Leadership Development Spotlight: Meet Cheyenne Hurt of Circles Indianapolis
- Circles USA
- 2d
- 11 min read
At Circles, we know that leadership is more than a natural talent or a paid professional role. It’s the cumulative process of weaving each setback and success we meet into a consistent, goal-focused practice that benefits the whole collective. The more deeply we root our identity in service to our families, chapters, and communities, the more we distinguish ourselves as leaders within these groups striving to move from surviving to thriving.
Circles USA’s new Leadership Development Spotlight series spotlights graduated Circle Leaders who have stepped into challenging service roles at the chapter, regional, and even national levels. Among the most skilled, dedicated participants in the Circles network, these big-L Leaders’ stories offer insights and hard-won lessons guaranteed to inspire us all in our shared mission of building community to end poverty.
Good morning! Will you share your name, where you’re based, and the work you do with Circles?
My name is Cheyenne Hurt and our chapter is Circles Indianapolis. I have many roles: I am a Member Care Coach, and I guess I would be Interim Director because our Director is on sabbatical right now. I’m also Director of Child Care, and Community Outreach Coordinator and board member.
Oh my goodness! So you're all the way in, wearing multiple hats within the chapter and then also governance on top of that. What do you do as a Member Care Coordinator?
Member Care Coordinator—or Member Care Coach—is basically what you would [be] once you complete the class we have in between 12-to-18 weeks. During that time, we go ahead and give them a stipend every month. And then we teach life skills. We help out with mental health awareness, financial literacy, budgeting, and then different coping skills as well.
So it sounds like a kind of holistic well-being for the members.
Yes, definitely. So once they graduate, they have two different people that they can confide in…kind of hold their hands through certain situations that they go through. And if you have any issues or any questions about anything, I get those phone calls, I get those questions, I get those emails. So basically, I'm there as a moral support advocate as well.
Going back in time a little bit, how did you become involved with Circles?
I started with Circles about two-and-a-half years ago. I was currently homeless, and I was at the Salvation Army here in Indianapolis, Indiana. And a friend of mine at that time had said, “Hey, you know, you work in the community quite a bit. Have you heard of Circles Indianapolis?” And I was like, “No, what is it?” And then she was like, “Oh, well, we come to Tabernacle Presbyterian Church, we sit in a circle, and we talk about different poverty issues.” And I was like, “I don't know about that…” But that next week, I went, and I never stopped going. Never stopped. I can count literally on one hand how many Thursdays I've missed in this last two-and-a-half years.
What was it that brought you back to Circles?
It was the community and the Director, Pastor Marie, as well. It was just being able to walk into an open space and know that there were people like me, that have been through certain things that I've been through in life, or [who] just could relate—whether they were from a higher class or if they were dealing with poverty situations. I just really felt at ease and at home. And with me being the only child, I'm very outgoing; but then I'm an introvert at the same time. When I'm walking into a place, I'm kind of looking around, but I'm still interacting. I felt compelled to go back. And then, because I do community outreach work throughout Marion County here in Indianapolis, I was like, “Wait a minute! I volunteer with all these other organizations, and none of them know about Circles…how can I bridge that gap?” So that's what I started doing. And then after I bridged the gaps in between the organizations that I was already working with, I just started branching out throughout Indianapolis with it.
What were your financial goals starting out as a Circle Leader?
I was working as a Project Coordinator for the Alzheimer's Association, which was just basically a fancy title for saying, like, intern work. So I had income, but I was just coming out of a space where I was healing; and I just kept going to Circles. I ended up advancing at that particular job, so I was making a little bit more money. I ended up moving into my own place [after] about three months after I had joined Circles.
So, I started the class. In that workbook, which was a binder, it had a realistic budget. It had every single thing. I don't drive—I take the buses or Ubers or Lyfts—and then I was eating out quite a bit as well, just due to where I was living at that particular time. So that was making me spend a little bit more money. I noticed that, yeah, I needed to buckle down. I had income coming in [but] I was stressing out. And when I looked at that budget, I was like, “Oh, wait a minute, so you can afford this and that, and you still haven't moved yet…?”
