Last we spoke with Karen M. Smith Debolt she was continuing her campaign to Make Karen Great Again and yet didn’t know what might be the next chapter. The conversation actually proved to be a bit of a kickstart to get her involved in something new. In this Roads Taken Revisited, find out how helping others feel at home can sometimes help you find your own place on today’s Roads Taken.
Last we spoke with Karen M. Smith Debolt she was continuing her campaign to Make Karen Great Again and yet didn’t know what might be the next chapter. The conversation actually proved to be a bit of a kickstart to get her involved in something new. In this Roads Taken Revisited, Karen talks about Humble Design, the organization that she found that gave her a new perspective on the talents and passions she has and how they can go to work for the benefit of others.//In this episode, find out from Karen how helping others feel at home can sometimes help you find your own place…on Roads Taken with Leslie Jennings Rowley.
About This Episode’s Guest
Karen M. Smith Debolt is involved with Humble Design, an organization that changes the lives of families emerging from homelessness by furnishing and decorating their bare homes with donated funds and goods from individuals, institutions, and corporate partners. Since 2009, they have transformed nearly 3,000 spaces for single mothers, children, and veterans nationally. Especially if you live in the Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, San Diego, or Seattle area, Karen invites you (or your friends and family in those towns) to check out the organization. And, since she's been feeling LinkedOut, give her a shout-out, too.
For Karen’s first appearance on Roads Taken, listen to Making Karen Great Again.
Karen M. Smith Debolt: Little did I know how much it would just change my life. Like, it has opened up my eyes to just really understanding the human spirit, just what people are really going through, and it's just opened my heart up in so many ways.
Leslie Jennings Rowley: Last we spoke with Karen M. Smith Debolt she was continuing her campaign to Make Karen Great Again and yet didn’t know what might be the next chapter. The conversation actually proved to be a bit of a kickstart to get her involved in something new. Find out how helping others feel at home can sometimes help you find your place on today’s Roads Taken Revisted, with me, Leslie Jennings Rowley.
Today, I'm here with my friend Karen M. Smith DeBolt, and we are here for a really exciting Roads Taken Revisited. And actually, this concept came because I got a really cool text from Karen not so long ago that said, Hey! I just want to let you know, I really kept thinking about our conversation and it kind of helped me clarify some stuff. So here's what I'm doing and I was like, wait, could you share this? And then I realized there are lots of people out there that we've talked to already, 150 plus, can you believe? And they might have some updates. So. This whole season is going to be interspersed with folks that we haven't yet talked to and some like Karen who we have. So Karen, thank you so much for not only being here, but kind of kicking off a new experiment for us.
KMSD: Well, thank you for having me back. This is part two. I love this.
LJR: It's really great. Okay. So in the first episode with you, we got all of those really big, weighty, long term questions of who were you and all that stuff. And you were in Chicago and making awesome Halloween costumes. And
KMSD: That's right. A hot pocket costume for my son.
LJR: Yes. You are a little hot pocket, Karen, but you had this theme that had been running through and I wanted to keep going with it that you needed to “Make Karen Great Again.” Not that you weren't great, but there was something. And so what has happened since we last talked? Cause you look great and you are great.
KMSD: Oh, you're so sweet. No, listen, I was so grateful for that conversation because I felt like I was, we were, that was two years ago. So what, it was 2021 and we were kind of on the precipice of like, is COVID over? That was that time where our kids were sometimes, they were still wearing masks, and then sometimes they'd send everybody home. It was just still that. We were kind of like, is it over? Is it not? And I think all of us were having that, we were kind of that, that…I should say lack of inertia. We were all kind of used to just sitting at home and being with our kids and being home. And I just felt like, okay, I've got to figure out what's next for me. And I think we kind of closed it off, if I remember like what's next. The next act for me. I stopped working when I had my son and, to kind of hold down the fort at home, if you will. And I remembered that I'd come across this amazing nonprofit that I wanted to get involved in right before COVID hit. And I thought, you know, now is as good a time as any.
And so I have to thank you, Leslie, because it really kind of gave me the little kick I needed in the rear to really start getting out there again. And so I decided to fire up, you know the laptop and get you know…research the organization again. And it's called the Humble Design and I've been so happy and so fulfilled. I've never worked harder in my life. It is amazing and when I say I'm putting so many hours and so much love and energy and effort into this. It's just so great.
