Annc: Murphy Austin Adams Schoenfeld LLP, focusing on business law and commercial litigation, is proud to support Rob on the Road: Region Rising.

More information available at MurphyAustin.com.

Coming up on the next Rob on the Road: Region Rising.

Rob: A fresh perspective on helping the homeless.

The moving mobile ministry of Mercy Pedalers.

Rob: What does mercy look like from here today?

Libby: Mercy is bringing compassion and heart and direct services to people in need.

And to be a person of mercy is not a feeling, it's an action.

Rob: Meet a mother fighting to protect people from domestic violence at the Sacramento Regional Family Justice Center, turning her own heartache into heartfelt service to others.

You going to be ok?

Tamra: Yes.

Rob: How do you know?

Tamra: Because I have to be here for Luv.

Rob: And her living will not be in vain.

A place of belonging for every child.

Stanford Sierra Youth and Families is bringing together hearts and homes.

What do you need to say to feel like this time will make a difference in your calling?

Go with astronaut Jose Hernandez from Stockton to outer space.

Jose: I had to go out of this world to have this aha moment that borders are human made concepts.

Rob: Rob on the Road: Region Rising starts now.

And now, Rob on the Road.

Exploring Northern California.

Libby: We wear our blue vest.

So I have 75 pedalers out there on different streets.

And now a homeless person looks for the vest and goes, "Oh, it's a Mercy Pedaler, I'm over here."

Rob: Sister Libby Fernandez is used to the streets of Sacramento.

Libby: I like Sacramento because they do have a lot of bike lanes.

Rob: For 30 years, this sister of mercy has embraced every person she passes as a neighbor, a friend.

They're not your typical neighbors.

These are the residents of Sister Libby's heart without a place to call home in Sacramento.

They're waiting on Sister Libby's love and care to roll up on her moving ministry, Mercy Pedalers.

Libby: Oh, I got something.

Hot coffee.

Rob: Sister Libby is here every single day.

75 volunteers have joined her nonprofit outreach, bringing mercy to the streets.

Libby: I love being downtown because it's eclectic.

You see people who work for the state, business people.

You see a lot of homeless, you know, people who have a bench to spend the day on because they have no other place to be.

Rob: On this day, it's cold, windy with temps in the 30s.

In less than 15 minutes, we're working with 10 people.

Rob: And that's pretty too.

Libby: We have both of those.

Rob: They've been out here all night long.

And each of them explained where they came from.

Libby: Yeah.

Rob: And it's no different than circumstances that other people go through except they don't have anyone to fall back on.

Libby: Oh, absolutely.

I just look at Barry, who you gave a blanket to today, and he is from the foster care system.

And he has a slight learning disability so he's not quite disabled but enough that it's hard for him to get a job even with initial education.

Libby: God bless you, okay?

Man: Thank you.

Libby: All right.

Bye bye.

Man: You too.

Libby: We cannot afford housing in California.

People who are on fixed income, are seniors, who are on the edge, right there, close to homelessness.

So we have more and more people suffering on the streets, lots more waiting there right at the edge.

Rob: Put this around like this.

Rob: I asked everybody we met today experiencing homelessness, what would you say if you were at the table trying to help come up with a solution?

Every one of them said, "We want to help."

Libby: Yeah.

Rob: Do you know, not one person asked me for money.

Libby: Isn't that interesting?

Isn't that great?

We're serving people who need something warm to drink, some nutrition, gloves, hats.

Rob: Look at that, they actually match.

Clarence: Thanks, I appreciate this, sir.

Rob: Bye Clarence, have a good day.

Libby: Bye Clarence.

Rob: Sister Libby began working with Sacramento's homeless population in 1989 at Loaves and Fishes, Sacramento's largest homeless operation, offering a hot meal to about 1,000 people every day at noon.

Sister Libby rose to the top as CEO, bringing mental health needs and new gathering spaces to Loaves and Fishes as she witnessed the number of people she was serving grow.

Libby: I found it very difficult in my heart that people who are hungry in Sacramento have to travel from distances every day to get a hot meal.

Libby: One Cadillac coming up.

Libby: And it takes time, it takes a good part of your day, so how else can you get a job or do other business when you've gots to eat?

If you have 6,000 people in our city and county, you can't expect them all to go to Loaves and Fishes for a meal during the afternoon, so we've gots to reach out.

Rob: And we can't expect that from Loaves and Fishes either.

Libby: No.

When the need is even greater and more visible, it gets overwhelming.

It's like, "Come on, folks, let's wake up.

