Commentaries from the Edge

A visit to the Los Angeles Catholic Archdiocese gives the opportunity to enter a world envisioned by the L. A. Archbishop Jose Gomez, and Pope Francis just days after his passing. And how can we describe that vision? One way is to picture the great power of a Church with a following of five million across the expanse of Parishes in Southern California, dedicating this power to making a better life for all, Catholic and non-Catholic. The vision manifests itself clearly in the subject of this episode - the Archdiocese Office of Life, Justice and Peace. Michael Donaldson, Office Director, and Jeanette Gomez Senerviatne, Director of the Whole Person, are carrying forward all that Pope Francis and Archbishop Gomez would hope for. They are addressing the most pressing issues in every community they serve, giving voice to the voiceless, collaborating with and creating partnerships to bring supportive resources to individuals and families. Listen to how their programming acts as a showcase for good emanating from a global city like Los Angeles. At this time, as the three of us sat together in conversation, grateful for Pope Francis, we are dedicating the episode to him, and remembering the way he brought us to focus on the suffering while celebrating the joy of life. The Office of Life, Justice and Peace will continue developing projects and activities in that spirit. “Hope never disappoints”, is what he said in his last Easter message to the world. TO CONTACT: Mpdonaldson@la-archdiocese.org - for Michael Donaldson JSeneviratne@la-archdiocese.org - for Jeanette Seneviratne

As the podcast theme of community emergency outreach programs at the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health (LACDMH) comes to an end for the month of December, 2024, it is clear that creative innovation is making a difference. In this episode, Francisco Tan, Psychologist and head of the LACDMH Psychiatric Mobile Response Team (PMRT) takes us into the field with his description of what his program does and how his Teams function. We learn about his eight Teams that include various skilled professionals who may include a Social Worker, a Nurse and a Community Health Worker, perhaps a Peer, someone with lived experience who has dealt with emotional distress. The Teams of PMRT are available 24/7 and can be reached by calling the LACDMH Access telephone number, (800) 854-7771. Members of a Team are ready to respond wherever the person is located to provide a multipurpose service - to evaluate, to collaborate with other agencies and resources, and to provide consultations and linkages for continued services when necessary. The overriding goal for the PMRT, as well as for all the programs in the Emergency Outreach and Triage Division of LACDMH, is to promote the opportunity for people to remain in their community with necessary supports. It is the most satisfying outcome for those in a mental health crisis. As this 2024 year draws to an end, we hear the bells ringing - “Goodwill Toward Humankind and Peace on Earth”. The LACDMH 24/7 access number for help is 1-800-854-7771 The National Suicide Crisis Line is #988

Miriam Brown leads the way at the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health (LACDMH) with the broadest view of the ways the department can and will respond to a long menu of emergencies in a City like Los Angeles, California. Her expertise, and even more, her dedication, has brought her to the position at LACDMH of Deputy Director of the Emergency Outreach and Triage Division. Her many years of work in this field has made LACDMH an innovator and a model leading the way for mental health departments throughout the USA and beyond. Miriam admits you have to have a certain kind of personality to face the demands and difficulties of mental health community outreach work with emergencies that are presented to her staff every day on a 24/7 basis. These emergencies often require close cooperation and training with Police, Fire, Public Health, and Probation departments, community organizations and not least of all, School Districts. She has spent decades forging links to all these important partners in responding effectively to those in need. The width and breath of what she overseas with her staff is enormous. Here are a few examples; threat assessments reported by a school official, a criminal act committed due to a mental illness, a family argument out of control, a person displaying high risk behavior. Miriam wants us to understand that this outreach is a reflection of the aggressive way LACDMH is reaching into all corners of the Los Angeles community hoping to help people avoid incarceration, hospitalization, encouraging ways people with mental illness may be able to function in the community with necessary supports. She brings the necessary wisdom and devotion to these varied tasks and with her steady leadership makes a healthier and better Los Angeles. The LACDMH 24/7 access number for help is 1-800-854-7771 The National Suicide Crisis Line is #988

The Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health (LACDMH) has developed a robust way of delivering vital services to people suffering from a mental health crisis. It has grown over the years and rests firmly in 2024, in a campaign called - “Who Do I Call for Help”? It is a campaign for the community introducing a national number #988, available 24/7. That number is a key part of the LACDMH program, the Alternative Crisis Response Unit. It is an alternative because it frees Police and directs these type of calls to people who have the expertise to bring support to the crisis. Reuben Wilson is the LACDMH head of that Unit and responsible for coordinating the many teams of people and community resources ready to respond to the incoming calls. He comes to that position with over a decade of experience working with personnel responding to crisis as a Deputy Mayor with the former Mayor of Los Angeles. The Help Line, #988 is linked to the staff of the Didi Hirsch organization and in partnership with LACDMH, begins the process of bringing trained caring to callers in emotional crisis. The continuing message to the public is that there is a Countywide system in place providing - someone to call, someone who will respond and somewhere to go if treatment and further care is needed. Reuben explains how this safety net for those in emotional crisis works as he readies to spread posters and cards across the vast region of the sprawling County of Los Angeles, California, advertising that help for all in need is a call away. 9-8-8, for support with suicidal crisis or mental health-related distress. The LACDMH 24/7 access number for help is 1-800-854-7771 The National Suicide Crisis Line is #988

Here is some good police news. Here is a tale of lessons learned from past mistakes. Here, come and listen to ways institutions, organizations, work cultures and people always have the potential to change for the better. Bac Luu, a leader with the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health (LACDMH), is heading a program that is embedded in the offices of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). In this episode he takes us into a world where LACDMH and LAPD have forged a beneficial partnership decades in the making. It is most importantly a benefit to the community as this partnership makes the job of policing and the job of helping people in crisis a chance to have more positive outcomes. It all began back in 1993, when mental health staff came to work side by side with police in a program called Systemwide Mental Health Assessment Response Teams (SMART) and a companion program, Case Assessment Management Program (CAMP). These programs bring to the streets and into homes, a team of a Police Officer and a Mental Health Professional where it is so often needed. In the last dozen years this approach has grown with Los Angeles, California looked at around the nation and the world as a model for creating important teamwork. Time has seen these teams grow in this City with expanded hours of joint training and with a deepening awareness of what both policing and mental health have to offer one another. Bac Luu is a leader we can learn from and who has built on the accomplishments of a pioneer in the field, Chuck Lennon. We can only hope that such a successful partnering grows in the coming years as the need for the teamwork only is increasing as a benefit to all communities. The LACDMH 24/7 access number for help is 1-800-854-7771 The National Suicide Crisis Line is #988

