Hope Mississippi
A bimonthly podcast educating Mississippians about the needs of fellow citizens, encouraging residents to work together to change the trajectory of our families and children, and sharing success stories.
Hope Mississippi
The Science of Hope: Cindy Cheeks is Changing Lives in Mississippi's Child Welfare System
What happens when government agencies, churches, and community members break down silos and work together? Lives transform, families reunite, and hope takes root in even the most challenging circumstances.
Dawn Beam and Cindy Cheeks dive deep into the science of hope and its practical application in Mississippi's child welfare system. With startling statistics—one in four Mississippi children living in poverty and one in five experiencing food insecurity—they reveal how economic hardship directly feeds the state's foster care system, with over 70% of removals stemming from poverty-related issues rather than abuse.
Hope science isn't just wishful thinking; it's a research-backed approach that defines hope as "the belief that tomorrow can be better than today and you have the power to make it so." Through compelling stories, Dawn and Cindy showcase remarkable collaborations: transportation officials offering commercial driver training to parents seeking stability, housing authorities creating pathways to homeownership, and church groups wrapping around young mothers with practical support and mentorship.
What makes this conversation particularly powerful is the blend of systemic solutions and deeply personal experiences. Cindy vulnerably shares her journey of reconciliation with her estranged son during his final months, discovering how the very principles of hope she taught others—identifying goals, recognizing pathways, and maintaining willpower through support—sustained her through profound grief.
Whether you're a community leader looking for collaborative models, a person of faith wondering how to serve effectively, or someone simply needing encouragement that difficult circumstances can change, this episode offers both practical frameworks and heartfelt inspiration. Every one of us has something valuable to contribute to those struggling around us—what will your contribution be?
When you need some hope and inspiration to build collaboration. Hope Mississippi is your salvation. One in four kids live in poverty.
Speaker 2:One in five are food deprived. Build collaborations and build hope with those who are struggling. Hope Mississippi. Well, hello and welcome to another episode of Hope Mississippi. We're so glad you're joining us today. I'm Dawn Beam, your host, and I am thrilled to have my dear friend Cindy Cheeks with us today. Hello.
Speaker 1:Cindy, hey Dawn, it's so good to be with you again today.
Speaker 2:Well now, cindy Hope, mississippi is part of Hope Rising, a nonprofit that was established in Mississippi, and you're a part of that board, right.
Speaker 1:I am.
Speaker 2:Well, just tell the group just a little bit about how you came to be on Hope Rising Mississippi Board.
Speaker 1:Well, it goes back about five years ago to 2018, when we were working on some efforts addressing the child welfare system in our state, and it led to efforts around hope science and that turned into a nonprofit, and now we are both serving them and blessed to serve them on the board.
Speaker 2:I think it was eye-opening when we both discovered the book Hope Rising by Dr Chan Hellman. Tell us just a little bit about hope and the impact it can have on those that are suffering from trauma.
Speaker 1:So I'll go back just a little bit. And we had been working to educate youth court judges on trauma. We did that in 2019. And then, in 2020, covid came along and you and I were given a book called Hope Rising, and it was one of those eye openers that really changed our life. It gave vocabulary to something that we already knew, something we already did, but it also led to us saying you know, people need hope, and what hope is is the belief that your tomorrow can be better than today and that you have the power to make it so.
Speaker 1:And so what we did was we began looking at the child welfare system through the lens of hope science. Over 2,000 research studies show that hope is the best indicator of well-being. You identify a goal, you identify a pathway to that goal and you maintain the willpower to achieve that goal. And so we began looking at the reasons for children being removed from their families in the state of Mississippi. Over 70% of children in the state of Mississippi were being removed because of poverty reasons, and so we took a look at what are those reasons, and we began applying this framework of hope to those systems and started trying to remove barriers in a family's pathway to hope of reunification with their children.
