STUCK IN THE MESSY

The word “trauma” is thrown around frequently these days. But what is trauma, exactly? How can we interact well with those who have experienced it? Join Micah, Christa, and our special guest Lillian Dehn as we discuss how to how to better love those who are hurting and how to defuse sticky situations.

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De-Escalation Techniques

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⬇️ Speak slowly and lower the pitch of your voice.

⬇️ Take deep breaths. The distressed person will often mirror this action.

⬇️ Move slowly. Sudden movements can make the distressed person more anxious.

⬇️ It can be helpful to raise your hands with palms out as a sign of openness. You can bring them around your face to draw the distressed person’s attention to your face (or to protect yourself if needed).

⬇️ Refrain from yelling, even if the distressed person is doing so.

⬇️ Ask the distressed person questions like: How can I help you? What would make this better? What would make you feel safe?

⬇️ Offer the person something to drink (water or non-caffeinated drinks are best). This can reset the person’s fight/flight response if they feel it is safe to swallow and digest.

⬇️ Don’t touch the distressed person. They may think you are trying to control or harm them.

⬇️ Use tools like CUFF. Be Calm, Unaffected, Firm, and Funny (without sarcasm).

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Stuck In The Messy: Channel Credits

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🎙️ HOST:: Micah Harrison, Christa Schaller

🎉 SPECIAL GUESTS:: Lillian Dehn

🎛️ PRODUCER:: Lepard Productions

🎨 CREATIVE DIRECTOR:: Colin McFarland

A Product of Lepard Productions and the Life Center through the Mission Hills Podcast Network in Littleton, CO.

© Mission Hills Church - All Rights Reserved

It can be tempting to focus on what we think needs fixing in our homeless friends’ lives. But our friends are part of a culture that has much to teach us! Join Micah, Christa, and our special guest Joel Kostelyk as we dive into the cultural differences we’ve observed between economic groups and the beautiful aspects of homeless culture.

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Stuck In The Messy: Channel Credits

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🎙️ HOST:: Micah Harrison, Christa Schaller

🎉 SPECIAL GUESTS:: Joel Kostelyk

🎛️ PRODUCER:: Lepard Productions

🎨 CREATIVE DIRECTOR:: Colin McFarland

A Product of Lepard Productions and the Life Center through the Mission Hills Podcast Network in Littleton, CO.

© Mission Hills Church - All Rights Reserved

Sometimes, we humans allow our differences to divide us. We want to fight against this tendency at the Life Center, recognizing that building relationships with those different from ourselves is beautiful! Join Micah, Christa, and our special guests J.D. and Briana McCrumb as we discuss how this has played out in our own lives at the Mission Hills North Littleton Campus.

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Stuck In The Messy: Channel Credits

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🎙️ HOST:: Micah Harrison, Christa Schaller

🎉 SPECIAL GUESTS:: J.D. + Briana McCrumb

🎛️ PRODUCER:: Lepard Productions

🎨 CREATIVE DIRECTOR:: Colin McFarland

A Product of Lepard Productions and the Life Center through the Mission Hills Podcast Network in Littleton, CO.

© Mission Hills Church - All Rights Reserved

What is service? Is it an activity we squeeze into our busy schedules? Is it simply being nice? In this episode, Micah, Christa, and our special guest Jackie Shinabery dive deeper into this topic. Join us as we discuss how our definitions of service have changed, how we prepare our hearts for serving others, and what God has taught us through our flops and successes.

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Stuck In The Messy: Channel Credits

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🎙️ HOST:: Micah Harrison, Christa Schaller

🎉 SPECIAL GUEST:: Jackie Shinabery

🎛️ PRODUCER:: Lepard Productions

🎨 CREATIVE DIRECTOR:: Colin McFarland

A Product of Lepard Productions and the Life Center through the Mission Hills Podcast Network in Littleton, CO.

© Mission Hills Church - All Rights Reserved

Though Thanksgiving is behind us, we’ve got more blessings to chew on…metaphorically, of course. Join Micah, Christa, Alex, and our special guest JoAnn Hunt as we discuss the food bank, a crucial Life Center program! We hope you’ll enjoy the stories of God’s goodness throughout the food bank’s 33-year history and dream with us as we consider the future.

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Stuck In The Messy: Channel Credits

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🎙️ HOST:: Micah Harrison, Alex Meade, Christa Schaller

🎉 SPECIAL GUEST:: JoAnn Hunt

🎛️ PRODUCER:: Lepard Productions

🎨 CREATIVE DIRECTOR:: Colin McFarland

A Product of Lepard Productions and the Life Center through the Mission Hills Podcast Network in Littleton, CO.

