Kisha’s Story: Finding Hope Through Health, Hardship, and Community

In this episode of Unseen Atlanta, Kisha shares her inspiring journey of resilience, faith, and transformation after a devastating medical crisis led to homelessness. Her story highlights the power of community and the support she found at Atlanta Mission. We’re also joined by subject matter expert Breanna Lathrop, CEO of Good Samaritan Health Center, who shares how compassionate healthcare can create pathways to renewal. Tune in for a moving discussion about the intersection of health, homelessness, and hope.

Transcript

 Kisha: I was mad. I said, I've been good my whole life. I did all I was supposed to do. Well, I can't catch a break because now I can't walk, can't talk, they took my teeth out, my hair fell out. So I was mad. I was just mad. But God gave it all back. Gave it all back.  

Rachel: Hi, welcome to Unseen Atlanta, an Atlanta Mission podcast where we shine light on some of the city's toughest issues. 

I'm Rachel Reynolds, and I'm one of your hosts.  

Jonathan: And I'm Jonathan Miller, your co host.  

Rachel: We're going to be sharing true stories from real people who've experienced homelessness and addiction.  

Jonathan: Each episode, you'll hear insights from subject matter experts who are leading the way towards transformation.  

Rachel: And we're going to be talking about Kisha today. 

It's such a unique story because it talks a lot about how. A medical condition can lead to homelessness, which is not something people typically think about.  

Jonathan: No, no. And like we all know people, we've all experienced health crises. Um, but the reality is 70 percent of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. 

So when a health crisis comes up, it can really, uh, derail your story.  

Rachel: Yeah. No, it is. It's something that I think for me personally, I think, you We build our lives around security. So we build our lives around financial security where our kids gonna go to school Are we living in a safe neighborhood? But the thing we really can't provide any safety for is health if something goes wrong with our health And so I think that's such an interesting thing because it's not just I think a lot of times when we hear stories about homelessness We can put like a spin on of like, oh, it's you know us first them, but we've all experienced Health crises. 

We all are going to experience health crises. And so we're all just like one step away from this. So it's a really good story. And I cannot wait for you guys to hear it today. Thanks for being here. Thanks for having me. No, thanks for having us. Yeah, honestly, we're honored. You're our first guest. I'm so excited. 

So let's talk a little bit about how you got to Atlanta.  

Kisha: How I got to Atlanta. I got married. Okay. My brother was here first, and he kept saying, Come, come, and I was like, no, I'm a city girl. I can't come to Atlanta. Then I got married. Okay. But before I got married, it snowed real hard.  

Rachel: Like the day before you got married? 

Kisha: No, I got married in the snow. It snowed, like, at the beginning of January. Okay. I got married at the end of January, and I was like, I can't. Keep doing the snow. So I was, got married. So I was like, I'm coming to Georgia. And I came to Georgia. That's how I got down here.  

Rachel: Were you happy that  

you came?  

Kisha: I was. I was happy I got married and I started a new life and I get to be near my brother and my nephew. 

So I was happy.  

Rachel: And was that in, when was that? Was that in 2008? That was 2018. Okay. Yes. So tell me a little bit about when you came to Georgia. What was it like?  

Kisha: What were you doing? I was working at a lunch bakery. That was my first job. I went in and I sat down and I ate. And I was like, I want to work here, because it was so nice. 

What did you eat to make you want to work there? Well, they have falafel. Okay. Falafel, hash browns. And something else. And it was the ambiance for me. It was the atmosphere. It was the niceness, because it reminds you of Paris, and he studied in Paris, so I was like, oh my god, it's nice, I want to work here. 

And the line walked by, and they was like, that's the line, and I was like, oh, I want to work here. He was like, you do, come see me tomorrow. And I went, he gave me the job, and I was there five years. So in the midst of that, um, I got sick. My, my, um, arthritis started acting up. Because, Before 2018, I was sick, and all my skin fell off. 

All your skin fell off? Yeah, they helicoptered me to the University of Michigan because one day my skin just cracked like I had a scratch. Okay. And it just kept opening up. Wow. And so I was at work. I was a district manager with Taco Bell. It scratched and, and it kept falling off. And so my boss was like, you need to go to the hospital. 

And I was like, I know, it was just like flakes. And then I got to the hospital because it really, I got a fever and I was sick. And then my skin started, the doctors touched me and it started to fall off. So I was like, oh my God, my skin's falling off. So it got really bad. And they helicoptered me to the University of Michigan. 

And they had me in a burn unit for six months. In the ICU for six months because I had no skin, no hair, teeth.  

Rachel: So was this something that you knew that you had had or was that the first time? It was stress. The stress. Stress, stress caused it.  

Kisha: Caused it. Okay. The arthritis came after that. Okay. Because my bones were, um, exposed. 

My, my joints was exposed when the skin fell off. So they call it the cousins. Um, psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis go hand in hand. So by me getting sick, that's how I got arthritis.  

Mm.  

Rachel: So is this something that was like, some people in your family had?  

Kisha: Mm mm. It came, you know how your body is supposed to fight against, um, stress to antibodies to white cells? 

Yeah. Yeah. It went in reverse. Instead of protecting me, it went against me. That's why my skin fell off, because of the stress. And so, um, Mm. The doctors didn't think I was going to make it, but hey, God said, she is. So um, I left there, and then. So did your  

Rachel: skin regrow?  

Kisha: No, it did, because all this was gone. I was your color. 

I mean, you obviously have skin now. I have skin, but it took protein. I had to have a lot of protein. And they sat me in a solution. Okay. Wow. Every day. And they would get me out the bed, because I couldn't walk, so they had to put me on this thing to move me to the solution, and then I ate a steak. Three times a day. 

Yeah. Yeah. It was good. Three times a day. And I drink 14 shakes. Yeah. And then they put this stuff on you. So every day of my life that I'm alive, I have to put um, steroids on my skin. Okay. Okay. Because, um, it'll break out.  

