SHANDRA STEINEGER: Oh, my gosh. It’s been forever. I’ve been so excited to see you.

TAY WILLIAMS: It’s been like years.

SHANDRA: It’s been a few years. Just a few. You’re doing good?

TAY: Yeah, I’m doing good. I’m at my apartment right now.

SHANDRA: Where? In Grand Rapids?

TAY: I’m in Grand Rapids, right downtown. 

SHANDRA: Oh, nice. Okay, cool. That’s so awesome.

TONY OCHOA: Right on. Everyone, introduce yourself. I’ll start. My name is Tony Ochoa. I am the Communications and Engagement Manager at AYA Youth Collective, formerly HQ and 311.

Can you all introduce yourselves and give a little background about how you were connected to HQ and what you are doing now?

TAY: My name is Tay and I was a member of HQ. Right now I’m volunteering at the Resource Center at Crossroads Bible Church (weekly free resource for people experiencing homelessness). I’m giving back to the community, cooking, helping visitors sign in for showers, vital docs, or whatever they need. Including getting people connected with AYA if they don’t know about it. I also volunteer at AYA’s Drop-in Center – filling in wherever they need me.

SHANDRA: Tay, what do you cook over there?

TAY: I cook whatever they need me to cook, honestly. I do homemade stuffing. I do a fried rice, all types of stuff.

SHANDRA: That’s awesome. Were you around HQ when I ruined that big, huge pot of mac and cheese and everybody made fun of me for months?

TAY: I remember that! I was like, “Wait, huh? What happened to the mac and cheese!?”

SHANDRA: Yeah…Hello, my name is Shandra and I am one of the co-founders of HQ Runaway & Homeless Youth Drop-in Center. Now, I live in downtown Phoenix, Arizona. I am currently working for a national nonprofit that supports organizations all over the country who are providing shelter, food outreach, and lots of other services to youth ages 12 to 24 who are struggling with housing stability.

TONY: Andy, what are you up to?

ANDY SOPER: Hi! My name is ANDY and I am also one of the co-founders of HQ. I work at an organization called Grace’s Table. We work with 13 to 24-year-old moms. The problem we’re solving is isolation, so creating as many spaces and opportunities for moms, primarily to connect with each other, but beyond that, to access the resources they need. About 80% of our moms are struggling with housing stability. We just opened our residential home for moms. But I can’t wait for the next 10 places we can open. Just knowing how much of a burden is lifted so they can focus on their kids and their career and their education to not try to meet market-rate rent prices, or live in an environment that is unsafe for them and their children. My gig here is making sure that the moms, the team,have everything they need to feel satiated, fulfilled, empowered. It’s everything from money, to trainings, to giggles, holding babies when they need to go. All the energy from this place comes from the moms. I think it’s telling that the founder was a teen mom, our board members are teen moms or were teen moms. The peer support that’s available here, I haven’t gotten to experience that anywhere else. But yeah, that’s what I’m doing right now.

TONY: It’s been 10 years since HQ first opened up the drop-in center. Did you have any hesitation or doubt that it would still be around?

SHANDRA: Zero. Andy used to throw around the statistic about how many startups fail in the first couple of years. We weren’t living out of this false reality of that it’ll be perfect and easy. Instead, we acknowledged that this is going to be hard. We know a lot, but there’s still a lot we don’t know. How can we be really intentional and thoughtful about this?

ANDY: When we were interviewing, the first thing I would ask everybody who was applying for a role at HQ was, “Startups don’t make it. Why are you interested in something that is statistically likely to fail?” I wanted people who were a little wild… People who can’t not do it. Because the risk is minimal compared to not doing it. The Drop-in Center is still my favorite place on the planet. Every time I go there and walk in. I feel calmer being in that spot. But yeah, there was never a doubt that this would last… And a big part of that was Shandra. I think Shandra got us through really tough situations.

TONY: That’s incredible. And yeah, there is an award named after Shandra, so obviously, other people think that’s true as well. Tay, I don’t know if you’ve heard, but AYA has the Volunteer of the Year. It’s the Shandra oh, no. Now I don’t remember the name of it… The Shandra…

SHANDRA: Yeah. Shandra Steininger Community Connector Award.

TONY: It’s okay that you knew that.