© Mission Hills Church - All Rights Reserved

Finding conferences about our line of work is difficult, so in August, the Life Center staff took things into our own hands. We jumped on a flight to Seattle, a city known for its unconventional approach to homelessness, to see what we could learn. Join Micah, Christa, Jose, and Alex as we discuss our experiences and how they inform our work at the Life Center.

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Resources:

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Places we visited:

The Block Project

DESC

Street Bean

New Horizons

Recovery Café

Tiny Home Village

Tent City

Yellow Butterfly Coffee Shop

Tilth Alliance

Delridge Community Center

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Stuck In The Messy: Channel Credits

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🎙️ HOST:: Micah Harrison, Christa Schaller

🎉 SPECIAL GUEST:: Alex Meade, Jose Vega

🎛️ PRODUCER:: Lepard Productions

🎨 CREATIVE DIRECTOR:: Colin McFarland

A Product of Lepard Productions and the Life Center through the Mission Hills Podcast Network in Littleton, CO.

© Mission Hills Church - All Rights Reserved

Sometimes we feel unequipped to care for others, especially if they see or experience reality differently than we do! So, how can we lovingly support others despite our differences? Join Micah, Christa, and our special guest Mark Koeppen as we discuss how to love someone who requires extra care.

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Resources:

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MISHAPS acronym for resource navigating:

- Mental health / Medication

- Income

- Strength

- Housing

- Addiction

- Paperwork

- Support

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Stuck In The Messy: Channel Credits

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🎙️ HOST:: Micah Harrison, Christa Schaller

🎉 SPECIAL GUEST:: Mark Koeppen

🎛️ PRODUCER:: Lepard Productions

🎨 CREATIVE DIRECTOR:: Colin McFarland

A Product of Lepard Productions and the Life Center through the Mission Hills Podcast Network in Littleton, CO.

© Mission Hills Church - All Rights Reserved

If you like personality tests, you’ll enjoy this episode! Join Micah, Christa, and our special guest Kristy Allen as we discuss the personality types we commonly see among our Life Center clients and what each type brings to the world.

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Stuck In The Messy: Channel Credits

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🎙️ HOST:: Micah Harrison, Christa Schaller

🎉 SPECIAL GUEST:: Kristy Allen

🎛️ PRODUCER:: Lepard Productions

🎨 CREATIVE DIRECTOR:: Colin McFarland

A Product of Lepard Productions and the Life Center through the Mission Hills Podcast Network in Littleton, CO.

© Mission Hills Church - All Rights Reserved

Not knowing what to say, fear of saying the wrong thing, or even our own assumptions can keep us from connecting with those different from us. Join Micah, Christa, and our special guest Adele Nielsen as we discuss our experiences interacting with Life Center friends and what we’ve learned in the process!

We also invite you to tune in to our friend Nate’s story at the end of the episode. You may notice his circular storytelling pattern, which we’ve learned is a cultural difference often observed between those who have grown up in poverty and those with wealthy or middle-class roots. The former typically use a casual register and may meander before getting to the point, while the latter often use a more formal register and chronological narrative pattern. For more information on this topic, see Chapter 4 of Bridges out of Poverty by Payne, DeVol, and Dreussi-Smith.

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Stuck In The Messy: Channel Credits

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🎙️ HOST:: Micah Harrison, Christa Schaller

🎉 SPECIAL GUEST:: Adele Nielsen

🎛️ PRODUCER:: Lepard Productions

🎨 CREATIVE DIRECTOR:: Colin McFarland

A Product of Lepard Productions and the Life Center through the Mission Hills Podcast Network in Littleton, CO.

© Mission Hills Church - All Rights Reserved

Have you ever felt unsure how to help someone in need? Or perhaps you’ve helped someone, only to be frustrated by the results. Join Micah, Christa, and former Life Center Director Cara Runyan as we discuss poverty alleviation, our own brokenness, and how we can help those in need—without harming them or ourselves.

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Stuck In The Messy: Channel Credits

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🎙️ HOST:: Micah Harrison, Christa Schaller

🎉 SPECIAL GUEST:: Cara Runyan

🎛️ PRODUCER:: Lepard Productions

🎨 CREATIVE DIRECTOR:: Colin McFarland

A Product of Lepard Productions and the Life Center through the Mission Hills Podcast Network in Littleton, CO.

© Mission Hills Church - All Rights Reserved