Rachel: So since then, this has been something you've been dealing with?  

Kisha: Mm hmm. Mm hmm. Okay. 

So that's when I found out when I worked at Alliance that my legs were bad. Because you literally kept, Going out, couldn't walk, had to call off, and then I went to the doctor and they were like, I thought it was my weight, so I lost weight. I lost a hundred pounds. Wow.  

Rachel: Okay.  

Kisha: My joints still hurt. I lost a hundred pounds. 

So that's when they said, No, you have psoriatic arthritis. It's never going to go away. It's going to get  

Rachel: worse. And it did. Okay. So that happened. So you got diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis when you were working at Alon's. Mm  

Kisha: hmm. Okay. So I was still there, 2018, 2019, 2020, 21. And then my legs really was bad. 

But he was closing that store down. Okay. He had, um, after COVID, he went from having 200 people working there to like 20. At a 10, 000 square foot space store. He couldn't afford it no more. So he was like, well, I got the store in Virginia Highlands, and I got the store in Phipps Plaza. Virginia Highlands, those people aren't going anywhere. 

They've been there 35 years, they're not leaving, and it's only big as this room. He said, what about Phipps? I said, I can't stand on my legs that much no more, because it was really bad. And he was like, all right, I So I didn't go back to work. Applied for disability, and it didn't  

Rachel: Were you, were you and your husband together at this time? 

Kisha: Oh, no, I'm sorry. I skipped the whole part. You did skip a whole part. You buried the lead.  

Rachel: I married him and it didn't work. Okay, so you married him, you guys moved here. How long before you guys got divorced?  

Kisha: 2020.  

Rachel: Okay, so you were together for a couple years? Yeah,  

Kisha: and he wasn't who I thought he was.  

Rachel: So were you living by yourself or were you with your brother? 

Kisha: No, I was living by myself after I put him up. I sent him back to Fulton County and I was like, you know, I can do this. And I did. I stayed working at a lawns. Uh huh. And then I got sick. And then I was by myself. And then I lost my job, my legs went out, and that's how it is. Wow. Okay. So, um, October of 2020. 

I did it for like two years by myself, but I couldn't do it no more. And then my best friend helped me, because I had lost my job, right? I wasn't working. I had my savings, but I had went through my savings. And then my best friend, she lives in Detroit. She paid my bills for a whole year for me. Wow. A whole year. 

And then she had a, um, Um, she had a triple bypass surgery because she owns a restaurant and she owns a, um, food truck, but she couldn't do it, you know, by her being sick. And I told her, I don't, I don't need you to keep trying to help me because you got your own issues now, right? Right. And she was sad. She didn't want me to come to the shelter. 

I said it'd be okay when I came to restoration office.  

Rachel: So before we talk about that, what was it like living with, because you had obviously had this very traumatic bout. Of a flare up and when you're living in Detroit, all your skin fell. How did you like mentally stay living?  

Kisha: My friends, God, my friends, and I have one best friend. 

Okay. Not the one that pay my bills because I've had my friends my whole life. Yeah,  

Rachel: you seem to have some good friends.  

Kisha: I do, I do. I have, her name is Shamita. Okay. And she's amazing. Shout out Shamita. Yeah, shout out Shamita. She, um, It was there for me for the whole thing, from the day my skin fell. The first piece, I caught her hysterical. 

She drove from, um, Detroit to Ann Arbor three times a day to make sure I was okay. Wow. Wow. And if she couldn't, because she has lupus, she sent her mom. Wow. She sent her dad. Somebody came to check on me. And so when they put me in a helicopter, she couldn't ride in a helicopter with me, right? So she was like, You're gonna be fine. 

God got you. I'll meet you at, you know, cause I'm in and out. You know, my organs were, um, Yeah. They had to put that thing in my leg where they take the drill and they drill that hole. They call it the, um, It's the last thing, like if they can't save you, they take a drill, a real drill, and they take a screw, a bolt, has a hole in it, and they drill it into your leg, your knee, and then they pour the medicine in, to get to your bones, because all of your stuff have collapsed, but I was like, when he poured that in my leg, I sat up on a gurney. 

I said, don't do that no more, me and God are good. And I talked to him and he said, I'm gonna be okay, so don't do that no more. He was all like, yeah, okay, whatever. I'm just trying to save your life, but we're gonna. So I was okay. You have  

Rachel: a lot of resiliency. Wow. So did you grow up with faith? I did. My mom was strong. 

My mom was  

Kisha: strong. My dad was faithful. Um, my mom, we, we grew up together. Going to the Kingdom Hall. First week was going to church, and then we went to the Kingdom Hall. So my mom was like, God will be served in my house. But he's been good to me. So I believe that. And he's walked his journey with me. Cause my mom died 25 years ago. 

Rachel: And  

Kisha: my dad died 40 years ago. So it's been me and my brother my whole rest of my life. So you kind  

Rachel: of had to build a family around you it sounds like, with your friends. My therapist calls it a family. Your chosen family, your chosen family,  

she  

Rachel: says that a lot of times we all have to, um, we all have to build our chosen family. 

I'm building my chosen family right now. That's cool. It sounds like you've really built that around yourself, which is really neat.  

Kisha: Yeah, I've had my same friends my whole life. It's great to right now. I'm 50. I've had the same five friends. Wow. Same never fell out. That's pretty incredible. You know, yeah. 

So when I had to come, my best friend was sad. She wanted me to come back to Michigan. I'm like, no, because my nephew is here. I love him. He's so amazing. And I don't have no kids. So it's just really me, my brother, and my nephew. Well, his wife. She's nice.  

Rachel: Okay.  

Kisha: She can stay. Um,  

Rachel: so yeah, it sounds like your faith and your community really helped you. 

It did. Because it, that had to be a very, not only physically challenging time, but mentally challenging time. It was man.  