Speaker 2:A lot of us are not aware of the statistics. In our Mississippi, children's kids count. One in four of our kids lives in poverty. One in five is food deprived, which means at some point they're hungry. So that was really feeding our foster care system. That was really feeding our foster care system. So once we recognized that was one problem, we went about gathering resources to help those that were working with struggling families so we could keep kids in the home. One thing that we learned about trauma is the trauma of removal is oftentimes worse than the trauma that they're experiencing in those unintentional neglect situations where the folks just don't have the money. So when we talk about hope and the way power, the resources, tell us how you work with various courts in order to build collaborations to empower people to change their lives.
Speaker 1:It all goes back to a personal passion of mine and that is in my Christian faith, and it goes back. This will be my 20th year in nonprofit work and it all started in Katrina. And during Katrina I saw volunteers all over the state come together. Many were faith-based and we achieved great things. We didn't get all the supplies that New Orleans got, but we came together and we worked to bring relief to hurting people.
Speaker 1:And what you said is so right, dawn the trauma that the whole family goes through when they're under the scrutiny of the child welfare system and it's to protect the children. But it's still traumatic. Good parents that want to do well have so often found themselves in a conundrum of bad luck, if you want to call it that. But I took what I saw in Katrina, what I believe to be the calling of churches and Christians, regardless of your denomination, but to see the hurting people and work together to bring them help. Well, I couldn't apply that at the state level, but I do believe in the goodness of people and I saw people in all these agencies who really wanted to help Mississippians achieve their goals and achieve well-being. And so we looked at the three main removal reasons housing, substance use, inability to cope of parents they're just, their life has fallen apart and they have a hard time making ends meet. And then just poverty. So economic reasons, and all of those are traumatic. We recognize that parents often are standing in front of a judge and they're experiencing the trauma. The children are experiencing the trauma. So what can we do to work together?
Speaker 1:I remember just a series of different revelations that we had, series of different revelations that we had.
Speaker 1:One you had the opportunity to sit down with Dr Carson, who was at the time the head of HUD, and we knew that housing was one of the biggest reasons of removal. Parents weren't able to provide adequate housing, for whatever reason. And you said, dr Carson, we have got to have your help. And I remember you called me at 930 one night. You said, cindy, our state is not taking advantage of some vouchers that we have the opportunity to receive. And so we embarked on that journey of what are these vouchers? How can we bring this together? And we brought people that you would never think would work together, who, when they understood that the situation of these families, that they could be reunified simply by having adequate housing, they said we have a part to play in helping that pathway for that family be a lot smoother. And so we all pulled in, worked together. You had Department of Transportation and one of the housing agencies in the state of Mississippi working together to make sure these families had hope in that situation.
Speaker 2:You are so right, Cindy. I remember back to that and the power of collaborating at the state level as well as in the region. Collaborating at the state level as well as in the region. We worked with some folks in North Mississippi and you don't just want to help a family get a house, you want case management to make sure that they're successful, that they can have transportation to work so that they can pay for their homes. It's a variety of things that when they all work together, you're able to stabilize that family and they can maintain that good, healthy environment. Also, talk a little bit about sitting at the table and the Department of Transportation. How were they able to facilitate some of the help in helping these families to stabilize?
Speaker 1:It was just amazing. So they realized that in order to have a house, it was a share in paying the rent, and so a lot of these families needed a job. So they had these programs to teach people how to drive 18-wheelers. They had a grant that would pay for the training and so they would work with these eligible applicants for these houses and train them how to drive a truck so that they could have a job and help pay their part of the rent. And it was beautiful. It wasn't a handout. It was a hand up because these housing providers worked with that family to help them establish a budget and start building toward even getting their own home one day. And we even had the story of one woman who had been through the program for five years and she was able to set aside the money as her rent went up, set aside the money in a plan through the housing authority and by the end of that five years she had saved $17,000 to put toward a house and she was able to get her own home.
Speaker 1:Another story was right here in Rankin County. There was a 19-year-old single mom who was able to get her children back and I remember the caseworker told me that she went into her apartment but she had no furniture. But it was the first time she had ever had an apartment, and so, before she was able to get the children, a local church came along and they provided her with all the furniture she needed. They filled her cabinets with groceries and then a little Sunday school class of women got together. They taught her and walked with her on how to budget her money and provide meals for her family, and it was a beautiful picture.
