Coffee With E

Brewing Second Chances: How The Cracked Pot Helps Young Adults Find Their Way

• Erica Rawls

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☕ In this inspiring conversation, Erica sits down with Emily Schmidt, founder of The Cracked Pot Coffee Shop and the nonprofit that powers it, to shine a light on a mission that is transforming lives.

The Cracked Pot serves young adults aging out of foster care and adoption, providing not just jobs but mentorship, life skills, and a community that stays. From first jobs to first apartments, Emily and her team walk with these young adults through every step, offering the consistency they have often lacked.

Now, they are aiming for a bold goal: raising $50,000 to bring on a second life coach and double the number of young adults they serve.

🎙 You’ll Hear:

       •        How The Cracked Pot began and the vision behind it

       •        The real challenges youth face after foster care

       •        Why consistency is the key to lasting change

       •        Success stories of transformation and resilience

       •        How you can join the mission to expand their reach

💬 “These are some of the strongest, most amazing people I have ever met… they just need someone to stay.” — Emily Schmidt

📍 Want to help?

Donate, volunteer, or connect with The Cracked Pot Coffee Shop here: https://www.thecrackedpotcoffeeshop.com/

🔗 Sponsored by:

TOCH Construction • Allstate Insurance – Rob Shaw

Chavis Law Firm • Dirty Dog Hauling

💼 Powered by The Erica Rawls Team

#CoffeeWithE #EmilySchmidt #TheCrackedPotCoffeeShop #FosterCareAwareness #MomGuilt #WomenInLeadership #NonprofitWork #YouthEmpowerment #LifeSkillsForYouth #FaithInAction #EricaRawlsTeam #BreakingCycles #LeadershipWithPurpose



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Erica Rawls:

Hey you, I have a special episode for you. If you are a strong woman leader and you're looking for some motivation, some ambition to get your day started, grab your coffee, get your makeup ready, or if you're driving to work, I need you to listen up. I sit down with Emily Schmidt. She is the founder of Cracked Pot and she has a wonderful nonprofit organization that helps young adults who are aging out of the foster care and adoption system. So, if you're motivated, at the end we're going to ask for a couple dollars, and I know you got it. So stay tuned, stay encouraged, and I look forward to seeing you in the comments today's roast.

Erica Rawls:

Let's stop the mom guilt. Okay, let's stop it right now. You want to know why. This mostly happens to women that are in leadership positions and they have children that are being there. They feel as though they're not raising them properly because they're not spending enough time. I know, because I've been there and you know what. There was actually a conversation that I had with someone just recently about this one thing. And did you know what? We found out that the time that you spend with your children is statistically higher than the time spent with moms at home. You want to know why. Because you give that much valuable time and attention to them when you have it available. So stop with the mom guilt. Today's the day that we do not allow ourselves to be sucked in to feeling guilty for being the darn woman that you are. Okay. Now I have the special privilege of sitting down with Emily, who we were talking about just before we started this, recording. That same thing, it's a thing, isn't it a thing? It's a thing, it is. Yeah. How do you struggle with it?

Emily Schmidt:

I mean, I think I I have struggled with it, I think I've gotten better at it, I think I've learned how to prioritize things. But I think you're you are constantly kind of wrestling in your mind about that. You know your, your kids obviously are your priority, but when you for me, for example it's it's ministry work, it's you're called into this, this other space, to serve and to be present it. It really can be a challenge sometimes and so I think that you know I've wrestled with it, but I've also seen the opportunities to be an example to my kids.

Emily Schmidt:

I never want my kids to think that the world revolves around them and I think sometimes in our society today that kids, that parents feel the need to make the kids the center of their universe and I think that there's something healthy about make the kids the center of their universe and I think that there's something healthy about allowing the kids to see you working hard and having your own purpose. And in the ministry and the work that I do is getting the kids kind of to have a front row seat to serving other people and it being about other people. So I think it's something you have to be aware of. You do because you need to be present with your kids. These years are very short and you don't want to look back and have regrets, but I think there's plenty of opportunities to prioritize things and bring them along and make them a part of your life without them being in the center of it.

Erica Rawls:

A hundred percent Cause I think, um, I know, when I was growing, uh, growing up, when my children were growing up, I felt that too, and I'll never forget, um, I shared with another episode that one day, uh, my one of my daughters, um, happened to say, mom, you know what? You are the best mom. I'm so grateful that God had blessed me to be your mother. And it was in that moment I was like, oh my gosh, all this time I've been feeling like I didn't spend enough time with them, but no, it was the memorable moments. It was being there when they needed me, having those conversations, making sure we had dinner together, making sure, you know, I was there, answering all their questions when they came home from school, because their job was flexible. That's what made it the difference.

