47: Joseph Bradford III Went From Being a One-Man Food Bank to Founding The B.A.R.E. Truth

The more compassionate we are, the more we will want to help others, and often it is our own suffering that helps us understand those experiences outside of ours. Today we speak to Joseph Bradford about how the challenges of his childhood led him to dedicate his life to helping the homeless. 

Joseph started a non-profit called B.A.R.E. Truth, an organization that provides mentorship, independent living assistance, and wellness services to impoverished individuals and families, helping them attain healthy, purpose-driven lives, ultimately changing the economic and living conditions of communities. 

Our conversation begins as always with Joseph’s upbringing and he tells a story about being born to a very young mother as the oldest of his siblings. He talks about the responsibilities placed on his shoulders to look after those more vulnerable than himself, even while he was just a small kid. This sparked an early tendency in Joseph to be caring and to see that the people around him were safe before he thought of his own wellbeing. 

We hear about the many challenges Joseph faced through school and college before he finally wound up in California and began to help the homeless after giving away half his dinner one night. Joseph talks about consistently trying to lend a hand and how this process slowly scaled up to the point where he started B.A.R.E Truth. We spend the last part of our conversation focusing on good approaches to helping the homeless, the work Joseph does to keep his non-profit running, and the centrality of his desire to care in keeping him motivated each day.

Key Points From This Episode:

• What childhood was like for Joseph growing up in the projects of Kansas City.
• How basketball helped Joseph feel free and escape being the oldest sibling.
• The feeling of responsibility that Joseph had as a child with no father figure.
• Lessons Joseph learned about the value of taking care of others as a child.
• The many people in Joseph’s family who died after his father did.
• Joseph’s relationship with his neighbor and his early definition of success.
• How Joseph offset being teased for being dark-skinned by being good at school.
• Life and responsibilities for Joseph in different shelters after his house burned down.
• More wealth and big changes for Joseph and his family after his mom got a boyfriend.
• How Joseph sold drugs during his struggling phase and why he stopped.
• Work and college for Joseph after high school and his mom and her boyfriend separated.
• Why Joseph wishes he encouraged his siblings more.
• Joseph’s opinion on drugs and alcohol and why he abstained.
• New challenges Joseph faced through different moves after finishing college.
• A desire Joseph developed to feed the hungry after giving a homeless person half his meal one night.
• How receiving help would have made Joseph’s life better and how this influenced his choice to help others.
• How Joseph learned property management with the goal of providing housing to the homeless.
• Joseph’s core desire to help people and how this feeds into his work with B.A.R.E Truth.
• The role Joseph’s mother played in keeping him motivated to achieve his dream.
• Connections Joseph built up as he secured food and spoke to different people.
• How Joseph straddled his job while also handing out food at night.
• Joseph’s explanation of the words that make up the name B.A.R.E Truth.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Light Watkins

Joseph Bradford on LinkedIn

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