A few years ago the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health (LACDMH) went forward to create new kinds of services in unchartered waters. What developed was a courageous and innovative program called, Street Psychiatry-HOME (Homeless Outreach Mobile Engagement) Team. It was courageous because certain techniques to help seriously mentally ill people living on the streets had never been tried before. Innovative because a Psychiatrist was bringing care outside to the streets, and The Team was made up of various disciplines - Nurses, Social Workers, Peers - all working as one to save lives. This episode is the final one of a four part series on the story of this program's successes, with Elizabeth Cope, the Administrator and Co-Manager of 220 staff who are spread throughout the Los Angeles, California area. Here is another program leader with the same kind of dedication and enthusiasm that is bringing positive results and awards of recognition for their excellence in serving the unhoused. The program model takes will, takes funding and takes vision to implement in stemming the tide in Los Angeles and other locales, of people pouring onto the streets to live under freeway passes, tents and other ways, unable to be housed, living in dire circumstances. The LACDMH is investing in this model with the department's motto as an operating attitude - Hope, Wellness and Recovery. The LACDMH 24/7 access number for help is 1-800-854-7771 The National Suicide Crisis Line is #988

Dr Shayan Rab goes where Psychiatrists have rarely gone, into the streets where the unhoused of Los Angele, California, strive to survive. He uses the word - majestic - to describe his daily work experience, a word that means beauty and dignity. It is how he sees the opportunity to save a life and to change systems to respond to this USA humanitarian crisis. Through the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health (LACDMH), he began what he calls a journey, walking into the streets finding ways to treat individuals who are on the brink of losing their capacity to continue living because of their mental illness. In 2018, when the program started at LACDMH, called The HOME (Homeless Outreach Mobile Engagement) Team, he was the only Psychiatrist with a multidisciplinary staff including a Nurse, Social Worker, Medical Caseworker and Peer. Since then because of the program's successes it has received enough support to expand to 17 Psychiatrists with over 200 staff, fanned out to all parts of the large geographic area of Los Angeles with Dr. Rab as a Medical Director. It is not enough that he only does his daily work, he has become a missionary speaking about and showing how the various parts of a community can work together to solve what seems an impossible problem. Listen to this episode and you will hear how he seems to be what can be called the right person at the right time, able to move among the most dire circumstances of the unhoused, building their trust with dedication and bringing the attitude of LACDMH's Motto - Hope, Wellness and Recovery. In his approach and spirit, he pioneered a model of Street Psychiatry, giving that to the community of Los Angeles, around the country and to the citizens of the world. The LACDMH 24/7 access number for help is 1-800-854-7771 The National Suicide Crisis Line is #988

We are continuing with a series of episodes on Street Psychiatry, learning about various parts of the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health (LACDMH)'s program called The HOME Team. Guests on this episode are key to the program's successes, treating people like in an open air hospital to save lives. They are Dr. Yelena Koldolskaya, Psychiatric Supervisor and Medical Director over a team of people working in the southern region of Los Angeles, California, and Isidro, Alvarez, Medical Caseworker. Together, we learn from them what happens when they meet someone with no housing in a critical condition who refuses to receive treatment. They monitor the person over time, and hope to create a partnership of care with them to see if they have to move the person into involuntary care, what is called a Conservatorship. This means that someone like a family member if possible, takes control over their life decisions as a way of preventing them from dying on the streets. It is an extreme decision and requires a Court decision. Dr. K. as she is commonly called, and Isidro, work together in this part of the HOME Team's programming. Both of them see people in circumstances most never experience. Listen to the story of the woman living on the bus bench and what happens when Dr. K's skills as a Medical Director and Isidro with his expertise in the Conservatorship process, come to address the woman's dire situation. It is an example of a HOME Team success. Like in many cultures, there is the saying, “when you save one life, it is as if you have saved an entire world”. The LACDMH 24/7 access number for help is 1-800-854-7771 The National Suicide Crisis Line is #988

In Los Angeles, California, there is a smaller City within a City. The smaller one is the City where its citizens live and die on the street. The numbers are staggering. At the last approximate count, there were over 75,000 people trying to survive unhoused and, at the same time, thousands who are dying. Only a few years ago the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health (LACDMH) started a pioneering and creative response to this widespread area crisis. It is a program referred to as Street Psychiatry and often called a “radical solution”. It is radical because the medical and therapeutic care given to those in critical need is offered on the streets, creating a kind of outdoor emergency room. Listen to the guest on this episode, Aubree Lovelace, Chief Administrator over the HOME (Homeless, Outreach, Mobile, Engagement) Team and learn about those LACDMH staff making an effort to save lives, just in an usual day's work. The Team is made up of Psychiatrists, Social Workers, Nurses and Peer members. You will be hearing from several HOME Team staff in upcoming episodes. Each of them individually and together, face those living in the streets in the most critical situations. They are people with such a severe mental illness that they have lost the ability to take care of their most basic needs. Referrals to all the benefits and services of the HOME Team program usually come from other homeless outreach providers and also Police Officers, family members and community members. The program has grown because of the HOME Team's successes which means having a person on the street accept medicines that reduce their mental illness enough that they may begin to accept help toward housing and even reunification with family when possible. It is a humanitarian war out there on the streets of Los Angeles and funding to expand an army of dedicated mental health staff to offer services can prevent the more costly events that bring homeless to the hospitals, clinics and jails. The LACDMH 24/7 access number for help is 1-800-854-7771 The National Suicide Crisis Line is #988

As the last series of podcast episodes highlighting the new CARE Court, a Superior Court of the State of California, initiated in December of 2023, our guest is Dr. Sarah Church, Supervising Psychologist of the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health (LACDMH), who has stories to tell. She has watched individuals with mental illness begin to grow and to turn their life around as they benefitted from the CARE Court programming. She further reminds the listeners how a Petition filed for someone with mental illness is reviewed by the Presiding Judge of the Court as the first step in someone qualifying to receive this menu of services. These services in CARE Court in partnership with LACDMH are available from various government agencies such as Public Health and the Public Defenders offices as well as many community organizations. Sarah's role is to act as a liaison to those collaborators, and to support her staff who are on the frontlines offering care. Listen to her stories and with her we can celebrate the success the program is having in helping people with mental illness enter into a continuum of recovery and hope for the future. To Learn more about CARE Court and how to Petition for someone in need: Go to the website, www.LACourt.org/CARE

We continue our podcast episodes on CARE (Community Assistance, Recovery and Empowerment) Court, a judicial place that creates a path to healing and rehabilitation for individuals suffering from untreated mental illness. A pillar of making this Court an agent for change rather than a place for punishment, is the partnership with the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health (LACDMH). The guests on this podcast episode, Dr. Nilsa Gallardo, Program Manager, and Felipe Andalon, Mental Health Case Worker, are staff from the department who are able to paint the picture of inspiring stories. Their dedication and expertise can bring success to those with mental illness coming before this Court. CARE Court as a new endeavor begun in December of 2023, with Nilsa the Administrator overseeing aspects of LACDMH's involvement, and Felipe working each case determined to build trust and bringing an often skeptical client toward a more hopeful life, are mental health pioneers fostering new insights and coordinated services for those with serious psychotic disorders. To learn more about CARE Court and how to Petition for someone in need:Go to the website, www.LACourt.org/CARE

