Second Story's Podcast

Today we’re speaking to Cathy, Second Story’s new Vice President of Residential Services and Senior Therapist about how mental health really looks in our programs.

As a young person Daniel experienced homelessness, he couch-surfed, he wasn’t sure where his next meal would come from. He started to understand the appeal of drugs, of gangs, but his love for basketball kept him focused, and ultimately brought him the community he needed to thrive, to find safety and stability.

For the first of our topical episodes this season we’re speaking again to our CEO, Judith Dittman, about equity.

We're excited to bring you a fourth season of Second Stories with new episodes through the month of September! The first two episodes will be available one week from today, September 8th, with the rest airing ever Wednesday through the month of September.

In this episode we talk with Meghan Huebner, who talks about some of the unique challenges for youth and families experiencing homeless during the pandemic and how Second Story has been able to safely support the youth in our programs.

Jimena is a young mother, working hard to provide for her two children. In many ways her life is what she hoped it would be, but it wasn't always like that. Jimena experienced homelessness for nearly five years and her story gives us an important look at what it's like to be homeless as a young person.

In this episode we’re speaking to Nandred, Second Story’s Vice President of Community Based programs. We talk about some of the “most vulnerable” in our communities and how they have been affected by the pandemic.

Cathy Benn, our Senior Therapist, talks to us about the relationship between COVID-19 and mental health and why this has been an especially challenging time for the young people we serve.

Anne Kim is a journalist, author, and fountain of wisdom and insight on youth issues. Her book Abandoned: America’s Lost Youth and the Crisis of Disconnection explores a sobering reality: that nearly five million young people, nearly 12 percent of youth aged sixteen to twenty-four, experience disconnection and abandonment as they enter adulthood.

Caitlin's story sheds light on an important group: teenagers in foster care and otherwise disconnected youth, and she introduces us to all that these young people have many times endured and also all that they have to offer us.

We’re starting off this season with a special episode about COVID-19 and its impact on our work and young people in our community.

Season three of Second Stories brings you more stories from youth in our community as well as a focus on some of the important issues that put young people in vulnerable positions - things like homelessness, abuse, and mental health challenges, plus more information on how COVID-19 has impacted our work.

Renée has a law degree, a masters degree, and a PhD. She also was born into poverty. She was a single parent. She was abused. She was a college dropout. We see in her a world changer as much as we see her early disadvantages, and in that we are hopeful.

Tina Seeley, Program Manager for Second Story for Teens in Crisis, Lucy, from our last episode, and Lucy’s mom, Penny, join us today to talk about family trauma -- what it can mean for young people, and the ways that families can work to create supportive and understanding places to thrive together.

Lucy’s story is remarkably normal. In many ways, she gives voice to our collective experience. She relives something that is familiar for many of us, and forces us not to write off our pain even if it’s “normalized.” She reminds us that pain doesn’t have to be unique or unusual or diagnosable to be valid.