(Tom) This week on Arizona Illustrated, how one local church is redefining religion.

(Bennett) My faith motivates me to do the help.

The people I help don't need to know that.

(Tom) Cooling Tucson neighborhoods one tree at a time.

(Gabriel) It's really the foundation of building up our city.

(Tom) Discover a safe space where no child grieves alone.

(Liz) What we do oftentimes sounds really sad, but there's a lot of joy here.

(Tom) And meet an artist to embrace change during the pandemic.

(Kenneth) Maybe just making the same object or item over and over and over is not the way for me.

So in coming to Bisbee, I'm now working in all of these different mediums.

Hello and welcome to Arizona Illustrated.

I'm Tom McNamara.

First up, we'll introduce you to some ministers who are redefining religion by giving up their church to help those in the community who need it most.

(Bennett) My name is Bennett and I got some food here.

Are there some folks over there?

Let me go tell some people.

Let me go tell some people.

Oh, you didn't get tacos yet?

Wait.

Oh, well, I think I put them in.

Yeah, there's some in there.

Okay, you want some tacos and all this stuff?

People ask when I show up, they'll ask questions like "why are you being so nice to us?"

And my standard answer is "because I think hungry people should eat and thirsty people should have drink."

Again, people are conditioned over many years to think that there must be a catch for anybody who's being nice to someone or giving them something.

Bishop Sully and I have talked about a lot where people who are looking for services can find them at many religious organizations, but they have to attend services or they have to listen to sermons.

And we distinctly founded our organization in opposition to that notion.

There should not be conditions for people to get the help they need.

Good morning.

Are you all hungry?

(Celia) Anything but red.

OK, we got you.

Thank you.

Was it Nakoda?

- Nakoda.

(Bennett) Let me get you some tacos, too, and all this stuff here.

OK, calm down.

[ DOG WHIMPERS ] OK, really?

This i- this is life this is life she comes first.

Every bit of help comes with a price.

I would say about 95 percent of times the help has been offered to me, it comes with a sexual price.

How many times I've been walking and a person in a nice vehicle will show up.

Nice looking gentleman asked me if I'm working or if I'd like to make some money.

It doesn't matter if I look just to the nines or if I'm really looking raggedy that day.

It's just a woman walking around alone.

(Bennett) Very, very few Americans are interested in going and sitting in a space on a Sunday morning and doing what's called going to church.

But more and more people have needs.

And when we saw our attendance declining over time, along with many other churches, and we realized that we were raising money to pay rent to continue to stay in the practice of holding services for fewer and fewer people.

And it became a well, a cost benefit analysis.

If we're going to raise money instead of paying rent, why don't we use that money to buy food and other items to assist people?

(Celia) Closing the doors, there was a little bit of grief and loss for that, but the benefits or the inspiration and motivation that we have now to continue doing this type of work.

But we decided it was time to transition.

And Matthew 25:34, because it's the passage where Jesus tells us that it's how we care for the least.

We call those people the marginalized today, but how we care for the marginalized is the real test of our faith.

Were you there when they cleared out the camp a couple weeks ago?

Yeah, I pulled up just as the police were clearing out the camp.

- I got jumped back there excited.

- Oh, okay.

Yeah, I understand.

(Celia) Prior to that, our church services in Casa Grande, we were starting the bags of blessings, which is pretty much what we're going to be doing here today.

We just filled bags and we took them out to the homeless.

(Bennett) It's also important for people to see them where they are.

To see their circumstances, to see the conditions in which they live.

It's one of the things that helps generate empathy.

I don't mean to say bad things about the people working hard to provide good services, but they don't meet the needs of many, many people.

Imagine that you are homeless and you are homeless with your pet.

Shelters won't take your pet.

When I first wake up, it's like she wakes me up with kisses and I know she's safe and I know I slept through the night because she's a good guard dog.

(Bennett) Imagine if you are a couple, male-female couple, and you were homeless.

The shelters will separate you.

People often can't keep their possessions when they get services.

Many services won't serve people who have addictions.

(Celia) had a 29-year history of addiction and that ended in 1997 after I found the Liberal Catholic Church Internationals.

It's something that I like to share with them so that they know that they're not alone and that there's a way out.

(Bennett) One of the myths is that-that most homeless people are homeless because of drug addiction.

And it's actually- the majority is the other way around.

Is they started doing drugs after living out here to medicate, self-medication because of how hard it is to live out here.

(Carmen) I've had the addiction problems.

I've had the sexual abuse problems in my past.

You don't have to give in to it.

But I think that the single women here in this world are being overlooked because there's not a lot of resources for them.

(Celia) If they want to stop, sometimes they're not ready.

Sometimes they are, and when they are, I give them the resource information that I have.