In shining a light on some new developments in services at the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health (LACDMH), CARE Court is a perfect example. Launched in December of 2023, and funded by the State of California, the department has joined an exciting collaboration of government agencies and community organizations fostering a wide systemic change. The CARE stands for Community Assistance, Recovery and Empowerment and in this episode you will hear from a leader who heads an organization that gives that community assistance. Harold Turner is the Executive Director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Urban Los Angeles. NAMI was started by a group of families over 40 years ago to find answers on how to help family members with mental illness and to support one another. Today, there are 600 chapters across the U. S. renown for providing education and support groups. With CARE Court, Mr. Turner with his members accompanies families to Court and helps them navigate the mental health, health and legal systems, to develop an effective plan of recovery and empowerment for those who qualify for the services from this new kind of Court. He brings to this important programmatic development experience as a Father of a mentally ill child, and as a community leader on the Workgroup of the State of California CARE ACT, a member of the LACDMH Commission, and as an Executive Director of NAMI Urban LA, with decades of effective advocacy for the improvement of mental health treatments. LACDMH values the collaboration with Mr. Turner and his organization working together to foster recovery for those living with mental illness. To Contact NAMI Urban LA, go to the website, www.namiurbanla.org, tel. (323) 294-7814, write - 4305 Degnan Blvd. Suite 104, Los Angeles, CA 90008

A persistent struggle in a metropolitan area like Los Angeles, California, is the struggle to treat persons with mental illness before it becomes severe. In the United States mental illness since the covid pandemic has become more of a crisis. On any given day in Los Angeles, someone is coming before the Courts having broken the law while experiencing a psychotic disorder. In December of 2023, a new approach was launched to bring services rather than punishment to such an individual. It is called CARE Court. CARE stands for - Community Assistance, Recovery, & Empowerment, and perhaps the key word is empowerment. The process establishes for anyone who qualifies, the opportunity on a voluntary basis to be surrounded by services with the collaboration of the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health, Public Health, the Public Defenders/Independent Defense Counsel offices and other community agencies. In this podcast episode we hear from Superior CourtJudge Scott R. Herin, who with Judge Rene Gilbertson, are the presiding Judges over this innovative program to promote wellbeing and empowerment rather than punishment. Listen and learn how a person may qualify for the program with a special petition to the Court and the ways that an individual's plan for recovery is navigated and monitored. CARE Court in its early stage, is a program with hope, giving those with mental illness a chance to thrive in the community.

As the special series on the podcast program continues, this is the final episode exploring Peer Resource Centers at the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health (LACDMH). We are visiting with Jaime Gomez on the Eastside of the City, a Supervising Community Health Worker who relishes that his programming specializes in reaching out into neighborhoods. In other words, instead of being located at a particular building, Jaime and his team use parks, libraries and schools to connect with individuals, families and the elderly who are in need but may never visit a traditional office for mental health services. In their unique way of being accessible and available, Jaime explains how they have an opportunity to help people where they are, and make them realize that having emotional difficulties for themselves or a family member are part of being human. He feels this approach is a way to break the stigma of mental illness and encourage people to receive help. In this episode, listeners around the world will wish that they could be at the place wherever Jaime and his team organize what they call, COFFEE WITH A SIDE OF HEALING, a relaxing and innovative way of encountering mental health services. The LACDMH 24/7 access number for help is 1-800-854-7771 The National Suicide Crisis Line is #988

The podcast series highlighting outstanding and innovative programs at the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health (LACDMH) continues with a visit to another Peer Resource Center located in South Los Angeles, California. This Center is part of a sprawling complex at the Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) Hospital, in an area renown for a lack of services. In a welcoming space expressed by both staff and its decor, the Center is on the ground floor of a building that provides an array of mental health services. Listen to this episode and you will hear from Roslynn Adolphus, Supervising Community Health Worker, who describes the menu of activities and support awaiting anyone who walks in the door. This includes art classes, parenting groups and special attention for youth in those pivotal years of 18 to 25 years old. This Peer Resource Center at the MLK Hospital, sits on the border of Watts and Compton, neighborhoods predominately Black and Latino with residents often struggling to manage to survive the demands of daily life. The Center staff, like Roslynn, are ready to meet those in need wherever they are, whether it is just a place that offers them comfort or to provide some of the basics like food and clothing. The Peer Resource Centers are a model for how to make our communities better during these troubling times. They provide a path to the motto of the Mental Health Department, “Hope, Recovery and Wellbeing”. The LACDMH access number for help is 1-800-854-7771 The National Suicide Crisis Lifeline is #988

The launching of a new series of episodes on this podcast, COMMENTARIES FROM THE EDGE, is covering important aspects of innovative and powerfully effective ways of supporting and promoting mental health. The projects, beginning with what is called the Peer Resource Centers, are part of the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health (LACDMH) in California. Given that many people will not enter into offices that are part of a traditional governmental program, with the operation of these Centers you have, “a welcoming place where everyone coming for help is greeted by others who also have faced emotional difficulties” - surrounded by warm and caring individuals with the “lived experience”. In these two episodes you will hear from outstanding staff at LACDMH, Catherine Clay and Joseph Cuevas in Episode #1 and Tosha Sweet and Tammy Lofton in Episode #2. Each of them will be describing the kind of successes in mental health programming that is possible, and through their stories show how this approach is needed in neighborhoods across all communities. The LACDMH 24/7 access number for help is 1-800-854-7771 The National Suicide Crisis Lifeline is #988

The launching of a new series of episodes on this podcast, COMMENTARIES FROM THE EDGE, is covering important aspects of innovative and powerfully effective ways of supporting and promoting mental health. The projects, beginning with what is called the Peer Resource Centers, are part of the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health (LACDMH) in California. Given that many people will not enter into offices that are part of a traditional governmental program, with the operation of these Centers you have, “a welcoming place where everyone coming for help is greeted by others who also have faced emotional difficulties” - surrounded by warm and caring individuals with the “lived experience”. In these two episodes you will hear from outstanding staff at LACDMH, Catherine Clay and Joseph Cuevas in Episode #1 and Tosha Sweet and Tammy Lofton in Episode #2. Each of them will be describing the kind of successes in mental health programming that is possible, and through their stories show how this approach is needed in neighborhoods across all communities. The LACDMH 24/7 access number for help is 1-800-854-7771 The National Suicide Crisis Lifeline is #988

There is courage and there is sacrifice, and Ruth Belonsky's life is an example of both. Born into the world of Apartheid in South Africa, she grew up in an area called East London near Cape Town, segregated like everywhere in that Country. A child of immigrants from Germany, she believes that hearing stories of how her family escaped from the Nazis, motivated her to seek ways to end the laws separating people by race and color. As a young adult she entered politics and was elected to her City Council, all the while secretly participating in what were illegal activities that brought Blacks and Whites together. Listen to her telling of harrowing stories, and to her outspoken commitments against Apartheid, which eventually led to her and her family being forced to leave South Africa to save their lives. Today, in Los Angeles, California, she continues a life of social activism bringing people together across faiths and races to create a more just society.

