0:01

The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation's Early

0:03

Childhood Development Initiative in the United

0:05

States supports the well-being of caregivers

0:08

and their young children, prenatal to

0:10

age three. The Hilton Foundation does

0:12

this through investing in caregiver and

0:14

parent education and well-being, supporting

0:17

local organizations, and strengthening

0:19

the early childhood field. Learn more

0:22

at HiltonFoundation.org. W.K.

0:26

Kellogg Foundation is proud to support

0:29

No One Is Coming to Save Us. The W.K.

0:31

Kellogg Foundation is guided by the belief

0:33

that all children should have an equal opportunity

0:36

to thrive. Learn more at WKKF.org.

0:40

That's WKKF.org. Lemonada.

0:45

Well, well, well.

1:02

Welcome, everyone,

1:04

to No One Is Coming to Save Us. I am your

1:07

host, Gloria Rivera. Thank

1:09

you, as always, so much for listening.

1:12

I cannot believe we are here

1:14

at the end of season three.

1:17

I just cannot believe it. We set

1:19

out this season to do something special

1:22

by visiting cities across this country to not

1:25

only talk about the problems in childcare—we

1:28

have done that a lot, we do that a lot—but

1:30

we really wanted to shine light

1:33

on the solutions we are hearing

1:35

about, the solutions to this crisis,

1:38

and really learn what we could from all

1:40

of the many, many advocates who make

1:43

fixing a broken system their life's

1:45

work. It has been an incredible journey,

1:47

as each week we

1:50

brought you the conversations we had on the ground

1:52

with people invested in making

1:54

childcare equitable and accessible.

1:58

You've heard our conversation from Tulsa. where

2:00

we learned how cities and tribal nations are

2:02

expanding access to child care. They

2:05

are creating more child

2:07

care. You heard our conversations

2:09

in New Mexico, Denver, Oakland,

2:12

and so many other places where advocates are

2:14

pushing state lawmakers to make

2:17

historic investments in child care. You

2:19

heard that story over and over again

2:22

from many cities across this country.

2:25

I know in previous seasons, we dug deep

2:28

into the challenges families are facing,

2:29

child care costs being

2:32

unaffordable for way too many families,

2:34

providers reeling from the pandemic.

2:37

Those reverberations are still very much

2:39

being felt. It was important

2:42

for us to shine a big light on the

2:44

crisis and to put a mic in front

2:46

of the people who were struggling. With

2:49

this season's focus on solutions, you

2:51

heard advocates share lessons on how

2:53

they built trust with families. Trust

2:56

is so important. I believe

2:58

now after these conversations,

2:59

building trust

3:02

is how we get things done.

3:05

We heard from mothers on

3:07

how they are pushing lawmakers to

3:09

subsidize child care and how people

3:12

lobbied to bring living wages

3:14

to childhood educators. In

3:17

this final episode, we are going to reflect

3:19

on all the lessons we have learned from our conversations

3:22

on this tour, and we will learn how

3:24

we can be advocates in big and small

3:27

ways each and every day. As

3:30

always, I feel so lucky to say

3:32

this show is produced with Neighborhood Villages

3:34

and Lemon Automedia. And joining me

3:36

for this final episode is Latoya

3:39

Gayle, Senior Director of Advocacy

3:41

at Neighborhood Villages. Latoya

3:43

has been my co-pilot for this national

3:46

tour. She's someone who has been in

3:48

this work for years. She knows

3:50

the struggles family has been facing. She

3:53

has a great sense of the solutions

3:56

people are implementing around the nations.

3:58

She's seeing them happen in real life. real time. She's

4:01

also a mother of 4 beautiful children

4:03

and someone who has been an advocate

4:06

for Boston's families for the past 10 years.

4:08

Let's say it is so great to

4:10

see you I don't want this to be the last time.

4:13

I know I'm like it's bittersweet

4:15

it's been a fun ride. I don't want

4:17

to stop. I know bittersweet is

4:19

the perfect word. You were

4:22

there and we kicked this all off in

4:24

episode one and you're back again today

4:26

to help us close out the season

4:29

welcome back

4:29

to no one is coming to save us glad

4:33

to be here is happy to be here. So

4:35

let's just dive in it has been so

4:37

great to have you here with us

4:40

and I just want to ask after all of these

4:42

conversations after the time that has

4:44

passed. How are you doing

4:46

as a mom and how are you doing as an

4:48

advocate in this work. Motherhood

4:51

is always a journey right. Yeah in general,

4:53

this is the last week of camp and so

4:56

we have a couple of

4:56

weeks before school starts were active just

4:59

figure it out so there there's that

5:02

as an advocate, I am feeling inspired.

5:07

I'm feeling fed

5:09

I'm feeling hopeful with

5:12

all the work that I see happening in the country.

5:15

It's been an honor

5:17

and a privilege to be able to hear

5:20

from and meet so many people across

5:22

this country who are working

5:25

hard and to

5:25

be able to share their stories to inspire

5:28

others, I'm it's a little

5:30

I'm a crier I promise I'm going to try not to cry

5:32

but I'm just I'm

5:35

overwhelmed almost like but it's bubbling up

5:37

like the inspiration in me. What

5:39

I have loved during these conversations is

5:41

that we take in all of this information

5:43

right we've had so many panelists and everybody

5:46

has their area of expertise.

5:49

Everybody knows each other right when

5:51

they come together so many stories of

5:53

oh, I've known so

5:55

and so for 20 years we've

5:57

been engaged in this work together for 30.

5:59

years. And I love

6:02

the real-time solutions

6:05

that come together with expertise

6:07

from disparate sources, right? I'm working

6:09

on this. Well, I'm working on this. Well, we think this.

6:12

And the conversation built

6:15

on trust between people who have been

6:17

working in this space for so long, and

6:19

then the result, which

6:22

is

6:23

either legislative changes or agreed

6:25

upon ways

6:27

to use the funds that came across

6:29

through COVID or

6:32

outlines for what needs to happen

6:34

now as the

6:36

last of that COVID relief is set

6:39

to expire. I have really

6:41

enjoyed seeing the collective

6:44

action that has taken place

6:47

when people work together.

