is, this is something that no matter where you're at, in that ladder, it is the core is the cornerstone of being a human. And in our society, you know, a lot of our society runs around socio economic status, but that need for relationship doesn't, it doesn't change, it's just, I think that at least for me, this is something where I've learned just being involved with no Whoa, how, really how how much relationships play, play a factor into everything, you know, if you're, you know, there, if there's so many people that if they were to lose their job, they have family, they have friends that either can lend them the money, give them a place to stay, if they lose their house, or, you know, give them whatever support that they need, or maybe they know someone that can find them another job before they lose their part, you know, there's, there's all these different connections, where if you don't have that, if, if all your family is is dead, or in prison, or whatever the case may be, where they're just straight up not available, if you have trauma, that makes it almost impossible to form relationships with people, then that very central requirement for just having a both productive and like satisfactory life, like, it's missing, you know, and it's, um, I don't know, it's, it's, that's probably been the biggest paradigm shift, I think, for me, specifically, you know, and it's like, you really start to see, you know, we hear a lot in the news and online or whatever about, you know, like these systems of oppression, and how they can play into people's lives. And when you see, the people who are, you know, like the most vulnerable, you really see those systems in a big way. Because, without the the access to privileges that I've had, it's very easy for me to see how the tables could be turned and how I could be the one needing services and how it's just these, honestly, these things are privileged, like I am privileged to have had parents that didn't go to prison, I am privileged to, you know, to, you know, there's all these different privileges that we all have and take that away. You know, I guess, I guess what I'm trying to say is it I get very frustrated, I think, as all of us do, by people who think that like, Oh, if you're homeless, like just get a job like is as if it's that I harder, don't be for exactly Don't be a lazy freeloader as as if it's that simple. of an issue, as if it you know, it's, it's really, really reactive, and also inaccurate, you know, I know that's a that's a big accident for all of us. I know, Trish has made some good Instagram reels around that, like, it's, it's, yeah, I don't know, I think relationships are really important. And we talk about it, you know, in all aspects of life, you know, no matter what our backgrounds are like, that is one thing that is universally true. So like, what do we do that's different is we help create relationships in the lives of some people. Yeah, people who in some cases just don't have any relationships of support at all. And not just not just for on House folks. But as Antoinette said, like for all of us who live in the neighborhood, like the neighborhood relationships are key, regardless of housing status. I was watching this video about Assata Shakur was talking about how community organizing relies on community relationships. And if you don't have any relationships with your neighbors, you can't organize your community. Yeah. And that's what we're doing right? We're trying to come together to address problems that are being left by centuries of leadership and political decisions. And we are trying to address them that's what mutual aid is trying to do. And that's, that's for all of us. Right? That's a big shift that I'm trying to get folks to make is not thinking about this as like, Oh, I'm just like helping the needy, but like, No, this is a collective liberation thing that we're doing together. This is for All of us. Yeah, and we see some of that. We've seen some of that in the drop ins, I think, at least at the Studio City location, where it's really easy to, to possibly think, Oh, well, I'm, I'm setting this up for you, right, like I'm putting these chairs out for you to sit in, and we're, we're cooking this food for you to have and, you know, this is coffee just for you. And then, you know, our volunteers and our staff, spend the time there and have coffee and have breakfast, and then we're all in this together, having a community meal, right, or we have all our guests that will say, Oh, I'll take this trash out for you, or I'll wipe these chairs down and help you put them away. Right. And, and it is such that the relationships are not, oh, I'm setting this program up just to help you. But like, together this program runs for all of us to spend time together. And that's what we've tried to do it Studio City is to build this model of spending time with our community in a way that makes people want to come back. And, you know, the, the fact of getting services is why they show up, right? But once you've done that, once you've gotten CalFresh, once you set up your gr or you know, taking the time, the months that it took to get Social Security straightened out, right? Why are they still showing up, because they care about the relationships they've built with us with the other guests with the model of Noho that says, Well, I'm still wanted here. Even if the resources aren't for me immediately, there are people that come back who've become how's that come and still get their mail there or still have food with the drop in center people. And I think that it's not just, oh, this is a program that gets people off the street, but like, this is a community organizing organization that builds relationships, and is, you know, working for liberation in the best ways that we can. I think that's really different than a lot of the models that are in the city right now. I want to say that, I think that capitalism specifically tells us that we can be self reliant, right, that if you don't know, work hard enough, have enough of your own wealth stashed away, then you'll never need to rely on anyone else for help. But before I did a lot of this housing justice, I was doing climate justice. And it's the same idea, like very suddenly, somebody can lose everything, right? Like we saw with the paradise fires in California, for instance, you know, one day, you're you live in a house the next day, you've lost everything. And then the only thing that you have left is your community. And so there is someone I was talking to just within this last week, who I mean, I've known him for a couple of months, but he's just telling me his story for the first time this past week. And he's like, you know, I was fine. I had, you know, I had a girl, I had my own place, I was a mechanic. And then I had to go to the hospital. And I was in the hospital for like, 10 days. And when I got out, you know, I'd lost my job because of