Kisha: Oh, I, yeah. I was mad. I said I've been good a whole life. Hmm. I did all I was supposed to do. Well, I can't catch a break. I was mad when my skin fell off because now I can't walk. Can't talk. 

Didn't take my teeth out. My hair fell out. I have great hair, right? Like, my dad gave me great hair. So, I was mad. I was just mad. But God gave it all back. Wow.  

Jonathan: Gave it  

Kisha: all back. Even now. Yeah.  

Jonathan: So, uh, Keshia, we just wanted to ask you, uh, we're called Unseen Atlanta.  

Kisha: Okay.  

Jonathan: So, what is it like to be unseen?  

Kisha: You feel invisible. 

Um, I grew up like that. My brother was the fave. So, I always had to do extra so my mom could see me. And no matter how much I did. My brother was always too faint. I called him Jesus. Because he could walk home with it to my mom. So it's hard to be unseen. You feel bad. Like, you know, no matter what you do is not enough. 

So you got to do extra  

Rachel: so they can see you. And I did. Tell us about what it was like when you had to come to Restoration House.  

Kisha: I was mad. I cried. Hard. Because I was like, I'm  

50.  

Kisha: I've been good. I did what I was supposed to do. I helped my fellow man. I fed. Because I met this lady. Can I tell you a story real quick? 

Yes. I met this lady. That's why we're here. I met this lady back in, um, probably 2002. I worked at a gas station in Detroit. She was a lady. She came into my store every day. She bought 20 worth of gas and she gave us 20. Oh, okay. And she would say, if somebody comes in here and they're hungry, or they don't got enough gas, you take it out, there's 20. 

That's how I met her. I She did that every day, wonderful lady, worked at Blue Cross Blue Shield, she was a corporate payroll lady. So one day, after months of that, I said, hey, can I ask you, why do you give us that money? She said, my brother walked away from our house over 20 years ago. I've never seen him again. 

My mom is devastated. But I pay it forward because if my brother's in the world, He's hungry. He's thirsty. Maybe if I do this, somebody will help my brother. And I was like, wow, okay. So ever since that day, I remembered that. So I always paid it forward, because people have been good to me in my life, so. And when I got here, I was like, man, I did what I was supposed to do, but I'm still here. 

So I was hurt. I was, I cried, but the women that I encountered that did my intake at Restoration House, Ms. Daphne, Ms. Jasmine, Ms. Shirley, were good to me, and they said it's going to be okay. And it was. It is. Then I got to my sister's house and I cried. I did. I was emotional because I'm like, whoa, why am I homeless? 

Because I followed the rules.  

And  

Kisha: I was mad at God. I was. But then I was like, okay, he's been good to me. So all I kept saying was there has to be a lesson. Gotta be something I didn't do right, or I missed. I thought I was humble, but then I learned a  

Rachel: lot about myself when I got here. If you made it this far into the episode, you're likely feeling the weight of these stories. 

Unseen Atlanta was created to reveal the raw and unfiltered realities faced by individuals in our city. Struggles with addiction, homelessness, and mental health. It's heavy, but don't stop now. We're about to turn the page to something life changing. Hope is coming. When someone steps through our doors, they step into an opportunity to start fresh. 

The transformation you're about to hear wouldn't be possible without our incredible partners like the Justin Landis Group. Whether you're buying or selling your home in Metro Atlanta, their unwavering commitment to exceptional service and authentic relationships sets them apart. Their compassion and dedication to our community fuels stories just like these. 

A heartfelt thank you to our partner and sponsor, Justin Landis Group. Because of your generosity, these stories don't end here. Now let's dive back into the episode. I think one of the things that people don't understand is how much courage it takes to walk through the doors. Thank you For the first time. 

Um, tell us like a little bit about how that felt.  

Kisha: I had a little  

Rachel: relief.  

Kisha: Okay. But I laughed and let me tell you why. Okay. Because the whole time when I was struggling and I couldn't pay my bills and people kept saying, Oh, get a roommate. I said, No, I never had a roommate in my life. I took care of myself and I don't like a lot of girls like that. 

You know, I'm not getting a roommate. Oh, but then I got to Atlanta Mission at 200. You were like, jokes on me. Jokes on me, right. 200 of us. Right. So I was like, okay, God, I'll see you. Because I said I couldn't and I wouldn't. And he said, um, I'm going to show you you will. And you will. And I did. And I was like, okay. 

I still was like, okay. So I listened to them doing orientation, and I said, Yep. Yep. Do what you gotta do. Come here, follow the rules, do what you gotta do. Cause I'm real strong willed. And my mom's been dead 25 years, so I was grown, you know. People can't be telling me what to do. What do you mean I gotta go to bed? 

It's 10 o'clock. So, no. Do what you gotta do. And this is what I said. And I did. Now, I'm not gonna lie to you guys and be like, Oh, it's been pieces of, it's been bumps in this road. It's a year. Well, that's life. That's life, right? I did what I had to do. Put on my big girl pants and I did what I had to do. 

And, um, it was hard. It was hard.  

Rachel: But, I'm appreciative. You talk about those kind of ebbs and flows. I mean, I think a lot of the journey that people take at our shelters, it's the ebbs and flows. And, but that's life. That's life. Every day, every day is a battle of, you know, it might look different for every other, every different people. 

But yeah, how did you stay like in a good mental place? Um, with the ebbs and flows.  

Kisha: I prayed a lot. I read my Bible a lot. And I talked to women that was there that have been on this journey long before I got here. And they told me like, Hey, this is gonna work. If you do the work, you got to do the work. I had to do the work. 

I can go sit on the couch and talk to Ms. Shea. She can pour into me, but if I don't do the work, it's not going to work. So I said, this is the first time in my life, this is what I said. And I told people, this is the first time in my life that God has allowed me to sit down free of charge to get my life together, to fix me, no bills, no rent, no, no food, no clothes. 