So Humble Design Chicago, there's five locations across the country, so if you live in Detroit Cleveland, Seattle, San Diego, or Chicago, please look it up.
LJR: Alright, so tell us all about it and actually if you can recall how you had first intersected with them when it was just kind of a passing, oh that's really interesting, I'll file that away, and then kind of how you've gotten involved.
KMSD: Yeah, so I came across them when I was trying to raise money for this, I was on a board for breast cancer research and I was trying to find Chicago-based companies that were headquartered here. I just happened to come across, I was like, Crate and Barrel. I looked to see where they’re…
LJR: Philanthropic dollars were going?
KMSD: …giving back. Yeah, where they were giving back. And I noticed that they had Humble Design listed. And so I looked at their website. And so what they are, they are a non-profit. And they furnish homes for families that are transitioning out of homelessness.
And so what happens is, as families secure housing, because they've either been in shelters or staying, you know, there's so many different versions of homelessness. There are people who are in shelters; there's the ones we see that are visible on the street; there's the people who are, you know, staying with families on couches; there's people living in their cars, but as families get out of their homeless situation and secure housing, a lot of times they're paired with caseworkers. So Humble Design is partnered with a number of agencies that have these caseworkers that then call Humble Design. And we have a warehouse full of donated home goods. So, we have couches, sheets, towels, spatulas, dishes, you name it. And it's all donated items. And we have these amazing volunteers who just go in. I think of it as a Home Goods, okay?
LJR: Yeah.
KMSD: But it's a warehouse and it's organized like a home goods. We have a toy department, a book department. We have a kitchen and bath area, a couch area, and we have volunteers like me and we go in and basically shop the warehouse and design a home for these clients.
LJR: Knowing what they need, kind of given who they are, what their configuration is, that sort of thing.
KMSD: Yes. So the caseworker will call Humble Design and say, listen, we have this client. It's a mom with three kids. So we have employees. It's a very small organization. So we have a mission director and then a designer who actually works for humble design. They actually go out here in Chicago. They go out to three to four houses on Mondays, meet each and every client and interview them. Lauren, our amazing designer, she goes out and measures each and every apartment, takes meticulous measurements, does the floor plans. David, he gets to know each and every client, what they need, what their kids are like, or what each veteran's like. We serve women and children, we serve veterans. Then they hand that off to what we call our guest designers. We also get the phone number for our clients. So like last week, I had a woman who had six children and she'd gotten finally an apartment with three bedrooms. So I, you know, I called her up and got to know her, got to know that she had two sets of twins and two teen boys. But I, you know, what we want to do is serve them like you would a client and you get to know each and every one of them. Like I, I knew her eldest boy was, you know, named after Barack Obama and Mr., you know, the president actually sends a gift every year for his birthday. The second oldest loves football, right? So I knew right then and there that what that room was going to look like or what I wanted it to look like. Her 11 year old twins love pink and purple and were into TikTok. And then her 3 year old twins, one loves Minnie Mouse and the other one loves Lightning McQueen. So I knew what that was going to look like. So we really personalize each space. It's not just like a staged home. And we really want it to feel like their space. Because, you know, if you've ended up in a shelter, That's like the last place…I mean what these families have been through. A lot of these are domestic violence situations. It's like these people have been through so much and then to finally get a place to live and let's think back to when we all finished at Dartmouth. Do you remember getting your first apartment?
LJR: Oh, yeah.
KMSD: And like to save up for the deposit, right?
LJR: Right. I had nothing.
KMSD: And you save up for the deposit you call 1 800 MATTRESS. The last S is for savings. I remember going to the Wiz. And I was like, do I buy a TV or a stereo? And like, I think I had, all I had was my mattress. I opted to buy a stereo. And then I had enough for like a little bowl of potpourri. That was all I had, you know? And that was just me, you know, and I still had my parents to fall back on. You know? So these people get their housing and these apartments are empty. So like the apartment I walked into on Friday was empty and they'd been in there for three weeks. So while these families have secured housing, it's not a home yet. They're empty. So Humble comes in and makes it a home They have a dining room table to eat at. These kids now have desks to study on, beds to sleep in. And it just changes. It just changes the trajectory of their future hopefully for the long term. I mean, what we do, it would take them 18 years to save up enough money to do what we do in one day.
