Anna Marie's Sunday Focus

Anna talks with Darla DeLeon, the CEO and co-founder of Steered Straight, a local non-profit that offers student assembly messages to educate kids about the substances they're encountering (and using), what it does to their bodies, and how to stop if they're already using.  They speak extensively about how vaping has become such a large problem in schools, even in the younger grades, and how other substances are substituted into the vaping devices.  Steered Straight also offers Intervention and a Recovery Program,  Listeners can support by shopping their thrift store and by picking up publications to help talk to a child about substance abuse.

www.steeredstraight.org/donate-store/

 www.steeredstraight.org 

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Anna Marie talks with Alecia Talbot, Executive Director of DSAMT 
(Down Syndrome Association of Middle Tennessee.) Alecia gives details about their work with schools to help teachers improve outcomes of their Down students.    

They discuss the support that DSAMT provides to families, schools and businesses to help people with Down Syndrome learn, grow, get jobs and find housing.
They also talk supporting businesses owned by people with Down Syndrome, or a business that provides their family member with Down Syndrome a place to work. 

Being December, they discuss their Santa visits to families that started during COVID, but has turned into a magical, wonder-filled time for people with Down Syndrome and their families. 

More details at www.somethingextra.org 

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Anna Marie talks with Holly Bowman, Director of Development and Communication, for The Contributor, a newspaper produced here in Nashville and sold by homeless individuals.  By selling the paper, they learn about work and begin to make an income for themselves.

Holly discusses how The Contributor helps the homeless through it's SOAR program (SSI/SSDI, Outreach, Access and Recovery) to help people enroll in healthcare insurance and connects them with health care providers.    

Once they are able to get a person in housing, they work with them for the first 9 months to a year, since many aren't used to dealing with traditional housing.  They also publish an annual resource guide of programs available to homeless. 

www.thecontributor.org

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Anna Maria talks with Mariela Moscoso, Executive Director of YEAH (Youth Empowerment Through Arts and Humanities).  She discusses how the organization uses music as a tool to strengthen individuals and build community.  They hope to empower youth to improve the culture of the community through the arts and self expression.  Their priorities include inclusivity, diversity, collaboration and providing access to kids who have barriers to music creativity.  

She also discusses the Gig Explorer series where sessions are held on the arts that surround making music, like broadcasting, podcasting, and DJing. Also, discussed is the Unity Song Mix Project which will mix all the student's creations into a tapestry of song.

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Anna speaks with Amy Cozzi, Senior Manager of Innovations and programs Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee.  They discuss the programs they offer, which include children’s feeding programs, seniors feeding programs, mobile pantry and home delivery services. One in 6 children in the Nashville area are food insecure, not knowing where their next meal is coming from.  She discusses their nutrition programs, including even cooking classes, and teaching people how to eat healthy while in poverty.

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The guest is Heather Gallager of the Beaman Park Nature Center. She talks with Anna about the center's upcoming 20th anniversary celebration in late October. They also talk about the property, primarily an old forest which has been saved, the birds that reside there, creeks where visitors can swim, and the plants found there.  Being several hundred feet above Davidson Country proper, the park has wild plants and trees not found elsewhere in the country.

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Anna talks with Rachael Wilkins, chief development officer of Safe Haven Family Shelter.  The organization serves over 300 families annually  experiencing homelessness.  Unlike most shelters, they allow the family to stay intact as a unit. Safe Haven provides assistance in obtaining and maintaining affordable housing.  They also provide workforce development for the parents, education for the children, and intensive case management. 
Rachael discussed the group's annual hike, a family friendly festivity, held Saturday 11/2/24 at Percy Warner Park.

For more details on what they offer:  Safe Haven Family Shelter.

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Annas talks with Suzanne Reed and Meghan Kelly, two survivors of cancer.  They relate their stories and discuss being  two of this year's "Faces Of Hope" for the American Cancer Society's Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk.  We learn that we can form teams and raise money to we can help fund the future of breast cancer research.  The walk will be held Saturday, October 19, 2024 at the Walk of Fame Park.

Get more details here:  Making Strides Against Cancer Walk in Nashville.  

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Anna discusses the work of Nashville's Martha O'Bryan Center with Sherica Nelms, the organization's Chief Program Officer.  They talk about the group's goal of ending poverty in one generation. They do this through education, employment services, family support services.
Their Family Success Network, located in East Nashville, teaches education and employment skills which are needed to be successful. This includes teaching reading to getting one's G.E.D. to an IT boot camp to learn computers. 

Learn more at the Martha O'Bryan Center.

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Anna's guest is Stacy Hall,  the director of Mothers Over Murder in Nashville.  The group exists to fill a gap in the social services system, provides support and encouragement to women, as well as other family members, who have lost loved ones to violence in our area.  Women further along in the healing process also act as advocates in the community for a peaceful resolution to disputes and the rights of grieving parents to answers and justice.​  

They're also joined by Suzie Payne, Assistant director of Mothers Over Murder who relates her personal story of loss at the hands of violence.

You can get more information at Mothers Over Murder.

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