6:50

It's a simple concept,

6:52

but it's what you work towards every day.

6:55

Right. And I love how

6:57

you frame that, because in

6:59

the world of advocacy, that is true.

7:02

So even if it's not something like you

7:05

may be directly working on,

7:08

you develop friendships, trust

7:11

with people over the years. So you say,

7:13

hey, so-and-so is

7:15

doing this. We need to get behind

7:17

them. And they say the same

7:19

thing. So-and-so is doing that. We need to

7:22

get behind them. And even if it's things

7:25

that you might not really, you might not

7:27

get yourself. Different organizations have

7:29

different perspectives and different communities

7:31

have different perspectives for

7:33

how they want to solve a problem. But when

7:35

there is that trust that people know, I know

7:38

this is a good person. I know that

7:40

we are all working ultimately toward

7:42

the same goals. You

7:45

can hear each other. You

7:46

can listen to each other. You're willing to sit down

7:49

with each other. And I

7:52

wish that more of our lawmakers

7:54

and people who are actually writing the policy would

7:57

have that practice as well. Can we start

7:59

in Boston? right now because I keep seeing

8:01

these posts about the forward

8:04

movement that Massachusetts is

8:06

achieving. What are some recent

8:09

steps forward that you've seen

8:12

that have taken collective work, trust,

8:15

a collective message to make happen? We

8:17

have in historic investments this year almost

8:20

one and a half billion dollars invested

8:22

in child care this year, but it was really

8:25

all the advocates

8:27

who are advocating for child care in different organizations

8:30

from different perspectives saying things. So

8:32

this is the first year in Massachusetts

8:35

that we have something we called C3 Grants

8:38

that people started getting these

8:41

during COVID where they would give grants to child

8:43

care. And so this is the first year that Massachusetts

8:46

is funding those grants for

8:48

the full year without

8:50

federal money. Wow. And so it's something

8:53

that advocates say,

8:55

this makes sense, this works,

8:57

we need to have this, this needs to be funded

8:59

for the year. We don't want people halfway through

9:02

the fiscal year going,

9:03

is this going to stop? We don't know.

9:05

And so that's really exciting

9:08

because it's something that providers really appreciate.

9:10

It's easier for them than a lot of other mechanisms

9:13

for funding. And so that's something

9:16

that I'm really excited about. In

9:19

Massachusetts this year, we implemented

9:21

something, people call it the millionaires

9:23

tax, but it's a tax

9:25

on incomes excessive

9:27

of a million dollars. And

9:30

that money is designated for transportation

9:34

and education. We

9:37

have money from that that's

9:39

designated for early education

9:41

and childcare. And it's even

9:43

though it's not tons of money, it's a signal.

9:45

We

9:46

see early education and

9:48

childcare as education,

9:51

and we think we should be investing

9:53

public money in it. And so those

9:56

are two things that really stand out here in Massachusetts

9:58

that I'm really excited.

9:59

about. And so we'll keep building

10:02

on those.

10:03

So that is really interesting to

10:05

me because of a few things. Number

10:07

one, as the funds from

10:10

COVID relief are set to expire, Massachusetts

10:12

is recognizing, I always

10:15

say that COVID put the child care crisis

10:17

into technicolor. It was a broken

10:19

system, but COVID made

10:21

everyone realize just how broken.

10:24

But the fact that Massachusetts is

10:27

now providing the funding from its own

10:29

budget, tells

10:32

me it hasn't forgotten

10:33

what life was like before COVID,

10:35

right? It was broken. COVID

10:38

funds

10:40

helped recognize how broken it was

10:42

and sort of put it back

10:44

on life support. And now

10:46

Massachusetts is pushing that forward.

10:50

And that's a huge, huge thing.

10:53

And we every episode, we

10:55

always talk about high quality,

10:57

affordable and accessible care. And the

11:00

other thing that you mentioned, I know that

11:02

the budget will be used for transportation

11:04

and perhaps they're not directly related,

11:07

but it makes me think of the conversations we've had

11:09

about the negative domino

11:12

effect that a lack of childcare

11:15

highlights, right? It's accessibility,

11:17

transportation, and then the long

11:20

list housing insecurity, food

11:22

insecurity, all of

11:24

that. In Massachusetts,

11:26

would you say that

11:28

that domino effect is being

11:30

talked about in relation to child care?

11:34

Absolutely. Something that

11:36

we're talking a lot in Massachusetts

11:38

about is infinite early childhood

11:41

and mental health, and everyone

11:44

and everything that surrounds a child.

11:46

And so there's a lot of talk

11:48

and that is really bringing advocates together

11:51

from that you might not think are

11:54

doing the same type of work, but what they do

11:56

understand is that we

11:57

are serving the same people. We

11:59

are serving

13:35

because

14:00

his hair and his beard weren't coming.

14:04

And I just decided that I think

14:07

I'm done. And

14:11

I got a phone call from

14:16

my Cherokee worker. I said Gail

14:18

I can't do their any more. I did it over 40 years. I

14:22

can't see COVID and I can't smell COVID.

14:25

I don't know how to fight this thing. I said first

14:27

of all you are going to get and

14:30

we're

14:30

going to come up with some solutions.

14:34

I mean, so amazing. I love hearing

14:36

the laughter in the audience.

14:39

Yeah. Because how many times has

14:42

someone felt like, OK, I can't

14:44

get up actually. And she's so

14:46

articulate. I couldn't see COVID. I couldn't

14:48

smell COVID. She lost someone. I

14:51

mean, let's just take a moment to acknowledge

14:53

the depth of her grief at that time.

