”Everyday Heroes: A Kandid Chat w/ Katina Holliday Founder of Hollidays Helping Hands”

Kandidly Kristin: Hey, hey, hey, podcast Nation. It is your girl, candidly, Kristin, and this is The Kandid  Shop, your number one destination for Kandid conversations on this everyday hero segment, which is one of my favorite things to do, I get to shine a light on Mrs.

Katina Holliday. Katina is the founder and CEO of Hollidays helping hands. An organization that provides interim housing and wraparound services to people experiencing homelessness in the LA County, California area. So welcome, welcome, welcome, Katina to the Kandid Shop.

Katina Holliday: Good morning. Thank you. Thank you for having me.

Kandidly Kristin: You're so welcome. So, As someone who has been homeless at one point in my life, I have always, always believed that more people than they realize are one accident, layoff, unexpected disaster, et cetera, away from homelessness. So I am really, really honored to shine a spotlight on you and your program.

Katina Holliday: Absolutely. Yes. Um, I, my dad experienced homelessness in the cold state of Minnesota. Mm-hmm. So I'm definitely, it's near and dear to my heart. Mm-hmm. And so, being a nurse, of course, I've dealt with a lot of homelessness working in the er. Mm-hmm. So just by pure nature to help people in any way, shape, or form that I can, this is truly worked for me.

Kandidly Kristin: Nice. Nice. So I just wanna throw out a little bit of stats. Um, I know people are aware that there's a homelessness issue, or the new term I think is unhoused, and it's been an issue in the US for a long time. But the latest stats show that roughly 582,462 people are experiencing homelessness across the us.

This amounts to roughly 18 out of every 10,000 people. On top of that, 22% are chronically homeless individuals or people with disabilities who've experienced long-term or repeated incidents of homelessness. 6% are veterans and 5% are unaccompanied youth under 25. So if you could share a little bit of your personal backstory with me my listeners.

Katina Holliday: Yeah. So for me, I, when I was in nurse practitioner school, I'm a Mississippi girl, so I came from a small town where I didn't see too much homelessness. Mm-hmm. But when I moved to LA after I graduated from nursing school, the area called Skid Row downtown, yeah. Oh my gosh. I just remember it being dark and gloom.

So to make a long story short, I at, when I went to nurse practitioner school here, I got to work in the homeless community. And I just loved it. And as I said, being an ER nurse, I was able to, um, speak with the homeless and, you know, it's a different community, right? Mm-hmm. Um, people look at them and look down upon them, but here at hollidays helping Hands, we believe in giving a hands up and not a handout.

Mm-hmm. So, With me, um, working in that field and, and wanting to provide for them and show them love and give them love because I also believe if you give people love mm-hmm. Love is the biggest motivator and it can definitely change people. So that's what we embrace ourself on and hollidays helping in.

It's giving love. We're family. Right. So working among that population and because I have just that heart to help people. Yeah. Like in general, no matter what it is, what resources I could provide, I'll provide them to you. It was just a feel that I ended up going into and I truly love it. I worked at the, um, community clinic and they would always call me their doctor, even though I'm a nurse practitioner, they'd be like my doctor.

Right. And so I meant, um, one of the doctors I worked with was like, my patients came in for years looking for me after I left the clinic. Oh. You know, for my training because they, they loved me cuz I was, you know, the hospitality and mm-hmm. And it's just the way I grew up. My grandma helped everybody in the hometown where I came from.

Literally, you know, she'd pull her money out the bosom. Yep. Help you and help you, whoever she had to help. I dunno if you know about that bosom money.

Kandidly Kristin:  Yes, I know about that bosom money. Mm-hmm. But listen, that's a great segue cause I really want you to share who Miss Dessie and Shine were and how they impacted your life and your, your purpose and passion.

