Latchkey Urchins & Friends

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Anne and Alison talk with Eric Atcheson, ordained pastor in the Christian Church about Millennial faith, social justice, and finding connection through spirituality. We learn about his experience growing up in Kansas with attorney parents and how this shaped his inclusive worldview, which he brings to his ministry. This episode is for anyone searching for meaning and a spiritual practice during these trying times, especially inclusive, open-minded, and connective spirituality.

Follow us on Instagram.
Check out our bonus YouTube content.
Latchkey Urchins & Friends website.
Audio mastering by Josh Collins.
Song "One Cloud is Lonely" by Próxima Parada.
Cover art by Claire Dierksen.

Thanks so much for listening! Hope you can catch up on past episodes these two weeks.

Check out our website, sign up for our monthly newsletter, and send a message about something from the pod you've loved. Follow us on social media!

• https://latchkeyurchins.com/
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• https://www.instagram.com/latchkeyurchins/

Check out Próxima Parada's music. They have provided our theme music. The song is "One Cloud is Lonely." 

• https://proximaparadamusic.com/
• Spotify

Audio mastering by Josh Collins: 

• https://www.podcastaudiodoctor.com/

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Anne and Alison interview Adrian Alexander and Juleus Ghunta, community managers of the ACEs Caribbean Community, raising awareness of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), and promoting Protective Factors, Positive Experiences, Hope, and Resilience throughout the Caribbean. They are working to inform and transform their region to see more empowered, trauma-informed, and resilient people, families, communities, organisations, and nations. Adrian and Juleus share about their trauma-informed anti-violence work in the Caribbean, including healing the wounds of boy children, who often are overlooked when we focus on gender-based violence. Juleus shares an excerpt from his recent book and poetry so good that it will capture even those who are thinking "I'm just not into poetry." 

Juleus Ghunta is a Chevening Scholar, children’s writer, a member of Jamaica’s National Task Force on Character Education, and an advocate in the Caribbean’s Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) movement. Ghunta holds a BA in Media from The University of the West Indies, Mona, and an MA in Peace Studies from the University of Bradford, UK. His work explores the links between toxic stress and academic underachievement, and the varied effects of false positivity and emotional invalidation on the choices and hopes of survivors of complex trauma. His poems and essays on ACEs have appeared in 30+ journals across 16 countries. His picture book, Tata and the Big Bad Bull, was published by CaribbeanReads in 2018, and he is the co-editor of the December 2019 and March 2020 issues of Interviewing the Caribbean (The UWI Press), focused on children’s literature and ACEs in the Caribbean. He is also the co-editor of a special issue of PREE magazine on ACEs and storytelling (Dec. 2021). Ghunta’s new book, Rohan Bullkin and the Shadows: A Story About ACEs and Hope, was published by CaribbeanReads on December 31, 2021. His Notebook of Words and Ideas, which features prominently in Rohan Bullkin and the Shadows, will be published by Dreamright in 2022.

Adrian Alexander is an ACEs movement community leader based in Trinidad and Tobago.

Show notes.

Follow us on Instagram.
Check out our bonus YouTube content.
Latchkey Urchins & Friends website.
Audio mastering by Josh Collins.
Song "One Cloud is Lonely" by Próxima Parada.
Cover art by Claire Dierksen.

Send us Fan Mail

Anne and Alison interview Jon Claytor about his new book, Take the Long Way Home, a story of words and drawings. "In Take the Long Way Home, Claytor explores alcoholism, love, and family through heart-rending vignettes and expressive linework. This is the story of a man who unpacks a difficult past, only to discover that even at his lowest point, he was never truly alone."

Jon Claytor is a Maritime-based artist, painter, and writer. He is a co-founder of SappyFest, an independent music and arts festival and was a bartender and co-owner at Thunder & Lightning Ideas Ltd. in Sackville, New Brunswick. Jon is a father to five children and, for him, being a father is the biggest part of being an artist.

Jon Claytor’s work ranges from oil painting and watercolour to filmmaking, and he recently became a comic-writer. He worked with Ingram Gallery in Toronto and exhibited his paintings in Los Angeles. Jon holds an MFA from York University (2012), attended Nova Scotia College of Art and Design University (1991), and holds a BFA Mount Allison University (1998).

The book is out April 22, 2022: https://www.conundrumpress.com/forthcoming/take-the-long-way-home/

Jon's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jon_claytor_art/

Follow us on Instagram.
Check out our bonus YouTube content.
Latchkey Urchins & Friends website.
Audio mastering by Josh Collins.
Song "One Cloud is Lonely" by Próxima Parada.
Cover art by Claire Dierksen.

Send us Fan Mail

Anne and Alison interviewed Ariana Vargas about STIGMA App and documentary films about overcoming childhood trauma and sharing mental health struggles. STIGMA App normalizes conversations about mental health, one story at a time.

Ariana Vargas is a creative director, researcher, and brand strategist who is building a new kind of mental health app that uses storytelling and reciprocal social connection to reduce loneliness and stigma. She is a documentary filmmaker and mental health advocate working. Her first short film, "STIGMA | Strong", is a film festival semi-finalist and is available to rent or buy on Amazon Prime.

