Anthologies of Hope

Physical alteration, such as a tattoo or piercing, is referred to as body modification, but this term is actually much broader than you’d think. And while this broad category can include many other things, this week’s episode focuses on the images and words people have chosen to adorn their bodies with through the art of tattooing and the personal stories behind them.

Our amazing guests this week include:-Joel Frieders, Hope for the Day's Director of Public Policy, 86 The Silence Champion, Alderman, & Father -Becca Milligan, Hope for the Day's Marketing and Events Director-Aaron Coleman, Beatkeepers Instructor & Hope for the Day Agent of Impact-Skylar Fitzpatrick

Conversations Cafe is (usually) a monthly live podcast recording at Sip of Hope Coffee Bar featuring education and open forum dialogue on the intersections of Mental Health within our communities. This education programming is brought to you by Hope for the Day with support from our partners in prevention, The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention of Illinois, Banyan Treatment Center, and Janssen.

Join the conversation. We are in this together.

Way back in the beginning of February 2020, I caught up with one of my favorite humans on the planet for a much needed conversation and you will hear why in this episode!

Amanda Raffenaud resides in Orlando, FL and is a mother to two sons, a writer, a Professor, a PhD Researcher, a Certified Yoga Teacher, and a Mental Health Wellness advocate. Throughout all of that you will hear in our discussion how important each of those aspects of Amanda’s life are as she currently battles Stage 4 Metastatic Breast Cancer like a warrior, as well as being a survivor of suicide loss.

We talk about how Amanda has navigated all the different journeys her and her two sons have taken, from the hard days and why counseling is so important and why embracing your feelings is so productive to the funny days and the difficulties in sharing a single Spotify account with two teenage boys.

This is one conversation I am very glad to capture in a recording and share over and over again.

This past July, Coffee, Hip-Hop, & Mental Health successfully fed 1,000 families. With the support of their local and national community - including Sip & Savor Coffee House, Hope for the Day, Sip of Hope Coffee Bar, and many others - the Poverty is Violent food drive was able to reach about 5,000 individuals! We are now committed to gifting 10,000 families with a week's worth of groceries and a year's worth of resources as a community. It'll be Christmas in August and while poverty is violent, food is love.

Conversations Cafe is (usually) a monthly live podcast recording at Sip of Hope Coffee Bar featuring education and open forum dialogue on the intersections of Mental Health within our communities. This education programming is brought to you by Hope for the Day with support from our partners in prevention, The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention of Illinois, Banyan Treatment Center, and Janssen.

Join the conversation. We are in this together.

I am very grateful and appreciative of the fact that I get to bring our listeners an amazing conversation today with Christoper LeMark, the founder of Coffee, Hip-Hop, & Mental Health - an amazing organization that has pivoted during the time of COVID to fighting hunger on the Southside of Chicago through multiple “Poverty is Violent” food drives throughout the summer.

The timing of this episode is very important as the largest event of the summer, Christmas in August, is happening this weekend, August 28th, 29th, and 30th at the CSO Multiplex on 47th Street in Chicago.

If you are a family in need on the Southside of Chicago, head over to chhamh.com/pick-up to sign up for delivery or pick-up availability ASAP! If you are looking to help out with some physical labor, as you’ll hear Christopher mention, head over to chhamh.com/piv10k to sign up today.

But most importantly, and also the easiest thing you can do, is text DONATE.FEEDCHI to 77948 and sponsor a family with an entire week’s worth of groceries and an entire year’s worth of resources for ONLY $40. That’s right, you can help feed an entire family for only $40 while providing them with resources to fight poverty and achieve some sense of normalcy.

Throughout the conversation, we dive into what brought Christopher to the creation of CHHAMH, the foundational element of the organization to normalize therapy, where Christopher looks to take CHHAMH beyond the Christmas in August event, and how his skill as a performer has brought him to his mission today!

With so much discussion about what to do for American families and their school-aged youth as fall approaches, this week's episode brings a panel of educators and parents to share some of their experiences as of late. We address the harsh realities of COVID, the need to insure the health and safety of our communities for both teacher and student, and of course, developing strategies for coping with all the pressure.

Our amazing guests this week include:

-Adam Hill: Bulls Entertainment, High School Band Director, & Father-Michelle Thompkins: Founder of The Corner Store Chicago, NFP-Nancy Bartosz: Hope Travels Champion & Teacher

Conversations Cafe is (usually) a monthly live podcast recording at Sip of Hope Coffee Bar featuring education and open forum dialogue on the intersections of Mental Health within our communities. This education programming is brought to you by Hope for the Day with support from our partners in prevention, The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention of Illinois, Banyan Treatment Center, and Janssen.

Join the conversation. We are in this together.

Transgenerational trauma refers to trauma that passes through generations and in this week's episode, we discuss a wide variety of experiences from a panel of guests ranging from individuals whose ancestors were slaves to experiences of indigenous people, down to the nuanced experiences of immigration.