14:55

She's ready to close her business. She felt

14:58

like she had done it. Right. I've

15:00

been there. I've served my

15:02

community. I've served these children. I'm

15:05

done. And it's like no, no, no. You're

15:07

not done. You got to get up. You got to

15:09

get up. You got to take a shower. I did that this morning

15:11

because

15:12

I was feeling tired. I hear

15:14

you. Yeah. You know, but she

15:17

you know, what I loved about our

15:19

conversation in Tulsa was how

15:21

much I learned about how tribal nations

15:24

are navigating the needs of their residents

15:28

in partnership with the Aunt Jackie's

15:30

in that community. Right. And

15:33

one of the things that has stayed with me was

15:35

hearing how the tribal

15:37

nations are acknowledging

15:41

family members who provide care and

15:43

paying them. Right.

15:46

I

15:46

mean, that is quite

15:48

extreme and radical and incredible

15:51

in a very positive way for me. And that

15:53

so you're talking about an aunt,

15:56

a grandmother who's taking care

15:58

of children and teaching them.

15:59

the original language of

16:02

that tribe. That's

16:04

a beautiful thing. It's

16:07

a beautiful thing. And I want to just

16:09

say, it's been

16:11

so enlightening, eye-opening.

16:14

It's been a privilege to be

16:16

able to speak with

16:18

women from our indigenous

16:20

First Nations in this country as we've taken

16:23

this journey. It's been beautiful. I'm

16:25

so glad that we were able to help amplify

16:28

that voice. We could go into

16:30

the history. There's a lot

16:32

of history about how our indigenous brothers

16:34

and sisters have lost their language

16:37

or how their language was taken from them. So

16:40

to hear

16:41

people saying, our language

16:44

is how we tell the story of who we are. It's

16:47

so important to who we are. And

16:50

it carries our culture. And

16:53

we think that's important and we think our

16:55

children are important. And so

16:57

we figured out a way

16:59

to say, grandma,

17:03

auntie, whoever

17:05

in our community,

17:07

if you have the time and the space,

17:09

right? And you want

17:11

to take care of these children, we can

17:14

give you some money for it because everybody needs

17:16

money, right? People have bills that

17:18

need to buy things. And so there's

17:21

a saying that people always

17:22

say, a budget is a value

17:25

statement. And so it

17:28

shows how much they're

17:30

valuing members of their community

17:32

and their children together. Right. What

17:37

stays with me about what we learned

17:39

in Tulsa is that the

17:42

actions they're taking there for their

17:45

little ones, like the window

17:47

was closing. That older generation

17:49

that speaks that language

17:52

fluently, an entire generation,

17:55

arguably the majority, does not.

17:59

So they're asking for help. their elders

18:02

to help their youngest

18:04

members. And as you said, it takes

18:07

money and that money, you know, how

18:09

does that make that caregiver, well, first

18:11

of all, they're being acknowledged as a paid

18:13

caregiver and they're being valued

18:15

for what they're able to offer.

18:18

And I just think that goes so deeply

18:20

into redesigning

18:22

how we

18:24

acknowledge value, which is

18:26

so important to fixing

18:28

the broken system of childcare we have in this

18:31

country. Absolutely. So,

18:33

so beautiful. And now an entire, I mean, I

18:36

hope I live to be like 199 because

18:39

I want to see this next generation

18:41

speaking fluently in the

18:45

language of their culture. Yeah,

18:48

no, that is so beautiful. And I, and

18:50

you know, Jennifer Kirby, who was on the

18:52

show representing the Cherokee Nation, she

18:55

even said like, I wasn't exposed to it.

18:58

I wasn't exposed to my language. And

19:00

so it's beautiful that, you know,

19:02

there, there, maybe there are some generations

19:04

in the middle that have missed it, but that they're

19:07

connecting those pieces. Yeah. So

19:09

it can go on. It's beautiful. I mean, how amazing

19:11

that Jennifer doesn't speak this language and

19:14

she's in a position of enormous power and

19:16

influence, she can make things

19:18

happen.

19:20

And that's a priority for her. Yeah,

19:22

I love it. And I love that Aunt Jackie did not

19:24

in fact close her doors. The doors

19:26

are open.

19:28

They are open. I loved Aunt Jackie

19:30

and it was so funny. The dress

19:32

that she wore that night, I actually have that dress.

19:34

And so whenever I see it, I think of Aunt Jackie. Oh, I

19:36

love that. I love that. You got

19:38

you, you need to put your Aunt Jackie dress on

19:41

for this episode. Yes, yes. Oh my

19:43

God, Aunt Jackie, I hope you're listening. Shout out,

19:45

we love you.

19:56

Caring Across Generations is proud to

19:58

support No One Is Coming To Save Us.

19:59

Caring Across Generations envisions

20:02

a world where we can all access and afford

20:04

the support we need, from childcare

20:06

and paid leave to aging and disability

20:09

care. Caring Across Generations

20:11

is putting care at the front and center of

20:13

our culture and policies while bringing

20:15

together those who are impacted most. And

20:18

that means you, to build stronger

20:20

and more equitable systems that work for us

20:22

all. You can learn more about Caring Across

20:24

Generations at caringacross.org

20:27

or connect on Facebook and Instagram

20:29

at Caring

20:29

Across Jen. Join the movement to

20:32

build a more caring future today at

20:34

caringacross.org.

20:38

Gary Community Ventures is a philanthropic

20:40

organization that combines the power of

20:42

business, policy and philanthropy

20:45

to increase opportunity for Colorado

20:47

kids and families. Based in Denver,

20:49

Colorado, Gary uses its resources

20:52

to make impact investments, fund policy

20:54

change, provide philanthropic grants,

20:57

and incubate new social change ventures.

21:00

In partnership with the community, the team

21:02

brings these tools together to break down systemic

21:04

barriers and build breakthrough solutions

21:07

that improve life outcomes in the areas

21:09

of school readiness, youth success,

21:11

and family economic mobility. To

21:13

learn more, visit GaryCommunity.org.

