Hanging on for hope

Neil "Logik" Donaldson is a father, artist and community leader. He is the founder of Stolen From Africa an arts education organization and brand in Toronto with a focus on working with marginalized youths and families. His work ethic has landed him speaking engagements At Wilfred Laurier University, Concordia University, and George Brown College along with featured interviews with The Toronto Star, The Globe And Mail, MTV and Much Music.With over 15 years experience working within the youth sector, it is clear that Neil has a deep passion for youth engagement, community, education and the arts. To reach Neil to book his programming or find out more about his work go to https://www.stolenfromafrica.org/ If you or any youth you know want to connect with Neil you can follow him on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/logik416

Brenda Cernac is the leadhand of horticulture for Niagara parks commission. - Niagara parks school of horticulture diploma. -Florist certification from Niagara college . - arborist ISA Niagara parks arborist 8 years. Today she offered us some Practical support in there pandemic times on "How to Grow Your Own Food " You can reach her for support at Facebook Brenda Cernac or email brendaverhage@yahoo.ca or 9053212745 . She has asked if possible you make donations to your local Humane Society for her time.

Today my guest is Sana Atiq-Omar. She has a Master’s in Counselling Psychology with extensive experience working with people from diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds, and treating clients with a history of trauma. She has also worked with a wide range of ages (including children as young as preschool aged). She works with children from a child directed lens, letting them guide the process. Her experience includes co-creating a program for mothers and their young children, helping them create stronger bonds. Sana believes you are the expert of your life. Each person’s struggle is unique and therefore a one size fits all or “cookie cutter” therapy approach is not effective for most people. Her therapeutic approach is integrative, utilizing a combination of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), Dialectic Behaviour Therapy (DBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), mindfulness, art and play therapy. Join us we talk about what impacts our responses and what tools we can use to help ourselves and others! Please connect with Sana with her sliding scale Tele-therapy if needed! www.saocounselling.ca

Cheyanne Ratnam is a child advocate also has experience as a a post-secondary educator in the social services sector, and was the Phase 2 project coordinator at A Way Home Toronto (a City of Toronto and cross-sectoral community collaborative working with young people as key partners, stakeholders and decision makers regarding the formation of a cross-sectoral youth homelessness strategy for Toronto, in addition to an implementation and sustainability plan). Cheyanne is the primary investigator of the Family and Permanency Project/Study which previously engaged with young people in systems of care across Ontario to explore conceptualizations of permanency and family-making, and currently in the analysis and synthesis phase. She recently joined the Mosaic Institute as a Program Facilitator to deliver curriculum to high school students on complex themes such as inclusion, identity, prejudice, discrimination, and conflict resolution. Cheyanne is a founding member, and lead, of the Ontario Children's Advocacy Coalition, and is on the board of directors of both Scarborough West Community Legal Clinic and the Children's Aid Society of Toronto, as well as a member of the Children in Limbo Taskforce. Cheyanne is an independant consultant, advisor, facilitator, trainer, as well as public speaker, is an ambassador of the Children's Aid Foundation of Canada, and partakes in various communities through voluntary roles such as being the lead of the Gender Equity Committee and Working Group at the Tamil Center for Civic Action, advisor to ISEE Initiative (Tamil initiative regarding gender based violence), and sits on the stakeholder leadership table chaired by the former Ontario Child Advocate regarding advancing principles of the Child, Youth and Family Services Act. Previously, Cheyanne was the founder and co-manager of the "What’s The Map?!" project, mobilizing young people with lived experience of homelessness from the global south to nurture a more coordinated system through multi-governmental policy circles and cross-sectoral community engagement. Some topics she has experience in (lived experience and professional), and is highly passionate about include: youth homelessness, youth in/from the child welfare system, educational outcomes of vulnerable populations, childhood sexual abuse, youth development, mobilization and ethical engagement, equity issues and human rights issues regarding marginalized populations. Cheyanne holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in social work, and in 2016 she was the recipient of one of four highest accolades presented to York University’s Alumni — the Bryden ‘One To Watch’ Alumni Award ("A graduate who has made significant impact in their field and/or community within 15 years of a bachelor’s degree or 10 years of a professional/graduate degree").

Today guest is Patrick Nelson James and who goes by Nelly. He grew up in the Jane and Finch community of Toronto , Canada where he was exposed to a lot of things he should not have like killings, muggings, and drug dealing. He was even stabbed by his own blood brother! He grew up in a single parent household for most of his life and their was a lot of conflict, His circumstance caused depression and he turned to gangs, drugs and alcohol and got into a lot of fights. Today we will hear about how he has turned his life around and is helping others do the same. He has now authored two books and regularly speaks and mentors and has had his work acknowledged with awards!