Los Angeles (L. A. ) is renown as a City of sunlight, a place of gorgeous topography from the mountains to the desert to the Pacific ocean. And yet, Writers for the last hundred years have been attracted to finding out what is lurking in the shadows of L. A. Daniel Weizmann in his second mystery novel, follows in that long tradition of what is called, “crime noir”, with an added bonus. The Author is a native of this sprawling global locale who is gifted with a curiosity and a keen sense of observation taking the reader to corners of diverse neighborhoods that he can write about with special detail. He introduces us to an amazing variety of characters from a couple living in a trailer park to some low life types who have come to own a mansion, to an Attorney who hides away living on a boat docked in the Marina at the mouth of the ocean. The story is set in Los Angeles in 2024, and in the mid- 1980s, full of the rock and roll music scene at that time, which Weizmann covered back then as a Music Reviewer. At the very opening of the book, we meet Adam Zantz, the hero of the story, and we learn about the mystery of a long ago crime that he must solve. As a Private Investigator (P. I. ) in training he has the passion for his assignment which is also fueled by complicated family relationships. It all brings color to this beautifully written tale of suspense and surprise. Once you finish CINNAMON GIRL you will know Los Angeles in its true mosaic, a magnet for all people of the world with dreams for a better life underneath all that sunshine. TO PURCHASE: Penguin Random House and Amazon - The Author is available via zoom to speak at Book Groups.

What symbol could be more famous for the United States of America than the Statue of Liberty. At its very top is the famous poem which reads in part “…..Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to be free,…..” It is famous because that is the essence of the U. S. , a Country that has welcomed people from all over the world who are in distress, often running for their lives, determined to make a better future for their families. This podcast episode introduces Angelica Salas, Executive Director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA). She has headed the organization since 1999, which incudes offices in Los Angeles, and up and down the State of California. In the process, Ms. Salas has become a national leader in developing programs and advocacy for the millions of immigrants currently living in the United States. She takes us down the road of the fraught and unpredictable relationship of immigrants and refugees to the U. S. and to countries around the world. Listen to what makes up the Coalition and how their work raises the bar in making a more just society for us all. To Contact: Check the Website or email, Info@chirla.org To speak with an inmigration Attorney, Call (213) 201-3797

“…..but no one, it seems, is able to give you directions.”   Excerpt from a book of poems by Billy Collins Have you ever wished you had a roadmap of your life, like a GPS that clearly tells you what direction to take?   DISPLACED PERSONS, Author and Educator Joan Leegant's most recent book of stories, creates characters that enthrall you as they struggle to find their direction and make difficult decisions.  As a gifted short story Writer, Essayist and Teacher, Ms. Leegant pushes her readers, not allowing them to shy away from the complexities that everyone faces as life is navigated.  This beautifully written compilation of fictional tales was published this year, 2024, and won the New American Fiction Prize.  It is not the Author's first award recognizing her as a major talent.  In 2003, her first book of short stories, AN HOUR IN PARADISE, won the New England PEN Book Award.  The greatest award awaits the readers of the 13 short stories of DISPLACED PERSONS.   Here is a limited sample of its story titles: “The Baghdadi”, “Remittances”, “The Innocent”, “The Book of Splendor”, “Roots”, all full of Ms. Leegant's layered imagination and compelling story telling power.  If there is a theme running through all the tales it is that everyone is dealing with a fast changing world.   All of the characters in this book are at different stages of finding solid ground to stand on and the strength to go forward into the unknown.  TO CONTACT:   Go to the website, joanleegant.com                              Order the book at Amazon or Barnes & Noble

Turning 90 years old to Harvey Keenan means simply opening new doors to walk through continuing his involvements in the community. What is his key to having a vibrant life at any age? He advocates for remembering that there are choices to make to keep yourself on a path to meaning and purpose to your days. Harvey likes the term Elder for himself, not old, a way of thinking of yourself with dignity and respect. Listen to his menu of activities and commitments. He gives his energy to it all with a devotion to family and friends at the same time. At 90 years old he is an inspired man, and gives inspiration to others.

At the moment of this podcast episode recording, the world is waiting to see the very future of war in the Middle East, the very future of war or peace in the world.  What better time to highlight a program with a legacy of bringing Muslims and Jews together.  It is called “NEW GROUND:  A Muslim Jewish Partnership for Change”, which has been operating in Los Angeles, California, for the last 17 years.   Its programming creates a learning curve for its participants in workshops and specialized trainings.  The Communication and Operations Coordinator, Ben Ginsburg, gives the listeners a full description, bringing hope in the midst of conflict, promoting understanding in the midst of growing prejudice against both groups.  To Contact:   The website - www.MJNewGround.org New Ground Telephone, (818) 856-0815, Los Angeles, California, USA

Once again the prominent leader in the mental health field, Dr. Marvin J. Southard, joined the Podcast program as a guest for the fourth time. Continuing the theme of divisiveness in the United States society and how it has impacted much of pubic and private lives, Dr. Southard reflects on the recent passage of the controversial political Proposition 1, in the recent California elections. He is looking through the lens of divisiveness in seeing a model cure as many conservative and progressive voters came together to try and defeat the proposed law. It narrowly passed by a slim margin of over 50%, and yet left a legacy of how disparate groups can agree on a common cause. Listen to Dr. Southard discuss the parts of the Proposition and its way of redesigning the California mental health system. Then find some optimism for the future with the possibility of a bridge over our troubled divisiveness.

