WEBVTT 00:00:07.980 --> 00:00:11.119 Welcome to her comeback. I'm so glad you're back 00:00:11.119 --> 00:00:14.339 with me. This is where 50 isn't your finish line. 00:00:14.460 --> 00:00:17.420 It is your starting point. The starting point 00:00:17.420 --> 00:00:20.140 of everything you want your life to be. The person 00:00:20.140 --> 00:00:23.410 that you are meant to be. I'm your host Michelle 00:00:23.410 --> 00:00:27.070 Thompson, and we are proving that your best chapter 00:00:27.070 --> 00:00:30.350 may just be the one you haven't written yet. 00:00:31.109 --> 00:00:34.009 We'll continue each episode featuring honest 00:00:34.009 --> 00:00:36.770 conversation with women who have stopped going 00:00:36.770 --> 00:00:39.369 at it alone and have found their way to fulfillment, 00:00:39.810 --> 00:00:43.149 joy, and purpose in their second act. You'll 00:00:43.149 --> 00:00:45.729 hear about their struggles, their breakthroughs, 00:00:45.729 --> 00:00:48.750 and the practical steps that they took to create 00:00:48.750 --> 00:00:52.520 lives that they actually love. This podcast will 00:00:52.520 --> 00:00:55.140 show you how other women have made their comeback 00:00:55.140 --> 00:00:59.460 and how you can too. Welcome back. Good day, 00:00:59.560 --> 00:01:03.159 everyone. Welcome to her comeback. I am so happy 00:01:03.159 --> 00:01:07.560 to have Dr. Antoinette Cruz with us today. She's 00:01:07.560 --> 00:01:10.500 such an amazing lady. I had the privilege of 00:01:10.500 --> 00:01:12.959 meeting her last year and have really gotten 00:01:12.959 --> 00:01:16.359 to know her over the past few months. And she 00:01:16.359 --> 00:01:20.719 amazes me. Dr. Antoinette, welcome. Thank you, 00:01:20.840 --> 00:01:23.420 Michelle. Thank you so much. Glad to be here. 00:01:24.519 --> 00:01:27.180 Thank you for coming on. Would you tell our audience 00:01:27.180 --> 00:01:30.359 a little bit more about yourself? Sure. Yeah. 00:01:30.799 --> 00:01:34.579 So I am what Floridians call a Northerner. My 00:01:34.579 --> 00:01:37.019 husband and I relocated to Southwest Florida 00:01:37.019 --> 00:01:42.980 in 2016 from Pennsylvania proper. We lived in 00:01:42.980 --> 00:01:47.359 Ann Arbor, Rochester, Michigan. I am a first 00:01:47.359 --> 00:01:50.620 -generation doctor. I completed my clinical work 00:01:50.620 --> 00:01:54.310 at the University of Michigan. taught at Columbia 00:01:54.310 --> 00:01:58.450 University. And also this is where I really gained 00:01:58.450 --> 00:02:01.549 a lot of the clinical understanding and the dual 00:02:01.549 --> 00:02:05.329 diagnosis, understanding how the chronic and 00:02:05.329 --> 00:02:08.169 the health and wellness go together. And then 00:02:08.169 --> 00:02:12.370 started outreach work in Michigan. And on my 00:02:12.370 --> 00:02:14.729 show here, we talk about women who have recreated 00:02:14.729 --> 00:02:16.689 their life and had different transformations. 00:02:16.789 --> 00:02:19.930 And you are certainly a beautiful example of 00:02:19.930 --> 00:02:23.490 that. So I'm going to ask you just if you And 00:02:23.490 --> 00:02:27.590 I wanted to talk first about what led you from 00:02:27.590 --> 00:02:31.289 the traditional clinical social work into this 00:02:31.289 --> 00:02:35.189 integrated body -centered approach to trauma 00:02:35.189 --> 00:02:37.110 recovery. Can you talk about that journey a little 00:02:37.110 --> 00:02:40.789 bit? I think what I learned, number one, was 00:02:40.789 --> 00:02:43.229 understood on a greater level managed care and 00:02:43.229 --> 00:02:46.090 how managed care drives the quality of care. 00:02:46.389 --> 00:02:48.810 But I think the other piece that I really learned 00:02:48.810 --> 00:02:53.409 was that we were just having conversations about 00:02:53.409 --> 00:02:56.409 symptoms and what people were experiencing, as 00:02:56.409 --> 00:02:58.569 opposed to really getting to the nitty gritty 00:02:58.569 --> 00:03:02.310 of what was the cause of the distress or the 00:03:02.310 --> 00:03:04.469 impairment that was preventing people to really 00:03:04.469 --> 00:03:08.280 fully live. and not just survive. That was Michelle, 00:03:08.500 --> 00:03:11.620 the catalyst for, okay, there's got to be something 00:03:11.620 --> 00:03:14.500 else. There's something that we're not missing 00:03:14.500 --> 00:03:17.360 here. And then, of course, I had come from the 00:03:17.360 --> 00:03:21.159 University of Michigan, so I had gained so much 00:03:21.159 --> 00:03:25.219 knowledge from the understanding of trauma. and 00:03:25.219 --> 00:03:28.979 the impact of traumatic events in the lives of 00:03:28.979 --> 00:03:32.740 humans. And so that was where this trajectory 00:03:32.740 --> 00:03:35.240 started. It really started while I was in my 00:03:35.240 --> 00:03:38.099 clinical studies and really didn't even understand 00:03:38.099 --> 00:03:40.800 until I landed here in Southwest Florida. And 00:03:40.800 --> 00:03:43.939 that was when it truly manifested. And what happened 00:03:43.939 --> 00:03:50.219 was Hurricane Irma hit in 2017. And I experienced 00:03:50.219 --> 00:03:54.969 Irma, the darkness, power out at night. when 00:03:54.969 --> 00:03:56.849 you couldn't see anything, but you could hear 00:03:56.849 --> 00:03:59.909 the sounds of this howling wind. Those kinds 00:03:59.909 --> 00:04:02.229 of things you don't forget. Those are imprints. 00:04:02.310 --> 00:04:05.030 They leave imprints in the body. And I was still 00:04:05.030 --> 00:04:07.969 at the time working for one of the larger behavioral 00:04:07.969 --> 00:04:11.550 health agencies, but I think what was really 00:04:11.550 --> 00:04:14.110 telling for me was the fact that there was no 00:04:14.110 --> 00:04:18.149 plan for people who were preparing for a large 00:04:18.149 --> 00:04:22.290 or major storm to hit. There was really no, okay, 00:04:22.620 --> 00:04:25.339 Here's the safety plan. What's your safety plan? 00:04:25.379 --> 00:04:27.839 But more importantly, our agency is closing. 00:04:29.139 --> 00:04:32.839 There was no plan for people to prepare for care 00:04:32.839 --> 00:04:35.860 or how they would even care for themselves during 00:04:35.860 --> 00:04:38.879 the storm. Before the storm, okay, grab the water, 00:04:39.120 --> 00:04:42.160 grab the propane, grab the batteries. But there 00:04:42.160 --> 00:04:45.639 was really no mental health preparedness kit. 00:04:45.939 --> 00:04:48.019 And so that was the piece that really stayed 00:04:48.019 --> 00:04:51.560 with me. Here's the other piece. So how did we 00:04:51.560 --> 00:04:55.060 transition today to the work that we're doing? 