CHAN PODCAST

Ericka Davis - CHAN Project Opioid Awareness Program Lead: An Eye-Opening Journey Through Childhood Grief and Addiction

Today's episode is with our very own Ericka Davis, who by the time our episode airs, has graduated her program with Western Washington University and earned her bachelor's degree in Human Services.  She fulfills the Opioid Awareness Middle School Program Lead role with the CHAN Project, and she comes on today's episode to share her story of what brought her to intern with the CHAN Project, remain with us through a full year of internships, and to stay on as a Lead Volunteer seeing our Middle School Program through. Ericka's story starts with being born from a biological parent who used while Ericka was in utero, who then chose to put Ericka up for adoption and falsify papers, therefore misinforming her adoptive parents of any possible fetal substance or alcohol issues.  Upon losing her grandmother at a very early age, and succumbing to self medicating options for numbing the grief and future pain, Ericka finds herself on a long journey through ups and downs that bring even the strongest individual to their knees.  She shares of her highs and lows, and why she joined our team and remains a strong part of the CHAN Project and why she chose to share her story on the CHAN Podcast. We hope you'll share in her story and gain insight from it. Namaste' Ericka and Heather, and the CHAN Family You can reach Ericka at info@Chanproject.org

Kate Russell, Author: Shares Her Journey in Writing Down the Rabbit Hole

Author Kate Russell speaks with Heather to share her story growing up in a dysfunctional household with two parents living addicted and abusive lifestyles, who at five years old welcomes her baby sister who later suffers multiple disorders of her own.  Kate goes on to share the struggles she overcomes from the mothering she takes on of her sibling, to the trauma she undergoes day after day of abuse under the care of two parents who are struggling with addiction of their own, a workaholic father in the theatrical business, an abusive mother, a grandmother who is her savior and one bit of normalcy in her life, and then a trail of addiction in which she falls into herself.  Kate shares her story of down the rabbit hole and back out to the other side and how her story just might save you as well.  Join us and please, dive into her book, Down the Rabit Hole, in paperback or audible version, read by Kate herself. Her stories are pure and raw and help build awareness.  I appreciate her books as I believe they spread awareness.  She will also be back to share about her second book Voicemails From My Sister  stories of a schizoaffective sibling. You can find Kate at: www.katerussellauthor.com and her books are available on Amazon and on Audible - narrated by Kate.

Megan Fenyoe, Founder/CEO I Am Enough: When 8 out of 10 Women Believe They Are Not Enough, Megan Assures They Are

Eight out of ten women don't think they are good enough, but cognitive restructuring can help us gain the wisdom and confidence that we are. because we are.  Megan Fenyoe is the Founder and CEO of the I AM ENOUGH movement™ Nonprofit Organization, she has been a Licensed Mental Health Therapist for over 15 years and in 2013 found herself involved in a narcissistic abusive marriage. Megan felt so damaged and empty.  When she tapped into her inner being, the only message she received was “you’re not good enough.” Through the journey of leaving her husband, discovering that she was always enough, and launching the  I AM ENOUGH movement™ in 2019, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, we were lucky enough to chat with her here on the CHAN Podcast. Here international community of survivors inspire each other to turn fear into safety and helplessness into strength, building each other up as they know they are enough. In our discussion she reveals her five steps to discovering that you are enough: Discovering who you are; Visualizing your passion and purpose; Grounding yourself; Creating your strength plan; and Strengthening your healthy habits. She shares these steps, how to work through them, and the difficulty females have with getting this done, our self sabotaging behaviors and vulnerability. We'll discuss affirmations, in fact her 100 free affirmations right on her website, self talk and so much more.  Tune in and learn how to restructure your brain so that you can help to reduce these numbers from 8 to 7 to 6 then 5 and 4 and 3, 2, 1, so that all women will know one day, We Are Enough!  Say it, We Are Enough! Namaste Heather and Megan You can reach Megan at:

Christian Carbajal, BSHS Graduate Shares Art as a Tool for Emotional Wellness

Join Host Heather Giron Fritts with Guest and Artist Christian Carbajal as he shares his journey through substance use and emotional challenges and how he has turned to art as a practice to calm his mind and stay clear of substance use and move toward creativity.  Christian, one of Heather's very first students at Western Washington University, inspired Heather's move toward a podcast with the CHAN Project when Covid 19 shut down the University's in person coursework in 2020.   Christian was in one of Heather's courses that was gearing up for a final presentation and students moved to online presentations.  Christian requested to present a podcast to which Heather approved and when he did so, she was delighted at the strategy when he presented a full 60 minute episode that he hosted with a panel of young men who shared their own struggles with mental health and substance use and how they had used art as a medium to become clean and heal their mental wellness. This in and of itself inspired the thoughts around the CHAN Podcast and therefore created the platform to bring Christian on as one of our very first guests. We hope you'll enjoy this episode of the CHAN Podcast.

Robert Kanter, International Recovery Advocate: A Discussion on Recovery Advocacy and the Opioid Epidemic

Robert Kanter, International Recovery Advocate addressing the drug overdose epidemic speaks with us today on the CHAN Podcast about his journey through recovery and on to becoming an International Advocate speaking out against the Opioid Epidemic.  He brings his vast knowledge to the discussion around AUD and SUD, as well as treatments such as the acclaimed Portugal Model and CDC statistics. We discuss the past and current lawsuits, Purdue Pharma and legislation and trends, including the U.S. House (HS433 [https://buchanan.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/us-house-passes-buchanan-backed-bill-combat-opioid-epidemic]) legislation supported by Congressman Vern Buchanan to provide states with much-needed resources to combat the opioid crisis.  Robert wants a takeaway from this discussion to be what parents and families should know about compassionate conversations with loved ones and how to have these, where to gain the knowledge and access help and resources. We discuss the stigmas, gratitude and Robert's thoughts on addiction being a family disease. Tune in for a bit of wisdom from Robert through experience and gained knowledge over the years of his and his daughter's journeys. You can reach Robert directly at: robert@robertkanter.org Robert G. Kanter | LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertkanter/] For Episode Transcript and Blog - Go to the CHAN Project - https://www.chanproject.org/podcast-1