ANDY: I mean, it’s like an Oscar. But we call it a Steiny.

TONY: That’s right.

ANDY: You know what it’s for? It’s for coming to some approximation of Shandra.

TONY: That’s right. Whoever can get closest to the bar. Except once someone passes it, then we’ll rename the award after that person. But until then, it’s still the Shandra Steininger Award.

SHANDRA: The Lauren VanKeulen Community Transformational Leader Award.

TONY: That would work!

Why do you think young people are drawn to the Drop-in center?

TAY: Yeah, I think young people are drawn to it because I know when I first came there back in 2017, I noticed a lot of people went there for a safe space, like for a safe space as well as somewhere to be warm. Some people didn’t get sleep, so they would stretch out wherever, honestly, and just relax and be comfortable. That would really help out a lot. If they needed laundry or whatever they needed, it was there for them.

TONY: What was the elevator pitch you gave to folks in Grand Rapids that stressed the need of a Drop-in Center for Youth when it was opening in 2014?

ANDY: At the time, I was still working with trafficking victims. Most of the young women that we were working with had started their experience of exploitation based on their homelessness experience. That was my pitch. I was tired of hearing people say that we need to end trafficking and protect the children. How about we prevent it from ever beginning? If we can get farther upstream – preventing cycles of homeless for youth now – then there won’t be such a need for shelters and clinical care for people who have been routinely abused through exploitation.

SHANDRA: I’d explain how many adults who are chronically homeless first had their experience of housing instability as a youth. We know hard, terrible things happened and that experience can get people stuck or feeling like they’re not good enough. We can prevent some of these things from happening by intervening early. Furthermore, it’s not just a cliché that “just one person can change the trajectory of another person’s life,” because I had that experience. I had somebody when I was 16 come into my life that was the first person who ever just told me they cared about me and saw me for who I was. She had a huge impact on my life. I really believe that just knowing that somebody cares if you’re alive today can make such a huge difference in how you wake up and what you do with your day.

TONY: HQ obviously had a huge part in setting the culture of the Drop-in Center. In what ways do you see AYA carrying on these important values?

SHANDRA: Through the process of the merger, we really zeroed in on belonging and the belief that that is what all people want, need, deserve, and is the catalyst for anything they want to achieve. I think Andy had that word early on with HQ, and it was a word we used a lot and really tried to understand what does it feel like to belong. Then 311 at the time brought in there relational interdependence language. And together, it just strengthened, to “you’re a person first, and that’s enough. That’s what matters.”

ANDY: It probably goes to the startup nature of Drop-in but I feel there’s a belief in that space that if there’s a need or an opportunity, we can go get it. We can build the thing that’s missing. That extends all the way from what a larger group of youth might need to the dreams or mission of one individual. There’s something about willing an opportunity, willing success or the drive to at least try. Your effort, and your vision, and your goals, or whatever blows your hair back. It’s worth your time, and it impacts the people around you. 

Hearing AYA talk about the Comprehensive Health Initiative or “we want more housing”, It feels like an ever-expanding mission in reaching what it wants to be. I saw that in the beginning, to just bet on the youth coming through the door and bet on each other as people that were co-conspirators in it. I still see that. It doesn’t matter if the system is against it. It could be a small group of us, but we can turn over the cart.

TONY: Tay, were you in 311 first or did you get connected to HQ first?

TAY: I was in HQ first. I think Demetria had got me connected with 311. She signed me up for it and I did the assessment and everything. That really helped me out a lot with that. I was in a house on Logan. It was one of the step-ups for me through HQ and AYA. So it was there as another resource for me to experience housing and from there about what I want to do now and how I got here today. I’m very grateful for that as well. I hope others take advantage of it.

TONY: Speaking of 311 and HQ, During that process of the merger, did you have any excitement or concerns about this big merger?

TAY: I was excited because they can actually connect more people to their resources and help more homeless youth off of the streets.

TONY: Was there anything you were nervous about with the merger?

TAY: Honestly, no. Just finding the right people to work there.

