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Jayne Amelia speaks with creative and foster care alumni Jeremy Buchanan. Jeremy  was raised in Illinois, Georgia, and California. He moved around a lot as a kid and attended more elementary schools than he can even count. He was first placed in foster care as a young boy and then again as a teenager when he became a "runner" as he says. Not one of his many foster homes were good to him… or for him…but by sheer will and determination, and with good mentors he eventually found for himself, Jerremy  developed his talent as a rapper and a musician, and he’s now a filmmaker too. Out of Focus is the newest release from Jeremy aka  turnupwater, a rising hip-hop artist who is making waves in the rap indie scene. With a strong devotion to God and a lot of musical talent, turnupwater is growing in popularity and reaching more people everyday.

Jeremy is currently based in Los Angeles and is creating and promoting his music, but more than that, he's working on a whole movement based on his religious philosophy and approach to song creation. He is not just a singer and songwriter but also a creator of visual content and photographer with his own company focusing on this aspect of his talent. The newest release is a mixtape featuring Out of Focus, a fresh and funky track from producer Zion Williams and featuring old-school sounds with  a lot of meaning. Unlike many other hip-hop tracks that center on the material, turnupwater puts his faith front and center and makes it a huge part of his music’s message. With this, the song becomes more accessible and interesting to people who want to put their faith at the center of their lives as well and who are looking for music that celebrates this aspect rather than offers conflicting content, focusing on the material or the shallow. With a new proposition, turnupwater is likely to reach a lot of rap fans who want more meaning in their music and especially those who want spiritually strong tracks. Out of Focus is a freestyle track with a lot of ’90s, old-school-style vibes that make it a bit nostalgic and add an interesting and distinct style to the song.  The song and the artist have already drawn quite a bit of attention from hip-hop enthusiasts, as well as those looking for new spiritual music across different genres. 

turnupwater on Soundcloud
TW@turnupwater
IG@turnupwater

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Jayne Amelia speaks with Reverand Barbara Lane.  Rev. Lane is the  author of "Broken Water: An Extraordinary True Story."

Barbara is the ninth of eleven sisters, abandoned by their birth parents, who were all placed in St. Dominic’s Orphanage in St. Louis, then eventually separated into different homes and finally reunited 43 years later. Her book tells the powerful true story of her journey through the many years she spent trying to reconnect with her long-lost sisters and solve the intriguing mystery of her family of origin – all while surviving and eventually healing from the life-threatening abuse she and one of her sisters endured in the home of their  foster father: a mafia grunt. 

Rev. Lane integrates her life experiences of being a foster child, sister, wife, mother, grandmother, entrepreneur, speaker, child advocate, educator, ministerial counselor, and author into her writing. By sharing her own personal journey, Barbara destigmatizes the fate of child abuse survivors, leading her to write "Broken Water." In addition to her 25-year service in private practice as a ministerial counselor, Barbara’s educational background in human development, social sciences, and family psychology with a focus on child abuse, inspires her to share her expertise on interrelated issues: the family, family separation, the foster care system, attachment and bonding, child maltreatment, relationship formation, the resilience of the human spirit, healing from trauma, and the power found in having faith in something greater than the self. When not writing, you will find Barbara enjoying nature, reading, swimming, playing sports, and people watching. She especially enjoys spending time with her grandchildren. Barbara lives in the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia with her husband, Jim, who remains her childhood sweetheart.

Learn more about Rev Lane and her work here: barbaralane.info
Broken Water: An Extraordinary True Story

"I was three years old when I entered the orphanage.  Here is a picture of me with a sister's arm around me. I wasn't unhappy. I didn't miss my mother. I was surrounded by the love and nurturance of my sisters. But, as is the case with most abandoned children, we were eventually separated and placed into foster care.

I was traumatized by the separation from my sisters. I would carry that within my broken heart for forty-three years. Until...