00:04:55.180 --> 00:04:58.420 We started working with individuals experiencing 00:04:58.420 --> 00:05:02.040 severe and persistent mental health issues. We 00:05:02.040 --> 00:05:04.860 helped them get connected to disability benefits, 00:05:04.959 --> 00:05:08.379 which ultimately allowed them to be able to afford 00:05:08.379 --> 00:05:10.920 housing. We're helping to close the gap here 00:05:10.920 --> 00:05:13.860 in Lee County as it relates to homelessness. 00:05:14.139 --> 00:05:19.339 And we know that without Housing, the probability 00:05:19.339 --> 00:05:22.639 of helping a person really become self -sufficient 00:05:22.639 --> 00:05:26.279 is more challenging. So people need basics, food, 00:05:26.740 --> 00:05:30.560 shelter, recognition, emotions, emotional care, 00:05:30.620 --> 00:05:35.459 love, just acceptance. So Hurricane Irma hit. 00:05:35.939 --> 00:05:38.680 We were seeing people who were just out and about 00:05:38.680 --> 00:05:42.160 just really lost their neighborhoods, their families, 00:05:42.339 --> 00:05:46.120 dislocated. And as we continued to do our work, 00:05:46.279 --> 00:05:50.120 We learned a lot about our mental health care 00:05:50.120 --> 00:05:52.040 system here in Southwest Florida. We learned 00:05:52.040 --> 00:05:54.660 about what managed care would and would not pay. 00:05:54.920 --> 00:06:01.839 And at the time we were 50 out of 50. as far 00:06:01.839 --> 00:06:04.839 as mental health care spending back at that time 00:06:04.839 --> 00:06:07.639 frame. I mean, at the bottom of the list. Yeah, 00:06:07.680 --> 00:06:09.980 the investment in mental health care here in 00:06:09.980 --> 00:06:12.540 Southwest Florida was really, it just seemed 00:06:12.540 --> 00:06:14.899 to not be a priority. Even though our county 00:06:14.899 --> 00:06:17.459 officials were aware of the issues, people were 00:06:17.459 --> 00:06:21.620 really concerned, it just wasn't making the top 00:06:21.620 --> 00:06:24.819 of the list. And so we decided, okay, so what 00:06:24.819 --> 00:06:27.639 can we do to help and support our county, is 00:06:27.639 --> 00:06:31.069 that we would begin to... just understand on 00:06:31.069 --> 00:06:34.110 a greater level. So taking the data that we receive 00:06:34.110 --> 00:06:37.089 who were diagnosed with a mental health concern, 00:06:37.389 --> 00:06:39.689 really try to understand, okay, what is the core 00:06:39.689 --> 00:06:43.670 of this trauma? Why do we see this revolving 00:06:43.670 --> 00:06:48.829 door of symptoms and behaviors? And so what happens 00:06:48.829 --> 00:06:52.410 is that you see a person... who has had a traumatic 00:06:52.410 --> 00:06:54.910 event in their life. And usually what happens 00:06:54.910 --> 00:06:57.110 is there's some sort of coping mechanism, whether 00:06:57.110 --> 00:07:00.790 it be negative, like say alcohol or some sort 00:07:00.790 --> 00:07:03.970 of substances. So the substance was the primary 00:07:03.970 --> 00:07:06.949 diagnosis when really the schizophrenia should 00:07:06.949 --> 00:07:09.889 have been the primary treatment that we were 00:07:09.889 --> 00:07:13.129 really trying to accomplish with the individual. 00:07:13.290 --> 00:07:17.389 So. Oftentimes in the traditional systems, medication 00:07:17.389 --> 00:07:21.170 is also provided as a way to help with some of 00:07:21.170 --> 00:07:24.490 the symptoms. But as symptoms do not get to those 00:07:24.490 --> 00:07:27.649 root causes. And so that was where what I really 00:07:27.649 --> 00:07:30.209 became concerned about. And I was really focused 00:07:30.209 --> 00:07:33.670 on vulnerable populations, which are our children 00:07:33.670 --> 00:07:36.889 and seniors and people with disabilities. So 00:07:36.889 --> 00:07:39.639 we were really focused in that area. However, 00:07:39.740 --> 00:07:41.720 when you open your door and you're a nonprofit 00:07:41.720 --> 00:07:44.459 organization here, you get everything. Everybody 00:07:44.459 --> 00:07:46.680 comes in because people just need help. They 00:07:46.680 --> 00:07:49.980 don't know where to go. Fast forward to Hurricane 00:07:49.980 --> 00:07:54.459 Ian 2022. We have become very active with FEMA, 00:07:54.699 --> 00:07:57.860 working with the county. We were called into 00:07:57.860 --> 00:08:00.980 the disaster shelters, the public and the medical. 00:08:01.420 --> 00:08:04.319 Three days after the storm, just being there, 00:08:04.540 --> 00:08:08.540 working side by side with Red Cross. And we learned 00:08:08.540 --> 00:08:12.279 a lot there as well, being right in the mix of 00:08:12.279 --> 00:08:16.259 a public response to a major hurricane, cat four. 00:08:16.759 --> 00:08:19.860 And it was really interesting to see that when 00:08:19.860 --> 00:08:22.920 you talk to people about their experience, really 00:08:22.920 --> 00:08:25.060 trying to understand, okay, what are the priorities? 00:08:25.180 --> 00:08:28.240 You're in the shelter, you're dislocated. But 00:08:28.240 --> 00:08:32.070 the recall is what I kept hearing is, wow. I 00:08:32.070 --> 00:08:35.269 remember when Andrew hit and Charlie hit and 00:08:35.269 --> 00:08:38.590 they kept rewinding and then comparing the other 00:08:38.590 --> 00:08:41.629 hurricanes to Ian. It was just like, wow, you're 00:08:41.629 --> 00:08:44.610 seeing this complex trauma now, these cascading 00:08:44.610 --> 00:08:48.190 effects of experiencing multiple hurricanes. 00:08:49.110 --> 00:08:53.970 And so we were also designated as a FEMA recovery 00:08:53.970 --> 00:08:57.070 center where people were coming in to have or 00:08:57.070 --> 00:09:00.500 receive assistance with their applications so 00:09:00.500 --> 00:09:04.000 that they could get the dollars to just be able 00:09:04.000 --> 00:09:07.220 to live, whether it be to find a hotel or to 00:09:07.220 --> 00:09:10.600 begin to work on repairing the home. So we were 00:09:10.600 --> 00:09:13.179 grateful to be in that capacity working with 00:09:13.179 --> 00:09:16.659 FEMA and the American Red Cross. But what we 00:09:16.659 --> 00:09:20.100 were also seeing too was that people were not 00:09:20.100 --> 00:09:24.019 really focused on the emotional aspects of their 00:09:24.019 --> 00:09:27.320 trauma related to the disaster. And so that was 00:09:27.320 --> 00:09:29.879 where I really thought, okay, we have an opportunity 00:09:29.879 --> 00:09:32.759 here because all of the data that was being promoted 00:09:32.759 --> 00:09:37.120 was the structural aspects, the costs, the costs, 00:09:37.139 --> 00:09:42.259 the costs. During Hurricane Ian, 195 ,000 people 00:09:42.509 --> 00:09:46.710 submitted applications for FEMA assistance. And 00:09:46.710 --> 00:09:49.809 then it took a year before the actual disaster 00:09:49.809 --> 00:09:52.629 case management program was stood up so that 00:09:52.629 --> 00:09:54.889 we could actually begin to do the work with people. 