For many people born in Central and South America, the journey it takes to become a US citizen can be both a figurative and a literal one. Almost all of them endure treks of several hundred miles through unforgiving conditions with any number of physical threats along the way, and that's before going through the asylum and detention process. Once across the border, the journey becomes a true battle of attrition as the naturalization process takes years if not decades, your existence constantly threatened by tedious paperwork and deportation, and your daily lives ruled by contingency plans in case you were to get the wrong knock on your door.

Nathan's guest today has experienced all of that and endured to get an education and a career with the North Carolina Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. Ismael Ruiz-Millan was born in a small border town in Mexico, immigrated to the US in 2003, and joins Nathan today to talk about the often arduous path to naturalization, working to get his education, and how his work with the church has helped him work towards immigration progress. Contemplate with Ismael and Nathan as they discuss the juxtaposition from hospitality to hostility and how we, as good neighbors must embrace more hospitality.

When it works the way it's supposed to, immigrating into the US can and should produce beautiful results. Manolo Betancur was a native of Colombia when he entered into the US in 2002, knowing only enough English to count to ten. From there, he was able to obtain a path to education, served time in the Colombian Navy, and eventually settled into Charlotte as the owner of Manolo's bakery.

Manolo sits down with Nathan to talk about his journey to the US through the legal naturalization process, how immigrant voices are suppressed and mischaracterized, the effects that deportation has had on both him and his family, and the devastating ICE raids that swept the city in 2017 that even struck his own business. 

This episode of Nathan's Neighborhood kicks off a full season of episodes on a topic that is near to Nathan's heart: immigration. If you know Nathan, you know that he spends countless hours of his time working with immigrant and refugee populations, particularly along the southern border. In his work, Nathan strives to have the humanity of the immigrant population recognized over their labor or lazy stereotypes.

To kick off this conversation, Nathan sits down with Patty Arcia, Director of Outreach at Myers Park Presbyterian Church in Charlotte, NC. Patty is herself an immigrant of El Salvador. In their conversation, Patty talks about how she's had to adapt to life in America as an "other," what systems she has in place to deal with police and ICE, and how to recognize migrants as your brothers and sisters.

As we wind down the first season of Nathan's Neighborhood, we thought it would be a good idea to have a casual conversation with one of Nathan's closest friends and colleagues, Rev. Ray McKinnon. Ray is an ordained minister, formerly of South Tryon Community UMC in Charlotte, NC, and also a leadership development and recruitment professional. 

After they met through their work in the church, Ray and Nathan became fast friends. In this episode of Nathan's Neighborhood, the two swap stories of how they met (including Nathan making Ray wait for more than four hours), the impact of their work, why you can't give everything of yourself to everyone, and what their favorite flavor of ice cream is.

When the COVID-19 pandemic turned life upside down in March 2020, it put an incredible burden on our front line health care workers. A heavy emphasis was placed on the concept on contact tracing, making it true race against time to track down people who had come into contact with positive cases to get them tested and quarantined.

Leading the charge here in Mecklenburg county was Autumn Watson. Autumn, a veteran health care professional with the county for more than a decade, took the reins of this impossible task right away. Under her stewardship, Mecklenburg County created a contact tracing system, along with workplace regulations, hotline and vaccination programs.

Autumn joins Nathan to talk about the COVID-19 experience, particularly in the early days of the pandemic. She shares her experience trying to communicate a complicated and constantly evolving message with the community, as well as how she deals with the inherent stress of her job. 

Forget the medical degrees, the training, the residencies and the book smarts. An essential part of being a good doctor is the ability to be present with one's patients. That's according to recently retired Dr. Greg Underwood, who spent 30 plus years serving Charlotteans at some of the highest and lowest moments of their lives.

On today's episode of Nathan's neighborhood, host Nathan Arledge sits down with Dr. Underwood to talk about what it means to be present with his patients, the years of work it takes to build trust with the people he sees, and how he found comfort in understanding that he was the right person to deliver bad news to the patients he cares for. 

For the patient, who may be putting themselves or someone they love in the hands of a medical professional, the experience doesn't have to be a one way street. Patients need to educate themselves on their particular circumstances, and be ready to communicate their needs with their caregivers. 

On today's episode of Nathan's Neighborhood, host Nathan Arledge talks to OBGYN Dr. Nathan Givens. In his work, Dr. Givens works most directly in the delivery room, including having been part of Nathan's son's delivering process.

Host Nathan talks to guest Nathan about what his motivations are for being in his position now, what the relationships he tries to build with his patients mean to him, why being able to communicate with doctors and nurses is so important, and when to ask for a second opinion. Dr. Givens also shares a touching story about his experience on the other side of the medical experience when he talks about moving his family to Boston for a month during COVID as his son battled a heart issue.

The pursuit of joy is something that takes on deep personal meaning that is different for all of us. For today's guest on Nathan's Neighborhood, her journey to joy began in Charlotte, but took her to Jackson, Wyoming unexpectedly after a visit while on break from work. 

Ellen Weddinton is a registered nurse in the ICU and emergency room. She began her career at one of the large hospitals in Charlotte, but ended up pursuing the wide open skies of Wyoming.

In today's episode, Nathan talks to Ellen about making the move from Charlotte to Jackson, the unexpected joy of working in the ICU, and the ways the need for social justice manifests itself in the medical setting.

One of the common threads of building community is joy. So in Nathan’s Neighborhood with your host Nathan Arledge you will experience joy. You experience new things. You will also be taken back to moments in your own life where you have a common story with the guest that you've listened to. Welcome to the neighborhood!