Because what we do is we show up at 9 a.m. and by 2 o'clock everything's done. The family walks in at 2 o'clock and they've got, we've got pictures on the wall dishes in the cupboards, glasses in the cupboards, sheets on the beds. It's almost like a TV show. You know, you walk in, they walk in and everything's done. We've even asked them for like their own personal pictures of their families. Those are all on the walls. We've got personalized art for the kids. It is just tremendous when they walk in. It's overwhelming for them and for the volunteers. It's just, it's such a privilege to be part of their journey when they.
LJR: I feel like it is a necessity, but it's one of those things that we could say, Oh, well, that's not as important as the house itself or the this or the that. It's just, you know, window dressing. But it's so much more than that.
I know.
KSMD: It's like identity and making people feel like they're valued and that they have a home to bring people to, right?
KMSD: Right. Dignity is so important
LJR: Dignity.
KMSD: in the whole equation. It really, really is. And I think so many of us have furnishings that we have no need for anymore and they're in great shape, right? Our kids outgrow a twin bed, or a toddler bed, or you. Yeah, so many of us are in positions where we just get tired of the gray couch and we want a navy blue couch. There's nothing wrong with the gray couch, we just got tired of it. So we order the navy blue couch and then we don't know what to do with the gray couch, right? And I mean, because again, many of us are in this amazing situation. But there are places like Humble Design that do give it away to somebody who needs it. I mean, there are places obviously that can sell it, but there are places like Humble Design that will give it to somebody in need, which is amazing.
LJR: Yeah, totally. And I mean, so many of these families must—particularly the parent or, you know, the person that's kind of been fighting all along, they have such fighting spirit and they're, you know, finally they're going to see this transformation really in what they can afford other people in their lives. I think there's research that shows that once a home feels like a home, that they're much more likely to stay in it, right?
KMSD: Yes. Yes. They are much more likely to remain housed if they have a secure place to live. And if you think about it, that mom or that veteran now doesn't have to worry about buying a bed and then getting evicted because they can't pay rent.
LJR: Right.
KMSD: Right? So, it just, it makes it so much easier, the path forward to staying in that home and, and remaining in a stable environment is just, it, that burden is lifted, which is incredible. You know, and Humble's, it's just, again, it's amazing what they've been able to do. I mean, since nationally, since 2009, they've furnished like about almost 3000 homes. It's amazing the impact that they've had. I mean, this year in Chicago alone, we've almost done 135 homes. And that was as of, I think, late September. LJR: Wow.
KMSD: And I think it was like 211 kids as of late September, but I just did 6 kids on Friday. So we know that's, we know that's even higher now.
LJR: Bumping up. And that is really transformational for those families. It seems to be transformational for you too.
KMSD: It has, yeah.
LJR: So how Yeah. How, what did you expect from it when you said, okay, I feel like I need something in this chapter and I'm going to get off my duff and do it. Like, were you like, oh, I'll try this and just thinking it's going to be a thing or could you have thought: This is gonna be the thing I commit to.
KMSD: No, I, so two reasons I did it: One, I did a lot of volunteering at my son's school, and I kind of see the runway on that, right? He's gonna grad, he's in eighth grade, and I'm thinking I need to do something because at some point he's gonna leave and they're gonna kick me out, right?
LJR: Yeah.
KMSD: I also think it's important to kind of network beyond, I mean, I love all my mom friends, you know, at my son's school. They're you know, it's an amazing community of friends. But I think it's also important to, again, broaden my network beyond that. Two, I love, I mean, it's no surprise, right? I—just based on the way I dress myself—I love to dress to amuse myself. You know, I have fun, I express myself. I always say there's two types of people in the world: The people who get dressed because they have to just cover their bodies because it's cold outside. At least that's how I felt at Dartmouth.
LJR: Right, and Chicago.