Welcome to Hanging on For Hope , I am your host Andrea Page. Hanging on for hope is the stories about people working to overcome trauma and adversity. From incarceration to kids in crisis, postpartum depression, acute grief and loss and serious health challenges we hear from everyday people on what they going through and how they get through it. We also hear from experts on the latest strategies , supports , treatment and brain science for overcoming adverse life experiences and improving quality of life . Todays guest is Habeeb Alli Habeeb Alli studied at Queen's College, Guyana before he graduated with a Masters in Islamic Theology and Arabic Language from the famous Deoband Seminary, India. He also holds a Diploma in Journalism from Delhi. Habeeb is the author of nineteen books on Canadian Muslims and Contemporary Islam including the recent Underground Lines:150+Verses- celebrating Canada 150th plus anniversary. He is a member of the Canadian Council of Imams and served as Secretary for six years. Mr Alli serves as director at the Interfaith Committee called Abraham Festival in Peterborough. Imam Alli has presented on Islam in many conferences over the past twenty five years globally and was a regular contributor on Allexperts.com. He was recognized by the Junctian Network for Community Service in April 2017. He presently serves as Development Officer at Human Concern International- dedicated towards global humanitarian efforts and as a Federal Chaplain with Correctional Services Canada.

Todays guest is. Natalie Watson author of “15 years and 14 chapters, The Loss of My Son in 3 ways" Her book is the true story of her son Noah Matthew Watson, who tragically passed away while swimming with friends on May 30, 2018 in Welland, Ontario. Noah's story is a spell-binding account of love, survival, resilience and the unbreakable bonds that bind a mother and son, even after death. Throughout the course of this book, Noah's mother shares the story of her son's life from his birth to his death at the age of 14 and explores the relationship that she continues to have with him. By describing personal stories and accounts of the major events that shaped them both during the 15 years of Noah's life, Noah's mother provides a compelling account of her life and struggles as a single mother, how these challenges impacted Noah and how she survived the unspeakable tragedy of losing a child.

Todays guest is Kelsey Lemon She is. a 27 year old stay at home mother of a 5 year old son, Parker. She is also a recovering addict who is on the methadone program. Kelsey began using at 15 years old and Before she began using I was an A++ student who was in the gifted program who planned to be a lawyer or engineer. Kelsey is also a survivor of sexual assault by a family member. She has since been diagnosed and actively struggles with major depression, severe anxiety and insomnia and has had counsellors suggest she could be manic depressive but currently remains on a wait list for a psychiatrist to get an official diagnosis. Kelsey went to college for Journalism but didn't finish and is currently looking into college programs for Fall 2020. She has been in a relationship for over 6 years with her partner and sons father, Mitchell. As you can imagine she is still trying to figure everything out and learn to cope with her past while looking to the future. Kelsey has a lot of experience finding support and has tried almost every community program for addicts. She loves writing, hiking and bringing her son camping in the back country of our provincial parks. She remains hopeful for the future even though she is still actively struggling with her mental health and today she will share with us more about her story and pearls of wisdom about recovery. Thank you Kelsey for joining me!

Kelly Goring is a mother and a sex and relationship coach Today Kerry talk about how her and her blended family are working to over come traumatic brain injury in two of her children and what healing looks like for them https://kerrygoring.com/

Kelly Macnab , mother of 3 tells us about the experience of losing her adult son Isaiah tragically , atypical grief , and her families story of trying to recover from adverse life experiences .

Todays interview is with Kate White Kate White is an advanced bodyworker, perinatal educator, and somatic trauma resolution professional. She is a mother of two children, holds a BA and MA in Communication, a Registered Craniosacral Therapist in the Biodynamic Craniosacral method and a Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner. Her work combines somatic therapy, birth preparation, recovery from difficult birth, and somatic trauma resolution. She is the Founding Director of Education for the Association for Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology and helps administer an online program for parents and professionals who work with parents, runs a private practice, and offers her own seminars through the Center for Prenatal and Perinatal Programs, ppncenter.com. Today Kate and I discuss pre- cognitive childhood adverse experiences.

Welcome to Hanging on for Hope MAMA ( Motherhood and Mental Health Awareness )edition In todays episode we speak to Allison Bowman, She is a mom of 2 taking action in her own community with education and practical resources for every day moms. She is also a surviver of Perinatal Anxiety. The less talked about of Perinatal mood challenges. I have completed my Masters of Arts in Applied Health Science, Community Health. My thesis was designed to promote father involvement among new fathers in Niagara - the DadRocks study. My role as Community Manager for Life With A Baby allows me to address my interest in maternal and paternal mental health. The program is designed to reduce new parents social isolation. I have a passion for knowledge translation and health promotion, I would like to work in research in public or community health. My background as Research Coordinator, where I organized research studies on human participants, will provide me with the background needed to do this work.MA - Applied Health Science - with a passion for knowledge translation and health promotion! https://www.lifewithababy.com/Niagara-Region

In this episode I talk to Olivia Scobie about motherhood and mental health and she shares more about how trauma can effect or be caused by birth trauma , the window of tolerance and how to build resilience.

Jordan Case was a brilliant child with diagnosed special needs. His beautiful mind did not fit in the box and the ways he has been failed cannot all be mentioned in this podcast. Please listen and learn about how Jordan’s tragic end of life came to be through his courageous mother Angela Case

In this episode we talk with Jessica Robinson’s sister of Laura Straughan who passed away 10 years ago in custody from Pneumonia. We will learn about the circumstances surrounding her death as well as how Jessica has strengthened herself through healing over the last 10 years and growing to empower herself as an advocate for change .

From “Crisis To Custody” is the inaugural episode of “Hanging on for hope”. In this episode host Andrea Page shares some of her story and demonstrates why we all must become trauma informed in order to get to root causes and enact meaningful change socially and systemically .