Love Heals | Katrina Robertson

Listen in as we hear from Katrina Robertson: mother, grandmother, survivor, thriver, and Director of Sales at Thistle Farms. Thistle Farms provides support and opportunities for survivors of trafficking, prostitution, and addiction. The episode explores the work of Thistle Farms, including its innovative social enterprise model and its impact on the wider community and shares incredible stories of survival. Listeners will learn about the organization's holistic approach to healing, which includes employment, housing, therapy, and education, as well as its commitment to social justice and advocacy.

With its powerful stories of transformation and its inspiring message of hope, this is a must-listen podcast for anyone seeking to understand the impact of trauma and addiction on individuals and communities, and the power of love and community in overcoming them.

To find out more about Thistle Farms visit www.thistlefarms.org

Transcript

Harry Cunningham: 0:07

Welcome to Season Two of the good market podcast. I'm your host, Harry Cunningham. Each month, we hear from good people with great products, supporting exceptional causes and making incredible impacts on communities around the world. Join us now as we hear another good story about impact. It's happening right near you. Well, hello there, it's Harry Cunningham, and welcome to our newest episode of good market live the podcast that tells the stories behind all the good people, great products and exceptional causes we celebrate in our stores. And I'm beyond excited today to introduce you to my guests, Katrina Robertson. Katrina. Welcome.

Katrina Robertson: 0:43

Thank you, Harry. Glad to be here.

Harry Cunningham: 0:45

I am so glad you're here. I love your story. And I can't wait to share with our listeners. But just so everybody here knows Katrina is calling in today on behalf of her own story, but also the story of the place where she works, which is a wonderful organization called thistle farms down in Nashville. But they've grown far beyond just Nashville now. And we'll we'll get to that in a little bit. But if you don't know, thistle Farms is one of the newest brands that we've partnered with to tell their story and share their products with the our customers at good market. And so I am excited to introduce you to this farm story today and Katrina story as well. So, Katrina, I'm going to jump right over to you. And then let you tell us a little bit about thistle farms. And now we were saying now in its third decade, 25 plus years of incredible work that's been going on. But I don't want to steal your thunder, I'll let you tell us a little bit about what's going on over there at thistle farms.

Katrina Robertson: 1:37

I am so excited to be here to share with you all about an amazing community that believes that love is the most powerful force for change in the world. And I think the first thing I just want to say is that the fact that I'm sitting here, right now with you all is a true testament that all of the things that are supposed to destroy us and make us bad and, and do away with us. Love is more powerful than all of that stuff. This affirms Farms is a community where women who have survived and I want to say the word is survived, survived addiction and trafficking, and abuse and prostitution and being in and out of jail. When we get to come and find a safe place, a safe place to really dig in and heal from some of the traumas that happened to us way before we start using drugs sometimes. But as children, you know, things that are out of our hands out of our control things that have happened, that have stunted our growth and made it really really easy to make the wrong decisions like using drugs and degrading yourself. Some of the traumas that we've experienced here. I'm just one woman. And one story of a lot of women that that have come through this farms and women that we'll come through this farms because we keep the candle lit. That's right, keep that candle lit for the next lady.

Harry Cunningham: 3:14

That's right. So Katrina, I'm excited to hear your story. Tell me about how thistle farms got started, though. Who we who was it that said let's open the doors. We've got a job to do.

Katrina Robertson: 3:25

So interesting. We didn't start with the social enterprise. First. We started with this amazing lady named Becca Stevens. And she was ministering and going to the visiting the prisons and you know ministering because she isn't a festival freeze. So let me stop first and say that thistle Farms is not a religious program. We believe that once women and men start healing, that they need to have their own freedom to find their own spiritual path. So we don't have to go to Becca's chapel or anything. She that's what she does for Vanderbilt. She's Kabul priests. Oh, I didn't know that. Yeah, yes. And so she was ministering going to the prisons and ministering. And she thought about as she looked around, Where are the women? I'm going into minister to the man, but where are the women? And she realized that the women were using the jail system as a revolving door. Well, there was this vicious cycle, a woman would get arrested for either a drug charge, or a prostitution charge and you go to jail or paraphernalia, you go to jail and you they just lock you up for seven days and you eaten you sleep, and then you released back into the same vicious cycle you get locked up for and so she decided that she wanted to take five women from the penal system and move them into a beautiful home and love them lavishly. That means not hand me downs, but the best. She put five women in the house together. And everybody thought she was crazy, because they didn't think it would work. But she has enough for her own abuse because she was abused after her father who was a pastor, a priest. After he got killed by a drunk driver, one of the priests that stepped in for him, abused her. So she knew enough about the pain that the women had to know that if you love people hard enough and long enough, and make them safe enough, they are real. Yeah. So that's who disulfiram z is in a quick shot.