21:30

So,

21:31

I also want to talk about Oakland because

21:33

in Oakland, that

21:35

was one place where I felt like

21:39

the majority of the conversation while on child

21:41

care really dove deep

21:43

into, hey, you know,

21:46

yes, we all have said a million times,

21:48

child care is not seen as

21:51

a public good. We know that.

21:53

We've heard that over and over and over. But it

21:56

has such a trickle-down effect

21:58

on everything else.

21:59

in a community. And Nokla, I just feel

22:02

like we really, that was hammered

22:04

home. What stuck with

22:06

you from that conversation? We were

22:08

talking about housing, we're talking about food, we're talking about the

22:11

racial justice issues. Yeah.

22:14

What stays with you? What stuck with

22:16

me from Oakland was

22:18

really what it looks like

22:21

when

22:21

everyone comes together. You had

22:24

educators

22:26

who worked in the

22:28

school system, you had outside

22:31

advocates, you had people who had been doing this

22:33

for years who have PhDs now,

22:35

who work for government agencies. And

22:37

they all could agree that

22:41

this is the problem and this

22:43

is what we want to fix it. And

22:46

what I really loved is

22:49

also if this is the problem that we're

22:51

getting fixed right now and we get that problem

22:53

fixed and that may have been one

22:56

faction of your coalition that brought

22:58

that forward, we're still here with you

23:01

when the other group needs to get things done. So

23:03

if the educators working in

23:06

Oakland Unified got something that they

23:08

needed, they were still willing to stand

23:10

side by side and really be allies

23:13

with family childcare

23:14

providers who needed something

23:16

different. And a lot of times people

23:20

might feel like there's

23:22

only so much money,

23:24

there's only so much resources and if I get what

23:26

I want, then you can't get what you want. And in Oakland,

23:28

they were like, no, we can all get what we want. And

23:31

not just what we want, we can

23:34

all give families and children what

23:36

they need. And that takes all of

23:38

us. It doesn't just take one group of us. That

23:41

stood out to me. And really, again, the

23:44

relationships with

23:46

the advocates there, they were strong

23:49

and the energy and the expertise

23:51

on the panel was amazing. I laughed.

23:54

I remember my issue was like, Oh, I don't, I'm

23:56

shy. I don't really want to talk. And

23:59

I was like, really girl?

23:59

because she got up there, she

24:02

had so many great things to share.

24:05

And I'm so happy that

24:07

she was able to do that. And I was so

24:09

happy to connect with them. Yeah, you know, as

24:12

you say that, what makes me pause is that so many

24:14

of the stories we heard, whether

24:17

they were storytelling about

24:19

that person's experience as a parent

24:21

or storytelling about their work and advocacy,

24:24

we heard from a lot of people who were

24:27

parents, mothers or aunties,

24:30

you know, this is the kind of work that people

24:33

do because they have a tangible

24:35

reason to care about it. And that's

24:37

what happened when we launched this

24:39

show. Like

24:41

all the parents out there, particularly the mothers,

24:43

by and large, the vast majority of people who

24:45

were saying enough, we

24:48

still see the value of that storytelling

24:50

and personal connection. Because in every

24:53

city that we went to, I can think of someone

24:55

like going all the way back to Detroit,

24:57

like that was our first stop. And

25:00

I

25:00

think the right way to refer to her is Senator

25:03

Mallory. She

25:05

talked about being pregnant

25:07

while she was in office and

25:11

how childcare is never

25:13

seen as an economic driver, but

25:16

when she was pregnant, colleagues

25:18

would stop by her office to ask how

25:20

she was doing. And that hit

25:23

me because that

25:24

personal connection, that human connection,

25:27

that just inquiring,

25:29

how are you, opened

25:31

up this entire conversation around childcare

25:34

that then, because she's in politics,

25:37

somewhere in her mind, she's like, yes, childcare

25:39

is an economic driver. And she's

25:42

in a position to drive

25:44

that message home as a pregnant woman.

25:47

Yes, we need more pregnant lawmakers,

25:49

maybe. We sure do, we

25:51

sure do. But

25:54

that's just

25:54

one person who was in

25:57

a position of receiving, like you

25:59

talk about. able to receive

26:01

messages that might not be totally

26:03

aligned, but at some point, the

26:06

puzzle comes together, right? Yeah.

26:08

It was beautiful to see how

26:10

many lawmakers that we spoke,

26:13

that we were able to speak to, who

26:16

personally were impacted by childcare

26:19

or who have come from the world

26:21

of advocacy, and they

26:23

really were bringing that lens to their work.

26:27

You know, that highlights,

26:28

first of all, anyone

26:30

can become a lawmaker. If

26:33

there's something that's important to you and

26:36

you want to work on it from the inside, you

26:38

can run for office too.

26:40

And so it was beautiful to

26:42

see so many lawmakers who were like, oh, I get it.

26:45

I get it. And

26:47

they're bringing that lens to their work. It was

26:50

beautiful. Senator Mallory

26:52

says a line that I tell people all the time now when

26:55

everyone says, oh,

26:58

there's no money for

26:59

childcare. And she says, well, we gave money to

27:01

Tesla. Yes. We found money.

27:04

We found money for that. That's

27:07

one of my favorite lines of this season. Yes. And

27:09

if we can find money for that, we can find money

27:11

for childcare. I know. I know. I love that.

27:14

I love that. It

27:16

was so good. It was so good. So,

27:18

so good. Because now I've

27:20

been to city to city to city. Nobody

27:24

we spoke to was in

27:26

complaint mode.

27:27

Right. No, no, no, nobody

27:29

was harp. We all know. We

27:31

all know the problems. We all know the issues.

27:34

Everybody was deeply engaged in what

27:36

we can do about it. And one

27:39

person that stands out to me from our last stop

27:41

in Denver is Lauren Duke,

27:44

who worked at Steamboat, Ski and Resort.

27:46

Right.

27:47

And they went to the

27:49

company and said, we need

27:52

childcare. And she talked about

27:54

looking at Patagonia. It's a problematic

27:57

issue because, and I want to know what

27:59

you think about.