I had to do nothing. Right? So when am I going to be able to do this again? I don't know. No, I'm not. Use it. Get what I need to get out of it. Learn from it. And when I needed to go lay on Miss Shae's couch, I did and I cried and I poured my soul out there. And so it worked for me.  

Rachel: I feel like we should bottle up her mentality. 

I mean it. Yeah, absolutely. Like, you have such incredible perspective. Yes. I think that's, like, half the battle is having perspective in order to keep going, and I really, I think we should bottle, we should have, like, Kisha perspective in the bottle. We could make a lot of money on that. I know right, I hope so. 

And  

Jonathan: I'm just like sitting here, I'm just like, I just want to hear all the things. I know, me  

too.  

Jonathan: What were some of the, you keep talking about like, I learned so many lessons. Like, can you share some of those pieces of wisdom with us?  

Kisha: Listen, you gotta listen. Listen and silent have the same letters. I was writing one day, and I looked at the letters and I said, oh. 

Listen is silent. It's the same letters. So you gotta be silent so that you can listen. They get it. Cause some people, sometimes we just talk and talk and talk. And I remember my mom said to me I know all about that. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Ha! Me too! Ha ha ha ha ha ha! Took me a long time to get to this point in my life. 

Cause I'm getting a lesson right  

Rachel: now! You got it? Yes! Go, keep going!  

Kisha: Ha! So yeah, you have to listen and be quiet because God is talking to you. And so if you don't listen and you just talking, you gonna miss the lesson, right? That's what I got. I had to listen. I had to be quiet, because my mom would get me in trouble. 

Because I told you, I thought I was grown. I am grown. But I was like, hey, my mom gone. That's the only person I had to do. I cared enough about, because I'm scared of her, you know. So, um. After that, I was like, I'm a girl, I can do what I want to do. I've been taking care of myself for a long time. I raised my brother and I'm good. 

So when I got here, it was like, okay, okay, I gotta listen. And I stopped and I listened. I didn't gossip. I stayed off the mix of, because that'd, that'd get you in trouble. Once again, 200 women. 200 women. No. And the manager and me made it a little easy because I dealt with different personalities. You know, they call me, um, they call me a social butterfly. 

They be like, oh, okay, social. Because you, you have to, you gotta be charming. 80 people working for me at one time in one place. So I had to know how to get people to do what you need them to do for you, right? So you got to be charming, you got to listen, you got to pay attention, you got to focus. So I'm like, how did I get here? 

So I had to really do all that I can, listen, pay attention, and focus so that I can do what I need to do to get to the finish line. And I'm 16 days from the finish  

Rachel: line. 16 days? Wow.  

Jonathan: That's awesome.  

Rachel: How was your health when you were at the mission?  

Kisha: It was bad. So at first it was good. I got there, I could walk and talk and everything was good. 

And then I went to JSW. Which is Job Search Workshop. So I went. I was excited. I did transformations and I was excited. And then the day after we graduated, job search, I couldn't walk. No. No. Woke up. Could not get out of my bed. My legs are like, ha ha. Yeah, okay, because I was deaf, right? I missed the first day of job search. 

And I was crying. And Ms. Easy was like, What's wrong? I said I can't not walk. And they was like, Oh my gosh, I had the limp. Hop to the front to the desk. And so Ms. Easy was like, What are you going to do? So I was like, I don't want no cane, because I had already overcame that, and then my legs was like, mm hmm, and Ms. 

Edith went downstairs and got me a cane.  

Okay.  

Kisha: So, I didn't go to the job search. They had to give me, um, like, workman's comp to be off to get better, and shout out to Mr. Vincent. He's gone now, but him and Ms. Simone and Mr. Green made sure I was okay. Mm hmm. So I was off, and I couldn't walk. And I was like, I gotta get a job. 

I gotta get a job. Cause now I'm scared. Right. Now I'm scared. I'm like, I can't walk when I'm due. So, um, I would take my cane to my job interviews and I would leave it outside the door. So people didn't know. So they didn't know. Yeah. Cause I'm already older. Right.  

Rachel: And I can't walk. And we're like, girl, go home. 

We ain't got time. So were you, were you under any medical care at that time? Uh huh. Uh huh. So where were you doing that? Good Sam. Listen, I love Good Samaritan. Tell me, tell me!  

Kisha: I love Good Samaritan. Okay, why? They took great care of me.  

Rachel: Really? From, did you start with them like right away when you got to? I started with them when I got there and I couldn't walk. 

Kisha: Okay. I was going, because other than that, I don't really need nothing. Yeah. But my legs were messed up. I was like, oh my God. So they made sure I had all my medications. They did my x rays. They paid for my, my specialist that I had to go to. They got me on, um, this shot. That cost 17, 000 for two injections. 

They got me approved for it. I didn't have to pay a dollar. So you had  

Rachel: some good medical care with  

Kisha: Good Samaritan. Yes. So much that they're my doctors now that I got insurance, now that I got a job. So it was, I had one day left to find me a job. Okay. One day. So I went on this interview. I'm feeling stressed for you. 

One  

day. I was  

Kisha: like, oh I got to find a job and I'm on this pain and I can't walk. So um, I, I found a job. Okay. Okay. at Gears Popcorn in Lenox Mall, California. Yum. Yeah, they was like, oh, you got a manager experience, 31 years, you know, you should come. But then I had to interview at Rooms to Go. And it was Petter. 

Oh, yeah. Finance manager. Oh, okay. I was like, I really want this job. God, I really want this job. I prayed and prayed and prayed. And I talked to Ms. Pat. And she was like, you've been obedient, tell God what you want. And I was like, okay. And I prayed about it. So, I was on my way to Lenox to do my paperwork. I had to catch the train. 

And I got off the train, and my phone rang. And there was rooms to go. And it was like, hey, kiss, you know, this is Suzanne, and I just want to give you this job. I said, Oh my God, really? I got a job? She was like, Yeah. So I called Garrett's because I want to be grateful because I'm thankful you gave me a job. 