Erica Rawls:

So, yeah, dirty Dog Hauling, thank you so much for your sponsorship. If you're looking for a junk removal company, they are the go-to company. Whether you have a small job or a large job, and even excavation, you want to check them out. They are reasonable and also timely and effective. Dirty Dog Hauling. Now back to the show.

Emily Schmidt:

I feel like something that I had to learn a few years into. It was not being too hard on myself, for you know just the boundaries, but what I did is I just created some simple rules, like some simple rules for myself that I was going to follow. So, like one of them is you know, four days out of the week I am making dinner and we are sitting down as a family. So it's like I kind of look at the calendar and I'm like these are the four days.

Emily Schmidt:

Now, baseball season this year has kind of thrown that way off because it's a lot of Chick-fil-A, you know, after the baseball games, the rain delays and all the things. But I feel like when you can kind of set those rules and really zero in on the things that are important to your kids and as a family, the things that are important, I feel like I was way more successful at setting those rules. Or if it was, hey, I'm going to spend 30 minutes before bed with each one of my kids, or be at home when they come home, or, you know, once a week make chocolate chip cookies, or you know whatever that looks like, I think that sometimes those are the easier things to follow. It's just a couple of rules to be present.

Erica Rawls:

I agree, emily. So owner of the crackpot nonprofit had the privilege of actually meeting you through Sydney Like I would go there, right, but actually getting the privilege of meeting you, sitting down with you and just learning everything about it. So I was like, yeah, we definitely have to have a conversation to shed light on actually what you do, so just share with the world the amazing work that you're doing here.

Emily Schmidt:

So we are a coffee shop. It's the Crackpot Coffee Shop, and so it is indeed a coffee shop. We have coffee Right, I am automatically your friend. We serve coffee, but we have all the breakfast and the brunch and the lunch and the pastries and all that. But behind all of that, the heart of what we do is to work with young adults that are aging out of the foster care system. So the beauty of all of it is that the coffee shop gives work opportunity for these young adults that we're working with. But really the cool thing is seeing the community and the sense of belonging for these young adults that we work with that just have this amazing community that gives them a big old hug while they're going through our program, and so it's been a really beautiful thing to see it all come together in the way that it has.

Erica Rawls:

How in the world did you end up with this? I'm just going to call it a ministry because you have to. It has to be God ordained for you to do something like this, Because most people would miss the children that are transitioning from the adoption center or foster care into world life, right? So how did you get into this position to want to help them, that population?

Emily Schmidt:

Sometimes I ask myself that how in the world did I, how did I get here? It is all God, it is a ministry and it is God ordained first and foremost. I was born very close to where the first crackpot location is, grew up in that town and have been in the restaurant industry since I was about 12. And when I was about 12, I decided I had a dream to have a coffee shop one day, and so I didn't think that would ever happen, but I certainly paid attention to coffee shops the whole rest of my life. I would go in, I would gravitate to coffee shops. I wanted to see what they looked like and how they were different. And I still go into coffee shops and I just kind of like pause and I just my eyes go bonkers Because you just I take it in and I love this and you look at this, and the thing I noticed about coffee shops was they're all so different.

Erica Rawls:

They're all different, you don't go in. They're different, they have a personality.

Emily Schmidt:

And they do, and some you know, which is so cool, but they're all the same. There's this same common thread at every coffee shop, which is Brings people together. It's bringing people together around usually a cup of you know something. It's this. It's coming together, it's community, and so I think that's. I've always loved coffee shops because it's just this, this visual of community, and sometimes it's meetings, and I love that because even in our, in our shops, if you're there, you see somebody having a meeting and you see a bunch of women giggling in the corner and you see kids with their moms playing in the kids area. It's just this beautiful picture of a community coming together at our locations. And so I always loved that. I always loved coffee shops. I always have had a heart for serving. That was something that I feel like the Lord gave to me at a very young age. I just always see the need to hey, can I get you something, can I? I've always had that in me.

Emily Schmidt:

And then the idea of the foster care piece of things. That was something that my husband and I had talked about early in our marriage, about being open to foster care. You know, fostering, adopting, maybe one day and I didn't think they went together. I had always looked at them as two separate. You know, if we foster and adopt, yeah, maybe we would do that while our kids are young, and then maybe, once we move south and we're retired, we do a bed and breakfast or a coffee shop or something. And again, that was always a dream, and so it started to become a reality because I stumbled across the first location. I stumbled across the first location and it was like I feel like God kind of reignited that desire to have a coffee shop. At the same time, we were working through fostering or adopting, and and so these two things started really becoming something. It wasn't until we went through the process of looking into foster care where I really noticed the age of young adults that never get adopted.

