Breaking the Cycle of Poverty: Recent Episodes
Shepherd Community Center
“Breaking the Cycle of Poverty” explores why poverty remains such a persistent problem in the United States and how individuals and organizations can help people secure economic independence and a higher quality of life.
Executive Director Jay Height discusses a potential new partnership that could add significant resources to help neighbors escape poverty
Executive Director Jay Height discusses the vision and mission behind Shepherd’s new Launching Center.
Executive Director Jay Height talks about service opportunities during a busy summer season at Shepherd.
Shepherd Executive Director Jay Height discusses new research that shows Americans are increasingly disconnected from their neighbors, and how you can overcome that trend.
Shepherd Executive Director Jay Height and Pastor Ismael Flores discuss new initiative that provides neighbors with affordable homes
Author Tim Streett discusses his book about the 10 essential assets needed to break the cycle of poverty.
Shepherd Community Center Executive Director Jay Height and U.S. Sen. Todd Young discuss how a proposed increase in the federal Child Tax Credit could help Shepherd’s neighbors.
Shepherd Community Center Executive Director Jay Height talks about how we can find lasting hope at Easter and beyond.
Shepherd Community Center Executive Director Jay Height discusses meeting neighbors’ health care needs with Dr. Daniel O’Donnell, the head of Indianapolis’ emergency medical services, and Shane Hardwick, a paramedic who is a key member of Shepherd’s Shalom Project.
Shepherd Community Center Executive Director Jay Height and Indianapolis police officer Adam Perkins discuss the Shalom Project and community policing.
Shepherd Community Center Executive Director Jay Height and Clarence Certer, commissioner of Tennessee’s Department of Human Services, discuss how government agencies and nonprofits can collaborate effectively to assist people in need.
Shepherd Community Center’s Alan Southerland and Traders Point Christian Church lead pastor Aaron Brockett discuss the power of ministry partnerships.
Executive Director Jay Height explains how Shepherd’s partnership with Arbor Homes and others is meeting the need for affordable housing in Indianapolis.
Shepherd Community Center Executive Director Jay Height discusses why gaps in SNAP benefits contribute to chronic hunger in Indianapolis.
Shepherd Community Center Chief Engagement Office Phil Edwards and Arsenal Technical High School teacher Tony Lamont discuss how Shepherd is working with the school to improve and protect students’ mental health.
Shepherd Community Center Director of Volunteer Engagement Donna Alexander explains how volunteers can serve their neighbors as Thanksgiving and Christmas draw near.
Shepherd Community Center Executive Director Jay Height discusses the economic challenges that many Americans are now facing.
Shepherd Community Center Executive Director Jay Height and Young Adult Coordinator David Martinez discuss how internships are building a new generation of ministry leaders.
Shepherd Executive Director Jay Height and McKenzie Scott Lewis, senior director of Congregations with Communities, discuss how churches can engage with their communities in ways that make a lasting difference.
Shepherd Community Center Executive Director Jay Height and McKenzie Scott Lewis, senior director of Congregations with Communities, discuss how mentors helped to shape Lewis’ call into ministry.
Shepherd Community Center Executive Director Jay Height and historian Dan Miller discuss how the Christian view of compassion has shaped American history and our social safety net.
Executive Director Jay Height talks about Shepherd Community Center’s celebration of 40 years in ministry with plans to build a health and wholeness center, expand its school, and build new affordable housing.
Executive Director Jay Height discusses how Shepherd Community Center is helping families ensure that children are safe, learning and receiving necessities like food this summer.
Shepherd Community Center Executive Director Jay Height discusses how cuts to social service programs like Medicaid and food stamps will harm neighbors living in poverty.
Shepherd Community Center’s Chief Learning Officer Tim Streett and Redeemer Presbyterian lead pastor Charles Anderson discuss how Christians can interact with love and kindness for their neighbors, friends, families and coworkers during a time of deep political polarization and tension.
Dr. Ben Carson, the famed neurosurgeon and former secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, discusses how ministries can help lift people out of poverty during his visit to Shepherd Community Center.
Executive Director Jay Height and Chief Engagement Officer Phil Edwards discuss Shepherd’s collaboration with Indianapolis Public Schools to reduce students’ stress and anxiety.
Executive Director Jay Height and Phil Edwards, Shepherd’s chief engagement officer, discuss an innovative program the ministry has launched to improve students’ mental health at an Indianapolis high school.
Executive Director Jay Height talks about key lessons he’s learned about serving in ministry during 30 years at Shepherd.
Executive Director Jay Height and Tim Streett, Shepherd’s chief learning officer, discuss why building strong relationships is essential for helping neighbors break the cycle of poverty.
Executive Director Jay Height and recently retired Grace Church teaching pastor Tim Ayres discuss how Christian leaders can thrive in ministry for decades.
Executive Director Jay Height and recently retired Grace Church teaching pastor Tim Ayres discuss how Christian leaders can thrive in ministry for decades.
Executive Director Jay Height discusses plans to celebrate Shepherd Community Center’s 40th anniversary in 2025.
