Trigger warning: The following episode may be difficult to listen to.

It’s no secret to the HFTF family and friends that our host Melyssa lost her mother this year, after a short but aggressive battle with Colon Cancer. She publicly shared her pain and mental anguish, knowing that by sharing her experience, others in similar pain would feel seen and understood.  

On the premier episode since her return, along with a surprise guest, find out the ways that Melyssa is learning to cope with her new normal and the things she’s learned about Love, Loss and the ways in which to live a fully examined LIFE along the way. (Bring a box of tissue with the wine, folks)

This episode is dedicated to Oksana Barbara Raisa Ford, Melyssa’s mother. She passed at 12:45pm on Tuesday May 19th, 2020. This episode is to update the Foodies and loyal listeners on the status of the show, pending Melyssa’s return. Thank you ALL so much for your tremendous support in this journey.

We are living in strange times these days. Sheltering in Place, forced to quarantine while watching a constant news cycle of a rising death toll due to a virus we are receiving so much conflicting information on. Our “fight or flight” instinct we all have is on high alert. With so much to worry about I ask you this: How much time are YOU devoting to caring for YOURSELF? It’s a natural instinct to want to help others, love others but sometimes to your own detriment. My guest on this episode is Mercedes Coffman, psychotherapist and Licensed Marriage and Family therapist. May is National Mental Health Awareness Month so I couldn’t think of a better time to unpack this loaded subject with an additional discussion about love and the development of healthy relationships. 

Links mentioned:

3 Day Water Fast: https://www.whitneyerd.com/2020/01/i-did-a-3-day-water-fast-the-how-why-tips.html

Check this out on Insight Timer! https://insig.ht/dGKXSAC5e6

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Anyone else getting a case of cabin fever? Has your relationship held up during the Shelter in Place Mandate? Or, If you’re single, have you been Quarantine and Chillin’ or just phone boning? These are just some of the topics covered on today’s episode of I’m Here For The Food. Melyssa is joined by long time friends rapper/actor Maino, VH1 LAHHNY Star Tahiry Jose and Po Johnson from the VH1 hit series LaLa’s Full Court Life. Nothing is left off the table as this group of friends commiserates about what most of us are feeling these days. Tune in for some major laughs! 

Elise Neal is a household name. She’s been a fixture on our TVs and the Big Screen for 30 years. From roles on TV shows like Fresh Prince of Bel Air to All of Us to blockbuster movies such as Logan and Hustle and Flow, she has endeared herself to us through an incredible range of talent and grace. Since turning 50, she has become the epitome of lifestyle and body #goals, maintains a physique that rivals women half her age. Sit down and have a glass of wine with Elise as Melyssa dives beneath the surface of this fabulous woman.

A personal message from Melyssa to YOU lovelies!

Have you ever met someone who, after speaking to them, you’ve realized it was almost predestined for you to meet? That your lives have seemingly been running a parallel course for years up until that moment? Intersectionality is a common theme in all of our lives and on today’s episode, Melyssa walks down memory lane with the editors of King Magazine and discusses the cultural impact the magazine had on young black men and the world. Joining them is Shaka Senghor, who speaks from the perspective of a young man in prison during King’s heyday, and how for black and brown men like him in prison, it was one of their only lifelines to the outside world.

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Imagine this: a pandemic hits the globe and the citizens of every state and country are told to quarantine themselves at home, in order to stop the rate of contagion. Government officials issue a Shelter in Place mandate and you and/or your spouse have been laid off from your jobs. 

It’s unbelievable but here we are. But what happens when you’re forced to stay inside in a home that is so abusive that your life is more at risk there than going outside and facing a virus whose mortality rate is steadily creeping up? 

On this episode of I’m Here For The Food we talk with former Chief of the Detroit PD and current Chief of Detroit Public Schools Ralph Godbee and Kalyn Fahie, a domestic violence Survivor, Advocate founder of SAFE (Sisters Acquiring Financial Empowerment) to discuss the rise of Domestic Violence complaints during mandatory quarantine and, with all schools adjourned for the rest of the year, the possibility of unreported child abuse with a lack of mandatory reporting. 

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