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Ever Onward Podcast
The Ever Onward Podcast is your go-to business podcast, offering engaging discussions and diverse guests covering everything from business strategies to community issues. Join us at the executive table as we bring together industry leaders, experts, and visionaries for insightful conversations that go beyond the boardroom. Whether you're an entrepreneur or simply curious about business, our podcast provides a well-rounded experience, exploring a variety of topics that shape the business landscape and impact communities. Brought to you by Ahlquist.
Ever Onward Podcast
Military Service and Building the Veterans Chamber with Dr. Mindi Anderson | Ever Onward - Ep. 92
What happens when a child who never felt she belonged grows up to create spaces where others can thrive? Dr. Mindi Anderson's journey from trauma to triumph is a masterclass in resilience and purpose.
At just thirteen years old, Mindi petitioned to enter foster care to escape an emotionally abusive home environment. This early experience instilled in her a deep understanding of what it means to seek belonging – a value that would become the cornerstone of her life's work. Through the kindness of foster parents, teachers, and mentors who believed in her, she discovered the transformative power of community.
When she joined the Air Force with her college roommates, Mindi found another kind of family. What began as a six-year commitment evolved into a 23-year military career that included being stationed at Barksdale Air Force Base during 9/11, where she witnessed President Bush deliver his first address after the attacks. Her service in medical roles as a medic and nurse prepared her for a lifetime of helping others in crisis.
The transition to civilian life revealed a gap that needed filling. Veterans weren't lacking resources – they were struggling to navigate the existing ones. Drawing on her doctoral research about integration in healthcare systems, Mindi founded the Idaho Veterans Chamber of Commerce, creating a navigation hub that connects veterans with local support rather than faceless 1-800 numbers. The organization has become a lifeline for military members transitioning to civilian careers, housing, and community integration.
Recently named the first veteran to receive Idaho Business Review's Woman of the Year award, Dr. Anderson continues expanding her impact through initiatives like creating tiny homes for veterans transitioning from homelessness and volunteering with Cascade Fire Department. Her work exemplifies how personal pain can become purposeful service when channeled through the right values.
Ready to support veterans in your community? Visit IdahoVeterans.org to learn how you can volunteer, donate, or connect veterans with the resources they need to thrive after service. Because when warriors come home, they shouldn't have to fight to belong.
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Today on the Ever Onward podcast we have Dr Mindy Anderson Incredible story. She lives in Cascade, idaho. She's a 23-year military veteran and she is the founder director and president of the Idaho Veterans Chamber of Commerce. She has an incredible story of grit and perseverance and now is doing good all around Idaho after serving our country for 23 years. It's an incredible story. I look forward to sharing it today, dr Mindy Anderson. Mindy, thank you for being here today.
Speaker 2:Hi, thank you for having me. This is awesome. I'm telling you I've Hi thank you for having me.
Speaker 1:This is awesome. I'm telling you. I've heard so many great things for so long, multiple people. You got to get her on. You got to get her on. So it's fun to meet you. Thank you, and you said you were just here. You were here last night. Came down from Cascade last night.
Speaker 2:I did. Yep, I came down last night. I was the keynote speaker for the Idaho Business Review Woman of the Year. I was awarded Woman of the Year for 2024. And so I was the keynote speaker last night and it was a great evening, especially on 9-11, with being a veteran and a first responder myself too as well. It was a wonderful night, Inspiring.
Speaker 1:Tell us more about it, because you were the first veteran to ever receive the award. Is that right? Yes, sir, how can that?
Speaker 2:be. That's what I wonder too, and hopefully this changes. I read that In preparation.
Speaker 1:I read that and I'm like all the years they've done it. I mean it's an amazing program.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:But it was one of the. I'm like.
Speaker 2:Yes, it is right and hopefully that changes and hopefully we can get more women veterans that are up there.
Speaker 2:So what did you talk about last night? And then also my career from childhood to adulthood to military and to today after the military, and really just talked about self-belonging and how that really is the value that I truly embrace and appreciate, because it helps me to understand why I do the things that I do and what is so important to me and why I get protective of things that I get protective of because of my childhood trauma that I've experienced and then going into the military and some of the trauma you experience there too as well, it really comes down to self-belonging in the community of people that are around you, and that value for me is just so important and it really it really has helped me to realize who I am and and be okay with that.
