Irene Cares

How Road Warriors for the Missing Helps Bring Kids Home | Irene Podcast w/ Josh Lancaster
Host Dedy interviews Josh Lancaster, co-founder of the volunteer nonprofit Road Warriors for the Missing, about how the group helps families when a child goes missing. Josh explains the organization’s roots, its all-volunteer team (including private investigators), and how they rapidly create and distribute flyers, run social media and email blasts, and canvas neighborhoods requesting camera footage and tips, then pass information to law enforcement. He discusses common causes of missing-child cases, including running away and being lured online through apps like Discord, and the risks of exploitation and trafficking, sharing an example from Salt Lake where volunteers responded to a trafficking concern and the girl was later found. Josh describes the group’s value in focusing solely on one case, ways parents should quickly share information, and future plans for an app with local alerts. He directs listeners to Facebook and roadwarriorsforthemissing.com to request help, volunteer, or donate.
00:00 Trafficking Callout
00:23 Meet Road Warriors
01:37 How It Started
03:05 Building The Nonprofit
03:57 How A Case Works
08:08 Why Kids Go Missing
10:04 Helping Beyond Police
12:06 Runaway Risks For Parents
14:46 Cases That Stick
17:17 What Parents Should Do
18:44 Future App Vision
21:34 How To Volunteer
24:10 Staying In Touch
25:46 Final Thanks And Support

Instagram: roadwarriorsforthemissing
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1DhMcB...
Website: https://roadwarriorsforthemissing.com/

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Theresa shares how her substance use began in seventh grade and escalated into dangerous situations, including flying to pick up drugs and being robbed at gunpoint, until a moment of desperation—asking “God, how am I ever gonna stop?”—was followed by an arrest and jail time that became her turning point.

In a confrontational jail program, memories of her brother’s death and the fear of putting her mother through another late-night phone call helped motivate her to get clean, leading to early recovery steps like meetings, sponsorship, service, and rebuilding life through small, humbling changes. She also discusses swapping addiction for an affair, codependency, abusive relationships, self-talk, eating disorder recovery, and the role of faith and community. She explains the 12 steps and how they help identify patterns, take ownership, make amends, and sustain spiritual growth.

00:00 Drug Runs Gone Wrong
00:32 Theresa Before Recovery
01:00 Early Use and First Jail
03:00 Pipe Hit and Turning Point
04:17 Desperation and Jail Awakening
06:21 Brother’s Death and Real Bottom
08:04 Affair as New Addiction
09:19 12 Steps and Root Trauma
13:24 Owning Your Part and Healing
17:55 Choices Work and Community
21:27 30 Years Clean Baby Steps
24:22 Finding Identity and Purpose
25:42 Turning Pain Into Purpose
29:27 Outreach Over In-Reach
30:15 Small Acts Big Impact
31:34 First Steps Getting Clean
34:45 Unpacking Layers of Healing
37:51 Silencing the Inner Enemy
39:23 Gratitude as a Practice
40:17 The 12 Steps Explained
46:11 Living the Steps Daily
49:52 Higher Power for Everyone

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Jenny reflects on learning that marriage and motherhood don’t automatically lead to “happily ever after,” and how divorce, relocating, and painful experiences helped her stop accepting one-sided friendships and value quality over quantity. She discusses weeding out connections that feel convenient, choosing to be alone rather than feel “less than,” and the importance of authenticity, integrity, and mutual effort.

Jenny emphasizes that “showing up” for people—especially in hard seasons like funerals—matters and is a free, powerful way to support others and teach children. She shares what she wishes she’d known before marrying a narcissist, including having hard conversations, avoiding dictatorship dynamics, and building true partnership through communication, while describing the freedom and joy of creating a life on her own terms with her kids.

00:00 Marriage Myth Busting
00:21 Outgrowing One Sided Friends
01:52 No More Social Games
02:50 Quality Friends Reconnected
04:24 Showing Up Matters
06:30 Healing The Father Wound
08:00 Choosing Happiness Daily
10:11 Starting Over And Finding Community
11:29 Lessons From Narcissistic Marriage
14:50 Life On My Own Terms
18:13 Joyful Mom Moments
19:02 Final Reflections And Goodbye

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In part 2 of 3 of this interview, Jenny describes reaching a breaking point in her marriage after repeated drunken, hurtful behavior, and how counseling helped her realize that staying meant accepting it. She explains how having a daughter pushed her to model self-worth and boundaries, then recounts the long-term fallout of divorce: ongoing court fights, being forced out of the family home, and years of “jabs” from her ex.

