In this episode of Design and Religion: Look for the Helpers, Kim Eppehimer shares the deeper logic behind her work with Friendship House, Limen Recovery + Wellness, and the broader “One Big House” vision. She explains that the partnership between these organizations grew from a clear need: people seeking housing stability, recovery, and support are often forced to navigate a fragmented system that pushes them from one place to another. Her central conviction is simple and powerful: people need stability without losing dignity.

Kim argues that homelessness, substance use disorder, and mental health struggles are too often treated as personal failures rather than systemic realities shaped by trauma, isolation, poverty, and institutional barriers. She rejects the reflex to blame individuals for their suffering. In its place, she describes a model rooted in grace, continuity, and long-term belonging. Rather than offering quick interventions and then pushing people out, Friendship House and Limen are trying to build a longer arc of care where people can remain connected over time, return after programs end, and continue to be known as part of a community.

The conversation moves from systems language into human stories. Kim explains that there is no single “type” of person who becomes unhoused. The common thread is disruption: a family rejection, a job loss, untreated addiction, mental health challenges, rising rent, lack of childcare, or some accumulation of hardship that knocks a person out of stability. She points to shame and isolation as major forces in people’s lives and insists that empathy must come before meaningful action. Compassion, in her telling, is empathy that moves.

A significant portion of the episode focuses on barriers that many housed and privileged people never have to think about. Kim gives a vivid account of how difficult it can be to obtain a birth certificate and a state ID, even though those documents are required for work, housing, and many services. What sounds basic on paper becomes a months-long process, especially for people without a permanent address, money, or full knowledge of their own records. That section gives the episode much of its practical force. It reveals how systems that appear neutral often exclude the very people they claim to serve.

Kim also speaks directly about advocacy. Her counsel is that people should educate themselves deeply before trying to advocate. She warns against shallow certainty and explains that she herself has had to unlearn and relearn, especially around race, privilege, and structural inequality. She names the disproportionate impact of homelessness on people of color in Delaware and speaks candidly about how policy, bureaucracy, and cultural judgment often reinforce exclusion.

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We envision a world where design and religion work together to spread love, empathy, and charity faster than divisiveness, selfishness, and hate. To achieve this, we aim to bring the stories of those driving this change—both big and small—into the spotlight, allowing ideas for positive transformation to spread quickly and reach those who need them most.

Nate is the Head Pastor at Red Clay Creek Presbyterian Church https://rccpc.org/

Van is a Service Designer and Illustrator, and his work can be found at https://www.vansheacreative.com/

This episode of Design and Religion continues the “Look for the Helpers” series with Cathy Kanefsky, President and CEO of the Food Bank of Delaware. The conversation opens with the larger theme of help itself: what it means to become a helper, how people are shaped by hardship, and why some leaders are drawn into work they never originally planned to do.

Cathy shares her own path into nonprofit leadership through deeply personal experience. She reflects on raising twin sons born extremely premature, later diagnosed with autism, and how that family journey led her into mission-driven work at the March of Dimes, Autism Speaks, Nemours, and eventually the Food Bank of Delaware. She describes this path as something she was led into rather than strategically planned, and that theme gives the episode its emotional center. Her story frames the Food Bank’s work with unusual depth. Hunger is presented as one form of insecurity among many, and Cathy offers a powerful reframing: if you take the word “food” away from “food insecurity,” what remains is the experience of not knowing what tomorrow will bring.

From there, the episode broadens into a strong portrait of what the Food Bank of Delaware actually does. Cathy explains that most people imagine a food bank as a cold warehouse or a simple distribution site. She replaces that image with a fuller picture. The Food Bank still provides immediate food access, yet it also operates workforce and training programs that help people build stability for the future. She describes this structure through the organization’s two-part language: Food for Today and Food for Tomorrow. “Food for Today” includes pantry access, backpack programs, partner agencies, and mobile distributions. “Food for Tomorrow” includes culinary job training, logistics training, and kitchen programs for adults with intellectual disabilities.