Katina Holliday: Listen, my grandmother, that, that is funny. She like none other. When I tell you, um, I, of the stories that really impacted Sixth said she had been looking for my grandma for years. I think she even wrote into the Oprah show. She said, cause she had relocated to Illinois somewhere. Okay. And her and her husband, she was older. And so she finally came back to town. Cause my grandma used to cook at the hospital. Now we all know people don't just go to the hospital to eat. Right? People would literally go to the hospital. That's where they would go. Had a breakfast and lunch at, if my grandma was cooking because she made homemade biscuit, like you could go to the hospital and eat it when all this.

Food that we have today. Right? So, um, with that being said, I just remember her coming and when she, some my grandma was like, we gotta go and meet the lady. And so when she, when my grandma went to see her, she just hugged her and cried. I'm like, why is this lady, what did my grandma do? So back for right?

And she was like, you saved my life. I thank you so much. Now mind you, I'm from Mississippi, white and black, right? Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. I mean, growing up. People can't believe that. Even when I was growing up, they picked six black cheerleaders for school. They picked six white cheerleaders. Mm-hmm. We had a white queen, we had a black queen.

So, you know, it was different. It's Mississippi. Talking about Mississippi. Yeah. We, we, and everything and everything. Um. Bad. We rank highest in right? Everything good. We work low. You know, we rank lowest in. So with that being said, I just remember, and I don't remember what my grandma did for, but I was like, I just remember her hugging, my grandma telling, and her husband was like, she talked about you for years.

I couldn't wait to meet you. And so that's just one of the stories. But Shine was a gentleman that walked our streets all the time. And I remember as a little girl myself, it was a dime for him to get a cigarette. And Sean had a family, so it was a dime for him to get a cigarette. And so even if I had a dime, I would give it to him when I had a dime so that he would get a cigarette just so he wouldn't have to beg anybody.

But my grandma literally say him breakfast and lunch every single day going up and um, she took care of him. Just somebody that she took care of. He was hungry, she fed him no matter what, right. So that's what I got the witness, my grandma taking care of Sean. Every single day she would feed him the same thing.

She fed us. He ate at the table where we ate at, and a lot of times he ate before anybody else. Cause if she, soon as she see him walking up the street, she'd be like, come on in here and get you something to eat. And she would feed him and take care of him. And like I said, he wasn't the only person she took care of.

She didn't say people houses, they cars. Like I was with my grandma all the time. So I seen like, and she never told anybody what she did for people. So people don't even know. Wow. But when she passed away, you heard all these stories about how she impacted their life, right. And how she was a help to them, even if it was just a word, food love.

Mm-hmm. Whatever it was, she was very resourceful.

Kandidly Kristin: Well, I see you get your, your, your service mentality, honest and your heart for help. And so talk to me about the why of Holliday. Helping Hands, why. You thought that this was what was needed in the LA County area and how that all came to be

Katina Holliday: So interesting story is I ended up, when I graduated from nurse practitioner school, I was looking for a job.

And I ran up on this job to, um, work for Recuperative Care. Now mind you, I didn't even have the qualifications to get the job right, but how many, you know, that when you serve the guide like I serve, you don't have to have the qualifications to get to what you need to do, right? So I didn't even meet the qualifications of a new nurse practitioner.

They was looking for somebody with three years experience, two years experience, I'm sorry. And so I applied for the job, they called me in and, um, interviewed me and the person that interviewed me. She was like, we're gonna do business together. And so I was like, oh, wow. You know? So today men and that lady, we do business together.

I have a separate business that I do with her and that Serenity Recuperative Care. So that was the first one that I did. And Recuperative Care was set up. To help, um, homeless people coming out of the hospitals. Ok. It was the third in the county of LA to open up me and her. Now our vision was that we was gonna open up clinics cause she was a licensed clinical social worker.

I'm a nurse practitioner, but God saw her differently. So we end up opening up the Recuperative Care. So hollidays helping and hands came about. I asked my business partner, did she wanna do families? She had been in the homeless sector doing the, the different type of housing. I can't even think of the name of it.

