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Coming up on Rob at Home Region Rising, Saint John's Program for Real Change marks 40 years of service.

35,000 women and children experiencing homelessness whose lives have been changed.

The full story coming up with CEO Scott Richards.

And the new law with reading in California.

What it means and how children will benefit from this new change.

Plus, a message for parents and teachers coming up from April Javist from the Sacramento Literacy Foundation.

That's next on Rob at Home.

-And now, Rob on the Road exploring Northern California.

-Joining me now is Scott Richards, the CEO of Saint John's Program for Real Change.

Scott, it's great to see you.

-It's good to see you.

It's nice to be here.

Thank you.

-So nice to be with you, too.

You mark one year, October 2025.

You started in 2024.

So that's an anniversary that has happened as well as 40 years.

-Yes.

Saint John's Program for Real Change, starting on the front steps of Saint John's Lutheran Church in Sacramento.

-That is right.

-Wow, what a legacy of lives.

35,000 women and children.

35,000.

It's remarkable, -Yeah, it's a remarkable, It's a, it's a powerful story.

I just think about it's a story about the work in this community.

It's also a story about how as a community organization, this community has stepped up to really care for and look after women and children in need in Sacramento.

I couldn't be more proud of who we are and what we do in Sacramento.

It's just it's a thrill to be here.

It's been a fantastic first year.

-You talk about that story, I want to ask you, first of all, what is the Saint John's story for you that you want to share?

-I want people to know one, the origin of Saint John's.

Given that we started from this kind of motivation from, you know, parishioners in the Saint John's Church that looked outside and said, hey, we've got to do something about this.

Opened up the doors of their church and made space.

And we've only continued to grow.

And I think what is deep in our DNA at Saint John's is that perspective that we look outside.

We look outside of what's happening around us, and we think about what are we uniquely positioned to do?

What can we do about this moment, and how do we create a space that allows people to come into a community that really want to transform their lives?

When I think about the real change, you know, we didn't start as Saint John's Program for Real Change.

It started as, you know, a women's shelter.

But I think the realization 10 or 15 years ago was, we really just want to, How do we stop the cycle?

Right.

The cycle of kind of coming in and going out like life happens, like how do you confront and deal with that?

And so who we are today is, is is the same in the sense of we looked at and said, what can we do about this and what we do now and who we are is creating a community where people can come together, women and their families, to get access to all the resources that they need from behavioral health and education and all of those things that matter.

But it's really centered.

And what does what does that individual want for themselves and their family and their kids?

And what I've learned, and I think what is special is that when we start thinking about breaking that generational aspect to this, it's really the whole family.

It's not just the woman herself or and just the even just the child.

Now we have stories of, you know, children and grandchildren and cousins and parents that are like, hey, if this person can do this, like, what do we need to do to take care of our family?

So what I often say is that Saint John's it it's more than a new start.

I think that's what people think about.

It's really writing a new story about who who we are as people in this community.

What is our God given purpose in life, and how do we go after that?

What what do we need?

I think I'll end to this by saying one of my favorite quotes from a client is when you wake up every day in a community where you know people want you to succeed, you wake up every day with purpose.

And I think there's so much packed into that about who we are.

We are a community.

We want people to succeed around their goals, and people have a purpose in life, and we want to help people connect to that for themselves and for their kids.

-I love what you said about waking up surrounded by people that want you to succeed.

-Yes.

-I also love what you said about this church looked outside its windows and said, what can we do?

I love the community.

-That can happen anywhere.

In any church in any business, in any home.

We look outside of our windows and ask, what can we do to help?

-Yes.

-But the key is at Saint John's.

Did this.

And 40 years later, there are lives and generations.

-Yeah.

-Changed.

So the 35,000 is the number of people that have been through the program.

But when you talk about the lives changed and the ripple effects that flow far and wide, now I'm talking about all around this world.

-Yeah.

And the -All these people have had children and grandchildren and who knows, in 40 years there could be great grandchildren that have come along in Saint John's program.

How have you had such a success story?

96%.

Am I accurate?

-Yeah.

