Belonging

Belonging

In this episode of The Shadows We Cast, I sit down with Nikki Glahn, Founder and Executive Director of Barrie Families Unite, a grassroots organization dedicated to ensuring individuals and families have access to essential needs with dignity, compassion, and respect. What began as a local Facebook group during the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic has grown into a powerful community-driven movement supporting people experiencing poverty, housing insecurity, illness, trauma, addiction, and other life-altering challenges. Through practical support, community connection, and a commitment to preserving dignity, Barrie Families Unite has become a lifeline for many in the Barrie area. But this conversation is about more than community services. It's about the role connection, dignity, and belonging play in our mental wellbeing—and how healing is often supported not only through professional care, but through the communities that surround us. Together, Nikki and I explore the connection between poverty and mental health, the hidden toll of chronic stress and survival mode, and the ways community care can help restore hope when people feel isolated or overwhelmed. We discuss stigma, systemic gaps, the importance of meeting basic needs, and why belonging is far more than a feeling—it can be a powerful form of healing. This conversation is a reminder that mental health doesn't exist separately from the conditions people are trying to survive inside of. Safety matters. Stability matters. Dignity matters. And sometimes the most meaningful support comes from knowing you're not alone. In this episode, we discuss: • The origins of Barrie Families Unite during the pandemic • The connection between poverty, chronic stress, and mental health • Why dignity matters when people are seeking support • How community care can become a powerful mental health intervention • The hidden realities of survival mode and financial insecurity • Reducing stigma around asking for help • Building sustainable systems of support that strengthen communities • Why belonging can be a powerful part of healing About Nikki Glahn Nikki Glahn is a community-driven leader, creative thinker, and advocate for purpose-led work. Nikki brings clarity, compassion, and strategic vision to projects she leads. She is known for her ability to build meaningful connections, translate big ideas into practical action, and guide teams through growth with integrity and care. Rooted in a deep belief in equity, sustainability, and community wellbeing, her leadership style is collaborative and people-centred, balancing structure with creativity and accountability with empathy. Nikki is committed to creating environments where people feel empowered and respected. She is a proud mom of 2 amazing humans, a wife to one lucky guy and a dog mama to our furry family member. She enjoys travel, camping, curling, skiing, hiking and spending time with people who fill her cup! Connect with Barrie Families Unite Website: www.barriefamiliesunite.com [http://www.barriefamiliesunite.com/] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/barriefamiliesunite/ [https://www.instagram.com/barriefamiliesunite/] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/barrie-families-unite-b752872a1/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/barrie-families-unite-b752872a1/] YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@teambfu2939 [https://www.youtube.com/@teambfu2939] Host/Producer/Writer/Director: Jenn St John Editor: Andrew Schiller [https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-schiller-a1947151/] Website: www.jennstjohn.ca [http://www.jennstjohn.ca/] Follow along: Instagram: @jenn_stjohn [https://www.instagram.com/jenn_stjohn] LinkedIn: Jenn St John [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennstjohn] If this episode spoke to you, share it with someone who might need to hear it too. Subscribe, leave a review, or just send a little love—your support helps these conversations reach the people who need them most.