This is the moment that TOMORROW's WOMEN, created 20 years ago, was made for, a moment bleak with pain and suffering after October 7th, offering hope and a vision forward. Listen to the young women alumnae of the program, Noga Bar Oz, Lana Ikelan, both talking from Jerusalem, and the Executive Director, Holly Morris from the offices in Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA, tell their story about this program. TOMORROW'S WOMEN brings young women from Israel to a beautiful Camp in the nature of Santa Fe, far from conflicts and turmoil, to have a three week experience that changes them forever. At this moment the young women are preparing for a tour to the United States together with the Executive Director on March 7th. Listen to where they will be in Seattle, Washington until March 11th, and in Los Angeles, California, from March 12th to the 17th. If you are in the area at that time you may meet them at the UCLA Hillel and the Stephen Wise Temple, (310) 476-8561. Lana and Noga are on a journey to show how they became peacemakers and leaders in their communities, imagining and working toward a better future even in the midst of war. Their goal is to inspire all of us for change, for justice and for equality and peace. Shalom - Salem To Contact - email holly@tomorrowswomen.org For more information - go to their Website

Israel is a traumatized nation since the morning of October 7th, when Hamas Terrorists entered the land and went on a rampage of killing, torturing and raping. Israel is the only nation where repeatedly its very existence is threatened and yet, it is populated by a people, like everyone everywhere, who only want peace, a secure life for health and happiness. This episode of Commentaries From the Edge highlights an Israeli organization called The Ariel Center. In talking with its founder, Gila Rockman, we learn that the Center was created in memory of her Brother, Ariel Goldsmith. It is dedicated to serving those affected by trauma and now, after October 7th, the Center is focused on healing and treating an entire generation. Listen to their array of projects rooted in promoting resiliency with the theme of transforming adversity into strength and despair into hope. Gila explains that most recently they are building The Ariel Village in the southern area of Israel, which she is calling “a healing hub”. Their website will give more details and ways their method is a model for treating trauma anywhere in the world. Www.thearielcenter.org - to volunteer and/or make a donation.

Recipe for Personal Peace and Wellbeing in the New Year with Dr. Marvin J. Southard. (what do you think of this?) DESCRIPTION: It is a New Year, 2024, and we are walking through turbulence in the United States in many ways. There is climate turbulence, political turbulence and the turbulence of a divided society increasingly breaking into hostile groups. All of this feels more consequential because the U. S. is heading toward a Presidential election by the end of the year which will impact the global community. Addressing this divisiveness and their consequences, Dr. Marvin J. Southard, a longtime leader in the field of mental health, visits the podcast program for the third time and once again gives us a roadmap for coping in these times. Listen and learn how Dr. Southard offers us a recipe for empowering ourselves to face a world full of challenges today and into the future.

A documentary film titled, LIONS OF THE SEA, is in the process of being created as a journey into the world of Sea Lions. In the story to be told we will meet them in a most protected environmental area off the coast of the Galapagos. Adam Leipzig, the Producer, is no stranger to creating nature documentaries. As past President of National Geographic Films, he brought March of the Penguins to the world, considered one of the best documentaries of all time. As viewers we will see the Sea Lions among the Galapagos Islands, a volcanic chain 600 miles off the coast of Ecuador. The film will be taking us to a place considered a priceless living laboratory, a place that inspired Charles Darwin to write his seminal work, ORIGIN OF THE SPECIES. Adam is heading an extraordinary team of artists in the making of this film including Ecuadorian filmmaker and explorer Luis Felipe Fernandez-Salvador and Mexican Cinematographer Guillermo Navarro, an Academy Award winner for the movie Pan's Labyrinth and who is heading a group of underwater documentarian photographers. Listen to the story behind the making of this film which will eventually show the love and adversity of the Sea Lion's lives and inspire us to appreciate and safeguard the natural wonders around us.

We are very grateful to all of you listeners and the podcast guests. Have a healthy and happy New Year.

Returning once again to the Pico Union Project (PUP), we hear in this episode from Bianca Juarez Escamilla, who is a new staff member that brings her talent and knowledge as a resident in this multiethnic neighborhood near the downtown area of Los Angeles, California, to the development of innovative programming. This is an extraordinary community center, a model that responds to the neighborhood with a humanitarian spirit created by its founder, Craig Taubman. Bianca discusses the various programs and services provided and clearly describes a place that brings people together as we struggle in the USA where people now feel divided and often in conflict. This is the third episode highlighting the Pico Union Project which over its ten year history has become even more important than ever to the spirit of the City of Los Angeles. TO CONTACT: www.picounionproject.org Address - 1153 Valencia, Los Angeles, California 90015, USA Email - bianca@picounion-project.org

Besides remembering what is long gone, decimated by the Holocaust of World War II, the CENTROPA  organization is dedicated to recapturing the vibrant Jewish life of the early 20th century on the European continent.  Their operation is based in headquarters in Vienna, Austria; Budapest, Hungary; and Hamburg, Germany.   The organization's full name is Central Europe Center for Research and Documentation.   The motto for CENTROPA is “Preserving Jewish Memory, Bringing History to Life”.  It is a daunting task given the great diversity and variety of the Jewish way of life from 1900 to the 1930s, which was often integrated into every layer of European society.   In this podcast program episode, listen to Lauren Granite, Centropa United States Education Director, describe the ways they accomplish their goals.   It includes the development of educational programs for schools, award-winning films, food recipes from former Jewish kitchens, photos from the Balkan Sephardic communities, and most of all through the archives of interviews and story telling.   It is a noble mission that CENTROPA has and poignant because the more European Jewish history of the 20th Century is brought to life, the value of what has been lost is more profoundly understood.   TO CONTACT: www.centropa.org Granite@centropa.org for educational resources and materials

Sometimes there are extraordinary people who arrive just at the right position to make a community a better place to live for everyone. This is the case at the Los Angeles City Pubic Library system with Karen Pickard Four and Edna Osepans. Karen has been the lead Librarian at what is called the Library Experience Office since 2021, and Edna, the Supervising Social Worker for the last seven months at the same Office. They are leaders and pioneers in rethinking the library experience in the face of 21st century challenges that could not have been imagined years ago. In this podcast Karen and Edna explain in most captivating ways, what it means to transfer a system made up of 72 library branches into what they call “trauma-informed practices”. In fact, Karen is an advocate of having this theme become a centerpiece of the City of Los Angeles, California, where the Mayor, Karen Bass, has called a State of Emergency in confronting over 50,000 fellow neighbors who find themselves unhoused. Listen to the rich array of resources and services at the Los Angeles Library system and learn why cities in far flung locales and even other countries, are calling them to find out how to imitate their innovative path. To Contact: Email - KPickard@lapl.org and edna.osepans@lapl.org Go to - www.lapl.org to learn more Tel. 1 (213) 228-7000, L. A. Central Library

