Strengthening families by providing shelter, support and love for abused, neglected children

SHOW GUEST: Danny Sells

In many situations, parents or guardians may be incapable of providing a safe and caring environment for their children, putting them at risk of abuse and neglect. Compounding the problem, a parent may feel socially isolated. Whether they are dealing with homelessness, unemployment, addiction, domestic violence, or hospitalization, all these families lack a healthy support network and have no one else to turn to in their time of crisis.

Founded in 2003, Safe Families for Children surrounds families in crisis with caring, compassionate community. Located in 70 cities across the U.S., Canady and the UK, and beyond, their mission is to step in to help families in crisis by caring for their children for short periods of time, thereby avoiding the intervention of state child welfare agencies that leave thousands of children at risk. Danny Sells, National Director of Safe Families, joins us to discuss the origins of the organization, its outstanding success, and how, by creating “extended family-like supports” for desperate families through a community of devoted volunteers, they are keeping children safe and families intact.

The Effect of Screen Time on Our Brain

Show Guest: Britten Devereau

Self-regulation and self-management are critical components to mental health, self-efficacy and social connectivity. But our modern habits are corrosive, changing mood, cognition and behavior. The lights and stimuli from screens stress our anatomy, and screen time (TV, tablet, laptop, smartphone) causes repeated stress on the central nervous system. Such stress makes underlying mental health disorders more difficult to diagnose and treat.

Britten Devereau, co-founder of D’Amore Healthcare, an interesting look at the brain will reveal that our clinical practices must be flexible, adaptive, curious, energetic and stable to treat today’s patient. What makes us most human is what is least computable about us - the connections between our mind and our body, the experiences that shape our memory, our thinking and our capacity for empathy and emotion. - Weizenbaum, MIT Computer Scientist. Today's goal: to help you Improve mood, cognition & behavior.

Bounce: Help Your Child Build Resilience and Thrive In School, Sports and Life

Show Guest: Dr. Kate Lund

While we might like to think that childhood is all fun and games, the truth is, it isn’t exactly stress-free. Kids have to learn to overcome obstacles even as toddlers, take tests when they’re older, learn new information, change schools and neighborhoods if there’s a move, deal with bullies, and make new friends. Bounce: Help Your Child Build Resilience and Thrive in School, Sports and Life presents the author's vision of the seven pillars of the resilient child during the elementary school years, along with specific strategies for bolstering the resilience of your own child or the children you work with. The Pillars of the Resilient child presented in this book include: Tolerating frustration and managing emotions; Navigating friendships and social pressures; sustaining focus on a single task and a larger goal; developing courage; Building motivation; Building confidence; and Creating optimism. Resilience is so important because it is what helps children bounce back from challenge and move forward despite the challenge.

Science of the Heart - Exploring the Role of the Heart in Human Performance

Show Guest: Jeff Goetz

In HeartMath’s free-online e-book, Science of the Heart – Exploring the Role of the Heart in Human Performance a major section is devoted to the growing evidence of the tremendous benefits to be gained from learning to self-regulate emotions and stress at an early age. At a younger and younger age, children are experiencing considerably greater stress in their lives, shouldering far greater responsibilities and emotional burdens than youngsters their age did even as few as 10 years ago. Stepping up to find solutions, the HeartMath Institute initiated the TestEdge National Demonstration Study (TENDS) in collaboration with Claremont Graduate University’s School of Educational Studies.

How does it work? According to Jeff Goelitz, HeartMath’s easily learned self-regulation techniques allow people to quickly self-induce a physiological shift to a more coherent state. Consequently, they can successfully handle the demands and challenges of life with more ease, balance and physical, emotional and psychosocial well-being.

Defending Religious Freedom Parental Rights and other Civil Liberties Without Charge

Show Guest: Brad Dacus

The Pacific Justice Leagues (PJI) is at the forefront of attorneys who recognize the need to preserve religious liberty in America. PJI is made up of a network of hundreds of volunteer affiliate attorneys nationwide. PJI handles cases addressing religious freedom including church and private school rights issues, curtailments to evangelism by the government, harassment because of their religious faith, employers attacked for their religious-based policies, students and teachers rights to share their faith at public schools. PJI also works hard to defend the rights of parents including their right to homeschool, review and have notice of public school curriculum and presentations, and opt out their children from objectionable material.