00:09:55.049 --> 00:09:57.110 It was really incredible, the time frame. But 00:09:57.110 --> 00:09:59.610 they have to collect data. There's a process 00:09:59.610 --> 00:10:02.250 in place before they can stand up a lot of these 00:10:02.250 --> 00:10:05.809 programs. Long we were able to help over 200 00:10:05.809 --> 00:10:10.129 people with housing and repairs and relocation. 00:10:10.570 --> 00:10:14.190 But the more important piece for us was, how 00:10:14.190 --> 00:10:18.129 are people going to sustain themselves for the 00:10:18.129 --> 00:10:22.669 next hurricane? What type of coping, what kind 00:10:22.669 --> 00:10:26.490 of education, what kind of skills have they learned? 00:10:26.850 --> 00:10:29.370 And so what we began to do is really look at 00:10:29.370 --> 00:10:33.450 how are people who come to us for FEMA application 00:10:33.450 --> 00:10:37.840 assistance How are you really living through 00:10:37.840 --> 00:10:41.080 or handling what you've gone through emotionally? 00:10:41.480 --> 00:10:44.639 And so we began to talk to people really on the 00:10:44.639 --> 00:10:47.179 next level. So in addition to the housing assessment, 00:10:47.259 --> 00:10:49.620 there was another assessment that I brought in 00:10:49.620 --> 00:10:52.820 to try to understand. And so most people had 00:10:52.820 --> 00:10:55.659 experienced multiple hurricanes. They have had 00:10:55.659 --> 00:10:59.860 to start over all over again. three and four 00:10:59.860 --> 00:11:03.139 times. There was a space that became available 00:11:03.139 --> 00:11:06.299 for us in the midst of all of what was happening 00:11:06.299 --> 00:11:09.500 with Hurricane Ian. And we thought, okay, so 00:11:09.500 --> 00:11:12.899 I had just also completed my yoga teacher training. 00:11:12.899 --> 00:11:14.960 And it was really exciting because I had all 00:11:14.960 --> 00:11:17.299 these great skills, especially as it relates 00:11:17.299 --> 00:11:21.700 to emotional regulation, because The idea when 00:11:21.700 --> 00:11:25.039 you think about yoga yoga actually means yoke 00:11:25.039 --> 00:11:29.220 to yoke and to yoke the mind and the body And 00:11:29.220 --> 00:11:32.120 to bring a place of centeredness in and so I 00:11:32.120 --> 00:11:34.960 learned a lot of great skills for my own well 00:11:34.960 --> 00:11:37.120 -being And i'm thinking hey, this is another 00:11:37.120 --> 00:11:40.210 great tool in the toolbox. So One day during 00:11:40.210 --> 00:11:43.409 our Hurricane Ian support groups, which we developed 00:11:43.409 --> 00:11:45.690 because so many people were in need of just an 00:11:45.690 --> 00:11:48.350 emotional place, a safe place that they could 00:11:48.350 --> 00:11:52.509 come and just sit and feel like, hey, these people 00:11:52.509 --> 00:11:55.950 here have something in common with me. I don't 00:11:55.950 --> 00:11:59.429 have people judging me about what I am or am 00:11:59.429 --> 00:12:02.129 not doing. There was a place for people to come 00:12:02.129 --> 00:12:04.590 and fellowship and have food and just feel like 00:12:04.590 --> 00:12:08.269 they were among others who had something in common. 00:12:08.669 --> 00:12:11.970 So one day I just decided that I would bring 00:12:11.970 --> 00:12:15.490 in some breath work some simple breath work and 00:12:15.490 --> 00:12:19.629 that is what Started this work Michelle because 00:12:19.629 --> 00:12:23.149 what happened was right after that we eventually 00:12:23.149 --> 00:12:27.990 did experience some funding changes things changed 00:12:27.990 --> 00:12:30.730 because we had a new president administration 00:12:30.730 --> 00:12:34.769 and then so we were in that crossfire where Wow 00:12:35.529 --> 00:12:38.289 What are we going to do now? But the cool thing 00:12:38.289 --> 00:12:42.090 about coming back is we had already started to 00:12:42.090 --> 00:12:45.929 pivot. I had this idea in my heart that said, 00:12:46.789 --> 00:12:50.029 we need to provide something else, something 00:12:50.029 --> 00:12:53.350 extra for people in this community where we're 00:12:53.350 --> 00:12:57.049 all geographically vulnerable to climate. and 00:12:57.049 --> 00:13:00.909 the increasing frequency of disasters like hurricanes 00:13:00.909 --> 00:13:04.409 and tornadoes, we have to give people something 00:13:04.409 --> 00:13:07.629 more and we have to help people understand how 00:13:07.629 --> 00:13:11.450 to bounce back and bounce back stronger. Because 00:13:11.450 --> 00:13:14.809 what I understand now is that when you have a 00:13:14.809 --> 00:13:19.899 plan, fear is negotiable. And so... The Living 00:13:19.899 --> 00:13:23.919 Laboratory was birthed simply by asking people, 00:13:24.019 --> 00:13:27.759 helping people tell us what you need, teach us. 00:13:28.200 --> 00:13:32.340 And that is how the lab was birthed. So tell 00:13:32.340 --> 00:13:34.700 our audience what that is. What is the Living 00:13:34.700 --> 00:13:38.080 Laboratory? What is that? The Mind Body Movement 00:13:38.080 --> 00:13:41.200 Living Laboratory is just really a place where 00:13:41.200 --> 00:13:46.559 people can come, understand trauma. understand 00:13:46.559 --> 00:13:51.179 their trauma, understand how trauma impacts the 00:13:51.179 --> 00:13:54.759 nervous system. First of all, what is the nervous 00:13:54.759 --> 00:13:57.679 system? Because oftentimes you go into physicians 00:13:57.679 --> 00:14:00.320 and while they will give you basic information, 00:14:00.320 --> 00:14:05.019 we really go into the breakdown of this is your 00:14:05.019 --> 00:14:08.019 nervous system. You have a parasympathetic, a 00:14:08.019 --> 00:14:11.279 sympathetic nervous system, fight -flight -freeze 00:14:11.279 --> 00:14:14.399 -fawn. and then rest and digest. And we help 00:14:14.399 --> 00:14:17.980 people understand that when you continually stay 00:14:17.980 --> 00:14:21.100 in these hyper aroused states, what happens is 00:14:21.100 --> 00:14:25.600 the body has an alarm and it just goes off constantly 00:14:25.600 --> 00:14:29.279 until we learn how to close down or quiet that 00:14:29.279 --> 00:14:32.200 alarm, eventually turn that alarm off. And when 00:14:32.200 --> 00:14:35.080 that alarm is going off in the body continuously, 00:14:35.580 --> 00:14:41.240 it adds to... the concept of disease, dis -ease, 00:14:41.419 --> 00:14:44.159 and what happens is when the body is in a stress 00:14:44.159 --> 00:14:49.659 state, the organs, all organs begin to shut down 00:14:49.659 --> 00:14:53.840 and our system resources, our body system resources 00:14:53.840 --> 00:14:57.889 become depleted. And again, when we are constantly 00:14:57.889 --> 00:15:00.850 in stress, so hurricane after hurricane, and 00:15:00.850 --> 00:15:03.870 we don't figure out how to get into that body 00:15:03.870 --> 00:15:06.549 and understand that stress and how it's impacting 00:15:06.549 --> 00:15:11.389 our body, we are ending up in these places that 00:15:11.389 --> 00:15:15.490 have us diagnosed with cardiovascular disease. 