Send us Fan Mail

What does it mean to be the steady ground a child needs when life gets hard?

After nearly five years of Healing Hearts, we're beginning a new chapter as Steady Ground Parenting—a podcast for parents raising children through hard seasons. But this rebrand goes beyond a new name. Rooted in the same belief that drives Speak Up For Kids, it's a deeper reflection of the work we've been doing all along: helping children and families impacted by foster care, trauma, adoption, and family disruption find the support, connection, and stability they need to grow. When we speak up and show up for children, we change lives.

In this episode, we hear from two people whose lives have been shaped by foster care. Trish Zenczak, Director of Training and Impact at Speak Up for Kids, shares her story of growing up in foster care and how that experience shaped her work advocating for children, becoming a foster parent, and eventually adopting. She also explains the programs and community efforts through which Speak Up for Kids is mitigating trauma and cultivating self-worth in the lives of kids living in foster care.

Then, Maddie Harris shares what it was like to experience foster care as a child, move through multiple homes, and eventually find stability with the family who adopted her. Her story shows what children in foster care need from the adults around them, and how consistency, encouragement, and simply refusing to walk away can change a child's life.

These stories show that being steady ground doesn't mean always having everything figured out. It means showing up, listening, believing in a child, and finding practical ways to remind them that they matter. That’s what it means to be the steady ground your child needs to grow.

In This Episode:

• Why we're becoming Steady Ground Parenting
• Trish's experience growing up in foster care and how it shaped her life's work
• What foster care can feel like for a child experiencing uncertainty and change
• Why children impacted by foster care should be seen for who they are, not what they’ve gone through
• How consistency and stability can help children learn to trust again
• What Maddie's experience can teach parents about showing up for kids in their lives
• The programs Speak Up for Kids uses to support children and families
• The impact volunteers, students, and communities have on kids living in foster care
• Why small moments of encouragement can build confidence, belonging, and hope
• What it really means to become the steady ground a child can depend on

This is the beginning of Steady Ground Parenting. If you've been with us through Healing Hearts, thank you for continuing with us. If you're new here, welcome. We're here to help parents and caregivers feel more prepared to support children through hard seasons, giving them practical tools, tips, and strategies to become steady ground.

Resources & Support:
📩 [email protected]
📷 @speakupforkidspbc
🌐 speakupforkidspbc.org/steady-ground-parenting
📅 Local to Palm Beach? See our events: speakupforkidspbc.org/events

Want to be featured?
🎙️ [email protected]

Send us Fan Mail

Healing Hearts is now Steady Ground Parenting!

Welcome to the next chapter of the Speak Up For Kids podcast for parents raising children through hard seasons. We’re continuing the conversations you know and love, but with a deeper focus on the practical tools, honest stories, and encouragement parents and caregivers need as they navigate foster care, adoption, trauma, and family disruption.

New name, but the same team, heart, and purpose.

We're here to strengthen your roots so you can be the steady ground they need.

Send us Fan Mail

When family life, work, relationships, and a million other things are all competing for your attention, it's easy to react instead of responding the way you want to.

Christina Brown is a Catholic life coach, speaker, podcaster, and mother of six who helps people move from feeling stuck and overwhelmed toward living intentionally. She’s navigated serious mental health challenges in her family and spent years balancing motherhood, marriage, work, and coaching. Her lived experience has changed the way she approaches everyday decision-making and overcomes stress.

In this episode, Kayla Richerson sits down with Christina to talk about what it looks like to parent more intentionally amidst the chaos. Christina shares practical ways to slow down, recognize when stress is influencing your reactions, and ask yourself how you want to show up in difficult moments. Drawing from her experience, she talks about how her Catholic faith has shaped the way she parents, the importance of having a supportive community, and why growth doesn't require having everything figured out. 

In This Episode:

• How to slow down before reacting to stressful parenting situations
• The simple question that can help you respond the way you want to
• Why stress can make it harder to think clearly and respond intentionally
• How to recognize when you're stuck in a reactionary state
• Practical ways to build more intentional habits into everyday life
• Why parents need community and support instead of trying to do everything alone
• How to balance motherhood, work, and relationships, among everything else
• Why you don't have to have everything figured out to keep moving forward
• How small pauses can create space for meaningful change

Parenting and family life will never be perfectly calm. But learning to pause, even if just for a few seconds, can create the space to choose how you want to show up.