Erica Rawls:

Had to take two seconds to thank Allstate Insurance for sponsoring this episode. If you're looking for car life or casualty insurance, they're gonna be your ultimate insurance company. Thank you, rob Shaw, with Allstate Insurance. Now back to the show.

Emily Schmidt:

And when I noticed that and I realized these kids, these young adults were just slipping through the cracks and were kind of sent out into the world to do what you know people with parents struggle to do, you know that are consistently there for them, it was like this is who we need to help, this is. And then it just kind of all came together.

Erica Rawls:

Yeah, I was sharing with my friend right before this recording. She was like, hey, what are you doing? I was like, hey, I'm about to interview some dynamic people today and she was like, well, who are you interviewing? And I shared you and then a little bit of your story. She's like you know what? That's the population that seems to always be missed we don't hear enough about? You know the people that are aging out of foster care or adoption centers, and so she's like I cannot wait to hear it. So, yeah, you just know you have a cheerleader.

Erica Rawls:

Well, good, you have a cheerleader, because I think a lot of people need to know that, hey, that we need. If you're looking to, you know, bring someone into your home. Sure, there's natural birth right between the husband and the wife. Or, you know, whatever the demographic is or how it looks, your family looks, I think it's important to know that there's other options out there for people, and adoption or foster care may be that option, and I wish, I think, I was sharing with you. I hope we can get that percentage of people that are, you know, that are aging out of these facilities or this. You know the programs, because I know there's probably a lot. There has to be a lot more than we would tend to think, I think.

Emily Schmidt:

Yeah, and I think sometimes, like I didn't realize until I got into it, just just how alone sometimes they are or how much it is on them to initiate that help and that extra, those extra resources. But if you, if you don't know how to do that, if that's overwhelming, you know, sometimes it's like well, I'm just not going to do it. I think sometimes a lot of young adults, you know, they're brought up in a system and sometimes they're consistently in different placements so nothing's consistent for them. It's, you know, one year they're here and they move so much throughout their lives that there's not a consistency in who it is that's helping them. Like you know, like my parents.

Emily Schmidt:

You know my parents weren't perfect, you know we had our tough things in our family, but they were consistently my parents, my whole life and their rules were the same consistently through my life and the way that they handled finances were consistently the same and taught me to do things. And so I think this population is they're just in survival, it they're sick of constantly, you know, moving to the next place and then you've got all the trauma, you've got all the stuff that happened to them that they're also working through, which sometimes you know that there's a lot of anger that goes with that. There's a lot of confusion that goes with what they've been through, and so they're dealing with that and they're also trying to navigate an adult life that they haven't had anyone consistently there.

Erica Rawls:

They haven't had a role model. Yeah, so the consistency is the inconsistency.

Emily Schmidt:

Correct, correct. And so then, the things that are right and healthy are very uncomfortable. You know it's, it's. We had somebody once take one of our it was a mentor took one of our kids to Thanksgiving dinner and they, that kid kind of went back in a corner and just was so uncomfortable and this person was like we don't we, I mean anything that they could have wanted was there Everything? You know, we had this beautiful spread and you think about it beautiful Thanksgiving table. How uncomfortable would that be if you're used to not eating Thanksgiving dinner at a table. There's usually alcohol, there's usually writing, there's usually yes, and maybe you have a frozen TV dinner on a TV tray or something like that. It's just very, although this is healthy although this is, you know, something we do it's not normal, it's not their normal, and so it's really meeting them where they're at and trying to help them, you know, navigate through and retrain and reprogram, help their brains understand what is healthy and what's good and right for them, and that involves a whole team of people to do that.

Erica Rawls:

You know. So what does that look like? What's the number of people Like? What's capacity for you I should say, yeah, what's your goal as far as how many children, or I should say adults, right that aged out of these other facilities? What's that number look like? Consistently, do you see yourself having um to host, or to help or to support?

Emily Schmidt:

so because we do so much more than just housing or just feeding meals to people you know, we really do enter their lives with them and do a lot of it, all of it with.

