Real Estate, Sex & Gossip

Walnut Ave Women's Center: Raising Safety, Not Just Awareness

• Paul Locatelli & Brian DeDiego • Season 4 • Episode 2

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Safety doesn’t begin with a form; it begins with someone who says yes. We sit down with Development Director Heather Heen to unpack how Walnut Avenue Family & Women’s Center supports survivors of domestic violence while investing in prevention that starts in preschool and reaches into high school classrooms. From first calls for help to court advocacy, confidential emergency housing, and the long road to stable rentals in Santa Cruz, Heather explains what “wraparound” really looks like when it’s trauma‑informed, culturally responsive, and guided by the participant’s own goals.

We also dive into the prevention engine that powers long-term change: an Early Education Center that models safe routines for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers, and teen programs that teach boundaries, consent, and what healthy relationships look like. Inclusivity is non‑negotiable—services are open to women, men, nonbinary, transgender, and queer community members. Inside the organization, staff wellness is treated as mission‑critical, with mental health–informed leadership, flexible roles to reduce burnout, and an urgent call for certified early educators to keep classrooms strong.

Funding realities come into sharp focus. Grants help but are restricted, and upcoming changes raise stakes for housing support. Unrestricted monthly gifts and grassroots fundraisers—like the She Is Beautiful race, living‑room raffles, and small team challenges—make immediate safety possible, including hotel stays when permanent housing takes time. We share a bold local pledge: a realtor commission challenge funneling five percent to Walnut Avenue, plus media support to put their services in front of more neighbors who need them.

If you care about ending cycles of trauma, here’s your on‑ramp: donate monthly, volunteer for She Is Beautiful, start a micro‑fundraiser with friends, or connect a great early educator to the team. Subscribe, share this episode with a friend, and leave a quick review to help more people discover life‑changing resources.

SPEAKER_02:

Brian, we have a guest. Hello. And with us today is Heather Heen.

SPEAKER_01:

Hi.

SPEAKER_02:

We're very thankful that you're here with us. Correct me if I'm wrong, but you are the Director of Development for Walnut Avenue Family and Women's Center.

SPEAKER_01:

That is me. Thank you for having me.

SPEAKER_02:

We are really excited to have you. And I just want to give you a quick little background. Paul and I um we actually give quite a bit. Um you know, we we give to the Reggie Stevens Foundation, it's a local foundation here. And this time of year, we just kind of I I miss my mother. My mother passed um right during COVID, if you would. And like we talked a little bit on the phone. My mom was uh involved with Sir Optimus, uh, she was president of Sir Optimus at one point. She was always talking about the Women's Center, they were always doing quite a bit for it. And so I talked to Paul and he already knew where this was headed, and he's like, Yeah, let's get her on and let's figure out what you guys are all about and um and you know and see what we can do to help make you guys thrive even more.

SPEAKER_01:

No, I love it. Thank you for having me. I don't hear anything. Why don't you hear?

SPEAKER_04:

It's because we cut you out, Paul. Did you cut me off? You don't hear anything? No.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, again, thank you for having me. Um who am I? My name is Heather Heen, as you said. I just stepped into the role of the development director and fundraiser for Walnut Avenue Family and Women's Center. It has been a crazy three weeks, let me tell you. So I stepped in right in the middle of our holiday drive, our Thanksgiving drive, but um thankfully actually have some experience with the organization. I was on their board of director for 10 years, actually. Awesome. And uh served not only as a board of a board member, but even as a president at one time. So I was I'm a recovering attorney, as I tell people. I worked for a corporation by the name of Thomson Reuters for 20 years. I actually just left in June, really kind of came. Speaking of sales, like this is all my my wheelhouse. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

I was in sales selling law to lawyers is the only way I can describe it. And um, easy sales, right? Yeah.

SPEAKER_04:

You should have jumped on the mic in the first part of our conversation.

SPEAKER_05:

I was gonna say you have no idea how much you're speaking like all of my language.

SPEAKER_02:

Real quick, my my good friend who is a lawyer, he actually bought the first four pages of the yellow pages back when we had yellow pages. And he and he's a lawyer, and he went and sold them to all the attorneys. I love that. I love that. Such a great story.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh my gosh. So um yeah, it just kind of really came down to you know, changing economies, changing moods, and changing um values and desires of what I want to do with the rest of my my career. So um kind of coming back to Wall and Avenue is like full circle. This role opened up with speaking with the executive director, Julie Mesesovic, and we just kind of kept talking, and it just felt like even though my skills weren't necessarily 100% nonprofit, my connection to the community, my connection to Wall and Avenue, we just decided let's do it, let's jump into this and really see what we can do, what we can bring to the community, and how we can take advantage of things like this and really let people know what we're doing and and who we are in the community and how our volunteers and our fundraisers are supporting Santa Cruz community members.