Harry Cunningham: 5:46

Well, in Katrina, I want to interrupt you just for one minute, you said, you said something really important and what you just said that if you if you love them, they will heal. And I think what people can't see there because they're hearing us is behind you on the wall are some letters that say Love heals. Absolutely. And there's so much to be said about that. Just that that's two very simple words, words that we probably say every day anyway. But when you put them together, what Becca was doing truly brings it home. Right?

Katrina Robertson: 6:17

So we can say those words all day, but there's some action that has to be behind 100%. And that means that because I thought when they when my friend girl told me to come and come into this program, I was like, and they told me I was gonna meet Beth, and she was an Episcopal priest, I was like, See, they're not gonna want me. I've been in and out of jail. I've been jumping out of cars to great myself, they're not gonna want me around. They don't want I don't want to be around. Yeah. And they were like, Girl, we've all done that. But Love heals. Yeah, that means that when you're at your worst, that people don't point their fingers at you and down you. They gather around you and love you back to life. That's what this foreign system for us Unbeliev like, it doesn't matter what we've done, how bad we've been in, like, you just love people unconditionally. And somewhere in that they will say, I am worth love, I am worth being loved. That's when the healing starts.

Harry Cunningham: 7:18

I love that I am worth because I think that the idea that self worth can come back to someone is really game changing. Right? That and you know, I don't I don't think any of us are born not having self worth. So that, that that idea that your self worth is taken away from you. You don't give it up. It's taken away from you. But you can fight and you can get it back. And I think that's such a it's such a testament, right? So. So back to these five women. So Becca starts with five women, right? Everybody thinks she's crazy. She knows better, right?

Katrina Robertson: 7:51

And she really knew what she was doing. But maybe that's fine. That's what makes it fun. You know,

Harry Cunningham: 7:57

I was talking to my daughter yesterday, this idea. It's interesting. Like, if sometimes life just wants to you to take it by the lapels and say, I don't know what I'm doing. But I'm gonna figure it out. Right. And that's sort of what she was doing. Like she, she knew what the outcome was going to be. She just had to figure out how to get there.

Katrina Robertson: 8:12

We thank all the time, and she'll say, I just had the vision. I just had the thought and the vision. When she put it out there the wider community came in and said, How can we help? What can I do to help with this? Like, but so we thank her for her vision.

Harry Cunningham: 8:30

It's amazing. Yeah. So traveling through with it. Yeah. How long after she started, and I want to dig into your story a little bit. How long after she started? Were you impacted? And I know you told us a little bit about your friend that got you into it. But how many years after it was that?

Katrina Robertson: 8:45

So she started the first house. She opened the first house in 1996 97. Right? The first five women came in and they were staying clean. Amazing. She lost her mom, which really kind of defocused her from the house. Sure. But the women took accountability and see if they trusted us in this beautiful house. And they given us everything and I don't have to pay any rent. They loved and nurtured Becker when she was grieving for her mom, of course. Wow. Right. Yeah. And so she talks about how they did this outline of the things that they wanted to not be in the house. Like we didn't want any drug use in the house. We don't want any abuse, no fighting. Right. They made the model. Wow, it worked.

Harry Cunningham: 9:39

It's marketable. It's incredible.

Katrina Robertson: 9:40

And the women that were in in that first house said I left some friends back on the street. I need to go get those. You got to get another house. That's incredible. Literally how it happened. Is that unconditional love. Yeah. Now

Harry Cunningham: 9:55

are those women any of those first five still affiliated with the program?

Katrina Robertson: 9:59

Thank Are there it's just a fact of life. And whether they're here working, yeah, but they're out in the world, running their own business, whether they relapse and they're still struggling, they are so stressful life, they will always be a part of this community just because they don't working anymore. They're still successful life.

Harry Cunningham: 10:17

It's such a beautiful, true demonstration of what family is right. And when you and I talked before we were talking about family and family goes beyond the your blood family, if you will, right there. That family is much bigger. And it's such a beautiful description and depiction of what real family is. So Katrina, let's talk about your story a little bit. And it's, you know, I, I was blown away the first time I heard your story. And then the second time I heard it even even more detail, I was even more just in awe of what you've overcome and where you are and how you've gotten here. But you know, a lot of people listening probably haven't heard your story yet. And I'd love if you'd share, share your story.

