Last Updated on October 17, 2024 by Luke Feldbrugge
The Homes for Heroes Foundation awarded Light the Line a $5,000 grant to support the offering of wellbeing resources for law enforcement, including deploying to the scene of traumatic or critical incidents.
Light the Line Check Presentation with Jay Flynn
The grant check presentation interview was conducted by Homes for Heroes Foundation Director, Jay Flynn. Local Homes for Heroes Mortgage Specialist, Thomas Storino, joined Jay to interview Elizabeth Alaniz, President of Light the Line and is also a Police Officer. They are also joined by three other guests: Elizabeth French, Executive Director of Light the Line, who is also a teacher, and mother of Fallen Officer Ella French; as well as Joshua Blas and Carlos Yanez, CPD Officers and partners to Ella French.
You can watch the full interview or read about it below.
Jay: Hello, and thanks for joining us today. I’m Jay Flynn, Director of the Homes for Heroes Foundation. I’m joined today by Elizabeth Alaniz, President of Light the Line. Thomas Storino and his wife Michelle, who’s a Chicago police officer. Thomas is a Homes Heroes mortgage specialist. Elizabeth French, Executive Director of Light the Line, who’s also a teacher, and mother of fallen officer, Ella French, and CPD (Chicago Police Department) Officers, Joshua Lobos and Carlos Yanez, who were partners of Ella French.
It’s an honor to be with all of you today. As part of the Homes for Heroes Circle of Giving, the Homes for Heroes Foundation provides grants to nonprofits whose mission is to help our heroes who are in need.
Thomas and I are honored to present this $5,000 Homes for Heroes Foundation grant to Light the Line.
Congratulations. Let’s take a few minutes and talk about Light the Line. Elizabeth and Miss French, obviously Light the Line is near and dear to both of you. Please take a few minutes to tell us about the mission and why it’s so important.
Liz: Our mission is to offer support and services for law enforcement, and their immediate families. We intend to provide these services in the field while they’re serving the public. For example we were on site for the DNC (Democratic National Convention). With any large-scale events, we want to be right there with them.
It really showed in a lot of pictures, with their smiles, and their gratitude. We provided some small meals and something to drink, and we had our mobile unit all over the city of Chicago.
The second half of that is to offer workshops for officers. We focus on officer wellness and offer a 20 minute workshop led by somebody who is certified on the topic. We focus on their well-being and help them with the strategies to handle the stress on the job.
The seed was planted when Ella was shot and killed. My son Carlos was there. It was just a very dark and dreary scene, and they had to protect that crime scene pretty much the whole night. And there was nobody there to say, hey, would you like something to drink? Do you need to go to the bathroom? How are you feeling? How are you doing? Just to be there by their side when something like that happens.
The police station does have peer support, and they’re great, but you need somebody there on scene with the officers. We need to be there because they need us. We need to be with them, and we need to go to them.
Jay: Absolutely. Thomas, you’re a huge supporter of our heroes. You’re married to one. As a Homes for Heroes mortgage specialist, why does Light the Line mean so much to you?
Thomas: Well, kind of actually being married into it. I’ve always had a lot of friends that were officers and military. But until that comes home, you care about everything more than what you see on the news. Instead, you hear the real stories at home.
You start to realize it’s more than just, something happened today. When I first met Carlos and Liz they were bringing the foundation around, and the whole mental health thing, I totally get it now. I understand it all a lot more now.
They wanted to raise money for a big mobile unit with a psychiatrist on scene or Father Brandt, and provide a place where they can decompress, close the doors, forget about what’s on the outside, eat or drink, or use the washroom. I was a big supporter of that. I had no idea how bad it really was until I heard all the stories. It became more than just realizing, you know, they could potentially get shot. There are injuries on the job too.
Light the Line provides a mental break, and it is awesome to be a part of.
Jay: Yeah. Obviously this provides a ton of value to the officers when they’re having their darkest times. As we spoke before, in the fire service, sometimes we’re there alongside law enforcement. And, we’re there in the darkest time of other folks. But, as a first responder, it could be our darkest time as well. So, to have somebody there for you while you’re doing your job serving other people is a big deal.
Joshua and Carlos, we’re not letting you off the hook. I know you are part of the foundation with Light the Line, so please share with us why grants like this from the Homes for Heroes Foundation are so important to the law enforcement community?
Carlos: From my perspective, I no longer serve as a police officer with my brothers or sisters on the job. So, I want to be a part of anything that supports them or gives them the resources they need. So, when Liz Alaniz and Elizabeth French got together and started Light the Line and they asked if I wanted to be a part of it, I said definitely 100 percent.