SPEAKER_04:

I'll linger there a little bit. Um the I think that's a good get. One of the big things that vibes that we, you know, we partner with about 43 nonprofits, and a big part of our mission is putting nonprofits in a for-profit space with our media company. You know, we abdicate the space in it. And I think you coming from a you know a for-profit sector into a nonprofit, I think that's a very good level up for Walnut Avenue because you have a different perspective than a lifetime of nonprofit. Have you felt that a little bit already? Like you have a kind of a fresh set of eyes on some things?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, I think I look at things a little bit differently in terms of how we can do outreach and um and the and the stories we're telling each other.

SPEAKER_05:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

And um I always say to everyone, uh this is just 20 years of working with lawyers, I always start with yes. Like when people call, I'm like, sure, yeah, yes is my answer. And then when I get asked, how are you gonna make it happen? I'll I'll figure that out later. Yeah. Yes is where we start. And I think I think if we all started with yes on a lot of different things, we'd all get a lot further in a lot of things. So that's what I'm saying. Walnut Avenue is here to say yes, and I want people to know what we're doing because we are saying yes to our participants every day, opening the doors to them. So, like I want other people to say yes to us as well.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah. I mean I did a little bit. So you've been around since 1933. Obviously, lots as you've grown, lots of changes, staff's grown, everything's grown. But for you you asked a great question of who listens to this podcast. Just Brian Paul and I. Um we just like listening to each other talk. Yeah, exactly. So we have a we have a huge wide demographic, and it actually, because of uh Paul, our our children, um some are grown, some are still in high school, and you know, they they they listen. So you have this whole thing in a in a nutshell, who are you guys? Like like if what what do you guys do? Yeah, like for somebody who just happens to be listening to this and going, oh my god, I'm so glad this is like the perfect time of year you guys had them on, and I need help in certain things. I mean, I have a list of what you do, but I'd rather hear it from you. And like and so the community can listen. It's about getting the word out, and then then we'll then we'll we'll we'll pitch it at the end about money. Yeah, but yeah, go ahead. Money. Yeah. Yes, money.

SPEAKER_01:

You are you are correct. So we were founded in 1933 as a YWCA. Um in fact, many people probably have seen the building. It's at 303 Walnut Avenue. It's a big teal building with a YWCA sign on it. Those are our offices. Um, often people think that's a shelter. It's not. It is where we work out of. Um, and if you think about it, that makes sense, of course, right? Because when people are leaving situations of violence, you don't want to put them in a place where everyone can find them. Right. So that is our office. But when I think about Wallin Avenue, what I really focus on, and everyone can go to the website and read this, is that we are really looking to end cycles of trauma. And what that means to us is not just about supporting families who are experiencing domestic violence and giving them services, but also about how do we end cycles of violence? How do we intervene in situations before they begin? And so when I think about that and I think about the services we provide, I really look at it as like kind of four major buckets. And the first is the one that everyone kind of knows if they think about it, and that is our survivor support services. And those are the ones when people are in situations of violence and they need help and they come to us. And I would say 75% of our calls are exactly that, right? They're just coming, they're all like they need help automatically. And we do something that I call kind of a wraparound service where we're, you know, whatever they need, we are gonna fill those spaces. And we're gonna do that in a way that's trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and um letting them inform us what they need. So what that means to us is that it is not a one-size-fit-all plan. They don't come to us and we tell them if you don't complete step A, you can't go to step B. What we do is say we first give them a um an advocate who listens to them, listens to what their situation is, figures out what they think they need, and then helps them provide services accordingly. Um the other piece in that that's like a huge part of our services in that area is gonna be the housing. Um so again, we don't house at 303 Walnut, but we do need to house people. People need to get out of situations. So some of our largest expenses is just getting people into emergency housing immediately.

SPEAKER_05:

Right.

