Collaborative Solutions Podcast

Courtney’s Story Courtney Holding has survived childhood instability, addiction, domestic violence, losing custody of her children, and homelessness. Today, she is seven months into recovery, living in an Oxford House, working as a trainer, and rebuilding a life with the goal of reuniting with her children.
 
Courtney shares an honest story about homelessness, grief, recovery, and finding the strength to choose a different future. Her journey reminds us that recovery doesn’t create strength - it reveals the strength that was there all along.
 

At 14 years old, Tim Olson knew he had a problem with substances. He recognized it himself and put himself into treatment. But part of that treatment required his family to show up.
 
They didn't.
 
Tim's parents were struggling with addiction themselves, and when they couldn't participate, Tim was discharged. What followed was 58 years of addiction.
 
Yesterday, Tim celebrated one year of sobriety - the first full year he has been sober in 58 years.
 
In this episode, Tim talks about the Homeless Response Team and something deceptively simple that made a difference: they showed up. Kelby, Trina, and the team kept showing up through homelessness, recovery, housing, and rebuilding a life.
 
This isn't just a story about addiction or homelessness. It's about what can happen when we show up for another human being - and the extraordinary things that are still possible, even after 58 years.

After nearly 40 years of substance use, homelessness, and incarceration, Eric Waggoner is celebrating 90 days of sobriety and creating a life he once believed was impossible. Along the way, people continued to see something in Eric that he could not yet see in himself: someone worth believing in - and someone worth betting on. Eric shares how he reconnected with his daughter, found meaningful work, began helping others, and discovered hope, purpose, and the determination to reclaim his life. Joined by host Misty Bosch-Hastings and co-hosts Kristin Demby and Kelby Sanders, Eric reminds us that it is never too late to choose something better - and that no one is beyond hope.

In this episode of Collaborative Solutions, recorded during a dangerous January polar freeze, the conversation moves seamlessly between urgent, on-the-ground homelessness response and the deeper policy structures that shape who is helped, and how. City Commissioner Amber Sellers offers a rare perspective from inside government: someone who has worked directly with people experiencing hardship and now helps shape the policies that affect them.
 
Commissioner Sellers shares why she believes the people closest to the pain must be closer to power, how she has learned to re-channel advocacy into effective governance, and why housing, access, and coordination of care are inseparable from public health and community well-being. Lawrence is no longer just talking about solutions; it is showing and proving that coordinated, people-centered policy can move the needle.

We kick off 2026 with a conversation with Mayor Brad Finkeldei, who shares what it’s really like to lead a city through complex and often polarizing issues. From homelessness to community growth, Mayor Finkeldei reflects on the role of political will, collaboration, and steady leadership in shaping Lawrence’s direction.
 
This episode explores what happens when policy, partnership, and persistence come together - and why progress is rarely linear, but always worth working for.

Today’s guests are three frontline community health champions: Raul Saenz-Escarcega of Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health, a certified CHW who builds trust through relentless outreach—from encampments to home visits with Mobile Integrated Health—connecting neighbors to food, transportation, and care while advocating for equitable systems; Jenn Kessler of Heartland Community Health Center, who leads CHW efforts that remove real-world barriers (think flexible appointment policies, rapid warm handoffs, and a volunteer-powered care cupboard) and weave tight partnerships across agencies; and Shawna Davis, also at Heartland, a pediatric-focused CHW whose lived experience fuels compassionate, rapid response for families—spotting crises early, rallying supports, and meeting parents and kids exactly where they are. Together, they’re the relationship-driven navigators turning “a place for everyone” from slogan into daily practice in Lawrence and Douglas County.

On this episode of Collaborative Solutions (August 20, 2025), hosts Barry Feaker, Misty Bosch-Hastings, and Brett Hartford welcome special guest Dr. Kenneth Minkoff, a nationally recognized leader in psychiatry, addiction, and system design for behavioral health. Dr. Minkoff shares insights on how Douglas County became connected to his work through the Roadmap to the Ideal Crisis System, and he emphasizes the importance of building proactive, community-wide crisis response networks that treat behavioral health as essential infrastructure—on par with police, fire, and EMS. The conversation highlights Lawrence’s progress in reducing homelessness, the role of outreach teams in engaging people with complex needs, and the value of small, compassionate steps that build trust and long-term stability. Dr. Minkoff also cautions against framing behavioral health investment only in terms of cost savings, stressing instead that effective crisis care is a fundamental community responsibility.

In this August 13, 2025 episode of Collaborative Solutions, hosted by Barry Feaker and guest co-host Brett Hartford, the conversation centers on tackling homelessness in Lawrence, Douglas County, and beyond, featuring guests Kaitlyn Mercer, Manager of Family Support for Catholic Charities in Lawrence, and Nelson Vowels, Senior Director of Mission Operations for Catholic Charities of Northeast Kansas. Mercer shares how the Lawrence Family Support Center provides food, clothing, rental and utility assistance, homeless prevention, and rapid rehousing, with a focus on wraparound services that stabilize and uplift individuals and families. Vowels offers a regional perspective, describing Catholic Charities’ 21-county network, including transitional housing programs like Shalom House, eviction prevention, refugee resettlement, and immigration legal services—all available to people of any faith or no faith. Together, the guests emphasize the importance of both transactional aid and relational hospitality, illustrating how simple acts of connection can restore dignity, foster hope, and inspire community transformation.

In this powerful episode of Collaborative Solutions, Misty Bosch-Hastings and Barry Feaker sit down with Lawrence business leader Aaron Thakker, a man whose journey from justice involvement as a youth to successful entrepreneurship is both inspiring and deeply personal.
 
Aaron shares how one adult’s belief in him at age 17 changed the course of his life, sparking a transformation that now fuels his commitment to helping others. As the founder of multiple companies and the nonprofit Anchored Collective, Aaron uses his success to give back by supporting housing projects, family services, and community partnerships throughout Douglas County.
 
More than a businessman, Aaron is a hope dealer. His story is a testament to the power of second chances, the importance of presence, and the impact that’s possible when people from all sectors unite to address homelessness.
 
This episode is a heartfelt reminder: You don’t have to be in social services to change lives, you just have to show up.

In this powerful episode, Misty Bosch-Hastings and Barry Feaker welcome Becky Lagger-Dyer, a nurse practitioner with Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health and a core member of the Homeless Response Team (HRT). Becky shares how she brings both medical and psychiatric care directly to unsheltered individuals, building trust and bridging critical service gaps.
 
Her personal journey - from a teen mom on public assistance to a 6 degree having, dual-certified nurse practitioner - is as inspiring as the impact she makes in the field. The team also celebrates a major win: a woman in crisis saying yes to treatment after months of outreach.
 
Someone once believed Becky had more to offer - and now, she’s the one planting that belief in others every day.