Emily Schmidt:

We really walk it out with them. We I just helped, we just helped one of our young ladies move into an apartment. We're so pumped for her but I mean, I was there all day Saturday scrubbing the apartment and scrubbing the kitchen floor and and getting things ready, you know, for for them. You know, just helping them physically move things into an apartment. So, uh, we're really different in that way where we're walking it out with them.

Emily Schmidt:

And so we we shoot for four to five young adults that we're working with at one time and that's mainly because it's me and then a team of people that I work with, you know, volunteers and other professionals and things like that that we work together, but it's usually me in the day to day. But we're at a place right now where we really want to try to multiply the amount of young adults we're working with and bring more people onto the team, have more life coaches and people that are helping them case manage the young adults that we have. So we're really hoping that we can, you know, get some more financial assistance and that kind of thing so that we're able to hire people, because most people don't want to do 40 hours of case management and scrubbing apartments and all the things without getting paid. So we're working on that and if we can get that in place, then, you know, I would love to see us be able to double the amount of youth that we work with, hopefully in the next year, yeah, so you're considered a life coach.

Emily Schmidt:

That's you know. That's what's always funny is I go out with these guys or you know, you're, you're doing stuff with them and people are like, oh, what is your, what is your role? And you become, you really kind of become like a like a parent to them, you know. And so a lot of them you know, you become, they're not necessary, that is a life coach. That's really kind of what it comes down to, yeah, and a lot of them are like, hey, I didn't know who to put down as my emergency contact. Is it okay, I put you down and I'm like, absolutely, you know. So you really become that adult person, that person in their life that is kind of like a guardian, kind of like a life coach. You know. I say life coach, mentor is kind of you know what we become. I think that's the easiest way for me to explain it to people so that they understand what it is that we do. So we're life coaches and mentors to these guys and yeah.

Erica Rawls:

So what is it that brings you the most joy to the nonprofit?

Emily Schmidt:

There's a lot of things that bring joy, I mean. I would say I would say that it's it's it's seeing them at peace and and happy you know, happy and at peace, I think that there's and seeing their self-confidence, seeing them feel confident in themselves, whether it be a simple task that they do. You know, some of them don't even know how to make a phone call, you know, to set up an appointment. What do you mean? I mean just like calling the doctor to set up an appointment. Right, it's like awkward, because they've never done it. There's always been someone to make their appointments for them. And so you have a 20, 22, 23 year old person that's like doesn't call the doctor, doesn't call the doctor, like why aren't you calling the doctor? Can you do, you know? And so no, but I'll, I'm gonna sit here with you and and you can do it and we're gonna, we're gonna get through this. So something as simple as that.

Emily Schmidt:

I mean to see them hang up that phone and be like I did it like I just made a phone call, I just made my own appointment and you're like you know, we celebrate the little things big, yeah, um. But then there's a big thing for granted.

Emily Schmidt:

Yeah, like, again, your parents just taught you how to do, or you heard your parents doing that Right and then you knew what to say, yeah. So there's little things like that, but then there's big things, like you got your own, like this is your first apartment, you know, this is your first. Or you just got your driver's license, or I mean there's things like that that are huge. I think that that's what brings me the most joy is seeing them overcome things, get to places where they didn't think they would be, and see the confidence and the joy and the peace that comes with, like it's going to be okay, yeah, and seeing them have the ability to stop those generational cycles of abuse and neglect and all those things they were born into. And then, like, when they realize that, like I'm going to be a better mom than what my mom was, or I'm going to be a better dad, like I'm going to be better, and then believe it and be on a better path already than what their parents were, I mean that's amazing.

Erica Rawls:

I had to take two seconds to interrupt this episode. I would like to thank one of our most recent guests, attorney Jenny Chavis, for sponsoring this show. Chavis Law Firm is an elite law firm in central Pennsylvania that helps with estate planning as well as understanding what type of business entity you should enter into when starting your business. If you're looking for a great attorney that understands estate planning as well as business entity, how to start the right way, you want to check out Attorney Chavis, chavis Law Firm. Now back to the show.

Emily Schmidt:

Yeah.

Erica Rawls:

I think that would just be like so exciting to see, rewarding to see, to see that, okay, they're making a difference for whoever you know they're going to bring into their lives. Sure, I know whether it's a blended family or not, you know, cause they actually had support from you know the correct pot. So that's huge. Yeah, that is really huge. I appreciate that. So then your children, when they see you doing this mission, do they get? They get excited or they're like, hey, that's my mom.