Then they had the idea for this mobile unit. It was originally intended to be used for critical incidents. However, we realized first responders are quick to help others, but we put asking for help on the back burner. And, it is much easier for first responders to communicate with other first responders. I’ve had a lot of officers reach out to me and confide in me. And I have no background in education or therapy. But just listening, talking to them, and sharing what I’ve been through, I feel has helped a lot of officers. So, I definitely want to be there, as part of Light the Line in any way I can.
As far as the grants and the money, the DNC was a great success that provided many donations that we gave out to the officers and we never ran out of resources. It was amazing for our first full run, multiple day event. It was a major success and it brought so much happiness to me, to see the smiles on their faces and to be a part of something so great. I know it’s going to be huge in the future.
Joshua: Like Carlos was saying, things like this (donation), it does help us provide all of our resources, and enables us to get them to the people. I was working during the DNC, so I wasn’t able to assist in the local unit. But, talking with people and knowing people that did receive resources from the mobile unit, you could see everybody was so happy and grateful.
I never had anything like that when I was serving in the field before. Nothing like that before. There were always nice people that would support us when they could, but never a dedicated organization whose role was to support us in the field like that, and who provided food, water and a positive mental boost. Who takes care of you while you’re taking care of other people.
Jay: Absolutely. That’s huge. Elizabeth, the Homes for Heroes Foundation, myself and Thomas, are so honored that we can support Light the Line with this $5,000. I know you have things you want to get done. So how do you plan to use these funds to support the law enforcement heroes in the Chicago community?
Liz: We have our mobile unit, and it’s the first mobile unit that offers support services to law enforcement in the field. So we’re going to build on our mobile unit. Eventually, we intend to have a fleet of them to offer more services at different locations. And, we intend to use the money to provide more services and workshops at the stations.
We also want to install a bathroom in our mobile unit. That’s actually a very big thing for law enforcement. When everything is shut down, it’s like, where is the bathroom? We have already spoken to a couple of people who said it’s possible. That’s what we intend to do for the rest of the year.
Jay: Well that’s awesome. So if people want to learn more or get involved, where can they go to find more information or make a donation to Light the Line?
Liz: They can go to our website, or they can follow us on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram or Facebook. We are always updating those, and giving people information.
Jay: You are doing such wonderful work, obviously much needed work. I would be remiss to not mention Officer Ella French, who was the crux of how this started. What an honor to remember her by doing such great work.
Liz: Yes, I’d like to also mention there is somebody who’s missing today, Rhonda Anderson. She was my first partner when I joined the force. She’s a lieutenant for the Chicago Police Dept, and our vice president. She’s a very important part of our nonprofit organization.
Jay: Thank you all for taking a few minutes to join me today. We’re honored to support your efforts and thank you for everything you are doing to support our heroes.
For those that tuned in today, thanks for joining us to hear more about Light the Line and its mission of service in the Chicago area.
And remember, if you see a hero during your day, take a moment to say thank you.
Homes for Heroes Circle of Giving
Grants from the Homes for Heroes Foundation are made possible by the Homes for Heroes Circle of Giving and its network of real estate and mortgage professionals. Homes for Heroes, Inc. is committed to providing savings to community heroes; such as firefighters, EMS, law enforcement, military (active duty, reserves and veterans), healthcare professionals and teachers.
To expand its Circle of Giving, Homes for Heroes, Inc., donates a portion of its earnings to the Homes for Heroes Foundation. So, every time a hero buys or sells a home using the Homes for Heroes program, they are helping other heroes across the country facing a housing crisis or who are in need of urgent financial assistance.
If you are interested in learning more about how Homes for Heroes can guide you through the home buying, selling or refinancing process AND save you an average of $3,000 after closing on a home with one of their local specialists, simply sign up to speak with a member of the team. They will follow up with you to answer all of your questions. When you tell them you’re feeling ready to speak with their local specialists in your area about home buying, selling, or refinancing your mortgage, they will connect you with their local specialists to begin the process.
Simply visit the Homes for Heroes Foundation page if you’re interested in learning more about where it has awarded recent grants to hero organizations throughout the country, how much they’ve awarded to date, and how it all works.
If you’re interested in supporting and donating to the Homes for Heroes Foundation to assist heroes in need, please visit their donation page to submit your contribution via PayPal. And, thank you for your interest and support.