27:59

employer-provided childcare.

28:03

Because on one side, people say, well, it's not

28:05

happening widely as a federally funded

28:07

public good, right? So

28:11

will you just talk me through why people

28:14

are reticent to accept employer-based

28:16

care, but also why simultaneously

28:19

it can be a good

28:21

and celebrated

28:23

thing? And I'm thinking of the

28:25

racial justice lens on that.

28:28

Right. So I'll

28:30

start with why it could be a good thing

28:32

first. OK. If I had a job or

28:35

I was looking for a job

28:37

and I have children that need care,

28:41

if I know that that's a benefit at

28:44

this job, that's

28:46

where, as a mom, I'm probably going to want to work.

28:49

Or dad, anybody who has to take care of

28:52

a child, right? I'm going to

28:54

want to work there. And if it helps

28:56

solve a big problem, then

28:58

that's great.

29:01

The issue with that is that

29:03

we can't

29:03

rely on private

29:06

sector to solve public

29:08

problems. OK. And so

29:11

when we think about childcare

29:14

and we think about early education, it

29:16

is a public problem. And if we

29:18

are constantly relying on private

29:20

entities to solve a public problem,

29:23

then

29:24

it's going to probably remain a problem.

29:27

And I know people mention, oh, you'll

29:30

be forced to stay at a job that you

29:32

don't like,

29:33

maybe. But

29:36

also, if you switch jobs, unlike

29:38

health care, when you move

29:40

around, even if your health

29:42

insurance coverage changes, you don't have to change

29:44

your doctor, for instance. Your

29:47

doctor is the same. And so children

29:49

need some sort of stability. You don't want to have to change. Every

29:51

time your parent changed

29:52

a job, you have to change your provider.

29:55

But I think the biggest thing is that it's

29:57

a public problem. And so.

29:59

We need to be putting public dollars,

30:03

public resources to public

30:05

problems. And it's great if,

30:08

you know, private sector wants to pitch

30:10

in, if private sector

30:13

wants to pay more taxes, huh?

30:16

Crazy idea. To

30:19

fund this, if private sector wants

30:21

to give perks to their employees to make themselves

30:24

a more attractive employer, but

30:26

ultimately it's the

30:29

job of our government to solve public

30:31

problems. You just completely clarified that

30:33

for me in a way that I had not

30:36

previously understood it, which

30:39

makes me think, okay, so Steamboat,

30:42

pretty big moneymaker in the state of Colorado,

30:45

right? Ski resort.

30:47

Yes, good Band-Aid,

30:50

but Band-Aid. It's a Band-Aid that

30:52

is not sustainable.

30:54

Maybe for that one company, maybe for Steamboat.

30:56

For that one company, right. But

30:59

in the other thing is too,

31:01

what happens is when we start to rely

31:03

on Band-Aid issues, those become, that

31:06

becomes a solution. That's how we handle things.

31:09

We say, oh, just do it like that. But

31:11

you still have the problem. But

31:15

it's enough to get people, to make

31:17

people satiated enough and

31:19

say, well, they're taking care of it.

31:21

We don't really got to work on it.

31:23

And so we need to solve the problem.

31:26

Yeah. Okay. So

31:28

shout out Elliot Haspel, who

31:31

will always write about

31:33

how that is not the solution.

31:37

But you're the one that for me, I've

31:39

always, I've really wrestled with this.

31:41

I've wrestled with even talking

31:44

about it on this podcast

31:46

because it's not a public

31:49

solution. It's

31:51

not a public sector solution. So

31:55

now I really take my

31:57

hat off. I don't know. how

32:01

I sleep at night, you know, celebrating

32:04

one thing that's not a total

32:06

solution for the larger problem, but at the same

32:08

time, I also see it's a benefit.

32:12

And I would, it's not unlike

32:14

the military,

32:16

which is not a perfect childcare system,

32:18

but we've spoken to many people who are

32:21

serving who say, yeah,

32:24

that's one reason that was really attractive

32:27

about the idea of joining the armed

32:29

services, that my kids would have

32:32

a stable environment.

32:35

Oh, man, even just talking about it now, I'm like, this

32:37

is tricky stuff. Yeah,

32:40

yeah. Going to another tricky area,

32:42

you know, Birmingham, we had a conversation

32:45

in Birmingham. It was

32:47

tricky

32:48

because we got to talk about getting buy-in

32:50

from Republican lawmakers and

32:52

how that's really different from the blue

32:54

cities and states that generally we had

32:56

been visiting. I was a little apprehensive

32:59

about even going to Alabama. I was

33:01

like, oh, boy, this is going to be a tough crowd.

33:04

Right. But again, I found

33:06

a lot of energy.

33:08

What stayed with you about our conversation

33:11

in Birmingham? And I know we have to go back because we were in so

33:13

many different places, but it was really like

33:15

that,

33:16

you know, how do you get buy-in from the

33:18

people who you don't

33:20

even want to bring this up with because they've made it clear

33:23

where they stand. Right.

33:26

And, you know,

33:27

Alabama is a good example

33:30

of what do you do when you know

33:32

you don't get along with those people, right?

33:36

But I got this problem. I got this

33:38

issue and they're in a position to help me

33:40

solve it. What

33:42

do I do with that? And Alabama

33:45

did a wonderful job

33:47

of depoliticizing

33:50

children saying,

33:53

okay, we have a lot of kids here

33:56

and they all need this. And this is what

33:58

it takes to get to get them whatever it is

34:00

they need. And let's not make this

34:02

about how you vote when you go in that booth.

34:05

Let's not make it whether you're red or you're blue.

34:08

Let's make this about our kids. Right. And

34:11

I think I think they did a beautiful job with that.

34:13

And they knew that they had

34:14

to approach the situation like that.

34:26

Better Beginnings, the

34:28

podcast exploring Colorado's transformative

34:31

early childhood system is set to return

34:33

for season two in September 2023.

