Simon SinekHow Losing Everything Taught Her to Help Everyone: Joan Howard's Story | Simon Sinek
EVERY SPOKEN WORD
50 min read · 10,240 words- 0:00 – 2:26
Intro
- JHJoan Howard
I was talking to her and she said, "I didn't think I'd be able to stand up today. I didn't think I could go on." And she said, "I came here," and she said, "All these people." She said, "I have money in the bank. I can rebuild, but these people have nothing." And she said, "It makes me feel so connected. It gives me such a sense of community. It gives me such a sense of right and, and, and justice." And she said, "What you're doing here," she said, "I can't even believe. All these people are thanking me for giving me, giving them a bag of chips or," she said, "it's food." And she said, "It's nothing, and yet it's probably saved my life."
- SSSimon Sinek
Joan grew up in Beverly Hills. She was a trust fund baby without a care in the world. On a day like any other, she was attempting to pay for her shopping at Saks Fifth Avenue when her credit card was rejected. Her trust fund had been drained. She had no more money, none. She also had no college degree, no skill set, had never held a job in her life. She never needed to. And now, with nothing, she would find herself homeless. I talk a lot about the value of service, of showing up to give, how helping others is the best way to help yourself. Joan Howard's story is that story on steroids. She talks fast, she talks a lot. She goes off on tangents, but her passion, my God, her passion to help others is absolutely inspiring. She now works for the very organization that saved her life over 20 years ago, an organization called Food on Foot. Their mission is to help people who, for various reasons, find themselves homeless, in shelters, couch surfing, or on the street. And perhaps one of the most amazing things they do is help people get a job, get a home, pay their own rent, and do more than survive. They help them thrive. In a time when government and private funding are harder and harder to come by, Joan proves that being nice is not what saves lives, but being kind does. This is A Bit of Optimism. [upbeat music] Your
- 2:26 – 4:09
How Food on Foot Assists Their Unhoused Neighbors in Los Angeles
- SSSimon Sinek
story is remarkable. I came and volunteered at, uh, Food on Foot-
- JHJoan Howard
Mm-hmm
- SSSimon Sinek
... which was a wonderful and inspiring day, and you and I were introduced, and one of, I think it was the director, who said, "You have to know Joan's story."
- JHJoan Howard
That's actually Greg, uh, Kearns. He's the chairman of our board.
- SSSimon Sinek
Yeah.
- JHJoan Howard
What you should know about Food on Foot is the board is very active. They come on Sunday.
- SSSimon Sinek
Which is nice.
- JHJoan Howard
It's, it's what I like best about it.
- SSSimon Sinek
So-
- JHJoan Howard
So I know them all very well
- SSSimon Sinek
... so let's tell people what Food on Foot is first. Um, and I was invited, um, as a volunteer to come and stand behind tables and take donated everything from canned food to-
- JHJoan Howard
Well, that's pretty much my fault.
- SSSimon Sinek
What's that?
- JHJoan Howard
The stuff you saw, it's my fault.
- SSSimon Sinek
Oh, yes. You, so you, you, you, you helped get... There was, there was clothing. There was hygiene materials-
- JHJoan Howard
Oh, yeah
- SSSimon Sinek
... toothbrushes and sanitary products, and sort of I was amazed at the amount of stuff that had been donated. And I think it's different every week because you take whatever you get from donations, and then the volunteers stay hand- stand behind the tables, and the homeless line up every week in the same, same parking lot, and they take what they need.
- JHJoan Howard
And it's a safe, streamlined process for people who are interested in finding out what people in need are doing-
- SSSimon Sinek
Yeah
- JHJoan Howard
... because they can have conversations with them, but more importantly, they see that there is no one criteria for being on the street or in need. We have all ages, all races, all ethnic- ethnicities. I think it's an education, and it's also a safe one.
- SSSimon Sinek
It does challenge-
- 4:09 – 5:30
The Many Faces of Homelessness
- JHJoan Howard
The food line-
- SSSimon Sinek
It does challenge our notion of, you know, quote-unquote, "who is homeless."
- JHJoan Howard
Yeah.
- SSSimon Sinek
I think most people's experience of homeless is seeing somebody on the side of the street, and that is one kind of homelessness.
- JHJoan Howard
Mm-hmm.
- SSSimon Sinek
Um, but people, I mean, I met a young woman who, that was a victim of dome- domestic abuse. She was forced out of her house, took her kid, uh, to escape, didn't have the money to, because he wouldn't allow her to work. Uh, she got out and, um, is living on friends' couches. So she's not on the street per se or somebody living in their car-
- JHJoan Howard
Well-
- SSSimon Sinek
... but they, they don't have a home to go to
- JHJoan Howard
... 90% of our people are in some way homeless in that they're couch surfing or in their car, in a tent, in a tarp, in a shelter.
- SSSimon Sinek
Mm-hmm.
- JHJoan Howard
A lot of them are rough sleeping right now in the street because the tent communities have been eradicated.
- SSSimon Sinek
Mm-hmm.
- JHJoan Howard
Uh, but the problem is we have no place to put them.
- SSSimon Sinek
Yeah.
- JHJoan Howard
California, Los Angeles especially, has a, a reputation for providing services, and I don't want you to think we don't because we are nothing short of amazing in this city. But the problem is the, the tsunami of need, especially since the wildfires-
- SSSimon Sinek
Oh, yeah
- JHJoan Howard
... when we get the older people and the people who've never been on the street before.
- SSSimon Sinek
I was amazed how many elderly people there were that came through
- 5:30 – 6:31
Elderly Homelessness & Disaster Displacement in California
- SSSimon Sinek
that day.
- JHJoan Howard
That's it, and that's my personal-
- SSSimon Sinek
I was in, I was amazed by it
- JHJoan Howard
... bête noire. I, I haven't had much sleep since it, since it happened because we get a lot of calls at Food on Foot, and when it comes for services, I answer.