Yeah.

- What do you define as success first?

-Yeah, I think it's a great question.

You know, and we think we've done some real thinking about this.

Like what?

What does success look like?

And so we really codified this or put this together what we call the foundations for real change.

And that is that you're building a part of a community, you are building resilience, which has a lot to do with confidence.

We talk about readiness as the third pillar of those foundations.

Wellness is a is a big part of that.

Like, those are the foundations for real change.

And so success for us is when somebody it's not I think we've all had that experience, you know, like, well if we check the box and we've done these things, but this is more than that.

This is somebody saying, hey, I'm going to be really clear on like, what does it take?

What's the foundation I need in my life to really thrive in this community?

We think those things matter.

So success for us is when, a client is connected and community readiness has everything to do with from practical skills.

I have the skills.

I've taken classes, job training, resume interviewing, At-Bats at interviewing, all those things about readiness.

And then the wellness and resilience are really those they're kind of the intangible things, but they're things that when our clients can tell us, like I, I have developed a set of tools that help me cope with the stressors in my life.

Any person can relate to that.

That's in this audience.

Right?

It's like how do we cope with the issues and challenges of life?

And they're saying, I have that.

And then just the stability, right?

Success is that I can, not only have a found a job, keep a job.

So these are things we track, you know, we look at.

But stability and employment, stability and housing.

And when you talk to our alumni now that's the story you hear is like finish Saint John's.

I got into my first apartment and now you talk to alums like I, I bought my first house five years ago.

I think, one of one of our alumni, Monica, is talking about she's she's got that apartment.

She's like, I'm saving up.

I'm going to buy a home.

I'm gonna live in this community.

That's that's what we mean by real change, right?

There is a change in your, there's a change in your mind.

There's a change in your heart.

There's also a change in what you can do and how you contribute, how you participate in this wonderful community.

We have.

And I think what we do, we just open the doors.

You're right.

We open the doors and say, this is how you do it.

So that's how I think about success.

I think it's more comprehensive for us.

I think that's the idea behind real change.

It's not just here's a keys to a house.

But really here's here's how we help you write a new story for your life of which housing, employment, parenting is all the critical part.

But it's it's comprehensive.

And what that change looks like.

-What do you believe the magic is at Saint John's?

That that has been the enduring factor or factors for success.

You did go through the pillars.

And so that naturally plays a role.

But there's what is what is the what is the magic.

-Yeah, I that's such a good question.

I think I, you know, in the last year I get to see kind of the magic happen.

I think that's one of the questions I've asked myself.

And one of the enduring things I've seen, whether it's from staff, volunteers, we have an incredible volunteer base.

You're a volunteer like in everybody.

That's kind of part of the broader Saint John's community.

It's really an undying belief.

And the value and of every every woman and every child that's here and is experiencing homelessness is that that person is supremely valuable, cherished.

We had a guest speaker recently just talked about, like, there's a place where a person can feel cherished, valued, respected.

You know, I heard a staff member say that we believe in second chances and we believe in third, fourth and fifth chances.

Like there's not an end to the hope and the belief we have and the people that come through our door.

And I think that that's part of the magic.

And the way that plays out is, is incredible displays of love and accountability.

I would say, you know, a council is another form of love.

You know, it's like we have high expect that that that love or that belief about people.

It's not it's not just mushy, right.

It is that it is a comfort and a safe space, but it's also expectations and high expectations.

But I think also play a role in that.

But it's really the mindset and the belief that when you come here, it doesn't matter what you look like, where you came from, what if it was under the, you know, underpass, overpass?

It was, you know, under a bridge or in a couch or in a car.

You came here.

We see you as a whole person.

And this is something that I said.

This is another expression of this same idea.

When I talk with our clients, we do a community meeting every day.

And I said, you know, you're here not because you're broken, but because you're strong.

You survived.

And I think that's that's gets to the heart of it is like, we know that there are there is brokenness in the world, if we could say that.

But man, the ladies that come here with their kids, they have survived an incredible amount in their life.

And I tell them, you're here because you're strong, and it's that strength that's going to propel you into a different future.

