Edson Rivas and Anthony Crisci

00:01 My name is Edson Rivas. I'm 35 years old. Today's date is Thursday, August 12th, 2021. We are here in Norwalk, Connecticut, and the neighbor. My conversation partner. Anthony Chrissy. We are friends and Anthony was our first executive director triangle Community Center.

00:26 And my name is Anthony Howard. Christy. I'm 33 years old is Thursday, August 12th, 2021. The name of my conversation partner is a Reba. We've known each other for a while, as friends and work together. When I was executive director here. He was for sunburn and executive director, and I've been doing the former director. I feel like it's so important to figure out where we were when you took when you took over as executive director, answer to like where we are now entering what the differences are. So can you talk a little bit more about you know, what was it? Like, I think you took over in 2015 some problems that you faced what the community service?

01:26 Look like apartments that we were offering CR. Sure. There are gas station. Had started in 1990, was already 23 years old, but I have never had executive director before and never had a full-time stop for some before. So that was exciting. That guy in the barn are not indiscriminate from a medical center nearby to hire an executive director went with me, but it was not a huge grin and the budget for the organization was still under $100,000. So it was really it was me and we had like a part-time person who works 20 hours a month. I'll be found out, you know, if I'm not, there was a crazy though compared to a very different and we didn't really we have are dropping.

02:26 Ribs were the core of our programming at the time, but we didn't really know what programming would be to be on that yet or how we went about that. Going forward. But it certainly, we're able to identify the need over the years that I don't know. I don't know if I should keep going. You know what? You're talkin about? A budget of $100,000 thinking about it. And now I'm like, what were you able to do with that $100,000 chicken? So how did they grow pecan? But was it more grant funding? Was it just more outings to donors will get more focus on development.

03:25 Do you think they got in the hire an executive director came from donors, major donors, small medium large donors who have been around for 23 years. I already had a few hundred people that mailing list and at least a couple hundred jars who had supported in some way shape or form over the years. So we always had like a big fundraising event every year. It didn't bring in a lot of money, but, you know, everything time $20,000 was a lot of money for us of the time and but I always, you know, I was always like an ambitious person. I was there to push. So like, yeah, I start at the end of 2013 and by the beginning of 2014. I had told the board. I want to have the pride of that which was not happening at the time around here.

04:25 So yeah, I told them maybe we'll just start small to a garden party or something and within months that had evolved into US hosting our first of all, in a public park Street and other partners like Fairy. Like I said, it worked out about raising another $20,000 and a bad, but it was a really nice little pride a bad and

05:07 Private day care what kind of price things to start evolving from there. Where were you going to try to come a scraper that we said? Hey, what more can we do is Services. We start talking about today's Social Service application in case management staff to do it in a paper. And start sending that around. We were able to Guess the Character RAB Start program in 2020 14, 15. Really think I'm always surprised if we talk about this is the contact or walking for calling December 4th.

06:07 You know, nowadays. No parents are calling and left children who are under the age of 13 for coming out to them and say that they're non-binary and their parents instead of saying they call us to say, hey, my child is not entirely. Sure what that means. Resources. I need to know how to be a good Network for them at work support. I also, I need to know how to deal with my from. You know, I'm guessing your arrow from the time. It would look a little different. If you talk about what kind of time or perceptions have definitely changed around the house in a while.

07:01 Eight years, as we know it, a lot of things have changed around that time. It was not long after 10 that Tyler from Comenity committed suicide in 2010. And when he committed suicide 12, it was I believe I rather third suicide and like a two week. I've been had a chat and brought up a lot of conversation again are out of me to use suicide as why was happening. And so that was a Hot Topic. At the time. We did a lot of advanced education, support group talking about mental health and suicide. We also got a lot of calls people looking for housing financial assistance.

08:01 Korean substance use for the big topic and people looking for resources to help with that. And it was interesting. I don't think it's like for my perception, the issues haven't like those issues. Haven't got way right now. There is has been more layered on top of that. And how do you know, Robin time? I started? We had a pflag chapter and around here that have been waiting for like 25 years already exists babies. And like the year where I started at the center in 2013, they decided to stop music.