00:15:15.710 --> 00:15:20.149 We have intestinal disease. We have mental health 00:15:20.149 --> 00:15:23.210 issues. Here at the laboratory, our goal was 00:15:23.210 --> 00:15:26.899 to really teach people how to listen to the body. 00:15:27.940 --> 00:15:30.899 One of the things that I understood during my 00:15:30.899 --> 00:15:34.139 practice years as a clinician was is that there 00:15:34.139 --> 00:15:36.940 was this disconnect. I kept hearing people talking 00:15:36.940 --> 00:15:40.220 about the symptoms and the coping, the counseling 00:15:40.220 --> 00:15:42.480 and the treatment that was being offered was 00:15:42.480 --> 00:15:44.620 really, okay, we're just going to keep talking 00:15:44.620 --> 00:15:46.840 about it. We're going to just keep talking. Hopefully 00:15:46.840 --> 00:15:51.279 we'll just talk it away. With the work that we 00:15:51.279 --> 00:15:54.080 do here at the Living Laboratory is, as a yoga 00:15:54.080 --> 00:15:56.360 instructor, I bring in what's called somatic 00:15:56.360 --> 00:15:59.799 experiencing. And it's almost like body psychotherapy. 00:16:00.320 --> 00:16:03.700 And I wanted to just share clients understand 00:16:03.700 --> 00:16:06.480 the trauma and what happens in the brain, but 00:16:06.480 --> 00:16:08.879 their bodies hadn't caught up. And there's a 00:16:08.879 --> 00:16:11.080 great book by Bessel van der Kolk called The 00:16:11.080 --> 00:16:14.519 Body Keeps Score. Whenever we experience trauma, 00:16:14.820 --> 00:16:18.299 our body takes a snapshot and we hold on to that 00:16:18.299 --> 00:16:21.340 trauma. And then what happens is sometimes trauma 00:16:21.340 --> 00:16:24.779 can create, again, this regulated nervous system, 00:16:24.799 --> 00:16:28.279 which can create neck and back pains, constant 00:16:28.279 --> 00:16:31.340 headaches, fatigue. It can create conditions 00:16:31.340 --> 00:16:34.779 like Crohn's, arthritis and things, inflammation 00:16:34.779 --> 00:16:39.460 in the body. And oftentimes it is really a aspect 00:16:39.460 --> 00:16:42.559 of understanding the trauma that has happened 00:16:42.559 --> 00:16:45.200 to the body, getting to the source of that stress, 00:16:45.539 --> 00:16:49.570 and then helping people understand through understanding 00:16:49.570 --> 00:16:53.590 with the mind, connecting the body, and then 00:16:53.590 --> 00:16:58.049 being able to move to release that trauma. So 00:16:58.049 --> 00:17:00.409 that is what we do at the Mind Body Movement 00:17:00.409 --> 00:17:03.730 Living Laboratory. There's really been quite 00:17:03.730 --> 00:17:06.990 an evolution with Providence Family Life Center. 00:17:06.990 --> 00:17:09.630 You talked about how when you moved to Southwest 00:17:09.630 --> 00:17:12.769 Florida, you saw the gaps that were there from 00:17:12.769 --> 00:17:15.930 Hurricane Irma in terms of what was available 00:17:15.930 --> 00:17:19.210 to people that had been traumatized, that had 00:17:19.210 --> 00:17:22.690 lost property and that kind of thing. And then 00:17:22.690 --> 00:17:26.470 how you were able to, by the time Ian came, you 00:17:26.470 --> 00:17:29.769 had organized within Providence Family Life Center 00:17:29.769 --> 00:17:32.829 in a way that you were able to really fill those 00:17:32.829 --> 00:17:36.349 gaps that you saw from when you first came down. 00:17:36.490 --> 00:17:39.690 Maybe as more just an observation of how the 00:17:39.690 --> 00:17:43.440 Providence Family Life Center evolved from. Irma 00:17:43.440 --> 00:17:46.819 to Ian. At Irma, you were seeing where there 00:17:46.819 --> 00:17:50.359 were gaps, but then by Ian, you were actually 00:17:50.359 --> 00:17:53.339 filling those gaps and you were that resource 00:17:53.339 --> 00:17:57.640 that wasn't there before. And so how amazing 00:17:57.640 --> 00:18:00.559 that is that you were able to really grow and 00:18:00.559 --> 00:18:03.220 evolve that way. Now, Providence Family Life 00:18:03.220 --> 00:18:06.500 Center, though, actually started back in 2008, 00:18:06.859 --> 00:18:09.640 right? So can you... Just take us back in time 00:18:09.640 --> 00:18:14.140 a little bit. So in 2008, when you founded Providence 00:18:14.140 --> 00:18:17.160 Family Life, what gap were you trying to fill 00:18:17.160 --> 00:18:21.519 at that point in time? Sure, yeah. I had just 00:18:21.519 --> 00:18:24.819 come through a really intense life change. And 00:18:24.819 --> 00:18:29.359 I remember in that life change, I found myself 00:18:29.359 --> 00:18:32.740 having to actually restart my life at that time. 00:18:33.099 --> 00:18:36.160 And what happened was is that as I navigated 00:18:36.160 --> 00:18:39.710 social services, and trying to understand how 00:18:39.710 --> 00:18:42.529 do you get help as a single mom? How do you get 00:18:42.529 --> 00:18:45.950 help to really get back on your feet, especially 00:18:45.950 --> 00:18:48.509 if you've worked all your life? I've worked since 00:18:48.509 --> 00:18:52.009 the age of 14 and never really had public assistance 00:18:52.009 --> 00:18:54.410 or anything, and I'm not against it at all. But 00:18:54.410 --> 00:18:57.289 here, I found myself in this place. OK, so what 00:18:57.289 --> 00:19:01.019 do I do? So essentially, there was a what? We 00:19:01.019 --> 00:19:03.400 have here a career source back in Michigan, there 00:19:03.400 --> 00:19:06.319 was an agency that helped with employment matters 00:19:06.319 --> 00:19:08.859 and just helping people get back on their feet. 00:19:08.900 --> 00:19:12.859 And so I had gone through their employment programs 00:19:12.859 --> 00:19:14.960 just so that I understand, okay, so what do I 00:19:14.960 --> 00:19:17.319 need to get in this world here and be gainfully 00:19:17.319 --> 00:19:21.940 employed again? And as I was watching just the 00:19:21.940 --> 00:19:25.859 interaction with people and the programs that 00:19:25.859 --> 00:19:28.890 were available, I quickly learned that there 00:19:28.890 --> 00:19:32.710 were limitations. There was limitations to you 00:19:32.710 --> 00:19:35.069 couldn't do this if you wanted this service or 00:19:35.069 --> 00:19:37.549 you had to do this if you wanted that service. 00:19:38.329 --> 00:19:42.509 What I decided to do was I found a job. I was 00:19:42.509 --> 00:19:47.470 actually detailing cars because it was just like, 00:19:47.589 --> 00:19:50.150 I'm going to work and I'm going to earn what 00:19:50.150 --> 00:19:52.930 I need to earn and eventually just move my way 00:19:52.930 --> 00:19:56.190 right on back up to fully standing on my feet. 00:19:56.490 --> 00:20:00.289 But education was also that. And then also my 00:20:00.289 --> 00:20:02.630 transition, because I had worked in pharmaceuticals. 