United States of America sits on lands that were first occupied by Indigenous Tribes. They are the Native Americans. Today, these same lands are mostly occupied by descendants of immigrants or current immigrants. In this podcast you will be listening to Isaac Cuevas, Director of Immigration and Public Affairs for the Los Angeles, California, Catholic Archdiocese. He is taking us on a verbal trip, first to the border of California with the country of Mexico. Then, we go with him to scenes in downtown Los Angeles, where buses arrive from Texas bringing immigrants who have just recently arrived in the United States. These scenes of immigrant arrivals have been repeated for hundreds of years in the United States and fuels the energy and diverse creativity that moves the USA forward. The State of California is an example of ancient land history where tribes lived such as Coachella, Tsongva and Aquas Calientes, names all around us in the 21st century and today. From its inception, California's beauty has exuded a promise of possibilities for the future. It continues to be a magnet of vitality attracting people from all over the world. As Catholic Archbishop Jose H. Gomez of Los Angeles recently wrote in a book called The Jewels of Elul, (in the previous episode) he reminds us of the Golden Rule, “ to love our neighbors as ourselves”. He goes on to declare it, “remains the most powerful force we have to bring healing to our broken world and to unite our divided and polarized society”. TO CONTACT AND TO VOLUNTEER: go to the website, LACatholics.org/immigration Tel. (213) 637-7484

We are all walking through a turbulent time in the world, and particularly in the United States. It is a time when many are turning to their spirituality or faith for inspiration, for comfort, for some guiding principals. The JEWELS OF ELUL books published annually for the last 21 years, are part of the idea of spiritual preparation for the Jewish New Year. Ross Chait, Project Coordinator for these books of wisdom, explains on this podcast episode that each book has a one page commentary for the 29 days leading up to the New Year Holiday. Those 29 days are a period called ELUL in the Jewish faith. Thus, each year 29 people are asked to write their thoughts, memories, advice on one page of these unique books. In addition, through these many years of publication, each JEWELS OF ELUL has a theme. For an example, in the ninth year of publication the theme was, “The Art of Welcoming”, and for the 16th year, it was “Lessons From My Parents”. This year, the 21st publication, the theme is “Finding Balance”, which could not be a more challenging goal in the year 2023. Listen to the podcast about how these books are a treasure for everyone as we all try to learn from one another to navigate the world together. Thanks to Craig Taubman, the creator and producer of JEWELS OF ELUL for more than two decades now, and gratitude to him as a great community leader exemplified in his development of the Pico Union Project of Los Angeles, California. To Learn More and Order the book, go to Www.JewelsofElul.com, Instagram and Facebook

In this moving and emotional debut novel, GUESTHOUSE FOR GANESHA, Judith Teitelman takes us on a lyrical journey with her poetic writing style and her spiritual awareness.  We are introduced to Esther, the center character of the story, and we immediately learn two elements that fill this novel; Esther's connection to the Revered Hindu Diety, Ganesha, and Esther's need to keep traveling across the European continent over a 22 year period as she deals with her torment.  It is both a personal torment caused by love, and her world descending in torment caused by the outbreak of war in 1939.   In the extraordinary imagination of the Author a link is made between the beauty of Hindu and Jewish beliefs.  The Hindu Diety Ganesha brings new beginnings, wisdom, obstacles to learn from and obstacles to be removed.  In addition, Teitelmam tells the reader on an introduction page to the novel that “Bet” is the first letter of the Old Testament, known to Jews as the Torah.  She explains that it “denotes a house …….the created world is meant to house the spiritual within”.  Thus, a Guesthouse.   In the podcast conversation you will hear how this is a novel to savor, to reflect on, and to enjoy a reading journey full of surprises and revelations.  To Contact the Author, Judith Teitelman, email, jtconsult@sbcglobal.net For more information go to her website:   www.GuesthouseforGanesha.com

There are borders on the European continent where civilizations have clashed, empires have risen and fallen. The Country of Kosovo is one of those places, formerly part of what was Yugoslavia and now bordered by several nation States such as Albania, Serbia and Macedonia. As we take up the fate of Kosovo Romani (formerly referred to as Gypsies), Barry Fisher, award-winning humanitarian Lawyer, continues describing his work with Romani people to defend their rights worldwide. In the 1998 - 99 Kosovo War, like often in history, the Romani were victims by all sides and still await justice for their suffering. The Romani abuse throughout the ages is a bellwether sign of how humanity treats one another. We have much progress to make to continue the dream of world peace as the 21st century is unfolding.

Do you remember the image of old people spending their days sitting in a rocking chair? That may be extreme but so is the revolution happening about getting older in America. No place are the radical changes more apparent than at a new place called the Wallis Annenberg Gen Space. For people of an older age, think of a place to hang out that is vibrant, colorful, full of diverse activities and diverse people. Welcome to an innovative space geared to older adults and by its very success, changing what it means to grow old in the 21st century. In this episode, listeners will hear from Dr. Jennifer Wong, the Director of Gen Space, which is located in a modern Pavilion set on a main thoroughfare in the City of Los Angeles, California. It takes what used to be called a Senior Center and becomes something else completely. Gen Space clearly reflects the vision of Philanthropist, Wallis Annenberg, who has created new pathways for older adults that are designed to bring fulfillment, empowerment and excellence. In other words, recognizing the basic goals for a good life are the same whether younger or older. Step into Gen Space and listen to Dr. Wong describe a place with walls of color, modern, cozy furniture, paintings and photos room after room, full of light, and everywhere, busy with creative programming. Learn what it means to reimagine getting older. TO CONTACT: Dr. Jennifer Wong, email, JWong@annenbergspace.org Also, info@annenbergspace.org

Here is an example of taking the oldest sound, and most primitive, and using creative innovation to apply it to current 21st century needs. Steven Angel, President and Creator of the Drumming for Your Life Institute, is a prolific inventor finding ways that an ancient activity can improve our lives. He tells us that he discovered what he calls “the doubtful internal voice”, that inhibits learning especially for youth in the classroom. Steven explains that drumming can affect the neural pathways in the brain, releasing the ability to focus and concentrate. He has brought his Reading and Rhythm program to school districts and a new research project at UCLA will be examining the results of his work. In other community settings, he designed what he refers to as Life Skills Drumming Program, which has been shown to relieve anxiety and depression. Listen to this episode and find out the power and success of the Drumming for Your Life Institute. To Contact: Email, Stevenangel@dfyl.org, tel. (562) 904-6775

The thoughtful and systematic arrangement of a nation to eliminate an entire people who had resided in the area for 1000 years, became the Holocaust by Germany in the World War II era. This is not to ignore the many European nations during that time that participated in and encouraged the annihilation of Jews. Other groups such as the disabled, the homosexual and Romani, to name a few, were also targeted for elimination during these years of massive crimes against humanity. In this episode Dr. Michael Berenbaum, a renown world scholar of the Holocaust as well as a Professor, a Rabbi, a Writer and filmmaker, paints a picture of how this happened directed from what was considered the most cultured and accomplished nation as the 20th century was unfolding.

