Changing Lives - Dedicated to enriching the lives of homeless women and men in Boca Raton and Delray Beach.

Summary

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Podcast Summary:

Culturally Speaking: The South Florida Sunday Podcast
Episode: Changing Lives - Dedicated to enriching the lives of homeless women and men in Boca Raton and Delray Beach
Host: Hubbard Radio
Guest: Jerry Pagan, Executive Director, Changing Lives
Date: May 20, 2026

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Overview

This episode explores the pressing issue of homelessness in South Florida, focusing on the work of Changing Lives, a nonprofit dedicated to restoring dignity and providing support to homeless individuals in Boca Raton and Delray Beach. Executive director Jerry Pagan joins the host to discuss the organization’s five-pillar approach to transformation, share personal experiences, and highlight the importance of community involvement in addressing homelessness.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Rising Challenge of Homelessness

• Economic Hardship: Increasing costs of living and medical care are pushing more people into homelessness, impacting individuals from all walks of life (00:00-00:25).
• Need for Compassion: Jerry emphasizes that anyone could find themselves homeless and the importance of offering a “helping hand, a fresh start” (00:00-00:25).

2. The Five Pillars of Transformation

Jerry describes the foundation of Changing Lives’ approach:

• Restoring Dignity:
  • “It's about having self respect. It's about feeling some sort of inherent worth and being treated with honor.” (Jerry Pagan, 00:33)
  • Many clients have faced trauma and need to first feel cared for before they can rebuild.
• Addressing Addiction and Mental Health Needs:
  • The second pillar involves tackling drug/alcohol dependencies, trauma, and depression, providing bridges to mental health resources (01:42-02:16).
• Education, Employment, & Mentorship:
  • “We also help those that want to be a part of the program with education, employment, mentorship.” (Jerry Pagan, 02:17)
• Transitional Housing:
  • Transitional housing is vital to provide a stable “base,” guiding clients back into society.
• Rebuilding Lifestyle and Self-Sufficiency:
  • The final step is helping individuals “build that lifestyle that they lost in the past.”
  • “So one day at a time, right?” (Jerry Pagan, 02:32)

3. Education & Employment Support

• GED preparation, job skills training, and career counseling are crucial elements (02:48-03:52).
• Example programs:
  • Barbering school
  • CDL (Commercial Driver’s License) training
  • Nursing support for interested women

Notable Quote:

• “Some of them come in here with wanting to make six figures...You got to start somewhere. Right?” (Jerry Pagan, 03:57)

4. A Personal Journey: From Homelessness to Helping Others

• Jerry shares his own path from childhood abuse and homelessness to leading Changing Lives.
• Moving moment:
  • “My dad did nothing but tell me how worthless I was and how I would never amount to anything...Until one day my sister said to me...it seems that he still is abusing you because you allow it to happen. It was my mind, my way of thinking.” (Jerry Pagan, 04:21-05:07)
• He spent 25 years in addiction; his recovery helps him “speak their language” and genuinely connect with clients.

5. Evidence of Success

• Changing Lives has seen tangible results:
  • Individual success stories like Suzanne F. and Juan O., who moved from the streets to employment, engagement, and homeownership (05:47-06:48).
• Ongoing results—sometimes seeds planted years prior finally come to fruition.
• “Sometimes all it takes is a plate of food or giving someone a shower. It's the kindness that they feel and the love that we convey to them.” (Jerry Pagan, 06:29)

6. The Role of Community & Need for Donations

• Jerry underscores the essential role of community donations and involvement (07:00-07:18):
  • “When the community is involved, it's so much easier than when you just have one or two individuals.”
• Call to action for listeners to engage and support Changing Lives’ mission.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On compassion:
  • “People know when you don't care about them...We try to weed out those that want a hand out instead of a hand up.” (Jerry Pagan, 01:42)
• On humility and growth:
  • “But it's the ones that humble themselves and are willing to take that rest in a loving manner...that are the ones that succeed.” (Jerry Pagan, 03:58)
• Personal transformation:
  • “All the negatives that I felt made me worthless has actually been the athletes that I need to help those that are stuck. I was once stuck, and it's been a blessing because I speak their language.” (Jerry Pagan, 05:07-05:38)
• On lasting impact:
  • “We plant seeds, you understand? We never know when somebody might get it.” (Jerry Pagan, 06:04)
• On the need for community support:
  • “We can't do it by ourselves. So what we try to do is get other businesses, other individuals within the city of Boca to get proactively involved.” (Jerry Pagan, 07:00)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [00:00-00:33] Introduction to homelessness and Changing Lives
• [00:33-02:40] The five pillars of Changing Lives’ model
• [02:48-03:52] Education, employment, and mentorship support details
• [04:21-05:38] Jerry Pagan shares his personal journey
• [05:47-06:48] Success stories and the impact of kindness
• [07:00-07:18] The necessity of community donations and involvement
• [07:25-end] Call to action and contact information

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How to Get Involved

Visit changinglivesusa.org to learn more, donate, or become a volunteer.

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Summary provided in the authentic, empathetic tone of the conversation, emphasizing the hope, challenges, and transformation that Changing Lives brings to the South Florida community.

Transcript

[A]

So with the rising cost of living, medical care, and basic necessities, there are more people than ever facing homelessness. It could happen to anyone at any point, honestly. And many times, people facing a low like this just need a helping hand, a fresh start. That's where Changing Lives comes in. Today we're speaking with Jerry Pagan, the executive director. Thank you so much for joining the show.