Katrina Robertson: 10:55

I will do I will do. And I think I start back at when I was 10 years old. I have two older brothers that are 10 and 12 years older than me. And I remember up to age 11, that I had a good childhood childhood. Although my step my biological father was not in the home. And never remember my biological father being in the home. I do hear stories that my brothers had to endure of how my biological father abused my mom. And when I was three years old, she finally had enough of herself to leave, take us and stay gone. But I never remember him being in there. So I'm 10 years old, and just happy go lucky, little girl. And I remember her talking about she's getting married. And I was super excited. Why? Because I was gonna get to have a daddy, like all of my other classmates, I was gonna get to have something I had never experienced. And she got married and it was beautiful. And time went by, and I thought everything was good. And okay. And I'm teaching right and some of the stuff is still a little foggy. But I remember my stepfather coming home one day, during the summertime, and coming up to my bedroom. The kids we were out. We were out of school for the summer. So in the daytime, I'd go to one of my mom's friend's houses where all the kids can stay during the daytime because she was a stay at home mom. And it was lunchtime. So I rode my bike home came home, went upstairs to have lunch and watch cartoons. And my stepfather came home like he always did. It was nothing new. This particular day, he came to my bedroom, started having conversations with me about little boys, what little boys would think when the boys think about what girls and what little boys would probably try to do. And come in, let me show you what little boys are gonna do. So I know all of us have these things that are called fight or flight in us. And I knew I couldn't fight him, because he was a big man. And he was my father figure. And I was trying not to disrespect my parents. But I knew that this was really wrong because my mom had these conversations with me. And then he began to molest me. He began to abuse me. And all I knew was the only other option was flight. So I jumped up, got away from him put on my clothes, and was running down the just to get away from him out of my own bedroom to get away from him. I ran down the stairs, and he stood at the top of the stairs and told me that I'm better not telling you about it. Because they wouldn't believe me. Because it was my fault. Because I was a bad girl. And you tell a 10 year old that comes in it comes the message comes from her stepfather father figure. I believed it and I internalized this is my fault. And I better not tell anybody. Not even the one person that I shouldn't have trust in their mom. But it wasn't my fault. I couldn't tell her that I was gonna get in trouble, right. And so I didn't tell anybody. I jumped on my bike and went back to my friend's houses. And I acted like nothing ever happened. What happened was there's something about our psyche and our bodies and stuff. It started to come out in other ways. There was a rule like you can you can go to your friend's house and ride your bike and be in the neighborhood. But you need to be home when the street lights come out. There was a rule we all had it all the kids. We all knew Seattle street lights gonna come on time to get started rebelling and simple stuff like that at stay up Justin. Just way past the lights being on. So she's calling around looking for me. I started being promiscuous sleeping A little voice that I shouldn't be in, because I was exposed to that. Right? Right. And so, again, I carried all of this. I carried all of this. And age 14, I got introduced to beer and marijuana. Because I started hanging with the wrong group of kids in school. They were skipping school and drinking. And I was just hanging with him at first and then it was like, try it is. And I remember the first time I tried it, and it was like, this is horrible. Yeah, I'll do this every day, all day. And but then, a few minutes later, I remember this superficial numbing of all that racket that had been going on in my brain, right? I was like, Oh, I don't have to think about that. I can pretend to be this person and not think about that. When am I? Well, and so I went from making good grades in school to dropping out that 12th grade of the second semester of my 12th grade.

Harry Cunningham: 16:10

So you were going to school though, while this was going on for part of it and grades continually getting worse? No, I No. Challenge No. My Grades.

Katrina Robertson: 16:19

My Grades didn't get worse.

Harry Cunningham: 16:20

Oh, they didn't get worse. Oh, wow. Well, I

Katrina Robertson: 16:22

was supposed to say I supposed to graduate. Six in my class, after my class, after I dropped out in my class walked on my receipt, because I was still going to school like I was in school. Right that one second semester. And she received a letter from the guidance counselor, I did not know they were gonna send that letter saying that we're so sorry that Katrina failed to graduate. It's that she forget. No, she failed to walk. She was supposed to graduate sixth in her class. Wow. I don't know how I did that.

Harry Cunningham: 16:54

Amazing. And, you know, obviously a challenging time because this was before. You know, I don't it's not my job to share your age. But this is before people were talking about any of this.

Katrina Robertson: 17:05

Yeah, I was 17 1617. Yeah. Supposed to be graduating. Yeah.

Harry Cunningham: 17:10

So so you don't graduate? You're on the streets. Right? And you've got two brothers that are now in their late 20s. Right? Your mom's still learned about me? For sure. And your mom's still? Are you still living at home then? Or were you really living on the streets by then still living

Katrina Robertson: 17:24

still at home? And she started let's do some therapy. Right? Let's do treatment, because they said they found weed in your system. And but I would have to go to therapy and not leave either. They're worse than I was because I wouldn't talk about what my stepfather had done to me, right? Because I had said I was gonna carry that to my grave. I was not on top of that. Right. That was my fault. I was not in a cage to obey it. I was not telling nobody.

