The Next Chapter

“He still leads by a couple hundred delegates and he has the home court advantage coming up, so it should be a good couple of weeks for Donald Trump.” Barry Dill, a Democratic strategist from the political strategy firm First Strategic in Phoenix, Arizona says a brokered convention is all but certain for the GOP. Still,…

"At 9 years old I was still sleeping in bed with mom and dad for fear that dad was going to kill mom."

Addison Brown lived the first 9 years of her life in fear. Although, she didn't realize it at the time. "I didn't know it wasn't normal that a dad drank 24 cans of beer a night. I didn't know that all kids weren't spanked with wire hangers. It's not something you talk about as a child – that's all you know. It's just normal."

Years later, she was at an event for Childhelp and heard an abuse survivor — a man who was sharing the story of his abusive childhood for the first time.

"He started bawling, and I started bawling and reflecting on my childhood and I went oh my gosh, I was abused, too."

Brown, now a mom herself, began volunteering to help children who are walking in her shoes. She points out that child abuse is difficult to talk about because it causes so much shame.

"Some of the laws protect the parent more than the child. That is what we are trying to change here in Arizona," says Carol Hebets, who has been working with Childhelp for 16 years.

She is the founding mother of the "Childhelp Wings" chapter, which focuses on implementing service projects and fundraisers that support the greater mission of Childhelp.

According to Childhelp, in the United States 5 children die each day as a result of abuse or neglect. A report of child abuse is made every 10 seconds.

"It is heart wrenching to hear the stories. And to know that we are making a difference, it's what it is all about," Hebets says.

Providing a place where children in crisis feel safe and loved is a primary focus. Monies raised through fundraisers such as the annual Childhelp Wings Fashion Show https://www.childhelp.org/chapters/wings-chapter/ help expand programs like animal and art therapy along with crucial counseling services.

The sign you see upon entering Childhelp reads "All who enter here will find love."

The need is overwhelming and urgent. Hebets says the Childhelp hotline 1-800-4-A-Child gets an average of 200,000 calls a year. The line is manned 24 hours a day with trained staff, many of whom are PhDs specializing in crisis situations.

And thanks to Childhelp, the "Speak Up Be Safe" program is now in schools across the country. It is a crucial component of the work being done — and the focus going forward.

"A lot of people don't realize they were abused until long later in life," Brown says. "The key is, the earlier the better. What Childhelp is doing is getting these kids the counseling and treatment they need right away."

For more information on Childhelp you can visit www.childhelp.org

The post Speak Up Be Safe: The Movement To Change Laws and Stop Child Abuse appeared first on Inspired Media 360 TV - Inform | Inspire | Engage.

“At 9 years old I was still sleeping in bed with mom and dad for fear that dad was going to kill mom.”   Addison Brown lived the first 9 years of her life in fear.  Although, she didn’t realize it at the time.  “I didn’t know it wasn’t normal that a dad drank 24…

Sunny Wright was a busy wife and mother, a highly educated PR pro married to a doctor. But her life was, in her words, a full catastrophe.

For 35 years, Wright lived as "society wanted her to live." She was a high achiever in every aspect. Until it all came crashing down.

In 2009, Wright had a stress induced breakdown. She looked in the mirror and saw legions in her hairline. Wright had developed a rare form of the autoimmune deficiency disease shingles which came with deep depression and debilitating fatigue. She was so sick, she actually thought she may not survive.

Turns out being admitted to the hospital was the best thing that could have happened to her. Forced to stop and find some quiet within herself, Wright felt a calm that she hadn't felt in years — maybe ever.

"I spent my life in the noise of society and I was very, very busy and suddenly when it got very quiet, my heart was telling me, you made yourself ill, you can make yourself better."

Wright knew stress had brought on her condition. She picked up a book called Full Catastrophe Living by Jon Kabat-Zinn and began to learn how to live a mindful life.

"Mindfulness is being in this moment without judgement," she explains. "It's all about awareness. It's a group of lessons where we learn to sit quietly and examine our thoughts."

Not only did this exploration of mindfulness help Wright with her health, it changed everything about her life. "It's been a miracle," she says. "This is my purpose and my mission now. I can't even recognize the person who I was six years ago."

Wright wondered why she had not learned about mindfulness early on. She became convinced that if children were introduced to the concept, it would be life changing for them — just as it was for her.