Speaker 1:Well, I want to hear your history because it's important and that's part of what we do on this podcast. I think there's a lot to learn from people's experiences and stories and then from them. But before we go there because I'm intrigued that we started here I have a good friend, don Berger, who wrote a book on belonging recently. It's a great book, and so it's interesting that you bring up the self-belonging. Talk a little bit more about that, because that's his big thing. I mean, he talks about just you know this need as humans to belong to a community and people that care and love us and you fit in and you feel you know that's where you get so much self-worth. But talk more about that.
Speaker 2:Well, so when you talk about values, it's really like you said. It's really what everybody thrives on feeling valued, waking up every day and finding a way to navigate the day and have a purpose. And so values can be something that can really disrupt your life if you're really not really paying attention to what your values are. There's so many values and it really is. Values are emotions and what you feel and what is most important to you. And so, with self belonging, it really started with my childhood trauma. I had a mother that was emotionally and mentally abusive, went through some different things. I remember I talked about this last night. I remember just in reference to kind of what I experienced. She would just get so angry and so upset about some of the littlest, smallest things. Just being a kid, she would pack up my stuff and she'd put it on the curb and she'd kick me out and she'd call the police department and say, come get her.
Speaker 1:Where did you grow up?
Speaker 2:I grew up in New York, upstate New York, yeah and um.
Speaker 1:How old were you when this?
Speaker 2:happened. Uh, it started around nine. Wow, it's awful. Yeah, so I used to have this. Detective would always come, because it was kind of a common occurrence, and he would come pick me up, take me to the park, take me to get ice cream, come back and ask if I could go back home and she let me come back home. But it really is interesting that I was so determined at that age to not be living that life that I was living and I just wanted to be a child and I wanted to grow up feeling loved and that's really what it came down to and feeling like I belonged there. And it didn't feel like I belonged and so for so long it was. It was hard for me to really come to grips with. If I want to be normal and if I want to live a healthy life as a kid, um, going down the path of actually having myself removed from the home was the only option that was there.
Speaker 1:Did you have siblings?
Speaker 2:I had siblings, yes, and they too had the same experience. They all were younger. They were all younger One was just a year younger than me and then the other one she's 10 years younger than me. So she grew up in a different type of experience because she was so much younger than me and my other sister, the middle sister. But through that experience with my mother and just really wanting to feel like I belonged somewhere, wanting to feel like I belonged somewhere, that's really what I started reflecting on just recently, over the last couple of years, and really looking at emotional intelligence and trying to figure out, you know, why do I do the things that I do and what is so important to me. And then I did talk about also last night, our Air Force Corps, values too, as well Integrity, service before self, excellence in all we do, and values really can be a grounding force for anybody to be able to reflect on and be okay with those values, Did you so?
Speaker 1:how did you get out of that situation? What was the Well, so. It's just awful. I'm just. You think of a nine-year-old and and and the safety and security and love and compassion you need to fill in your life, and and you, uh, how did you get out?
Speaker 2:I um so, through caseworkers, through social workers, through therapists, through the detective that would come and get me, um, they provided some options for me to be removed from the home. So I actually was able to petition when I was 13. I had to wait until I was 13. And so, at 13, I petitioned to be removed from the home. There was a law that allowed for me to do that, and I was originally going to go live with a family member, but that family member also wasn't as healthy as what I thought they might be, and so I ended up going into a foster home, and it was the best, the best decision of of my life, really, and that just led me to Did you stay in one foster home then through your adolescence?
Speaker 2:Yes, I was. I was the last child to go through this foster home, because they were older. And going into the foster home I just became surrounded by people that loved me just instantly my friends, their parents, are like parents to me.
Speaker 1:Was it in the same area or did you move to a new area?
Speaker 2:I moved about 20 minutes away, okay, so I was in a completely different school system and everything.
Speaker 1:All kind of fresh start with nice people that you feel love. Yes, isn't that wonderful.
Speaker 2:It is, yeah, and I had school teachers, mrs Mansfield. She used to take me to cheerleading practice and softball and I got to do all the sports that I wanted to do. She helped me get my first job and she would take me to work, and it's just those people, and that's where you know.