On August 20th, 2015, my mom passed away. Me and my husband and all of our kids—which is a combined total of six—had moved into her apartment to take care of her. My mom was never really good with finances, but she always had a good job. So that's what kind of kept us afloat in that middle class working family. When she passed away six months after that, that's when I filed for a divorce from my husband. And that's when my journey [started].
I did have a barrier against me because of my ex-husband's credit issues and stuff like that. Certain things had occurred while we were in the process of getting a divorce, and that occurred on my credit, too. So that wasn't my own personal negligence; it was just a rollover. And it's kind of hard to tell someone, “Hey, I'm having issues financially because of someone else—not necessarily of my own doing.” So a lot of doors closed because they were like, “Well, is he still in your life?” And I'm like, “No, I don't even know where he's at. I'm just trying to get him to sign off on these papers.” I was at a low financially. When I got my apartment, it was kind of hard at first, because that was honestly my first time ever having my own place in my own name. So I was scared of that. They say that first six-to-12 months is kind of hard when you're coming out of such situations.
I thought that I had it all. I thought that everything was fine. And mentally, I was in such “go mode” that I didn't know that I was even grieving! I was grieving the loss of my mother, I was grieving the loss of my marriage. I thought that I had a certain amount of money that was saved and I was going to be able to make it. But being naïve, not checking credit and checking to see what my husband was doing at that particular time… it felt like I just ran out of everything.
I stayed hopeful and I kept God first. I tried to make sure [my kids] knew that, whatever we were going through, it wasn't their fault and that I got this. It was times that my son looked a little discouraged; and I didn't want him to do anything to try to help, if you get what I'm saying. So I made sure to keep things afloat as much as I could. But it just seemed like I would get so far, then I’d start helping people and get knocked back down. I had to realize that my goals in life and everyone else's are not the same.
I took the time and had to realize that, you know what, Cheyenne? You gotta make a stand for yourself. So I got a notebook out and I wrote down what I wanted to do. I wanted to make sure that I knew at least three of them were going to go to college. I needed to make sure that I was secure enough that I could put them through college some way, shape or form, because I knew that my ex wasn't going to be able to help. It didn't matter where I lived; I didn't care if it was an apartment, a house, a shoe…just that I was able to go ahead and maintain it no matter what ended up happening. And I just wanted to make sure that I was there financially if the other kids ended up having kids early, too—to make sure that if they had anything that came about, I would be their first point of contact. Those were my first financial goals.
My Director, Pastor Marie, and the Member Care Coach at the time (Heidi) really, really, really, really kept me grounded and I just stayed under them. They let me know that “You got this”. And this is where I'm at now.
You’ve assumed so much responsibility in your chapter and the organization, and you've come really far in a short period of time. How have your financial goals changed since a few years ago, when you were just starting out with Circles?
Well, my financial goals have really, really changed. At first it was just trying to maintain to a good year. I’d graduated from class. So probably about six months after that, I started really saving. I started cracking down on my budget and making sure that I was making conscious financial decisions—not just for me, but for my family. My kids are older: my youngest is 17, my oldest is 25. And I got a few grandkids sprinkled in between there, as well. And I wanted to make sure that they had some type of financial stability. I wanted to make sure that I was the best role model that I could be towards my family. So that really made me want to go ahead, buckle down with financial security, and teach them financial security and literacy.
What are some wins in your life that you'd like to celebrate?