Harry Cunningham: 17:52

So you end up on the streets. And we're, we're, you know, synopsize a little bit, but you end up on the streets. And you've got a friend that's on the streets.

Katrina Robertson: 18:02

And we ran together for a long time. And it's just disappeared. That me and her both were in and out of jail all the time.

Harry Cunningham: 18:09

So you were that person you were talking about that goes into jail for seven days gets out again? Yeah, that was you?

Katrina Robertson: 18:15

Oh, yeah. I've done a year. I've done 11 2011 days and 2011 months and 29 days in jail. Yeah, I've done a Yeah. Yep. And

Harry Cunningham: 18:28

yeah. So she disappears.

Katrina Robertson: 18:32

And, and I go on yours a couple of years go by I don't see her. I just think she's in jail. She's done something and gotten caught, right. That's the only reason why we leave the streets. And so one day, I'm at the store and she pops up in his car, she pulls up on me, because she knows where I am sure. She jumped out the car and put the arms around me. But I'm feeling really bad. Because I knew I'd had on the same clothes for five days. I knew I probably smelled it was hot outside sweat, that she put her arms around me and told me she loved me. And I said, Where have you been, and you just get out of jail. She was like now, I've been in this program. And by now I've already done see treatment centers after treatment centers and six day and 90 days, 30 day treatment centers and none of it worked for me. But I was convinced that it just wouldn't work for me and my work for somebody else. It wasn't gonna work for me. And she said, let me just go talk to everybody and find out if I can get you to come in. I was like, yeah, yeah, go do that. Go on. Because I was I was embarrassed. Yeah. You know, I was just trying to get rid of I was glad I got to see your, you know what I mean? And so, and I was like, a treatment center. And she was like I said, Well, you know, they don't also me. And she said, But Katrina, this, this place is different. And I can see this glow about her to see this newness. So there's something about her and she went and talked to the team and They say, Yep, she can come in. Well, now What year was this? What year was this was in 2000. And this was in 2000 2000. That was introduced at thistle farms in 2000. The first time, gotcha. Two years after they first started, yeah, wow. And I get into a bad relationship and relapse. So it took me four years to get back.

Harry Cunningham: 20:21

Unbelievable. So that was in 2000. Then you left that you came back,

Katrina Robertson: 20:26

and I came back. And 2005 Yeah, and it's just been different. Right? I finally, I finally realized that I was worthy. You know, I finally started talking about in therapy. What had happened to me. And so my therapist had to stop me and say, to train to your word to when you were 10 years old? How was that your fault? This was a grown man. And I was like, You're right. Like, I've been carrying this around for years, still blaming yourself. But it was the it was the community that made me feel safe. I could hear the women in our group, we do group therapy, too. And I could hear them talking about somebody did this to me. And I was like, why aren't they talking about this? Because they wanted that freedom. Now they felt safe. I just hadn't felt it yet. So once I started talking about that in therapy, and she put the pieces together, which is what I feel like a therapy does puts those jigsaw pieces together to make a beautiful picture for you sometimes. Yeah, I realized, I've been carrying a son does not even mine. And that was able to go to his bedside before he passed away. And forgive him for what he had done to me. And I didn't do that finger my data for me right? To take my own life.

Harry Cunningham: 21:54

Yeah. And you did successfully. Amazing.

Katrina Robertson: 21:57

And a beautiful baby girl while I was in the streets. I got pregnant while I was in the streets. When I found out I was pregnant, I was like two months in. And my mom was like, Okay, it's not just you anymore. You always talking about anger, nobody but myself, not just you. Right? It's a baby. So she took me back in and nursed me back to Hill. And I had this beautiful baby girl, and getting home from the hospital. And I went to the store one day. And I saw the guy said, I always cannot wait. And I left my baby at home with my mom. Well, again, the vicious cycle started right all over again. And my mom raised my daughter. Well, until I found this community in 2005. Again, I love it this time.

Harry Cunningham: 22:49

Yeah. So the community has obviously grown a bit since 2005. Right? Yes. So how many? How many women when you went back in in 2005? And I don't I'll you'll tell the story far better than I do. I know that it is a solid two year program, right that women go into. So when you went in in 2005? Tell me kind of how that went. What happened? What and then what does that look like for women that come in new today? So tell your story, but then also how it kind of relates to people that come in now. So you go back in, you're in? This is it, I'm gonna make it work.