Executive Director Jay Height reviews the triumphs and challenges of 2024, including an increase in neighbors struggling with the high cost of necessities.
Executive Director Jay Height discusses opportunities to serve as Shepherd prepares to help our neighbors celebrate the holidays.
Executive Director Jay Height discusses Shepherd Community Center’s history and its future as the ministry prepares to celebrate the 40th anniversary of its launch.
Executive Director Jay Height discusses how a wave of violence is affecting our neighbors, our community and ministry leaders.
Executive Director Jay Height and Director of Housing Dennis Westlake discuss how Shepherd is working with partners in the community to address the urgent need for affordable housing in Indianapolis.
Executive Director Jay Height discusses Shepherd Community Center’s growing partnership with Indianapolis Public Schools to meet students’ physical and mental health needs.
Executive Director Jay Height discusses Shepherd Community Center’s adult and children’s literacy efforts, including its partnership with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.
Shepherd Community Center Executive Director Jay Height discusses how government, businesses and ministries can work together to improve children’s lives.
Shepherd Community Center Executive Director Jay Height casts a bold vision for the future of Indiana: how can the state become the best in the nation to raise a child?
Shepherd Community Center Executive Director Jay Height interviews Phil Powell, executive director of the Indiana Business Research Center, on the economic impact of Shepherd’s work in the community.
Shepherd Community Center Executive Director Jay Height and Shepherd’s Director of Housing Dennis Westlake discuss the ministry’s innovative efforts to help neighbors find affordable housing.
Shepherd Community Center Executive Director Jay Height and Shepherd’s Director of Housing Dennis Westlake discuss how the lack of affordable affects neighbors in Indianapolis and through the United States.
Shepherd Community Center Executive Director Jay Height talks about the ministry’s future as it prepares to celebrate the 40th anniversary of its founding.
Shepherd Community Center Executive Director Jay Height discusses how the church and the community need to respond to the surge in youth violence in Indianapolis.
Shepherd Community Center Executive Director Jay Height and Dave Miner of the Indy Hunger Network discuss the effects of inflation on low-income families.
Shepherd Community Center Executive Director Jay Height and Dave Miner of the Indy Hunger Network discuss why chronic hunger remains a persistent problem in Indiana.
Guests Frank and Obed Santiesteban discuss the growing challenges of ministering to people who struggle with substance abuse.
Executive Director Jay Height discusses ministry needs and opportunities surrounding migration, immigration and refugees with guests Frank and Obed Santiesteban.
Executive Director Jay Height explains how each of us can help overcome the epidemic of loneliness and isolation plaguing our neighbors.
Executive Director Jay Height discusses how Shepherd’s partnership with Purdue University Northwest and the University of Southern California is leading to development of a virtual reality-assisted treatment program for young people dealing with chronic trauma.
Executive Director Jay Height explains how Shepherd is working with Indianapolis Public Schools to help families secure a good education for their children.
Shepherd Executive Director Jay Height discusses how spikes in rent and mortgage rates, along with rapid gentrification of urban neighborhoods, are hurting families as they struggle to pay for housing.
Executive Director Jay Height explains how Shepherd and its partners are helping families share positive experiences and build good memories together.
Shepherd Executive Director Jay Height discusses the continued challenges that many people in poverty face because of high food prices and increases in housing costs.
Shepherd Community Center Assistant Executive Director Andrew Green explores why so many students are missing so much school and how the community can help.
Assistant Executive Director Andrew Green discusses the challenges that people living in isolation face during the holidays and how Shepherd Community Center is helping them connect with their neighbors.
Shepherd Community Center Executive Director Jay Height and Assistant Director Tim Streett discuss both the necessity and the limitations of money in ending generational poverty.
Shepherd Community Center Executive Director Jay Height and Assistant Director Tim Streett discuss how building strong relationships and adopting a future-oriented mindset help neighbors break the cycle of poverty.
Shepherd Community Center Assistant Director Tim Streett, at age 15, witnessed the murder of his father as they shoveled snow in their driveway. Years later, Tim not only forgave his father’s killers but built a lasting friendship with one of the men.
Shepherd Community Center Executive Director Jay Height and Assistant Director Tim Streett discuss the essential role that faith in a personal God plays in helping people escape poverty.
Shepherd Community Center Executive Director Jay Height and Indianapolis police officer Adam Perkins talk about how the Shalom Project team builds relationships with neighbors.
Shepherd Community Center Executive Director Jay Height and Indianapolis police officer Adam Perkins discuss how the Shalom Project team uses community policing to assist neighbors on the near East side.
Shepherd Community Center Executive Director Jay Height and paramedic Shane Hardwick talk about the lifesaving help the Shalom Project team provided a 13-year-old shooting victim.
Shepherd’s groundbreaking Shalom Project meets neighbors’ needs where they live
Shepherd Community Center Executive Director Jay Height and Indianapolis paramedic Shane Hardwick discuss the innovative assistance the Shalom Project team provides to neighbors in need.
Shepherd Community Center Executive Director Jay Height discusses the many challenges that families living in poverty face when schools aren’t in session for the summer.