'Broken Water' is a memoir that tells the true story of my journey to survive  child abuse in a foster home while seeking to reunite with my sisters. It invites the reader to journey with me through a miraculous reunion followed by a fifteen-year effort to learn my family's history and to write each sister's heart-wrenching story of abuse and abandonment. It shares our experiences while living in orphanages, foster care and adoptions. Sadly, the stories of children in the system today are hauntingly familiar.

'Broken Water' is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit, the strength of a bonded sisterhood, and the power found in having faith in miracles and something greater than the self."

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Jayne Amelia speaks with Charity Chandler-Cole. Charity is an author, scholar and activist and "... the CEO of CASA of Los Angeles, Court Appointed Special Advocates for youth impacted by the Foster Care and Juvenile Justice Systems. Born and raised in Los Angeles and having harshly endured its child welfare and juvenile justice systems, she has spent over a decade helping to influence and impact social structures, policies and systems that have negatively and disproportionately impacted and oppressed foster youth and vulnerable communities. Charity works passionately to address the issues and challenges plaguing our communities, women and youth and uses her powerful story of redemption and triumph to inspire people under the mantra, 'If Charity can do it, then so can I.' Charity believes strongly in changing the narrative and outcomes surrounding system impacted individuals and uses her many platforms to engage, educate, develop and empower people from all walks of life to be change agents, visionaries, and successful agents of society, regardless of their upbringing or past.
In addition to leading CASA of Los Angeles, Charity serves in several highly impactful positions, including her role as Commissioner with LA County Children & Families, where she is co-chair of its Racial Justice Committee; African American Advisory Board to District Attorney, George Gascon; and is currently pursuing her Doctorate’s Degree in Educational Leadership for Social Justice at her Alma mater, Loyola Marymount University. Charity is one of the original founding board members for the Anti-Recidivism Coalition, a non-profit that works to end mass incarceration in California, where she served the board for eight years, four of which as board chair. Charity was also one of the first people with lived experience to serve California’s Board of State and Community Corrections’, Juvenile Justice Standing Committee. Charity is a wife and mother to four beautiful children and was, until recently, a relative caregiver and legal guardian to her nephew for 12 years."

CharityChandlerCole.com
and her new book Stranger Danger 2023
IG@charity_chandlercole
CASAla.org

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Jayne Amelia speaks with award-winning musician and adoptee Mike Wiskar. Mike is a Leo-nominated composer, songwriter, independent music producer, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist. He was also adopted as a baby and raised in a caring home by a family who loved him very much. Even so, he longed to know his birth family and finally met his bio mom and his extended family only recently.

A graduate of the Music Program at MacEwan University as well as Langara's Digital Music Production Program, Mike began his music career in his teens as a singer/guitarist in rock, country, and jazz bands before working as a songwriter for various artists in Montreal, Quebec. While there he worked closely with Myles Goodwyn of legendary Canadian rock band April Wine, among other top-level songwriters and producers.  

Mike has since written and produced songs and music scores for projects as diverse as corporate branding, theatre, short films, full length and series documentaries, choirs, contemporary artists’ repertoires and numerous television series'. 

Recently, Mike has devoted his song writing skills to “Math Musicals” for Big Ideas Learning. A supplement to their public school math textbook, Math Musicals helps kids from kindergarten through grade five learn math through fun songs and engaging stories.

Go to  Mathmusicals.com to hear his terrific work.

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Jayne Amelia speaks with adoptive dad to one and foster dad to many Peter Mutabazi. "As a child I ran away from an abusive home and was helped by the kindness of strangers. As an adult I found myself in a position of being able to help foster children, so I began taking children into my home years ago to give back what was so freely given to me. It's my mission to give back as much as I can to the vulnerable among us. That's what drives his foundation Now I Am Known: to bring a message of hope to the hopeless---the same message I needed so badly to hear as a child. That is why we will be partnering with foster care agencies to give away a plush puppy with the message "Now I Am Known, Seen, and Heard" to at-risk children across the country."