SPEAKER_01:

And then doubly on top of that, how do we get them into permanent housing after that, given the fact that they might be in situations where they don't have credit or their credit has been destroyed, or any of those number of things where it's like, oh my God, in addition to all of this, I gotta figure out how to navigate housing, employment. And then we also have advocates for court. So if they need to go to court, we will have someone go with them and help them in that situation as well. So when we think about that particular bucket, it is our biggest one. It is a huge piece of the service that's that we provide, and it is all about providing safety and allowing our participants to tell us what they need in order to move forward and in order to get them where they need to be.

SPEAKER_02:

Is most of it physical and or mental? Both?

SPEAKER_01:

It's uh it can be anything. It can be both. It can be both, yeah. Definitely.

SPEAKER_02:

We you know, we rented um to a lady who went through that and the services came in and helped. And same thing you said, no credit, everything was you know, and Paul and I did, we rented, and honestly, she's still there. She's on on her own, doing fantastic. So we first hand know the system works. Um, you know, and she's she's great. She's still been a longtime tenant with us. Um she feels very safe and secure where we're at. We remodeled her place and did everything, and we, you know, her story is great.

SPEAKER_01:

That's amazing. Yeah. And these are the stories we need because this is these are the realities for people, especially in Santa Cruz, as you all know, because housing is difficult here. And one of the things that we're running up against is that our grants that help with that housing, they're starting to change in 2026 as we kind of have watch administrations change what they think their focus should be on and who they should be providing grant money to, and what are the sort of services that get supported and which ones are are going to lose as a result. So some of our housing support through grants is going to take an impact next year. But that is such a huge part of the services we provide. Um safe, secure, confidential, that is so critical. Um housing for families.

SPEAKER_03:

Sorry to interrupt you. Is that why there's no housing on your website? Talking about housing? That's why I'm like, I've been looking for it, looking for it. I mean, nope I we have another property management company, and we do have somebody that's in Mullet Avenue. We get a check every month to our office. So I was like wondering, I don't see housing on here whatsoever. So but that's why you keep it private.

SPEAKER_01:

It's very much about confidentiality.

SPEAKER_03:

And then one person helps find the people that the housing and so forth.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03:

So that's where I think it needs to be a little bit better because there's a bad stigma, I'm gonna say, for housing and and stuff like this, because HUD is has a very bad taste in people's mouths, section eight. Okay. And I think there is a difference between the Walt Avenue and housing. Yeah. Section eight. Yeah. It's a big difference. And I think that's one big thing that people need to know about because it's when when I'm looking at it and as renters, it's like I've dealt a lot of housing and you know, they're they're living off the welfare. They're just living off the tax dollars, period. Yeah. But the Walt Avenue, the people who are coming are need help and they're wanting to give back and work. So that's something where you landlords out there should listen to this and understand there is a difference between the two.

SPEAKER_04:

And it does put you in a little bit of a um, I can think of the right word for this, from a from a standpoint of a nonprofit, it does not behave like other nonprofits, which is an A-to-B transaction, meaning like we want a grant, we want some money, and then we can bring you down to the food bank. We can show you this practical thing. There's a lot of anonymity, a lot of basically and so it puts you in that true kind of hero status, not the wrong word, but you know what I'm saying, where you have to do these things and you have to have the the policies in place and basically these procedures. Um, but it's not a normal nonprofit as far as how you can basically talk to people about donating to, because it's not the same dopamine, as far as like a lot of people like to give and they like to see the transaction of their gift. And here it's just for the it's it really is for the protection of these women. It's per for their there's a lot of it that goes on, it's different, right?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, yeah. I mean, there are programs that are absolutely front and center, which you can see from the website because ending cycles of trauma is not just about in the immediate, which obviously is very critical, very critical, but it's also about ending it before it begins.

SPEAKER_05:

Right.

SPEAKER_01:

And that's when you're gonna see the programs that we have, like the Early Education Center, where we're doing infant and toddler and preschool age children. So we're getting them into safe environments for low-income families who are both um low-income as well as participants, but they're but they need that service to help get their kids in a safe environment, whether that's they're looking for employment, they're dealing with uh new jobs, uh new job training. And what we're doing is in those environments is providing safety, security. And how does that not translate into future where at them as adults are already learning what a sit safe and secure environment looks like?

SPEAKER_04:

I like it. It's proactive rather than reactive.

SPEAKER_01:

Exactly.