Where are our shelters today?

Where are our housing today?"

There's too many people suffering on the streets.

It can get greater and overwhelming.

And look at the elements out here.

Rob: I mean right.

Libby: Can you imagine being out here at night?

Rob: And frankly, that's why we did not go inside, because we could have gone in somewhere to do this but I wanted to do it in the real.

This is what people are dealing with.

And this is not even bad.

Libby: No, no.

The rain hasn't even come yet.

♪♪ Rob: What does mercy look like from here today?

Libby: Mercy is bringing compassion and heart and direct services to people in need.

And to be a person of mercy is not a feeling, it's an action.

Libby: That one?

Okay.

Rob: When I think about this region rising, it starts with foundational steps.

Libby: Yes.

Rob: And you are one of them.

Libby: I love Sacramento and I love the community members of Sacramento.

I love how we all really do care and we reach out whether it's the civic members, the community, the businesses, retired folks, family members.

We all really kind of like each other and like to work together.

Rob: I love you.

Libby: Very loving.

I love you too, Rob.

Rob: Thank you for this day.

Thank you.

Libby: Yeah, love ya.

♪♪ Jan Scully: When people hear about it, they go, Why haven't we been doing that for a really long time?

Why did we leave victims to do everything themselves when, if they leave a violent environment, they leave with nothing and we expect them to do everything?

How?

Rob: This is the story of four powerful people.

Jan Scully, Faith Whitmore, Tamra McIntosh, and her daughter Luv McIntosh.

Each woman has an important story of her own.

But what they are doing together - is extraordinary - every one of these women could tell it herself, except Luv.

Her murder is what brought these women together here at the Sacramento Regional Family Justice Center.

Rob: Tell me about Luv.

Tamra McIntosh: Well Luv was a loyal friend to many, she was a prankster, loving, caring.

Rob: Luv McIntosh is a victim of domestic violence, killed by her boyfriend in 2012.

Rob: What do you want to say for Luv on Luv's behalf?

Tamra: I want to say for these women and men who are in relationships - if you feel it's not going to work out, I think you should find an exit plan.

Rob: This room is named in memory of Luv.

It's one of many safe spaces at the Family Justice center - or FJC.

A one stop shop of collaboration and care for victims of domestic violence, elder abuse, sexual assault, human trafficking and child abuse.

If that's you, this place could save your life.

All you have to do is call or show up.

Jan Scully is the driving force behind the creation of Sacramento's FJC.

Scully spent almost 40 years prosecuting crimes, 20 of those years - as Sacramento's elected district attorney.

Scully announced at her retirement in 2014 the launch of the FJC.

Her mission became reality in 2016 when these doors to safety and hope opened wide.

Jan Scully: I wasn't ready to fold up my tent and just go hide.

I still felt I could make a contribution and I wanted to be part of something in the community side of it that was bigger, not one faceted but multi-faceted and that's what the Family Justice Center is.

Rob: A staggering 80 agencies work together at the FJC.

The result?

Quick response time, even case workers can rush to emergency rooms to a victim's side, filing restraining orders remotely, intervening during the critical moments a victim is being treated and protected.

Jan: Tell someone that you can trust.

Maybe at work.

Maybe that safe place is at work.

Maybe that safe place is a relative or a neighbor.

You know, what's funny is that a lot of people aren't the ones who report domestic violence on their own.

It takes someone else.

Domestic violence, family violence touches all of us.

And so, part of that answer to the community is we need to start talking about it.

Jan: If you're thinking about getting ready to leave and your abuser knows it, that's an issue so you need that support, you need those services.

You need the safety plan that we give to, help design with the victim before they walk out of the door.

Rob: You have all that here and it's free.

Jan: It's all free.

Rob: More than 5,000 victims are safer today, all from coming through these doors.

This safe space is armed with police and protective care for victims of all ages.

There's even Buddy the therapy dog, ready to help.

Jan: The word is hope.

Our byline is, Hope thrives here.

Just get here and we'll take it from there.

Faith Whitmore is CEO with her heart in service.

This Methodist minister says love and grace is alive at FJC, as well as lifesaving abuse education and tools - one of which, a danger risk assessment test.

Faith Whitmore: They look objectively at those 20 questions and if they've filled out 15 or 16, they go, Oh my gosh, I am really in a dangerous situation that I didn't know I was in.

I didn't know it was this bad.

Rob: You set the tone.

It's a joyful place.

Isn't that odd?

Faith: It is, I know.

I'm glad you felt that because that's what we want to create.