Katrina Robertson: 23:24

I think that when when when we come into the program, we're so theta, and we're so desperate. Like, we give it all we have. It's fantastic. That's who wants to who wants to live like that being right and being beat up on the streets and right and left for dead. Like, sometimes the trauma is just so heavy. Not everybody makes it not everybody is able to stay clean. Sure. But there's still a sister for life. They like they let me come back. I relapsed. They didn't judge me and say you can come back because you didn't stay clean? No. They said, Yeah, you can come back. They let me come in and try it again. Yeah. And it's the same principle like everyone was. We have we have structure that you have to follow every day. But everyone was planned is different, based on her own individual needs, how she was raised. How what has happened to her. Everybody has different needs. That's what makes this community different. There's not this cookie cutter. Everybody does this. No, it just depends on what you need. Right? They even asked to what do you want? What do you want to do? Nobody really asked me that question before everybody told me I needed to do this. You need to stop us and you need to stop going to jail. Nobody ever say what is it that you want to do? Can I help you? Yeah. And I come from a good family. So and I do want to say this part. because a lot of people wonder. So once I got to Magdalene, I got into individual therapy, which had now saved my life. And I wanted to tell my mom, what had happened to me. Because up until now, I hadn't said anything to her. She just thought that started being bad.

Harry Cunningham: 25:22

I guess 20 years had gone by, by then probably.

Katrina Robertson: 25:25

But a year after all of this happen, that man was my stepfather wasn't removed from my home, he was not there anymore. So I don't know if she did they started having issues or if she saw I reacted differently around him. I don't remember that part.

Harry Cunningham: 25:41

Well, Katrina, you're a mom, you're a mom, I bet you would agree with this mom's always no, I see it, right. Moms always

Katrina Robertson: 25:47

see it. And we never had that conversation. But I wanted to have that conversation with her. But about a year after I had been into the program, my mom was diagnosed with colon and rectal cancer. Wow, I'm sorry, yeah. And it got worse and worse and worse. And I made the decision with my therapist, or with my therapist sale, that I was not going. I wanted to take care of her. Like she had taken care of me, I contracted HIV in the streets. I've lived 28 years when it amazed. And I didn't want her to take that burden with her. I wanted to take care of her and her last days. And me and my brothers and my daughters did that.

Harry Cunningham: 26:27

Fantastic. But and that was what worked for you. Right. And it's different. Like, you know, like you said, it's different for every single person. So so when you came into this, oh, farms, right. And I know this this program that you all work about. And you talked a little bit about individual therapy and group therapy. And I mean, first of all, how powerful that must be a going in and being the one that's new to it, but be as you can be there and you're in a better place. And love has healed you and you get to watch this healing. I mean, I can't even imagine what that's like for you. You know, as somebody that's, that's, like, I sat in your shoes, right? You sit there in these, these meetings with these people that are coming in and needing that sisterhood. And, and I think maybe that's part of what makes a connection. So beautiful, too, is that everybody can relate. Right? It's not your land that just recently we had. There was a there was a suicide at a school locally in high school. And we we've been talking a lot about how we could help them with that I said, you know, it's my belief that high school kids will respond better to someone that's closer to their age than they will somebody that's 30 years older than them telling them what's right or wrong. My guess is that this is very, very similar that there's something that beautifully happens with when you can send along somebody that's been through the same things you've been through, I'll be it their own version of it, right, but their own their own story, but a story very similar to yours. I love that. That's really what happens. And I think so many times if people can be like you are and do the good work that you're doing and know that I was helped to now it's my responsibility to go help. Somebody did good for me, now it's my turn to go do good for them. Like there's so much power in that right?

Katrina Robertson: 28:08

To whom much is given much as much as required. I love that, to whom much is given, much is required. And when I got here, there were women that were already here before me, it took me under their wing and love me to live. And guess what, I'm not healed. I can be that I can be in a bad spot. Just like those women. My mom passed away. I almost lost my mind. And I had been clean about seven or eight years. And you're cleaning rat. I'm clean now how many years? It's been 1818 years. Amazing. Yeah. Good for you. Yeah, but but they they treated me. We don't care about the clean time we just talk about loving each other a lot, right? And holding on to each other. So I can be that person that one of those new girls come up and put their arms around me and to me, it's gonna be okay. And I can hear it from her. And now, you know, I know the pain. She's and she knows my pain. Yeah.

Harry Cunningham: 29:04

I mean, part of what I love that you said is the time doesn't matter if it's 18 minutes, you're clean. 18 days, you're clean. 18 years you're clean. It doesn't matter work in progress, everybody anyway. And even those of us that have not struggled with drugs and alcohol we're working because everybody has their own cross to bear

Katrina Robertson: 29:19

right. That's right. Thank you. Yeah, he's like knowledge in it. Oh, for sure.

Harry Cunningham: 29:23

Yeah. But that's that's that's the reality of it. So I want to I want to talk a little bit about thistle farms and first of all, amazingly power and we'll get to what you're doing now at thistle farms in a few minutes. But I want to talk a little bit about this whole farm so a woman comes in she's been on the streets or whatever situation she's been in, she comes in she's brought in into a house and now how many houses thistle farms have?