Speaker 2:I think where self-belonging comes in is that's what I crave and I need in order to be able to be successful To be surrounded by people that love me and know me and support me and be okay with those that may not me, and know me and support me and be okay with those that may not, Because you know there are times where there can be relationships or people that may not agree with who you are or what you do and how you do it, and I've had to really reflect on that in order to be able to move forward with what I'm doing now, working with the Idaho Veterans Chamber of Commerce and being the founder of that.
Speaker 1:So do you still have a relationship with your foster parents?
Speaker 2:They've since passed away. Yes, they passed away after I joined the military, several years after that.
Speaker 1:So, and boy, what a? I mean, let's talk about this for a little bit We've been able to have, um, some interaction with foster parents um over the years, my, my wife and I and what a blessing. Uh, you talk about doing god's work. Um, and and and these folks had a history of doing foster parents for for many kids. You said you were the last one to go through, so let's talk a little more about them.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they were older and they had been foster parents for a little over 30 years, so they were just very inviting and they just treated me like a kid. They allowed for me to go out with friends and I wasn't always grounded and they supported all the things that I did and they were just there for me always.
Speaker 1:How many kids did they have in the home when you were there?
Speaker 2:We roughly had around three at a time. That would be there. A lot would come in and then go back home and I was like, nope, I'm staying here, I am good where I'm at and I just want to live here and live my high school years here and see where that takes me.
Speaker 1:Do you still have a relationship with your mother?
Speaker 2:You know, I don't have a relationship with her and that's something that I've had to really reflect on. For me early on it was important to make sure that I had healthy people surrounding me, and so I had hoped maybe one day that we would be able to mend the relationships, and I tried several times but it kind of always went down the path of the emotional abuse and such. So I really have never been able to repair that. My sisters do speak with her and they have a good relationship with her. She's now in a nursing home and they do send pictures and I did see her on FaceTime over Christmas this last Christmas and uh, my, my sister Did. She have mental illness, then, you know, never diagnosed, and I think that was part of um. I got the help that I needed and she didn't get the help that she needed.
Speaker 2:And I remember meeting with um about 10 years into the Air Force. I reached out to my law guardian and my my social worker hadn't seen them since I graduated from high school, went to college and then off to the air force and I met with them for lunch and I remember the therapist saying to me now was it your mom? That said that we were crazy. And I said, yes, that was my mom. And she said, okay, I thought so and that was that was. It was really disappointing.
Speaker 1:She just didn't want to get the help or was so Well, you talk about building some resilience in your life. I don't know that I've ever talked to anyone that's had this experience. What kind of courage does it take, as a 13 year old, to go to court and petition?
Speaker 2:Yeah, a lot of tears, a lot of tears, a lot of um. Am I doing the right thing? Um, and really it came down to those that surrounded me, that continue to support me, and it really just came to the end where, um, we, we had to take it to a trial and we had all these people that were there to speak on my behalf, all these professionals, and she didn't have anybody. And the judge said do you really want to go through this, or can we just settle this outside? And so we did. And they said you could stay at the home until we can find adoption or you can go into the foster home.
Speaker 1:You know I'm sitting here thinking, you know we're all busy and you just get going through life and doing your thing right. And how many times do we pause and reflect of the powerful experiences you can have in people's lives by going above and beyond to just be kind and helpful? And you think of all the people in like 15 minutes or how long we've been going here, the number of people that were there for you. You've mentioned the detective, you've mentioned the social workers and the people that were just there to help, and then these angels, these foster folks, that really who knows how your life would have ended up, absolutely, I mean, think about the wow.
Speaker 1:Have you been involved in the foster system here at all?
Speaker 2:I haven't, but I feel like I'm ready and be a mentor or a source of somebody that can show others that it is possible to beat the cycle. Yeah, you know, get out of that cycle and really do something with yourself. The statistics are very grim. It's very grim with kids that end up in foster home and how they can, how they can bounce back and be resilient, and it really comes down to for me, it was the community of people, and and not always do they have that and um, so it's it's something that I definitely would love to do. I feel like I'm ready now to to be able to have, have those conversations, um, and be able to support that system, because it's so important, and be able to help build communities around the foster system too as well, because that's really what it comes down to is that community of people.
Speaker 1:Amazing. So military. So when did you know that that was the path?
