Dec. 16, 2009
At first blush, I would have said I had met Denise Brock countless times before.
A gravel-voiced, former drunk and drug addict who found God.
Uh-huh. And that lasts about as long as it takes for them to get whatever it is they want and they’re right back to their old ways.
Hey, that’s not just me being my usual skeptical self. Denise will tell you the same thing.
“Drug addicts and drunks, we’re chameleons,” she told me sitting in the tiny, immaculate apartment she shares with her 14-year-old daughter, Taylor. “If you have something we need, we’ll fit in.”
When she starts listing all the recovery and half-way houses she’s flunked out of, it goes on a while.
Of course, you know I’m going to tell you that Denise has changed, which is true, she has.
But why?
Yes, she opened her heart to God. Yes, she gave up her fear, her distrust and her dislike of herself.
There’s more to the story.
“I wouldn’t be this person if it weren’t for Flood.”
That’s Flood Bakersfield, a scrappy little ministry with big ideas, big personality and a really big heart.
Full disclosure here, I know the founder of Flood, Kim Albers, very well. I used to meet her at 4:30 a.m. several times a week with a group of other ladies to run. Here’s what I learned about her — Kim is open, honest and tenacious as H-E-double toothpicks.
About three years ago, her church required its parishioners to get out into the community and change lives. It wasn’t Kim’s first choice.
“I absolutely believed my good works were done at the end of a pen by writing a check,” Kim told me. “I was comfortable doing that.”
But as a group leader, she couldn’t sidestep this duty. She was already helping to sponsor concerts at Jesus Shack so she joined an ongoing Saturday night outreach there called “Celebration” to help feed and minister to street people.
“I had never spoken to a homeless person before that, I’m embarrassed to say.”
It was really uncomfortable, but three months into it, she found herself getting to know people, understanding their troubles and even helping a few here and there.
It wasn’t long before the Saturday nights became weekday excursions for her, finding people and building relationships. Celebration outgrew Jesus Shack and Kim eventually created Flood Bakersfield which partners with Garden Pathways and is a member of United Way.
They still hold Saturday night outreaches at 23rd and P streets where people can get a hot meal, a bag of groceries and hear the message about Jesus — or not.
“There are plenty of places in town where you can get a meal and be told you’re supposed to love Jesus,” Kim said. “We have the Biblical teaching available, but that message isn’t our first line of encounter.”
She challenges all her volunteers, who come from a variety of mostly affluent churches, to really learn about the people coming to the outreach. The No. 1 job for all volunteers is to learn the names of five attendees.
That is the first and most important stepping stone to creating real relationships.
That the simple act of calling people by their names created such a feeling of belonging that people came back, relationships grew and lives were changed.
When Kim called Denise by name, when she remembered Taylor’s name, that made a difference, Denise said.
“The people of Flood, they come to meet us,” she told me. “They don’t make us come to them.”
Once she made a commitment to change her life, Denise started volunteering at Flood and making connections that would have been impossible before.
“When you’re an alcoholic and dope fiend, you don’t interact well with other people,” she said.
That was two years ago. Now, she’s working on a degree in communications at Bakersfield College and is employed in the horticulture department. And Taylor has been back living with her since Christmas Day 2007.
“Before, you never knew what she was going to be like,” Taylor said of her mom’s drinking. “Now, there’s a light inside her and I know it’s going to stay like this.”
Denise had been doing OK, as far as it went, with three children of her own and five stepchildren. After a divorce she was working as a backhoe driver in the oilfields and about to buy a four-bedroom home.
A DUI in 2002 cost her her license. Without that, she lost her job and life quickly went down hill as she tried to sell meth to make money. In 2006, she stole a camper truck and she and Taylor drove around in it for a few days before it broke down in Bakersfield and she was caught.
Over the next year she wobbled between jail, halfway houses and living on the river drinking and doing drugs. In 2007, she said, she realized church was more than sitting in a pew. She opened her heart and reached out a hand and Flood was there.
Because Kim had built a relationship with Denise over time, Kim knew she was ready to have Taylor back and helped with that process.
“You can’t do that for a stranger,” Kim said.
Opinions expressed in this column are those of Lois Henry, not The Bakersfield Californian. Her column appears Wednesdays and Sundays. Comment at people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/noholdsbarred, call her at 395-7373 or e-mail lhenry@bakersfield.com
If you would like to give to Flood:
Flood’s ongoing need is for groceries which are distributed every week at the Saturday Night Outreach. The groceries meet a gap in services for those without utilities, refrigeration or a stove to cook.
Boxed crackers
Peanut butter
Canned meats (pop tops are best)
Canned fruit or plastic fruit cups
Chili
Ravioli
Top Ramen
Cup O Noodles
Food donations can be dropped off on a Saturday Night at Garden Community Center 23rd and P St. between 5-7pm or at Flood’s office 1121 34th St. M-Th 9am-2pm.
Monetary donations can be mailed to:
Flood Bakersfield Ministries, Inc.
1201 24th St. B110-229
Bakersfield CA 93301
Flood is a 501©(3) independent non-profit organization striving to establish meaningful relationships with those in crisis in our community.
Flood partners with Garden Pathways to train mentors to build one-on-one relationships with those who regularly attend the Saturday Night Outreach. Call 32-FLOOD or e-mail kim@floodbako.com for more information.
Phone: 661-32-FLOOD
Website: www.floodbako.com
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