The conversation also highlights the Food Bank’s work with adults with intellectual disabilities, including a culinary training pathway designed with a tailored curriculum and employer partnerships. This section becomes even more meaningful when Cathy shares that her own twin sons work at the Food Bank as part of a group of employees with disabilities doing meaningful work with support in place. That personal connection gives this part of the episode a rare honesty. It also reinforces a broader message: many people hold tremendous potential, and what they often need is belief, structure, and a real opportunity.

Another major thread is systems pressure. Cathy explains how federal food support disruptions and changes in donated food patterns have forced the organization to evolve operationally. She describes the loss of expected USDA food shipments, the need to purchase more essential goods directly, and the community response that followed. Rather than centering the organization’s hardship, she centers the families who depend on the Food Bank. This part of the conversation gives the episode real civic weight. Hunger is revealed as a systems issue involving logistics, pu

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Support the show

We envision a world where design and religion work together to spread love, empathy, and charity faster than divisiveness, selfishness, and hate. To achieve this, we aim to bring the stories of those driving this change—both big and small—into the spotlight, allowing ideas for positive transformation to spread quickly and reach those who need them most.

Nate is the Head Pastor at Red Clay Creek Presbyterian Church https://rccpc.org/

Van is a Service Designer and Illustrator, and his work can be found at https://www.vansheacreative.com/

This episode centers on Kevin L. Smith’s long vocation of service through Habitat for Humanity of New Castle County and the way his housing work and Christian calling have grown together over time. Kevin describes a formative sense of calling, “be with my people,” which led him through a Mennonite volunteer program to Habitat for Humanity in Fresno and then back home to Delaware, where he has now spent three decades building homes, community, and hope. He also reflects on his more recent ordination as a deacon in the United Methodist Church, explaining that seminary and ordained ministry formalized work he feels he had already been doing for years: connecting the church to the needs of the world and helping congregations live their faith in tangible ways.

A major theme of the conversation is Kevin’s conviction that a home means far more than shelter. He explains that first-time homeownership changes not only the life of a buyer, but the expectations and trajectory of that buyer’s children. Stability, affordability, health, school performance, and the possibility of college or long-term advancement all become more attainable when a family has a stable place to live. He describes homeownership as a launch pad that enables families to live more fully into their potential.

The discussion then broadens from individual families to the housing system in Delaware. Kevin argues that Habitat’s role is larger than building houses. It includes advocacy around the structural causes of the housing crisis, especially zoning rules that block density and keep affordable housing from being built in many suburban areas. He discusses the need for inclusionary zoning, where municipalities require a portion of new market-rate development to be set aside as affordable, and he pushes back against the idea that affordable housing should be confined to Wilmington or other urban cores. Teachers, nurses, caregivers, and service workers live throughout the state and need housing in every kind of community.

The faith dimension runs through the whole conversation. Kevin frames Habitat explicitly as a Christian ministry that puts God’s love into action by building homes, communities, and hope. He sees churches as natural partners, not only through volunteering and fundraising, but increasingly through property stewardship. One striking example is Habitat’s partnership with the New Castle Presbytery to develop 23 housing units on church-owned land in Glasgow. This part of the conversation shows how churches can move from charity alone toward using their assets in structurally meaningful ways.

The episode also clarifies what makes Habitat’s model distinctive. Kevin explains that Habitat is not simply a builder. It also acts as a lender, providing zero-interest mortgages and spending months preparing families through training and sweat equity to support long-term success. He emphasizes that Habitat does not “give away homes” and that the organization serves people who are financially and personally ready for homeownership, while also offering repair programs for existing low-income homeowners, many of them seniors.

Send us a text message letting us know what you think of this episode!

We envision a world where design and religion work together to spread love, empathy, and charity faster than divisiveness, selfishness, and hate. To achieve this, we aim to bring the stories of those driving this change—both big and small—into the spotlight, allowing ideas for positive transformation to spread quickly and reach those who need them most.