Speaker 2:You know it was unexpected. I went to college after I graduated high school and I was there and one of my roommates from college she said I'm going to join the Air Force and I said great. And then the recruiter came and then he recruited us all. So three out of four of the roommates joined the Air Force and we all went to basic training. So three out of four of the roommates joined the Air Force and we all went to basic training. We thought we would come back and go to college, you know, or get out. Just do a six-year enlistment. And so we all joined the Air Force. I was the only one that stayed in past six. The others did end up getting out, but I was there in the military through 9-11. I was actually at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana, shreveport, louisiana, when President Bush left the Florida classroom, when he was notified and he came to our base.
Speaker 2:He came to your base. He came to Barksdale Air Force Base to make his state, his first state of the address to the to the combination. So at that time I was a radio operator and as a radio operator I worked in the largest command center that we have. We have the second largest weapon storage area in the Air Force and so it made sense why he was coming to our base, because of the things that we had in place and the secure comms and different things. And so he was there for 15 minutes, he took a case of bananas and then he was gone and the military was never the same after that.
Speaker 1:You know, yesterday we celebrated 9-11 and it just doesn't seem possible that it was that long ago, absolutely. But you remember where you were and just thinking it's never going to be the same again. I was working in the ER.
Speaker 1:I was working a night shift and you know kind of the way the pace of a night shift works. It winds down a little bit towards the end and I only had a few patients left. I was sitting back at the doctor's lounge and like it came on and then just everyone sat just glued and and I remember just, I had my, my partner come in that was taking over for me in the morning, and we just sat there together like just in silence. It was just two of us staring at the TV and just saying to each other what does this mean? Right, what is?
Speaker 1:It was such a unique time in history and for us that were, you know, getting old now, right, you think back to those days and then I remember filling. I remember President Bush, when it was Andy Card, I think that went and whispered in his ear at the elementary school where he was reading the books to the kids and I think he handled himself so well and the leadership after and the country seemed to come together in such a wonderful way. I think that's my best memory of it. When I think of it, I think of this horrific tragedy and then I think of this real united sense of patriotism and Americans. And this is who we are, and it didn't last near long enough.
Speaker 1:And then I look at where we are now and just how horrifically polarized we are and how sad that is, and who knows where that goes or how it ends, because it's just so bad right now, um, uh, and it was so good then afterwards it was it was I.
Speaker 2:I remember just being embraced in the community if I were in uniform.
Speaker 2:Um, I had a second job job to pay off some of my college bills and I remember we got the last plane out because we had shipped out the B-52s they're the bombers and they were gone.
Speaker 2:We pretty much packed up our entire base and shipped it out in 48 hours, and so those of us that were left behind were just exhausted and emotional, and I remember going to the restaurant and going to grab something to eat and just all my, all the co-workers just coming up to me and just hugging me and it was very emotional and and we continued to feel that after where they were always there for us and we had to take care of each other too as well, we also had to take care of each other too as well.
Speaker 2:We also had to take care of the families that their, their loved ones, went to war within 48 hours and everything changed for them too. So it was a very, very emotional time and we got through it by leaning on each other and just being there for each other and that's really, you know, that's the. The second part of that self-belonging is that that military family that you have it's given to you and it's there for you and it's always there for you and it's a family that is not like any other when it comes to just taking care of each other. We talk about integrity. You know service before self, excellence in all we do, and those are values that you know I value so deeply and love the community.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm thinking about with your upbringing, and then you went into this. You know this place where there is this sense of just belonging big time yeah, I've. I didn't serve, but I've had the privilege of being around a lot of people who did and most recently, were very involved with operation military blessings I saw that around.
Speaker 1:I'm around tom and his crew a lot and it we were with him last week in an event and, um, there is a brotherhood, there is a bond, there is a there. It's just really amazing to see and watch it and, uh, and it's really cool. Um, that probably felt good to you. So how many years? How many years did you serve and and what? Tell us a little bit about your service and and what it was like, and.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So after 9-11, that's when I knew you know, this is something that I want to be a part of, this is where I belong. So I committed to staying in. I did 23 years in the military, 12 of that was active duty, and then 10 years here at Gowan Field in Boise, idaho. And I had an opportunity to go to a couple of different bases. I went to Mississippi, washington, california. Never made it overseas. My husband and I both served and we had wished we had at least gone overseas at least once before we had transitioned into the Guard. But we retired after 23 years. I, shortly after 9-11, I was in my window to cross train and I went into medical, and so that's where I was the entire rest of my careers in the medical field, working as a medic and a nurse, and very rewarding job too as well. I and it's kind of why I'm still with the fire department, because I just love that part part of my military experience in the medical field.