I'm sorry, sir. I had a better offer, but I appreciate you. He said, You know what? You're so professional. Thank you. If you ever need something, you come see me. And I said, Okay. So now I work at Room to Go in Buckhead. How is it? I love it.  

It's awesome.  

Kisha: I love it. And they've been good to me. good to me. So how I got the job was my legs was bad. 

Yeah. Could walk. And so, I get to Good Samaritan, and Dr. Katie, her name is Dr. Katie, and I said, they had me on prednisone. Yep. And it made me feel good, like I could walk. She was like, oh, we can't give you no more prednisone. I said, why? She was like, steroids and side effects, and I said, listen, this is just a conversation I have with her. 

I said, listen, if you give me 10 pills, because that's what they would give you, 10 pills, because you have to take 3, 5, 2, whatever. I said. If you give them to me and get me through this interview, I'm going to do the rest. I just need you to get me through to her. And I would never ask you for another prison, I promise. 

She was like, I said, I need this job. I really do. So she came to me. I took them.  

Rachel: Oh, go Dr. Katie. Go Dr. Katie. Shout out. Shout out  

Kisha: to Dr. Katie. She came to me. She said, this is it. Don't take them to Sunday. She said, when is your interview? I said, I think it was Wednesday. She said, don't take them to Sunday because you got to do the countdown. 

Right. Right. I took them, I walked in there, I got the job rumors to go, and I went back to Ms. Katie and I said, can I hug you? She said, you're a woman of your word. She said if I gave you the pills, you would do the rest, and I did, and I've been working there for six months.  

Rachel: Wow. Congratulations. Thank you. 

Kisha: Thank you. That's amazing.  

Rachel: Okay, so you're 16 days from move out. How are you feeling? I was a little scared. Yeah. Yeah.  

Kisha: Yeah. But I'm excited. Okay. But I was a little scared. Yep. Because I've been there a year. I know. I've been  

Rachel: there a year. They're your people now.  

Kisha: I know! Right? And I met some amazing women. 

But I was scared. Because I'm like, what am I going to do? I've been back here for so long. It's almost like protection, right? It's like, I know that when I get off the bus or I get out the lift that I'm gone. So, I'm excited though. Yeah. Yeah.  

Rachel: Well, I mean life will still be life and once you get out there life will be life But it sounds like you have some really good tools Is that how you feel? 

I  

Kisha: do. I know what to do. Yeah, I Know what not to do. Yeah, and I'm ready Cuz it to me. Sorry life is all about being ready Gotta be ready That's why my marriage didn't last because I was read So when you do Go out into behind those, those gates. You gotta be ready. You gotta use all your tools that they gave us while we was in there. 

You know, um, conflict management, financing. You gotta know how to save your money. I've saved my money. Um, JSW taught me how to know the deepest truth of who you are. Right? And I used those tools to, um, Be proactive. Be professional at work. So when I go to work, I'm always professional. And you know, the lady who wants to go, she's, um, like, high, high up. 

She came to me the other day, and she made me feel so good. She was like, you know, Kish, you are so professional. Even when your supervisors are here, I wish I could hire five of you. And my store will run amazing. That made me feel good, right? Because I know I'll go in there and I'll give my all and I'll do my job. 

But I am going to use my tools that I got from Atlanta Mission.  

Rachel: What is the deepest truth of who you are?  

Kisha: That um, I'm a hard worker. I am very resilient, like you said. I have no regrets in life, right? Because if you do, I learned this. Whatever you do, that's what you wanted to do in that moment, right? So I have no regrets, but I have no remorse. 

I have redemption, though, because I know God's gonna make it work. The deepest truth of who I am is I'm a survivor. Yeah, you are. Wow. And I'm always gonna get up and go get it. So I know that about me. Yeah. And I love that about me. And sometimes I'm too nice. Ha! I know that about me. My roommate calls me, she'd be like, Kish, you see the benefit of the doubt in everybody. 

Because sometimes people have moments, and we gotta be kind to people. And so, once I see you for who you are though, then I see you for who you are. But every, every person has a story that's walking through those doors. We don't know. So you be kind to people. You say, good morning, how you doing? Edify and uplift. 

I wasn't always that person though. I wasn't, but I am today. I always have a kind word because I, the best lesson Miss Stephanie told me, because they allowed me to work as a peer leader, right? She said, serve with love. Be kind to people. And if you can't be kind, don't hurt nobody. So every morning when people would come to the desk, because I worked at the front desk, I would be like, Good morning! 

How are you doing? On purpose, I'll let nobody steal your joy. Because you got to feed life into people when they're going into the world. The world is not a good place. So I learned that. Give life. And if I can't give you life, I'm not going to say nothing to you.  

But  

Rachel: you know the world's a better place because you're in it. 

So you make the world a good place. I try. Don't make me cry. I cry really easy. Oh, you do? That's okay. I love a crier. I'm not a crier, but I love a  

crier. I love suppressing a cry. I attract criers.  

Kisha: My mom was not a crier. If I saw, I saw my mom cry twice. My dad died. And when I had made her so mad and I came home and the priest was at my house, she was crying. 

I was like, ooh, somebody in trouble. So, I'm a crier. But it take a lot, though. If it's something that really moves me, So you said I'm better, make the world better that way? You do, you  

Rachel: make the world better. I try.  

Kisha: You have so much  

Rachel: light.  

Jonathan: As we wrap up, and you think about your future, what gives you the most hope? 

Kisha: That I'm going to be able to come back. I look so forward to coming back. Really? To Atlanta, Michigan. To talk to people. But what gives me hope is that I know that, I won't have to do this journey  

again.  

Kisha: I, I got it. I do. And I know I shouldn't, but confidence is everything, right? Ain't nobody told you? Gotta be confident that I got it. 