It's more like transitional, where people pay for a room and board, you know? Oh, okay. So she had, she had been in that for years and she was like, you know, I don't wanna do families, you know, the kids just tear up your house. So

outta that, I birthed hollidays, helping hands, because I wanted to help families and single moms and things like that. So, out of that, when I, when I let the county of LA know that we wanna do families, they was like, okay. We became the first family site within the Housing for Health model. Okay. To open up here in la

Kandidly Kristin: And so now tell me what that is. The Housing for Health

Katina Holliday: Health? Yes ma'am. So Housing for Health is the Department of Health Services. Mm-hmm. It's a section here of the Department of Health Services in LA County and it's the county. And they started operating homeless facilities because a lot of homelessness go to the county for services.

Kandidly Kristin: Mm-hmm. So that's the model that holliday helping hands kind of adopted when you opened it?

Katina Holliday: Well, of course we did our own model. Right. But they are the ones that sent us over the client. So my first house was for single mom. Okay. And so, but my second set of houses that we opened up, I had a, a single father's home.

Okay. Which was, that's great cuz nobody else does that. They don't think about fathers being single and homeless. Nope. So, And hollidays have been hands. One of the biggest things we do is we don't care if you consider 'EM family. That's your family, right? We have mothers and daughters staying together.

Most facilities don't allow that. We have same sex parents stand together and we had a developmental delayed child that was like 40 years old with the same sex parents. Okay? And so we, we, whatever you constitute your family is hollidays, helping hands. We accept that. Got it. You know, whereas most places, homeless shelters, if the kid is over 18, they won't allow them to be considered a family.

Right. They have to be, they separate the mom and the dad. We don't do that a holliday. Separate hands. And then my other sites that I end up opening up was a single family, uh, single mom home for women that have been incarcerated. Okay. So that was one of, that has been one of our greatest. Greatest things that we do.

They come in from jail if they're pregnant in jail. Mm-hmm. They get another chance at life just because they were pregnant and um, went to jail. So they could come out. They get to come into the hollidays Up hands program, and then we go from there.

Kandidly Kristin: Okay. So what are the different services and programs that you provide to your clients?

Katina Holliday: So, you know, I consider it, this is how I explain it to a lot of people. It's like living on a boat when you come to holliday helping  hands, okay? And you know the boat has all the amenities, right? Mm-hmm. They provide you food. They have somebody to clean up for you. They even have medical services on the boat, right?

So that, that's how I explain it to people when they come to hollidays, helping Hands. But we have this holistic approach. Um, we offer counseling services. We have social workers that work and do mental health services because we know that's important. Mm-hmm. Even if they didn't have a mental health issue.

Depression is gonna set in if you're homeless. Mm-hmm. Right? Mm-hmm. Yes. Cause you don't have a roof over your head. Right. So we have nursing staff, we have from nurse practitioners to nurses to LPNs and where we monitor their meds because one of the thing with the homeless population that we see is a big non-compliance.

Mm-hmm. So this helps with patient teaching. We're always teaching them what's important things of that nature. We have chefs. That provides specialized meals. So let's say if you are a diabetic, you're gonna get a diabetic meal. Ok. Your, um, high blood pressure, you're gonna get a low sodium meal, right? So if you remember I said housing for health?

Yes. So most of our clients come to us. They're gonna have health issues, they're gonna be chronic health issues along with. Some psychiatric issues. Mm-hmm. Along with possibly some drug issues. Mm-hmm. So we also offer at our sites where we have a program manager that runs a site, we have an admin assistant that does the paperwork.

We have a driver that takes them to and from their appointments. We have security guards on site that monitor and report, and we also have what you call. Um, CNAs, which is certified nursing assistants mm-hmm. Or RAs, is resident assistants. The RAs is people that we train that are not certified nursing assistants.

So we created our own training program to train people to work with us to help care for them. Mm-hmm. And so we offer this wraparound services. I have a life coach and we also have chaplains that come in if they want prayer. Mm-hmm. Things of that nature wanna be prayed for. We offer all those services within hh.

Kandidly Kristin: That's awesome.