Connect with Christina Brown:
🌐 www.christinambrow.com
📷 Social Media: @christina__m__brown

Resources & Support:
📩 [email protected]
📷 @speakupforkidspbc
🌐 speakupforkidspbc.org/healing-hearts
📅 Local to Palm Beach? See our events: speakupforkidspbc.org/events

Want to be featured?
🎙️ [email protected]

Send us Fan Mail

Is your teen struggling with anxiety, but every step you take to help only seems to push them further away?

Supporting an anxious teenager can be exhausting and overwhelming, leaving you unsure whether you’re saying the right thing. Licensed clinical social worker Sophia Vale Galano has spent more than a decade helping teenagers and their families navigate anxiety, and she's learned that one of the most powerful ways parents can support their teens isn't by becoming perfect, but by being present.

As Benoit Harpey continues his conversation with her, Sophia explains the crucial role parents play in building an environment where teens grow. She shares practical strategies that strengthen relationships without adding more pressure; from managing your own stress to modeling healthy boundaries, choosing the right therapist, and building empathy.

In This Episode:

• Why your own stress may be influencing your teenager
• How modeling healthy boundaries and self-care helps anxious teens
• The difference between supporting your teen and trying to rescue them
• What to look for when choosing a therapist or mental health professional
• Why shared interests and trust matter when finding the right therapist
• How everyday moments can create natural, meaningful conversations
• Why parents don't need to be perfect, but present
• The simple mindset shift that helps families break unhealthy cycles

Whether your teenager struggles with anxiety or you're simply trying to build a healthier relationship, this conversation offers practical encouragement to help you support your teen while caring for yourself along the way.

Connect with Sophia Vale Galano:
🌐 www.sophiagalano.com
📚 Book: Calming Teenage Anxiety
📷 Instagram: @sophiavale_galano

Resources & Support:
📩 [email protected]
📷 @speakupforkidspbc
🌐 Website: speakupforkidspbc.org/healing-hearts
📅 Local to Palm Beach? See our events: speakupforkidspbc.org/events 

Want to be featured?
🎙️ [email protected]

Send us Fan Mail

Maybe your teenager has opened up about feeling anxious, but the conversation seems to end in frustration every time you try to help. Or, maybe they don't talk about it at all, which keeps you up at night worrying about their wellbeing.

Sophia Vale Galano has spent more than a decade helping teenagers and their families navigate anxiety in school, hospital, and private settings. Through her work, she's learned that helping an anxious teenager isn't about caring more, but about approaching the conversation differently. In this episode, Sophia shares the real insights her experience has revealed.

In the first half of our conversation with Sophia, she and Benoit Harpey explore why teens often struggle to communicate their anxiety, how parents can recognize hidden signs, and what it takes to build the kind of trust that encourages honest conversations. Instead of immediately trying to fix the problem, Sophia explains how curiosity, validation, and patience can help parents become a safe place for their teenagers.

In This Episode:

• Why many caring parents accidentally push anxious teens away
• How anxiety often shows up as irritability, avoidance, or isolation
• Why listening is often more helpful than immediately trying to “fix” your teen
• Practical ways to build trust so your teen feels safe opening up
• How to know when your teen needs more support, and when they need space to grow
• Why organic, everyday conversations are often more effective than formal “talks”
• The difference between helping your teen and rescuing them

Whether your teen struggles with anxiety or you're simply trying to strengthen your relationship, this conversation provides practical guidance to help you become someone your teen feels safe turning to.

Connect with Sophia Vale Galano:
🌐 www.sophiagalano.com
📚 Book: Calming Teenage Anxiety
📷 Instagram: @sophiavale_galano

Resources & Support:
📩 [email protected]
📷 @speakupforkidspbc
🌐 Website: speakupforkidspbc.org/healing-hearts
📅 Local to Palm Beach? See our events: speakupforkidspbc.org/events 

Want to be featured?
🎙️ [email protected]

Send us Fan Mail

Most parents feel like they’re constantly correcting and disciplining their teens, yet their behavior never seems to change. If every conversation turns into an argument, or it feels like you're losing your relationship with your teen, this episode offers a practical approach to rebuilding that could change the way you parent.