I'm gonna do it right. And I'm gonna come back, if I can say a kind word to somebody and let them know that you can do this. You know, it gets hard sometimes. And this don't make us bad people. This makes us resilient, strong people, because we know what not to do next time. Hopefully, we learn how to save our money, how to make better choices. 

Because that's all that got us here.  

Rachel: Not  

Kisha: the right choices.  

Rachel: Well, thank you for sharing your story with us. Thank you. That was amazing.  

Kisha: It was a gift.  

Rachel: I  
 

Kisha: had  

Rachel: fun. This was fun. Join us on February 15th to Run in the Cold for those who sleep in the cold. The Atlanta Mission 5K Race to End Homelessness is happening again this February. 

Every registration provides one night of shelter for someone who desperately needs it. Your run could mean warmth, safety, and hope for a neighbor in need. You can sign up today at Atlanta mission. org slash race for our podcast listeners. We have a special 10 off promo code. Use the code unseen at checkout to save 10 on your registration. 

That's U N S E E N at checkout this winter. You can run to save lives. Well, we hope you guys enjoyed Kisha's story. I know we did. She was so amazing just sharing all about, um, just her struggles. But I think the thing with her that was really stood out, she had such, she has such a beautiful spirit. She's so resilient in the face of so many things that she had gone through. 

Um, and Kisha talks about in her story, the medical care that she got while at Atlanta mission. And so we thought, you know what? Why don't we bring you someone for a subject matter expert who can talk about that, that medical care. We have with us Brianna Lathrop, I said that right? You did! Oh yay! Thanks  

for  

Rachel: having me! 

And she is the CEO of Good Samaritan.  

Breanna: Good Samaritan Health Center, yes.  

Rachel: Tell us Brianna a little bit about you and what you do at Good Sam.  

Breanna: Of course. So Good Samaritan Health Center has actually been in Atlanta for 26 years now and we're a non profit with a mission of spreading Christ's love through quality health care to those in need. 

So we specifically serve individuals and families at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level. About 80 percent of our patient population is uninsured. Some patients have Medicaid, Medicare, and we serve throughout the Atlanta metro region. Um, and just like a really diverse group of incredible people. 

I feel really just incredibly lucky to get to do the work that I do with my colleagues and with my patients. I am a nurse practitioner, um, and I see patients about 50 percent of my time at the clinic and will continue to do that is my even as CEO, she's going to continue to do that is my first love. 

That's crazy. And it fuels what we do, right? Like being close. to the people and connecting and seeing the way policies or decisions play out really helps inform the work that we do. Um, our founder, Dr. Bill Warren, is a pediatrician and still sees patients at the clinic. So it's like infused into the DNA. 

It really is. Yeah. And I love all of our team, no matter whether it is our farmers that are working, the urban farm that we have on site, our counselors, our dentists, our medical team, those that fundraise, everyone is just really connected to that mission and the stories of the people that we serve. And I think that just builds our community. 

Um, so yeah, this is my, I'm going into my 16th year at Good Samaritan and just Again, just really love what I do there, um, and continue to just learn from the people that we see and the people that I get to work with. Yeah.  

Jonathan: Excellent. Um, and actually sort of a fun fact, uh, Good Samaritan actually has a clinic at Atlanta Mission. 

Breanna: Yeah. Tell us about that. Yeah. I am so excited. So excited. So as of January 2nd, we have opened at Restoration House. We're opening with Monday, Wednesdays and Thursdays, full days to just have another point of entry for people to access us easier, expand how many people we can see, and also just be able to do this in community with Atlanta Mission, which is a longtime partner since we opened really, and just could not be more excited to do this work with someone that we know and trust. 

That's the way we do Atlanta Mission. How many sites do you have? So right now that is our, we have one site and then the restoration house. So we're your second. Great. Second site. We do some outreach different places, um, and kind of pop up clinics and such, but this will be our like first true satellite clinic. 

Wow. That's so exciting. That is exciting. I  

Jonathan: know.  

I've never heard of it.  

Jonathan: So you, you see a lot of patients that are underinsured, um, a lot of our clients will end up going to Good Sam for care. And now that we have this partnership, even more, tell us how you prepare your clinicians to see patient populations that are, um, low income to no income  

Rachel: experiencing trauma,  

Jonathan: experiencing trauma. 

What is that like for your clinicians?  

Breanna: Absolutely. So I think first is that you build your own internal resiliency. And so, for example, some of that has to do with like our mission. And we start each morning with like a time of shared devotion and prayer to just center ourselves and like the work that we do and why it matters. 

And also just recentering ourselves always to that, like each person is beautifully and wonderfully created. And like, if they haven't been told that or felt that. Our goal is that they feel that when they walk in and the way that they're treated, the way that they're respected in the way that we can meet their goals, not just a list or an agenda that the medical record may tell us is do. 

And then I think we build on that foundation and just our relationships with one another. And then from there, there's training involved. So our, uh, as we hire new employees, they do some equity based module training to learn like what. What is health equity? What are social determinants of health? What is some of the data around the disparities that are being experienced by the communities that we serve? 

We have a staff meeting monthly, and we devote several of those to hearing from just people with lived experience or expertise. In different areas to help challenge the way we think about situations that our patients may face. Um, this year, for example, we did a day long mental health first aid training so that every employee will have mental health first aid certification. 

And so it's a learning process. And sometimes when we try new things or we move new places or a pandemic appears, we find out like we need new skill set. And I think the the idea is that the moment you say we're sufficiently prepared or we've learned everything we need to know is the moment we better get out of medicine, right? 

Like the goal is that every day we're examining our own biases, the narratives that may not be true, that we're hearing the stories of our patients and that we're asking ourselves, so what does it look like to do better? How do we keep learning and growing and changing?  

Jonathan: Yeah, that's so great. You said mental first aid, and I don't think I've ever put those words together in that order, but I'm thinking like a  

Rachel: first aid kit with like a band aid flap. 

Yeah, and some like Tylenol.  