We want to create a peaceful place, a warm place, like come on in, we're going to take care of you.

Rob: Which takes us back inside to Tamra, who is here supporting the FJC, raising her daughter's voice to keep others from being silenced - by domestic violence.

Rob: What are you thinking.

Tamra: I'm thinking about Luv at this moment.

Rob: What is the thought?

Tamra: I think she'd be proud.

Rob: You going to be ok?

Tamra: Yes.

Rob: How do you know?

Tamra: Because I have to be here for Luv.

Rob: And her living will not be in vain.

Tamra: For Sure.

Rob: Thank you.

Tamra: Thank you.

Rob: STILL AHEAD ON ROB ON THE ROAD REGION RISING... NASA Astronaut Jose Hernandez on his family roots, and sharing lessons from the land and outer space with students.

But frist - California children in need and how you can help.

♪♪ Rob: Did you know there are 60,000 children in the state of California searching for a family, a place to call home?

Laura Heintz: That last family and youth panel was pretty powerful.

What do you have planned for next?

Rob: These children in need are much more than numbers to Laura Heintz and have been her entire life.

Laura: I was born into a family with adopted children and one in particular, my sister Leslie and I, shared a room.

And she was significantly disabled, eight years older, and I never knew anything different.

And she is my sister.

Rob: Laura has come a long way since her childhood days of helping others, today the CEO of one of the largest nonprofit family services in Northern California, Stanford Sierra Youth and Families.

in 2019, Laura led the merger of Stanford Youth Solutions and Sierra Forever Families, bringing the complex needs of children, youth and families in the community under one umbrella.

Stanford Youth worked to keep families together with therapy and resources for families in crisis.

Sierra was a foster care and adoption agency.

Laura says bringing the two together offers a broader continuum of services for any family unit as well as the intentional removal of the word "foster."

Rob: It's a resource.

Laura: That's right.

So that's why we now call it a resource family, so that they can continue to be a resource to the family.

Rob: You do call it a resource family?

Laura: That's right.

Rob: Okay.

Great.

Laura: That they continue to support the birth family through reunification or they'll support a family through an adoption process.

Rob: That's beautiful.

Laura: So when we connect and show love and actually open our hearts to the children, to these young people that we're serving, it allows them to open their hearts too and there's a transformation that then occurs.

Rob: You do see miracles happen.

Laura: I do.

Rob: There are about 2,500 children hoping for that transformation in the Sacramento area alone.

Ebony Chambers works with each client to make sure resources are available 24 hours a day.

Rob: And you're not just talking about the person that you're helping the life change, be it the child or the adult, but you're finding someone to walk along with them.

Ebony Chambers: Right.

Rob: Who's walked in their shoes.

Ebony: Right, who's walked in their shoes, absolutely.

And that's the biggest piece.

From my own lived experience as a mom of four, my oldest that I adopted, she had a challenging time in her teenage years and we had a team of support that was there to help walk alongside us.

And that made me say, "We have to make sure that this happens for every family."

Every family needs someone that they can have someone help them walk alongside and break that isolation.

Rob: And that came from your life experience.

Ebony: Absolutely, yeah.

Rob: In each of these children's lives, both Laura and Ebony say success boils down to belonging.

That's why Stanford Sierra Youth and Families works to embolden each child in hopes of putting them on a path for a healthy, productive and self sufficient life.

What do you need to say to feel like this time will help make a dfference in your calling?

Ebony: That when we as a community see a need, be it within your own family unit or extended family, that you step in and you ask for help.

That you reach out and if there's a need and you get connected so that you can be supported in ensuring that no child is left isolated and alone without connection.

Rob: And back to where this all began, in Laura's home as a child with another child in need by her side.

Laura sounds the call.

Laura: We really do need families to step up for emergency placements.

And it may turn into a long term, permanent placement and it may turn into them being a resource family to reunify a child or support a child through a healing process.

I believe just the heart connection will change a person.

♪♪ Ignition sequence start.

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♪♪ Rob: These were steps seen around the world.

NASA Astronaut Jose Hernandez and fellow crew members, walking to the Space Shuttle for a journey above and around the Earth.

For Jose, symbolic steps as well -- taken by the son of an immigrant farm worker who walked and worked countless fields across California.

Jose Hernandez: We lived a very nomadic lifestyle where we traveled nine months out of the year here in California, three different locations following the harvest of the crops.

And then we would go back to my parents' hometown in Michoacán state of Michoacán, Mexico and cool our heels there for three months and in that process repeated itself.