Speaker 1:I've asked this question before to folks that have served. But what are the things you would want people listening to this that haven't served? I mean, you look at the percentage of the population now that serves a country it's not very many, and so there's a lot of people that just don't have as much. I mean, I think there's a tremendous amount of respect. I think one of the things I love about Idaho and our community is for the military, for first responders, for the people that run towards danger. There is a real love and deep appreciation and it's sincere, it's genuine, and I don't think it's like that everywhere. I know it's not, but that's one of the things that make us great as a community. But with that said, what are the things you would want them to know about military service that might inspire them or their kids or their loved ones to serve?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think really, when it comes to, and part of why I started the Idaho Veterans Chamber of Commerce is to figure out how to bridge the gaps between the Idaho and the military community Because, like you said, the Idaho community wants to support the military community. They just don't know how. And creating that space for them to be able to support the military community is so important for the military community because they need that, and then also the military community needs the Idaho community, right, they need jobs, they need to buy houses, they need to have a trusted circle of people that they can depend on and a network. And so what we see a lot with the Idaho Veterans Chamber of Commerce is people do tend to get a little nervous because they don't want to offend military people or veterans or say something that may be wrong or refer to something that might not be accurate, and so we see a lot of that, we see a lot of hesitation, and so I always encourage people to get to know the veterans.
Speaker 2:You know you can start off with simple questions, just like you're asking of me where did you serve, what did you do, those different things? And that really helps to open up those conversations and those dialogues between just two people and you can really learn a lot about the military. Two people and you can really learn a lot about the military. So when we do events, what we hear after we get done with our events is always wow, I had no idea. And that's part of just sharing our heritage and who we are as a military community.
Speaker 1:I've had the enormous privilege of being involved with Mission 43. Awesome, and I don't know how many years it's been now that I get to speak to and become friends with their cohorts that go through their leadership program, and but it's so. It's been good for me because I've been able to listen to stories and hear and experience some of the experiences and they're all unique, right. I mean, everyone kind of has a different outlook and view of how this thing goes, but one common theme is you go from these positions that are of high competency a lot of trust and ability. That's there. You're in the military, you understand leadership, you've come up in this world of training and leadership and it's just part of your DNA. And then when you come out, it's, I mean, I'll never forget.
Speaker 1:Last year I was sitting with a guy that was in the cohort and he asked to talk to me afterwards and this guy was a seasoned leader and he was just out and kind of struggling. He's like I'm trying, I'm just trying to find my mojo and I'm trying to figure out where I fit and I'm second-guessing do I have what it takes? And I listened to him for about 20 minutes and then I just looked at him and I said man, you are it, you just you know confidence. Like trust yourself, trust your abilities, you will kill it. Like trust yourself, trust your abilities, you will kill it. These skills directly translate to the business community. Anyway, it was this really touching moment with him. But I continue to realize that transition after 23 years, after a storied career of service, that there's a transition to the civilian world and it's tough for people, it is. And there's a transition to the civilian world and it's it's tough for people.
Speaker 2:It is and the transition can last for years.
Speaker 2:Yeah, Because you, just, you just don't come out of the military after serving 23 years one day and and the next day become a civilian.
Speaker 2:And yes, we, we see a lot of that with the Idaho Veterans Chamber of Commerce, just the.
Speaker 2:I think it more comes down to the confidence that they have. They have the credentials, they have the resume, they have the experience and trying to get them into those positions it can be challenging also on the employer side, because there's this somewhat of a bias. To some degree it depends on who's doing the hiring, but if they don't directly see that experience in that industry, then it can be a barrier to them thinking that that person may be qualified for the position. And so we do a lot of really just helping employers understand the military, the background, their leadership experience and, honestly, they're just so eager to jump in and they're some of the best employees that anyone could ask for because they're willing to learn and they, you know they want to start this chapter of their life and they want to have new experiences and they work hard and know they show up and it's just the military community is sometimes an untapped skill set that we don't necessarily see how did you start the?
Speaker 1:there was no Chamber of Commerce for.