00:20:02.670 --> 00:20:05.430 It was just a whole comeback, Michelle. It was 00:20:05.430 --> 00:20:09.299 incredible. What happened was while I was in 00:20:09.299 --> 00:20:12.400 this transition, my heart just really turned 00:20:12.400 --> 00:20:15.240 to the community. I was front -facing to the 00:20:15.240 --> 00:20:18.599 community. I was seeing women and children coming 00:20:18.599 --> 00:20:20.920 into this employment agency, and I'm thinking, 00:20:21.160 --> 00:20:23.700 oh my God, look, here I am. I'm seeing this, 00:20:23.720 --> 00:20:26.140 but I have a different lens. And my lens is, 00:20:26.880 --> 00:20:31.480 I'm not going to be so reliant on this system 00:20:31.480 --> 00:20:34.700 because it's creating these barriers for me. 00:20:34.819 --> 00:20:38.339 It was uncomfortable. So what I did was, as I 00:20:38.339 --> 00:20:42.099 said, I'm going to work and I am going to do 00:20:42.099 --> 00:20:46.680 what I need to do in order to progress and get 00:20:46.680 --> 00:20:48.980 to the place in my life that I need to. During 00:20:48.980 --> 00:20:52.220 that time, while I was still just re -engineering 00:20:52.220 --> 00:20:55.579 my life, I decided that I'm going to help people. 00:20:55.619 --> 00:20:58.559 I'm going to actually try to find a location 00:20:58.559 --> 00:21:04.000 to begin to work to help families. And so I found 00:21:04.000 --> 00:21:09.339 a church. that opened their doors, and I decided 00:21:09.339 --> 00:21:13.099 to start an outreach. And the outreach was to 00:21:13.099 --> 00:21:16.059 help people that I saw that needed assistance 00:21:16.059 --> 00:21:18.359 who were just wandering. And then I would soon 00:21:18.359 --> 00:21:21.339 know that... Many folks were experiencing mental 00:21:21.339 --> 00:21:24.319 health issues, a lot of moms. Before I even knew 00:21:24.319 --> 00:21:27.539 what human trafficking was, I was seeing women 00:21:27.539 --> 00:21:31.079 with their children fleeing these terrible situations. 00:21:31.220 --> 00:21:33.440 We just started an outreach on a Thursday night. 00:21:33.500 --> 00:21:36.099 I had three bags of clothes, a coffee pot, and 00:21:36.099 --> 00:21:39.900 a crock pot. A friend helped me set up. And then 00:21:39.900 --> 00:21:42.880 we opened up on a Thursday night, and we just 00:21:42.880 --> 00:21:45.480 let people come in. And we were seeing maybe 00:21:45.480 --> 00:21:48.779 about 20 people on a night, on a Thursday night. 00:21:49.079 --> 00:21:52.759 And then eventually it grew, so we asked if we 00:21:52.759 --> 00:21:54.920 could use the church on an additional day. And 00:21:54.920 --> 00:21:56.980 they said, yeah, why don't you just take a Saturday? 00:21:57.119 --> 00:21:59.140 And so we did, and we just started to open the 00:21:59.140 --> 00:22:02.019 doors at 8 a .m. And Michelle, before you know 00:22:02.019 --> 00:22:06.299 it, we were seeing over 300 people on a Saturday. 00:22:06.730 --> 00:22:09.450 every Saturday, every week. And then as the word 00:22:09.450 --> 00:22:12.250 got out about the work that we were doing, other 00:22:12.250 --> 00:22:14.950 agencies began to support us. And this is where 00:22:14.950 --> 00:22:18.250 I learned the beauty of partnerships and relationships 00:22:18.250 --> 00:22:21.430 and collaboration, because that is our superpower 00:22:21.430 --> 00:22:24.029 here at Providence Family Life Center. And the 00:22:24.029 --> 00:22:27.779 lab is that when we... work with other partners. 00:22:27.880 --> 00:22:30.779 They have a piece. We have a piece. Let's bring 00:22:30.779 --> 00:22:33.079 it all together to better serve our community. 00:22:33.319 --> 00:22:36.799 But that is how we got started. It's just simply 00:22:36.799 --> 00:22:39.500 understanding in the community the needs of people. 00:22:39.579 --> 00:22:42.579 Like, I was really listening. I was listening 00:22:42.579 --> 00:22:45.700 with my heart. So I was seeing that I was listening 00:22:45.700 --> 00:22:48.019 with my heart. And I knew there was something 00:22:48.019 --> 00:22:52.019 bigger in me that would allow me to be a part 00:22:52.019 --> 00:22:55.279 of the solution for our community. From 20... 00:22:55.319 --> 00:22:59.400 2008 to today, even though we have the lab, we 00:22:59.400 --> 00:23:02.980 are still in that outreach mindset, which says 00:23:02.980 --> 00:23:05.519 that our doors are open for people to come in 00:23:05.519 --> 00:23:08.559 and inquire. It might be about housing, even 00:23:08.559 --> 00:23:11.519 though the sign outside says yoga, people are 00:23:11.519 --> 00:23:14.720 still compelled to come in and we help them. 00:23:14.779 --> 00:23:17.259 We will direct them to wherever they need to 00:23:17.259 --> 00:23:20.839 go. The outreach started in 2008 and it just... 00:23:20.809 --> 00:23:25.609 progress to I see these individuals who are homeless 00:23:25.609 --> 00:23:28.630 and struggling with undiagnosed mental illness. 00:23:28.630 --> 00:23:30.910 And at the time, I didn't have the education, 00:23:30.990 --> 00:23:34.029 but I knew what I knew and didn't know what I 00:23:34.029 --> 00:23:37.930 didn't know. And we were able to help them after 00:23:37.930 --> 00:23:40.710 we understood, why are you homeless? What is 00:23:40.710 --> 00:23:43.230 going on? The mental illness was a big contributor 00:23:43.230 --> 00:23:46.930 to homelessness. And then not having health care 00:23:46.930 --> 00:23:50.750 was also a contributor. And so we were able to 00:23:50.750 --> 00:23:54.029 work with disabilities back in Michigan. We started 00:23:54.029 --> 00:23:57.470 doing that work and it just carried on and we 00:23:57.470 --> 00:24:01.329 relocated here. Can you share a story with us 00:24:01.329 --> 00:24:04.910 that illustrates the impact you're having of 00:24:04.910 --> 00:24:08.269 serving people with undiagnosed mental illness 00:24:08.269 --> 00:24:11.789 or co -occurring disorders? Can you share of 00:24:11.789 --> 00:24:14.470 someone who's really been impacted by your work? 00:24:14.920 --> 00:24:18.519 Sure. Back in Michigan, we met a gentleman who, 00:24:18.519 --> 00:24:20.819 he had changed his name six times. When we met 00:24:20.819 --> 00:24:24.599 him, his name was Hollywood General Motors. And 00:24:24.599 --> 00:24:28.599 he was severely and persistently, he was severely 00:24:28.599 --> 00:24:32.359 mentally ill. He had a diagnosis of schizophrenia 00:24:32.359 --> 00:24:36.119 at the time and he came into our outreach and 00:24:36.119 --> 00:24:40.240 he started to come on a regular basis. And eventually 00:24:40.240 --> 00:24:43.740 we would help him, or first we would understand 00:24:43.740 --> 00:24:46.720 his story. Because some people don't want help. 00:24:46.779 --> 00:24:48.920 They just want you to listen. And that's okay, 00:24:49.160 --> 00:24:51.460 too. And that's one of the guiding principles 00:24:51.460 --> 00:24:55.599 of social work is the right to self -determination. 