34:36

Produced by the Denver based philanthropic organization

34:39

Gary Community Ventures, Better Beginnings

34:41

brings together renowned advocates, providers,

34:44

policymakers and families to dive

34:46

deep into the challenges and opportunities

34:49

of delivering high quality early childhood

34:51

experiences for children and families

34:53

across Colorado. Join us for

34:55

season two this September as we continue

34:57

to discuss Colorado's universal preschool

35:00

system and the learnings that could be used

35:02

to help Colorado and other states solve

35:04

the child care crisis. Sign up

35:07

to receive updates on the podcast at GaryCommunity.org

35:10

slash Better-Beginnings-Podcast.

35:16

Well it looks like we just crossed 5 million podcasts

35:18

in the world so it is with some humility I

35:20

introduce mine, Kelly Corrigan Wonders.

35:23

Once a week we share heart to hearts with smart

35:26

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35:28

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35:30

about how we treat each other, how we treat ourselves

35:32

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35:35

Corrigan Wonders is a podcast for people

35:37

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35:39

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35:42

Kelly Corrigan Wonders.

35:59

of course, was New Mexico. I

36:02

was excited to speak to

36:04

the panelists in New Mexico because $150 million

36:07

in a constitutional amendment that

36:12

will establish universal child

36:14

care and pre-K programs. I mean,

36:16

New Mexico has been held up as a,

36:19

I want to say, shining example of what

36:22

is possible. And it comes

36:24

down, you said at the beginning of this conversation,

36:26

money, money, money. But

36:29

it took years to

36:32

convince the state of where

36:35

to put that money. What

36:37

do you think is ahead for New Mexico?

36:40

Is it smooth sailing? I know the answer is no.

36:43

But is it smooth sailing from here

36:45

on out? And if not, why?

36:47

I wish I could say it was smooth

36:49

sailing. But

36:52

the thing is, they have a constitutional amendment.

36:55

I would think of it like a contract. I

36:57

heard a lawyer say one time, a

36:59

contract tells you where you can begin

37:01

your argument.

37:02

And so

37:06

hopefully, these first years,

37:08

the implementation of it do

37:11

go smoothly. It is

37:13

a great example of how this is

37:16

a national problem. And what

37:18

is the federal government's responsibility? What's

37:21

the state's responsibility from the resources

37:23

that they have and where they stand? And

37:25

New Mexico said, we have these resources for

37:28

our families.

37:29

And here's how we're going

37:32

to spend them. I meant something that

37:34

could happen. This is just a big what

37:36

if. What if people say, wow, in

37:38

New Mexico, childcare is free. I'm

37:41

moving. College is free. I'm moving.

37:44

And they have a lot more people than

37:46

they

37:46

anticipated wanting to make

37:48

New Mexico home, which it can make it a very

37:51

attractive place to be. Oh, yeah. So I mean, there

37:53

could be something like that maybe costs exceed

37:56

what they expected. But I

37:58

mean, they have a constitutional limit.

37:59

they're going to have the money, maybe

38:02

just deciding how they might

38:05

spend it or not. Or

38:07

things need to change about how they allocate things.

38:09

Well, this has raised two issues. One

38:12

is the money, and I do want to touch

38:14

on President Biden's $40 billion

38:17

from the American Rescue Plan that

38:20

is set to run out in September.

38:23

So yet again, it comes back to the money

38:26

going to, listeners, I know you've heard this a lot,

38:28

but raising wages,

38:29

lowering tuition, expanding services,

38:32

all under that affordability,

38:35

accessibility, quality, umbrella.

38:39

Lots of big, bad numbers about

38:41

how many children could lose spaces.

38:44

I did love, just shout out back to

38:46

Denver again, the trickle

38:48

down effect, Steamboat opens

38:51

their own center. So let's

38:53

say, I don't know what the exact number was,

38:55

but let's say 20, 30 kids go to that

38:57

childcare center that opens up seats

39:01

in the city itself.

39:04

So about this executive order coming

39:06

to an end, this $40 billion running out,

39:09

are there any signs that we

39:11

will see federal legislation on

39:13

childcare anytime soon? I feel

39:16

like it's been pretty quiet out there

39:18

recently. I wish I could

39:20

say yes. Oh, they're definitely

39:22

going to

39:22

pass something. I can't say

39:25

that. I know advocates are

39:27

out there working really hard. So

39:30

people don't see this as, Biden

39:33

saves childcare, because if that makes

39:35

people who are Republican not want to vote

39:37

for it, but how do we see this as the

39:40

US government helped

39:43

families? And

39:46

I think advocates are working with

39:48

lawmakers from whoever represents

39:50

them to try to get them to see that

39:53

because Biden has put forth

39:55

and some of our lawmakers have put forth

39:58

things that are really.

39:59

really progressive and that would really

40:02

help families. Like you don't have to pay

40:04

co-pays if you fall, you know, below 150%

40:07

of poverty level or capping co-payments at more or 7%

40:13

for other families. These are things to

40:16

make it easier for families to access

40:19

financial aid. And so if we can

40:21

implement some of those things, it

40:25

serves everybody no matter where you

40:27

are. I don't know a parent who would say, you

40:30

know what I really wish? I wish that the government

40:32

wouldn't help me to

40:35

find affordable, high quality

40:37

child care for my child. I

40:39

don't know who would say that. And

40:42

so, you know, shout out

40:44

to all the advocates who are

40:45

out there every day trying to

40:47

convince people like this is in the best interests

40:50

of the United States. Yeah. And

40:52

when you say if, like, if we can

40:54

do this, if we can do that, you know,

40:57

we met the people engaged in that

40:59

work and thank goodness

41:02

there is a small army of fighters

41:05

out there. Absolutely. Like

41:07

they will not let this go. Thank

41:10

goodness. No, they're like the Navy

41:12

SEALs of advocacy. They're like, nope, we got

41:14

it. We do the

41:16

thing that's really hard that makes people go, I can't

41:18

believe you did that. Yeah, the Navy

41:21

SEALs of advocacy. I love it. Yeah.