Speaker 2:Talk about how this started and give us the history of this yes, so I completed my doctorate's degree in healthcare administration and my dissertation was actually focused around integrating EMS into the patient-centered medical home. So I know you probably understand what that means. You know that was the time when Affordable Care Act was going into place and doctors were being required to have to manage care better, and EMS was one of those left out entities of the health care system that wasn't part of the health care system. They pick somebody up, they drop them off and then they go on their way, but there's no connection or discussion. Or, you know, working with the family practice doctor, because the ER doctor is the one that's going to manage the immediate, but then they go to the family practice doctor and the family practice doctor is really who the EMS services should be talking to. This is why they don't manage their diabetes. They have potato chips, you know, in their home. They can see they can advocate for the patient too as well. They can see they can advocate for the patient too as well. And so at that time I was working at the EMS Bureau for the state and the community health EMS concept was being born across the nation and I wanted to research how do you integrate EMS into the health care system and not for it to be siloed. And so it really came down to the community health EMS system but collaboration, connection, building the network, knowing you know the EMS providers and the family practice providers working together, bridging the gaps, really. And so when you think about that and what I did on the dissertation, it started resonating with me as a military member Coming out of the military.
Speaker 2:I don't just go into a network and you can't just develop a network overnight. And I wanted to start a business and I didn't even know where to start. And I went to this one networking event out of place and beelined for the girl that had the American flag scarf on. Surely she's a veteran and she sure was Um, and I've just felt so out of place. But it took me a while, um, because even though I lived here in Idaho and I was in the guard, my community was still the military and we still were very much so the ones that um connected all the time and did you know functions and birthday parties and different things, and I never really got to know the Idaho community. And so it was a pretty big eye-opener for me when I went to go find a job after coming off of borders. I didn't have a network for employment. I got hired at the EMS Bureau because the hiring manager was an Army medic.
Speaker 2:Ems Bureau because the hiring manager was an Army medic, and so he of course said, yeah, absolutely, you know Air Force and Army medics, we can actually do a little bit more than some of your basics that we have in Idaho and that talent and that skill set we need on our team. And so he recognized that. But he recognized it because he's experienced it. So, yeah, it really just came down to what is it that we need? What is it that is missing here and through the navigators, where navigators were just helping to make sure that all the doctors were talking to each other and that there was a good plan amongst everyone to manage all the comorbidities that they had. And that's really the same as a veteran.
Speaker 2:So, when you think about it, the veteran is like EMS. They're kind of siloed and they need a lot of different things. You know, not just they don't just need different things, they don't just need a job, they don't just need education benefits, they don't just need business resources. Right, there's human basic needs that we all have and that we all need in order to live when you started belonging.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and belonging right and feeling like you're seen and you can do anything right. And so we did some focus groups and we did a market research study and what came back was we just need somebody to tell us where the resources are. It's not that we don't have resources we have so many, but it's so hard for us to know what resources we really need. And for them, for the military community, they always had that in one building and even with the VA and Division of Veterans Services, they all work together right. But then when you come out into the Idaho community, it's Google and you know Hail Mary's out on social media and looking for a job and you know the different things. And instead now they can come to the Idaho Veterans Chamber of Commerce and we can help navigate them through our network hub to get resources for education, entrepreneurship, housing, if they want to use their VA home loan.
Speaker 1:Can we pull this up for those that are on YouTube? Maddie, can you pull up what's the URL?
Speaker 2:IdahoVeteransorg.
Speaker 1:IdahoVeteransorg. Okay, you're already there, so together is better, and so anyone out there that has a loved one or veteran or that's listening to the show, you go to idoveveteransorg and here it is. Walk us through some of the services that you provide.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so our model is a navigation service model and so we are not a program-driven model. We are a service-based model where people military community members will come to us, military in transition will come to us and request services and then from there we meet with them and then we determine where do we need to navigate them to. Next, we do provide free membership. We are a 501c3. We provide free membership and free navigation services and so really, depending on what it is and the form that they fill out and what their needs are, that's kind of where we start. This is so cool.
Speaker 1:It reminds me of. This is a long time ago, but I was on the United Way board and this was back when this Promise Neighborhoods became a thing.
Speaker 1:So I went down and visited them and then we ended up taking a whole group from Idaho down to Utah. But they would use the elementary school or the junior high school as the gathering place and they would bring all the resources in for the families in need. So they'd pick a really poor school in a poor school district. That families, these kids, they need all these services but they don't have the ability to even how do they do this? So they would put an aggregator that would sit there and then bring those services in, whether that's you know English as a second language, or healthcare or dentistry, or how do you plug into the right benefits with the state has that were available.