Emily Schmidt:

You started with a little of both of that, you know so no, I mean, I think my kids you know my kids are are getting older and they've seen this. I think my kids love the crackpot kids. I mean there's some kids that are like older siblings to my kids, my biological kids, you know, it's like it's really neat to see that and my kids sometimes are the biggest cheerleaders you know for, and they don't see all of what happens, enough to see maybe some of the things, some of the consequences, some of the boundaries, some of the things that I have to do with one of the young adults because they're not doing what they need to be doing or they're not as committed as what they need to be, and they're tough on me, honestly, they're like you're being too hard on them. Why did you? Why are they? You know I'm like honey, you don't know, you don't know all the details Right, or they'll want to ask questions about like.

Emily Schmidt:

Well, why is he, you know? Why is he not here anymore? Why you know like? Because sometimes you know our kids in the program they'll take off, you know.

Erica Rawls:

Sure.

Emily Schmidt:

It's a lot of back and forth coming and going with the kids so they'll like what happened with the and I'm like I can't, I won't, I can't share that with you, but I share enough with them that they know um what's going on and I think that they they really enjoy um the ones that they get close with and that they have you know opportunities.

Emily Schmidt:

I mean, you know my, my kids give them hugs and you know are cheering them on and all that kind of thing. So I think I think that they they enjoy it, they see the value in it. We talk very openly about just the effects that what they've been through has and I try to share that with them when they're in school. Like you have no idea what people are going through at home and school might be the safe place for them. So if I ever find out that you're making fun of people or that you know it's like one of those cause I'm like don't you care, you have no idea what people are going through.

Erica Rawls:

Yeah, cause if you're in foster care or the adoption centers, they have to go to school. Yeah, so you don't know? Um, that is such a good point yeah.

Emily Schmidt:

And sometimes they're not even in foster care, but they have a whole lot they're going through at home that no one has seen yet you know they're going back home to abuse. I mean, some of our kids. They don't even go into foster care until they're, you know, 17 years old. Until someone, finally, you know, notices something or they speak up about something, right. So you know it's tough, but you, I just try to tell them, like you don't know what people are going through, you know what trials they have. So just be kind to people and you know.

Erica Rawls:

What would you say? Your succession rate is, as far as you know, seeing these children acclimate properly to normal. I guess a normal life to acclimate properly to normal.

Emily Schmidt:

I guess a normal life Like. What would you say your success rate is? You know we have been up and running for eight years now. Oh, congratulations. Yeah, yeah, so our first location opened up eight years ago over eight years ago now, and you know we've had about 24 young adults that we've been able to work with. Yeah, and unfortunately and I think anyone in this line of work that's working with this group of young adults, you know you don't have as great of a success rate as maybe what people would want to see. Everyone wants happy endings, everybody wants to see, you know, somebody come into a program and do it and finish and be great.

Emily Schmidt:

A lot of what we do is there's this pattern of young adults come into our program. Let's say they come in at 18, you know 18 to 25 is who we serve. So they come in at 18 and they have never been on their own and things have always just been done for them because they've been in, you know, foster care, and so now you're asking this adult and maybe they haven't worked through the trauma, so now you're asking this adult to to start showing up, talking in a respectful way, um and and putting forth effort and doing what they need to do. And so there's it's hard. It's hard.

Emily Schmidt:

All of a sudden, now you are kind of that, that accountability person, this coach, this accountability person. That's like you know. Like I say to these guys you know, you, you can look at somebody who's who's bulked up and has muscles and you want those muscles. You want to look like that guy, right? Well, don't we? All right, there's a lot of hard work and dedication and discipline and going to bed early so that you can get up early. There's a lot of that that happens. So, well, how do?

Erica Rawls:

you teach someone, Emily, that doesn't know this?

Emily Schmidt:

That's huge it is and it's exhausting because it's a lot of back and forth, it's a lot of trying to help them understand the benefits of it. And I'll share with my one guy who's been with me for over eight years now, because I know he will not mind at all. I mean, he started with us when he was like 18 years old and he was so hard to work with because he was so set that this is what he wanted to do and this is what he was going to do and no one going to stop him and blah, blah, blah. And now he I mean if he were sitting here, he would be like I was. I was, so it was crazy for me to be that stubborn and that kind of thing. So there's a, there's a level of maturity. That's just natural with anyone, right? And if they're not in foster care at those ages, well, 18, yeah, for a they don't.

Erica Rawls:

They don't mature until what 27. Right, so, or do they, or do they right? I'm looking at my husband.

Emily Schmidt:

No. So I think that there's just that natural understanding of the maturity, but then on top of it, you get the trauma and then they're just. Things have been so inconsistent. So it really is a tough, tough thing that we do. But we see this pattern of if they're serious, if they want to put forth the work and the effort to do it.