SPEAKER_04:

And I think that's a huge part of this, and we need we need a lot more of that in our world where more emphasis when kids are in you know, kindergarten, first grade, second grade, identifying this gets a whole different podcast, as they say, but I love that idea of giving them those those infrastructure, the tools, um, and kind of understanding I call them teth in the world, things that tether you to your existence, tether you to safety, things like that. But um, yeah, you you catch somebody when they're 21, it's hard to unwind that.

SPEAKER_01:

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_04:

You catch them when they're young like that in a comfortable situation, and essentially what you're doing is um, you know, letting them know this isn't in this is a right of theirs to be that's really powerful.

SPEAKER_01:

And it is the right of theirs to be safe and secure.

SPEAKER_04:

Of course. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

And so we move those programs into youth programs. So in February, for example, we're gonna have our uh it's uh teen um dating violence awareness month in February. And so our advocates, our teen advocates are gonna be going out to schools, they're gonna be working on different art projects with teenagers, talking about what does dating safety look like, talking about boundaries, um, you know, how do how do people understand that they're in a safe space? What does loving relationships look like? So again, just really continuing to drive that prevention piece and in creating, you know, these are our these are our people, right? These are all people in our community and who they become as adults and who are they as adults in Santa Cruz. So we'll continue that work.

SPEAKER_02:

I love that. Is that at uh the high school level, junior high?

SPEAKER_01:

That's at the high school level.

SPEAKER_02:

Is it Santa Cruz High, Harbor High, Soquel?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. Uh let me get the exact schools or but definitely Santa Cruz High, because EEC is actually at Santa Cruz High.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, it's right there. Go Cardinals. Yeah. No way. I'm a knight. I'm a knight. Sorry, we do this all the time. You guys can you guys can skip Harbor. Just kidding. No, no. No, I think Harbor, yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

No, my uh my partner's from Harbor, so his son's from Santa Cruz High. So there's all the one.

SPEAKER_03:

I can't remember her name. Do you know her?

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, yeah, that's Holly. She's on the board. Yeah. Yeah. She's on the board of directors.

SPEAKER_05:

I heard daughter's good friends with my daughters.

SPEAKER_04:

Going back to the high school, it's really interesting because I'm thinking about it just as we're riffing here, is that it's funny, it's a it's us being comfortable with having these hard conversations because we're really good at teaching somebody to basically um their geography, their math, uh, you know, English, a second language, um, all of these things that we do in high school. But then one of the most fundamental gifts we could give them outside of those course subjects is this. Yeah. Um, because it's it's more meaningful. Um, it's clearly more meaningful than the others. We have a high priority on these grades and getting them off to college and things like that. But something like that as far as part of a curriculum, a simple curriculum. It it is an uncomfortable topic, possibly. I don't think it is, but there's a stigma associated. I think breaking down that wall a little bit, that's super helpful at that age.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, and it just gives them some more tools to I guess it's you know. I don't know how old you guys are, but it's been a long time since I've been a teenager.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

But I can still remember, you know, that's a that's a difficult period to navigate, you know, how you interact with your peers and and what you say yes to and what you say no to, and and how and and and to find the strength and have the support from somebody to say that it's okay to say no if this makes you feel uncomfortable. And that program is really all about that.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah. I got a quick question. I know this is, you know, it says family for women. Do you get any men or boys that come come in?

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_03:

I mean, I have a friend that got beat by his wife, and he wrote a book about it.

SPEAKER_01:

Mm-hmm. No.

SPEAKER_03:

And it's so I'm just curious, that do you have because it because you're supposed to be manly and tough and all this, and but there is people that men do get beat up too by their wives.

SPEAKER_00:

Yes, statistically of low number. I agree. It is low.

SPEAKER_03:

Right, I agree. But she pulled a gun on him, so I know.

SPEAKER_01:

Um But no, we do not help. We do not uh turn anybody away.

SPEAKER_03:

Okay.

SPEAKER_01:

We do not uh I will tell you the history of the name. And um actually I have people who will be listening to this and they'll be all like, I knew this. So um so in 1945, when we left, or sorry, no 45, 1994, we actually um divested our national membership from the Y uh WCA and became uh Walnut Avenue Women's Center. Right. Because we were expanding into treating um for domestic violence, and the YWCA did not have that part of their mission. So that was one of the reasons we actually became Walnut Avenue Women's Center. So then we kind of went through a rebranding because we thought it wasn't inclusive enough because we were families as well. So we rebranded to Families and Women's Women's Center, and it it continues to be a conversation about whether we have left people out of our title accidentally.

SPEAKER_05:

Right.