Katina Holliday: And we're 24  7. 24 7.

Kandidly Kristin: So how many interim housing properties  do you have right now?

Katina Holliday A total of 16. Between both companies?

Kandidly Kristin: Yes. That's awesome. I can't even tell you how needed that is. So if you could talk to me a little bit about. The people you serve, who they are, who they were before homelessness, made them, uh, to most people's minds, to society's minds non-existent. Who are they?

Katina Holliday: Absolutely. You know, they think that everybody is a person that has, you know, a drug user, things of that nature. Mm-hmm. But I could tell you one of my, my most vivid stories that came to mind when you asked that question is, I had a UCLA. I think UCLA is one of those colleges that are known around the world.

Yeah. He was a history professor that became homeless cuz he just got tired of life. He lost his family. Mm-hmm. And just went to Skid Row. And I guess one day he decided, he went in cuz he had a wound on his foot at the county and he ends up going into our program. So as stories like that where he wasn't a drug user Right.

He just gave up on life. Right. You know, and he walked down on Skid Road. He just lost it. He had a mental break. Mm-hmm. And so he wasn't a drug user. I keep saying drug user because everybody think that people that are homeless are drug users

Kandidly Kristin: or they lazy and don't wanna work and that's not always the case.

Katina Holliday:

Absolutely. Yeah.

Kandidly Kristin: Yep. I agree. I agree. There're so, like I said, most people, whether they, they want to accept it and embrace it or not, are one paycheck away from homelessness. If you lost a paycheck or, or couldn't pay your rent for one month, it would be hard to dig outta that hole for the the average person unless you're independently wealthy. So homelessness happens for so many reasons

Katina Holliday:. Absolutely. And I gotta tell you, I used to be one paycheck away. Mm-hmm. For many, many years working as a nurse, especially here in California. Yeah. With these high rent prices. Yeah. I was always a paycheck away. You worked your paycheck to pay your bills. Literally.

Kandidly Kristin: Yeah. I agree. So Katina, if you had the power over policy for homelessness, what would your broad vision for combating homelessness look like?

Katina Holliday: You know, and I do have the, the, the model that I came up with, believe it or not, the first house we did was actually a house. Cause when most people think of shelters, they think of these big open rooms, right?

Like a warehouse. Mm-hmm. Yep. That's not what we did. We brought 'em into a home because we feel like we brought 'em into a home. It's more intimate. They could get reacclimated to being in a home. They'll wanna go to a home. So we have this three. Now I have. I call myself, they're state of art facilities.

We have a three story. My first facility was a three-story house with balconies all off the house in Lakeview Terrace. Nice. And I dunno if you ever watched that movie.

Kandidly Kristin I was gonna say, that's a real place. Okay. That's how it really is though. Mm. So anyway. Then, you know, we have those nimby not in my backyard, right?

Katina Holliday: But lemme tell you, to this day, they love us. They do events with us, they work with us because we have what we, we teach our, um, clients is. To be, um, good, good neighbors. We have a good neighbor policy. Yes. So in our good neighbor policy, it's no laddering. It's keeping your property clean. Mm-hmm. It's keeping your rooms clean.

Mm-hmm. You know how people have stuff in the windows and things like that. You don't allow that. You not gonna have broken blinds in our facility. Right, right. It's gonna look just like any other house in the neighborhood. Right. And so with that being said, that that neighborhood, they literally fought us tooth and nail met with us.

And, and was a neighborhood full of pastors. And I'm like, oh my gosh. They was like, these people, when they said these people mm-hmm. Something that inside of me just got infuriated. I was like, these people didn't, you just tell me sir, you a pastor. They people like, literally, so, so with that being said, the model that I've come up with, It's homes that you could put them in.

Mm-hmm. It can be called Shared Living. Mm-hmm. Which, you know, and, and it works. You know, it's not much. All these empty houses around here that we can fix up. Even if they got a private room, they, they, in the rooms, you could bring 'em in very quickly. Yeah. I actually set up facilities in two weeks when the county was really big and, um, bringing in a lot of, um, instrumental and bringing in a lot of facilities.