Emily Schmidt:

It might be a hard first round, like the first time. There's this honeymoon period and everyone comes in and oh, it's so great and it's a coffee shop and oh, it's so fun, everyone's new and everyone's giving them things and it's all about them, right. And then we start talking about money and budgeting and we start talking about, hey, if you, if, if you want money, if you want the apartment, then you got to save your money and in order to get money, you got to go to bed on time so that you can get up and get to work. Like there's the all of these pieces, yeah, and sometimes they yeah, and sometimes they don't. Like that. I mean I don't want to do this, it's too hard, or you're pushing me. You know, you get that Right Sometimes from you're pushing me, you're pushing me too hard. But if we don't push a little, then we're not doing our job Right. And then you know, so it's a lot of that it, and you know they'll sometimes leave and then they'll come back.

Emily Schmidt:

And so there's, I would say there's probably like a. I would say, given the eight years, I would say there's probably like a 25, like 30%, you know success rate where they finish the program and they're, you know, they're in their own apartment and they have the car and they're independent and confidently moving forward. However, that being said, there's a lot of them that are in that in-between period, right now too, where they've left and they may be coming back, you know, in a few months or years or whatever. So they have from 18 to 25 years to utilize this, the services that we provide, and so we've seen over the years that there's a lot of that where they'll be with us for two years and it's a lot of back and forth, and then they leave and then they come back and they're like I'm ready to do it this time, yeah. So we just try to stay consistent in our lives.

Emily Schmidt:

We try to, even if they're not huge compared to what they've been through, so right and even if they do leave our program, even if if they say I don't want to do this, this is too hard, you're pushing too hard, we still reach out to them even after that and include them in the things that we're doing. We have a group that meets. It's like a social group for young adults that are coming out of foster care, so they're always invited to that.

Emily Schmidt:

They're always invited to our Christmas parties. They're always invited to that. They're always invited to our Christmas parties. They're always invited to our. We do like a Thanksgiving dinner on the Friday after Thanksgiving. So it's like they're always invited If we have their address, if we have their phone number. We kind of keep pulling them back into that community and letting them know like we are still here, we still love you. You, just because you kind of ran away from it or we had to close your case because you weren't doing, you know, your part, doesn't mean that we're not still here for you and in a way, like a community would be, yeah, you know. So we try to keep that going with them.

Erica Rawls:

No, matter what. There was something that you said about pushing too hard and you're trying to find that balance. How do you set that expectation gap between what they're expecting you know to occur versus what you know that you're going to be implementing or working with them about? Do you have consultations with them before they actually come on board and say, hey, this is what we're going to be doing and okay, because I think that would be a lot just to spring on? Yes, yes.

Emily Schmidt:

So when they come into our program, we usually receive a referral either from them or from someone who works with them that says hey, we've heard about your program. We think so-and-so would be really great for this. It'd be good for them. Get to know them a little bit, talk to them about, like, do you understand what we are, what we do, and we share that all with them. We actually go through the curriculum and explain to them the building blocks. These are the things we're going to focus on.

Emily Schmidt:

I try to give them a heads up as much as possible. That you know, of course, when they like, the first time you meet, they're like you know, I'm like. There may be days that you don't like me or you don't like what I have to say. They're like no, no, I'm like. No, trust me, there will, because there is that accountability and there is that, hey, you're not showing up and you can't keep doing this. And so there's those tough conversations that you have to have and you give so much grace and you give so much patience and you try to navigate through how to keep them where they need to be, to be meeting the requirements.

Emily Schmidt:

But there does come points where we have to say to them hey, you know, we've tried to reach out to you, we've tried to let you know that you know you've got to meet these requirements. You know, one of our requirements is they have to be at therapy in person once a week. That's one of our requirements because we know the value and the importance of that, given what they've been through. And so if they're not showing up for therapy and they do that a couple of times we need to have that tough talk that's like, hey, are you really serious about wanting to do this program? Because that's one of the requirements, right, you know, again, if they're, if they're willing to receive that, and say, yeah, you're right, I need to get back on track with that, and they have a desire and a willingness to to work at it and get back on on track, versus someone that's like I don't want to go to therapy and you can't make me Okay, well then why are you in this program?

Erica Rawls:

Yeah, for their fit.