SPEAKER_01:

But absolutely without a doubt, people who need services are welcome through the door. Um male, women, uh binary, transgender, queer. There is nobody who will be turned away. Brendy Diego, too. They need services. Yes. So um so it's a it's a great question.

SPEAKER_03:

Good. I just I just thought about it, it just hit me. I don't want to look at it.

SPEAKER_02:

You were touching base a little bit earlier on community events. Because I know we don't have a ton of time here, and I know your time is valuable. And we're gonna get into money in a minute. But um, on community events, I looked, you guys put on quite a bit. I mean, is there three that you big ones that you can touch base that are not what maybe what you just had, but what we're currently going through and what the first quarter looks like. So people that are listening to this podcast are like, well, you know what? I've been thinking about them. I'm actually gonna go ahead and pick up the phone and give them a call.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, definitely. So we're we're just finish finishing the holiday drive. And so um, if anyone is listening to this gave to the holiday drive, let me personally thank you. Um for those who don't know, we had 54 families who were uh sponsored. So um members of our community literally did their Christmas shopping for them. And they're in the middle of dropping off those gifts right now at our quote unquote North Pole, and we'll be distributing those gifts out to our participants next week. So thank you, everybody. Our next big community event is going to be the She is beautiful race. So my kids, that's my kid.

SPEAKER_02:

Okay. Well she's not my kid, but Melissa, I taught all the kids. No. She ran for me. That's okay. Melissa and Sarah. Yeah, Melissa and Sarah I know very, very well. But go ahead. It's a wonderful event.

SPEAKER_01:

They are um so we are we are their um we're the people that they they sponsor essentially. So any fundraising that happens through the She is beautiful events comes directly to Walnut Avenue. This is like a race?

SPEAKER_03:

Yes it's running I think we should have Brian run run that race challenge.

SPEAKER_04:

Do I hear challenge? I front them with my wife they're amazing. They're amazing they're amazing races.

SPEAKER_01:

They'rewise so we have fundraising challenges people start teams and then they compete against each other like who can raise more against their fundraising teams but all of that comes to Walnut Avenue and all of that supports the work that we're doing and the mission that we're engaged in. That's awesome.

SPEAKER_04:

Nice and before Brian gets to the money I have one question that's a little high weeds and you may or may not in your position know but it feels like the how big's a team over there ish like at Walnut Avenue. Like how many how many you know people are running around over there on your side of it?

SPEAKER_01:

Oh on our side? Yeah. Oh gosh like that is a tough question. I think we um our staff is about I want to say 40 deep.

SPEAKER_04:

That's great. That's that's that's the ish I was looking for the question is it's heavy. It's it's like the the you know it's the the work you're doing and I think it's not so much the community part we just got covered what does like um care look like on your guys's side? Like what does care look like inside that shelter um you know basically for you guys off hours how do you kind of maintain perspective and your own mental health over there?

SPEAKER_01:

Oh yeah that's a great question. I mean that's a that's a continual battle internally a couple of things. So Julie Mesesevic is um uh a trained psychologist uh and she is very very uh focused in on self-care so there are a lot of programs in place internally for the staff um to make sure that they have advantages to take care of themselves whether that's um time off uh retreat programs um there's there's all kinds of things in fact we we often accept services uh from people who maybe want to come in and do a yoga class for the staff or they want to do meditation um if that's the kind of thing that you're into it call the center um we we often do that with the staff and bring it bring on board people that's great um we also we move people around sometimes right like sometimes people like advocacy is a is a tough job yeah um so sometimes people just ask to move into a different role yeah and so you know we're open to that and we don't keep people in roles that that they're no longer feeling that they can't show up to for a hundred percent but there's still you know there's still Walnut Avenue they're still there they still want to engage but they just need to engage somewhere else so I've seen lots of times where people just move into different roles and sometimes people move back into old roles but just really allowing that flexibility to understand that this is our brain trust and if we don't take care of it we're gonna be in a lot of trouble. Our hardest one is really our EEC our early education center um getting uh the staff on board that we need we always struggle so if people know anybody with um you know even going to school and getting their certificate um you know contact me we're as long as you have your certificate even if you're still going to school we're we're always looking for good educators who can join our team because that's that's so critical for us but it's it's one of the hardest positions we have um that we find to keep staffed at all times. Yeah yeah yeah and do you do you have one I mean it's a real estate do you have one person that takes care of care of the real estate side of it when they show the homes or call the landlords or property managers or we currently um well we we're we're fortunate we own 303 Walnut Avenue um but we currently rent kind of our our space up at Santa Cruz High which is like we just had a flood. We had to close for for two weeks and that's two weeks that these kids aren't in classes or classes for black vocabulary that aren't there at the center. It's meals that they're not getting it's it's time that their parents have to have to help them instead of us helping them. And so that's always frustrating. So we're always like constantly thinking about where do we move this space where it's going to be more secure where we can rely on it. So we're we're kind of in talks like nothing I can share here or anything like that. But um yeah but we're we're thinking about that long term of moving that space someplace where we don't have to put up with stuff where we're you know they're old units and therefore things just happen. You know there's it's not anyone's fault. It's just things happen. But when things happen it really is a the the people who take the brunt of that are going to be the families that are in these these services.