Breanna: Yeah, so mental health first aid is the idea that we all as a society do a better job of addressing mental health crises and challenges when we're all equipped to do it. So what I love about this training is it's an evidence based been rolled out. Um, multiple nations have done it. 

Multiple states have done it around the idea that, like, what if we equipped everyone to be able to recognize the signs of mental health illness and distress and then respond in ways that are loving and deescalating, meaning like helping people, feel calm and safe to have those feelings and get in a place where they can think about their next steps. 

And so we know that for for a lot of people, the first people that they talk to if they're feeling overwhelmed or depressed or even psychotic are the people that they trust. That may or may not be anyone with a medical background more often than not. It's not right. It's a friend. It's a family member. 

Maybe it's the person that's their housing case manager. Maybe they're seeking legal assistance or they're having interaction with law enforcement because there's a crisis and the more of those types of individuals that get this training, the better that we are able to identify. Okay, this is a crisis. 

Let's respond in a way that is compassionate and helpful. We're also excited because we are now we have. staff members that have now trained to be trainers. And so we'll actually offer this certification to partners as well as our patients. So starting this year, we'll actually be hosting regular day. 

It's a day long training session so that anyone that's in partnership with us or receiving care through us that wants to improve their skill set can come and do that. And I think that's really when we start to move the needle on. understanding and doing a better job around mental health care in the U. 

S. in general. Yeah.  

Jonathan: That's such a great, um, great thing you guys are doing because for mental health, it's, there's a lot of stigmas around it and people don't know what they don't know. So you're providing a pathway for people to have greater understanding that will lead to greater empathy and people will feel cared and loved. 

Rachel: Yeah. It's easy. It's easy to see when someone's broken their foot or their leg, but it's harder to see when someone's. Struggling with something mentally. Um, I think something Kesha talks about a lot and we hear a lot from our clients is that, um, their homelessness kind of started or started like they actually started getting into homelessness because of some sort of medical situation. 

Unable to work in a medical situation. Um, they find themselves here and. Then they find themselves homeless. Is this something you see a lot all the time.  

Breanna: It's really interesting as we meet with patients and a lot of what we do is trying to understand their story. I think sometimes there's this sense of like, what's wrong? 

Let's fix it. But a different approach is to say, like, tell me your story. Like, what happened to you? And what we hear are that the that most of the people that find themselves in um, Spaces of homelessness have stories of thriving and resiliency and skill sets and education and family and just all this beautiful picture of like what makes them a person and the burden of homelessness isn't something that they caused or did. 

It's a combination of things that go wrong, which can be health related, but also a broken society that doesn't have a sufficient safety net that starts early enough in the process. And it allows people to get really sick and really poor, um, and, and really disadvantaged before the systems click in to help. 

And sometimes they even don't then, right? And so, I am always amazed that patients come in and the amount of phone calls and places they've gone and things they've done while being sick, hurt, injured, is amazing to me. Like, I don't, I don't know that I can do that, right? And I just think, like, To me, that is such a loss, like that so much energy and passion and time has been wasted and people jumping through hoops and trying to navigate these complex systems of the social safety net to get to a place where Where more harm's been done than necessary. 

I love  

Rachel: how bluntly you put that. I like people who are blunt.  

And I  

Rachel: like that you put like you're so sick It makes you poor and then like you put it so bluntly of like this is what Happens and it's terrible, and there's not a safety net there for them, um, so they end up in these situations. But I also was thinking when you said you sit down and ask him their story. 

I was like, I'm not sure I've ever had a doctor sit down with me and ask me my story and. That's you're totally flipping the script on what it means to be a medical provider.  

Breanna: That's our hope it is hard And we're and I am personally still learning. Yeah, we're still learning and it's hard to do both Well, it's hard to keep up and and see patients and meet the need and make sure you're following evidence based care And then also be a friend and be like a compassionate human and some days you like leave and you're like I did it. 

And some days you're like, oh man, um, but let me tell you a quick story that was like a huge learning moment for, for us. So in 2015, we started a specific every Friday being a walk in clinic specifically for people experiencing homelessness because we asked like, what's making healthcare difficult? And it was like, we have to make an appointment. 

You have to know in advance. Then what if your transportation falls through or you move all these things before even going to the door? Exactly. And they were like, and then if you get a prescription, you have to find a pharmacy. And then what if you don't have money for the medication? So we were like, well, let's just try this and let's have a clinic that's 100 percent walk in. 

You can do like medical and psychology, psychiatry. Same day. We decided. And then we added things like, also, let's make sure you have a meal while you're there. And then we have a van that does a loop around downtown to help people get to us, and continuing to kind of address these larger social determinants. 

And a few years in, the interesting thing we found is that about 70 percent of patients that were seen on Fridays were following up. Like, they were getting mammograms and pap smears and they were controlling their diabetes. They were doing all the things that we hope any, any general person uses primary care for, right? 

And to me, it was this moment of, of saying, like, if the barriers get removed and healthcare is willing to be more flexible, The people aren't the problem, um, they are engaging and they are getting healthier. So we took it a step further and we said, okay, we should, um, and this is a, a learning point I keep learning is, so you should just keep asking so you can learn more, right? 

So, so I said, you know, we can make assumptions. about why people come back, but we could do a better job if we actually asked people. Yeah,  

Rachel: ask them.  

Breanna: So we did like a qualitative study, like we had a Rollins student come in, um, graduate level to help us conduct these, and IRB, we did it right, um, and we asked, we did long interviews of 20 people, and we asked like, why did you come back? 

And I had my theories. Um, and like many times in my life, I was wrong because I was like, love our hypotheses. Oh my gosh, I feel like most of my life is spent just like I'm learning things and that's great. Just embrace that. But, um, you know, and I thought like, maybe it's because there's a meal or the medicine is free or you can see both providers in one day, all these reasons, right? 

