Investing in Mental Health and Combating Trauma, ft Nancy Brooks (NAMI Louisville) and Donna Pollard (Survivors' Corner)

Robert chats with two local mental health and advocacy experts - Nancy Brooks and Donna Pollard - to explore combating isolation, fear, anxiety in quarantine, intergenerational trauma, and cultural obstacles to mental health resources and healing.

Content warning: discussion of suicide and suicidal ideation, child abuse, addiction, police brutality, domestic violence, and sexual assault.

Nancy Brooks has been the executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness in Louisville since 2017. A Louisville native, she’s passionate about advocacy at the local and state level for the needs of those being served by NAMI. Nancy is an experienced non-profit director with a history in community development, education, and the arts.

Donna Pollard dares to believe in a world where young girls can be free from abuse and exploitation. A native of Kentucky -- a state burdened with thousands of cases of abuse and a history of child marriage -- she is leading the charge for change. Donna successfully advocated for improved legislation in her home state and many others that put an end to child marriage through parental consent and continues to advocate for this protective change both nationally and internationally. She most recently traveled to Finland as the keynote speaker for the Zonta International Centennial Conference, shedding light on the devastating implications of child marriage and critically needed global reform. As a survivor herself, Donna realizes the need for healing, support, and encouragement for past victims. She founded Survivors’ Corner, a nonprofit that empowers those ready to share their survival experiences with the goal of breaking abusive cycles and challenging policies and laws that perpetuate crimes against women and children. Her journey through the trauma of child marriage and exploitation can be accessed through the A&E Documentary, "I Was a Child Bride," interviews and articles in Good Housekeeping, Glamour, NPR, Stateline, Fox News, US News and World Report, PBS, CBS News, the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting, the Lexington Herald-Leader, and the Louisville Courier-Journal, among many other national and international outlets, such as The Guardian and Daily Mail. She is a frequent panelist, speaker, and trainer, and has given numerous keynote speeches as well as testimony before legislative committees. Donna is a mother of two girls, a business professional, and an avid advocate for child welfare.

📚 Resources:

NAMI Louisville: https://namilouisville.org/

Survivors Corner: https://survivorscorner.org/

Actors Theatre of Louisville: https://actorstheatre.org

https://www.facebook.com/ActorsTheatreofLouisville

📷 Instagram: @actorstheatre, @robertbarryfleming

🐦 Twitter: @atlouisville, @flemingrobertb3

Produced by Kathryn de la Rosa and Elizabeth Greenfield

Edited by Paul Doyle

Cover art by Mary Kate Grimes

Original music by Omega Latham III

Opening song written & performed by Erica Denise