SPEAKER_02:

Right money's a subject of everybody goes in. So I I assume obviously you're 501c3 I I have a 501c3 also are you guys always looking for money I would assume because families are growing and things are happening. Is this stuff that comes from the state? Is it our community? There's lots of money in our community. Yeah and so that's just why this whole awareness to you and a lot of people know who you guys are but maybe not who's listening to this podcast where people have the ability you know and when we close this out you can close out how to get a hold of you and and write checks or do whatever you guys do. But what what are you looking for on that? Because I I mean I'm hearing housing which we know is very expensive and I'm hearing the changes and it's already off the site. So what is that you looking for businesses to donate to you? Yeah like She is beautiful running things and doing stuff like that?

SPEAKER_01:

Running things. So I would say that um community events like She is beautiful is critical right and they're fun right like get involved match donations run volunteer even if it's just like you know you don't have much to give but you have time volunteer contact me. We we need 90 volunteers by the way for that event. So I'm looking for people for that already and that's in May. So um lots of opportunity volunteer if you want to get into the work there's volunteer opportunities to actually work with the center. You can go on the website and and they're all listed there. But in terms of fundraising the biggest things that I'm thinking about in 2026 that people can really help with is um I need friends of Walnut Avenue. And I don't need a big focused group right now. What I mean by that is I need people who are just like hey I'm gonna gather my friends together and you know we're gonna drink wine and maybe I'll raffle off a couple bottles of those wines to friends and those proceeds will come to Walnut Avenue. You know just like be a friend in the community and and and have a little community event that maybe we're the recipients of that would be amazing. Yeah that that takes so much pressure off of us. It allows you to run whatever it is that you want to run what do you think is fun what do you think people would show up for that's those are the kind of things I'm looking for. And and I'm willing to help and support like for example I can make donation codes all day long. Right yeah or show up and and and speak at the event if that needs to happen. We have um we have a music event that's gonna happen in January hosted at Sabrosa that's yeah like we're gonna they're they're gonna have bands play the donations are coming straight to Walnut Avenue we're gonna have an advocate who's gonna go there and speak to the services that we provide and really create engagement. So those are like that's one way I think about that's kind of fun and and new um and the other is you know what everyone asks for right there's a donation button on the donation button just hit it. Yeah set up like a little monthly you know$20 a month it all of that stuff two two coffees. It really it really helps. It amazingly when it sets up monthly even as small as it is that flows so quickly and those what we call quote unquote unrestricted funds means that we can get that to where it needs to be when it's needed the most so when we accept grant money or even foundation money there's there's a level of accountability for each and every dollar and there are restrictions on what you can spend those dollars on and that is that is great. And we are happy to do it and we are happy to report those but sometimes a situation can pop up where we need some massive unrestricted dollars. Yeah I will give you an example we have we had a participant who did recently need to be like um pulled out of a a dangerous situation and because it took a while to get her into permanent housing it was two months in a hotel with a family of four. So imagine how much that's much you know so that was a lot of funds that suddenly you know and and we're happy we're happy we had it but those are the kind of things that when you send those to us that we have for the community and I keep saying this but it's really important for me to say that is that you know that 90 year history means something to us. It means that it means that we've been doing what what we say right that we we stand with our community these dollars are going to the community. They're going to our people they're going to our people to make sure they're not left behind.

SPEAKER_02:

And that was a question I was going to ask you in terms of I mean do you guys get I'm sorry I'm oblivious but do you get 10 calls a month? I mean is there are are you helping a hundred people, a thousand people? Is there any you know I mean we've got a lot of people here in Santa Cruz and and you hit it best it's our community we're gonna walk out this door and we're never going to know who they are but confidentiality. But I mean is there a lot is there a big need?