She also details moving from Southern California to Utah, her ex contesting the move to delay the case, eight months of instability including living in a trailer, and spending over $32,000 on attorneys before he dropped the challenge. She discusses recognizing narcissistic patterns in her mother, family members supporting her ex to retain control, her daughter setting firm boundaries, and building a new support system through friends and groups while continuing to co-parent amid conflict.

00:00 Marriage Breaking Point
00:38 Therapy Wake Up Call
01:25 Leaving for the Kids
02:01 Single Mom Survival
02:53 Court Battles Over Home
04:05 Starting Over by Moving
04:37 Narcissistic Parents Revealed
05:23 Boundaries and Smear Campaigns
06:32 Daughters Graduation Boundary
13:15 Grieving Family Loss
14:39 Ex Tries to Force Return
15:38 Fighting the Move
16:32 Trailer Life Waiting Game
18:21 Court Fees and Games
20:53 Rebuilding in Utah
22:26 Counselor Wisdom Lessons
25:04 Chosen Family Support
28:37 Co-Parenting Reality Check
30:15 Kids Deserve Peace
31:00 Perfect Family Myth

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Jenny on Abandonment, Motherhood, and a Narcissistic Marriage

Jenny describes growing up not knowing her biological father, taking her stepdad’s last name without explanation, and later trying to contact her real dad—meeting him at 18, confronting him again after becoming a mother, and a final attempt years later—while dealing with lifelong abandonment issues. She recalls a childhood that felt stable and “all-American,” with parents who also raised her cousin and later her cousin’s child, which shaped her strong desire to be a mother. Jenny reflects on reinventing herself as her children grow up and on modern challenges for teens, including online scams and social media pressure. She then discusses marrying a narcissistic, functioning-alcoholic husband, describing walking on eggshells, prioritizing appearances, heavy partying instead of dating, lack of partnership, and trying counseling while building a family life that was often sustained through group activities.

00:00 Vegas Bombshell Opener

00:11 Jenny Joins the Podcast

00:47 Stepdad Enters the Picture

01:53 The Dad Nobody Discussed

03:31 Trying to Meet Him

04:11 Calling Dad at 18

07:38 Rejection and Closure Attempts

10:34 Abandonment and Family Patterns

13:15 Why Motherhood Matters Most

15:16 Reinventing Life at 50

18:23 Raising Teens in the Internet Age

20:19 Marriage to a Narcissist Begins

21:34 Partying Not Dating

23:16 No Partnership at Home

24:05 The Life They Built Together

24:39 Conclusion and Looking Ahead 

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In the final chapter of April Dawn's story, she opens up about the night she finally left an abusive marriage, the healing gift she was taught to hide, and the relationship with her late daughter Macy that only deepened after loss. This is the part of the story where the healing happens  Reiki, self-love, forgiveness, and the text message that told her everything she needed to know.

This is Part 3 of April's story on Irene Cares. Built by Survivors. For Survivors.

00:00 Grief and Compassion

00:31 Owning Your Voice

01:36 Healing Is Possible

02:05 Light After Darkness

02:55 Macy Returns as Light

03:56 Forgiveness and Spirit Team

08:12 Choosing Unconditional Love

09:53 Who Was Macy

13:34 Reiki and Energy Healing

16:20 Seeing With God’s Eyes

17:15 Becoming a Willing Vessel

19:00 Healing Through Connection

20:24 Placed in Dark Places

21:47 The Whisper to Leave

24:31 Breaking Cycles With Motherhood

26:40 Learning Self Love

27:14 Love Is the Answer

29:05 What I Wish I Knew

32:11 Macy Dawn’s Final Words

33:29 Gratitude and Blessing 

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In Part 2 of April's story, she opens up about the seventeen years it took to walk away from addiction, why brutal honesty became the only way out, and how she found compassion even for the people who hurt her most.

Then the story turns. April shares what finally broke the cycle of abuse she'd lived in her whole life: the murder of her daughter, Macy. It's the moment that cracked everything open and the moment Macy became the voice that's been pushing her toward the woman she is today.

This episode discusses domestic violence, addiction, and the loss of a child to violence. Please take care while watching. Support resources are shared in the comments.