that, because they didn't, I was a no call no show. And I went there. And you know, they pawned off all my tools. And so like, now I lost my livelihood to and like, you know, and I was still too sick or infirm to work for a while and then like, and then you lose everything. And so if you lose all of your wealth, then the only thing left is your community. And so you you know, you look around, and hopefully you've got a friend whose couch you can crash on for a bit. And hopefully, there's a church down the street where you can at least get you know, I don't know, something clean and warm to put on, like, like, these are the kinds of backstops that we need to have. Because we know like how precariously all of us are balanced. Yeah. And I mean that, that on top of right, the additional systems of oppression, like whether you have a car or not, whether you're in a neighborhood that's highly policed or not whether you are I mean, this has been really the thing that's happened in the past couple of weeks that we've noticed, doing outreach is like is so heartbreaking to me. And it's not surprising, but this what's been happening right is due to racism. People of color, black people very specifically have been getting less access to outreach services. And so then they say that they're not there. And then it takes them longer to get into housing, or, you know, fear six, five and black, you're intimidating. And so maybe you're service averse, which just means I was too afraid to talk to you. And the thing that I'm learning is that just simply being black, as an outreach worker in the spaces gives people a little bit more freedom a little bit, that they're not even freedom, they are willing to talk to me in a way that they haven't been with other people. And so if the, if the response is just go get a job, or, you know, the city's taking care of it, and just go into housing, they're not even talking to a large portion of the houses population to get them into housing. And so then what do you do? Right? Then the only the only people who contact who, who make contact with black people who live on the street, or the police, and it's not good to be black on the street when the police are around? Right. And so they're, they're understandably, you know, avoidant of government workers, like, of course. Yeah, absolutely. And thank you for bringing that up. Because that's, that's my experience, too, in the drop in centers that, you know, I am able to, to communicate with our black guests in a way that our white volunteers are not because of that trauma that they experience out on the streets, or the discrimination that they experienced in, in receiving services. And so it's, it's really, I think, and I think that can be taken out a broader lens to you know, if you're part of any kind of marginalized identity, and you're not, and you're in, you're interested in helping out your community, it's amazing how sometimes just your physical presence there can make a big difference. If you're a person of color, if you're, you know, a woman and you if you're the gender opposite of the people that are mostly there helping if the opposite gender, that's a loaded, whatever, you know what I mean, but if you're if you're a visible member of the LGBT community, you know, like, these are things that just your presence there can make a big difference. And we've seen firsthand that it that it does make a big difference, you know, if you speak a language other than English, and someone comes in and speaks that language more comfortably than English, you know, like, these are all things that literally just being there can can make a big difference and can start, you know, building that trust and building that relationship. I can talk a little bit to her why this tends to happen. I don't think that we think about it this way. But our housing system is based on vulnerability. And so we try and house those who are most vulnerable, first, right, like, so even though we have this sort of housing first mentality, it would be someone who is, you know, possibly physically ill or older, or, you know, needs a lot more care than someone else, like the vulnerability of you tying on the street, is what we try to do is to get people into housing sooner. And what I've learned, and what I've been seeing is that oppression, racism, you know, people who are on or within the LGBTQIA community, they are physically less vulnerable, because it takes very little for a person of color, marginalized identity to fall into homelessness, right? Like, if you're in these marginalized populations, you are living on the edge of homelessness, sometimes your entire life. And then when you fall into that you're still physically healthy. You just now you live on the street. Right? Yeah. And what we're seeing is that there are a lot of white people who get resource after resource, and they become more and more vulnerable, right? By the time they are physically living on the street, they are older, they are sicker they are in the I know this is very general. So I don't mean to say that people who are sicker who happen to be white shouldn't be housed before a black person is, you know, that's not my stance on this. But what I am saying is that your likelihood to be more vulnerable in our white supremacists world is that we are housing more white people. And that more people of color and marginalized identities are staying on the street and not getting the resources that they need. Yeah, that's I've never even thought about it that way. But that's that's absolutely true. Thank you for bringing that up and bringing light to that. I appreciate that. Do I have a free trial of like super zoom or something? I don't even know why why we haven't gotten the warning yet. But I think we're running low on time. Does. Does anybody else have anything that they would like to add before, before we wrap up? I would just say if folks feel overwhelmed by by anything, whether you're called to work in homelessness, or another issue, that it really helps to do with other people. So I would just say to get involved with something that's happening in your community. There's always something right. Yeah. Lexus Lexus advice was, you know, join up with with who is around you already doing the work, don't reinvent things. Right. Heard Antonette earlier saying something to the effect of, you know, do the thing that you're already good at, right? Do the thing you already know how to do? Yeah. And I think what I want to add to it is show up, like, the first step to, you know, helping is literally just be there. Like, that is so much more than not that. I mean, like, it can, it can be like a really simple way to help, like, just show up and like, I don't know, set up chairs, or like, wipe down a table. Like there's a thing you can do, I'm sure. Yeah. Yeah, I wonder people think that they have to be doing the big thing. And, and you can, you know, work up to