Speaker 1:So you often say not all of us can adopt a child, but we've all got something to give. Well, I believe that we need to look what has God given us? What have assistant directors in our state agencies that are not unfamiliar with the hardships of the people that they serve and they have recognized this is what we have. We've got churches all over our state that recognizes this is what God has given us, and these, it's just like the ladies that took this young woman under their wing. They couldn't adopt a child, they might not have the money to pay for her groceries, but they sure know how to teach her to make that food go a long way.
Speaker 2:That reminds me. We all have different gifts and talents and God doesn't ask us to do anything that he hadn't already equipped us with. He just wants us to be faithful in using those talents, whether that be in mentoring a young mother that needs help or facilitating putting furniture in a new apartment not necessarily brand new furniture but we all have something that we can give. You know, I'm thinking about that voucher program and I recall talking to Dr Carson. Well, we got the vouchers for the families and then we asked for vouchers for children that we call them aging out of foster care, those children that have not found a permanent family at the end of turning 18 to 21. And I recall us getting those vouchers so that those kids can not only have a place to live but they have case managers. Now they have an opportunity to go to college and to have lots of support to help them, because we know the statistics on aging out youth are terrible with regard to addiction issues and prison and ultimately, a shorter life expectancy. So it's incumbent on all of us to help them.
Speaker 2:But I'm reminded we had gotten those vouchers and we were hearing at a conference from a group of ladies that had experience with the youth court and we had a mother up there.
Speaker 2:It looked like she was about to pop because she was pregnant but she was aging out of the system and I recall punching a lady in front of me and saying we've got to get her a place to stay and she said oh, she's moving into one of those apartments that's covered by a voucher for aging out kids. So you just never know how God works to meet those needs, and one purpose of this podcast is to open Mississippians' eyes to the needs that we have in our community and how they can meet those needs. Now, when we talk about hope and the idea is that, as people that absolutely cannot see that tomorrow can be better as we help them to set small goals maybe something as simple as to find a job or to complete a resume, so then you can find a job but as they complete those tasks, what we see is that their hope increases. They can see that tomorrow can be better than today, and that is really exciting to watch someone go through that.
Speaker 1:That's exactly right. But again, you have to have a goal, you have to have a pathway to that goal to see how to take the steps to achieve that goal. And so many times you need to have a little help, like you've talked about, you need that little bit of help to keep that willpower up, because when you're in trauma you know how hard it is to maintain that willpower, to keep pressing toward that goal. And so not only did we try to help people identify that pathway a little bit more clearer through the social services and the churches that were available, but we even were able to see advocates arise within the different counties, people who had been through that hardship before, they had walked that road before and they were able to help and come alongside people that were going through it. Just like you said, they were hope agents, they were hope dealers for these parents that were going through the trauma, and we saw that over and over again.
Speaker 2:You know, it's amazing what the community can do when they understand that just giving a little hope can propel that individual to better and better things. And how rewarding it is to watch and see the success that you just had a little bit being a part of A judge. One time told me your greatest joy will come in serving others, and we have seen that throughout Mississippi, haven't we?
Speaker 1:Absolutely, absolutely. I have a feeling I might know who that judge was that told you that, because we know a lot of judges that have hope for the people of Mississippi. One thing that has come to my mind recently is we may not have a lot of material possessions, we may not have a lot of money in the bank, but God's given us all something, and a lot of times that's our own stories, and so even the bad, hard things. I remember you telling a few of those hard stories. I've got a few of those hard stories myself. But if we let those hard stories become hope for somebody else, you never know the joy until you give that story away to someone else. It's such a deep joy that keeps you going yourself.
Speaker 2:So we've been working with collaborations in Mississippi, but recently you have moved on. Tell us a little bit about Generous Church, which is a group that you have worked with for many years, but also tell us how God has used what you have learned with regard to collaborations in Mississippi to really impact God's kingdom all across the world.