- SSSimon Sinek
Mm-hmm.
- JHJoan Howard
And I always answer.
- SSSimon Sinek
Mm-hmm.
- JHJoan Howard
So I'm always trying to network, but the stories that I hear, it's an education. And we're constantly having to pivot and change and fit some kind of relevance into what we're doing because we're very practical. We don't, we don't bring stuff that people don't need.
- SSSimon Sinek
Yeah.
- JHJoan Howard
We don't provide services. The line that you saw, the Food on Foot service-Line
- SSSimon Sinek
Mm-hmm
- JHJoan Howard
It's not just a food service line, it's a food and service line
- SSSimon Sinek
Mm-hmm
- JHJoan Howard
We basically give them the best we can. We get everything from True Classic tees-
- SSSimon Sinek
Mm-hmm
- JHJoan Howard
... and, and Bombas socks that are absolutely brand new-
- SSSimon Sinek
Mm-hmm
- JHJoan Howard
... and they're wonderful to donate, to books from the libraries, brand new from their book sales, to all kinds of food. I get to give. Everything we get,
- 6:31 – 8:49
Dignity in How People Receive Aid
- JHJoan Howard
we give
- SSSimon Sinek
The, the other thing which I think, again, just dispelling, uh, what people think, m- misunderstandings of, of, of the difficulties and the plights, which is you would think, you know... And True Classic is a sponsor of our podcast, and I was amazed. They had sent pallets of T-shirts to you guys. I mean, the generosity-
- JHJoan Howard
52
- SSSimon Sinek
... 52 pallets. But the thing that I thought was so interesting when I saw the amount of stuff that was there, I mean, like, they had stacks and stacks of T-shirts, and people could take what they needed.
- JHJoan Howard
Yeah
- SSSimon Sinek
And you would think, you know, the... And, and I've seen, I've seen wealthy people line up, you know, for free stuff, and they want one of everything that they don't need.
- JHJoan Howard
Yeah
- SSSimon Sinek
And what I... And you, you don't see that. People could have taken more, and m- most people took one of what they needed. They took a T-shirt, a toothbrush. They didn't take 10. They, they, they weren't putting their hands in. And the reason, they have to carry it. They have to carry it all.
- JHJoan Howard
Yeah
- SSSimon Sinek
So they don't want excess.
- JHJoan Howard
No
- SSSimon Sinek
They want just what they need-
- JHJoan Howard
Exactly
- SSSimon Sinek
... because they have to carry it
- JHJoan Howard
They're survivors
- SSSimon Sinek
Yeah
- JHJoan Howard
And what is so admirable about them is they endure. Uh, not just the psychological effect of being on the street or being homeless or being lesser-
- SSSimon Sinek
Mm
- JHJoan Howard
... as people look at them and treat them that way.
- SSSimon Sinek
Mm-hmm.
- JHJoan Howard
But when they come to Food on Foot, what I get, because I'm out on the street so much during the week, is that they come to Food on Foot not just for [laughs] what they get, but because of the way they're treated, the way you treat them-
- SSSimon Sinek
Mm
- JHJoan Howard
... when you serve or when you give things out. We have everything from, from people coming every week with families, uh, to people who have never experienced anything like this before, and we are a very safe place. It's a cornucopia of an education about people who are in need, because we make it very safe. It's very streamlined. But what I find best about Food on Foot is how we change and pivot every time something happens, 'cause I'm out there and we have our ear to the ground.
- SSSimon Sinek
Mm.
- JHJoan Howard
We f- put our finger on the pulse of what's going on out there.
- SSSimon Sinek
Mm.
- JHJoan Howard
We figure out what is needed. We have UCLA twice a month. We have social services. We were able to get social service, the social service agencies to come on a Sunday when they wouldn't. Uh, legal aid. We have the phones. We have different services. All the stuff that we give out is just basically a bridge to build trust.
- SSSimon Sinek
Mm-hmm.
- JHJoan Howard
Build trust back for people who frankly don't have it
- 8:49 – 11:04
How Food on Foot’s Jobs & Housing Program Works
- SSSimon Sinek
And let's be, and let's be clear. The program is designed to help people get back on their feet.
- JHJoan Howard
Well, we're talking about the food line-
- SSSimon Sinek
Yeah
- JHJoan Howard
... which is basically, uh, about, about services and for people who could not do our Jobs and Housing Program. Our Jobs and Housing Program, because we are private-
- SSSimon Sinek
Right
- JHJoan Howard
... and we are small.
- SSSimon Sinek
Right
- JHJoan Howard
But we're very mighty. We've been going over 20 years in this location, 27 past that
- SSSimon Sinek
So, so, so because they were... Some of the people who were working behind the tables with us-
- JHJoan Howard
Mm-hmm
- SSSimon Sinek
... were themselves homeless. Just walk me through it. So somebody comes into the program.
- JHJoan Howard
Mm-hmm.
- SSSimon Sinek
Um, she says, "I want help getting back on my feet. I wanna be independent. I don't want to..."
- JHJoan Howard
So we basically question-
- SSSimon Sinek
So, so walk me through the, walk me through the life cycle of someone who goes through the program
- JHJoan Howard
Kim, Kim is the gate. And basically she puts them through their paces to see if they're able, if they're ready to hold a job, because a lot of people are not.
- SSSimon Sinek
Right
- JHJoan Howard
A lot of people need way more help than we can give them.
