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Jayne Amelia talks with therapist Dr. Mimi Savage.
In this episode Mimi describes her upbringing: "My parents are not who I am. My mother's a white woman, my father's a black man. I am born of the two of them, a melange, a mixture. But I had to find my way. And it's not just about race. As I say this to your listeners, everyone needs to find their way. And it's foster care, it's psychiatric units, it's the world, it's the women on skid row whom I've become very close to, many of those women. It's all of us finding our way. We have to have empathy, but we have to be careful about owning other people's stories. So that's what I mean about I have my biases and to check myself to do my own work around that. I usually do it through some sort of art practice. And how is it that I can be of assistance to others? There was a point in my life, it was a difficult point in my life where things just were all falling apart. And I remember I made a promise to the gods that if I could get through this and I've never really shared this with anyone publicly that I really, please help me get through this. And my goal is to just be of service. And also trauma. Trauma from foster care, trauma from wherever the trauma comes from. When I was on skid row, everyone there had trauma. And I thought at first that I wasn't as connected to homeless folks, but it turns out I found out I had a lot in common with them. Really? Again, I wasn't conscious. So I think part of this is also becoming conscious. Becoming conscious and being authentic to oneself and how all of that is part of healing. Yeah, that's what I discovered on skid row that I was very much akin to all the women that I was working with there."

Myriam Savage, Ph.D., RDT/BCT is a registered drama therapist and board-certified trainer. Her alma maters include Lesley University, Cal State University LA, Princeton University and The Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre, NYC. She has developed drama and expressive therapy programs in acute inpatient units for children and adults for several years and facilitated neuro-diverse populations, homeless women, adolescents in residential rehabilitation and children in educational settings. Dr. Savage is a core faculty member of Counseling & EXA and founding faculty of UCLArts and Healing Social Emotional Arts (SEA), a manualized professional development program that instructs on therapeutic uses of the expressive arts. She is founder/director of SoCal Drama Therapy Center, mentoring an international student body of professionals earning RDT credentials.
Serving as Education Chair for the North American Drama Therapy Association (NADTA) (2019-2021), she devised the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Initiative, coordinating NADTA outreach to HBCU’s in order to positively affect Black diaspora inclusion and education within drama/expressive therapies fields.
A recipient of a Drama Therapy Fund Professional Research Grant, her published work and conference presentations focus on adoption from foster care and intersections of identity using narrative inquiry and novel narrative arts-based digital media interventions. http://www.SoCalDramatherapycenter.com

LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/mimi-savage-phd-rdt-bct-b0179931/

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Jayne Amelia talks with Nia Garcia. The smart and lovely Nia Garcia is a former foster youth who was abused by her drug addicted mother and stepfather who then threw out of her family home when she was only 13... she ended up living in shelters after several foster homes, then on the streets. She self-harmed for many years and then got addicted to meth to try to numb her pain, but with a lot of hard work and determination she’s now recovered and has made herself a new and happy life. She’s learned how to protect herself and really take care of herself, and now she takes care of her brothers too.
iFoster: Helping Kids In Foster Care Reach Their Full Potential
Child Protective Services
Child Welfare Information Gateway to report abuse
Nia Garcia: Is today the day? And if not today-when? "It's my experience that people are a lot more sympathetic if they can see you hurting, and for the millionth time in life I wish for measles or smallpox or some other easily understood disease just to make it easier on me and also on them. Sometimes there’s beauty in the tough words- it's all how you read them. We are all alone, trapped in these bodies and our own minds, and whatever company we have in this life is only fleeting and superficial. I know myself well enough to know that no one else can keep you awake or keep you from sleeping. I do my best thinking at night when everyone else is sleeping. No interruptions. No noise. I like the feeling of being awake when no one else is. Stars in the sky, stars on the ground. It's hard to tell where the sky ends and the earth begins. I feel the need to say something grand and poetic, but the only thing I come up with is “it's lovely.” Sorry is a waste time. You have to live your life like you’ll never be sorry. It’s easier just to do the right thing from the start so there’s nothing to apologize for. You deserve better. I can’t promise you I’ll stay around, not because I don’t want to. It’s hard to explain. I’m a fuckup. I’m broken, no one can fix it. I’ve tried. I’m still trying. I can’t love anyone because it’s not fair to anyone who loves me back. I’ll never hurt you, not like I want to hurt her. But I can’t promise you I won’t pick you apart, piece by piece, until you’re in a thousand pieces, just like me. You should know what you’re getting into before getting involved. Listen, I’m a freak. I’m a weirdo. I’m the troublemaker. I start fights. I let people down. Don’t make Nia mad, whatever you do. Oh, there she goes again, in one of her moods. Moody Nia. Angry Nia. Unpredictable Nia. Crazy Nia. But I’m not a complication of symptoms. Not a casualty of shitty parents and an even shittier chemical makeup. Not a problem. Not a diagnosis. Not an illness. Not something to be rescued. I’m a person. But I bring it up to let you know that this is the way I feel right now. Like Pluto and Jupiter are aligned with the earth and I’m floating. The future is uncertain, but that can be a good thing. I have this feeling, like I’m waiting for something. But I have no idea what. The thing is, there are good days and bad days. I feel most guilty saying they aren’t all bad. It’s okay to laugh, you know. The earth’s not going to split open. You’re not going to hell. Believe me. If there is a hell, I’ll be ther