Speaker 1:So you know, our lives are a journey and it's been a very humbling thing. I never knew, when I was 18 years old, the path that God would take me on, but I've worked at Generous Church since 2012,. So I'm in my 13th year, and what we do is we work with leaders across the world to unleash generous disciples, and what that means is it's exactly what we've been talking about. What has God put in your hand that you can give other people? God gave me the picture of Katrina. That was my first experience in really seeing the gift that he had given me of collaborating, seeing what other people have and being able to meet the needs of those who are hurting, who need help.
Speaker 1:So what we do at Generous Church is we unlock generosity. It's not just giving financially that's probably the easiest thing but it's looking in your hands what has God given you and how are you going to serve others and love them and see them where they are and help them? So it's hope. See them where they are and help them. So it's hope. It's God's gift to us and our own generosity with what he's given us to help others.
Speaker 2:You know, I think it's important for folks to understand collaborations and why we need to work together. Nobody just has a housing problem. Nobody just has an addiction problem. If they've got an addiction problem, they've got a housing problem. Nobody just has an addiction problem. If they've got an addiction problem, they've got a housing problem. They usually have a mental health problem. They've got family issues to boot and need to be fed and stabilized.
Speaker 2:And so when we collaborate, we bring together resources from different nonprofits, even different churches. Some churches specialize in addiction and others look at other areas. Food pantry is a big part of my church. But as our church bodies get out of those silos, as our nonprofits, we're not in competition. There are plenty of folks for all of us to help. But just like in Katrina, where we didn't matter what organization you were part of, we all just lifted that load together. It is amazing when we get out of those silos and work together as nonprofits and if you want to look at it that way, but we as believers, as we are truly the body of Christ, not bound by organizational walls, but see that we accomplish so much more together. So you've taken that principle that you started out with Katrina, learned, then went on and you worked with Transformation, jackson and Families First Initiative at own and own Hope Rising and you're taking that across the world.
Speaker 1:How effective is it being?
Speaker 1:It's amazing we would be sitting in Mississippi and so we had four different committees made up of over 35 representatives in the state.
Speaker 1:This is the hope work that we did, and I saw these leaders not necessarily Christians Some were, but they came from different political backgrounds, different political parties, different agencies, and I remember one of our main goals was to break down those silos and start working together.
Speaker 1:And I saw that happen and I would sit there and I'd think this is for the body of Christ. If the state of Mississippi can do it, the body of Christ should be able to do this. And it was in my heart. You know I was like Lord, the body of Christ need to do this. And it was in my heart, you know I was like Lord, the body of Christ need to do this. What I see now is God has allowed me to take that, take our story in the state of Mississippi and inspire leaders in the body of Christ, leaders of ministries, leaders of organizations and say what do you have, who are we serving together and how can we come together, stop duplicating and stepping on one another and work together and serve those with the common vision, the common goals that we all have together.
Speaker 2:The challenges are great, but when we all work together, what we have seen again and again that what we thought were mountains that could not be climbed when we all work together, that can be done and it's exciting. So, if you're listening, get involved in an organization and then work with other groups in order to try to change the trajectory of families in your area. And you know that's what God directed us to do to be his hands and feet. He says that when we do it unto the least of these, we do it unto him. You have been such a blessing to my family for so many years and I am reminded, only recently I want to say it was November the 5th you lost one of your children. You know, I think it's great for us to tell about things we've done out there, but we also need people to know you and I are just normal people. We hurt just like everybody else. So could you tell just a little bit about your family and how God has been extra near in the last several months?
Speaker 1:It's just amazing what hardships we can endure and how God is with us in those hardships. And I tell people, brent's death was the hardest gift I've ever gotten, and the reason why it was a gift is that we had been estranged for two years. He was in touch with my mom and he had gotten ill in July of last year and it was a blood infection that made him really, really sick. And so I remember in July I got a call from my mom and she said Brent needs to go to the hospital and we can't talk him into going. And so I said give me the number, I'm calling him. And so I was able to talk him into going.