- SSSimon Sinek
Right
- JHJoan Howard
They need mental health. They need, uh, detox. The- there's a lot of stuff going on there. And then-
- SSSimon Sinek
I'm assuming someone's qualified-
- JHJoan Howard
Qualified
- SSSimon Sinek
... and able to hold down a full-time job
- JHJoan Howard
Then they come on Sunday-
- SSSimon Sinek
Mm-hmm
- JHJoan Howard
... and they go through the workshops. They help out at the serving. They're given their gift cards. And if they haven't already been able to get a job, we will get them one. Then toward 10 to 20 weeks, depending on how long that takes, we put them in housing. We pay for that. We pretty much support them so that they don't have to use their checks. They bank their checks. Hopefully they get $5,000, $6,000 by the end. Then during that time, now this is the difference between what we were doing before, during this time now, instead of helping out at the serving, now that they've gotten into housing and they're working 40 hours a week, we take them into a, a spot where we have a lot of volunteers. We also had mentors all the way through, people who donate their time and mentor. But this is more important, uh, and it's part of why I think that we're going to succeed beyond my wildest dreams. We are targeting education for them, specifically for the unique individual, what they want to do.
- SSSimon Sinek
Be specific. Let's take somebody who, who, who comes in, you know, a- and then she says, "I, I want help."
- JHJoan Howard
Okay. So we figure out-
- SSSimon Sinek
So let, let's t- let's call... Let's give her a name. G- give me the... Think, think of somebody who's, who's, who's
- 11:04 – 14:22
Education, Careers, and Long-Term Stability
- SSSimon Sinek
been-
- JHJoan Howard
Okay. So Mary, Mary is working as a maid.
- SSSimon Sinek
Okay
- JHJoan Howard
Mary's working as a maid. She's got... She's done that before.
- SSSimon Sinek
Yeah
- JHJoan Howard
But she wants to do more.
- SSSimon Sinek
Right
- JHJoan Howard
But right now, that's just about all she's qualified for.
- SSSimon Sinek
Right
- JHJoan Howard
So she looks around. She gets a job. We get her a job. We put her in housing. She comes back every Sunday. We touch base with her.
- SSSimon Sinek
And you are subsidizing the housing for the time being, right?
- JHJoan Howard
We always
- SSSimon Sinek
Okay
- JHJoan Howard
Always
- SSSimon Sinek
So she's, she's, she's able to work and keep that money to live?
- JHJoan Howard
Yes
- SSSimon Sinek
Okay
- JHJoan Howard
No. She keeps her ch- she banks her checks. We help
- SSSimon Sinek
Oh, she banks her checks
- JHJoan Howard
Yes. We help, we help out with everything else
- SSSimon Sinek
Okay. So you teach her how to save that money too.
- JHJoan Howard
That's what the workshops are for-
- SSSimon Sinek
Oh, got it. Okay
- JHJoan Howard
... to give her the tools
- SSSimon Sinek
So she's banking her paychecks.
- JHJoan Howard
Yeah.
- SSSimon Sinek
You're helping her with food and rent.
- JHJoan Howard
Yeah, yeah
- SSSimon Sinek
Go on.
- JHJoan Howard
So then we move into the phase where instead of the green shirt and she's at the table, we put her in a separate, separate class with people who are now in housing, and they're working 40-hour week, a week. So that's a lotSo basically the first part of that is classes in just basically learning about what they might wanna do
- 14:22 – 18:37
Joan’s Story: From Wealth to Living in a Car
- JHJoan Howard
Because 20, over 20 years ago it happened to me, and I was the last person I would ever think would be homeless.
- SSSimon Sinek
So where did you grow up?
- JHJoan Howard
I grew up in Beverly Hills. [laughs]
- SSSimon Sinek
You grew up in Beverly Hills.
- JHJoan Howard
Well, I grew up the first-
- SSSimon Sinek
And not on the streets of Beverly Hills, you grew up-
- JHJoan Howard
The first 11 years of my life I was in Houston, Texas. My mother, we had money. Uh, and my mother moved out here. She was a registered nurse. Uh, my dad died when I was a baby and we moved out here. And I was bicoastal because I was, I was training, uh, in dance, and I thought that was gonna be great. So I went down to Texas for my grandmother's, uh, birthday and got run over by a truck, so first 180 in my life. Uh, I had a lot of 180s, but that doesn't mean I wasn't a spoiled brat. My mother, on the other hand, was on every street corner with a sign.
- SSSimon Sinek
Mm.
- JHJoan Howard
She looked like a, an old f- old-fashioned Betty Crocker. She was always protesting something. Peacefully, but I mean, she was the, she was usually the last one arrested because [laughs] she looked like a housewife.
- SSSimon Sinek
So you grew up with money.
- JHJoan Howard
I did. I did.
- SSSimon Sinek
And...
- JHJoan Howard
Okay. So, uh, I had a lot of money and then I didn't. I was in Saks, I pulled out my credit card, and they denied it. They denied all my credit cards and-
- SSSimon Sinek
How old are you at this time?
- JHJoan Howard
I was in my 40s.
- SSSimon Sinek
Okay, so you'd lived an adult life with money.
- JHJoan Howard
Yeah. Never occurred to me anything would... I didn't even know how to write a check. That's how stupid I was, and I was stupid. Um, okay, so long story short, um, I scrambled. My mother had Alzheimer's at the time and I was taking care of her, and I loved her very much. Um, and it was also a relief that she stayed home. I got sick.
- SSSimon Sinek
Now, hold on. Back up, back up. You, you-
- JHJoan Howard
No money
- SSSimon Sinek
Hold on, hold, hold, hold, hold on.
- JHJoan Howard
Okay
- SSSimon Sinek
You're living, like, you're living a good life, you don't think about homeless people, you're, you're, you're, you're one of the haves, not the have-nots.
- JHJoan Howard
Yeah.
- SSSimon Sinek
You're living a good life, you're in your 40s, you're in, you're in Saks Fifth Avenue spending money, life is good. You run the credit card, the credit card is denied.
- JHJoan Howard
It's gone.
- SSSimon Sinek
What happened to the money?
- JHJoan Howard
My uncle, I was on a trust fund. My uncle was an investment banker. Everybody's money was in him. But he got a brain tumor and, and no, I'm not mad at him. I was mad at myself-
- SSSimon Sinek
So he-
- JHJoan Howard
... but I'm not mad at him
- SSSimon Sinek
... took the trust fund-
- 18:37 – 21:18
Cancer, Caregiving, and Losing Everything
- SSSimon Sinek
wage job.