Cause um, initially when we started, I was opening up about three facilities a year. Wow. When they first started. So we got big really fast. Right. Then covid happened, right? And we end up operating some covid sites. But yeah. So my model would be is the place people in shared living space in homes and it will work.

Kandidly Kristin: Yeah,  it's working already. So, lemme I, this is my question. When you undertake this kind of endeavor, how do you finance it? Where does the money come from?

Katina Holliday: So, the good part about this, when we first started, My God is amazing, right? Because whatever's meant for you is for you. It's for you. So when we first started, When we got our first house, we did not have to pay a down payment or anything to move into this house.

Nice. In this neighborhood, literally they allowed us to just move in. So we were able to set up this house and we to get started, we financed our own stuff, but the county started giving you money upfront because they were trying to open up quickly. Mm-hmm. So then they would start giving you money once you found the facility.

Cause we have facilities as well like. That looks like nursing homes, things like that. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. I, I don't, I don't, we don't, I didn't believe in operating congregate settings. Okay. And so that's what they're called the congregate settings. Mm-hmm. Where you just see a room and nothing but bed. Right.

Right. And so when our facilities, they're all rooms. Okay. So they would give us, they would help give you the money after you start the facility. They would help finance it as well. Okay.

Kandidly Kristin: And these, the houses that you, are you using, were they fixer uppers? Were they moving ready? Did you, did they require work?

Katina Holliday: So the houses that most of the time the houses that I would move in were brand new houses. Ok. So they were like duplexes. A lot of my facilities are duplexes. Okay. So what I would do is, because we need an office space, I turn the garage into a office. Mm-hmm. We, we cut a hole in between the, the houses to open the houses up.

So now it looks like there's long hallway bedrooms. Mm-hmm. This long hallway of kitchens. Mm-hmm. And so I did bring a contractor to open it up. And they was like, oh my gosh, you were so smart for this. And I let the, the, the landlord know as well. So I don't own those properties that I open up, but they're willing because we're, we're operating as a organization to allow us to do that.

So it's like two people to,

Kandidly Kristin: okay. And are you guys a 5 0 1 a nonprofit or?

Katina Holliday: So, so interesting enough, my companies are for-profit operating as a nonprofit. Mm. Mm-hmm. But I also have a nonprofit portion because we do a lot of nonprofit work. Ok. So we have a Hollidays Helping Hands Foundation. Okay. So one of, one of my most grateful things that we're grateful for in this season is that we have created a SAS program, which is Shine Ambassador Workforce Program.

Ok. Where our clients that can work, we teach them, we train them, we bring them in and teach them life skills. Um, money, budgeting, how to bank, how to open up a bank account, take them to the bank to open up a bank account, how to be professional. How to complete a application. Mm-hmm. How to do a resume, how to do an interview.

So it is a 12 week program that we've put together, you know, we put pens of paper. Mm-hmm. And so right now out of that program, they're learning how to do retail cuz we have a. A thrift store called Pick Change by H hh. So they get to go in there and learn retail services, customer service skills, all those things.

And they also do landscaping and maintenance. So those are the two programs that we have open now. But what's coming is our catering service, cuz we do have a catering company and hollidays helping hands. Nice. So they'll get to, for the ones that lo Love to cook? Mm-hmm. We'll pay for them to get the certificate so they'll be able to cook.

And then we also have a school of nursing that I opened up cuz I told you I was a nurse. Yes ma'am. So my nursing school has got approved, so it's gonna be H HH School of Nursing. Nice. So we we're starting off with a certified nursing assistant program. So remember I told you I work with a lot of single moms.

Yeah. So we able to get their foot in the door and we have a nursing shortage, A lot of CNAs that go on to be LVNs. Mm-hmm. LPNs or RNs. Yes. So that is definitely the goal with that program is to. Turn some of them into higher positions as well. Yeah. So we are excited about what this China Ambassador workforce program, which is SAS is doing.