Release

In this episode of 'The Shadows We Cast', Jenn sits down with David Granirer — counselor, stand-up comic, and founder of Stand Up For Mental Health™ — to explore what it means to live for decades without language for what you’re carrying, and how laughter, storytelling, and connection can become unexpected pathways toward healing. David shares his experience living with bipolar disorder, the shame and isolation that followed his hospitalization as a teenager, and the reality of spending nearly twenty years living with undiagnosed depression before finally understanding what was happening beneath the surface. Together, Jenn and David explore: * the normalization of suffering and survival mode * the emotional exhaustion of pretending to be okay * the impact of finally being understood * how shame grows in silence * and why connection can change the way we carry pain The conversation also dives into David’s internationally recognized organization, Stand Up For Mental Health™, which teaches stand-up comedy to people living with mental health challenges. Over the past two decades, the program has helped hundreds of people transform some of the hardest moments of their lives into storytelling, confidence, community, and laughter. This episode is called 'Release' because at its heart, it’s a conversation about what happens when we stop carrying everything alone. Content note: This episode includes discussion of suicide, depression, and mental health hospitalization. Connect with David Granirer & Stand Up For Mental Health™ Website: www.standupformentalhealth.com [https://www.standupformentalhealth.com/] TikTok: @standupformentalhealth [https://www.tiktok.com/@standupformentalhealth] YouTube: @standupformentalhealth [https://www.youtube.com/@standupformentalhealth] Instagram: @smhgranirerdavid [https://www.instagram.com/smhgranirerdavid/] Guest Bio: David Granirer, RPC, M.S.M. is a counselor, stand-up comic, author, and founder of Stand Up For Mental Health™ (SMH), a program teaching stand-up comedy to people with mental health issues. David who himself suffers from bipolar is featured in the VOICE Award winning documentary Cracking Up. He also received a Life Unlimited Award from Depression Bipolar Support Alliance, an Award of Excellence from the National Council of Behavioral Health, a Champion of Mental Health Award, and a Meritorious Service Medal from the Governor General of Canada, and was recognized as one of the 150 Canadian Difference Makers in mental health. A sought after keynote speaker, he has worked with mental health organizations to perform and train SMH groups in over 50 cities in Canada, the U.S., and Australia. Host/Producer/Writer/Director: Jenn St John Editor: Andrew Schiller [https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-schiller-a1947151/] Website: www.jennstjohn.ca [http://www.jennstjohn.ca/] Follow along: Instagram: @jenn_stjohn [https://www.instagram.com/jenn_stjohn] LinkedIn: Jenn St John [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennstjohn] If this episode spoke to you, share it with someone who might need to hear it too. Subscribe, leave a review, or just send a little love—your support helps these conversations reach the people who need them most.

Embedded

Misty Pratt, author of All In Her Head: How Gender Bias Harms Women’s Mental Health, joins Jennifer St John for a layered conversation about women’s mental health, systemic bias, emotional inheritance, and the stories that become embedded in our bodies, relationships, and nervous systems over time. Together, they explore how women’s distress has historically been misunderstood, medicalized, and dismissed — from the legacy of hysteria to modern conversations around burnout, anxiety, mental load, and nervous system overwhelm. Misty reflects on her grandmother’s late-life psychotic break, her own experiences with panic attacks and anxiety, and the long process of understanding what her body had been trying to say before she had language for it. Jennifer shares reflections from her own family’s journey as the two discuss intergenerational trauma, invisible labor, somatic healing, and the pressure many women feel to “hold it all together.” This conversation explores: • Gender bias in medicine and mental health care • The history and lasting legacy of hysteria • Burnout, mental load, and invisible labor • Anxiety, panic attacks, and nervous system dysregulation • Somatic therapy and body-based healing • Intergenerational trauma and emotional inheritance • Rest, boundaries, and adaptive coping • Why healing is both personal and systemic This episode is thoughtful, honest, and deeply validating — especially for listeners who have ever felt like their exhaustion, anxiety, or overwhelm was something they simply needed to “fix” within themselves. Connect with Misty Pratt: Website: Misty Pratt Official Website [https://www.mistypratt.com/?utm_source=chatgpt.com] Instagram & Threads: @mistyprattwriter LinkedIn: mistypratt Substack: Misty Pratt Substack [https://mistypratt.substack.com/?utm_source=chatgpt.com] Host/Producer/Writer/Director: Jenn St John Editor: Andrew Schiller [https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-schiller-a1947151/] Website: www.jennstjohn.ca [http://www.jennstjohn.ca/] Follow along: Instagram: @jenn_stjohn [https://www.instagram.com/jenn_stjohn] LinkedIn: Jenn St John [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennstjohn] If this episode spoke to you, share it with someone who might need to hear it too. Subscribe, leave a review, or just send a little love—your support helps these conversations reach the people who need them most.