Nate is the Head Pastor at Red Clay Creek Presbyterian Church https://rccpc.org/

Van is a Service Designer and Illustrator, and his work can be found at https://www.vansheacreative.com/

This episode of the Design and Religion Podcast explores the role of community helpers through a conversation with leaders from NAMI Delaware, the state chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

Van Shea Sedita welcomes Marie Wenzel, CEO of NAMI Delaware, and Jenny Graham, who leads development and engagement efforts. The discussion focuses on how NAMI supports individuals living with serious mental illness, their families, and the broader community through free support groups, education, crisis training for police, and affordable housing.

Marie explains that NAMI Delaware is currently modernizing a 40-year-old organization to meet new behavioral health challenges. Their work spans peer-led support groups, family education programs, workplace mental health education, crisis intervention team (CIT) training for law enforcement, and the operation of dozens of homes providing stable housing for individuals with serious mental illness.

The conversation emphasizes the power of peer support and lived experience. Both the hosts and guests highlight how healing often happens through relationships with others who understand similar struggles. Marie notes that recovery is relational and community-driven, which is why NAMI focuses heavily on connection, support groups, and accessible help lines.

Van shares his personal motivation for serving on the NAMI Delaware board, reflecting on experiences growing up in New York City where he encountered stories of trauma among peers at a young age. That exposure helped shape his belief that communities must actively support mental health and reduce stigma.

The episode also addresses the complex role NAMI plays as both a housing provider and support network. Staff members frequently act as connectors—repairing homes while also providing compassion, listening, and guidance to residents who often lack family support.

A critical moment in the conversation asks what would happen if NAMI Delaware disappeared. Marie explains that the state would lose a large network of free mental health resources, advocacy, system navigation, and supportive housing, leaving many individuals vulnerable to homelessness, incarceration, or disengagement from care.

The discussion concludes with a call for community participation through volunteering, membership, and donations. The guests stress that meaningful help often begins with simple actions: listening, showing kindness, and supporting organizations that build social connection.

The central theme of the episode is clear: mental health is not an isolated issue affecting “other people.” It touches everyone, and communities thrive when helpers step forward.

Send us a text message letting us know what you think of this episode!

We envision a world where design and religion work together to spread love, empathy, and charity faster than divisiveness, selfishness, and hate. To achieve this, we aim to bring the stories of those driving this change—both big and small—into the spotlight, allowing ideas for positive transformation to spread quickly and reach those who need them most.

Nate is the Head Pastor at Red Clay Creek Presbyterian Church https://rccpc.org/

Van is a Service Designer and Illustrator, and his work can be found at https://www.vansheacreative.com/

This episode centers on Dan Zauderer, founder and CEO of Grassroots Grocery, and his effort to address food insecurity through a model rooted in dignity, volunteerism, and neighborhood connection. Dan explains that Grassroots Grocery is not simply a food distribution nonprofit. It is a movement built around a simple but powerful idea: neighbors helping neighbors. The work uses food as the medium, while the deeper mission is to rebuild community and belonging.

A major strength of the conversation is the way Dan reframes food insecurity. He pushes back against the narrow picture many people hold in their minds. Food insecurity is not limited to extreme starvation or visible homelessness. It also includes working families, people in public housing, and households that simply cannot afford healthy, life-affirming food regularly. He makes clear that many people who objectively qualify as food insecure would never describe themselves that way. Shame, comparison, and social stigma distort self-perception. That insight gives the episode unusual depth. It moves the issue from charity language into systems and identity.