"At age ten, Peter Mutabazi ran away from home. For five years he survived on the streets of Kampala, Uganda, a city of 1.5 million, until one man saw potential in him. This man not only supported Peter through school but forever altered Peter's outlook in every possible way. Since then, Peter's turnaround story has been remarkable. He served as a relief coordinator during the Rwandan genocide, worked for the International Committee of the Red Cross during the Sudan conflict, emigrated to the United States, fostered countless children, and became a single adoptive parent. He speaks seven languages and has traveled to more than one hundred countries as an international advocate for vulnerable children. In his new book, Now I Am Known, Peter reveals the transformational power of taking risks, learning to forgive, overcoming self-doubt, breaking negative patterns, and believing in a better future marked by optimism and purpose."

NowIamKnownFoundation.org
Now I Am Known on YouTube
Now I Am Known: How a Street Kid Turned Foster Dad Found Acceptance and True Worth on Amazon

IG@Fosterdadflipper
TikTok@nowiamknown

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Jayne Amelia speaks with foster care alumnus Steve Pemberton. Steve is a best selling author, philanthropist, businessman and acclaimed speaker. Steve's "story is about defying seemingly insurmountable odds to become a trail-blazing corporate executive, enlightened diversity leader, visionary youth advocate, and acclaimed speaker. His best-selling memoir, A Chance in the World: An Orphan Boy, A Mysterious Past, and How He Found a Place Called Home , recounts his triumphant life journey and drive to become a man of resilience, determination and vision. Now an upcoming major motion picture, A Chance in the World further amplifies Steve’s highly motivational messages: Believe in your dreams, rise above obstacles, create opportunities for others, and most of all, persevere."

A Chance in the World (Young Readers Edition): An Orphan Boy, a Mysterious Past, and How He Found a Place Called Home "This new youth adaption, written for 8 to 12 year-olds, shares Steve's journey with sensitivity, honesty, and hope. Adapted from the USA Today bestselling memoir, A Chance in the World."

A Chance In The World  the movie

The Lighthouse Effect "In this stirring follow-up to his memoir, Steve Pemberton gives practical encouragement for how you can be a 'human lighthouse' for others and through these inspiring stories will renew your hope for humanity."

Find about more about Steve and his work here: StevePemberton.io

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Jayne Amelia speaks with Dr. Noah Nash. Noah is a foster care alumnus from very early childhood, as well as an educator and creative web designer-developer who is amplifying stories, products and projects with people, for people — as he says. His portfolio includes work in international children's rights, emerging technologies, social impact and philanthropy. Noah's ethos is empowering more people to mindfully leverage technology en route to materializing the world we all wish to see. As a co-host of the Revolution of Care (ROC)  podcast (a media initiative of Peace4Kids.org a community organization which has served thousands of kids of youth in care in Los Angeles for the past 25 years), Noah broadens public perceptions of the foster care experience. Noah's joy for collective growth led to co-creating Garment Learning Studio in 2022, a digital membership for emerging fashion entrepreneurs to upskill and excel. As a longtime advocate, Noah deeply relishes relationship building to unearth new perspectives, reframe barriers, and strategically tackle challenges. His proudest accomplishments are being a loyal brother, a cool uncle and generous home cook. Oh and he loves animals!

Peace4kids.org
The Pointless Forest - a children's book honoring the foster care journey
Revolution Of Care Movement (ROCMove)
and the ROCMove  podcast
Extended Foster Care (California AB 12)

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Jayne Amelia speaks with Jacqueline Robles, a former foster youth, and a relentless determined powerhouse of a young woman who aged out of the system and made her own way... jumping through hoop after hoop with the hoops always changing and ever higher.