Regulate

In this episode, Jenn St John sits down with psychotherapist and trauma expert Jenifer Freedy for a deeply grounding conversation about nervous systems, survival patterns, and what it really means to regulate. Together, they explore how chronic stress, trauma, and emotionally unsafe environments shape the way we move through the world long after the original danger has passed. Jenifer shares powerful insights into the nervous system — including the now widely recognized “fight, flight, freeze” responses — and explains why so many of us live stuck in states of hypervigilance, shutdown, over-functioning, or emotional exhaustion without fully understanding why. Jenn and Jenifer also talk candidly about parenting, grief, high-functioning survival, and the ways unresolved wounds can quietly surface in relationships and everyday moments. Throughout the conversation, Jenifer offers compassionate, practical tools for slowing down, reconnecting with the body, and learning how to return to ourselves with less shame and more awareness. This episode is a reminder that regulation isn’t about perfection or staying calm all the time. It’s about understanding that our nervous systems learned to protect us — and that healing begins when we stop seeing those responses as failures, and start seeing them with compassion. Topics discussed include: • Nervous system regulation • Trauma and chronic stress • Fight, flight, freeze, and shutdown responses • Parenting and generational patterns • Somatic therapy and polyvagal theory • Emotional safety and self-awareness • High-functioning survival patterns • Grief, healing, and repair About Jenifer Freedy: Jenifer Freedy is a psychotherapist and trauma expert with more than 25 years of experience working in the fields of trauma, grief, and loss. Her work integrates somatic therapy, parts work, and polyvagal (nervous system) principles to help clients better understand the connection between the body, trauma, and healing. She also provides professional trainings and supervision, and her upcoming book, Reclaiming What Was Lost, focused on healing from childhood sexual abuse, will be released in Fall 2026 through New Harbinger Publishing. Connect with Jenifer: Website: www.jeniferfreedy.com [http://www.jeniferfreedy.com/] Instagram: @jeniferfreedy_psychotherapist LinkedIn: Jenifer Freedy If this episode resonated with you, please consider following, sharing, or leaving a review. These conversations help remind people they are not alone. Host/Producer/Writer/Director: Jenn St John Editor: Andrew Schiller [https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-schiller-a1947151/] Website: www.jennstjohn.ca [http://www.jennstjohn.ca/] Follow along: Instagram: @jenn_stjohn [https://www.instagram.com/jenn_stjohn] LinkedIn: Jenn St John [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennstjohn] If this episode spoke to you, share it with someone who might need to hear it too. Subscribe, leave a review, or just send a little love—your support helps these conversations reach the people who need them most.

Legacy

In this episode, I sit down with Caitlin Morrison, Executive Director of the Matthew Perry House, to talk about the experience of loving someone through the illness of addiction — and what it means to carry that experience forward after loss. There’s a version of this story we don’t talk about very often. The one where someone you love spends years struggling, finally finds their way to recovery… and then is gone. Together, we explore what families often carry behind the scenes: the early signs that something isn’t quite right, the cycles of hope and disappointment, and the emotional weight of trying to support someone you can’t “fix.” This conversation also moves beyond the personal into something deeply hopeful — the work Caitlin is leading through the Matthew Perry House, a first-of-its-kind transitional housing initiative in Ottawa focused on long-term, community-based recovery. Grounded in the understanding of addiction as a medical illness, this model addresses a critical gap in care: what happens after treatment ends. This is a conversation about love, grief, understanding — and legacy. In this episode, we talk about: * What families often notice before they have language for addiction * The cycles of hope, relapse, and emotional impact on loved ones * The limits of control — and what “support” can really look like * Reframing addiction as an illness, not a failure * Recovery, and the part we don’t often talk about * The vision behind the Matthew Perry House and long-term recovery support About Caitlin: Caitlin Morrison is the Executive Director of the Matthew Perry House, carrying forward her brother Matthew Perry’s legacy by advocating for long-term recovery support. With a deep commitment to breaking down stigma and improving access to resources, Caitlin has played a pivotal role in the development of the Matthew Perry House Ottawa, a first-of-its-kind transitional housing initiative. Learn more: 🌐 https://matthewperryhouse.ca [https://matthewperryhouse.ca/] 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/matthewperryhouse [https://www.instagram.com/matthewperryhouse] 🎧 Follow, share, and help these conversations reach more people. Host/Producer/Writer/Director: Jenn St John Editor: Andrew Schiller [https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-schiller-a1947151/] Website: www.jennstjohn.ca [http://www.jennstjohn.ca/] Follow along: Instagram: @jenn_stjohn [https://www.instagram.com/jenn_stjohn] LinkedIn: Jenn St John [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennstjohn] If this episode spoke to you, share it with someone who might need to hear it too. Subscribe, leave a review, or just send a little love—your support helps these conversations reach the people who need them most.