Speaker 1:And it was absolutely crazy, the success, just knowing where to get help and knowing, hey, I've got this stuff aggregated so I can. Just as I'm listening to you, I'm like this is it for veterans, right, it didn't exist before, where you've got all of the services and community you've built for them. Essentially, now plug in. Now what do you need? And here's how we point you and direct you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and with the veteran services that are provided through the US Department of Veteran Affairs and Idaho Division of Veteran Services and military installations too as well, for the members. They do a really great job of taking care of the member while they're in uniform and then after they come out. However, they don't necessarily have that network of employers, they don't have that network of business resource partners, they don't have that network of real estate agents and mortgage brokers that know how to process VA home loan benefits right. So so, while they do a great care there, they do a great job there and taking care of the member with what they can provide and what is as far as their network goes. But it needs to go further, beyond that, into the Idaho communities. And we like to say, which resonates very well for military members, we connect you with a 208 number, not a 1-800 number.
Speaker 1:I like that so clearly. Most of this is probably done virtual. Is there a physical location?
Speaker 2:Yes, we are located at the Nampa Small Business Development Center over there in the building that's there by the Idaho Ford Center. It's a co-working space. There are several businesses that are there, and then we're also housed with some of our other brothers and sisters of other organizations like us, such as the Idaho Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Idaho Manufacturing Alliance, Idaho Women's Business Center. So we're there and that's where we are able to meet with clients. But we really we serve the entire state and we work with a lot of transitioning service members, which is helpful to be remote based, because they're coming from Japan and North Carolina or they're coming from wherever and they don't have a network here. So they're really depending on us to help them navigate and get connected to that network as soon as possible when they're transitioning out.
Speaker 1:When did you start this?
Speaker 2:We started talking about it in 2020. 2021 was when we did the market research study and then we also did the focus groups for about seven, eight months and we landed from the state of Idaho at the end of 2021. And then the SBA as well, and that was a community navigator pilot program. Again, they recognize there's so many resources for businesses. We don't need more, we just need people to navigate them. And so those two grants really launched the Idaho Veterans Chamber of Commerce and being able to hire staff and really start putting processes and workflows and intakes in place, and so really I would say volunteer up until 2022, but really 2022 and beyond to where we're at today.
Speaker 1:It's fantastic. How can people help if they want to know more? A volunteer, anything like that. Do you want to kind of give your? I know you have probably this tip of your tongue, but give us the ways we can help.
Speaker 2:Yeah, there's so many different ways. Starting with being a volunteer is really really the way to get connected to our network, because that allows for them to get connected to all the things that we do, whether it's events or home repair projects, which is when we really need more volunteers. But the volunteer pool is really where the entry point is. And then for the military community, we just always recommend them to just join the network, because you just never know when you're going to need a network and when you need a network, that's not when you're trying to find a network Right, and so, just being a part of the organization, it's free membership for military serving veterans and their family members, including spouses, dependents and sons and daughters of veterans. We have our. Our ambassador of the year last year was a son of a veteran and um, so we make room for everyone. It's it's an open network, it's there's places for everyone to join and get connected?
Speaker 1:um, I do want to. I was looking, this is going really fast. But housing, like, yes, everyone, um, no matter who you talk to, now that's the squeeze right In a big way, and I notice you've got several initiatives to try to help with housing with veterans.
Speaker 2:We do, yeah. So right now we have two tiny homes that are being built by the West Data School District, their CTE program. So their high school students have been working for the last two years to build tiny homes. So the first high school in Idaho to build a tiny home and they're going to be done here in just another month.
Speaker 2:And because we don't have the land yet for the village that we do want to put tiny homes on, eventually we're going to be gifting those to veteran farmers or ranchers for workforce, affordable housing solutions where they can put them on their land and bring in a farm hand or a ranch hand to be able to. Maybe it's a veteran and they want to do something along those lines. We know that there's some succession concerns in that space with the agriculture, with handing down ranches and farms to children that may not want to do that. So we're trying to work through how do we get veterans into that space specifically. But then also we've got the workforce initiatives and then the housing initiatives. Also, we've got the workforce initiatives and then the housing initiatives.