Kandidly Kristin: I'm excited and you kind of answered my, my next question, which is, what was, what's on the horizon for H H H, aside from what you already mentioned, what else is on the horizon? Art, Are you looking at taking your model out of California and have something nationally in place in other states? Cause we need to hear in New Jersey, girl.

Katina Holliday: See? See what I'm talking about? So that is interesting that you said that because our team, one of our goals within the next five years is to take our motto outside of the state of California. That is our dream. And that has, that is one of our visions. That's one of the things that we plan on doing. Um, and also, um, we're looking into affordable housing because what we're finding here in LA is people don't wanna rent, even though California passed that law, they don't wanna rent to the homeless population or to people with vouchers for some reason.

And so our clients are with us for a year, two years with a housing voucher, or they lose a housing voucher because they cannot find housing. One of our goals is to start offering everything to our clients that would include from medical clinic within the facility so that they can still get their health seen about and their mental health to also offering the affordable housing piece, the final piece, their journey to home.

Cause that's what we believe in, getting them their journey to home. Yeah, so we have a yellow brick road that we have a map, a roadmap to guide them to their journey to home. And on that roadmap it has, like if they wanna go to school, they wanna get a job, if they wanna reunite with their family, we do all of those things Nice.

Within hollidays, helping hands.

Kandidly Kristin: Nice, nice. And um, I just thought of this question, what's the average stay for a client with you?

Katina Holliday: Average day is about a year to a year and a half.

Kandidly Kristin: Okay. And that's longer than a lot of programs. A lot of these programs, you're just, uh, it's not even interim housing, it's just temporary.

You're there a few months and out without any services. So a year is awesome.

Katina Holliday: Yes, ma'am. There's no time limit to our program. Okay. And so that's what's different as well, right? Yeah. Yeah. Yes.

Kandidly Kristin: All right. Well, ma'am, I, I, when you were talking about all the different things and the program to help them with, uh, job skills and life skills, I'm telling you, my heart was just swelling up.

Like this is so needed in so many other places cuz homelessness is not confined despite what a lot of townships try to do is just kind of heard them into some shelter so you don't see 'em walking around. But it's everywhere and this is what's needed. This is the kind of thing that can, it may not eliminate it, but it'll certainly help to reduce it and get people on their journey home.

And I like that too a lot. So thank you. Thank you. So that is the end of our air quotes, formal part of our chat. Now we get to do the fun stuff. Absolutely. We get to play 10 Kandid questions.

10 Kandid questions. Just some random questions that I'm gonna ask you. It's actually nine Kandid questions cause the 10th question is always the same for everybody. So you ready? Yes. All right. What is your biggest pet peeve?

Katina Holliday: peeve When somebody eat the last or something? You know, you know, like you, you, you have your mouth, like peach soda is my favorite, right?

Mm-hmm. And so my nephews or anybody come into my house cause everybody got the door code. Mm-hmm. And they'll just take it like it's theirs. I hate when somebody take the last or something. Yeah. Yeah.

Kandidly Kristin: That's a peeve of mine too. All right, question number two, introvert or extrovert?

Katina Holliday: Growing up, I was an introvert I think, but now I'm an extrovert.

Kandidly Kristin: Yeah, I get extrovert all day. Yeah. Question three. How would you like to be remembered?

Katina Holliday: That I live my life as m k, serving others selflessly and providing resources and that God can define himself by me.

Kandidly Kristin: I like that question. Four dogs or cats.

Katina Holliday: It would definitely have to be a dog. Cats are sneaky.

Kandidly Kristin: Yeah. Yeah. I'm a dog girl too. Um, question number five. What one piece of advice would you give to your 18 year old self?

Katina Holliday: Mm. See that hits different from me, and I don't know why, because I became a teenage mom. At the age of 18. Okay. And so I guess the piece of advice that I would give to my 18 year old self that all the stuff that I wrote in my yearbook today, it didn't even matter.