41:23

I mean, they're really in there fighting

41:26

year after year and they're staying

41:28

in the fight. Okay, so how do we get in

41:30

the fight? How do we get in the fight? What

41:32

do we do? Like, let's go through it.

41:34

We want to give people something to put in their toolbox.

41:37

Let's do it. Let's do it. About

41:39

how they can become advocates

41:42

themselves in ways big

41:44

or small. And one of the first things that

41:47

we should talk about before action steps. Yeah. Can

41:49

you just offer some tips for families

41:51

or advocates who don't have children? Like,

41:54

what kind of story can

41:56

they write in their own mind and then share with

41:59

lawmakers?

41:59

How do you develop your own story?

42:02

Because if there's anything Lemenauta stands

42:04

for, it is the importance

42:07

of storytelling. How do we find

42:09

our story in this fight?

42:11

I'm gonna give you an example that people

42:14

who are really into storytelling use, you can

42:16

just Google this.

42:18

Barack Obama's speech at the Democratic

42:20

National Convention, I think it was in 2008. Yep.

42:24

It's held up as iconic, like, that's

42:26

how you tell a story. Where

42:30

you think about what the issue is to you,

42:32

and you say,

42:35

here's who I am, and

42:37

here's what I've been going through. It's

42:42

that simple. And then you

42:44

wanna say, if these things were

42:47

different, or if this was true,

42:51

it would make my childcare

42:52

journey easier. And

42:55

it's that simple. And you can fill

42:57

in the blinks for yourself. If

43:00

I was going to share it,

43:02

I could say,

43:04

I'll think back to

43:06

maybe when I had my second child. I

43:09

would say, my name is Latoya Gale.

43:12

I have two young children.

43:15

My youngest child

43:18

is on the autism spectrum.

43:21

He needs a lot of early intervention

43:24

and services. I know early

43:26

intervention exists. I don't know

43:28

a preschool.

43:30

I don't know a childcare that's equipped to

43:34

give my child what he needs. Can

43:36

you help me? Yeah. Can

43:39

you help me? Can you help me? It's

43:41

that simple.

43:42

Yeah. And what that would do, it

43:45

would make your lawmaker, whoever you

43:47

were speaking to, say, oh wow, I didn't

43:49

even think about that as a problem. Yeah.

43:52

Let me get my team on figuring

43:55

out how to help you solve that. And

43:58

then when they're trying to solve it for you,

43:59

they'll see is, Oh, wait,

44:01

we can't help you solve it because all

44:04

these roadblocks are in place. What

44:07

can we start to think about to do about

44:09

that? And then tell

44:11

your lawmaker, can I

44:13

call you back and check on

44:16

this in a week? Yeah. And you

44:18

call them back and

44:20

say, Hey, what did you find out? And they're going to tell

44:22

you, well, we found the same thing

44:24

you did. We've re-written to the same problem that you've

44:27

ran into. And then your question is,

44:29

okay, what are we going to do about it?

44:31

You know what I love about the start of that story

44:34

is just telling people it is okay

44:36

to ask for help. Absolutely.

44:39

I need to ask for help. Right.

44:42

And I think that's hard. You know, Americans were also

44:44

like these rugged individuals. I

44:47

figured out.

44:48

Well, there are some things, there are systems in place.

44:51

So you can't figure things out. Yeah. There, there are

44:53

brick walls waiting to meet you. There are brick walls.

44:55

Right? Yep. You can't be an alchemist.

44:58

You can't get gold out of lead. It

45:00

just, it doesn't happen. Yep.

45:02

So you've come up with your story. You take

45:04

it to your lawmaker, your elected official,

45:06

and you ask for help. Whatever

45:10

that help may be for you. It

45:12

was special services for one of your children,

45:14

but I mean, it can be a whole

45:17

host of things. It could be,

45:19

I want to return to work

45:22

and childcare is so expensive

45:24

and I don't qualify for a voucher because they

45:26

said I make too much. But if I actually

45:28

paid out of my pocket for childcare, it's half of my

45:30

salary and I can't pay my bills.

45:33

Yeah.

45:34

Is there something out there that can help me? Is

45:36

there, is there a program that I would qualify

45:38

for? Yeah. Oh

45:41

no. Can we create a program?

45:43

Yeah, we need, right. Establishing the

45:45

need, asking for help and establishing

45:47

the need. Can we create a program for

45:50

that? Can we change those laws so

45:52

that I would qualify? Yeah. Okay.

45:54

You say the things that you need because lawmakers

45:58

as well intentioned as any law.

45:59

is, they don't know the solution

46:02

to every problem. And

46:05

like our friends in Detroit said, they're

46:08

surprised by what the problem is. Yeah.

46:11

Well, they're far away from it, right? Yes. Right,

46:13

right. So just breaking it down

46:16

for our listeners, right? You got to look up your

46:18

local lawmaker, USA.gov. Look

46:20

them up. Look it up. Figure out who it is.

46:23

If you have in your non-existent free

46:25

time time to write down bullet points

46:27

for what you want to say, do it. If

46:30

you have even a little bit more non-existent

46:32

free time, I don't know if you're driving to the grocery store,

46:34

you're filling your car with gas, just practice

46:36

it. Practice it. And then deliver

46:39

it. Then pick up the phone, write the email,

46:41

deliver it. And we can do

46:43

that really quick right now, just as

46:45

if we're doing it. So LaToya, you

46:47

start. I'm going

46:50

to be the legislator's office. I'm going to be there,

46:52

OK? Perfect. I'm nervous. OK. Well,

46:56

you know what? It's perfect, though, because whoever

46:58

answers the phone is probably not going to be your

47:00

legislator. Right. OK. They're going

47:02

to be someone on their staff. OK. And they

47:05

may or may not know anything. OK,

47:07

I'm going into low-level staff mode right now. OK.