Katrina Robertson: 29:44

I'm gonna get it wrong and you're gonna get more than one. Let's do it with one and I know for sure that we have four amazing we have four

Harry Cunningham: 29:53

and also connection around the country, right? There's a net we have

Katrina Robertson: 29:58

sister organizations now For people who don't want to do wholesale, they have they know that there's a need for one of the houses or the social enterprise in their area. And that's because Becca has traveled all over the world. And and where we go people be like, can we come to this with friends, and he's like, bring everybody here. So we can encourage people who are already doing the work in your area, to come to an educational workshop, here at thistle farms that we have every other month, and learn how to start something like this. We offer up all of our information, everything. It's amazing how people from all over the world come together, and to watch those collaborations and the beds grow. So now if we we have a waiting list, and we don't have any beds available, we can send a woman somewhere else. So one of the other 601 correlations.

Harry Cunningham: 30:50

So when when you come into the program now and a woman comes into the program now how what is the commitment? You talked about a six day program, a 90 day program? What's the what's the

Katrina Robertson: 30:59

two year we obligate for two, we mind blowing to two years? But guess what? Yeah, when you have women who have been on the streets, what 2628 years like me, yeah, two years is just scraping the surface,

Harry Cunningham: 31:11

you're not going to do it in six days, for sure. No, it

Katrina Robertson: 31:15

takes six, two years is just you're just scraping the surface. So when we get to come in, and those first three to four months, they're really working on stuff like intensive outpatient as learning about their disease of addiction. Like they're not bad people, they have a disease, just like high blood pressure and stuff that you have to treat. Yeah, like you learn about how the drugs affect your brain and that kind of stuff. And we take parenting classes, we take a spirituality classes, we do a post traumatic stress class, because all of us that come in are suffering from the same symptoms, that the men who have been in wars, the trauma that they've experienced, the trauma we've experienced does the same thing to our bodies. Yeah. And then after they finish that get, they get to come to the social Innosight, social enterprise side, and learn they go through a job readiness program. We get them prepared with stuff like learning how to tie learning how to do Excel sheets, and working with the AD team, working with accounting, working with marketing, you just get to get you learned from each of the departments here. Yeah. And that's the first phase of it, because we realized that three or four months is still not a long time, right? For somebody who, who's just now getting clean. So we want to introduce them to the work side of thistle farms very slowly and intentional. They have an awesome job ratings program. That's fantastic. And we can cipher them into our manufacturing team where they're still learning work skills, but they're working with their hands and their minds are starting to realize, oh, I can work now. Because you have dropped out of school early, who had may have never had a real job, or had good jobs, and just kind of forgotten some of that stuff. Because of the trauma and being in the streets. Yeah, so we introduced him back into the workforce real slowly.

Harry Cunningham: 33:18

In Katrina, am I right? That the products that you sell the products that now we sell, we're thrilled to be able to sell it to are all made by women that have been taught these new skills have been started their healing process, right. They're all handmade. That's yeah, yeah. They're not in made in some factory. And it doesn't matter who the person is there actually made by people who are being positively impacted. And it's so 360 It's such a full 360 It's such beautiful stories. So what was your first were your first job at the company?

Katrina Robertson: 33:48

So when I first got to I was labeling the body bombs and the lip balms? Were they were in can't look, metal to containers. Wait, now how

Harry Cunningham: 34:01

did you because I got a question. Real quick. We got a sidebar a little bit this labeling thing I'm, I always assumed labeling happens with some machine so that it ends up in exactly the same place every single time, but you're doing it by hand. We

Katrina Robertson: 34:13

were doing it by hand, then incredibly doing it by hand. And I was just fine. Come into work. Sitting in the little corner being with everybody, all the women and we were laughing and talking, talking about good stuff, bad stuff crying, but we were still learning some very important job skills. And the general manager and volunteer that they had brought into. She started the wholesale team, which is what we do with you all. And they came to me and said, Would you like to be on the sales team? I said, No. I don't I don't know what that is. I sure don't, I'm fine. Just stay right here and she was like, Well, can you just go with me today? and just follow me and I followed her, we went into our hallmark store. And she went in and talked to the lady and showed the lady the product. And then we came out and she said, now it's your turn. And I was like, let's do it. Let's just do it. Yeah. And I went in to another store. And I told a show to lady that, you know, look hard that we had in the product and not ask for the sale. And then the lady said, Sure, what do I do? And I was I was they got me then you were in. I was in Yeah. And I was able to travel all over the world. We created data. And I'm talking, I just want to just add this in when we talk about how we're always a work in progress. I travel all over the world, we're back. And my trauma has escalated, and I will not travel in an aeroplane or on interstates anymore. Really? That went from traveling yours with Becca, they cannot pay me to go from here to Murfreesboro.