00:24:55.640 --> 00:24:58.000 So if a person comes to you and they're expressing 00:24:58.000 --> 00:25:01.519 distress, you listen, you offer information. 00:25:01.579 --> 00:25:04.579 If the person chooses to follow up with what 00:25:04.579 --> 00:25:06.940 you're recommending, then that is their choice. 00:25:06.980 --> 00:25:10.359 But it is not our choice to make those decisions 00:25:10.359 --> 00:25:12.869 for the individual. This gentleman... He started 00:25:12.869 --> 00:25:15.569 to come. He eventually said, hey, I need some 00:25:15.569 --> 00:25:18.609 help. We learned that he had been kicked out 00:25:18.609 --> 00:25:21.269 of, or actually he was taken into group homes. 00:25:21.589 --> 00:25:24.210 He was beaten. He was kicked out every morning 00:25:24.210 --> 00:25:28.509 at 6 a .m. He had his benefits taken from him. 00:25:28.730 --> 00:25:31.990 And then he was not being cared for properly. 00:25:32.089 --> 00:25:34.730 So what we did was we advocated for him with 00:25:34.730 --> 00:25:37.450 the Social Security Administration, helped him 00:25:37.450 --> 00:25:39.789 get his benefits and all those things back in 00:25:39.789 --> 00:25:43.519 place. But... We also knew that there was severe 00:25:43.519 --> 00:25:46.619 mental illness that needed to be addressed. And 00:25:46.619 --> 00:25:50.259 after a few hospitalizations, he actually was 00:25:50.259 --> 00:25:54.529 appointed a guardian back in Michigan. And the 00:25:54.529 --> 00:25:57.650 courts said, OK, we're going to appoint a public 00:25:57.650 --> 00:26:00.769 guardian for you. And at the time, I was still 00:26:00.769 --> 00:26:02.950 working with this gentleman because he didn't 00:26:02.950 --> 00:26:06.289 have any family. He, as he became stabilized, 00:26:06.349 --> 00:26:08.930 because I helped him get connected to physicians, 00:26:09.430 --> 00:26:13.250 get counseling, get stabilized in first a hotel. 00:26:13.289 --> 00:26:15.730 And then we worked on housing for him, got him 00:26:15.730 --> 00:26:18.009 an apartment. And mind you, Michelle, this is 00:26:18.009 --> 00:26:20.750 a gentleman who was homeless for 26 years. And 00:26:20.750 --> 00:26:23.380 he came in contact with something different at 00:26:23.380 --> 00:26:27.440 Providence. And I will say that he went to the 00:26:27.440 --> 00:26:30.619 court himself with a diagnosis of schizophrenia. 00:26:30.960 --> 00:26:34.359 He petitioned the court himself for his own guardian. 00:26:34.619 --> 00:26:37.700 He had selected me to be his guardian. The judge 00:26:37.700 --> 00:26:39.799 at the court called me up and said, hey, we have 00:26:39.799 --> 00:26:42.359 a gentleman here who is petitioning for you to 00:26:42.359 --> 00:26:45.799 be his guardian. And I said politely to the judge, 00:26:46.720 --> 00:26:49.660 no thanks. I have no skills in this area. I am 00:26:49.660 --> 00:26:52.720 a social worker. I am not a guardian. And she 00:26:52.720 --> 00:26:55.619 says, we will teach you. He is demanding that 00:26:55.619 --> 00:26:58.779 you become his guardian. I said, okay, as long 00:26:58.779 --> 00:27:01.380 as there's education. I became this gentleman's 00:27:01.380 --> 00:27:09.220 guardian in 2012. He is now, he has worked for 00:27:09.220 --> 00:27:12.720 six years and he actually just authored his own 00:27:12.720 --> 00:27:15.440 book, a new book. And then he's actually working 00:27:15.440 --> 00:27:18.920 on a second book. But here's the piece that I 00:27:18.920 --> 00:27:21.200 want to share with people who are listening. 00:27:23.019 --> 00:27:26.380 Research is so important in the work, if you 00:27:26.380 --> 00:27:29.559 are in community work, research, because in the 00:27:29.559 --> 00:27:32.880 research regarding the diagnosis of schizophrenia, 00:27:33.640 --> 00:27:37.400 you will understand the concepts, the irrational 00:27:37.400 --> 00:27:41.220 beliefs, the behaviors, and then you really can 00:27:41.220 --> 00:27:44.460 learn from the data. The data, it's informed 00:27:44.460 --> 00:27:49.130 us that people living with that diagnosis need 00:27:49.130 --> 00:27:51.970 a sense of community, a sense of family, a sense 00:27:51.970 --> 00:27:54.490 of belonging, because in their minds, it's the 00:27:54.490 --> 00:27:57.309 world against them. And so I took that data, 00:27:57.930 --> 00:28:01.009 I took it to heart, and I turned it into a practical 00:28:01.009 --> 00:28:04.809 plan for this gentleman. And that is what has 00:28:04.809 --> 00:28:11.250 helped him maintain and sustain his life and 00:28:11.250 --> 00:28:14.809 his role in the community. And so it wasn't all 00:28:14.809 --> 00:28:18.519 about medication. It was all about just being 00:28:18.519 --> 00:28:23.019 available for an individual. And then guess what 00:28:23.019 --> 00:28:27.900 happened? What happened? Last year, we got a 00:28:27.900 --> 00:28:31.000 call from a old attorney that had been appointed 00:28:31.000 --> 00:28:35.539 to the family. He came in contact with his sister 00:28:35.539 --> 00:28:41.099 he hadn't spoken to since 1979. This Christmas, 00:28:41.680 --> 00:28:44.519 he actually spent Christmas with his family. 00:28:45.240 --> 00:28:49.319 and was able to create new memories. And his 00:28:49.319 --> 00:28:53.460 life, when you look at a life transform, Providence 00:28:53.460 --> 00:28:56.500 Family Life Center, our motto is lives change. 00:28:56.539 --> 00:29:00.799 He is the epitome of the work that we do. And 00:29:00.799 --> 00:29:03.960 I'm getting a little emotional here because it's 00:29:03.960 --> 00:29:06.960 just the perfect story, the perfect story of 00:29:06.960 --> 00:29:10.500 connecting the mind, the body, understanding, 00:29:11.099 --> 00:29:13.059 and then taking your heart, putting your heart 00:29:13.059 --> 00:29:15.700 right in the center of that. to really understand 00:29:15.700 --> 00:29:19.140 what the needs are of this individual. And that's 00:29:19.140 --> 00:29:21.880 what we do at the lab. That's such a touching 00:29:21.880 --> 00:29:24.619 and beautiful story. I wonder, as you talk about 00:29:24.619 --> 00:29:27.180 your journey, given your kind of heart and soul 00:29:27.180 --> 00:29:30.920 into this work, wonder financially, how is it 00:29:30.920 --> 00:29:33.880 able to work? Are there grants and federal funding 00:29:33.880 --> 00:29:36.660 involved, but how are you able to financially 00:29:36.660 --> 00:29:39.680 sustain everything that you're doing? And I'm 00:29:39.680 --> 00:29:42.000 glad you asked that question because my husband 00:29:42.000 --> 00:29:44.839 and I are really philanthropists. A lot of this 00:29:44.839 --> 00:29:48.680 work that we do, we give of our own. to do this 00:29:48.680 --> 00:29:51.259 work. In the past, we have been recipients of 00:29:51.259 --> 00:29:53.880 federal grants, but those grants are really challenging 00:29:53.880 --> 00:29:57.559 to manage. There's a lot of administrative aspects 00:29:57.559 --> 00:30:00.279 of those grants, which really take away from 00:30:00.279 --> 00:30:03.140 the work that you're trying to do. And we have 00:30:03.140 --> 00:30:06.259 a couple of private donors, but we are looking 00:30:06.259 --> 00:30:10.380 at alternative ways and sources to generate dollars. 