- JHJoan Howard
And then I got sick.
- SSSimon Sinek
Okay.
- JHJoan Howard
I was keeping my head above water. The rent was paid. I got sick. I, um, got a weird form of cancer. It's usually curable, but it wasn't. Um, I was in a study with 35 people because I tried chemo and it, it, um, I couldn't take it. I'm little. I can't even take aspirin. It's not like I'm the an- I'm the anti-addict. I just, I was never, uh, anything that I could do. Can't even drink. Um, my whole family's like that. Anyway, so they put me in a study, immunotherapy, knocked out my immune system, but it saved my life, and I honestly don't think I would have done it except I love my mother so much, and she was not someone who could ever survive in a nursing home.
- SSSimon Sinek
What do you mean you wouldn't have done it?
- JHJoan Howard
I don't think I would have gone through what I went through with the treatment, 'cause it was harsh and horrible, and I nearly died, and I went down to 80 pounds. Um, I wouldn't have gone through it except I love my mother so much, and we did have three geriatric dogs, and she depended on me. So, uh, but I was too sick to do anything, and I couldn't pay the rent. And the manager at our apartment said, "Well, honey, I'm not gonna evict you, but y- uh, can you just move?" So I said, "Oh, sure. Oh, sure. I'll find something." I didn't have credit. This is how stupid I was. I didn't have credit. I had no job. I couldn't even stand up. So we wound up in my mother's old LTD that stopped running when we got to R- Sherman Oaks Ralph's parking lot, and the night manager was really good to us. He let us go in and clean up, and, uh, he fed me with the old deli stuff at Ralph's. Luckily, he's retired, or he'd be in trouble. Um, but... And I tried everywhere to get services.
- SSSimon Sinek
You, you were living, you were living-
- JHJoan Howard
I was living in my car
- SSSimon Sinek
... you and your mom-
- JHJoan Howard
Yes
- SSSimon Sinek
... you and your mom and three dogs were living in the car.
- JHJoan Howard
And I was going everywhere trying to get help. I signed up everywhere, Section 8, everywhere. There was nowhere I didn't go. Nowhere, nowhere, nowhere. But there weren't the services then-
- SSSimon Sinek
Yeah
- JHJoan Howard
... that there are now. They were there, but not like there are now. They're really stupendous now. Still, they're not enough. But anyway, so, uh, I'd gone everywhere I could. I didn't know what to do. I couldn't stand up. I didn't have cancer anymore, but I couldn't stand up, and it was the homeless around my car who adopted me, specifically the alcoholics, who said to me, "You should go over to Hollywood to that chicken line over there. There's a guy who's a real nut, and he'd probably help you." So, uh, [laughs] I was so desperate. I didn't know what else to do 'cause I was...
- 21:18 – 24:35
The Food Line That Saved Joan’s Life
- JHJoan Howard
So I went, [sighs] I went over to Hollywood. I got in, in Jay Goldinger's line, who founded Food on Foot, and it is his genius that laid the foundation that we have today.
- SSSimon Sinek
You went to get food.
- JHJoan Howard
I got in the chicken line for food in order to talk and see if there were any services. There was... I saw no services, and this guy comes up to me, Jay Goldinger, and he says-
- SSSimon Sinek
So was... The ch- just so, ju- just so pe- people are clear, which is one of the things that, that the organization does is it gives, it gives hot meals, gives a hot meal.
- JHJoan Howard
It gives, it gives a hot meal, and it gives a lot of takeaway shelf-stable items. So anyway, I went over, and I'm standing in line listening in the wind, and he came up to me and said, uh, "So what's your story? You anorexic? You a drug addict? What... You're skinny. What's going on here?" I burst into tears. "Boo-hoo-hoo, Mama. Boo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo, hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo." He said, "Okay, okay, okay, enough of that." He said, he said, uh, "Go through the line. Don't leave when the serving is over, and I'm gonna take you back and meet your mother. Don't go." He was like that with people, probably like you are. Um, so at the end of the serving, I got into his SUV. He met Mama and saw the dogs. He said, "This is a remarkably clean car. What's going on here?" He talked to the people around my car. He talked to the night manager.
- SSSimon Sinek
[laughs]
- JHJoan Howard
And then he came back, and he gave me his card, and he said, "I want you to go find a place to live tomorrow, and I'm gonna pay for it for a year." I didn't know any better. [laughs] I said, "Okay." [laughs] So I went to a woman, Connie, um, who took, would take three dogs, and I told her what had happened at an apartment house, and she said, "Oh, honey, this is a scam." And so she called him, and he showed up with the Food on Foot car, and he said, "I'm gonna rent this place month to month for a year." He was legitimate, and he did, and he turned to me, and he said, "Now, you have to be in my food line. You're not eligible for the jobs housing, but you've got to be in the food line every Sunday, and I want an email from you every, every week about your life."
- SSSimon Sinek
So when he says in the food line, meaning volunteering to help?
- JHJoan Howard
No.
- SSSimon Sinek
No.
- JHJoan Howard
In the food line.
- SSSimon Sinek
Oh, to actual-
- JHJoan Howard
'Cause I am-
- SSSimon Sinek
Oh, to eat, to eat.
- JHJoan Howard
Yes.
- SSSimon Sinek
Got it.
- JHJoan Howard
I'm a supplicant. And then he said, "I want you to take a look around at the street." He said, "I want you to take a look and tell me everything you see, and write me every week," which I did.Twice a week sometimes
- SSSimon Sinek
This was the condition of him paying your rent
- JHJoan Howard
Yep
- SSSimon Sinek
Yeah
- JHJoan Howard
Yeah. And I did. So long story short, um, he fixed the car, he got me a vacuum cleaner [laughs] , he paid for nursing for my mother, and he gave me the support I needed. He was also kind of a mentor. Uh, my mother died in my arms at 98 listening to Frank Sinatra in that apartment with the three dogs at her feet. They outlasted her. And I got back on my feet, I started doing audience stuff again, and working through. And so I went back to him and I said, "Okay, Jay,
- 24:35 – 26:00
“Pay It Forward”
- JHJoan Howard
how can I repay you?" And he said, he said, "Pay it forward."