STIGMA Docuseries

STIGMA app

Follow us on Instagram.
Check out our bonus YouTube content.
Latchkey Urchins & Friends website.
Audio mastering by Josh Collins.
Song "One Cloud is Lonely" by Próxima Parada.
Cover art by Claire Dierksen.

Send us Fan Mail

Anne and Alison talk with Josh Collins, a California-raised guitarist and songwriter currently based in Idaho. Josh has been working behind the scenes on Latchkey Urchins & Friends as our audio engineer since Ep5. We learn about the chaotic home life he endured in childhood and how he found refuge in music. Josh plays with the band Próxima Parada, from whom we borrow their track "One Cloud is Lonely" as our podcast theme song. We play a song that Josh wrote and recorded with Próxima Parada called "Grateful," about his gratitude for his ability to cope and get through his stressful childhood. Josh adapted to be "the therapist" for his family and suffers some classic "middle child syndrome," as the 2nd of 3 brothers, always mediating conflicts and providing a listening ear.

Follow Josh on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joshcollinsguitar/
Hire Josh to do the audio on your podcast: https://www.podcastaudiodoctor.com/

Follow us on Instagram.
Check out our bonus YouTube content.
Latchkey Urchins & Friends website.
Audio mastering by Josh Collins.
Song "One Cloud is Lonely" by Próxima Parada.
Cover art by Claire Dierksen.

Send us Fan Mail

Anne and Alison share their personal journeys seeking mental health treatment from therapists and psychiatrists. They share what they looked for in a therapist, why they sought treatment, and what their outcomes were. They share how to find a therapist and when to seek one. They also share what you can get out of therapy as well as budget-friendly options.

Follow us on Instagram.
Check out our bonus YouTube content.
Latchkey Urchins & Friends website.
Audio mastering by Josh Collins.
Song "One Cloud is Lonely" by Próxima Parada.
Cover art by Claire Dierksen.

Send us Fan Mail

We welcome back beloved past guest Tamara Hanna, a clinical psychologist based in Asheville, NC (last heard in Ep8). Tamara has been inspired recently by the work of Mia Birdsong’s How We Show Up: Reclaiming Family, Friendship, and Community. She shares how to show up for our family, friends, and community, which boundaries to set, and vulnerably shares all the ways showing up and setting boundaries can go wrong, with rich and sometimes comical examples from her own life. We love both the heart and the humor that Tamara brings to community care, inspiring us to show up for the people we care about, and build bridges with the people with whom we can’t quite seem to see eye to eye.

Follow us on Instagram.
Check out our bonus YouTube content.
Latchkey Urchins & Friends website.
Audio mastering by Josh Collins.
Song "One Cloud is Lonely" by Próxima Parada.
Cover art by Claire Dierksen.

Send us Fan Mail

In this episode, Anne and Alison talk to Leslie Petruk, LPCS, NCC, BCC, Charlotte, NC-based therapist and Founder and Director of The Stone Center For Counseling & Leadership. We learn about Leslie's journey to discovering her own ADHD after serving this population professionally for years, her inner healing work for the sake of herself and her kids, and her work to help parents see that they must do the same.

She currently provides services online, teaches and conducts workshops.  She also serves as an Assistant Trainer with the Internal Family Systems Institute.  You can learn more about Leslie on her counseling center website:  www.thestonecenternc.com.

Follow us on Instagram.
Check out our bonus YouTube content.
Latchkey Urchins & Friends website.
Audio mastering by Josh Collins.
Song "One Cloud is Lonely" by Próxima Parada.
Cover art by Claire Dierksen.

Send us Fan Mail

This week Anne and Alison talk with Evan Cudworth, The World's 1st Party Coach, about his mission to help people party with intention. We hear his personal story about growing up in small-town, Christian, Illinois and then joining a fraternity in college and coming out as gay. We hear about the careers he tried before realizing and inventing his dream job. Evan shares with us the benefits of different types and levels of sobriety and all the benefits of enjoying a strong social life through parties, raves, and other social gatherings—especially when done as a way to connect rather than escape.

EVAN PAUL CUDWORTH is a musician who believes that a great "party" is a tribal event: a portal to human connection we can only achieve together as a group. But after spending practically every weekend of the last 15 year at a bar, concert, festival, or nightclub, Evan experienced the extreme highs and lows that alcohol and drugs contribute to our social scene. 

He's now on a mission to inspire people to take a closer look at WHY we really “party," and teaches anyone how to experience & enjoy "short-term-sobriety" (1 - 3 months) and regain their natural confidence while connecting without anxiety. In this space of clarity, you can set clear intentions for WHY they party: Escape? Find a lover? Network for your career? 

Inside these intentions are the healthy habits and freedom to then sustainably reintegrate alcohol/substances in a way that leaves you and your social circle feeling fulfilled and connected. 

Find Evan on Instagram: @evan_cudworth 

Subscribe to the VIBE CURATOR newsletter & learn more about "Detoxify your Social Life," a 7 week group coaching course in short term sobriety: https://hoo.be/evancudworth

Show notes.

Follow us on Instagram.
Check out our bonus YouTube content.
Latchkey Urchins & Friends website.
Audio mastering by Josh Collins.
Song "One Cloud is Lonely" by Próxima Parada.
Cover art by Claire Dierksen.