Emily Schmidt:

Yeah. So there's just that we try to be gracious, we try to be patient with them, but there also comes a time sometimes with them where it's like, you know, we're going to kind of pump the brakes on this and we're going to give you a break to really evaluate if you, if you're ready to be committed to this. Um, you know, and, and then we kind of let that the ball on there. It's their choices, it's their choices, um, one thing that we, that we say, is like the three shows, you know, show up.

Erica Rawls:

Yeah, I was going to ask you about that.

Emily Schmidt:

Yeah, show up, show respect and show effort, and so it's. It's one of those things where the first thing is is you got to show up. You know no one's doing anything at the gym if they don't show up. Um, you gotta be respectful. I'm not going to work with you if you're being nasty and because I'm not helping you.

Emily Schmidt:

The reality of going out in life and treating and talking to people that way, I'm not doing you any good if I let you do that with me. And so we try to just remind them that, like you know, you've got to be respectful, and we do courses and we do orientation on soft skills and just how to present yourself so that they have the tools. We're also we're giving them the tools and we're letting them know that they've got to use them. You know, professionally, socially, this is the expectation, this is what's going to help you get further in life. You know you might be able to do the job the hard skills but the soft skills are going to help you keep the job. You know, if you treat people disrespectful, you probably won't be there long.

Erica Rawls:

Hey, I need to take two seconds to interrupt this wonderful show that you're watching. I run a real estate business and the way we fund this podcast is through that business, the Erica Ross team. I would love it if you would just give us one opportunity to service your real estate needs, whether you are in central PA or around the entire world. Think of us first, so we can help you. Now back to the show.

Emily Schmidt:

So it's just all of that. But it really comes down to the effort that they put into it. And if they're being consistent and sometimes that means they're leaving and coming back, and leaving and coming back, until they mature and they're like these people are still here, they're not going anywhere Then we work with them. We meet them where they're at and try to really work with them as they learn.

Erica Rawls:

How many second chances do you give them? You give them all the way up to their 25 and then like you know, it's kind of I love your grace. Yeah, like seriously.

Emily Schmidt:

But I think that they're. I mean, I go back to like you know Jesus right, like Jesus has always been very gracious with me and on the chances and still is when I met up. So I think, ultimately, like how many chances have I received personally? So that's one thing, and then the second thing is is sometimes it takes multiple chances.

Emily Schmidt:

I mean again going back to that maturity and going back to even my own biological parents and how many chances, how many times I got it wrong, how many times I was disrespectful, you know, and got grounded. You know, like how many times has that happened? And if there was a cutoff, to like my parents saying like, okay, you did that five times, now there's the door. I mean, if they come back and they have a willingness to accept what they've done and they're willing to do it the right way and to own you know what they did or didn't do, yeah, and they're ready to do it, then we try to give them a chance. Because I think sometimes that's I think sometimes in foster care that can be the problem is, I think too many doors shutting on them and saying sorry Stances are so high that they can't even live up to the expectations.

Erica Rawls:

And then they fail. And then so they see you and they're just like what do you mean? I get another chance.

Emily Schmidt:

So you're great. They settled with avatage. They settled with avatage.

Erica Rawls:

You are grace.

Emily Schmidt:

I love that. Well, I mean it's necessary. It's necessary for these guys, and they're some of the strongest, most amazing people I've ever met and they can change. I mean, you look at who you were when you were 18 and who you were when you were 25. Drastically different, totally different.

Emily Schmidt:

Yeah, things clicked a whole lot more in those years for me, and why? Because I did things on my own. I did stupid things on my own Right, I made a lot of mistakes on my own, but there was someone, consistently, that was there that was saying it's okay, let's try again. You know, yeah. And so I think that they a lot of them self-sabotage things. We see that a lot. When they're getting to a place where everything's coming together, it's like they run away and you're like what you were just going to get? A car and an apartment, and what do you mean? You ran away with your friend. Your success is huge. Yes, it's just it's too overwhelming or they don't want. They don't want us to be the one saying goodbye and things come to an end. So it's navigating through a lot of that.

Erica Rawls:

Yeah, so they want to be the one to break up because they feel as though it's coming Absolutely.

Emily Schmidt:

It's inevitable, it's happened all my life, so you know what I'm going to do this Right, right, yeah, yeah, so it's, it's, it's challenging and you know, just like your own biological kids, each one of them are different. So it's really getting to know them and what works for them, what doesn't work for them, how to talk to them, how not to talk to them. Yeah, you know, but it's. I would say the seeds are planted at the crackpot.