Dragonfly Transitions: What Young Adults Identify as Key Factors that Support Growth and Change in Transitio

Show Guest: Mona Treadway

An overwhelming number of young adults experience anxiety and depression. If left untreated they are at increased risk for loneliness, academic struggles, substance abuse, anxiety, depression, and other mental health or developmental challenges (Pottick, et al., 2008). In the last 20 years a treatment option referred to as Young Adult Transition programs has emerged to support young adults as they launch into healthy, independent lifestyles.

Dr. Mona Treadway shares the findings from a comprehensive research project examining the experience of 17 young adults who completed a young adult transitional living program. It highlights the importance of high quality connection and relationships, community and culture, and experiential education for young adults as they move to find their place in the world. Dr. Treadway disseminates important feedback for programs and families working with adults on topics such as dating, medication management, group therapy, and family work.

How Schools can Prevent and Quickly Respond to Active Shooters

Show Guest: Alon Stivi

We live in a 911 society where we expect help to always be a phone call away. This approach has repeatedly failed and does not work during critical incidents. We need to think about the recurring threat of mass violence differently if we expect different results. Understanding the root causes of the problem and asking why these shootings keep occurring is important but is not enough.

There are some effective solutions available today to prevent mass violence. They can be categorized into two types. The first type is about hardening the school campus and second is about engaging people as active participants in their own security.

Alon Stivi, developer of the Mass Violence Prevention & Active Shooter Survival Course, states that expecting law enforcement to respond immediately is unrealistic and relying solely on outside assistance is ineffective. In our interview, he shares solutions that are both self-evident and successful because we must be prepared to protect ourselves until help arrives and become empowered to know what to do and how to respond in a crisis situation.

Become Smarter, Happier, and More Productive While Protecting Your Brain for Life

Show Guest: Max Lugavere

Discover the critical link between your brain and the food you eat, change the way you think about how your brain ages, and achieve optimal brain performance with this powerful new guide from media personality and leading voice in health Max Lugavere. After his mother was diagnosed with a mysterious form of dementia, Max Lugavere put his successful media career on hold to learn everything he could about the workings of the human brain and his mother’s condition. For the better half of a decade, he consumed the most up-to-date scientific research, talked to dozens of scientists and clinicians around the world, and visited the country’s very best neurology departments.

Now, in Genius Foods, Lugavere uncovers the stunning link between our dietary and lifestyle choices and our brain health, revealing how the foods you eat directly affect your ability to focus, learn, remember, create, analyze new ideas, and maintain a healthy, balanced mood. In the vein of groundbreaking bestsellers such as David Perlmutter’s Grain Brain, Tim Ferriss’ Four Hour Body, and Dave Asprey’s Bulletproof Diet, Genius Foods presents a comprehensive, practical roadmap to optimizing the brain’s health and performance today—and decades into the future.

Hat Tricks From Heaven: The Story of an Athlete in His Own Prison of Addiction

SHOW GUEST: Kate Genovese

When Kate Genovese’s son, Christopher “Geno”, died of an accidental overdose, she felt her world would come to an end. Tricks From Heaven: The Story of an Athlete in His Own Prison of Addiction is the true story of a golden boy, who grew up in a loving family, surrounded by friends, effortlessly sailing through high school, college and promotions career. What could be wrong?

Considered an outstanding hockey player, as time went on his performance suffered due to knee and shoulder injuries. Kate learned later that he was forced to take a few Percocets to make it through a game because the pain was terrific.

Addiction afflicts in the wealthy communities just as often as it does the lower income areas. Kate purpose in writing this book is to open every parents’ eyes and help them recognize the signs and symptoms of an opioid problem before it is too late. Join us as, Kate shares her family's story and her powerful message: “Be aware and educated and don’t hide in denial.”

The "S" Word Project: Getting Teens Around the World Engaged in Solutions

Show Guest: Erin Thompson

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 48.6% of teen boys and girls between the ages of 14 & 19 are sexually active. Of that group nearly a quarter have had more than one partner. Many of these young people engage in sexual risk behaviors that can result in unintended health outcomes. Erin Thompson, Executive Director of The "S" Word Project, pushing the topic into meaningful discussions with teens can only be good because the silence is literally killing us. Erin believes it is time to get teens around the world talking about their relationships and sex in a supportive, confidential, non-judgmental environment while developing critical thinking and communications skills that will set them up to win in life. Having such a conversation will solve the issues generation gaps cause as well.