Harry Cunningham: 36:01

Now, how am I gonna get you to Fort Wayne? You can't. It's a lot of country roads.

Katrina Robertson: 36:08

But I'm back in therapy. I'm working on it. Yeah, I have a grandbaby now. Yeah. Now I want to be able to travel with him. And so let's work for try. That's good. I'm not making any promises.

Harry Cunningham: 36:19

It's work in progress. Okay, you know what, I'll come, I can come and see you. That's fine. I can come again. Again. Yes, that's right, come and see you again. So So I love that you jumped right into it on sales. And I want to talk a little bit about the savings program, because you told me about that. One time that we were talking and I'd love if you'd share a little bit about how the because there's so many, it's almost like I don't know what is left that can be done every wonderful thing that could be thought of has been thought of. And then I heard about the savings program like this is a whole nother thing.

Katrina Robertson: 36:50

So you know, you're getting the old version of thistle farms have what what I do now they have another whole advanced and wonderful program. But when I went through the program, it was called an individual navigator account the individual development account. And at first I didn't quite understand but they gave me housing, I was able to come into this apartment and live two years rent free. That doesn't happen anywhere. Right? Right. And they gave me a job. If it had been up to me as I spent that money and not had anything to show for it. Right, because I had no idea about budgeting and saving or any of that. So they say if you say if you say this amount of money will match it makes you have to choose things of asset. You have to choose a home or car, your own business, your education or your child's education or savings, some kind of savings. And I was like, Well, I want a car. I'm tired of riding the bus. Because the van took us everywhere we go, but I wanted my own independent. Yeah. And I saved that first year and I got a car Unbeliev because I didn't believe I didn't believe they were gonna do it. I was like, I don't believe we are going to do it. But they did. But they did. And so back then we could do two. So the second one was I've always dreamed of having a home. I have my daughter now, whose life I'm trying to get back into and rebuild that relationship. I've always lived with my mother, but I want my own home to be like my mama. She always kept a beautiful. Yeah. And so I said I want to sign up for the home. We I had to take this class and pull my credit, clear my credit all this stuff. Right? Right. It's clear that the application with US Bank. And I still didn't believe that it was possible under all of that. Right? I still just didn't believe right, that it will be possible for somebody like and when we submitted the first application, they denied it. Guess what I said? I told you, I knew they weren't gonna write back and say well, now let's just go back and find out why. We've done everything that they asked us find out why. So she talked to them and they were like, well, Beth, for the last 10 years at least she's been a ghost she paid a phone bill. Light bills rent nowhere. And because like, well, I can tell you what she's been doing know that the last 10 years she's been on the street she's been doing this and doing that. But looking at what she's done for the last two years. Let's just give her a chance. So it was me and another young lady another one and our sisters applied to a right beside each other. And we both got approved for those houses incredible right next to each other incredible. Mind blowing.

Harry Cunningham: 39:42

Incredible. How long did you live next to her? Are you still you still live in you're still living

Katrina Robertson: 39:48

basically rents her house out now she's got her a larger house. Yeah. And she rents that house out but we still wiped out.

Harry Cunningham: 39:56

And what she doing now?

Katrina Robertson: 39:58

She works for the probe. She's the director Then the Senior Director for our residential program for the two year residential program. Yeah, she is that she's a graduate and she's the director of that program.

Harry Cunningham: 40:08

It's just it's just so inspiring your stories are so and, and I know, you know, what's what's people don't know is that you, you are so happy and so positive, but I don't think any of it you take lightheartedly you take it, you know, everywhere you've been, but what you've done is you found this beautiful way to positively impact the world. Every single day, which is, is, you know,

Katrina Robertson: 40:34

I tell God when I was and I don't mean to disrespect anybody, but I remember one morning about two o'clock walking the streets and saying, is this what my life this is what I was born for. I don't want to live, I don't want to do it anymore. I'm scared. I can't get clean. I don't want to do it anymore. But if you take me out of this, I'll do whatever it is you want me to do? Sometimes I forget that when the road gets hard, and women are really having a hard time or I'm in a bad space. I'll forget that. I made that promise. And God will quickly remind me You told me that you talk to these people. You tell me that you do whatever. And I'd be like, okay, okay, okay, I got it. I got it.

Harry Cunningham: 41:18

I'm back on. I'm back on.

Katrina Robertson: 41:19

I'm back on. Yeah.