My win in life is just being able [to] feel like I can breathe again. I felt that I was carrying the weight of the world on my shoulders. I felt that, you know, my back was against the wall for the longest time. And I felt like I kept on going in this circle. I was kind of bled dry at that point. I'm literally at the homeless shelter and I'm helping with finances and their households. Heidi was like, “You gotta set some healthy boundaries for yourself. You need to write them down.” I had to take a step back and was like, “Okay, Cheyenne, okay, kids, this is what mom cannot do anymore.” I wrote down five things that I wanted to do [financially]: Really analyze who you're giving to; know what you're giving for; how much that you can give…. And do not stress yourself out about what you can or cannot give. That helped.
At first it hurt me to say “No.” [But] throughout this whole time of homeless shelters, staying at people's houses with the kids, kids moving out, no one really knew what my financial situation was. Because I guess I kind of made the struggle look good in a way. But then when I started being verbal, then that's when everybody was like, “Oh, I could have helped you.” How could you have helped me when I was helping you? So I realized who was in my corner and who wasn't. And Circles really, really, really helped me with that. Circles helped me create a healthy identity for myself, and let me know that it's okay to go ahead and say “No.” It's okay to put yourself first.
In life, when you're trying to get to the top, it gets kind of lonely and your mind will sometimes get the best of you. But that's why Circles is there: for that social capital, that community, to go ahead and lift you up.
What are some things that you might say to someone who is in the position now that you were in years ago, if they're hesitant about starting out in Circles?
That your situation is real and what you're going through is real. There's times that you're on that Cliff Effect of life, whether if that's financially or mentally. But just make sure that you stay true to yourself. Know that the Circles program does work. But it is a process.
In life, when you're trying to get to the top, it gets kind of lonely and your mind will sometimes get the best of you. But that's why Circles is there: for that social capital, that community, to go ahead and lift you up. Sometimes you have to dig deep for yourself. A lot of times we feel as if we are healed because we go to work, we take care of loved ones. We still may have a social life. But a lot of that is a cover-up to not deal with what the root problem is. Circles helps you get back to what that root problem is, and they help you gain knowledge of so many different things [that] lift you up and build you.
The Allies that I've had with Circles were the perfect match. Complete opposite sides of the track. But when we talked, we had similarities. One of my Allies’ mom was going through terminal illness; I went through that with my mom. So not only were they helping me, but I was able to help them. My first Allies were husband and wife, and were just beautiful. There was a time when I had to move immediately. They were there in their truck, 11 o' clock at night. We're going to hotels, looking, figuring it out. I've spent time with them outside of Circles. I've been to their house, and we just laughed and talked about life. They just had their baby, thank God, she's so cute. And I was one of the first people that they contacted—and they're not even my Allies anymore!
All of our Allies that we have in our Indianapolis chapter, they are just really down to earth. Everyone blends so well together that it's just a family. Those weekly meetings gave me something to look forward to. It wouldn't matter if a bill would come up five minutes before the meeting got ready to start; I could talk about what's going on. I can bump ideas off of people. I can speak with people that have been in that situation. [Some] haven't been in that situation, but everybody is biased and it all comes from the heart and it comes from love. At first it will be intimidating, because we always think that we're the only person on our own. But there are so many people out here who go through similar situations, from all walks of life.
Circles is amazing. Circles has literally changed my life and it's changed my kids' life. My daughters, they've participated in poverty simulations that we hosted. My oldest daughter helps me with the resource fairs that we participate in here. And the Sneaker Ball that I host here, my kids help from start to finish, setup to tear-down. It's like, “Wow, Mom, you're really doing something that's impactful.”
When I stepped up to take on all these roles, really what motivated me was Pastor Marie, our director, and my mom. [When] we had the two-hour wake for her funeral, 472 people signed my mom's book. I was like, wow, my mom was an alcoholic. My mom was a gambler. But my mom had a good heart. And it took for her to pass for me to realize how great of a mom my mom was in this community. I want my kids to be able to see how great their mom is while she's alive, you know? That right there, that's what keeps me going. So that's what I would tell them. Circles works. And I'm living proof of it.
Read the other installments in our Leadership Development Spotlight series:
Building Community to End Poverty in 25 States
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