Dan then outlines the organization’s two main programs. The first is The Great Sandwich Race, a corporate volunteer experience in which teams race against the clock to make sandwiches that are later delivered to community partners serving people in need across New York City. The second is the Produce Party, Grassroots Grocery’s flagship Saturday operation in the Bronx. Volunteers gather in a parking lot, unload donated produce, sort and pack it, compost what cannot be used, and then drive the produce out to about 30 communities through local volunteer leaders called Grassroots Grocers. Dan describes this system as a hub-and-spoke model. It is simple, asset-light, and highly scalable.

The episode becomes especially strong when it shifts from logistics to ethos. Dan insists that this work is joyful. He rejects the idea that social action must be fueled mainly by anger. He wants to build a movement that feels celebratory, participatory, and alive. That is why the language matters. It is a “produce party,” not a grim service line. It is a “great sandwich race,” not a sterile volunteer shift. Through those choices, the organization creates energy that invites broad participation across class, age, religion, and background. Dan says plainly that even people with means, even families driving expensive cars, are welcome in the tent if they are willing to show up and help. This openness becomes one of the most compelling leadership principles in the episode.

Find out more about Grassroots Greocery: https://www.grassrootsgrocery.org/

Send us a text message letting us know what you think of this episode!

Support the show

We envision a world where design and religion work together to spread love, empathy, and charity faster than divisiveness, selfishness, and hate. To achieve this, we aim to bring the stories of those driving this change—both big and small—into the spotlight, allowing ideas for positive transformation to spread quickly and reach those who need them most.

Nate is the Head Pastor at Red Clay Creek Presbyterian Church https://rccpc.org/

Van is a Service Designer and Illustrator, and his work can be found at https://www.vansheacreative.com/

In this episode of Design and Religion – Look for the Helpers, Van Sedita and Pastor Nate Phillips speak with Michelle Santoro, Associate Director of Philanthropy at Undue Medical Debt, about a quiet but powerful movement working to eliminate medical debt across the United States.

Undue Medical Debt purchases large bundles of unpaid medical debt from hospitals and debt collectors—often for pennies on the dollar—and then abolishes it entirely for those who qualify. The organization targets people whose medical debt is overwhelming relative to their income or who live near the poverty line. Once the debt is purchased, it disappears: credit damage is removed, legal threats stop, and families receive a letter informing them that their debt has been forgiven as a gift from donors and community partners.

The conversation explores how medical debt works behind the scenes. Many Americans assume it only affects the uninsured, yet Michelle explains that underinsurance, high deductibles, and billing complexity often push middle-class families into debt as well. Even people with insurance can face massive bills after a single health event.

Van frames the issue through a moral and systemic lens, noting how medical billing can feel unjust when patients are charged extreme prices for basic treatments. Michelle describes how Undue’s work focuses on restoring dignity rather than assigning blame. Their goal is not simply to eliminate existing debt but to eventually make their own organization unnecessary by ending medical debt altogether.

The episode highlights how faith communities have become key partners in this work. Churches, donors, and local campaigns raise funds that Undue uses to abolish debt within specific counties. Because debt can often be purchased cheaply on the secondary market, a relatively small donation can eliminate a much larger amount of debt—often around $100 for every $1 donated.

Beyond the financial impact, the human consequences are profound. Michelle shares that many recipients report feeling free to return to doctors and seek treatment again after years of avoiding care out of fear of accumulating more debt.

The conversation closes with a simple call to action: share the story, support campaigns, and help build communities that actively care for their most vulnerable neighbors.

Reach out to Michelle Santoro to start your own Undue campaign! Michelle Santoro michelle.santoro@unduemedicaldebt.org

https://www.unduemedicaldebt.org/

Send us a text message letting us know what you think of this episode!

We envision a world where design and religion work together to spread love, empathy, and charity faster than divisiveness, selfishness, and hate. To achieve this, we aim to bring the stories of those driving this change—both big and small—into the spotlight, allowing ideas for positive transformation to spread quickly and reach those who need them most.