00:30:10.599 --> 00:30:13.299 So looking for partnerships and collaborations, 00:30:13.359 --> 00:30:17.450 and then also potentially linking with a university 00:30:17.450 --> 00:30:19.990 to do some research on some of the data that 00:30:19.990 --> 00:30:22.390 we've collected over the last year. Because we 00:30:22.390 --> 00:30:25.349 do have a study that we've actually developed. 00:30:25.450 --> 00:30:28.390 We haven't put the case study together to publish 00:30:28.390 --> 00:30:31.250 it yet, but we have the data that shows that 00:30:31.250 --> 00:30:34.230 people... coming to the lab on a regular basis 00:30:34.230 --> 00:30:38.710 over a 30 -day period showed an immediate decrease 00:30:38.710 --> 00:30:42.109 in symptoms like anxiety, stress, and insomnia, 00:30:42.450 --> 00:30:45.910 and then actually created the motivation to help 00:30:45.910 --> 00:30:48.809 individuals within themselves, understanding 00:30:48.809 --> 00:30:51.819 the stages of change. helping them develop the 00:30:51.819 --> 00:30:55.319 motivation to want to do more for themselves 00:30:55.319 --> 00:30:58.200 in the area of healthcare. So again, we are looking 00:30:58.200 --> 00:31:01.279 at funding opportunities right now and anyone 00:31:01.279 --> 00:31:04.000 out there listening who might be interested in 00:31:04.000 --> 00:31:07.299 supporting our work. We'd love to sit down and 00:31:07.299 --> 00:31:10.900 have conversation with you. Yes. Thank you. Thank 00:31:10.900 --> 00:31:12.880 you for sharing that. I know it's time for us 00:31:12.880 --> 00:31:14.640 to wrap up, but I wanted to ask you one more 00:31:14.640 --> 00:31:17.619 thing about your personal journey as a woman 00:31:17.619 --> 00:31:20.309 who During all this time, you mentioned your 00:31:20.309 --> 00:31:23.910 education and when you went back, you were certainly 00:31:23.910 --> 00:31:28.029 at midlife getting your doctorate. What did that 00:31:28.029 --> 00:31:32.369 feel like being where we are in life and going 00:31:32.369 --> 00:31:35.710 back into that type of formal education? What 00:31:35.710 --> 00:31:38.569 fears did you have? What did that feel like? 00:31:39.289 --> 00:31:43.920 Wow. So when you talk about education. It was 00:31:43.920 --> 00:31:46.619 different for me for sure because I was a career 00:31:46.619 --> 00:31:49.119 changer. My kids were already married. I was 00:31:49.119 --> 00:31:53.500 a grandma as well. But I had this awakening. 00:31:53.700 --> 00:31:57.140 It was almost like that piece that I was actually 00:31:57.140 --> 00:32:00.559 experiencing was what was missing. But I needed 00:32:00.559 --> 00:32:03.920 to go, I needed to have those other experiences 00:32:03.920 --> 00:32:06.940 first in order to truly appreciate it. And here's 00:32:06.940 --> 00:32:11.680 the other thing about that experience. I went 00:32:11.680 --> 00:32:15.380 back, essentially started over, got my associates, 00:32:15.720 --> 00:32:18.339 got my BSW in social work. And then they were 00:32:18.339 --> 00:32:20.119 saying, oh, Antoinette, you need to keep going, 00:32:20.220 --> 00:32:22.259 keep going. And then I thought, okay, so I'm 00:32:22.259 --> 00:32:24.900 in it to win and I'm old. So guess what? If I'm 00:32:24.900 --> 00:32:27.900 going to go to get my master's, I want to go 00:32:27.900 --> 00:32:30.460 to one of the best schools. And so my husband 00:32:30.460 --> 00:32:33.539 went with me and he was like, okay, so you need 00:32:33.539 --> 00:32:36.809 to go. and explore the University of Michigan. 00:32:36.950 --> 00:32:38.849 And I was just like, are you kidding me? That's 00:32:38.849 --> 00:32:41.130 a dream. I'll never get into Michigan because 00:32:41.130 --> 00:32:43.589 they have wait lists for years and then I'm old. 00:32:44.769 --> 00:32:49.470 Well, they required this essay. I wrote an essay 00:32:49.470 --> 00:32:52.589 and Dan helped me review it to make sure that 00:32:52.589 --> 00:32:55.589 it was crispy from a grammatical perspective. 00:32:56.789 --> 00:32:59.869 And I got selected. I'll never forget coming 00:32:59.869 --> 00:33:02.660 home. Awesome. And I found this welcome package 00:33:02.660 --> 00:33:05.400 from the University of Michigan on my doorstep, 00:33:05.420 --> 00:33:10.160 and I was just like, sloored. And to be a non 00:33:10.160 --> 00:33:13.279 -traditional student, attending one of the top 00:33:13.279 --> 00:33:17.079 research universities in the world, was really, 00:33:17.160 --> 00:33:20.549 like I felt so... hand selected, like the universe 00:33:20.549 --> 00:33:24.470 hand selected me for such a time as this, knowing 00:33:24.470 --> 00:33:27.190 that the education that I was going to get at 00:33:27.190 --> 00:33:30.130 that time was going to be that next step, that 00:33:30.130 --> 00:33:33.609 catalyst to jump off into this next realm and 00:33:33.609 --> 00:33:37.230 into this work that I'm doing now. And as you 00:33:37.230 --> 00:33:39.470 would have it, the laboratory, the mind, body, 00:33:39.509 --> 00:33:43.799 movement, living laboratory is a research. intervention 00:33:43.799 --> 00:33:46.460 as well. We're collecting data. Every time a 00:33:46.460 --> 00:33:49.359 person walks into the door, we sit down and we 00:33:49.359 --> 00:33:52.619 listen. We are learning from people. People are 00:33:52.619 --> 00:33:56.480 teaching us what they need. And I think we need 00:33:56.480 --> 00:33:58.859 more of that. The other piece that I learned 00:33:58.859 --> 00:34:02.839 really quickly was that when we think about the 00:34:02.839 --> 00:34:06.240 future of health and wellness, and we like to 00:34:06.240 --> 00:34:09.059 use the term well -being here because well -being 00:34:09.059 --> 00:34:12.679 is a process, a continuous state. What we really 00:34:12.679 --> 00:34:16.179 believe here is that as resources become more 00:34:16.179 --> 00:34:19.539 limited and AI is really redefining the game 00:34:19.539 --> 00:34:23.840 in terms of all sectors, as healthcare practitioners, 00:34:24.360 --> 00:34:28.400 health, mental health, alternative health, we 00:34:28.400 --> 00:34:31.429 need to come together. These curriculums and 00:34:31.429 --> 00:34:34.090 these schools have to be redone. They have to 00:34:34.090 --> 00:34:37.590 have more of an integrated model that shows the 00:34:37.590 --> 00:34:41.349 whole person, not just the disease model, you're 00:34:41.349 --> 00:34:44.010 sick, take a pill, of which we're not looking 00:34:44.010 --> 00:34:47.710 at root causes. We need to be able to teach people 00:34:47.710 --> 00:34:51.530 about... how the body can heal. We really need 00:34:51.530 --> 00:34:54.610 to help people understand how to ask questions 00:34:54.610 --> 00:34:58.130 about their own bodies, really exploring nutrition. 