What if the most effective solution to addiction, mental health crises, and repeat ER visits isn't another program—but someone who's been there before? In this episode of Rural Builds, host Rob Birdman Hephner sits down in Tucson, Arizona, with Richard Sandoval, Senior Director of Community Programs at Hope Incorporated, for a powerful conversation about peer support, recovery, and what works in rural communities.

Sandoval explains how Hope Incorporated meets people where they are—inside jails, emergency rooms, hospitals, shelters, and on the streets—by using peer support rooted in lived experience. From mental health challenges to substance use recovery, the organization focuses on building trust and connection with individuals who often feel written off by traditional systems.

The episode dives deep into why rural areas face unique challenges: fewer treatment beds, limited transportation, staffing shortages, and a lack of nearby resources. Sandoval shares how introducing peer support in rural Arizona communities—like the White Mountains and Show Low—led to dramatic results, including reduced ER readmissions and more than $8 million in healthcare cost savings over 18 months for a single hospital system.

Beyond the data, this conversation explores why peer support de-escalates crisis situations, how stigma around mental health mirrors outdated thinking about physical health, and why recovery is never a straight line. Sandoval's personal journey—from Veterans Treatment Court participant to senior leadership—brings the mission full circle, proving that hope isn't abstract. It's built through relationships, consistency, and people who refuse to give up on others.

RURAL BUILDS is brought to you by Birdman Media™ and supported by the following sponsors;

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Sitgreaves Community Development Corporation

What happens when unresolved trauma goes untreated in rural communities—and what does it really take to rebuild hope? In this episode of Rural Builds, host Rob Birdman Hephner speaks with Jonathan Brunson at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York about the realities of mental health, poverty, and resilience in rural North Carolina.

Brunson is a board member with the Rural Opportunity Institute and the founder of Unafraid to Be Gifted. His work focuses on identifying and addressing unresolved trauma in young people—especially youth of color—in rural counties like Edgecombe, Wilson, and Tarboro. Drawing from experience in classrooms, community spaces, and grassroots organizing, Brunson explains how trauma often shows up as behavior, discipline issues, substance use, or hopelessness when the root causes go unaddressed.

The conversation explores how historic flooding, housing instability, food insecurity, lack of transportation, and limited economic opportunity compound mental health challenges in rural areas. Brunson shares why trust is the biggest barrier to change, how meeting people where they are builds credibility, and why culturally grounded outreach—like community events, barbershop conversations, and youth-centered spaces—can succeed where traditional systems fail.

More than a discussion of problems, this episode highlights the power of service, humility, and presence. From suicide prevention to youth mentorship, Brunson's story shows how one committed individual—and the right partnerships—can help rural communities move from trauma toward healing.

RURAL BUILDS is brought to you by Birdman Media™ and supported by the following sponsors;

Please visit their sites for more information and support them when you can.

Sitgreaves Community Development Corporation

What really shapes a person's health—and why does medical care account for only a small piece of the outcome? In this episode of Rural Builds, host Rob Birdman Hephner sits down at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York with Aaqil Khan, a rural systems builder working at the intersection of technology, healthcare, and community change.

Khan shares his work with Collectively, an AI-driven company focused on improving financial health literacy and patient billing experiences, alongside his passion project, Connected Communities—a three-county coalition in Northwest Illinois addressing substance use disorder, food insecurity, and housing stability. Together, they break down what "social determinants of health" really mean in everyday terms: housing, food access, transportation, education, and the ongoing stress caused by instability.

The conversation traces how efforts to address substance use disorder led upstream to deeper root causes like childhood trauma, adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), and lack of social connection. Khan explains how recovery housing, sober living homes, community fridges, and recovery-friendly workplaces are all connected—and why housing, transportation, and employment form the foundation for lasting recovery and economic stability.

This episode also takes on stigma head-on, emphasizing why language matters, how data helps communities understand impact, and why building trust among local stakeholders is the hardest—and most important—work. It's a grounded, practical conversation about empathy, systems thinking, and how rural communities can build healthier futures by seeing the whole person, not just the problem.

RURAL BUILDS is brought to you by Birdman Media™ and supported by the following sponsors;

Please visit their sites for more information and support them when you can.

Sitgreaves Community Development Corporation

Mountain Retreat Realty Experts

How do communities actually solve complex problems like poverty, housing instability, and workforce readiness—without wasting money on studies that sit on a shelf? In this episode of Rural Builds, host Rob Birdman Hephner sits down with Richard Taylor, Vice President of eTransX, to unpack a platform designed to help communities work smarter, not harder.