SHANDRA: I think by the time we got to that point, I was all in. I was excited. I mean, this is something Andy and I had talked about on and off for years. I don’t think HQ was even open for a year when he said, “You got to meet this Lauren person. There’s something similar about you two, and there’s some power there. You all got to talk about this.” I remember very clearly the first time he brought it up, I was like, “Dude, I’m just trying to run this thing (HQ) right now. I don’t have any mental space to grow or merge or whatever!” But by the time we got there and we’d gone through the whole process, I knew that it was what was going to be right for youth, that it was like TAY said, “not only going to bring more resources, but it was going to take down barriers.” Youth wouldn’t have to go through as much paperwork or as much, “okay, well, now you’ve got to set up an appointment with this other person.” And just being a larger organization in West Michigan matters because you have more potential to bring others on board and advocate for young people and resources. I knew for sure that Lauren was the right person to lead it. She is incredible. I don’t know anybody else who could have done what she has done over the last few years. I’m just still honored to be a part of the story.

ANDY: It could have been before we opened. I don’t even think we bought a building, and I went to talk with the 311 Board. I think it was beginning of winter 2013, just tell them what we (HQ) were going to do. I think I said, even then, “You’re going to want to merge. We’re going to want to make this.” The height of arrogance, no question. But I was like, “this is going to happen. I don’t know when or how, but we should talk about it sooner than later.” They were all like, “Okay, well, maybe open first.” But I was thrilled when it started. I’ve seen organizations change hands and they lose the spirit of it. For HQ, it was the animating wildness. But there was nothing about John or Lauren or any of those folks that were any less wild than we were. I was all in from the jump.

TONY: I’m interested in this word “wildness”. Why use the term wild to describe HQ?

ANDY: All I can think about are the adventures books I read as a kid. I think of Watership Down and all those weird trippy books where there’s something in the characters. Where they take risks, maybe often when they shouldn’t, or they’re so invested in the people around them that they’re less concerned about, do they fit a qualification? 

The wildness of “you’re in” is a completely radical jump off point. HQ always felt to me that it defaulted to yes. Can I do this? Can I get help? Even the times when it’s not possible, I always felt the impulse of like, “Yeah, it won’t be today, wait, wild things grow.” Even now, I can’t wait to see what happens. I can’t wait to see what this Drop-in Center wants to be.” From my perspective, I’m still watching AYA grow wild.

SHANDRA: I would add unafraid and bold, because there’s certain things you’re “supposed to do” or “supoosed to look like”. From the beginning, we knew we were different. We were even looking for different language. Youth were members. Tay was a member, not a client or a patient or whatever. Some of the first youth that came in were like, “Why aren’t there metal detectors?” And my response? “Because we assume the best. This is your house, your space. We’re not afraid of each other. We’re here for the same reasons, for the same belief.” Or when people in the community would say, “Why all the flags?” Because, it’s not enough to say a person is included, they have to be wanted and celebrated here for who they are. It’s an unafraid boldness, I think. You can disagree with us because we are doing something different, but something hasn’t been working, so let’s do something wild.

TONY: This year, the Drop-in Center saw 738 youth. How many youth did you hope to see in the first year of Drop-in?

SHANDRA: I told this story like 8,000 times. Because that’s what everybody would ask. When we opened, people would be like, “Well, how many youth you think there really are? How many people are going to come here?”

I remember saying, If 200 youth come the first year, that would just be wild, be mind-blowing. We had 200 youth by February. We opened December 1, so three months in, we hit the 200 mark. We’re like, Wow, not only is there more youth out there than we thought, but also we’re doing something different that people want to be a part, and that’s huge.

TONY: Between the 35+ community partners we have now and AYA’s own offerings and resources, There’s a lot that can be done at drop-in. What was something you were excited to offer or to make use of during your time at drop?

TAY: HQ-Ready. HQ-Ready was a class Sam (HQ Staff) used to lead. It would help us become interview-ready, like how to ask questions about what to do and how to do it. And to be life-ready in general. We would talk about life goals, jobs we wanted and stuff and then we’d meet with GRCC or other places. It really helped out a lot.

SHANDRA: I think one of the things I loved was the kitchen because that was one of my favorite places. I mean, you have a party at your house, everybody ends up hanging out in the kitchen. It’s family, it’s community. And it’s the same way at Drop-in. Another thing I was really excited about was when we changed one of the bathrooms to a nurse’s station. We were able to have more real-time, on-site experts to help with health questions and help young people navigate the hospital and all that. That was a big growth that felt really good.