Wright founded a non-profit organization based in Scottsdale, Arizona called Mindfulness First. The response has been incredible and one of America's largest health care providers is now sponsoring the effort.

Wright and her team now go into schools to teach children what it is to live a mindful life: to help them develop coping skills, empathy, and focus.

"We've been overwhelmed in school districts. We have a waiting list of schools," she says.

Currently they are working at a Phoenix area school, Crockett Elementary, where there is a high population of homeless and refugee children.

Each school they go in to, Wright says, the culture shift is tangible and the results are undeniable. She points to a drop in suspensions as one example.

"In every major university in America, mindfulness is being studied and the results are just conclusive at this point." According to Wright, "It reduces bullying, violence, isolation, increases focus, grades and happiness."

Mindfulness is actually a pretty simple concept. It is choosing to accept this very moment the way it is; not living in the past, not living in the future, but bringing it all into this moment.

Sunny Wright is determined to bring mindfulness to the masses with a focus on children who will lead the way in the future.

"I would like them to think about how we can change the world. We have this amazing capacity within our very own bodies. I believe if every child was taught this we would have world peace. There is tremendous empathy created through mindfulness."

For more on Sunny Wright and Mindfulness First, visit www.mindfulnessfirst.org

The post A Mindful Life: From Surviving to Success appeared first on Inspired Media 360 TV - Inform | Inspire | Engage.

Sunny Wright was a busy wife and mother, a highly educated PR pro married to a doctor. But her life was, in her words, a full catastrophe. For 35 years, Wright lived as “society wanted her to live.”  She was a high achiever in every aspect.  Until it all came crashing down.   In 2009,…

"I am waiting for Ashton Kutcher to jump out and say you've been punked."

Sean Noble, a Republican Strategist with the firm Axiom Public Affairs, believes that there is almost a guarantee at this point that there will be an open GOP convention.

"It can't be Trump, he will destroy the brand. It is much better to have a brutal process than nominate Trump."

Noble was an early backer of Marco Rubio, the establishment favorite. But the Florida Senator's path to nomination looks less likely by the day. If he gets beat in his home state of Florida, it's lights out.

And if Trump takes Florida and Ohio, he goes into the July convention in Cleveland, Ohio as the clear front runner — whether Republicans like it or not.

Noble remain suspicious.

"Nobody planned on Trump running. I don't think he was all that serious. I think when he got in it was kind of a publicity stunt and I think he tapped into something with the American people that was unfortunate."

The wealthy businessman breaks all political molds. He appeals to the masses of angry and frustrated Americans who desperately want someone to shake up our broken system.

Trump is, by all accounts, a populist and his supporters say they like the fact that he is less partisan and beholden to no one.

"He's not even close to conservative," Noble says. If you watched the debate last week it was amazing he could not put together any policy or substantive answer on anything. I think he's liberal. He reflexively goes back to that opinion."

As thousands continue show up for his rallies and voters turn out in record numbers to support him, the Trump train is running full speed ahead.

If the Republican party refuses to get behind him, the brokered convention — as much of a mess as everyone thinks it will be — appears more and more the likely scenario.

The post GOP Strategist: Donald Trump Is Really A Liberal appeared first on Inspired Media 360 TV - Inform | Inspire | Engage.

“I am waiting for Ashton Kutcher to jump out and say you’ve been punked.” Sean Noble, a Republican Strategist with the firm Axiom Public Affairs, believes that there is almost a guarantee at this point that there will be an open GOP convention. “It can’t be Trump, he will destroy the brand.  It is much…

"I always wanted to be that voice for the people without voices. I had that foundation of love that said you are special. Walk with your head up. You have so much to offer the world."

Dr. Kellie Warren grew up in Ohio. Her family was loving, but not all of her experiences were easy. Warren was bused across town to school where she was one of the only African Americans. She was frequently the victim of racism and verbal attacks.

"They can destroy you. They are even more damaging than physical abuse at the time because once you begin to believe in the messages, they shape who you are. That journey of negative messaging happens to us a lot younger than it does for boys."

Warren's parents encouraged her to focus on education and constantly talked of all of her great potential.

"In those settings where people didn't believe in me, I believed in myself," she says. "When I look over my life, without having people believe in me, expose me to new opportunities, I could have very well been another statistic of a negative girl coming out of the inner city."