Identifying as both Indigenous and Latina, Jacqueline is set on a career to “level the playing field” for communities of color. Jacqueline’s expertise lies in community engagement, policy, and working with historically disadvantaged communities to make the world a better place. Jacqueline is now an Inclusive Economic Development Advisor at a national non-profit that supports local organizations focused on community and economic development with intentions to create more equitable cities. Prior to her current role, Jacqueline served as a project manager for a Los Angeles consulting firm focused on engaging communities with lived experience and proposing policies to build more affordable housing. In addition, Jacqueline has served on various boards and commissions, including the Youth Commission for the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, Lived Experience for Affordable Housing, and is a volunteer math tutor for inner city high schools. In addition, Jacqueline is a child welfare expert and often sought out by government agencies and organizations to provide her insights from personal and policy experience. When Jacqueline is not making cities more equitable, you can find her hanging with her German shepherd and husky, traveling to a new country, or hanging with friends. Jacqueline holds a Master of Public Policy degree from UCLA and a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from California State University Long Beach.

Please call 988 or text 741741 for help if you're in crisis. 

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Jayne Amelia speaks with foster care alumnus and abolitionist, Regina Louise. Regina is a sought-after speaker, teacher, coach, and author. Recently she was the recipient of the prestigious Christopher Award, given to producers for stories that “affirm the human spirit.” In 2019 she received the Jordan Award for service in transforming foster care through advocacy and the arts; the Community Service Award for Children and Families from the Seneca Foundation; and the NAIMC Vision Award for original programming that “reflects the lives, spirit, and contributions of people of color and represents the ethnic and cultural diversity of the viewing audience.” She is the author of the bestselling memoirs "Somebody’s Someone" and "Someone Has Led This Child to Believe". A Lifetime movie, "I Am Somebody’s Child: The Regina Louise Story," is based on her life and was nominated for a 2020 NAACP Award for Best Director.

Her new work is out now: "Permission Granted: Kick-Ass Strategies to Bootstrap Your Way to Unconditional Self-Love" and "Hands On Heart A 60-Day Self-Love Guided Journal."

In 2011, wanting to honor a pledge she made to herself as a young foster child and to support her son who was struggling in college, Regina returned to college. She graduated summa cum laude from the California Institute of Integral Studies and then went on to the University of California, Riverside, to earn an MFA in creative writing and writing for the performing arts. 

Regina’s work in the theater was nominated for two NAACP Theater Awards. Currently a Hoffman Process teacher, she also leads workshops and has speaking engagements around the country. She is often featured in magazines and on news out- lets, including Good Morning America, PBS, BBC, NBC, CNN, NPR, HLN, and many others.

www.iamreginalouise.com
IG@therealreginalouise
[email protected]

Books by Regina Louise:
Somebody's Someone: A Memoir
Permission Granted: Kick-Ass Strategies to Bootstrap Your Way to Unconditional Self-Love
Someone Has Led This Child to Believe: A Memoir

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Jayne Amelia speaks with artist and foster sibling, Elle Fox. Elle, a high school student, has been sketching for as long as she can remember. Growing up in a family that fostered children, Elle draws on her experience of life, love, and loss while sharing her heart and home for a period of time with numerous babies and children. As an author, illustrator, and entrepreneur, Elle launched Elle Fox Art to showcase her illustrations and share the aspects of life that Inspire her. 

"Hello, I'm Elle Fox and I love to create! I first declared my passion for making art at the age of three, then at five I received my first sketchbook and decided to become an artist! Since then, I've been busy developing my skills in various mediums and cultivating my own artistic perspective. ​I was born in Buffalo, NY but moved to South Australia after preschool, where my experiences at the beach, markets, parks, and art classes inspired me to draw. I've always been ambitious, and with the influence of my grandmother and various other mentors, I decided early on that I would be an art teacher. When I was eight, my family relocated to the Philadelphia area and we welcomed the first of many foster children into our home the following year. The subject matter of many of my projects has been greatly influenced by the children that we've known and loved; they always seem to find their way into the meaning, story, or purpose of my art. Family is vitally important to me, and mine has enormously supported my creativity and allowed me to grow far more than I could have on my own.  Over the years, I have experimented greatly with how to share my work when I stumbled across an idea for a children's book that I couldn't let go to waste. Now, thanks to the goodness of God and the amazing people who've helped me along the way, I have been able to fully embrace this medium of storytelling."

ellefoxart.com
IG @ellefoxart
Meatball and Little Birdie available on Amazon and elsewhere.

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