I just want people to know that they don't have to remain in that type of pain and suffering.

Pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional.

(Carmen) It's the hidden gems, I think, that do the most.

And it seems to be more faith-based.

My opinion about faith doesn't really matter when I'm helping people.

My faith motivates me to do the help.

The people I help don't need to know that.

In a city known for its sunshine and heat, one organization is digging deep to add more green, one tree at a time.

Their mission is to help Tucson branch out into a cooler and more climate-resilient city.

This story was produced by a graduating senior, Kim Ngomo.

So thank you, Kim.

♪ GROOVY BASS (Will) Hey, good morning.

Here to plant some trees?

Right on.

Well, thank you so much for coming to join us.

I'll assign you to a group and then we'll get started here in just a few minutes.

[ BACKGROUND CHATTER ] All right, thank you guys so much for coming out.

Y'all stick with your team leaders.

It's going to be a good day.

Go get it, Gabe.

We're here in Flowing Wells neighborhood planting trees for the residents.

So all the residents here in this neighborhood or all the homeowners, were offered free trees through our program, where we come out and we plant up to three of those free trees for them, putting in 121 trees this weekend.

We provide the trees and do all the planting so that's all taken care of and then we also go through the blue staking process.

So we check through for utilities so basically the entire process is taken care of for the residents.

We planted over 2,100 trees since we started in the end of September.

So we're, we try to get 100 per week if we can.

We're averaging more like 86 per week for our 24 events that we've had this year but, it's been a very successful planting season.

How did it go you guys?

(Volunteer) Good.

-We get anywhere between I would say 50 to 100 volunteers per event depending on the event size.

We always welcome out new volunteers and we want to get as many people out here to participate and learn about tree planting as we can.

Tucson...got to love it.

(Gabriel) So right now we're just digging about two times the radius of the pot just to give it a nice big hole to plant it in.

Initially, I was just a volunteer for a couple weeks, and then I really got interested in the program.

I just love being outside planting all these different trees especially in Tucson too, where we need the shade with all the heat.

You want to rough up the soil just to stop the roots from coiling around because when it's in the pot it's kind of constricted so we just want to free it all up so it can survive.

I don't believe we really plant any fruit bearing.

We just plant mostly native trees or trees that we know are going to thrive in a desert environment, especially with this hard soil too.

Trees live a long time.

They'll probably outlive the homeowner if they grow properly.

So that's another really nice thing about the trees too, just the commitment it has to take to plant them.

And we also kind of want to stomp on the soil a little bit just to make sure it's nice and compact, there's no air bubbles left.

So the berm is going to be two times the radius of the pot like the original hole we dug and this is just to trap all the water that it needs.

And aside from watering it's finished.

(Volunteer) Good, thank you.

-Nice.

-Good job, Les.

We have little info cards that we usually give out at the end of plantings, uh, telling them the frequency they have to water them especially during the formative years of the tree.

That's when it's most important to give it more water.

[HOSE SPRAYING] What I love is getting involved with the community because uh, we're not really planting just anywhere in the city.

We're planting in individuals homes.

So it's really nice just being able to interact with all the people of Tucson, seeing all their beautiful yards, seeing their reasons for wanting to plant trees.

It's really nice just getting to know people in this work environment too.

(Shawn) I had a flyer out on my door, and I got home from work and I pulled it off, read it.

I was like, "Free trees?"

I was like, "Well, sign me up."

[LAUGHS] I mean, who wouldn't do that?

Thinking about like summer times and shade but also with, on top of that, just like, adding more.

I mean, because who doesn't like trees?

Obviously, uh, we're trying to fix up the yard.

The more trees, I mean, it brings in the birds and different stuff like that.

It's just, I think it's much needed.

(Will) The land stewardship that Tucson Clean and Beautiful embodies is-is so important.

People don't necessarily think about, um, you know, who's cleaning up the washes or who's planting the trees, who's doing the education, but it's, uh, you know, it's-it's, really the foundation of building up our city, you know.

If-if people see trash and litter everywhere and people aren't taking care of it, uh, that's only going to snowball.

All right, good attitude.

I love that.

So we got five more.

Y'all want to come help me plant those?

Just kidding, just kidding.

We'll let you go.

[LAUGHTER] Tu Nidito is a nonprofit organization with a powerful mission.

No child grieves alone.

Now for nearly three decades, they've offered compassionate support in both English and Spanish to children and families who are facing the challenges of serious illness or loss.

(soft music) (Kristen) Losing a child is such a unique and terrible experience and it's just something that you carry with you all day, every day.

And it's hard to relate to those who have not gone through this.

It's different than any other grief out there.

We came to Tu Nidito as a family in support after we lost our six-year-old daughter, Haley.

Very suddenly, she passed away in May 20 of 23 from complications of the flu.