That's it's that mentality that I think really powers the mission at Saint John's.

-Absolutely.

You you nailed it.

You nailed it about, you know, the feeling of being broken.

But but people can be put back together again.

And -Absolutely.

-The stained glass analogy that, you know, broken pieces of glass can be put back together.

But boy, does the light shine through in a different, beautiful way.

-That's awesome.

-And who has not been through that in life regardless of circumstances?

Yeah, -We've all been through situations like that, but Saint John's really takes it to the next level.

What brought you to this program?

We mentioned at the top?

We'd get to that.

And I do want -yeah, I appreciate that.

You know, I, well, I was raised by a single mom, and I, you know, I, I think as a kid growing up, my, my mom worked hard to, to create a home, you know, and I think there's a difference for to have a home and a house.

You know, and I think that regardless of what was happening around our family, me and my brothers, my mom worked hard to create a home for us.

You know, she had, a lot of the kind of the path I see, our clients, you know, kind of traveling.

I look back now and I say, you know, my my mom was dealing with that, you know, from, like, paying the rent and groceries, child care, you know, putting yourself, you know, back to college to get a job and to become a world class teacher.

And so a big part of it is, is really the the influence of my mom on me and, and the women in my life that have taught me what it means, to build a family, to build a home and to take care of kids.

Like a lot of that, I learned through my mom and and other folks in my family.

And so that's kind of a guiding value of like when I saw the opportunity to be part of Saint John's, it struck that chord in me.

-Fantastic.

Is there anything else you want to add?

-I just, I yeah, I appreciate the opportunity to be here and talk about Saint John's.

And really, I know there's so much conversation, you know, in, in our community about unhoused and homelessness and, and I and I liked what you were saying and we were talking about like, there's a lot of different experiences that happen in people's lives that lead to homelessness.

I've learned that, you know, I've learned that in this past year.

And, you know, one message I have is I just I want us to I would like us to, you know, just kind of unwrap the empathy we have for people and humans in our, in our community and understand that, like, if there's something we can do to support and contribute besides kind of talking around the coffee table or dinner table, which is also important.

But if there's something, if you feel it in your heart, you know, like, I want to volunteer, I want to give a dollar, I want to donate some food.

That's how you can contribute to this.

So I'd like to see us, like kind of unpack the empathy, think about what actions we could take to get involved in the issue in our community, because we need you.

And that's what that's what I want to say.

We need people in this community.

We have a wonderful community of donors and supporters of volunteers.

We just need more people.

And so that would be the last thing I would say is, if you're listening and you're saying I should do something, answer the call, get involved.

It'd be it'd be awesome and we'd be glad to have you.

-Scott Richards, thank you so much.

I want to talk to you.

I'm so happy for your new role.

And Sacramento is better because you're here, so thank -thank you so much.

I appreciate it.

-Scott Richards with Saint Johns Program for Real Change.

And now April Javist with the Sacramento Literacy Foundation on the new law in California What does this mean for teachers and parents and students?

I am thrilled to have April Javist join us now from the Sacramento Literacy Foundation.

Hello, April.

-Hello, Rob.

How are you?

-I'm great.

It's good to see you.

How are you?

-I'm great.

I'm great.

-Big news.

-Big news.

We have big news.

The, AB 1454, got pushed into a trailer bill and was passed on October 9th, 2025.

Which bodes really well for kids in California.

And so we're pretty excited about it.

We're like the probably the 10th state to bring on policy that's comprehensive from the university all the way through to the TK.

We have, So we have a bill that helps colleges teach teachers the right way.

That's that's SB 488 that got passed a few years ago.

Then we got the screener introduced, which happened just this year.

There's an early screener to detect kids reading.

We also have the LCR set grant, which is $500 million, which our SCOE is overseeing, which is putting literacy coaches in about 800 different elementary schools across California.

And that also is with the science of reading and evidence based curriculum underneath it.

And now we have AB 1454, which is huge because that is going to change the landscape.

It's going to that they've put aside $200 million for teacher training, which is a start.

