Learning to Listen to One Another (feat. Luevenia Chapman)
There’s a place for everyone in supporting children and families here in Houston. That’s something we believe firmly here at The Riverside Project. Today, we have the opportunity to share our conversation with Luevenia Chapman, co-founder and Program Director for Hearts with Hope Foundation, a local general residential operation (GRO) that provides treatment services for girls ages 7-23. She not only has a passion to provide high-quality, trauma-informed care for the girls in their care, but she is also passionate about raising up and supporting other residential care providers and leaders across our city.
In this episode, we discuss the importance of listening and collaboration, why there’s a place for everyone in this work, the most significant challenge Hearts With Hope has faced since COVID-19, the deep challenges children in care are experiencing, and so much more.
We’re really grateful for Luevenia’s leadership in this space! We hope this episode inspires you to learn more and find your place along the River.
You can also find this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and more.
Links
Key Takeaways
1) “These children have been taken away from their families. Our heart goes out to them when we are reading about their experience.” We so appreciated Luevenia’s reminder of the difficult challenges children experiencing foster care are facing, and why the proper training is crucial for caregivers to be able to provide for those children well.
2) There is a place for everyone along the river. To use the example we often use, Luevenia is a great example of someone who is in the river, actively trying to care for children and get them to the side. We talked a lot about how this doesn’t mean that everyone has to be at that same proximity. There are people who need to be upstream, downstream, in the river, on the sides, etc. Partnerships in the community are so vital and we can make a difference when we work together.
3) “A lot of providers feel like they are just caregivers and are not being heard.” This goes back to collaboration in so many ways. We need to listen to one another. We need to come to the table and work together. There is hope when it comes to improving the system we work within, but it will require support and collaboration.
Meet the Guest
Luevenia Chapman is the co-founder and Program Director for Hearts with Hope Foundation, a local general residential operation (GRO) that provides treatment services for girls ages 7-23. Before founding Hearts with Hope 16 years ago, Luevenia worked for 21 years in the oil and gas industry. She not only has a passion to provide high-quality, trauma-informed care for the girls in their care, but she is also passionate about raising up and supporting other residential care providers and leaders across our city.