The Artistic Director of the Fountain Theatre, Stephen Sachs, is modest about his 33 years at the helm of its creative and award-winning accomplishments.   As an example, the City Council of Los Angeles, California, recognized Stephen for his contributions to the cultural life of Los Angeles.   Being an actor, director and playwright, he took the helm of a theatre organization with a vision that the theatrical experience can be a sacred space.   A place where community problems can be presented and the audience can learn new ideas and understandings about the  world around them.                               In this episode, listeners will hear about his courageous choices as an artistic leader in the Los Angeles community believing that audiences will come to enjoy the adventure of the unorthodox and innovative.   Early on for both institutions, Def West Theatre had a home at the Fountain when the idea of deaf theatre was hardly considered possible.  The rest is history, as Def West went to Broadway and great successes.  Deaf Theatre is an important centerpiece of the Fountain's history and culture.   The Fountain Theatre has produced new plays, classic American plays, plays from around the world and was honored by becoming the home of South African Playwright Athol Fugard's many world premiers.   As we slide forward into 2023, Stephen Sachs reminds us that all of us are changed by the pandemic and that we are reassessing.  This is true for theatre stages, and important institutions like the Fountain Theatre, that will be finding through their artistry ways to help all of us move forward.   To Contact and for program information, Email:  Info@fountaintheatre.org

In a world finding its way out of years of a pandemic way of life and restrictions, Aaron Paley's long career in championing cultural connections may be a winning path. Aaron's incessant creative programming in the public spaces of Los Angeles is grounded in his impressive credentials. He received a Masters in Business (MBA) in non-profit Arts Management from UCLA and an undergraduate degree from UC Berkeley in Architecture at the College of Environmental Design. To some, Aaron Paley with Katie Bergin, in founding the Community Arts Resources(CARS) organization 34 years ago, accomplished the impossible in a City like Los Angeles, California. They found a way to link culture, the arts, civic institutions and public spaces, bringing diverse peoples together in a sprawling metropolitan environment. Drawing upon models from around the world, here are only a few of the highlights of how Aaron's championing of cultural and arts connections have enriched Los Angeles and inspired other cities: - At the J. Paul Getty Museum and Center's 25th Anniversary, produced ten free weekend festivals in ten different neighborhoods- Co-created, produced and implemented CicLAvia, a car free, open for pedestrians and bicyclists where Los Angeles residents can walk, bike and socialize inspired by Ciclovia, the weekly street closure developed in Bogota, Columbia - The Los Angeles Philharmonic launched its 100 year celebration with a free day long open streets festival and live music event from downtown to the Hollywood Bowl. As a native of an often disconnected City like Los Angeles accustomed to being separated in cars, Aaron attributes his vision of the power of culture and art for creating connections to having been brought up in a Jewish Yiddish-speaking environment. It inspired him to look at the great diversity of his City which was the essence of its civic history. He and Katie Bergin started this idea of cultural programming in 1989 with Community Arts Resources, or CARS, and then created a program called Yiddishkayt in 1994, to focus on the Jewish Yiddish culture and language. They went on to tap into the great art and cultural menu of neighborhoods that sweep through all corners of Los Angeles. Listen to Aaron's exciting ideas for all that awaits the City in the coming years.

The book, THE INNOVATIVE PARENT: Raising Connected, Happy and Successful Kids through Art by Erica Curtis and Ping Ho, takes its place among important guides to support and cheer on the best kind of parenting. It is the winner of a 2019 National Parenting Products Association Award. Ping Ho, MA, MPH, is the Founder and Director of the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA ) Arts and Healing Program which is known to transform lives through creative expression. She joins the podcast program once again at a crucial moment for families and their kids. The reports from the frontlines of parenting tells us of their particular struggles in these recent years because of the covid pandemic and its affect on children and teens. The book is based on cutting edge research and the Authors' years of experience in the field. Ping has been a champion of promoting the benefits of creative expression and in this book brings together her knowledge of how to use all the arts - dance, drawing, drama, music, writing - to enhance the relationship and communication between parents and kids. In a sense, THE INNOVATIVE PARENT presents a tool box of the myriad ways of using such readily available artistic expressions as emojis, pencil tapping, journal writing, for parenting when faced with common behavior problems from early childhood to the teen years. Connected, happy and successful kids are what all parents want for their kids. Ping Ho gives a recipe for that kind of outcome when the act of parenting can become more joyful using the arts for the many times non verbal ways of communicating are a necessity and a great benefit. TO CONTACT: Email: Ping@uclartsandhealing.org Purchases of the book can be made on Amazon

We live in a time of great tension between the forces of inclusion for all peoples and the forces pushing us apart in often hateful and threatening ways. In this episode you will hear from Omar Ricci, one of those who is dedicating his life to linking people together in their humanity. Mr. Ricci is the Spokesperson for the Islamic Center of Southern California, located in the heart of Los Angeles. In addition he is a Reserve Police Officer with the Los Angeles Police Department, a board member of the Muslim Public Affairs Council and works professionally as a Management Consultant. He speaks to what it has meant to be a Muslim in America since 9/11, and about the ways the United States society has come to understand the faith, with Muslims now much more integrated into the fabric of American life. Ultimately, he is optimistic that the U. S. can become a model of peace and appreciation for the diversity of many faiths. TO CONTACT: Email, Omar.Ricci@Islamiccenter.com

The City of Los Angeles, a young city, has been a magnet for over 100 years, attracting people from all over the United States and the world. Dr. Fernando Guerra, a Professor of Political Science and Chicano Latino Studies for almost 40 years at Loyola Marymount University, founded the Center for the Study of Los Angeles on the campus in 1996. As the Center's Director, he wanted to create a place to understand the people of Los Angeles in hopes of making the city more equitable by engaging residents and leaders. The impetus for creating such a Center was the citywide uprising that occurred in 1992, in response to the Rodney King trial, a black man who had been savagely beaten by a group of Police Officers. In this Part 2 episode, Dr. Guerra returns to the podcast program to continue describing how the Center has grown to become an important voice for the people of Los Angeles. The Center's approach is to amass data from answers to important questions asked of residents during periodic surveys. The results provide information to leaders and decision makers which they can use in formulating policies and laws. Dr. Guerra begins and ends the conversation declaring a sense of optimism that pervades Los Angeles no matter the challenges and obstacles. In fact, he emphasizes that these problems may be statewide in California or beyond and often the City of L. A. is looked to for inspirational solutions. Some of the current news from the Center's data will surprise, especially as he addresses many of the issues surrounding the humanitarian crisis of homelessness in sun-filled Los Angeles. FOR CONTACT: StudyLA@lmu.edu fernando.guerra@lmu.edu

At a time when the world is faced with a new “normal”, the question is how do we prepare for a future that will look very different than the past. According to Dr. Ximenez, it is time for us to embrace the unknown and to relish the freedom to create a life with new possibilities. Clearly, as the pandemic spread around the world since 2020, it brought death and destruction in its wake. In this episode, Dr. Ximenez speaks about this time of reconstructing our lives once again. She asks us to take risks, to listen to our inner voices and to allow for new thinking. It is a recipe for an even better future as we Start Again, in the year 2023. To Contact: http:/DrLeticiaXimenez.com http:/StartAgainNotOver.com