TONY: If you could use one to three words to describe drop in, what would they be?

SHANDRA: Tay, you remember Holly, right? Was Holly there when you were there?

TAY: Yeah, I remember Holly.

SHANDRA: Well, Holly would call Drop-in bouncy sometimes, and that was a good term. It was energetic. People were their whole-selves. They brought it all in and showed up, and it was wild. But she would always call it Bouncy. I love that.

TAY: I would probably explain it as fun, bouncy, and relaxed. It was always fun to be there, be comfortable. They got the TV and you could watch whatever you wanted and just relax and vibe out. Things you can only do in a safe space

SHANDRA: Can I have another word? My other word is deep-breath. Sometimes it could be bouncy, but also what I heard Tay say about the TV and you could just chill. Sometimes I think youth walk in there and as soon as that door shut behind them, they were like, everything from the crazy outside world was outside and they were now in here to do their business or to rest or whatever they needed that day and they can take a deep-breath.

ANDY: I’ve never made sourdough before, but I’ve seen a starter, and I think that might be… It’s not a great word to share because you’d have to explain it. Welcome to the world of Andy – using bad metaphors. But I think there’s something about starter for sourdough or kombucha or whatever that it’s like it’s bubbling and effervescent and it’s its own thing. It’s its own culture. It’s alive. That might be one of the reasons I love walking in there. For as peaceful as it makes me feel, it;s also alive. Even the building itself feels like a friend at this point.

SHANDRA: Tony, you got to write that with a Sharpie on a napkin and somehow work that in.

TONY: I know, T-shirt, stickers, everything. It’s a wonderful metaphor. Baking with started can be tough. Sometimes you don’t know if this is working or not? Sometimes it goes quick, and sometimes all it needs is just a little bit more time.

TAY: When I first started, I was like, “Okay, let me just peep it out and see how everything is going to go.” And then I think after, I’d say, a few months, I started getting comfortable just being around everybody, getting to know the area as well as figuring out all the resources Drop-in had. I know when they opened up the medical area for people that needed a medical emergency or if you needed to help get Medicaid or whatever, that was a big step up as well. They had somebody come in for counseling services. It helped me out a lot, especially when I was in my first apartment.

TONY: Drop-in is just like a sourdough starter because it might take you a bit to get comfortable with it if you’re not used to it but once you’re vibing with it, you realize just how resourceful it is. 

If you can give a shoutout to an old HQ friend, who would you do a shoutout to?

ANDY: I’ll start. The three that jump to my mind the fastest is one of the alumni, Perla. I have so much respect for her. Also, Holly Anderton. She is just my homie, and I’ve never met an advocate like her. And Michael Fravill. Talk about wild, man. He just showed up all-in all the time.

SHANDRA: What was Mike’s quote? You remember? He would also say, “The water is free here.”

TAY: The water is free, ha. So yeah, I would have to say Mike as well. And Demetria Phillips. She was very helpful when I was there. She was at the front desk at the time. And then Gabby Lampen as well.

SHANDRA: I would add Sam Jones. He was part of the original OGs, right? It was Holly, Mike, Sam. They built that place with me. Then Li Kaplan. Li has been around for a while and been through it. I think in many ways, Li is the definition of advocate, too. She just doesn’t give up and sure about what is right.

TAY: Yeah, I remember when Li first started, I think she took Gabby’s position. I had walked in and Gabby was like, “This is the new Gabby.” And I’m like, “Uh ok, I don’t know about that.” But then it was all good and I got connected with Li, as well. She facilitated the Youth Action Board program they had started as well. I’m glad they started that.

TONY: For those reading this interview, I want to note that Tay gave a suspicious side-eye when recalling Gabby introducing Li to him. I think that goes to show how important relationships are at Drop-in. We take it seriously when youth advocates are here and then they leave, and we want to respect those relationships. 

Unfortunately, we’ve come to the end of our time, but this was awesome. I’m glad I got to facilitate this mini-reunion of sorts. Thank you all so much.

SHANDRA: Thank you. It was good to see you, Tay.

TAY: Good to see you.

ANDY: Bye Bye.