Most bills didn't get funding because of issues with with budgeting, but this one did.

And that's important.

-And then tell me why this one is a big deal.

And what this one -this is huge.

-Tell me why.

-Well, its huge because right now more kids in California can't read than can at grade level, whether that's third grade or 12th grade.

And and in an information age, that's a that that means that more kids than not are going up to being adults who cannot participate in our society.

So we're turning this around.

And that's important because this has been a 20 year problem and it's been hard to turn around.

But interestingly, the House and both the Assembly and the Senate unanimously voted for this bill.

So that means that everybody is getting aware of the fact that not reading is a crisis for all of us.

-That's a big deal, that it was unanimous.

-It is both houses, 100% unanimous.

And that was from the year before where they didn't even give it a reading.

-Okay.

I mean, wow.

You know, so I ask you something, April.

So this this piece of this law.

This law.

Yeah.

-This is a law.

-We talked about, you know, the science of reading on an earlier program a couple of years ago, which really talks about, redefining how teaching, reading is taught.

And we looked at Mississippi and how laws were in Mississippi.

This was implemented there.

And it works.

Yes.

Yes.

Talk to me about what this means as far as this current new law, where that falls into place with the science of reading.

-Got it.

So Mississippi went from 49th to ninth in reading levels in the country by introducing the science of reading.

The science of reading is complicated a little bit, and then also not as complicated as you might think, given the word science.

-How long did that take to jump up in score, by the way?

-What's that?

-How long did it take to go from 49th tonight?

-It took them three years.

Wow.

From implementation.

-Okay.

So keep going.

Yeah.

So pre-COVID, they were at 85% grade level.

Reading the rest of the country pre-COVID was like a 40% grade level reading.

I think California is something like 45th out of the country right now.

So we'll be able to see in a short order increases.

We've seen actually some increases in Sacramento because we've been at it a little bit.

Twin Rivers, for instance, saw the largest increase between 24 and 25, a 3% increase.

But they are the poorest district.

And they they have been the most serious, at implementing the science of reading the New York City Unified, where you have some of the schools who have they've seen some increases.

Elk Grove, 1 or 2 percentage point.

They've seen some increases.

So we are starting to see people realize, oh, yeah, we got to teach our kids to read, because if they can't read, then they can't learn, right?

That's also what we talked about, which is you learn to read in the third grade, but in the fourth grade you're reading to learn.

So if you can't read, -that's a big deal.

-Everything's going to start falling behind.

-And I have a question.

How does this new law play into what you just said?

-How does the new law play into what I said?

Well, what the new law does is it puts evidence based curriculum in front of t k to fifth grade students.

-Does that include the science of reading?

That's right.

That's the science of reading.

-That's what I call it.

-Evidence base.

They call it science of reading.

You know.

But they just -Just for clarity for people watching is the same thing.

It's all the same thing.

-It's kind of the same thing, right?

Yeah, it is the same thing.

And it's based on science.

It's based on several meta studies.

I mean, it's logical.

Let's let's just say that none of this is like so like what?

-Yeah, it's all logical, but yet it it's 2025.

-That's right.

-And we're just getting, you know, and you've been fighting for this a long time.

-Yeah, I think that what people realized after Covid is how impactful not reading is.

Not reading can be tied to poverty, homelessness, mental health, health, college trajectory, everything, everything.

-Even prison.

-Prison.

Oh yeah.

Absolutely prison.

I mean, it's not a spoken pipeline, but it's a it's an unspoken pipeline, right?

Like, you're four times less likely to graduate from high school if you're not reading by the third grade.

Well, four times less likely to graduate from high school means some percentage more likely to end up in prison.

That's just the truth.

Because if you can't read and get a job, if you can't apply for a job, then you what are you going to do?

Right?

I mean, it's a it's a real quinky dink and it's always been this way.

I just want to say that there are no good old days where back in the day, we learned to read.

There is no place to work where you don't know how to.

You don't have to know how to read.

It just doesn't exist.

-How encouraged are you by this new law?

-Well, I'm very encouraged.

I think California is, is it needs to make this move because it's such a big state.