Nate is the Head Pastor at Red Clay Creek Presbyterian Church https://rccpc.org/

Van is a Service Designer and Illustrator, and his work can be found at https://www.vansheacreative.com/

This episode of Design and Religion – Look for the Helpers features Chris Locke, founder of SL24: UnLocke the Light and Sean’s House in Newark, Delaware. Chris shares the story of losing his son Sean in 2018 to suicide just weeks before his 24th birthday and how that tragedy reshaped his life and mission. Sean appeared to have everything: he was a Division I athlete, a team captain at the University of Delaware, and someone widely loved in his community. Yet he was quietly battling depression and anxiety.

Chris explains that Sean left a note with one powerful line: “Depression is a real thing.” That sentence became the catalyst for Chris’s work. After Sean’s death, a memorial basketball event drew more than 3,000 people and raised $200,000, revealing the depth of community support and the widespread need for mental health awareness.

From that moment emerged SL24 and eventually Sean’s House — a 24/7 safe haven located in the same house Sean lived in while attending college. The model is intentionally simple and deeply human: a welcoming home environment with food, couches, and trained peer support volunteers who listen to anyone who walks in. No intake forms. No sign-ins. Just conversation.

Over five years, the house has welcomed tens of thousands of visitors and directly intervened in hundreds of suicide crises. The heart of the program is peer support — volunteers with lived experience who sit with visitors and listen without judgment. Chris describes how many individuals struggle silently for years before verbalizing their pain, and how environments like Sean’s House help shorten that timeline.

The conversation moves into deeper themes about vulnerability, faith, and community. Chris reflects on how losing Sean changed him personally, particularly his ability to listen with empathy. Pastor Nate connects the work of Sean’s House to spiritual ideas of presence and hospitality, suggesting that churches could learn from the openness of the space.

Van shares his own experience with addiction and recovery, emphasizing how long it can take for someone to find the courage to seek help. Chris highlights the connection between untreated mental health struggles and addiction, noting that many people self-medicate to cope with unseen pain.

The episode closes with reflections on how community spaces — whether a house, a church, or a dinner table — can become places of healing. Chris emphasizes that the most powerful support often comes from simple human connection: sitting together, breaking bread, and listening.

Sean’s House continues to grow through volunteers, community donations, and the expansion of “Sean’s Rooms” in local high schools. Chris remains focused on Delaware while helping other communities replicate the model if they wish.

Send us a text message letting us know what you think of this episode!

We envision a world where design and religion work together to spread love, empathy, and charity faster than divisiveness, selfishness, and hate. To achieve this, we aim to bring the stories of those driving this change—both big and small—into the spotlight, allowing ideas for positive transformation to spread quickly and reach those who need them most.

Nate is the Head Pastor at Red Clay Creek Presbyterian Church https://rccpc.org/

Van is a Service Designer and Illustrator, and his work can be found at https://www.vansheacreative.com/

In this episode, Nate and Van sit down with Alex Kocman to discuss his theological framework and his new book, Ordered to Love. The conversation explores the tension between "localism"—focusing on one's immediate family and community—and the global missionary mandate.

Kocman argues against treating the church like a digital media company, suggesting instead that the local church is a primary countermeasure to the isolation of the digital age. The trio engages in a candid debate over missionary methodologies, comparing a "proclamational" model (prioritizing the preaching of the Gospel) with more "holistic" or humanitarian approaches.

The discussion concludes with a moving personal story from Van about a real-life "helper" moment, prompting a reflection on how both natural support and spiritual truth work together to provide meaning to those in despair

Send us a text message letting us know what you think of this episode!

We envision a world where design and religion work together to spread love, empathy, and charity faster than divisiveness, selfishness, and hate. To achieve this, we aim to bring the stories of those driving this change—both big and small—into the spotlight, allowing ideas for positive transformation to spread quickly and reach those who need them most.

Nate is the Head Pastor at Red Clay Creek Presbyterian Church https://rccpc.org/

Van is a Service Designer and Illustrator, and his work can be found at https://www.vansheacreative.com/