Meet Jean

Episode 8: You don't have to set yourself on fire to keep others warm

Today we meet with Karina, Dee, and Pamela, survivors and military mental health advocates, to discuss an incredibly important topic about mental health and healing. Each of us are survivors of trauma, but it doesn't define us.  This is a raw and authentic discussion about military life, trauma, and learning to set healthy boundaries while we both heal and advocate for others. 

Some important key topics from today:

At time stamp 1:33, we added Karina's story of surviving Ft Hood. We wanted to make sure it was shared because it is such an important conversation and story to share. 

Welcome to episode 7, where we discuss war, grief, and the importance of peer support for military, veterans, and first responder.

This is an episode NOT TO BE MISSED! Join us in meeting Brandon Bailey as he talks about how he overcame war, grief, and despair while raising two daughters and becoming a California Highway Patrol Officer.  This emotional story will have you at the edge of your seat, but we hope that through sharing stories like Brandon's you, too, will be inspired to stick to your calling and keep on getting up to push through the day.  

Join us in talking to Elis Salamone, MSN, WHNP - a 20 yr US Air Force Veteran as we talk about how to maintain self-care and self-love especially during these trying times. With her amazing resiliency, she has overcome so many long term hardships that have led her to finding new ways to maintain good spirits throughout the long game and becoming an inspiration to others....SPOILER- her R&R is Kim's FAVORITE tip!     

The importance of therapy

Good support network

Inner critic

Self compassion

Today we have Lindsey Knapp, an incredible friend, military veteran, and bad ass attorney, who has a Non-Profit called "Combat Sexual Assault". With experience as a victim advocate for the Army's Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention (SHARP) Program, Lindsey now works to advocate for and support survivors of military sexual assault and their families.  In this discussion, she brings a wealth of information and relevant conversation about:

In addition to direct advocacy, she also conducts extensive community outreach to disrupt the stigma associated with sexual assault.  Most clients experience a great deal of shame, and find themselves being blamed for the entire ordeal.  Through her outreach efforts, she educates schools, universities, civic organizations, law enforcement, churches, and businesses leaders how to better respond when this occurs to someone they know and love.  One in every four women and one in every six men experience sexual violence.  Thus, everyone could benefit from the training she provides.

If you feel you could benefit from her services (or would like to volunteer), please pass the word along.  More information about services can be found on the website:  https://combatsexualassault.org/

Additional Resources noted:

DoD SAFE Helpline:  https://www.safehelpline.org  or (877) 995-5247

Airman Dawson (she can be found on facebook @seniorairmandawson)

Meet our SHERO Host Erin!

Today, Erin is sharing her story of resilience and smart thinking in a traumatic situation. She is sharing about her journey as a military spouse, which includes deployments, losses and grief, cultural and marital challenges, and a shocking trauma that rocks her world showcases her amazing strength and resilience.

Some big takeaways from Erin’s story:

So, if you want to learn more about your SHERO host and how she was able to turn an unexpected crisis into an inspiring and powerful testimony, please tune in!

After taking a short break to hold space for ourselves and those we work with, we are back! In this episode, Kim and Erin talk about cultural competence versus cultural humility and share both personal and professional experiences navigating difficult conversations around race, discrimination, and rising emotions surrounding current day issues.

Whether you are passionate about social justice and want to know more about how to be culturally humble and competent, or if you just want to lean more about how to navigate racially tense conversations, this episode is for you!

Some concepts and resources mentioned in today's episode:

We also discuss how to protect your peace, perspective taking on social media, and active duty restrictions on "freedom of speech." 

Meet our SHERO Host Kim Part 2

Today, Kim is sharing the second half of her journey to healing and wellness. 

She's sharing some heavy topics about military sexual trauma, sucidality, traumatic brain injury, criminal justice system and the veteran, and military culture as it relates to her own story of resilience and overcoming trauma.  This episode focuses more on the healing journey and rediscovering hope after adversity. 

If you're trying to rediscover yourself and find hope after trauma, this episode is for you. We discuss what happened after she left service through a theoretical and military cultural lens. Oftentimes, service members struggle through transition out of service, but when there is an accumulation of unprocessed trauma it can create additional hardships.  The main focus is getting out of this space and re-framing our narratives to promote self and community healing. 

So, if you want to learn more about your SHERO host and how she was able to turn a painful situation into a powerful story of resilience, you won't want to miss this follow up episode. 

Meet our SHERO Host Kim Part 1

Today, Kim is sharing the first half of her story and why she is so passionate about mental health and helping others.

She’s sharing some heavy topics about military sexual trauma, suicidality, and military culture as it relates to her own story of resilience and overcoming trauma.  If you’re trying to rediscover hope after trauma, this episode is for you.  We discuss what happened along her own life through a theoretical lens, but also how she has re-framed her narrative to promote self and community healing.

So, if you want to learn more about your SHERO host and how she was able to turn a painful situation into a powerful story of resilience, you won't want to miss this episode!

Our pilot episode! Meet your hosts, two mental health professionals and trauma survivors with a personal passion for our nation‘s heroes. Learn about our calling to create a forum to talk about 1st responders, military, and mental health. We hope you'll find this informational, moving, hilarious, and shareable so that we may reach the hearts of many, and provide just one more resource and listening ear to service our nation's heroes. So, please join us every other Wednesday as we discuss relevant mental health topics and everyday life through a military and 1st responder cultural lens from the perspective of those with both personal and professional insight. 

Mentioned links during the episode:

HOSTS: Kimberly Bailey / Erin Calahan

MUSIC & EDITING : Dave Aparkarian