Kandidly Kristin: Mm. Right. Yep. Question number six. Morning person or night owl?

Katina Holliday: I would work all night. Night. Ow.

Kandidly Kristin: Oh, alright. Question seven, what's one question you wish that I had asked you during our chat and what would your answer have been?

Katina Holliday: Let's see. That's a great question. Let's see, one question that you could have asked me.

You know, when I, when I went back, um, And thought about it. I was like, when I was like, when I was 18, being a teenage mom, cuz I didn't tell how being a single mom myself and how it impacted me to wanna help other single moms, right? Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. So I guess my question would, and I think you kind asked that.

Kandidly Kristin: You know what this is, this is, that question is really for me because it helps me to know if I am asking the right questions during chats and getting to what the, the person that I'm talking to wants to get to. So that's kind of an unfair question for me. So when people say, no, I think you kinda asked everything. I'm like, cool.

Katina Holliday: Yeah, cause, cause you know, cause with the questions that you asked, were open and can lead to whatever the person is feeling at that time. Mm-hmm. Or feel comfortable telling or sharing during that time. Right. So I think you asked all the right questions. Well, thank you. See? Mm-hmm.

Kandidly Kristin: All right. Question eight. Coffee or tea?

Katina Holliday: What's the tea baby?

Kandidly Kristin: Oh wait, yeah. You from Mississippi Tea.

Katina Holliday: Indeed. Sweet tea, baby. Yes, you be. You better have a heavy hand.

Kandidly Kristin: I love it. Question number nine. If you had the attention of the whole world for five minutes, what would you say? Ooh,

Katina Holliday: I like that question. If I had the attention of the world Sure.

For five seconds, I would let them know that in this life we are blessed to be a blessing to others. Mm-hmm. And if we could bless others, then that would, they would in turn, bless someone else. One of the things that I had my first sermon this week, I can't believe in, and that it was like, what are you bringing to the table?

And always to remember that positivity. Right? Right. So, you know, I was like, what are you bringing to the table when you come? That's like a can ta, you know? Right. It's a metaphoric question. What are you bringing to the table? Like, are you bringing your hatred bag biting lion? But no, we need to be bringing our love, our resources, our money.

And so I would tell them, bring your resources. It resources don't necessarily mean money. Absolutely. It could be, it could be your love, it could be some education. Mm-hmm. It could be another person that leads that person to their goal in life. So for me it would definitely, I would definitely talk about blessed to be a blessing to others and how we can impact the world by doing so.

Kandidly Kristin: Amen.  I like that. And last question, how can my listeners connect with you and hollidays, helping hands for help if they're in the uh, LA County area or just to support the work you're doing?

Katina Holliday: So of course we have a website and that website is www hollidays. hh.org and hollidays is H O L L I D A Y s dot HH dot org always say Double Ls in holliday.

Mm-hmm. And they definitely need to remember that every day is a holliday. Mm-hmm. And on that page, you could find out foundation if you would like to donate or give there as well. And we also have a Instagram and Facebook, and that's Hollidays Helping Hands.

Kandidly Kristin: Thank you. Well, Katina, first of all, thank you for the work that you do.

One of my favorite quotes is by Marion Edelman, and she says that “service is the rent we pay for being. It is the very purpose of life and not something you do in your spare time.” And you, ma'am, are the literal embodiment of that quote, and it really has been my absolute pleasure to have this chat with you today.

Thank you for your time, for your service, just for being you.

Katina Holliday:  Absolutely. It's definitely an honor. This is like my second podcast. Mm-hmm. I'm like podcast. Yes. So thank you.

Kandidly Kristin: You're so welcome. Now guys, Katina and hollidays helping Hands contact information. Links to her website will be in the show notes. And listen, don't y'all forget to visit my little old website at www.thekandidshop.com, Kandid  with a “K”

Listen to an episode, drop me review, sign up for the mailing list, light, follow, share, and tell your friends about this show so we can grow. But until next time, I want everybody listening to keep it safe, keep it healthy. And keep it kandid.