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Jayne Amelia speaks with the powerhouse Leslie Nolan who was trafficked at a young age after fleeing an abusive family; she eventually put her father in jail for his sexual abuse to prevent him from abusing others.
"Leslie Nolan is the Design and Wellness Labs Associate Lab Leader at Karana Rising. She assists the Design and Wellness team in the execution of workshops, programs, and launches. She is a survivor of childhood, verbal, and emotional abuse, as well as sexual assault and a familial cult. She spent years of her early adulthood wandering aimlessly looking for a place of peace, and healing, and through God and his community she eventually found that. She spent years healing and growing a relationship with God, fellowship in the church, in therapy, with self-reflection and hard work. In recent years, she has pursued a Public Speaking career, and she has co-founded the Global Survivor Collaborative and partnered with various organizations to provide and participate in Human Trafficking awareness trainings and discussions.

Leslie has managed various salons in Maryland, and is currently a partner at Crochet Braids and Weaves by Blessed and a H&R Manager/ Lead Stylist in the past of Essential Beauty Spa---the first natural hair salon to pioneer the natural hair movement servicing various local celebrities including OWN TV Star, Motivational Speaker & Author Iyanla Vanzant. She credits Jesus her Lord & Savior for her success, believing that through him he guides her and helps her grow in the best possible way."

FAIR Girls
Free Tiffany Simpson
Global Center on Human Trafficking at Montclair State University

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Jayne Amelia speaks with former foster youth Jeremiah McWright. Jeremiah is from Sacramento, California. At 15, his four siblings and he were removed from their family and put into the system. After two years and 15 placements, Jeremiah was shipped to a low-level group home in San Francisco. He started his career at 17 in San Francisco as a cinematographer for the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy. He's since spent over 2000 hours behind the camera in situations of every kind; find his work here. Soon after moving, he joined the San Francisco chapter of California Youth Connection, a rather large (30 chapters in CA) non-for-profit responsible for the top foster care legislation in California. After graduating from San Diego State University, he moved to Los Angeles to work out of the Wolf of Wall Street's mansion. Now a recruiter for Amazon Prime Video, he's managed - at the ripe age of 24 - proven himself to be a successful statistic. To connect with Jeremiah regarding interviews, business, or general questions, reach him at [email protected].

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremiahmcwright/

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Jayne Amelia speaks with CASA volunteer and book publisher, Rachel Malley. Rachel started volunteering as a Court Appointed Special Advocate in 2019 when she learned about the power of best-interest advocacy for children who have experienced abuse or neglect. During that time she has worked with three wonderful children, and witnessed the ups and downs of Care and Protection cases. At the time of this writing, all the of the three children are in loving and supportive homes. In addition to her role as a CASA, for the last five years Rachel has worked with children’s book author Ty Allan Jackson to promote literacy and financial literacy around the country. Now a co-owner of the small but very impactful publishing company, Rachel is passionate about getting kids excited about reading through Ty’s fun, contemporary books featuring characters of color. Together, they collaborate with educators, non-profits, and cities to reach the children most impacted by illiteracy, and through this work are trying to end the associated cycles of poverty, poor health, and crime. Rachel lives in Western Massachusetts with her wonderful partner and their adorable four-year-old son.

tyallanjackson.com
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