08:43 And they were there was very much like feeling like mission accomplished and securities are now. And I like, is there really a need for something like this anymore but the world and the people are things interesting. Cuz the way you brought up about trans and non-binary gender non-conforming, kids was actually ended up being re-founded. Several several years later sis eventually to support parents of trans kids.

09:43 Weather broadcasting the right now as I'm sure, you know, you're still meeting here. So, yeah, I think that for as much work as, as we've done in the community and the community has done to each other according to sunnis, or try to get up early, to try to get visual or present in society. Are there still needs a lot of work to be done. So we now have a mental health program. That's either a month for those things haven't gone away. And if I do, you think covid, kind of exacerbated because covid-19 in the covered area is that it took took?

10:43 People's access to their support network where they couldn't be out of you. If you weren't in school. You couldn't eat that support each other. I will let you couldn't eat what I'm parking the car, since you got back to court for you. Otherwise would have had have you been at recess or during your open block 11, high school. There are communities as much work as we've done the community. Still need to support any expensive out. There has been going to therapy is extremely expensive.

11:33 What cell and tell me about Sunday. Again, if you talk about grant writing again and donations and sometimes what issues did you see? What I see is that some of the grants are out. There are various gender-specific. Where are some brands are specifically to Target? No, female identifying individuals or mail it in a lot. More people are coming out as non-binary in gender non-conforming, where those statistics don't necessarily squarely fit within those parameters of a plant are not able to access telegram or we're not able to have as much data to prove that we're making an impact because they don't miss those fit within those parameters.

12:32 When you start seeing something similar back then. Yeah, I mean, I think the reality was that there wasn't funding for LGBT organization pain in Connecticut, at that time or finding, that it exists was very limited and the one or two other outfits you organizations in the state that hot. Got crap on thing. For example, of Hartford that they've been working with for a long time. And that was the first grab that give in to that organization to serve LGBT youth, but it was the crap. I had existed before, they gave it to that. And so, because that organization still existed in that grand, that money was not available to us. So we had to

13:32 Really carve out our own funding and in order to do that. You don't make that same case. I'm just for a donor. Is that an LGBT community center? It was necessary and organizations were not offering, but we had to make that case to foundation and state. Departments politicians are politicians and explain. What we were doing was important and necessary to their budget where I fit into their priorities and how we could help not just offer our own and this it is but help them. Achieve the goal. If they were trying to achieve like ending homelessness in the state, right? How could you add homelessness? Is our talking about genetically, providing Services. Targeted to lgbtq people that we know are more likely to experience.

14:30 I think you are, during the time that you were here. You actually were the one who got the grants out to wherever the 211 sit there. And now we are a fermion and support of lgbtq Provider. I was a young adult Navigator and lots of some stuff to see if I could think that they're coming through funding that goes to actually accidentally accidently a fast people in their system equally as opposed to just attacking a piece of the system still ongoing work that we do cycling. Now in our with the moratoriums everywhere for the

15:15 Being in limbo. The system is concerned that it's going to get overwhelmed with a rush of individuals and I will know in your address. Populations are more prone to losing the housing or not having it was all for not having see what you know, about a population.

16:04 Yeah, it's one thing that I don't think that's possible and I will talk to you Patrick down up in here. Is that the position to where it is super stressful. And that's not something that gets talked about offering dark by a certain about that. Really, and in many ways. You can be $700,000 instead of $100,000.

17:04 But I also like there was a stress ball. You know what? I was just getting started and then less than a year into my job. My doctor gave me a prescription for Xanax that said, take one before a board meeting, appreciate it. You know, I think it was the stressful part was like coming to work every day and seeing the need and seeing how hard the stopped working, and how much you're trying to do on a limited resources and then going out and like, trying to explain that like over and over and over again to all these different stakeholders who has a gatekeeper.

18:04 More resources. And, you know, it's just that never ends cuz I would talk to anyone who would listen and you're constantly reloading the talents and difficulties and never really getting your chat.

18:28 Yahoo.

18:31 Are you with everything that you said? I think that one of them I can, from for-profit, which looks completely different. But I also don't think that I've ever worked so hard in my experience as I'm working now, and I also don't think that I've ever had the kind of anxiety that I have now to the point where it's like, you know, when I see my team, I love my team and I like the perfect, their success rides on my success, to be able to fundraise and two notches. But like sometimes the health of the people that we serve our, our

19:14 Are you part of the pendant on us being successful? And that's a burden to have and it's keeping up all night a lot of time.

