Mental Health Download: Exploring Mental Illness, Suicide, Homelessness and Incarceration

Our guest is Jasha Lyons Echo-Hawk. She is a life-long justice seeker, community builder, and part-time marathoner. She is Two-spirit and a proud tribal citizen of the Seminole Nation, as well as a member of the Pawnee, Iowa, Omaha, and  Creek Nations. She carries the name Ti-tatatsiks-stariiku.

Jasha’s advocacy has largely been focused in rural Oklahoma and she has organized around such issues as healthcare access, violence against women, breast/chestfeeding advocacy, body sovereignty and birth justice,  food sovereignty, gun violence prevention, criminal justice reform,  Census & Natives Vote 2020, and as a former political candidate.

Jasha’s recent concentration is in the reclamation of birthkeeping and she has been honored to hold space for families and community as a trained  Birthworker and a student midwife. She has recently joined the team at the Tulsa Birth Equity Initiative as a Community-Based Doula &  Native Service Coordinator.

Additionally, Jasha has also helped to found Native Breastfeeding Week and is in pursuit of a Master of Legal Studies in Indigenous People’s Law at the University of Oklahoma’s College of Law. She maintains an active lifestyle with her spouse, Bunky, and their four children.

You’re listening to the Mental Health Download from the nonprofit Mental Health Association Oklahoma. Our guest is Amairani Perez Chamu, Hispanic Resource Center Coordinator at Tulsa City-County Library. On today’s episode, she talks with the Download’s host for the day, Whitney Cipolla, about Latinx and Hispanic advocacy related to mental health.

As the current Executive Director for Dream Action Oklahoma - Tulsa, an immigrant rights organization, Amairani spends the majority of her time  fighting for those without a voice. She has worked closely with the artist community in Tulsa to collaborate on projects centered on changing the narrative for undocumented individuals and their families. Her collaborations include performances with Living Arts of Tulsa, Taco Truck Theatre, and Black Moon Collective. Her work is inspired by her personal journey, the fight for immigrant rights, women, and people of color.

On this episode, we talk with Melissa Bernstein, of the wildly successful toy company Melissa & Doug. Melissa shares her journey with anxiety, depression and thoughts of suicide. Her new book, "LifeLines: An Inspirational Journey from Profound Darkness to Radiant Light," is her publicly sharing how she has found purpose, peace, and meaning.

This is a preview of Matt Gleason's Magic City Books interview with Melissa live on Tuesday, March 30 at 7:00 pm CT. on the Zoom platform and Facebook Live. To register in advance for the free event on Zoom, visit: https://magiccitybooks.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_XyjuUtFzTguDa8C_TG2DMg.

You’re listening to the Mental Health Download from the nonprofit Mental Health Association Oklahoma. Our guest is Morgan Allen of the Dennis R. Neill Equality Center, home of Oklahomans for Equality. On today’s episode, Morgan talks with the Download’s host for the day, Whitney Cipolla, about LGBTQ+ advocacy related to mental health.

You’re listening to the Mental Health Download from the nonprofit Mental Health Association Oklahoma. Our guest is Brittany Hayes, policy director for the Healthy Minds Policy Initiative. On today’s episode, Whitney Cipolla, the Association's advocacy specialist, talks with Brittany about how exactly mental health is funded -- or not funded -- in Oklahoma.

On this week's episode of the Mental Health Download from the nonprofit Mental Health Association Oklahoma, our guest is Colleen McCarty, She is policy counsel for Oklahomans for Criminal Justice Reform. Colleen talks with Whitney Cipolla, the Association's advocacy specialist, about criminal justice reform in this session of the Oklahoma legislature.

Mental Health Download Podcast guest host, Jane Mudgett, interviews Mana Tahaie and Nick Doctor about stepping away from the pressures of work life to combat stress and burnout.

On this week's Mental Health Download Podcast, Whitney Cipolla, the Association's advocacy specialist, interviews Republican Representative Josh West from Grove, Oklahoma who represents House District Five. Joining Rep. West is Democratic Senator Julia Kirt from Oklahoma City. She represents Senate District 30. Listen to hear why legislators launched the new bipartisan Mental Health Caucus to address our state's ongoing crisis.

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Founding members:

Our guest on this episode of the Mental Health Download Podcast is Zack Stoycoff.

Zack is the Executive Director of Healthy Minds Policy Initiative.

The Healthy Minds Policy Initiative is a nonpartisan, dedicated team of policy and mental health experts who collaborate with state and local leaders to develop and advance innovative, data-informed policies and capacity-building approaches in the prevention and treatment of mental illness and substance use disorders for Oklahomans.

Visit mhaok.org/podcast to watch the live podcast or listen on your favorite podcast listening app. You can also read some of the highlights we thought were really inspiring and insightful from this conversation.

NEW EPISODE > Cultivate Mental Health During Black History Month > mhaok.org/podcast Our guest on this episode of the Mental Health Download Podcast is Carmen White Janak.  Carmen is a diversity, equity, and inclusion professional and a non-denominational minister for over 30 years.  Carmen talks about how to advocate during Black History Month and the 100th anniversary of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre.   Visit mhaok.org/podcast to watch the live podcast or listen on your favorite podcast listening app. You can also read some of the highlights we thought were really inspiring and insightful from this conversation.