The number one reason that people came back is because they identified someone on staff that they felt like a family or friend. The number of times people in there, like, had direct quotes about someone knowing their name. And, I mean, I, like, I still cry reading, you Those transcripts, right? Because I just think like of all of the needs, like what people needed most was to be like seen for the beautiful people that they were to be seen not as their condition or their problem, but to be seen as a human being deserving of care. 

care. Um, and just the power that is in relationships. And so to me, it's this reminder that, like, we can grow and we can develop programs, but not at the cost of the space in which people build relationships and trust. And at the core of good health care, if that dissolves like you don't have anything left. 

Um, And, and so I think that for me is this coming back to point of like, how do we protect that kind of sacred piece of like trust and relationship? Um, and how do we, how do we protect that and help that thrive as we build and expand around it?  

Jonathan: That was amazing. Wow.  

Rachel: Well, and I think I, oh yeah, I know I can't even. 

Jonathan: And that's so resonates with what we're trying to do. Well,  

Rachel: cause we talk about how homelessness is often. referred to as, you know, you just see the physical poverty of somebody. But at Atlanta Mission, we've made a concerted effort in the last 10 years to say the greatest need of our clients, the greatest need of humanity, humanity is relational poverty. 

It's connection. It's connection. And so we feel like the biggest need our clients have is this And I love that you've taken something that feels very clinical and sterile like medical care and said, No, we're infusing relationship into this. We can't separate them. Um, you've really flipped the script and you're  

Jonathan: seeing better outcomes. 

Right. Yes.  

Breanna: And if you don't have relationship, you also don't get to really understand what people need in terms of next steps. Right? Like if patients think that they've got five minutes and that all we do is medicine, they're not going to tell me that they're not taking their medicine because there's nowhere safe to store it or that no one explained it to them and they don't trust it or that they experienced it. 

Harm at the hands of their last healthcare provider, and it's made them really fearful to accept a diagnosis, or that their biggest need today is to have someone to talk to about a trauma that happened, or to set up, uh, their application for SNAP benefits. And I think that, like, to me, relationship is also how you do a better job of understanding the whole picture of what makes someone healthy, and then really being able to say, okay, what is our piece, and how do we keep working on that whole picture of what you need to thrive. 

Rachel: Well, you've taken the tangible medical care and also infuse the intangible, which is the heart, mind, soul care with it. And I think that's what's, um, we, you can't have one without the other. Right. I think we like put them in these like very specific buckets of like, no, you just provide food. No, you just provide medicine. 

No, you just provide housing. But if we, if we take out the relationships, we take out that in, you know, that intangible soul care, then we're doing ourselves a disservice. Right. So I feel like you so eloquently right. Put that and yeah, that was amazing  

Jonathan: and real quick as we wrap up Brianna Can you tell us how do we find if someone wanted to get involved? 

Yes and find you Good Samaritan. Yes How would we do that?  

Breanna: Yes, so come to our website good Sam Atlanta dot org And everything is on there like from if you want to figure out how to be a patient and get care from It's where we're located, but it's also where you can find us if you want to help support us and donate and build our work. 

Or if you want to volunteer, um, I mean, we, we need that. Are you all funded by individuals? The majority of our funding is fundraised, so that is individuals and grants and corporations and, um, all of it. And then, um, many of our patients contribute and pay on a sliding scale fee, but it, it It is, uh, you know, 80 percent of our budget gets fundraised, so we are always raising that every year. 

You're starting back. Um, and so it's also to me is that sometimes that's also how we're a community of one another, right? Like that when we have donors come through or we're working collaboratively on the next project and thinking about outcomes is also a space where we get to share with one another. 

And I think it's a space in which we get to challenge each other and maybe some of those misconceptions or false narratives that we have. issues and it helps all of us, not only in the day to day work like at the clinic or at the mission, but it also helps us as citizens. Like, how are we showing up in the world as humans from the, from not only when we've got our job hats on, but when we're people in our communities that, that that's the crux of health equity. 

Right. It's that we're all. All thinking in those moment to moment decisions about like, what can we do that makes it possible for everyone to live a healthy life?  

Rachel: Well, and I think I hope our listeners get to hear another great organization that we love for you guys to get to be a part of. They're meeting such a tangible need in our community. 

And I think I think us as nonprofits sometimes do a really bad job of promoting each other. And so I think it's a really great I'm so glad you're here today because we can't. We can't thrive without each other organizations can't thrive without each other, and I really hope that everyone who's listening to this knows. 

We just want you to get involved somewhere. It may not be Atlanta mission. It may not be good, Sam, but we want you to see something that you are passionate about that you feel like you can be involved in and go do it because without you. So you fuel our missions. And we can't do the work without it. So I think that this was so much more than just talking about health care. 

I think it's talking about how we as nonprofits all work together, how we need each other. Yes, but also how we need our communities. So thank you so much for being here. Thanks for having people are gonna love this episode. And I think I loved it. Oh, my gosh. I'm like, I could talk to you all day. But we might have to do this again. 

Oh, for sure.  

Breanna: It's over.  

Rachel: You'll 100 percent be back. So I We hope you enjoyed this episode as much as we did and we really hope you go check out the website. It's GoodSamAtlanta. org and we hope you want to get involved there because I know I want to get involved there. Um, so we hope you continue to listen and we will see you next time. 

Bye.  

Tensley: Thank you so much for listening and engaging with these challenging yet vital conversations about mental health. Addiction, homelessness, and trauma in our city. Facing these issues head on is how we ignite real transformation in Atlanta. Thank you to our season sponsor, the Scott Pryor Law Group, whose support makes stories like this possible. 

Now, if today's episode inspired you to take the next step, we would love to invite you to join the work that God is doing here. There are two really impactful ways for you to get involved. First, you can give financially to help us continue the work you heard about today. Second, you can volunteer your time by serving at one of our campuses. 

You can find all the ways to give and get involved at atlantamission. org. Thank you again for being part of this journey. Please join us next time as we uncover more powerful stories of hope and transformation.