19:29 I've been able to stop by Andre is where, if I know that I am getting run down. I know that my team off of things went out. So, I'm just like taking Friday off, turn off your cell phone, turn off the email, the type of Friday to buy. I don't hear from you. I need you to sleep. I need you to put your family but your friend still out do something. I'm going to work so I can at least figure out better. I'm feeling something or some sort of way. My team is also probably streams and put away so I know better. Now if you just stay with the network for as much as I may look, bad to be out back reading, it's important to me and other mental health of the team because it doesn't happen. We do what we do provide services to the extent of the shed or as good as we can. So then that starts to like a hole.

20:26 Yeah. Yeah. Yeahs our pride events this year with Lorelei we probably had about fourteen or fifteen a month so I can teach you a lot. I took a week off and a couple of my other team members took some time off after that. Just you two nothing wishes. Are we talked about everyone else and mental health and then being able to create those boundaries and have a healthy for the balance of what I thought. But I think it's hard for people in our position because we care so much. And because we are also part of the community that we have a hard time saying no or having a hard time to set those boundaries because we want to help as much as possible.

21:26 Connected to services at least get setup World. There is this. Eat out at the to me. It seems like it's almost like a competition amongst organizations about who can do the most with the resources. And it's so unhealthy and unsustainable organizations are actually competing with last and that's actually not a good thing for the nonprofit sector as a whole when you know, an organization's, think I'll be out there doing great job, you know, the cost by 25% at home service a number of people and like yes, but JoJo are the stockings same quality of life at their workplace and are the clients.

22:26 Call of Duty Carmen says, right? Like we should be telling pondered that we need to do, you know, we need more to do the same cuz that's actually the reality of what the cops are cops. Never go down. You never you never get insurance bill, that's less than the last one, you know, you never got utility bill or the rates have gone up. So you really do need more to do the same amount each year at something. I really hope more donors. And yeah, it's that's an uphill battle with grand specifically for giving out buy CDs and C's because there isn't a reply cow and inflation rate that it's worth increases your year. So even though there may be a state of now technically speaking in it.

23:26 That $40,000 one year, if it gives you a second-year, it's not ugly. Still the same $40,000 cuz there's always a rat escalating. There's always, you know, a million and one things in your bunch of that you have to pay. Our budget is adjusted for inflation every single year. But no matter what we do with budget line item. We always increase every single and I am by 2.5% of those things. Took one, you're looking at a bunch of about a million + 2.5 /. A million is still a considerable. Now that's not coming right to search a grand, don't keep up with that. So it's always constantly making up for that died in real dollar terms. You end up with the same sort of am now and the sensor of buying power.

24:26 I heard their name but recently and they were talking about a story about New York City and the social workers that work for the Social Service System there. And they said that the average salary for a social worker in New York City was something about the actually bad that they were living in poverty or they'll actually need for the same services that they were being hired to deliver. And like if that's not a problem right now. Is that a solution to help people got a copper tea at the job itself?

25:27 Yep, and that leads into a greater of conversation of, you know, you're always talking about or there's always the mention of for-profit, salaries and non-profit salary. Swear. I can't really compete with the comparative rates of for-profit. So that you're dealing with an exit of a lot of knowledgeable. People professional individual, who if they don't have love for what they do, is outweighed by a salary that helps them stay out of poverty and keep them in a comfortable lifestyle and buy comfortable. I don't mean the running around Mercedes by comfortable. I mean, like, they can pay their bills if we can't really compete. So it's always like trying to find looking to fill starting position.

26:27 Everything. It's always like the person you always try to get the person that, you know, is very passionate about it. And that will be okay with a salary. Maybe in the for-profit world, Tampa. More, a mental health services in one of the issues that is stopping our director of Clinical Services position than we could sustain are in the long term and other positions is crucial for us and tell us what our current bandwidth as you can. The man if they are, but we can't. We been, we've been created in the way that where we're meeting up in their butts.