- SSSimon Sinek
To some degree, uh, anybody who has never been homeless and has not come cl- close to, close to being homeless, which has nothing to do with wealth, but, you know, you have enough that you've, you don't think about being homeless, that we are all a little bit... I don't know how to put it. We're all a little bit assholes, like the way that, you know-
- JHJoan Howard
I was a definite asshole, Simon
- SSSimon Sinek
... you know, so you, for example, you know, uh, s-
- JHJoan Howard
Yeah
- SSSimon Sinek
... you know, people who say, "Well, the homeless are lazy," try being homeless.
- JHJoan Howard
No, no
- SSSimon Sinek
It's the most un-lazy thing you can do
- JHJoan Howard
You get up, you've got bugs all over you, you're dirty-
- SSSimon Sinek
You, you-
- JHJoan Howard
... and there's no place to use the toilet
- SSSimon Sinek
... and you have to go, you have to go find food, you have to go find-
- JHJoan Howard
Exactly. So
- SSSimon Sinek
... cl- I mean, the, the amount of work you have to do to just stay alive-
- JHJoan Howard
Yeah
- SSSimon Sinek
... y- if y- if you're lazy, uh, uh, you probably die
- JHJoan Howard
And no two services are next to each other
- SSSimon Sinek
And no two services are next to each other. So, so these, these, these, these, um, narratives that people who don't deal with homelessness other than seeing it and ha- and, and, and, and, and having it be a nuisance in our lives, you know, there's a narrative that we have
- JHJoan Howard
Which is why I do it
- SSSimon Sinek
And, and when I heard your story of somebody who came from wealth, who was a trust fund baby, and then had nothing and was n- now living with her mother and three dogs in a car, it's that story of the... it, and, and it's a, it's, it's-
- JHJoan Howard
That story right now, Simon, is all over this city
- SSSimon Sinek
Mm
- JHJoan Howard
In every age group. And I promise you
- SSSimon Sinek
Like, you're living a good life and life happens around you. We saw it happen with, with lockdown.
- 26:00 – 27:19
Debunking the Myths About Homelessness
- SSSimon Sinek
Like, we're all fine, and then all of a sudden the world is completely different. And-
- JHJoan Howard
Yeah
- SSSimon Sinek
... and how ill-prepared we are for what the world has to provi- that what the world, what happens to us around the world-
- JHJoan Howard
But we're not. We're not. I was stupid in so many of the ways I lived my life
- SSSimon Sinek
That's why I wanted you here, which is, I, your story is, is-
- JHJoan Howard
But I met someone
- SSSimon Sinek
If somebody saw you sitting on the street or living in your car-
- JHJoan Howard
Mm-hmm
- SSSimon Sinek
... the narrative of you, drug addict, anorexic, lazy, all of these things, but you weren't
- JHJoan Howard
No, I wasn't
- SSSimon Sinek
You had bad luck
- JHJoan Howard
But I still wasn't able to do it
- SSSimon Sinek
But you had bad luck
- JHJoan Howard
I had someone reach out a hand and help me up. And he also mentored me in a way, because I come from a long line of manic depressives, and I have depression. And he was very big about when people got into the program to do one random act of kindness. He didn't require anything else during the week except find a job. But one random act of chi- kindness to help someone in some way, really look at them. And this is not just giving them a sandwich you don't want or, uh, the rest of your coffee or a water bottle. This is listening to them, something that takes something out of yourself, and that's what he drew out of me. And I discovered my mother in myself, which surprised me. But what he taught me
- 27:19 – 29:00
How One Act of Kindness Can Save a Life
- JHJoan Howard
was... He saved my life, Simon. He gave me the focus so that I was not depressed when my mother died. He gave me tools to use that uniquely fit me, that I could help people and help myself at the same time. And it's not some kind of, of, of bad thing or an addiction that doesn't work. It works with everybody. You'll find outreach workers right and left who do it.
- SSSimon Sinek
Why did he help you?
- JHJoan Howard
Because he was like that
- SSSimon Sinek
There's lots of people who needed help. He can't afford to pay everyone's rent.
- JHJoan Howard
No, but he just had this Geiger about people who would come through. He gave me the opportunity and he gave me the foundation. And then when I pushed my way into his charity-
- SSSimon Sinek
Yeah
- JHJoan Howard
... he allowed it because it worked for him. I- he used to say, "You got a work ethic like no other, Joan."
- SSSimon Sinek
Tell me about somebody who came and s- worked the line on a Sunday, who stood behind a table and, and handed out donated goods, and had never done anything like this before.
- JHJoan Howard
There was a woman whose house burned down during the fires.
- SSSimon Sinek
Mm.
- JHJoan Howard
She has money, but she lost everything that is a memor- a memorabi- memory of the past, which is really hits you in the gut. And I was talking to her and she said, "I didn't think I'd be able to stand up today. I didn't think I could go on." And she said, "I came here," and she said, "all these people." She said, "I have money in the bank. I can rebuild, but these people have nothing." And she said, "It makes me feel so connected.
- 29:00 – 32:53
The Psychological Cost of Being Ignored While Unhoused
- JHJoan Howard
It gives me such a sense of community. It gives me such a sense of right and, and, and justice." And she said, "What you're doing here," she said, "I can't even believe all these people are thanking me for giving me, giving them a bag of chips or a..." She said, "It's food." And she said, "It's nothing, and yet it's probably saved my life."
- SSSimon Sinek
Mm. I had a conversation with, um, a homeless person, uh, in New York City. Um, it was somebody who was young and didn't look like s- she was couch surfing, like had, had some really hard times.
