335. How to Center Mental Health in Culture + Mission - Kirk Brown

Kirk Brown, Handy, We Are For Good Podcast

This episode is part of our Mental Health Week series. Explore all the episodes, find resources + more at weareforgood.com/mentalhealth.

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Overview

Meet Kirk. He believes managing mental health should be done in community - and he’s got plenty of lived experience and stories to prove it. This executive director and mental health-trained leader has spent 20 years working with economically disadvantaged families and actively recruited youth, community partners, donors and policy personnel to become activists in educating, empowering and embracing communities of need. And his org, HANDY Inc, is doing it - one child at a time. Tune in for the story of how a hamster funeral embodied the core of how to care for your mission and people equally. Bring tissues🤧

💡Learn

Protecting the well-being of the nonprofit superheroes who save lives
Defining micro and macro harm
Counsel for NP leaders on prioritizing the well-being of their staff, volunteers, and those surrounding their missions.
Overview of Handy’s mission

Today’s Guest

Kirk Brown, CEO, HANDY Inc.

“I challenge the world of nonprofit and social work to make a powerful claim to stand where we stand. If not for, what would your communities be like without us?”

— Kirk Brown, CEO, HANDY Inc.

Episode Transcript

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Episode Highlights

Kirk’s story and journey to where he is today (4:00)
Overview of HANDY (4:05)
Over the past 2 years reflection (10:00)
Macro harm that turns into micro hate in communities and homes (12:35)
How to support your staff through this time in our world (17:00)
Making the unique case for our needs (24:00)
Mental Health Today: Kindness is not difficult. (30:00)
Be a human being and ask your staff: (31:00)
- How are we doing?
  How are you on your 5 year plan?
- If you were me, what would you do different so your job could be easier?
Kirk’s One Good Thing: You don’t know everything. (37:00)
How to connect with Kirk and HANDY (45:00)

Powerful quotes

“Our mission is to create supportive communities where youth and families achieve their version of self sufficiency.” -Kirk

Everyone that we serve is a human being. We all have that in common.” -Kirk

“People just went through a macro level of trauma, all of us did. We just lived through a life-threatening situation with COVID and we’re all responding to it.” -Kirk

“If we’re not careful we are going to lose some very high performing people if we don’t take a closer look at the industry and the societal needs that drive the industry.” -Kirk

“Looking at the staff’s wellbeing is priority number one.” -Kirk

“Mental health doesn't have to be sitting on a couch in someone's cold room with four white walls. It also takes a community to enhance an individual's mental health.” -Kirk

“How many trainings do you really need to know you can't just walk by people every day?” -Kirk

“I don't think we do a good job telling the world what we do. I think some of the onus of devaluing of our industry has to do with us.” -Kirk

“I challenge the world of nonprofit and social work to make a powerful claim to stand where we stand. If not for, what would your communities be like without us?” -Kirk

“The voice for the voiceless has to scream. We love being humble, but the people we represent aren’t allowed in rooms that we are in. If we are in the room, we have to scream and make a loud noise.” -Kirk

“No matter how dark it is outside, we are going to win.” -Kirk