SPEAKER_01:

Uh there is a huge need but confidentiality wise it's not a number of things yeah it's so there is a big need is where I'm trying to go.

SPEAKER_03:

There's a big need so the environment for um help with the events school kids they need time they need to sign their cards they need that so if it's a running thing I would hit all the Prize a runner uh all the rent running and and volleyball and basketball girls and all that do athletic directors get a hold of you guys?

SPEAKER_02:

They should are they aware um they are now I can tell you should we call out a couple of them of course that's what we do.

SPEAKER_03:

Louie Walters Stu.

SPEAKER_04:

Stuff I'll call them now don't worry. We can do that.

SPEAKER_02:

You got my phone number 831 750 9795 so go ahead Brian well I just I was gonna I know we're we're we're over on time wise and we're just told her I just I I if you're comfortable leaving your information um Paul's got an envelope we're we're gonna get it started we have two checks in there. So it's not made out to you Heather sorry sorry my personality's just been quiet this whole conversation and then we wanted to let you know that Paul and I um and we're we're gonna pass this along but we um I hope whoever's listening to this podcast because some of you any new transactions that we are doing and people all they have to do is mention Women's Center or Walnut to us um on any new transactions that we're gonna be doing we are going to take 5% of our commissions and donate that back to you guys. We're encouraging realtors right now and if and again you could be listening to our podcast and have a different realtor and if you're doing real estate transactions in this county again and if you're doing them with us and you're gonna be doing them with us between when this podcast ends and through June of 2026 and you mention to us about this podcast we're gonna write you an unrestricted check of five percent depending on whatever that closes at. So that's our commitment to you we hope people um within our community mention this ad for you. All realtors. We're challenging all the other realtors hey whether you do it for two months or three months or all the other companies that are out there you know let's it it's it's time to give this isn't a holiday thing. You guys are around 365 days a year. Yep. And so you know we're challenging everyone and it's okay take a certain amount of time and and do it. You know when you get paid it's okay to to donate and and help other people. And so um but on behalf of Paul and I and Courtney Hole and Brett Gotcher there's a small uh couple small checks there for you just to get it started but we're looking at the big picture and hoping people mention this podcast moving forward. That's amazing.

SPEAKER_01:

That is amazing. Well I uh extreme appreciations and gratitude on my behalf and Walnut Avenue's behalf um obviously I was not expecting this I was just I had to drag it out of Paul just for the record.

SPEAKER_02:

I'm just kidding. No no Paul's like the most giving guy in the whole world.

SPEAKER_04:

I think what we'll do is we'll do a nice little collab post on that too with that audio doing the challenge so that we can collaborate on a nice little post and get that challenge out there. Yeah for sure. And the other thing too that I was this is um you know from real estate sex and gossip and Santa Cruz Vibes um is that your marketing team if they can do anything that's 1080 by 1920 will give you one year on that which is almost 8000 impressions for the for them. It's all that'll be on that TV network uh run six times an hour on 20 TVs over the whole year. And it's a tremendous amount of impressions that we want to kind of throw in there also for this um uh but I think it's um we just got to get eyes on this. Yeah. You know and I think that's that's really that matters. I I learned a lot today about you know what you guys are doing on the top. Wonderful.

SPEAKER_02:

Moms are always right. I gotta tell you how how do people find you go ahead and give yourself a last minute plug of you guys and how how they get a hold of you and especially the people that actually need help right now, right?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah so um again we're on 303 Walnut Avenue. We're open Monday through Friday 9 to 4 but you can also find us on the website walnutavenue.org you can reach me at heather.he or sorry that's my old email h-h-e-e-n so uh heen at uh walnut avenue family women center so the the abbreviation for that w a f w c.org dot org I'm ready to look at I'm impressed I've never seen this kid like this before he's I know you think it like I said fire hose I'm three weeks in.

SPEAKER_02:

Wow that's great you're fantastic and we really appreciate you taking the time so much to come down and talk to a couple knuckleheads and Brian no this is amazing thank you so much this generosity and like I said this is all community efforts.

SPEAKER_01:

When I think about again uh many buckets our fourth buckets is this it's the community it's people like you opening the door and allowing us to to get our message out to everyone so thank you so much for this is a great conversation thanks guys appreciate it thank you