One of the things that California did was they made it.

They made it.

Discretionary.

So district and decide to or not to include different components of this.

So where advocates are going to have to step in next is and holding everybody accountable to implementing the science of reading and holding everybody accountable to better results with better results.

Right.

Like we have to just start asking our schools.

Okay.

You're at 40%.

What do you what's your goal for this next year and what's your goal for the next year?

And so what we're going to do is we're going to go to the school districts, and I'm going to ask them if they'll put this on their agenda.

And I'm going to tell them about AB 1454 and what they can do to help their schools implement the science of reading.

So that's the next step is to tell the school boards, here's the bill.

This is what you can do to make this, and then we'll go back and we'll we'll, we'll ask them how they're doing with that in the next round, and we'll just stay on it until we get our kids reading.

-That's amazing.

That is absolutely amazing.

I do believe that what you've been doing at the Sacramento Literacy Foundation, along with others in the state, yeah, we're seeing major results now.

April, I'm so happy for you.

-Thank you.

Well, I'm happy for kids and I'm happy for all of us.

-I mean, you've been fighting a long time.

-Our economy is going to become much stronger.

Like we probably if we get everybody reading, we're going to become the number one economic force in the world.

That's what California can do with everybody reading.

-There's the lead right there.

Yeah.

You've got a lot of phenomenal information on, this new law, which is, signed into law.

Yeah.

Early, early October 2025.

October 9th.

-Yep, yep.

October 9th, 2025.

-How did that feel?

-It feels great.

I mean, you know, it feels I am surprised at how quickly it's happened.

And I've been interested to watch the process.

You know, more than 90 organizations signed on and you got to give envoys a ton of credit.

They they totally made this thing happen.

They kept bringing people together.

They kept showing up to our coalition meetings.

They made this happen.

They did a really good job.

They brought Reavis and the CTA and Cal, Tug and Cobb all to the table, and they found a way to broker a bill for kids.

They did it.

And I'm gonna, you know, I'm in awe of their work.

And it's been really lovely to work with them.

And I'm glad that they're here.

-Well, what is your message to, parents who have children who this will impact?

What is your message to them?

-My message to parents is there is a way to teach your struggling child to read.

If your child is struggling, there are ways to do it.

We are on our path to getting implementations put put into classrooms to make that happen.

But there's nothing wrong with your kid.

It's just that some brains learn to read right away and some don't, and it's irregardless of intelligence.

So what I would say to parents is go after the resources that are available, talk to the schools about what they're doing, get on the side of realizing that this isn't your kid's fault.

This is just a product of our society, and it's a myth we've had, and now we're on it.

And so the more verbal a parent is with their school, the more willing they are to say, hey, I saw that my reading rates were only at 33%.

How are we fixing that?

That's that's good.

That's good.

Because, you know, schools need to hear from parents.

-So what is your message to schools?

-My message to schools is this is your opportunity to shift up what's been going on?

I mean, it can't feel that great to have such low success rates.

And this is an opportunity to create better success, lift teacher morale and lift student morale.

But teacher morale is at a low and you can imagine why it would be, right?

So this success having kids who are successful will probably make teachers feel better.

So my message is let's get to work for the next 3 or 4 years, all of us, and really focus as citizens.

Let's learn about the science of reading.

Let's be able to talk to that five year old in some way that we all know about what's going on.

And as a community, let's all do this all together.

Like, let's not leave it to the teachers.

Let's not leave it to the parents.

Let's leave it to everybody.

Like, that's what I'm saying.

Everybody needs to be a part of this.

It's it's like recycling or drinking fluoride in the water.

It just needs to be in the mix of what we know how to do.

-April Javist, thank you so much With the Sacramento Literacy Foundation, you are a beacon of hope.

You always have been.

And it is so good to see you.

Thank you.

April.

-Thank you.

Rob.

That's nice to see you too.

-thanks for joining us.

You can watch when you want at Rob on the Road dot org.

Murphy Austin Adam Schoenfeld LLP, focusing on business law and commercial litigation, is proud to support Robb on the road region.

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