I have no idea how to process this how to go through this.

I'm going to throw everything at this, whatever I can counseling or help we can get.

(Volunteer) Hi everybody and welcome to your Tuesday to grief support group here at Tu Nidito.

We're all here because someone very special in our lives has died.

And we come to this group to share their stories and to hear from others who are also navigating the very difficult grieving process.

(Liz) At Tu Nidito Children and Family Services, we provide individual, group and community support for children who are grieving a serious medical condition or a death.

The inspiration started back in 1992.

And it was a group of community members who recognized that terminally ill children weren't getting the same kind of support as adults.

In 1996, we actually opened as a pediatric hospice.

During that first year, we helped 12 terminally ill children and their families.

Children and families needed a lot more.

We began expanding our services.

Last year, we helped 1,000 families.

(Kristen) After something like this so traumatic, you worry about the kids you still have, in addition to the one that you just lost.

Should we find a counselor?

Should we get them into therapy?

What do they need?

Not only do we get support as parents, but they also get the grief support with other kids who are going through the same thing.

(Kids) One, two, three, two, three.

(Volunteer) Let's all have our seats on our beanbag, okay?

(Katie) Everyone understands what it's like losing someone special, but not really anyone at school does.

We get to help each other um, and learn what we're feeling.

We read a book about filling a bucket.

We wrote our name on a piece of paper and then passed it around and everyone wrote nice things on it.

So we filled up our buckets by giving compliments to each other.

- If you do mean things, then you will un-fill a bucket.

If you do nice things, you fill it up.

[ OFF SCREEN SPANISH SPEAKER ] I work with children and families when a child is diagnosed with a serious medical condition.

I'm working one-on-one with Leah.

She's a seven-year-old.

Her siblings died due to a rare genetic disorder.

A lot of children, they speak through play.

We like to utilize puppets here as a way for the kids to communicate.

When someone you love is very ill, there's lots to think about.

I'm also going to be reading a book to her about why things die.

What's a funeral?

It's when friends and family come together to say goodbye.

(Liz) What we do oftentimes sounds really sad, but there's a lot of joy here.

Um, kids are kids.

They're going to laugh and play, and we're going to be along with them through that journey.

[ KIDS CHATTER ] You think your life is tough, and you listen to one of the stories of the families who are calling us for whatever reason they're grieving.

It really does pull at your heart.

Sometimes children die and we have to deal with that.

We like to provide normalcy in children's lives and family's life.

So the routines that they happen when they're here, um, you know, sitting in a support group and talking about when the person in their life is sick or the person in their life who died.

And then all the activities are based around what we know are traits of grief.

It might be sleep disturbances, anger, you know, guilt.

All of the activities are around, tools that can help the families deal with those things.

(Renae) It's very lonely when you're going through cancer.

Family and friends try to do whatever they can to support you, but they don't really understand unless they've been through it.

The questions that they give to the kids, they also give to us in our group.

And it'll bring things up that we maybe weren't talking about before.

I've also learned a lot from the facilitators.

I found that I was trying to protect her from everything.

That was very helpful, very eye-opening for me because she needs to be a participant in what's going on because it affects her life too.

We go into the volcano room.

That's where you get to let out your anger.

And there's a bunch of mats on the walls and punching bags.

There's also the imagination room where there's a bunch of puppets and like-like plastic foods.

There's also a doctor station thing.

And also there's the art room.

When we're in the art room, I either draw just little sketches or like, there's also a sand pit in there.

And there's little gems that are really pretty.

I like coming here because it's like my little getaway from home because I trust people here.

And they don't assign homework, so.

[ RENAE CHUCKLES ] ♪ SOFT PIANO MUSIC (Liz) We depend on volunteers.

Right now we have over 150 volunteers who help us provide services to our families.

They go through a training, but they're down in the trenches with kids and adults.

(Ellie) It gives you a sense of purpose.

It's not very often that you get to be interactive with people in such a dark time.

The challenges have really been trying to not take that heaviness home.

You hear stories about children not feeling like they can be children anymore, like they have to kind of evolve and be almost a second parent.

Or you hear adults feeling like they can't grieve for fear that their children won't be able to handle it.

But it's really beautiful that they can come here and they can, everyone can express the feelings that they need to express.

Tu Nidito actually means your little nest, which is really perfect for what we do, or really kind of that container holding people through their journey.

We want our community to be grief-informed, to know how to work with children who are grieving.

We really see that's our role here.

- So on the count of three, please count with me, and then we'll all say, "I got it," as a symbol of having that love and hope and support until the next time we meet.

One, two, three.

(All) I got it!

- Awesome, thank you all.

Please get on safe.

Over the next few weeks, we'll bring you stories about how our community provides support for those who need it.