Harry Cunningham: 41:21

So now who is your mom's past? You're so close with your two brothers. Oh, yeah. Right. Yeah. Aren't you the host? You're now the matriarch of the family. So

Katrina Robertson: 41:30

I am the matrix. But she trained them. Well, they cook so I used to do all the cooking and I realized I was like, Y'all rascals can cook. I started cooking, too. But yeah, we believe in family gatherings and in our community of whoever our people are cookouts and barbecues, and fish fries. And we all meet up sometimes at a seafood place all the family and just take up a whole area. And just Yeah, we don't take for granted that. Tomorrow is promised. So we enjoy chatting enjoy each other, you know, as often as we can.

Harry Cunningham: 42:06

That's right. That's beautiful. And now your daughter what your daughter is successful.

Katrina Robertson: 42:10

She is she just she she is back home with me. She was in a relationship and it didn't work out. Like she had planned it. And she felt stuck. And I said you're stuck. Why? Put your stuff in storage and come home? Yep, that's when my mama taught me to always go home when I was doing right. And so she came home. And you know, we have this joke about she wish she could have a baby. But the doctors told her she couldn't because he has some kind of medical condition. And lo and behold, look what she had. Back there. I see that same not all grandbabies.

Harry Cunningham: 42:49

Good for you. Yeah. Such an amazing story. And, yes, it's incredible. I'm just

Katrina Robertson: 42:56

one, I'm just one female. That's here. We have men who work here now who are all about the brotherhood and being a part of our lives in a positive way. And digging in and doing their own recovery, too. They weren't in the cafe, and they weren't gonna add team. It team is just awesome. And I'm not saying that everything is positive. And everything happens. That's good, because it's not we've lost women to the disease of addiction. We've lost women who are in prison. But we do it all right here together. Yeah, as a community,

Harry Cunningham: 43:35

and any of those that might might still be living in might not be able to have kept up what they were doing are always welcome back, then sister for life, always. Which I love that. I think you all so encapsulate what the world should be doing and how we should be putting our arms around people and welcoming them and helping them lift them up. You know, you'd be

Katrina Robertson: 43:55

you'd be surprised that that's one of the things that draws people to to Safari, people want to be a part of that. You know, life is so hard to spy sell. Sometimes things are hard. People just want to be a part of something good is happening. Yeah.

Harry Cunningham: 44:11

And I think the willingness like for women like yourself that are willing to say you know what I was there. I'm living proof that you can do it, too. It's just

Katrina Robertson: 44:20

remarkable. If I can do it, you can do it more. Hi,

Harry Cunningham: 44:23

Katrina. Before we go, I have one one last question for you that I like to ask all of the people with whom I get to have great conversations and hear they're great stories. And your story's amazing, incredible. And every time I hear it, you re inspire me and I want to hear it again. And again. Because it's just that there's always an extra part of it. But if you're you're you're at the end of your life at some point, right. And you're thinking back on the incredible journey that you've had, and you had to pick somebody to tell your story who's going to tell the who's going to tell the Katrina story for you. Who would you pick to tell it why would you pick them to tell it Oh, wow. I

Katrina Robertson: 45:01

think you will be my daughter or my grandbaby. Love that. And he's never heard because she had to live through it. Sure. And so I do believe that I've always said that I wouldn't take back. The worst thing that's happened to me. Because I think it has to teared her from going down that road. Now, I know she's got her own thorn in her side, too, because we all struggle with something right? But it won't be the addiction one, right. And she's had to live without her mom, but she's got to see your mom get clean now be her best friend, of course. But But I want her to be able to tell that little boy about me about some other stuff in here and be like, I can't imagine. I granted going through that my Korean is everything. Right? Like I so for that? Yeah.

Harry Cunningham: 45:49

That's great. That's perfect. Yeah. And you know, I think as a as a boy myself, I was I was a 10 month old boy at one time. There's so much to be said for that that grandmother figure in your life, right? And I know, oh, good, good for you for showing him what can be done. I mean, you've given him a fantastic role model to look up to as he grows. And same with your daughter. So I so appreciate you spending time with me today.

Katrina Robertson: 46:13

Oh, thank you for having me here. I appreciate you for everything that you're done with us and for us. Thank

Harry Cunningham: 46:18

you so much. We are thrilled to have thistle farms as a partner. But even beyond that. I'm thrilled to have you as a friend. And I love that we get to have these conversations. And you know, and I hope to see you soon I'll come and see you. But I hope to see you. But we'll do Katrina. Thanks for taking time with us today.

Katrina Robertson: 46:35

Thank you have a good one you too.

Harry Cunningham: 46:42

Thank you for joining us for this episode of the good market podcast. A new episode will drop the second Tuesday of each month. So make sure you subscribe wherever you're listening. Give us a like a follow and a share. And please leave a review so that we can reach even more people and grow even more good. Tune in next time to hear more stories from good people with great products supporting exceptional causes. We'll see you next month.