Speaker 1:But the fear of seeing him after two years, the fear of seeing him and his body in so much trauma his legs were so swollen his heart wasn't pumping right, his legs were so swollen he couldn't walk and just the fear of the unknown. You know, I was in a place that I was not familiar with at all and I thought back to all of the parents that get in front of a judge that they have never been there before. You know, god gave me things to draw on that gave me courage to face the unknown. And so there's a dear friend that I met a few years ago and he says we see Jesus in each other's faces. And I thought you know, lord. I know the goal is to get Brent to this hospital. I know the pathway is for me to be there and meet him there, but I don't have the willpower. I need your help. I'm terrified. And so, through his grace and his provision, we embarked on a four-week journey at that time with Brent, of back to healing. But every step of the journey I would be terrified.
Speaker 1:I pulled up to that hospital at 10 o'clock at night that Thursday night and I knew he had to have a wheelchair. I go in and I said I need a wheelchair. My son's being brought in by some friends. He's not going to be able to walk, he's in a lot of pain. Can you get a wheelchair? So I go back outside. I turn around. I hear the doors open. I turn around. I'm waiting for Brent's arrival. I look and there's my cousin. He's the triage nurse. Wow, he said what are you doing here? And that was the first face that I saw Jesus in. Then we had to go to UMC.
Speaker 1:We were up all night. They had diagnosed him as being in liver failure because of his blood infection, they take him to UMC. They can't get him a room, so he had to wait in the ER hallway for a room to become available and I had to stay in the waiting room. There I am again, alone. I'm fearful. I'm like God, I need you.
Speaker 1:And the doors open, and in walks one of these young girls, a nurse. She was a charge nurse in the ER that had gone to school with my children and she said Miss Cindy, what are you doing here? And I told her and she went back. Well, they had started clearing a room and she came back five minutes later and escorted me, time after time. He was put on the floor. I didn't even know how to get to that room. I was like God, I don't know how to get through this hospital. I need you to help me. Another sweet person came and walked me to his room. I get to that floor and who's one of the secretaries at the desk is a friend's daughter. That was there, and it was person after person after person. And I said, god, this is what willpower means. You put people in our paths to help us get there. Well, we didn't realize it, but it was July to November.
Speaker 1:Brent was in the hospital for four weeks and then I had a trip overseas for work and I came back and his blood infection had come back and so he had to go again to the hospital. God had restored our relationship and I was able to share, you know, I was able to FaceTime him while I was out of the country and just let him live vicariously, you know, through me, and it was such a sweet time, a restoration of relationship. Things that he was known about was his humor and how, no matter how bad the situation was, he'd find a way to make you laugh. And so just the journey of seeing him suffering but he would make other people laugh and bring joy to them and just the gratitude that he had, gratitude that he had. And then one of the sweetest things that God gave me was being able to baptize him in the ICU on September 3rd, and just the joy that he had knowing that he was born again, that all of the things he had done in life was now under the blood of Jesus.
Speaker 2:You know, is that not the ultimate hope? The hope that we have in Christ that difficult times come to every one of us. None of us are immune from that, and I see Jesus in you and I hurt for you, but at the same time I rejoice. I rejoice you helped me walk my mother down that road to heaven. I rejoice in the hope we have in heaven. And if you are suffering today, this is temporary, this world is temporary, and the real hope that we want you to have is that hope in Christ that you can call on him. He is there to rescue you and he will wrap his loving arms around you. That is such an incredible hope.
Speaker 2:Hope, certainly, we want to meet people's physical needs, and that's one purpose of this podcast is to make people aware of physical needs, and I thank God for folks that have met my physical needs from time to time and my spiritual needs and my family's. There's some times where we can't minister to our families. We have to trust God to send other folks to do that, but I pray that folks will stop and ask God well, how do you want to use me today to make a difference, to bring hope to someone? Cindy, I love you dearly and I thank you so much for sharing about your life and how God is using you even in the most difficult times, how he is around every corner, and I pray that the folks that are listening today will see Jesus over and over again. Thanks so much for being with us today.
Speaker 1:Thank you for being a light of hope in our state. It's a privilege to have you as a friend and a privilege to get to bring hope to Mississippi with you.
Speaker 2:Well, as I always say, I love your head off. Y'all have a great day and we look forward to talking to you again soon. Thank you so much.
Speaker 1:When you need some hope and inspiration to build collaboration. Hope, Mississippi is your salvation.
Speaker 2:Thank you so much.
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