And for even more on the topic, look for the Bradley Cooper produced documentary, "Caregiving," premiering on PBS Six on June 24th.

AZPM members can stream it starting May 27th on AZPM Passport on the PBS app.

The pandemic upended millions of lives around the world and in some cases, the results were unexpectedly positive.

Next, meet a former California resident who's now finding his niche in Bisbee.

This is part of our ongoing series, "The Long Road," how COVID-19 changed our world.

♪ AMBIENT GUITAR MUSIC My name is Kenneth Ober.

I'm an artist.

I live in Bisbee, Arizona.

Maybe.

[ CHUCKLES ] I make paintings, block prints, collages, sculptures, found object assemblages, and lately I've been making a lot of very large sculptural things that have turned my property into a roadside attraction.

The most notable is a tree skeleton that's about 40 feet tall, and there are 36 chairs painted bright red hanging in this.

It's called The Cherry Tree.

You can see it on Highway 80, just east of the traffic circle in Bisbee.

Prior to the pandemic, I had worked my way into a for sale by owner situation on a property in Los Angeles.

I was traveling around the western U.S. living primarily in a sprinter van, doing art festivals in places like Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Park City, Utah, Mill Valley, California Scottsdale, Arizona.

I was selling paintings.

I was selling block prints.

I was working with galleries.

Business was good.

Business was really good.

I felt like I was living my dream.

I was selling more paintings than I ever imagined possible.

I'd put all this in order and when the pandemic happened, it became quite obvious there was no way I could pay the mortgage.

There was no way I could pay a bank loan, real or owner finance.

And all of the art shows that I did shut down, all of the galleries and designers suddenly had no more business.

And my first thought was, "I need a holiday so bad.

This is great.

I can't go to work."

So, not being able to pay my mortgage forced me to have to sell the property, which worked out okay cause I made a little bit of money even though it was the pandemic.

And that enabled me to come to Bisbee and purchase this property here in 2020.

This property was the DMV, the Highway Patrol, and the ADOT yard.

So some kind of actions went on in here.

And then later in life it was converted into a part-time residence.

I left out the part where the house and seven-out buildings were all filled with stuff.

Top to bottom, there was so much furniture, junk, antiques, all kind of things everywhere in the buildings.

And so obviously I like it.

I've now been here almost five years.

I'm just flooding my yard.

I want the rocks to grow.

[ LAUGHS ] I just put in this new sign with all these arrows kind of pointing all the different directions.

I've developed a fascination with the sort of folk art nature of hand painted signs.

The way I was making my paintings, which is with this vintage tool designed for pin striping automobiles, it's patented in 1934.

The paint goes in this chamber here and rolls out on the edge of the wheel, making a precise line of any length much like a marker or pen.

The downside to this is I was spending hundreds of thousands of hours making only one move with my whole body, and it started hurting my shoulder.

This is part of what factored into, "I need a holiday so bad, because my shoulder hurt a lot."

I thought, "I'm not going back to art shows.

I don't see the chance of making money there, plus maybe just making the same object or item over and over and over is not the way for me."

So in coming to Bisbee, I'm now working in all of these different mediums.

This lady, she needs some help obviously.

Maybe she needs extra legs.

I'm not sure yet.

Making all different kinds of movements, it's like creative crossfit.

Instead of one motion, it's a much more holistic creative process that stimulates my brain in wonderful ways.

Here we are in my collage camper.

It's a 1974 Road Ranger that's been gutted and refurbished.

In here I have a collection of several hundred pounds of vintage magazines that I am using to explore the art of collage.

I have never made collages before.

This is a whole new territory for me.

Kind of wrinkling and folding them to make them into some sort of imaginary topographic maps.

What you see here in one of the eight structures on my property is a collection of hand built and kit built model airplanes that were created between the 40s and the 90s.

Several years ago I purchased an amateur nursery from a young man up in the Catalina Foothills of Tucson.

And I started dividing and propagating and seeing if I could develop a small nursery business.

This property needed a lot of work so I bought all the tools I didn't have and I started fixing everything up.

And that has led to me working as a contractor and handyman for other folks in town.

I was calling it a nickel and dime operation until a friend of mine said, "I'm worth more than that They're quarter operations."

I got a whole bunch of quarter operations going on here to put it all together and make the world keep going.

In my pre-pandemic life, I was very focused strictly on painting and I succeeded.

And after the pandemic I feel that I have sort of exploded like a butterfly coming out of its chrysalis, being able to explore everything I've always wanted to.

How many different ways can I create and there's no limits.

I am far happier now than I was before.

♪ AMBIENT GUITAR MUSIC Thank you for joining us here on Arizona Illustrated.

I'm Tom McNamara.

We'll see you again next week.

I'm Tom McNamara, we'll see you again next week.