27:27 Creative ways are not sustainable in the long-term, unless you hire someone full-time. But that is not possible right now. So, it's always an interesting fact of how none of its work. And if I thought he would someone to understand that, I don't often is so businesslike. We we still have all of the oversight as we still have to bring in towards the funding. Stop to look for new sources of funding 7th. So it has like a business but our services in our program and are what we what we first, not sell the whole, but we serve her know in order to bring in more punishment to us. Is how many people make that connection your nonprofit.

28:27 Do I have to lay off in the middle of April? You know, I can give you the exact number to the world even though our budget is about $200,000. So we were able to because you are failing to achieve a lot of expenses here, and do all these other things because we have that history of having a large team about you and your mother are relation to her to start adding other nonprofit or just earned. During that time. I didn't have that history of, you know, a larger team. They were not able to

29:27 A facing for 2022, that is well. What are things going to be like next year. The only thing we know for sure is that there's not going to be pee pee pee but as far as we know, so if you're not getting that does not mean, many organizations are probably going to be in the position where they need to stop or you can bring it up new Revenue next year to replace the assistance. You got this year and certainty.

30:16 Oh, yeah, I think I'm going to be a conversation. I was having with my board in 2020.

30:27 What's happening? What's going on? You know, are we, is it going to continue its longer-term? Like we're hoping we're going to plan as if it's going to end at some point if you wanted one and they play like slow down up there, where we would have our events in person. And the other two are we going to have to go back in the house and possible? Because we are unsure of what the future looks like and we want to make sure that we have a question. You should have got us through that because we're not sure. We don't know. We're not entirely sure what's going to happen. He's training and keyboard, not getting back to me that the right that they should feed, which is very unfortunate.

31:26 Gun, under his priorities are Mental Health Services. When so many more people just need to meet their basic, needs like food, and housing and Healthcare. So, I obviously understand something priorities. I mean, you know, how do you develop like, they were strategic planning a big even under the best time they would say, never create a strategic plan for more than three years. And in this world, you really can't create a strategic plan for more than three to six months. So it's really hot.

32:26 That's funny that you mention that because our strategic plan for the organization was approved in February of 2020 or 2021 Yaris no concert in a two-year operational and which why don't you find one. So we've been able to start checking those things off a year later, but still we're making waves are Headway into that. But now it's like I have to pay an operational standpoint.

33:19 What exactly?

33:31 Would like the kavya and a strike in the foot doctor. But yeah, I think there's also like that your expectation from the community that one. There's more need. There is more services, right? Like what more can CCC. So I know like you guys did a lot last year, you'll put new resources and services out there people during the program financial assistance for people buy groceries. I think that I really did help people, but you know, you can't

34:31 For that new program that you weren't doing a month ago and the money for those, which means that if we're out, $20,000 for financial assistance that we really weren't planning on, but was needed. Then we're out $20,000 and we're not getting that back. And that's not a grant that we can celebrate in the future to prevent fractures in his chest, will make you with outside, because now I thought in the community and we want it to be that way, but that wasn't planned. And that, it was like, shifting your budget all the time. Is it always? So I'm sure that they kept you on your toes, the community.

35:31 So as the caissons important, I can go out about nonprofits. I think you're one of the biggest challenges is for you have a board of volunteers that are we having a beer? Maybe have a heart problem before or at least having worked at this nonprofit. Something a few people coming on every year. Constantly. Trying to educate about the organization. Your service is your funding, how to make, how to make these major. At the end of the day, you ask her how much she might be stronger. Decision. Cannot make that decision right before 12 or 15, people ever many.

36:15 To make that decision you. Hopefully it if they have to make the decision the way you think, you don't need to be mean, but they have all the information about every decision that I really talk to. My thing is like, I never want to go into a board meeting, not knowing where something's going to swipe my card who are the key players in this our conversation, or they staying and going into the board meeting saying, okay.

37:03 I think it's not going to call my wife. How can I still receive it if it needs to be saved, or how can I create if we think of ways to get to the same goal, but without for going to that one motion? Yeah, I know, all I could think was. Oh my gosh for-profits have it so much easier.

37:27 Yeah, I don't know. There's a lot of boys that are getting.

37:37 Not a bit by their investors who are waking up to things, like go to women and be more sustainable and security. That's both kinds of things. When I was embarrassing, if it publicly traded.

38:21 Are there are some interesting, private for-profit bottles. Pick it up.