the big thing. But when I started I was I was handing out clothing, I was I was helping people choose a t shirt. Right. And like, for me, that was not a big thing for some of our guests. That's a huge thing. Because getting new clothes and being able to feel good in what you're wearing is amazing. But yeah, wipe down a table or stacks and chairs, or you know, donating a meal to an organization doing it already, right? If you're in a vulnerable population, and you still don't feel safe enough or comfortable enough to volunteer on outreach, or at a drop in program, something like volunteering your time at home, and then donating those clothing or donating a meal. or talking to other people at advocacy meetings or House meetings where you can say this is a thing I believe in and you know, get your get your friends involved. Like you. You personally all of us on this call anybody who's listening to this, like personally have permission to do the thing. Yeah. And, and bring a friend. Yeah. Everything's more fun with the friend. Right? Well, thank you so much for doing this. I think it went well. The first multicast episode of this show. I am you know, this this organization, being involved with this has been a really impactful part of my year, this year. Again, speaking of how this is, you know, mutual, it's not just, I am helping you because you are less fortunate, whatever, like I really needed a bigger sense of community, I needed community, I needed to feel useful, basically. I mean, I was really spiraling and lost when I started here, you know, I'd like just quit my job and my personal issues are going on. So I mean, it is this, this has been a really important thing for me, too. And it's been, you know, just such a pleasure getting to know all of you this year. I mean, I wouldn't know any of the three of you if it wasn't for this. And I think that you're all delightful. So yeah, thank you for being a part of this. Thank you, Leo. Yeah. Thanks. All right. I'll talk to y'all later. Thanks again to Antonette jolly and lax for having this conversation with me. I absolutely love being a part of this community. Things have kind of been up in the air with me lately. So I haven't been able to be around as often and listening to this interview just made me miss everybody and just remind me of why this is so important to me. So I can't wait to be back again in the new year. There's a couple of things from the conversation that I wanted to point out. One I kind of blundered a little bit and I refer to opposite genders in kind of a binary way. And I just want to kind of correct myself and say that a better way to have said that would have just been different gender. You know, there are many different gender expressions in gender identities as opposed to the binary two genders structure that we've been conditioned to understand. And, you know, shout out to former guests of the show Criss Angel Murphy for you know, kind of normalizing making those mistakes. and correcting them in real time. The second thing I want to point out is something that Antonette said at the end, you know, kind of breaking down the ways in which systemic racism can play a role in the housing crisis. I think I mentioned in the interview, but this was kind of, you know, the first time that that information had been presented to me in that way. And I was kind of taken aback, you know, it is, it is hard sometimes to hear the truth of our society. We don't always know what to say in those moments, or at least, I don't always know what to say. And all I can say now is, everything is interconnected. And no matter what cause speaks out to you, whether it's the housing crisis, whether it's immigration, access to health care, anything that works to challenge and dismantle the systems of white supremacy, there's always work to be done. So on that note, like I said, in the intro, there are links in the show notes to donate to know how home Alliance, we're actually in the middle of a big fundraiser to help us fund 2022 It's called there's no place like no Hoh. The link is in the show notes. If you want to volunteer if you want to get involved, the link is in the show notes for that. If you're in the LA area, we can always use some help, whether it be with social media, or in person at our drop in centers, or out on the streets doing outreach. I've always loved North Hollywood, but I feel so much more connected to the neighborhood. Now that I know my neighbors on a much deeper level. And now that I'm accountable to my neighbors on a much deeper level, I highly encourage you like Lex said, find something that's already happening and get involved. You'll be happy that she did. I was happy that I did I should say I can't speak for you. But it definitely changed my 2021 for the better. Thank you again, for being part of this journey with me. I know I say that every single episode. But I really truly mean it from the bottom of my heart. This podcast honestly kind of saved my life, I was spiraling in a really bad way. When I started this, I had no idea what I was going to do with my life. I mean, those of you who have been listening for the very beginning, saw me kind of go from from from never wanting to be in tech again to wanting to do comedy to like almost like quasi life coaching and then getting back in attack and getting involved in Noho. Home Alliance. And, you know, 2021 was a year of trial and error and the conversations that I had with my guests being able to listen to them three times first when I participate in the interview. Second when I edited the interview, and third, listening back to the episode, after I got released, really instilled a lot of important lessons in me. And I really, really enjoyed hearing hearing from you listeners. I'm so glad that these episodes have resonated with you as well especially, it seems like a lot of the LGBTQ episodes really, really resonated with a lot of you. That means a lot to me. I'm so glad that we've been on this journey together. I don't know when the show is coming back, or Honestly, even if the show is coming back. What I can promise you is that if it does come back, it'll have a much different format. In the same way that you know my involvement with no home alliance is probably going to look a little bit different next year. You know, everything is always constantly evolving. When I say stay evolving at the end of the episode, those aren't empty words, that that's a mantra that I really try to live by. So just go with the flow of change and to keep pushing to live a life that's more and more and more aligned with my values. So anyway, I wish you all a happy holiday season Happy New Year. I know everyone is afraid of jinxing it, but I'm not I really believe that 2022 is going to be a good year. I wish that for all of you. Thank you again for being on this journey with me. Find me on social media. The links are in the show notes. Stay evolving.