Shepherd Community Center Executive Director Jay Height discusses the health and well-being of children in Indianapolis in response to the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s recent release of its annual Kids Count Data Book.
Shepherd Community Center Executive Director Jay Height discusses the root causes that lead to crime and what needs to happen to reduce the violence.
Shepherd Community Center Executive Director Jay Height discusses how high inflation, including a spike in housing costs, continues to force families to make hard choices.
Shepherd Community Center Executive Director Jay Height and Assistant Director Tim Streett offer encouragement and advice for young leaders serving in urban ministry.
Shepherd Community Center Executive Director Jay Height and Assistant Director Tim Streett discuss the complex factors that keep millions of Americans trapped in poverty. We learn that breaking free from poverty is much more than just money.
Jay Height concludes the exploration of 10 essential assets for breaking free of poverty with a discussion of the importance of being future oriented and why acquiring enough money to meet basic needs is increasingly difficult but necessary for sustained self-sufficiency.
Jay Height continues the conversation about the 10 assets that Shepherd Community Center’s leadership has identified as essential for a person to leave poverty behind permanently. This episode focuses on the importance of being able to advocate for yourself as well as the need to understand and function in the mainstream culture.
Jay Height explores why strong relationships are a critical asset for people to rise out of poverty.
Steve Pennington, who provides a unique ministry and service in the community and at Shepherd Community Center, joins Executive Director Jay Height to discuss how he uses the art of puppetry to teach and inspire children.
Jay Height explores why a personal faith in God is a critical asset for people to rise out of poverty.
Executive Director Jay Height discusses the personal assets that the Shepherd Community Center team has identified as essential for people to possess to break out of poverty and gain a sustainable level of independence.
Shepherd Community Center Executive Director Jay Height discusses how doing ministry with neighbors can break down barriers and foster life-changing relationships.
Shepherd Community Center Executive Director Jay Height explains why churches and Christians have essential roles in a healthy society despite the trend toward secularism.
Jay Height discusses how we can approach life with gratitude and thankfulness even in difficult times.
Shepherd Community Center Executive Director Jay Height discusses how ministries and nonprofits can do a better job of finding and keeping volunteers.
Jay Height discusses how we can learn to connect with our neighbors and why it’s so vitally important.
Shepherd Community Center Executive Director Jay Height discusses why the path to employment needs to begin in middle school for students who face enormous obstacles in life.
Jay Height explains how the Shalom Project, which pairs a city police and a paramedic to help meet neighbors’ needs, became a groundbreaking initiative on Indianapolis’ near Eastside.
Shepherd Community Center Executive Director Jay Height shares key lessons he’s learned after more than 25 years in ministry.
Jay Height discusses how the surge in the cost of food, gas, rent and other necessities has affected our neighbors.
As crime increases across the United States, Jay Height discusses the factors driving the spike in violence and how ministries can help prevent tragedies and promote hope.
Too often, nonprofits, government agencies and even ministries are set up to foster dependency among the people they assist. In this episode, Jay Height, executive director of Shepherd Community Center in Indianapolis, discusses why building our neighbors’ independence and sustainability is so important.
This episode focuses on how Christians and churches should work to restore hope and strengthen communities in response to the deadly school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, which took the lives of at least 19 children and 2 adults.
Jay Height explains the challenges and complexities of poverty in the United States and explores how upper-income Americans can truly help neighbors living in poverty.
Jay Height offers encouragement and advice for pastors and ministry leaders struggling with the emotional, physical and spiritual toll of the past two years.
What happens when things go wrong in ministry. How do we grow as people and as organizations when our hopes and dreams didn’t work out as planned? Jay Height explores how good leaders and good organizations can handle mistakes with honesty and grace, and learn how to not repeat the cycle of error.
Inflation is at the highest level in nearly 40 years, with the Consumer Price Index increasing 7 percent in 2021. Jay Height explains why lower-income Americans are suffering the most from the rise in the cost of necessities and how Shepherd is responding to rising needs.
This episode explains how we can engage constructively with our neighbors – next door and across the city – as we navigate the consequences of the pandemic, social unrest, and political and economic upheaval.
This episode examines why soaring home prices and gentrification are heavy burdens for people in poverty.
This episode centers on hunger in the United States and why millions of Americans lack access to affordable and nutritious food even in a land of plenty.
This episode explores innovative efforts to provide people living in poverty with high quality and affordable health care.
This episode focuses on why Christmas is a joyous season but also one that often holds special challenges for people living in poverty.
This episode focuses on a critical set of issues: Jobs – and what employment means and doesn’t mean for families trying to rise out of poverty.
“Breaking the Cycle of Poverty” explores why poverty remains such a persistent problem in the United States and how individuals and organizations can help people secure economic independence and a higher quality of life.
The series features Jay Height, executive director of Shepherd Community Center in Indianapolis. For the past 36 years, Shepherd has provided its neighbors with innovative services designed to end generational poverty. Longtime journalist Tim Swarens is co-host of the series.
As an experienced pastor and ministry leader, Height offers encouragement and insight for leaders navigating the complex challenges of guiding organizations in a period of rapid social and economic change.