47:09

All right. Perfect. Perfect.

47:11

Hi. Can I speak

47:13

with Senator Riviera? Oh,

47:17

I'm so sorry. The senator isn't available,

47:19

but I'm happy to take a message for them. OK,

47:22

hi. I'm one of her constituents.

47:25

My name is LaToya Gale, and I live. Can

47:28

say your address. So that's proof

47:30

that you're the constituent. Got it. Then

47:34

I'm calling because

47:36

I cannot find child

47:39

care. I

47:41

did find one place, and

47:44

it costs $600 a week. And

47:48

I only make $400 a week. And

47:53

I was also told that

47:55

me making $400 a week, I

47:58

didn't qualify

47:58

for financial aid. assistance. And

48:01

so I don't know what I'm supposed to

48:04

do. I would have to quit my

48:06

job and then I can't pay my rent and

48:09

I can't feed my child,

48:11

but I also can't afford childcare. And

48:14

I just know there must be some program

48:16

out there that I haven't figured out that

48:19

is out there to help me. Can you point

48:21

me in the right direction or

48:23

can you ask the, the Senator to give

48:26

me a call back? You know what I can

48:28

do. Let me get your contact information. Okay.

48:31

I want to track this request and

48:34

I want to make sure that we can contact you

48:36

when we need to reach you. Okay.

48:40

And is it okay if I give you a call back

48:42

next week if I haven't heard from you? That is okay.

48:44

That is okay. What was your name? What was your name? My

48:47

name is Gloria. Gloria. Okay. Low

48:49

level staff member to a very important person. Low

48:51

level staff Gloria. I'll make sure

48:53

I mention that when I call back that I talk with you. But

48:55

it is my job to get this message

48:58

to the right place. Yes. And

49:00

I will do that. So I look forward

49:02

to hearing back from you and if I don't hear back from

49:04

you, I'll give you a call back. Okay. Thank you

49:06

Latoya. Thank you. I would hope

49:08

a low level staffer would be that nice. They

49:12

usually are. Yeah. They are usually. I've

49:14

never

49:14

encountered somebody who's like has

49:17

an attitude or who's mean. Right.

49:19

They usually, they're a little

49:21

afraid too. Yeah. I felt a little fear. And

49:24

as I was listening to you, I was getting frustrated

49:26

hearing your story, but then I thought, no, that's not my job.

49:28

My job is to hear the story and move it forward.

49:31

Right. Right. And we should believe in that,

49:33

that that's what happens at those offices. Right.

49:36

Yeah. You know, Latoya, I want to thank you so

49:38

much for everything you've done for this season

49:41

of this show. You have been our touch

49:43

point.

49:44

And for me, you've been

49:47

like my dictionary,

49:50

my translator, you

49:53

know, the best real time editor

49:55

of these conversations that we've had in all

49:58

of these cities across the country. this country, I am

50:01

forever in your debt, as is this

50:03

show. And I just want to say about

50:06

these ideas that we come back

50:08

to, especially at the end when

50:10

we're equipping our listeners with what

50:12

they can do. And I just pray that

50:14

whoever is listening, my fervent

50:17

hope is that

50:18

you do this, that you employ some of

50:20

these tactics. And

50:22

these go back to, I will

50:24

just cite the early 60s

50:26

when my mother, God bless

50:29

her, wanted to go back to work,

50:32

had a baby, walked up and down

50:34

the streets of her neighborhood, knocking on doors.

50:36

And I would say, Mom, what would

50:38

you say to these people you didn't know? And she said,

50:41

I would say, hello. My name is Charlotte.

50:43

I'm looking for someone to care for my baby

50:46

so that I can go to work.

50:49

And we are still saying

50:51

the same things. And

50:54

the people that we spoke to across the country, listen,

50:57

we have a small army out there. And they are

50:59

fierce. They

51:02

are doing it. And it's

51:04

working. Yeah. I know it feels slow,

51:06

but it's working because no

51:08

one was talking about child care before.

51:11

And you didn't say it, but I'm going to give you a shout out.

51:15

I'll take it. Lauren in Denver,

51:17

what did she say? She said we bonded

51:19

over a podcast called No One

51:22

Is Coming To Save Us.

51:25

And

51:26

so you've been inspiring

51:28

people. So thank you.

51:30

Well, I didn't do it alone. I can tell you that much.

51:33

I mean, the team has been incredible

51:36

and has been so supportive. And

51:38

it's nice to work on a topic that

51:41

is about

51:42

amplifying the need for support when

51:45

you feel so supported in your place of work. So

51:48

it's been a win-win. I agree.

51:51

I agree. So thank you, LaToya.

51:53

Thank you to all of our listeners.

51:57

That is it. I can't believe I'm saying this. That's

51:59

it for our show.

51:59

that's it for season three of No

52:02

One Is Coming to Save Us. I

52:04

came into season three wary that

52:07

I would lose my glass

52:09

half full

52:10

perspective. And

52:12

it wavered at points, but boy, I mean, I'm

52:15

like three quarters full right now. I'm glass

52:17

three quarters full. I'm gonna coin

52:19

a new phrase. There you go. I

52:21

love it. I am glass three quarters full.

52:24

Thank you so much, LaToya. Thank

52:26

you. That is it for our show. That's it for season three

52:28

of No One Is Coming to Save Us. Thank you again

52:30

to our partners at Neighborhood Villages

52:33

for helping to make this show possible.

52:36

A special thanks to all of you loyal listeners

52:38

for tuning in each week.

52:40

And for everything, we've

52:42

only touched the very, very

52:44

minimal amount. But for everything

52:46

that you do in your own communities.

52:49

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Please

52:52

take care of yourselves and take

52:54

care of each other.

52:59

Thank you.

53:11

Thanks

53:29

for listening. And we'll be back next week.

53:41

Until

53:56

then, hang in there. You can do

53:58

this.

54:04

What's up, everyone? I'm Delaney Fisher,

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