00:34:58.449 --> 00:35:02.230 So in these new intake assessments, we really 00:35:02.230 --> 00:35:05.949 need to encompass all disciplines to really truly 00:35:05.949 --> 00:35:10.769 get at the cures. Ford, looking, where do you 00:35:10.769 --> 00:35:13.750 hope the field of trauma recovery will be in 00:35:13.750 --> 00:35:16.530 10 years? Where do you hope to see it? Yeah, 00:35:16.530 --> 00:35:20.130 so what I see though is more more community based 00:35:20.130 --> 00:35:22.329 models I know there's some interventions right 00:35:22.329 --> 00:35:25.030 now that the government and some other entities 00:35:25.030 --> 00:35:27.349 are testing and I love that I think that's so 00:35:27.349 --> 00:35:30.530 cool, but I'll never forget I'll go back to a 00:35:30.530 --> 00:35:32.889 time at the University of Michigan and one of 00:35:32.889 --> 00:35:35.590 my policy professors Said because I asked about 00:35:35.590 --> 00:35:37.769 prevention. There's no money in prevention. You'll 00:35:37.769 --> 00:35:39.789 never ever get money from prevention. I'm thinking 00:35:39.789 --> 00:35:43.639 Okay, I see what's happening here But again, 00:35:43.940 --> 00:35:47.300 prevention to me is about education, educating 00:35:47.300 --> 00:35:51.679 our younger generations because we have to look 00:35:51.679 --> 00:35:55.309 at the kids that are going to be in our workforces 00:35:55.309 --> 00:35:58.130 and those kids who are also going to be purchasers 00:35:58.130 --> 00:36:01.469 of managed care services or insurances and all 00:36:01.469 --> 00:36:03.710 those things. And we have to look at the drain 00:36:03.710 --> 00:36:06.769 on our healthcare systems. And the data is telling 00:36:06.769 --> 00:36:09.289 us now that we're at a shortage of healthcare 00:36:09.289 --> 00:36:11.929 workers in the community. And that's one of the 00:36:11.929 --> 00:36:14.349 things that is so important because if we teach 00:36:14.349 --> 00:36:18.030 people, we give people a sense of agency that 00:36:18.030 --> 00:36:20.090 says, okay, first of all, don't believe everything 00:36:20.090 --> 00:36:22.099 you read on the internet. Okay. that's number 00:36:22.099 --> 00:36:25.320 one, but really understand your bodies and then 00:36:25.320 --> 00:36:28.059 give them the tools to go and ask those healthcare 00:36:28.059 --> 00:36:30.800 professionals those questions. And then healthcare 00:36:30.800 --> 00:36:33.780 professionals have to be willing to understand 00:36:33.780 --> 00:36:36.639 the right to self -determination that a person 00:36:36.639 --> 00:36:38.800 can take the information that they're hearing 00:36:38.800 --> 00:36:41.619 and then go test it for themselves, get more 00:36:41.619 --> 00:36:44.460 information to support what it is that they need 00:36:44.460 --> 00:36:47.099 to live their best lives. So what I see in the 00:36:47.099 --> 00:36:50.940 future is that more integration, more disciplines 00:36:50.940 --> 00:36:53.800 within these large schools coming together to 00:36:53.800 --> 00:36:56.539 work together. I see more of the alternative 00:36:56.539 --> 00:36:59.480 and holistic community -based approaches because 00:36:59.480 --> 00:37:03.000 right now we see all of these acupuncturists 00:37:03.000 --> 00:37:05.820 and energy workers and reiki people and all of 00:37:05.820 --> 00:37:09.550 this is scattered. And the idea is let's meet 00:37:09.550 --> 00:37:13.150 with the MDs. Let's meet with those traditional 00:37:13.150 --> 00:37:17.130 medical doctors. Let's bring chiropractors and 00:37:17.130 --> 00:37:20.550 energy healers together with your traditional 00:37:20.550 --> 00:37:23.989 primary care. Let's bring this all together and 00:37:23.989 --> 00:37:26.949 let's have these conversations. Manage care too. 00:37:27.190 --> 00:37:29.889 And let's continue to have the conversation as 00:37:29.889 --> 00:37:33.750 it relates to how can we help the individual 00:37:33.750 --> 00:37:38.070 understand healing. and how to truly care for 00:37:38.070 --> 00:37:41.230 themselves. I love that. And I would love to 00:37:41.230 --> 00:37:44.070 see that as well. Wonderful stuff. Thank you 00:37:44.070 --> 00:37:47.389 so much, Dr. Antoinette, for joining us. You're 00:37:47.389 --> 00:37:50.429 amazing. If anyone in our audience would like 00:37:50.429 --> 00:37:52.010 to get in touch with you, what's the best way 00:37:52.010 --> 00:37:54.730 for them to do that? Sure. They can go to our 00:37:54.730 --> 00:38:00.929 website at www .mismarry, bismboy, mismarry, 00:38:00.989 --> 00:38:07.530 ll .live. or they can give us a call at 239 -676 00:38:07.530 --> 00:38:13.050 -3159. And then also we're on Instagram and Facebook 00:38:13.050 --> 00:38:18.250 and TikTok and LinkedIn at Providence Family 00:38:18.250 --> 00:38:22.980 Life Center. Wonderful. Thank you so much for 00:38:22.980 --> 00:38:26.320 your time. I love all the work you're doing and 00:38:26.320 --> 00:38:30.880 I just wish you continued success into the future 00:38:30.880 --> 00:38:34.139 and for you personally too as you continue to 00:38:34.139 --> 00:38:37.139 recreate your life and to be the person that 00:38:37.139 --> 00:38:39.820 you want to be today. Thank you so much. Thank 00:38:39.820 --> 00:38:42.840 you, Michelle. I appreciate it. Thanks so much 00:38:42.840 --> 00:38:45.280 for joining me today on Her Comeback. I hope 00:38:45.280 --> 00:38:48.820 this conversation inspired you to keep moving 00:38:48.820 --> 00:38:51.840 forward no matter where you are in your own journey. 00:38:52.239 --> 00:38:55.219 If you love this episode, I'd be so grateful 00:38:55.219 --> 00:38:58.619 if you would subscribe to the show on my YouTube 00:38:58.619 --> 00:39:03.300 channel at Michelle Thompson -LifeCoaching. Go 00:39:03.300 --> 00:39:06.440 there for more encouragement, insights, and just 00:39:06.440 --> 00:39:09.219 real talk about making a comeback happen. Hit 00:39:09.219 --> 00:39:11.860 that subscribe button so you never miss new content. 00:39:12.010 --> 00:39:15.789 You can also visit her come back podcast calm 00:39:15.789 --> 00:39:19.650 for notes Resources connect with me connect with 00:39:19.650 --> 00:39:22.590 other women and our amazing community who are 00:39:22.590 --> 00:39:25.750 rewriting their stories Remember your setback 00:39:25.750 --> 00:39:28.989 isn't your final chapter. It's just the setup 00:39:28.989 --> 00:39:32.090 for your greatest comeback yet I'll see you next 00:39:32.090 --> 00:39:42.880 time legs up in my tongue