Last episode, we started our conversation with Dr. Will Dobud, who explained how we can reach our teens when nothing seems to work. Drawing on more than 20 years of experience working with struggling teens and their families, Will shares real-life expertise on seeking connection over correction. Throughout his career, Will has learned that kids don’t change when adults become stricter, but when relationships give them the space and confidence they need to grow.

In this episode, Benoit Harpey and Amina Elsamahy sit down with Will for a conversation that challenges traditional techniques for parenting teenagers. Instead of relying primarily on correction and consequences, Will takes a different approach that builds trust while maintaining healthy boundaries. We explore real strategies that help teens feel safe, respected, and motivated to grow.

In This Episode:

• Why connection must come before correction
• Practical ways to improve communication during everyday family life
• How healthy boundaries create safety instead of punishment
• Why teenagers naturally challenge adults, and why that's a strength
• How to recognize and encourage your child's existing strengths
• Why overprotecting our kids can unintentionally hold them back
• Why predictable expectations help children thrive
• How family conversations build trust and resilience
• Simple habits that strengthen your relationship with your child

Connect with Will Dobud:
🌐 willdobud.com
📗 Kids These Days
📷 @willdobud 

Resources & Support:
📩 [email protected]
📷 @speakupforkidspbc
🌐 speakupforkidspbc.org/healing-hearts
📅 Local to Palm Beach? See our events: speakupforkidspbc.org/events

Want to be featured?
🎙️ [email protected] 

Send us Fan Mail

Maybe you’ve tried therapy, but your kid goes, barely says a word, and quits after the second session. 

Dr. Will Dobud has spent two decades working with families who had been in that situation. In wilderness programs, clinical settings, and remote Indigenous communities in Australia, Will has been working with teens who everyone else considered lost causes. He was that kid, kicked out of boarding schools and taken to see many therapists, none of whom helped. His experience led him to search for a real solution, which he shares with us today.

In this episode, Benoit Harpey and Amina Elsamahy sit down with Will for a conversation that discusses the practical solution to teen difficulties. He helps us understand what kids actually need.

In This Episode:

• The reason therapy fails, and how that changes your approach to getting them help
• Why your teen's anger, withdrawal, or "difficult" behavior is almost never the actual problem, and how to understand the underlying causes
• What kids need before they'll open up, take risks, or trust any adult in their life
• What actually determines whether therapy helps your kid, regardless of qualifications
• Red flags to look out for in therapy and youth programs
• Why blaming phones and social media is getting in the way of actually helping teenagers

In Part 2: We’ll discuss strategies you can apply at home now, including setting proper boundaries, avoiding potentially harmful over protection, and tools to help you along the way.

Connect with Will Dobud:
🌐 willdobud.com
📗 Kids These Days
📷 @willdobud 

Resources & Support:
📩 [email protected]
📷 @speakupforkidspbc
🌐 speakupforkidspbc.org/healing-hearts
📅 Local to Palm Beach? See our events: speakupforkidspbc.org/events

Want to be featured?
🎙️ [email protected] 

#teenmentalhealth #strugglingteen #parentingteens #youthmentalhealth #childadvocacy #traumainformedparenting #youththerapy #teenanxiety #speakupforkids #parentadvocate @parentsspeakupforkids

Send us Fan Mail

“How can I advocate for my kid when everything seems to be against me?” “How do adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) affect kids, and how can we help them recover?” — Advocacy is tough and often feels like an uphill battle. Whether you’re raising a child who has experienced foster care, a child with developmental challenges, or a child recovering from trauma, advocacy is crucial to ensuring that they receive the support and opportunities they need. It’s also difficult. That’s why today, Kayla Richerson speaks with Paula Yost, an attorney, advocate, counselor, and both a biological and adoptive mother. Paula shares her experience advocating for her own kids, explains how advocating can completely change the outlook of a child’s life, and encourages us to speak up, even when it’s hard. Paula reminds us that a single supportive, caring, and loving adult can completely change a child’s life. If you’re struggling to advocate for your child, receive the care you need, or build a support system, Paula’s practical advice and uplifting story is sure to help you get on the path to success.