00:00 Turning Myself In

00:15 Honesty and Accountability

01:21 Faith Over Addiction

02:11 Victim to Victor Mindset

02:31 Breaking Cycles for Kids

03:50 Radical Compassion for All

06:25 Mental Illness and Love

07:35 Finding God in Unlikely Places

11:19 Boundaries and Balanced Love

13:25 Protecting Your Peace

15:03 Vulnerability and Honest Support

16:12 Honoring the Comeback Story

17:03 Find the Right Help

18:34 Honesty After Relapse

20:08 Faith and Community Support

21:12 Addiction as a Voice

24:08 Gods Downloads and Lessons

25:49 Empath Turned Off

28:26 Refiners Fire Perspective

29:50 Daughters Death Catalyst

32:53 Macy as a Guide

35:27 Learning to Speak Up 

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April shares that 46 years of her life were defined by abuse, trauma, addiction, and eight marriages, shaped by childhood sexual abuse that began at age four and continued into her teens, leaving her believing her only value was sexual. She describes living in survival responses like freeze and fawn, being gaslit throughout her life, and entering relationship after relationship seeking safety for herself and her six children. She explains how her understanding of God shifted from her LDS upbringing to experiencing God as unconditional love, truth, and intuition, and how that connection helped her reclaim her identity, set boundaries, and gain sovereignty over her body. She reflects on her daughter Macy’s death in a murder-suicide as a turning point that opened her eyes to patterns of abuse and the importance of acknowledging mental illness, while emphasizing hope, choice, and not giving up.

00:00 Life of Trauma

00:41 Finding God Within

02:37 Survival Modes Explained

06:36 Gaslighting and Breaking Point

10:07 Trusting Intuition

15:20 Turning Pain Into Purpose

20:10 Light and Dark Choices

25:56 Childhood Abuse Patterns

29:04 Reclaiming Body Sovereignty

31:14 Choosing to Keep Living 

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Debbie Heisler survived domestic violence at 19. Decades later, it came back into her life in the worst way imaginable when her son David was murdered, two weeks after winning a two year custody battle for his daughter.

In this conversation with Hope, Debbie talks about the phone call that came while she was 2,700 miles away, what those first blurred days felt like, and what it took to raise her granddaughter through grief while grieving herself. She also shares the part most people never hear: what came after. The butterfly releases every June 30th. The supervised visitation center she co-founded so other families would have somewhere safe to go. The books. The method. The moment she stopped asking "why" and started asking "how."

Debbie is the co-founder of Blue Butterfly House, founder of Grounded Women Change the World, creator of the 481 Method, author of Faith in the Middle and the guided grief journals Whispers of Healing and Hope and Beyond the Whispers, and a USA Today Woman of the Year honoree. Her family's story was featured in a documentary on Investigation Discovery.

If you are grieving, or still inside something you cannot see your way out of, this one is for you.

00:00 Missing Son Call

00:40 Coming Home to Self

03:40 Survival and Boundaries

05:01 Escaping Early Abuse

06:33 Remembering David

10:02 The Search Begins

11:46 Documentary and Digital Clues

14:11 Finding Peace After Trauma

19:29 Raising a Grieving Granddaughter

22:20 Butterfly Rituals of Healing

28:15 Lessons from Her Granddaughter

33:35 Building Blue Butterfly House

39:51 Grounded Women and 481 Method

50:04 Coming Home Practices

54:04 Ripple Effect of Grounded Women

56:59 Protecting Your Peace

57:29 Boundaries and People Pleasing

59:52 Faith in the Middle Memoir

01:03:07 Guided Grief Journals

01:07:56 Honoring Your Story

01:12:46 Breaking Open and Connection

01:16:18 Learning to Receive

01:18:39 Woman of the Year Moment

01:21:48 Gratitude and Noticings

01:24:49 More Than the Final Chapter

01:28:44 Surviving to Thriving

01:30:47 Leaving Domestic Violence

01:36:13 Identity and Purpose Shift

01:39:13 Safe to Want Next Book

01:41:10 Forgiveness and Freedom

01:43:50 Closing Tools and Where to Find Her 

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 One in three women experience their birth as traumatic. One in four struggle with perinatal mental health. Almost nobody talks about it. 

Perinatal therapist Trina Grater joins us to explain matrescence, the developmental transition into motherhood that has been named since the 1970s and that most women have never heard of. She shares her own fast, unattended birth, why "at least your baby's healthy" causes so much harm, and how brain spotting helps women heal what they cannot put into words.

 For the mothers who thought they were the only one.

 Support: postpartum.net, 1-833-TLC-MAMA, or 988. 

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