Our amazing guests this week include:-Shawn Imitates-Dog, Lakota -Mia Park, Actor, Producer, + Yoga Instructor, Chic-A-Go-Go-Kamau “Maui” Jones, Echo Theater Collective

Conversations Cafe is (usually) a monthly live podcast recording at Sip of Hope Coffee Bar featuring education and open forum dialogue on the intersections of Mental Health within our communities. This education programming is brought to you by Hope for the Day with support from our partners in prevention, The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention of Illinois, Banyan Treatment Center, and Janssen.

Join the conversation. We are in this together.

In this week's episode, we are joined by Hope for the Day's Team Thrive program leader, Sarah Moss, as we follow up on the "IT ONLY TAKES ONE" pledge. Also joining us this week, Breathe for Hope instructors Nichol Somers and Britt Kaplan, talking about the inaugural sessions of the program. We dive into a deeper conversation around stress and supporting decompression going into the school area and the uncertainties around it.

Conversations Cafe is (usually) a monthly live podcast recording at Sip of Hope Coffee Bar featuring education and open forum dialogue on the intersections of Mental Health within our communities. This education programming is brought to you by Hope for the Day with support from our partners in prevention, The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention of Illinois, Banyan Treatment Center, and Janssen.

Join the conversation. We are in this together.

Our episode this week rejoins the discussions made hyper-visible in the protests triggered by the murder of George Floyd. The historic momentum galvanized to challenge systemic racism demands that we identify and clarify the problems and impacts. We can sustain this momentum by pushing towards tangible change.

As we upend racist policies, what are the policies and systems that support an anti-racist system? What does a better society look like institutionally?

Our new & returning guests this week include an amazing panel of individuals, offering much needed perspective, insights, and expertise:

-Adam Hill: Bulls Entertainment, High School Band Director, & Father.

-Christopher LeMark: Artist, Speaker, & Founder of Coffee, Hip-Hop & Mental Health.

-Michelle Thompkins: Founder of The Corner Store Chicago, NFP.

-Mojdeh Stoakley: Social Practice Artist, Cultural Worker, & Founder of Social Practice Labs.

-Sharmon Jarmon: Founder of Strawberry Red Entertainment, Evolve: A Wellness Pop-Up, & HFTD Agent of Impact.

-Trez Pugh: Founder & CEO of Sip & Savor Coffee Houses.

Conversations Cafe is (usually) a monthly live podcast recording at Sip of Hope Coffee Bar featuring education and open forum dialogue on the intersections of Mental Health within our communities. This education programming is brought to you by Hope for the Day with support from our partners in prevention, The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention of Illinois, Banyan Treatment Center, and Janssen.

Join the conversation. We are in this together.

This week's episode, titled “The Cookout - Food & Mental Health”, celebrates cookout season with a panel of guests from Hope for the Day's 86 The Silence program and the greater Chicagoland food + beverage community. We are also joined by individuals working on food relief efforts to support communities during these challenging times, including The Community Kitchen, from a group of industry workers, and Community of the Future, from a group of creatives coming together.

We change it up in this episode, as Mike Vinopal, Hope for the Day's Director of Education hosts our amazing panel of guests this week. Our guests include Won Kim, Community of the Future Culinary Director, The Community Kitchen, Kimski, Artist; Joel Frieders, HFTD’s Director of Public Policy, Heartland Beverage; Jeannine Wise, HFTD's 86 The Silence Champion; Emmaline Rasmussen, RDN, Founder/CEO of Sound Nutrition; and last but definitely not least - Ed Marszewski, Community of the Future, The Community Kitchen, Marz Brewing, Director of Public Media Institute.

Conversations Cafe is (usually) a monthly live podcast recording at Sip of Hope Coffee Bar featuring education and open forum dialogue on the intersections of Mental Health within our communities. This education programming is brought to you by Hope for the Day with support from our partners in prevention, The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention of Illinois, Banyan Treatment Center, and Janssen.

Join the conversation. We are in this together.

This week's Conversations Cafe episode explores a myriad of treatment options, including plant medicines (cannabis, mushrooms, etc.), as well as alternatives like ketamine treatments for depression and harm-reduction for individuals living with substance-use disorders. Our panel includes community members and professionals discussing these often unknown but available options for healing and management.

Our guest panelists this week include Alia Reichert, Nature’s Grace & Wellness, Hope for the Day Spark The Conversation Champion; Michelle Thompkins, The Cornerstore Chicago, Hope for the Day Agent of Impact; Dr. Cresencia Felty, Naturopathic Doctor, Certified Nutrition Specialist; Allison Herman, Hope for the Day Agent of Impact; Daniel Carcillo, Stanley Cup Winner, The Daniel Carcillo Journey podcast; and Patrick O’Hern, Nature’s Grace & Wellness.

Conversations Cafe is (usually) a monthly live podcast recording at Sip of Hope Coffee Bar featuring education and open forum dialogue on the intersections of Mental Health within our communities. This education programming is brought to you by Hope for the Day with support from our partners in prevention, The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention of Illinois, Banyan Treatment Center, and Janssen.

Join the conversation. We are in this together.