Recorded at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the conversation explores why most communities struggle to coordinate services across nonprofits, churches, healthcare providers, and local government—and how eTransX was built to fix that. Taylor explains how the Well-Being Care Community Platform connects people, households, and service providers in one shared, person-centered system that addresses housing, food access, transportation, jobs, and other social drivers of health.

The episode explains why this kind of data sharing hasn't happened sooner, how privacy and consent are protected, and what it really costs a town or region to implement a system like this. More importantly, it shows how real-time, community-owned data can replace expensive studies, reduce duplication of effort, and help leaders make better decisions that actually improve lives.

This is a practical, plain-spoken conversation about technology as a tool—not the solution—to help rural and local communities move the needle on poverty, health, and economic development.

RURAL BUILDS is brought to you by Birdman Media™ and supported by the following sponsors;

Please visit their sites for more information and support them when you can.

Sitgreaves Community Development Corporation

What does it really take to help families move out of poverty—especially in places that don't have big cities, big budgets, or big spotlights? In this episode of Rural Builds, host Rob Birdman Hephner sits down with Mark Farley of Empower Upper Cumberland to talk about what's working in rural Middle Tennessee—and why it matters.

Recorded on location at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, this conversation dives into how a 14-county, fully rural region serving more than 370,000 people is taking a proactive approach to poverty alleviation. Farley explains how Empower Upper Cumberland secured $25 million in state funding to pilot innovative programs aimed at helping 800 families—most of them single mothers—reach long-term economic stability.

A major focus of the episode is the "benefit cliff," a policy challenge that often leaves families worse off when they earn just a little more income. Farley shares how his team is working around these barriers while also pushing for smarter policy, all while helping families build skills, confidence, and a path toward better-paying work.

The results are powerful: early program graduates have increased household income by millions of dollars, with some families moving from poverty to six-figure earnings. More than statistics, this episode is about restoring belief, overcoming past trauma, and proving that when rural communities invest in people, real change is possible.

RURAL BUILDS is brought to you by Birdman Media™ and supported by the following sponsors;

Please visit their sites for more information and support them when you can.

Sitgreaves Community Development Corporation

Mountain Retreat Realty Experts

Rural employers don't just need workers—they need workers who can stay, grow, and help a business run better. In this episode of Rural Builds, host Rob "Birdman" Hepner talks with Jay Johnson, Rural Program Manager of Workforce Development at Local First Arizona, about a program that's putting real support (and real dollars) behind rural hiring.

Jay breaks down the Northern Arizona Good Jobs Network, a multi-county workforce initiative stretching from Kingman to Show Low/Holbrook, built in partnership with community colleges and training providers across five northern Arizona counties. The goal is simple: deliver the right training for each region—and then connect trained workers to employers who are ready to hire and retain them.

Here's the part rural business owners will want to hear: the program doesn't just offer free training for workers. It also offers employer incentives up to $5,000, including paid time-off for interviewing program participants, support for staff training (including soft skills), and stipends to help businesses strengthen operations. Jay explains how the reimbursement process works, why soft skills should be treated like ongoing practice—not a one-time seminar—and how employer involvement helps ensure the training actually matches real-world needs.

This episode is also time-sensitive. Jay shares key deadlines: Local First Arizona aims to get employers committed by March 1, with the grant wrapping up in June. If you're a rural Arizona employer who needs better staffing, better training, or a better hiring pipeline, this is a chance to get in while the support is still on the table.

If you are a business, don't hesitate, click this link NOW - https://localfirstaz.com/good-jobs

RURAL BUILDS is brought to you by Birdman Media™ and supported by the following sponsors;

Please visit their sites for more information and support them when you can.

Sitgreaves Community Development Corporation

Mountain Retreat Realty Experts

Rural Builds launches with a candid conversation on what it really takes to strengthen rural communities—and why traditional, metro-designed solutions often fall short. Hosts Rob "Birdman" Hephner and Allison Hephner explore how rural community champions are addressing social determinants of health like housing, food access, workforce, childcare, and substance use with limited resources but deep local commitment.

This episode centers on a critical shift in rural impact work: moving people from survival to thriving. Through real stories from rural Arizona, the conversation examines how well-intentioned systems can unintentionally trap families in poverty, why policy cliffs and rigid eligibility thresholds undermine upward mobility, and how rural partnerships are designing smarter, more human-centered pathways out. The episode sets the foundation for the podcast's mission—amplifying rural builders, elevating lived experience, and showing funders and policymakers what's possible when rural communities are trusted to lead.

RURAL BUILDS is brought to you by Birdman Media™ and supported by the following sponsors;

Please visit their sites for more information and support them when you can.

Sitgreaves Community Development Corporation

Mountain Retreat Realty Experts