- JHJoan Howard
Yeah
- SSSimon Sinek
You know? And I-- And she didn't look like, you know, the stereotypical homeless person, you know? And talking to her, she was telling me that the hardest part wasn't the food donations or the few dollars that somebody would put in a cupIt's that people would treat her as less than human.
- JHJoan Howard
Yeah.
- SSSimon Sinek
They would ignore her
- JHJoan Howard
Yeah
- SSSimon Sinek
They wouldn't make eye contact with her and she said the, the part that destroyed her soul wasn't actually th- the fact that she was without a home and l- sleeping on friends' couches and trying to scrounge things together. It was she... It, it destroyed her, her confidence that she was, she became less than. She started to believe the way she was treated.
- JHJoan Howard
And that's what we do every week at Food on Foot. I'm on call for the people in line. I literally, Food on Foot is only there on Sunday visible
- SSSimon Sinek
Yeah
- JHJoan Howard
But everybody works behind the scenes. But what I do during the week
- SSSimon Sinek
Yeah
- JHJoan Howard
I figure out what they need because they tell me and I'm out in the streets. I'm out, I'm out at other charities. I'm out at support days, events, finding out what's going on. Just, just this last Tuesday I was downtown at a support day at the LA Public Library
- SSSimon Sinek
Yeah
- JHJoan Howard
And the Metro was there and they were offering bus passes and so I tackled Amelia and gave her an earful about what we do and she said, "Oh, I can come. We can do that there."
- SSSimon Sinek
It's the humanity, right? I mean, again, I'm thinking of somebody else. It was a homeless guy outside my office. I knew his name, I knew his story, I knew why he was homeless. He, he used to be a high-flying guy and he, he was an idiot. He admits that he's an idiot and he lost all his money
- JHJoan Howard
Yeah
- SSSimon Sinek
And he couldn't make ends meet
- JHJoan Howard
Yeah
- SSSimon Sinek
And a smart guy and I, you know, he valued more than anything that I just knew his name, would say good morning to him and, you know, and, and I think that's one of the things that, that... And even when I came to volunteer, uh, and work the, work the tables, you know, to make eye contact with somebody and say, "Hi, what's your name?" You know?
- JHJoan Howard
Yeah.
- SSSimon Sinek
And just have a-
- JHJoan Howard
You save a life every time you do that, Simon
- SSSimon Sinek
You know
- JHJoan Howard
You save a life. I occasionally, uh, 'cause I'm not often in all the circles, I'm too busy behind the scenes, but I will go and I will thank people for coming because, uh-
- SSSimon Sinek
And we're not talking volunteers. You're talking people coming and asking for things.
- JHJoan Howard
No, I'm talking about the volunteers
- SSSimon Sinek
Volunteers. Okay.
- JHJoan Howard
I'm talking about the people who donate money
- SSSimon Sinek
Yeah
- 32:53 – 35:20
Clearing Encampments vs. Solving Homelessness
- SSSimon Sinek
are occupied by homeless camps.
- JHJoan Howard
Well, that would be all right. That would be all right if they had a place to put them. Here's the problem with that, and it is a problem. I think you know from human experience that a great segment of our society believes the world is flat and they're gonna fall off it at any minute. That is not just people who have their criteria for wealth or whatever. You have people in the street who cling to things and they are pack rats, so it's too much. So they have whole communities of excess. Now, if we were practical and we put a dumpster next to it and we provided them with some hope for the future, the whole problem with... I have to say we're doing a great job in, in, in Hollywood. We really are. We really are with getting people off the street and providing them with housing.
- SSSimon Sinek
What's Hollywood doing that they're not doing on Skid Row, for example?
- JHJoan Howard
Because we have Hollywood Forward and quite frankly, Mike Foley, who's the head of, uh, Food on Foot, has been intrinsic in, in, in jumping up and down and telling them, "Look, you guys, we all have to hold hands. We're not gonna do this by ourselves. We can't be so exclusive. We've got to share information and we've got to band together and partner."
- SSSimon Sinek
Yeah.
- JHJoan Howard
And he's, he's so smart and I mean, you saw how well, how well organized we are at Food on Foot. It was not that way before.
- SSSimon Sinek
You're, you're, I mean, not to go off on a tangent, but you're highlighting something which drives me crazy about, uh, not-for-profit organizations and charities-
- JHJoan Howard
Because they're businesses
- SSSimon Sinek
... which is they compete against each other.
- JHJoan Howard
They're businesses.
- SSSimon Sinek
They compete against each other. They're trying to solve the same problem-
- JHJoan Howard
And it's going to get much-
- SSSimon Sinek
... competing against each other
- JHJoan Howard
... much, much, much worse and I'm terrified
- SSSimon Sinek
As opposed to working together. It drives me nuts.
- JHJoan Howard
I will tell you right now, I'm terrified because what's happening now-
- SSSimon Sinek
Competing gallons
- JHJoan Howard
... what's happening now, you don't want people on the street. That is not what you want. You don't want them. You want them to have a restroom. You want them to have some access and we should be able to put them into shelters or whatever. It's just they're so badly managed, most of them. The ones that are best managed, Hope, the Mission. I have to say they do it better than any other organization I've seen. But they are dependent a lot on the government money as are all these huge organizations. Government money and right now it's being cut off and that means we are totally private. We have never taken government funding because we do not operate in a small little area. If you're from Pacoima, if you're from Long Beach or San Diego, you hear about us, you're homeless, you want, you wanna, you wanna work-
- SSSimon Sinek
Food on Foot has, has no go-
- JHJoan Howard
We will take you
- SSSimon Sinek
... has zero government funding.
- JHJoan Howard
None. Absolutely none.
- SSSimon Sinek
Wow.
- JHJoan Howard
Because it's a mess.
- SSSimon Sinek
Yeah, it's...