So, imagine one school year you have three different teachers, three different set of friends and then you miss three months of school cause you take homework with you.

Born in 1962, Jose Hernandez, the youngest son of Salvador and Julia Hernandez, worked in farm fields alongside his 3 siblings and parents.

But a teacher noticed young Jose and decided to share a lesson from the land with Jose's father.

Jose Hernandez: She said, "Imagine you have four fruit trees in the potted plants."

And she said, "Now I want you to dig four holes in, plant each tree and nourish them, feed them water and fertilizer."

"But then every three months I want you to dig for new holes and move those trees and continuously every three months."

"But keep feeding them water and fertilizer as they need it."

And then she looked at him and said, "You're an expert in agriculture."

"What happens in the long run to those trees?"

And my dad was quick study was quick to say, "Well, those trees aren't going to grow big."

"You're going to stunt their growth because you're not letting the root growth deep."

He says, "I doubt they'll even bear fruit."

And then you can count four seconds.

And then, you know, you can see in his face, he got it.

That lesson to Jose's father would change all of their lives.

Jose Hernandez: We came straight back to Stockton and uh, and we made Stockton our home a year-round.

Our three-month trips to Mexico, shrank to three weeks centered around Christmas vacation.

And that's when our education started to get traction.

Jose was educated in Stockton Public Schools.

At the age of 10, his dream of space flight took off, while watching the astronauts of Apollo 17 walk on the moon on live television.

He immediately told his father, he too, would one day be - an astronaut.

Rob: Now your path to NASA was not (snaps) like that.

Jose: No no no no.

Rob: A lot of rejection came your way.

Jose Hernandez: Yeah.

11 times to be exact.

Rob: 11 times.

Jose Hernandez: Wasn't until the 12th time that NASA finally accepted me as part of the 19th class of astronauts.

The year was 2001 - and NASA finally offered Jose an engineering job, not the astronaut position he'd dreamed of for decades.

But it was a foot in the door, and Jose leapt at the chance, working his way into management as branch chief of failure analysis - a skill that would soon be put to the test.

♪♪ On February 1, 2003, the Space Shuttle Columbia exploded, disintegrating while reentering the Earth's atmosphere.

All 7 crew members were killed.

Jose managed the investigation into what went wrong, finding the root cause of the accident.

Jose Hernandez: And so all of a sudden, I became a known entity and uh, they felt comfortable with me.

They saw the results that we brought in and they were happy, and low and behold I get selected.

Rob: It's about doing that next right thing in life.

His life would change, and fast.

In 2004, Jose was selected by NASA for its Space Program training, and in 2009 .

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Jose was on his way into space, as mission specialist on the STS-128 shuttle mission, which delivered more than 18,000 pounds of equipment to the International Space Station.

For Jose and the crew, it was a 15-day, 5.7-million-mile journey, circling the Earth 217 times.

Jose: Hernandez: And I finally reached the window and we're flying over in North and Central America.

And what I saw was amazing.

I mean, it's sort of kind of like, it was one of these Aha moments.

Because I can see North America, Canada, US, Mexico, and so on.

But what struck me as so beautiful was the fact that I couldn't tell where Canada ended in the U. S. began.

Rob: No borders.

Jose Hernandez: I couldn't tell where the U.S ended, and Mexico began.

And I said, "Wow, I had to go out of this world to have this, Aha moment that borders are human made concepts.

Back on Earth, Jose is staying closer to home, on a mission to inspire children.

His message: Roots do not define you, what matters is what you grow.

Jose heads "Reaching for the Stars" - the title of his autobiography, and his non-profit.

He travels the country talking to students about pursuing dreams and careers in science, technology, engineering and math.

Rob: When I saw you talking and I saw those students lean in and they were opening up there, they really were opening up their hearts to you and you poured so much into them, you really, really do care.

Jose Hernandez: You could hear a pin drop.

Rob: You could and that is so not the norm for any speaker.

Jose Hernandez: Being from Stockton, I think it, they saw someone they can relate to.

Rob: You gave them hope.

Jose Hernandez: That's what I'm saying is that, you know, I quickly establish credibility with them because I'm from Stockton, the east side, you know, socioeconomic situation perhaps similar or worse than day had.

And you're right, you know, I basically said, "Look, if I was able to do it, why not you?"

♪♪ Annc: Murphy Austin Adams Schoenfeld LLP, focusing on business law and commercial litigation, is proud to support Rob on the Road: Region Rising.

More information available at MurphyAustin.com.