Now, as CEO of Florence Crittenton in Phoenix, Arizona, Warren helps girls see the value and purpose in their own lives. For 119 years, the organization has been looking out for girls, empowering them, supporting them, and listening to their voices.

"We want to tell these girls that validation has to come from within. Your environment cannot be in charge of defining your worth."

Girls as young as 10 go to Florence Crittenton, either through state services or through families in crisis reaching out directly for help. Many of the girls have histories of trauma, exploitation, abuse and neglect. At Florence Crittenton they are provided a safe place to live and surrounded by people who want to see them turn their lives around.

It's a tough job, Warren admits. "When you have experienced a lot of negativity and have a pessimistic outlook, you are not going to change overnight." But they stay true to the mission of safety, hope and opportunity.

And now they are getting some high-profile support from a woman who knows what it is like to walk through adversity and see the other side. Kidnapping survivor Jaycee Lee Dugard is teaming up with Florence Crittenton to share her personal story.

Several years ago Dugard wrote a book, "A Stolen Life" and now travels the country speaking about her ordeal and how she managed to put her life back together.

The kidnapping happened in 1991 as Dugard was walking to a school bus stop near her home in South Lake Tahoe, California. She was 11 years old at the time. Dugard's kidnapper, a convicted sex offender, kept her in a concealed area behind his house for 18 years. During that time, she had two daughters. Phillip Garrido and his wife, Nancy, were arrested in 2009 and later convicted and sent to prison where they belong. Dugard was left to pick up the pieces of her life.

Dr. Warren says her resiliency is extraordinary.

"She is an example of not letting the oppressor win. She has decided to become a champion." This is an important message for the girls at Florence Crittenton — and well beyond— about making choices. "As long as they still have life," Warren says, "there is still hope."

For more on the mission of Florence Crittenton you can visit their website www.florcrit.org

The post Do Not Let The Oppressor Win: Kidnapping Victim Jaycee Dugard Teams Up With Phoenix CEO To Spread Hope appeared first on Inspired Media 360 TV - Inform | Inspire | Engage.

“I always wanted to be that voice for the people without voices.  I had that foundation of love that said you are special. Walk with your head up.  You have so much to offer the world.” Dr. Kellie Warren grew up in Ohio.  Her family was loving, but not all of her experiences were easy.…

"I think these guys see the demise of the republican party and we are watching it right before our eyes."

Marcus Dell'Artino, a Republican strategist from the firm First Strategic in Phoenix, Arizona says this is the most politically bizarre string of events he's ever seen.

"If Rubio loses Florida, if Kasich loses Ohio and Michigan, katy bar the door, Trumps on a run and it's over."

Republicans are going after one another in a way that shocks even veteran political operatives.

"I've never heard a candidate's genitalia discussed. It was disappointing to say the least," Dell'Artino remarks about the shocking developments on stage at a recent Republican debate.

As the GOP candidates continue hit below the belt, remarking about the size of one another's ears, hands, and propensity to sweat excessively, there is growing concern over the future of the Supreme Court.

Barry Dill, a Democrat from the firm First Strategic says he thinks the real political move underway right now is happening behind the scenes with the Obama administration. Dill believes they are quietly trying to figure out how best to send up "the right person who sends the right message to the Democratic base… so that the Republicans have to be the ones, once again, blocking progress, blocking the government."

Dill goes on to say, "The Republican play is very obvious, this is no different than what we've seen with ObamaCare, what we've seen with foreign policy intervention and everything else. The Republicans are playing the blockers of anything that Barack Obama wants to do. They are going to wait this out and hope on a wing and a prayer that some Republican gets elected President of the United States, which is, in my opinion, not looking very good right now."

"These Republican debates and the whole Republican campaign has devolved into unbelievable stuff," says Grant Woods, the Republican-leaning former Attorney General of Arizona.

Still, Woods says he understands the appeal of Donald Trump but lingering questions remain.

"Not to say he couldn't be a really good President," Woods says, "but I question a couple of things with him. I would have thought he would have done a couple of things once he achieved some early success. I thought he would tone it down just a little bit. And then secondly, I really thought he would learn the issues and be well versed. That's baffling to me why he hasn't learned the issues — and he's chosen not to."

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