💬Get In Touch:

• Send Us A Text
• [email protected]

🚨Need More Resources?

👉Visit Our Website

👉Check Out Our Socials: @speakupforkids

👉Are You Local To Palm Beach? See Our Events Page!

👉Need More? Our Programs

🧑Connect With Paula Yost:

👉 Website: paulayost.com 

👉 Instagram: @paulajyostauthor

🎙️Want To Be Featured?

👉 Email Us: [email protected]

#healingheartspodcast #parentingpodcast #traumainformedparenting #childadvocacy #fostercareawareness  #adversechildhoodexperiences #specialneedsparenting #fosteryouth #traumarecovery #parentsupport #childdevelopment #parentingtools #educationaladvocacy #mentalhealthawareness #familysupport #traumainformedcare #empoweredparents #parentadvocate #healingfromtrauma #hopeandhealing #speakupforkids #speakup #fostercare @parentsspeakupforkids 

Send us Fan Mail

“How can I help my kids manage stress and pressure in youth sports?” “How can I encourage my kids without adding undue pressure?” — Two weeks ago, we heard Harvey Araton’s expertise on character building through youth sports and the pressures and stresses that often come out of it. In part two of Benoit Harpey and Kayla Richerson’s conversation with him, Harvey walks us through practical ways to take the pressure and stress off our kids’ shoulders. He reminds us that sports build character and are ultimately meant for fun—not just for full-ride college scholarships. He shares applicable advice on how, in our own lives, we can keep our eyes on the goal of the game and ensure our kids enjoy it every step of the way. If you’re a sports-parent veteran or just getting into the game, tune in to relieve your own stresses—and those of your children.

💬Get In Touch:

• Send Us A Text
• [email protected]

🚨Need More Resources?

👉Visit Our Website

👉Check Out Our Socials: @speakupforkids

👉Are You Local To Palm Beach? See Our Events Page!

👉Need More? Our Programs

🧑Connect With Harvey Araton:

👉 Website: harveyaraton.com 

🎙️Want To Be Featured?

👉 Email Us: [email protected]

#harveyaraton #youthsports #resilience #sportsparenting #youngathletes #mentalhealth #parentingadvice #childdevelopment #emotionalresilience #sportsburnout #positiveparenting #handlingpressure #confidencebuilding #lifeskills #emotionalgrowth #sportsculture #speakupforkids #speakup #fostercare @parentsspeakupforkids

Send us Fan Mail

“How to reduce pressure on young athletes?” “How can I support my kids in youth sports?” “How do sports shape character in kids?” — Kids worldwide engage in team sports, and for years it has brought joy to the players. Recently, though, the commercialization of youth sports, as well as motivations beyond character building and fun, have placed undue pressure on young athletes. This unhealthy pressure leads to stress, overwhelm, and tension. In part one of Benoit Harpey and Kayla Richerson’s conversation with Harvey Araton—New York Times columnist and sports journalist, author, and father—we learn about the true goal of team sports, which lies in character building. Harvey shares his own story; explains how budget constraints, scholarship goals, and sports commercialization take away from the joy; and provides applicable advice for avoiding these negative effects. Together, we dive into the true purpose of youth sports, how to cultivate growth, and how to make the most of what kids really love.

💬Get In Touch:

• Send Us A Text
• [email protected]

🚨Need More Resources?

👉Visit Our Website

👉Check Out Our Socials: @speakupforkids

👉Are You Local To Palm Beach? See Our Events Page!

👉Need More? Our Programs

🧑Connect With Harvey Araton:

👉 Website: harveyaraton.com 

🎙️Want To Be Featured?

👉 Email Us: [email protected]

#harveyaraton #youthsports #sportsparenting #youngathletes #travelsports #parentingtips #sportspsychology #mentalhealth #resilience #sportsculture #youthdevelopment #childdevelopment #teamwork #healthycompetition #sportsburnout #athletemindset #youthcoaching #parentingsupport #emotionalhealth #youthathletementalhealth #speakupforkids #speakup #fostercare @parentsspeakupforkids