Emily Schmidt:

We don't always get to see the full outcome of the seeds that are planted, but we do know that for the time that the Lord brings them to us and we have an opportunity to work with them and love them and speak truth to them and show up for them, that hopefully, you know the seeds that were planted while they were there somewhere down the road. You know there will be fruit there, someone else will water them and they will. We don't always get to see the success, the full story with them, because some of them do leave and they don't give us their phone numbers. You know, or they change phone numbers or whatever. We lose touch with them. But that's where we just have to pray, pray that the seeds that are planted while they're with us will matter.

Erica Rawls:

I'm sure at least one person is going to be interested in either serving or donating, so can you share, like how someone can serve in your nonprofit or even at the coffee house, and also where they can actually donate?

Emily Schmidt:

Yeah, there is plenty of opportunities to serve from transportation volunteers. A lot of our kids don't have their licenses, so we're always looking for people to help, you know, get them to different places and be a part of our transportation team. You know, working with just on the mission side of what we do, but a lot of times we're looking for people in the coffee shop that can help with baking or slicing strawberries or, you know, coming in and wiping tables and running food out and filling coffees. And you know, even if it's a once a week or once twice a month kind of thing, you know, every little bit helps and that's what we love is the crackpot gives people the opportunity to serve. You know, and they're teenagers, you know that kind of thing. It's a great opportunity to serve in that way. So we're always looking for volunteers in the shop and in the mission so they can visit our website and email our manager. The information's there. And then financially, we are always looking for and grateful for financial contributions that a lot of the money that people contribute to donate to the crackpot. It pays for their therapy. We pay for their therapy so that they don't have to worry about that. Oh, that's wonderful Driving school.

Emily Schmidt:

You know just odds and ends. If it's, you know prescriptions we got to pick up. Or we had one of our girls just got a job the other day and we were running errands and she's like I need slip-proof shoes and I start my job, you know, like this weekend. So I was like, well, we'll just zip in here. I know a place where they have slip, so we got, we were able to buy her shoes so that she has. So so there's, there's things like that that help there.

Emily Schmidt:

Sometimes kids are in crisis situations where they're in a very, very unsafe environment or they're homeless, but they want to start fresh, they want a new beginning, and so we're able to kind of work with them and and maybe even give them a hotel room for a couple of nights until they can get their feet under them and breathe a little bit and we can find another. So there's a lot of ways that those donations help. And again, like I said earlier, having more funding so that we're able to bring in, you know, another coach, someone that can kind of do what I'm doing and and and reach and serve more youth all at the same time, um would be huge. So, yes, yes and yes, we're always looking for volunteers. So New York's monetary goal.

Erica Rawls:

So you can hire someone, you can put it out there and be an innovator.

Emily Schmidt:

She don't know who's going to get this? I know, I mean we, I would say it's. You know, there it's, it's as a whole, it's. You know it's just the mission side of what we do and you know the team that works with them. So there's volunteers, there's all of that. I mean I don't know, you want like a goal of like just for that person or just for whatever.

Erica Rawls:

Okay, yes, just goal, whatever goal, whatever is on your heart, to say, hey, we're looking to raise X amount of dollars. Okay, y'all, she was not ready for this. Can you see her? She's squirming. She is a woman and she does not want to ask. And I'll make it.

Emily Schmidt:

Yes, I, I mean, I would say, I mean, I'm just thinking of how, like the, the, if, if let's say 50,000, how? About that? How about that? Does that sound good? 50,000 would be an amazing blessing to our ministry. Um, because I think we would be able to start seriously talking about bringing you know another coach in and and training them and and doubling the amount of youth that we work with, yeah, so there you go.

Erica Rawls:

I love that, okay, y'all. So we have a mission. So she would like to raise $50,000 so she can continue this great work at the crackpot, where she helps children I should say young adults that have aged out of place of foster care and adoption centers, and she's looking to get some support. So guess what we're going to do? We're going to have a link so that you can actually donate, and if you're looking to donate your time, I will actually make sure that you get the email address so you can actually donate your time as well. What I believe is making sure that you're working for a purpose, and the purpose that she has at the crackpot is indeed something that we all need to elevate and get exposure on, because the children, the young adults, they actually need us.

Emily Schmidt:

So, emily, yeah, yeah, thank you so much it's been a pleasure Not only today, but the coffee shop visit and all things. Oh, we're not done, we're not done, no we're not done.

Erica Rawls:

We're not done. No, we're not playing much more coffee, yes. So you guys, thank you so much and until next time I will see you. Hey, please make sure, do not forget to subscribe to share this special message, and I cannot wait to see you in the comments.

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