- 35:20 – 35:40
Why Food on Foot Takes No Government Funding
- SSSimon Sinek
Can you tell me a story of a single person you have met along your journey, whether it was a time when you were homeless or a time afterwards? Can you tell me an, a, a, that, that their story touches you more than everyone else, that you carry, you carry-
- JHJoan Howard
Uncle Willie
- SSSimon Sinek
... their name with you?
- JHJoan Howard
Uncle
- 35:40 – 40:27
The Story of Uncle Willie
- JHJoan Howard
Willie.
- SSSimon Sinek
Uncle Willie. Tell me about Uncle Willie. What is it about Uncle Willie's story?
- JHJoan Howard
Uncle Willie is the son of a Supreme, Diana Ross and The Supremes, and he used to have a kids show. He got on heroin and, uh, he kept trying and trying and trying to kick it and he came to Food on Foot and it has nothing to do with me, but he was at a point where he really, really, really wanted to be in housing, wanted helpAnd, uh, as I said, somebody doesn't answer the phone, I do. [laughs] I do. So, uh, Uncle Willie came to me. He said, "Joan, I gotta get in shelter." He said, I, he said, "I went through treatment," but he said, "They don't give you any help when they put you through treatment. They want you to go right back in so they can get more government money." He said, "I need," he said, "I need shelter. I need..." So I contacted him with a shelter that will remain nameless.
- SSSimon Sinek
I'm gonna... Hold on. I'm gonna back up for a second there.
- JHJoan Howard
Mm-hmm.
- SSSimon Sinek
The treatment centers get government money-
- JHJoan Howard
Because they're- everything's compartmentalized
- SSSimon Sinek
... and they get government money for each person they treat, so they don't... There, there's an incentive-
- JHJoan Howard
There's an incentive not to-
- SSSimon Sinek
... to keep you in the system-
- JHJoan Howard
Yeah
- SSSimon Sinek
... because then you get more government money.
- JHJoan Howard
Yeah, yeah. The problem is the follow-through and the support. You can't throw people in housing, any people, without giving them support, and government agencies do not have... It's not their fault. They don't have the social workers and the outreach workers who can, who can... They have 300 cases each. How can they do this?
- SSSimon Sinek
So okay, so back to Uncle, to Uncle Willie. So he's a heroin addict. He genuinely wants to get clean.
- JHJoan Howard
And he did.
- SSSimon Sinek
Yeah.
- JHJoan Howard
And after he got clean, he called me and said, "Help me get into shelter. Help me, Joan." I said, "Okay." So I got him into, uh, a shelter that I thought was good. A lot of these, uh, charities are, uh, businesses, and they lean on endorsements and what people see. So they have one shelter that's like... It's a s- it's a small world tour, I call it, and everything's perfect. It's clean. Everybody's happy, yada, yada. Everybody's been rehearsed, and everybody gives a good story. Then you have all the other shelters. Uncle Willie got in one of the other shelters, and I had been... This is way back. This is way back. I've known him 15 years, and he called me up and he said, "Joan," he said, "I have to room with this guy," and he said, "He's a cutter, and he has AIDS." And he said, "We share a bathroom," and he said, "in the shelter." And he said, "He bleeds all over the place." And he said, "I've asked them to move me, and they say I'm the problem." I said, "How are you the problem?" And he said, "Well," he said, "I..." And he's, he's mental. And he said, "I can't, I can't keep this up." And he said, "I'm afraid." He said, 'cause, um, he was older then, and he was afraid. Um, and he said, "I'm cleaning up the toilet. I'm cleaning up the, the bathroom all the time. There's blood everywhere." I said, "Okay." I said, "We gotta get you somewhere else." But before that happened, he was thrown out of the shelter because he got angry, and he said, "You can't do this to me." The secret about all these shelters is you can't get into any kind of, of, uh, disagreement in them, even if you're not at fault. Because if you're part of it, they will oust you, and then you have a thing on your, uh, that own- under your name and Social Security number that says you're a problem, and they won't take you, and that's the truth. Hopefully, it's changing, but that is what has been happening. And you tell me how you put a lot of people who were treated like animals on the street, you put 'em in shelter, and you don't have any staff there at all at night, and there were n- there, there are just peer counselors or a security guard with two weeks training, and expect everything to be okay. It's not. You need someone to be able to pour oil on the water. Night is when it happens. After hours is when it happens. That's why I answer all evening long. So Uncle Willie is now thrown out. He has no place to go. He networks. I get him a bus ticket back to Detroit, where he has relatives. He calls me from Detroit and he says, "Joan," he said, "I'm gonna come back. I'm in better shape." He said, "I'm stable." It's been a year, and he said, "The problem is," he said, "all my relatives are using, and I don't wanna deal with that." So he comes back. I get him a really great caseworker because she's a friend, and she really, really does care. Unfortunately, she burnt out. She worked for LAHSA. That happens a lot because the outreach workers are tremendous, but they're up against... They have to... They have quotas. It's like any business, and there's so much they can't do, and they have too many people, and there's not enough that they can do for them, and you have mental. You have, you have just... Anyway.
- SSSimon Sinek
What is it about Uncle Willie that you carry his name with you?
- JHJoan Howard
Uncle Willie kept, kept going, and he kept calling me. He kept calling me, and so finally, we got him a place to live. Downtown, he has a place. And he came through,
- 40:27 – 43:03
Why “Nice” Isn’t Enough and “Kind” Saves Lives
- JHJoan Howard
and he helps other people.
- SSSimon Sinek
Lots of people came through. Lots of people h- help other people. What is it about Uncle Willie?
- JHJoan Howard
Because he was such a heroin addict. He fell so far down. He was in a ditch.
- SSSimon Sinek
But you've worked with others who've been in-
- JHJoan Howard
No
- SSSimon Sinek
... really bad shape.
- JHJoan Howard
No, no. Not a man who's been on heroin since he was 20 years old, and he's now 60.
- SSSimon Sinek
Wow.