[B]

Well, thank you for having me. I'm excited to convey the message that there is hope for those that are in need.

[A]

Absolutely. And you've been doing a lot of really great things in our community as well. For those who may not know about you, though, can you tell us about changing lives?

[B]

Our motto is we want to restore dignity and we want to help rebuild lives. And it's a very challenging task, but we build it upon five pillars of what we call a transformation. We have the first pillar, which is basically, it's about restoring human dignity. It's about having self respect. It's about feeling some sort of inherent worth and being treated with honor, as opposed to the shame, which is what a lot of these individuals have experienced and continue to experience because of some traumatic event that might have happened in their past. Something that has disconnected them from reality. So before we can do anything, we need to meet that immediate need, because without that, they're still in their own world. We basically deal with more of a low bottom, chronic homelessness, where it's very challenging for them somehow come back into society because of the obstacles that they've experienced. So that's why it's so important for them to somehow feel that we care about them.

[A]

Right.

[B]

People know when you don't care about them, and mind you me, you also have those in the streets that do take advantage of the fact that you have people that want to help, and they also can be manipulative. So what we try to do, we try to weed out those that want a hand out instead of a hand up. And then what we do, once we have that pillar, we go into the program, help them with being addicted to drugs or alcohol, trauma, depression. We help with mental health support. We bridge them with other resources that they might not be able to find on their own.

[A]

Right.

[B]

We also help those that want to be a part of the program with education, employment, mentorship. We try to rebuild them through transitional housing. Because you can't really win a war unless you have a base, right?

[A]

Yeah, that's true.

[B]

The fifth one would be building that lifestyle that they lost in the past. So one day at a time, right?

[A]

Right. That's true. Can you talk about your education and your employment and mentorship program? Because that is so important.

[B]

A lot of these clients need help with their ged and some of them don't have any job work skills. So what we try to do, we try to meet them where they're at. Right?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

We feel that in the beginning we want to first give them some sort of feeling that, hey, the war is over, we're going to help you, we're going to give you the basic needs. Clothing, showers, haircuts, get you your id. And then we start talking about, hey, what are you going to do with your life? What do you want to do with your life? Like some, some of these clients right now, we have them in the barbering school for barbering, haircuts, TDL licensing, if they have the correct qualifications. Some women want to try out nursing. So it all depends what they want to do. And then we have also an individual within the office that helps them locate jobs. We help them with their resumes. So it's a process. It's a humbling one as well because some of them come in here with wanting to make six figures. Right?

[A]

Right. Yeah, don't we all?

[B]

You got to start somewhere. Right?

[A]

Right.

[B]

And. But it's the ones that humble themselves and are willing to take that rest in. In a loving manner. Right. That we work with that are the ones that succeed.

[A]

Absolutely. And you yourself have been on a quite the journey. You were once homeless and now you're the director of this non profit. You've seen both sides. Can you discuss how this experience has actually helped you help others?

[B]

I grew up, I was an abused child. My dad did nothing but tell me how worthless I was and how I would never amount to anything. Every time my dad would come to my school, when it was teacher parent nights, he would come to school and surprising, with a slap to the face. But my dad did a very traumatic job on me and I took that throughout my adulthood. So I never thought that I would amount to anything. Even when I had some sort of feature ahead of me, I would always sabotage it. Until one day my sister said to me, you know, Jerry, my dad's not around, but it seems that he still is abusing you because you allow it to happen. It was my mind, my way of thinking. And it wasn't until I surrendered and realized that I needed some sort of assistance, like what we do now for others, that my life didn't change. I was homeless for many, many years. I was caught in addiction for 25 years and you know, all the negatives that I fel made me worthless has actually been the athletes that I need to help those that are stuck. I was once stuck, and it's been a blessing because I speak their language.

[A]

And for the skeptic out there who says, does this really work? The stability, the productivity, the transitional housing, what do you have to say to them? Does it work?

[B]

I'm a product of this. There's many individuals that have walked through these stores in our office that right now, I have an amazing life. You know, we have a young lady, Suzanne F. And Juan O. I don't want to say their last name. They were in the streets for many, many years. And today, because of the bridge that they've built to our organization, they're working. They're about to get married. They have their own condominium. So this is just one of many stories that we've had. The success. We plant seeds, you understand? We never know when somebody might get it. I have individuals that I spoke to two, three years ago that come back, and they're like, oh, Jerry, we want to thank you guys for what you did for us that day. And sometimes all it takes is a plate of food or giving someone a shower. It's the kindness that they feel and the love that we convey to them. When everything else says, you're not worth

[A]

it, you are changing lives, and with that, changing whole communities. But you're not able to do this without the help of the community donations. Right. How important are the monetary donations to changing lives?

[B]

Well, it's very important. We can't do it by ourselves. So what we try to do is get other businesses, other individuals within the city of Boca to get proactively involved. And that's what makes a difference. When the community is involved, it's so much easier than when you just have one or two individuals.

[A]

Absolutely. Jerry, thank you so much for all your time today. We really want to get involved. How do people find out more information about changing lives?

[B]

Absolutely. They can go to our website. It's changinglivesusa.org and we're looking forward to seeing new faces that want to go ahead and be a part of this amazing movement.