KMSD: And Chicago. There's those people and then there's people who just like to express themselves with the way they dress. I feel the same way about decor. I think there are people who just, you have to have a couch to sit on and a table to eat at and a garbage can to put your trash in. But I think it's really important to express your personality through the way your house is put together and your decor. So, like, if you walk through my house, I've got little mini Lego figures hidden all over the place. And it's just like, it's very, I mean, it probably looks like a 12 year old decorated my house because I have funny things everywhere. But I think it's important to express yourself. So I love decor. So those were kind of, I thought, you know what? This is great. It would allow me to do two things I want to do. Plus, I love decor. I love to organize. You know, they have a warehouse. Maybe they'll let me fold the sheets. Little did I know how much it would just change my life. Like, it has opened up my eyes to just really understanding the human spirit, what people, you know, just what people are really going through, and it's just opened my heart up in so many ways. I've met so many amazing people, both volunteers and the clients of Humble. It's just been, it has really changed my life. It really has.
LJR: That's so exciting. Not that you had a bad life.
KMSD: No, no, my life has been, I mean, I was
LJR: Just additive. It's just this different layer and appreciations that we don't necessarily anticipate. But good for you for saying, you know, I, I have more to give and I can be of service and let's see what happens even if it's folding sheets. I think not everybody would actually do that and kind of say it doesn't matter what I'm doing, I'm just going to do this something new. Because as you said, inertia kind of takes over and sitting on the couch rather than moving a couch seems a lot easier, right?
KMSD: Totally. Totally. LJR: Yeah.
KMSD: I think my husband's really happy that I've been doing it. Cause I mean, I will say like he would come home from work and I was always moving the furniture around. You know, I'd get home and he'd be like, how did you get this couch up? The stairs. I don't know. You know, there's nothing more determined than..
LJR: A woman with time on her hands.
KMSD: You know, me trying to move furniture. I'll, yeah, I can move a couch. How many flights of stairs by myself, I don't know. But that, that's also kind of fulfilled that.
LJR: Excellent, excellent. Well, that's great. So how frequently are you meeting with families and doing that and kind of is there an end in sight? Or do you think like this is it for a while until I'm called to something else?
KMSD: Listen, this is it for a while I mean we humble serves three to four families a week. So there's no shortage of opportunity to go in. You know, volunteers can lead design days like I did on Friday. I can just go in and volunteer at the warehouse. I've joined the board. I mean, I helped organize the gala last year. I mean, there's no shortage of opportunities. So this is really my focus right now in terms of what I've been doing. You know, my husband has come to the realization that the laundry fairy doesn't actually exist. It's not a real thing because all of a sudden I'm very busy, but
LJR: That's all right. Other people can expand their horizons to another layer for others in your household to grow.
KMSD: Exactly. No, but this really is where I'm, I'm really I'm really focusing. It's just again such a meaningful cause and the impact is so immediate and there's such a need for it here in the city. I think there's a need for it in every city, right? And I think Humble would, you know, strategically would love to…I think ideally Humble would love to just It's not exist because homelessness wouldn't be an issue, but obviously it is an issue. But I think strategically, if there isn, you know, a need in a city and there are people interested in helping it to expand, I'm sure that there would be opportunity to discuss that with Humboldt because it is a national organization.
LJR: Well, we know an entry point would be through you. And I'm so glad that you introduced us to this organization and the idea that we have a lot of different ways that we can express our values and skills and all the in service which I think really is going to be the point and the focus of a lot of our next chapters. So congratulations and thanks for sharing.
KMSD: Thank you, Leslie. Yes, I know I've been trying to re-enter the world of LinkedIn. So if anybody is listening, please link in with me because I've been linked out for many years.
LJR: Well, we'll make sure in our show notes that they get to you and Humble and find lots of good ways to reconnect with you. So thanks so much.
KMSD: Thank you, Leslie.
LJR: That was Karen M. Smith Debolt, who is involved with Humble Design, an organization that changes the lives of families emerging from homelessness by furnishing and decorating their bare homes with donated funds and goods from individuals, institutions, and corporate partners. Since 2009, they have transformed nearly 3,000 spaces for single mothers, children, and veterans nationally. Especially if you live in the Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, San Diego, or Seattle area, Karen invites you (or your friends and family in those towns) to check out the organization's good work. Find them at HumbleDesign.org
We are excited by our new work and think it's good. But we're just trying out this redux concept and we wonder what you think of it! Drop us a line through the Contact Us link at RoadsTakenShow.com to let us know or to nominate our next revisited guest. We're looking forward to this season with both new and repeat guests and having you tune in weekly with me, Leslie Jennings Rowley, on Roads Taken.