- JHJoan Howard
No. And he is the one who said to me when I first met him, he says, "I like you." I said, "Why?" He said, "Because you always tell me the truth, and the truth's the only thing that keeps you standing when you hit bottom." So he was in line last week. He comes in line. He brought a, a guy with him from downtown who was homeless, and he said, "This is Joan." "Oh," he said, "the famous Joan." He said, "Why does everybody like her?" And Uncle Willie said, "'Cause she's the one. When everybody else turns their back on you, she'll, she'll still be there for you." So that's why I do it, because these people endure, and they're admirable, and I get more truth on the street. When I go around to all these different charities and explore and find out what works and what doesn't, and I'm not against any of them, but I see the fallacies in what the services that, that... Oh, just so much, and I see what goes on. The people I depend on the most are the people who are on the ground who are being served.
- SSSimon Sinek
But the, the, this, this role of truth I find very interesting, right?
- JHJoan Howard
Mm.
- SSSimon Sinek
Which is you say when, uh, and, and the way, the way-
- JHJoan Howard
Because they can handle it
- SSSimon Sinek
... the way, the way they can handle it, the way that, uh, Uncle Willie described you asWhen you're at your worst, she'll tell you the truth.
- JHJoan Howard
Mm-hmm.
- SSSimon Sinek
And, uh, Jay was very honest with you. One would think that for people who are struggling, that being nice-
- JHJoan Howard
That does work, but nice is a surface term, isn't it? When anybody ever says, "Oh, you should meet him, he's so nice," I go, "Oh, boy. Tell me you're good. Tell me you're honest. Tell me you're kind. Tell me you're fair. Tell me you're decent. Don't tell me you're nice." That's a social term. It's like glitter.
- SSSimon Sinek
But don't we need to lift people up who are struggling?
- JHJoan Howard
Exactly. Be kind.
- SSSimon Sinek
But sometimes the truth is difficult to hear.
- JHJoan Howard
It depends.
- SSSimon Sinek
When you got yourself back on your feet and, and you've had a home and a job, what, what, what was the reason you decided to continue to volunteer as opposed to just go build a life and live a life?
- 43:03 – 51:06
Why Joan Chose Service as a Life Vocation
- JHJoan Howard
I was good at it, and I liked the people I helped. I liked them genuinely, and I saw them not treated well.
- SSSimon Sinek
But I, what, what... I wanna know, you know, how did this spoiled little rich girl find such empathy for people who-
- JHJoan Howard
Well, my mother always had it
- SSSimon Sinek
... who are not like-
- JHJoan Howard
It should've been-
- SSSimon Sinek
They're not like you
- JHJoan Howard
... it should- it must be a gene that pops out-
- SSSimon Sinek
Not like you at all
- JHJoan Howard
... when you're 50-something.
- SSSimon Sinek
Didn't grow up like you, they didn't live like you, and here you are, like-
- JHJoan Howard
Yeah, well, actually someone said that to me. "Well, we need a social worker who really understands Hollywood and, and, you know, has lived experience." And he said, "You know," and I said... He said, "Like you." I said, "I'm from Beverly Hills. It's talent."
- SSSimon Sinek
[laughs]
- JHJoan Howard
You know how people operate with people. If they're good with people and they care and they wanna help, you have all these people out there, and you just know. There are so many wonderful people out there in the street helping you have no idea. I'm not an anomaly. I'm just usual. It's just that I don't stop. And it's not a job. I'm a volunteer. It's a vocation.
- SSSimon Sinek
How much does the service help them get healthy again? Like, do people... Is there a higher likelihood that they're gonna get healthy? Like, where does the service component live?
- JHJoan Howard
Because they have someone to go to.
- SSSimon Sinek
But like-
- JHJoan Howard
They have a place to do-
- SSSimon Sinek
Or some- or somebody-
- JHJoan Howard
Yes
- SSSimon Sinek
... in the job program-
- JHJoan Howard
Yes, exactly so
- SSSimon Sinek
... who's volunteering. Are they more likely to succeed in the job-
- JHJoan Howard
Yes
- SSSimon Sinek
... program, program when they also volunteer?
- JHJoan Howard
That was the reason there was a random act of kindness-
- SSSimon Sinek
There we go
- JHJoan Howard
... required by Jay Goldinger. It's no longer required because it's, it's more fully fleshed out now.
- SSSimon Sinek
Yeah. Right, right. But there it is. There it is. You... This, this to me is the insight on all of this, which is you're more likely to help yourself solve your problem when you live a life of service and helping other people solve theirs.
- JHJoan Howard
Well, there's something else that's going on that I hope will happen. Randy Wyatt, I think you met her. She's absolutely wonderful. She has two kids of her own. Uh, she wants to start a program at Food on Foot to help youth. A lot of different organizations are doing this, but I think, we think the Food on Foot way, I think we're better at it, okay? I'm prejudiced. Um, you have so much emphasis on kids using fentanyl 'cause they seek God. I mean, I grew up in the just say no era of everybody said yes during the Reagan era, 'cause I'm an old person. I'm the '70s in high school. And what I saw was I s- most of my friends died. I was always a designated driver because I'm not kidding you, I can't even... Aspirin knocks me out. You give me some of codeine, I'm gonna be out for a week. Um, but what I see with today's youth, look, I would never wanna go back and be a teenager. Your hormones go crazy. I wouldn't go through that again for all the tea in China. Let me, let me have my face like a Shar Pei. I'm fine. But for, for most people, for most youngsters, you hit a point where your hormones go wild, and I don't care. You're ins- you don't know. Your focus is not always the best, and you don't... And your parents haven't taken out a license to raise you right. They haven't learned. A lot of parents just let kids just out there. So the co-criteria is don't join a gang. Don't go to a rave and try. Help somebody. So we're trying to institute a program where we get together groups of kids and let them help other people and see that it's fun. This is not a downer. Did you have a downer when you went?
- SSSimon Sinek
No, I had a lovely time.
Episode duration: 51:08
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