The people's of the world are on the move, migrating across regions and continents. Many, due to wars, oppression and violent circumstances, come as refugees with little salvaged from their past lives. In Los Angeles, California, there is an organization called the INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE that works in tandem with the offices of the State Department of the Federal government. The Institute takes responsibility for resettling individuals, families and unaccompanied minors from the moment they land at the airport. In this episode, we hear from the President and CEO of the International Institute of Los Angeles (IILA), Cambria Tortorelli, not only about the organization's history but about all their resettlement efforts with those fleeing from Afghanistan in 2021, and the Ukraine in 2022. Cambria explains their menu of services and the additional programming of the Institute that provides such needs as legal services for immigrants and support for victims of human trafficking and low income residents, as well as other projects. To learn more, and to make a donation - go to the website Www.iilosangeles.org

Tracy Newman came to comedy writing by being a founder of a Los Angeles improvisational organization called The Groundlings. It was located on the famous Melrose Avenue, and it was during the heyday in the 1960's for these kind of entertainment venues. The Groundlings, which still operates today, became a training ground where aspiring actors could learn how to create jokes and how to respond to a live audience when creating comedy. Many members of the group went on to have stellar careers like Tracy and her younger Sister, Lorraine, who became part of Saturday Night Live. Incredibly, Tracy's television career as a sitcom Writer began on the CHEERS program at the time when it was, and still is, one of the most popular programs for T. V. ever created. From there she continued joining with her partner John Stark, what is called the Writers' Rooms, with many of the most famous television sitcoms such as the Drew Carey Show and The Nanny. She won an Emmy with other Writers, the highest award in Television in the U. S., for the script for the ELLEN Show where Ellen announced to the world that she was a Lesbian. At the time, that was a risky and radical career decision for a popular entertainer. In this episode, Tracy takes us into the world of the typical Writers' Room of a sitcom comedy, a place she left years ago to return to songwriting and singing. She gives us an insight into the history of how television comedy was made and evolved. To hear her music, see her videos and purchase CDs, go to the website, www.tracynewman.com

Evelina Fernandez, actress and Playwright, is a founding member of the Latino Theatre Company, one of the premier theatrical groups telling the stories from the growing Latino community in Los Angeles and around the United States.  The Company took residence in the Los Angeles Theatre Center (LATC) in California, an important part of this major cultural center.  From the onset in the mid 1980s, LATC was dedicated to showing how the arts could address community problems and become a place for provoking audiences to consider solutions.              In 2007, the Latino Theatre Company took over the management of the cultural center and continued the tradition of LATC using this artistic platform in service to the greater Los Angeles community.  In this podcast episode Evelina describes some of the rewarding initiatives operating in this organization.  They include the following: LatinX Playwriting Circle - made up of new and aspiring Latino Playwrights sharing the development of their works which will encourage the future of Latino plays Latino Theatre Initiative HUB - LATC was chosen to manage various Foundation's funds and is the center for Latino Theatre organizations around the U. S. to apply for grants Community College Links - offering classes to students at these two year colleges to students who often come from poor communities or even may be homeless.  The students are given free tickets to LATC programs           In conclusion, we learn about the exciting and diverse season of plays planned for the year 2023, and the plans for the future of the Los Angeles Theatre Center.               To contact:   LATC, 514 So.  Spring Street, Los Angeles, CA 90013                    Website - www.thelatc.org  Tel. 1 (213) 489-0994                     Evelina Fernandez - Evelina@thelatc.org

      Understanding the brain, how it functions and its impact on our individual destiny is an endless quest.  Dr. Steven Siegel, Chair of Psychiatry in the School of Medicine and Chief Mental Health and Wellness Officer for Keck Medicine at the University of Southern California (USC), in Los Angeles, has spent years conducting brain research.   It is a research that continues to be a frontier of learning, much like the exploration of space.           The challenge with understanding the human brain is the unbelievable complexity of its millions of cells.  The amazing fact is that Dr. Siegel explains how in embryo our brain is created with an individual pattern which sets the foundation for our nervous system, and our responses to our environment and stresses throughout life.            Dr. Siegel urges us to cease the artificial separation of mental illness from physical illness and allow for more comprehensive organic care. The legal and political challenges are embedded in the issues of one's rights to choose. The contradiction is that in mental illness, the organ that makes decisions about choosing care, the brain, is the organ that is in disrepair and in need.  The answer to this dilemma is still hanging and unresolved.  According to Dr. Siegel, the younger generation who he is seeing at the University is melting away the stigma of mental health and approaching mental illness the same as physical illness.  It gives hope for more humane and effective policies in the future.   To Contact Dr. Steven Siegel, email - steven.siegel@med.usc.edu

It appears that what holds American society together has some serious cracks.  These fissures are the seemingly unchecked spread of extremism expressed in acts and words of hate and racism.  In this episode, Rev. Najuma of the University of Southern California's (USC) Center for Religion and Civic Culture (CRCC)addresses the recent recording of four Los Angeles, California, civic leaders released to the public which revealed disgusting and racist commentary while detailing a plot to manipulate voting districts.  This conversation broadcast to the local community played into the recipe for social chaos when leaders depended upon betray the public.  At the moment in American society there is the mix of a diminished faith in political leaders and certain segments of the society questioning the very legitimacy of elections.  Much is at stake in the coming months and years which will challenge America's viable future.  At CRCC, the great spiritual leader, Rev. Cecil R. Murray wrote, “our actions in these troubled times must be guided by A Declaration of Interdependence”.  For more information about the CRCC programs at USC, contact Rev. Najuma by email, damalism@USC.edu

In the wake of a leaked recording of a conversation by four Civic officials in Los Angeles, California, full of racist and demeaning words, many community leaders have stepped forward to respond. In this episode listeners will hear from Hyepin Im, the founder and President of FACE, Faith and Community Empowerment. It is an important and inspiring service organization connected to the 5000 Korean Churches, with a long menu of programming for all who are in need. Their efforts for others to promote home ownership, to secure employment and to help youth, contribute to a better community. At the same time that FACE's President Im is adding her voice to the outcry insisting that the officials on the recorded conversation resign their leadership positions, she is pleading for justice for those who committed most recently in Los Angeles a murderous attack against a defenseless Korean Shopkeeper, Tommy Lee, who lost his life during a robbery. Violent attacks against Asians continue as they have these last years. The despicable recorded conversation leaked to the public that has caused a civic crises in the City, feeds into the dehumanizing of certain groups undermining the very spirit that makes Los Angeles a diverse, dynamic array of people from all parts of the world. To contact the FACE organization - go to their website, www.facela.org