Speaker 2:So the concept really started with just wanting to create a village that was not necessarily for former homeless veterans and not necessarily for homeless veterans, but for veterans that may have experienced all of that at some point, but they're ready for that next transition in life, they're ready for that next step.
Speaker 2:And so the housing for the tiny homes and the village that we would like to create is for those that graduate essentially out of homelessness, and they're in a good space and they're healthy and they're just needing more assistance, right, just a little bit more of a safety net before they can really, you know, get where they need to go. And a lot of times we see with our homeless veterans or formerly homeless veterans, once they leave those places they just end up circling back in and it's too soon sometimes for them, but they don't have the resources or they don't have that support system. And so the tiny homes village is to just help with that next level of transition, for them to then be able to graduate out of the tiny homes and buy a house. That would be the ultimate goal.
Speaker 1:That's fantastic, fantastic. I have a bigger list here. Are you still volunteer with EMS? I do.
Speaker 2:Yes, I volunteer with Cascade Fire. Yes, I do it's probably fun. It is. Yes, it is interesting. There's some. Yes, it's great. Yeah, and I started the Cascade Fire Community Fund up there. We just had our 9-11 golf tournament on Saturday. We do it every year, We've done it for the last six years and that's been really rewarding just being able to help families when they're in a time of need and supporting the community in ways that we're not being supported.
Speaker 1:Gosh, I have. So as an ER doc, you know you don't everyone, they don't know this, but you a lot of staffing is done by residents or early on and you do a lot of moonlighting. So I was in Arizona where I did my residency and when you go through that whole training program and then you, you start realizing how much you don't know. I mean, you've been through medical school and now you're out. It is the paramedics and EMS that you learn almost everything from, and it's not book knowledge, it's the practical stuff, it's the practical skills. I think of my mentors in medicine in Tucson it was almost all EMS that worked in the ERs with me and then so that's one side of it. So you gain this deep appreciation for hey, here's someone that doesn't just talk the talk or know the book knowledge, but they know how this thing works. And then you get into these smaller communities.
Speaker 1:I moonlighted like crazy in a bunch of little teeny towns in Arizona, um, and EMS really is the. That is the medical community for most of this place. They live there. One, a lot of them are volunteer EMS workers or on call or whatever it be, but they're your neighbors, they're your friends and then when emergency hits, they're the ones that come running to help you and ultimately get you to an ER. So what a tremendous treasure this country has. You think of the United States of America. It doesn't get talked about enough, frankly.
Speaker 2:It doesn't.
Speaker 1:If you think of other countries this doesn't exist and you think of now, idaho. And then towards the twilight of my career, where I was going part-time. I went out and worked in Weezer. I worked a 24-hour shift every week so I went. It was kind of fun going from this rural experience early on, that really taught me who I was, and then at the end going back out there and spent a lot of time out there and it felt good. It's just, it's a.
Speaker 1:You go to a small community where it's people helping other people and you got these EMS you know I mean just salt of the earth there to help. And and then and then now it seems like where I run into them the most is for whatever reason. It's either God wanting me to be there, but I run into these accidents all the time, like they happen all the time to me, and that's then then. Then you experience it again because you're on highway 55 and here comes, here comes the Boise County EMS volunteers that come out, or on I-84 or whatever. But what a treasure this country has that we have people in the community sharing their skills and serving others just because they want to and they want to be there to help. That just. I think nothing says more about America than that. So bless you for doing that.
Speaker 2:Thank you. Yeah, it's certainly it doesn't get enough attention and enough respect and enough compensation. I mean all the things for what? Ems and first responders overall, what they see, what they do, what they hear, what they smell, all of that is stuff that people just don't understand until they're actually in that position where they need those responders to come and help save them.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and they run towards the danger and help. It's what? Again? One of those things that make this country great. Well, man, this was wonderful. This went by really fast, but thank you for all you do. This went by really fast, but thank you for all you do. I you know again. Last lad, before you leave, the URL for your organization is tell me one more time.
Speaker 2:IdahoVeteransorg.
Speaker 1:IdahoVeteransorg and can reach out for any more information. We'll get the word out through this, and congratulations on your speech last night. Yes, and all you do, and this has been wonderful. Thanks for coming on, mindy.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely. Thank you so much for having me today.
Speaker 1:Thanks everybody.