Their Story Matters with Sara Troy and her guest Lee Habeeb, on air from June 22nd
A POWERFUL FILM FOR FATHER’S
The Streets Were My Father: A Story of Hopelessness and Redemption
Lee Habeeb is the Executive Producer of The Streets Were My Father: A Story of Hopelessness and Redemption. An Our American Stories Film/Production. He is the CEO and Host of Our American Stories, a nationally syndicated non-profit storytelling show heard on 330 stations across the country. He is also a weekly Newsweekessayist.
The film features the stories of three inner-city Chicago men – one African-American and two Hispanic – and their journey from fatherlessness to gangs, and from prison to encounters with prison ministry programs that set each of them on the road to redemption. And a life as productive members of society.
FAITH AS ONE SOLUTION: Christians have been at the forefront of prison reform in America, and soul reform, too. Of healing men and women, guiding their lives when they exit. In a world lacking in love, believers and non-believers alike will be moved by the stories of these three men. These do not just love stories, but stories about redemption, transformation, and transcendence.
THE PRISON/FATHERLESSNESS CONNECTION: Nearly 2.3 million people in America are serving time in prison. And 85% of youths in prison come from fatherless homes – 20X the average household with a father present.
FACTS ABOUT GROWING UP WITHOUT A FATHER: 90% of homeless and runaway: 32X the average. 71% of high school dropouts come from fatherless homes: 9X the average. 85% of children with behavioral disorders. 20X the average. 70% of Americans believe fatherless homes is our biggest social problem.
Raising Our Gifted Children with Sara Troy and her guest Marc Berkman and Ed Peisner
Organization for Social Media Safety was born out of tragedy. Today, we fight every day to protect families from the dangers linked to social media.
In 2016, then 14-year-old Jordan Peisner was standing with friends outside a local fast food restaurant when he was suddenly and viciously assaulted by another teen he did not know. During the attack and while Jordan lay helpless on the ground, witnesses and friends of the perpetrator stood and filmed the assault on their phones and then quickly uploaded their videos to social media. Now, this horrifying footage lives forever on social media already having been viewed by hundreds of thousands.
While Jordan slowly recovered from his severe, ultimately lifelong, injuries, his father Ed Peisner resolved to make sure that no other child or family had to endure such an ordeal. So, Ed began meeting with local legislators to explore solutions and eventually partnered with Marc Berkman, a senior staffer with the California State Assembly.
JORDAN’S LAW
Together, they learned that what we now call social media-motivated violence, attacks committed for the purpose of being filmed and distributed on social media to gain internet notoriety were doubling every year since the birth of major social media in 2006. To stop this sickening trend, Marc ultimately drafted Jordan’s Law, the nation’s first state law to deter social media-motivated violence. And, with Ed’s fierce advocacy, Jordan’s Law was signed into law in California within only a year of its introduction.
ORGANIZATION FOR SOCIAL MEDIA SAFETY IS BORN
Ed and Marc saw a very urgent need for an organization that had the vision, capacity, and capability to fight back against these dangers, an organization that recognized that while social media may be here to stay, it could actually become safe with the right interventions. That is why they founded the Organization for Social Media Safety.
Marc Berkman serves as the CEO of the Organization for Social Media Safety (OFSMS) where he has grown OFSMS into a prominent national consumer protection organization that has taught social media safety skills to thousands of students, parents, and educators across the country and developed essential social media safety legislation like Jordan’s Law, the nation’s first law to deter social media-motivated violence. Previously, Marc served for over a decade as a senior advisor to members of Congress and the California State Assembly. During his time as a legislative aide, he developed and helped pass into law numerous legislative initiatives to protect vulnerable children and families. Marc received his JD from Columbia Law School and his BA from UC Berkeley. He lives with his wife and two children in Los Angeles, CA.
After a long career in business, Ed Peisner founded the Organization for Social Media Safety in 2016 after his teenage son Jordan was viciously assaulted in West Hills, CA. The attack was filmed and uploaded to social media by an associate of the attacker. The video went viral, viewed by millions, and Jordan was left with serious and life-long injuries from the assault. Ed decided to dedicate himself to the goal of ensuring that no other family had to endure such a terrible ordeal. Now, Ed travels the country as the National Education Director for the Organization for Social Media Safety teaching thousands of students, parents, and educators how to stay safe on social media.
The Organization for Social Media Safety is the first nonprofit (501c3) consumer protection organization focused exclusively on social media. Through advocacy, education, and technology development, OFSMS protects against all social media-related dangers including cyberbullying, hate speech, sexual harassment, and human trafficking.
Sara’s View of Life with Sara Troy onair from June 15th
FEAR, WE ARE SO CONDITIONED TO BE FEARFUL, THAT HALF THE TIME WE DO NOT KNOW WHAT WE ARE FEARFUL ABOUT.
Fear is necessary in times of danger, it serves us very well in telling us there is something to be fearful about. BUT, fear in our every day lives is crippling us and we only end up chasing shadows. Have you asked your fear why it is there? why it wished you to stop moving forward? why it holds you back? Maybe you can look at fear eye to eye and ask it to explain its self and justify its reason for holding on to you so hard.
I have known fear, real fear, and the fear of not being enough, not fitting in, of letting people down of never living up to everyone’s expectations, I know that fear, both fears very well. I had to have that conversation with fear, I had to face it and tell it that it could not control me anymore and that I needed to move on in wonderment, possibilities, and exploration.
Fear does have its place as a protector, but not as a dictator, and if we give it too much power it will take over and rule you in every way, then your life will be a string of excuses of why you can’t do anything instead of believing you can. We are so much more than we allow ourselves to be, so much more than we are told we are, and the only way to self-discovery is in the willingness to face that fear, discover our strengths, our incredible abilities, and see the possibilities that lay before us.
So even though your stomach is turning, you are shaking, even feeling sick, stand up, tune in to your divine senses and take that step forward, for when you do, again and again, you are telling fear where to go, and that you and the source energy is in charge and you are in the discovery of your true self and all the abilities you are here to share.
Self Discovery Wisdom is sustained by those who believe in conscious conversation. If this episode resonated with you, subscribe and, if you feel called, make a donation. Your support helps us keep amplifying voices that inspire growth, courage, and compassion. Thank you.
Please support Our Forgotten Seniorsanthology and help to bring this book to awareness.
Building your business with Sara Troy and her guest Gary A DePaul, on air from June 15th
Leadership is one of those concepts that is difficult to define but know it when they see it. During the past two decades, though, the way experts think about leadership has radically changed from the traditional view. Gary DePaul helps professionals demystify the leadership concept and learn how they can more effectively unify teams to achieve the extraordinary!
Gary is a leadership consultant, author, podcast host, and Researcher. He partners with HR and talent-development executives to strengthen the health of their organizations, teams, and themselves.
He is an Adjunct Professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNCC) where he teaches graduate students about leadership and management. Gary Completed his Ph.D. and Ed.M. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He earned a Bachelor of Art in History and Philosophy from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. The International Society for Performance Improvement (ISPI) designated Gary as a Certified Performance Technologist (CPT).
Choose Positive Living with Sara Troy and her guest Annemarie Shrouder, on air from June 15th
Being Brown in a Black and White world. Her passion is Diversity and Inclusion and she is out to tackle Racism and Bias in the business world as well as socially.
Now more than ever Diversity and Inclusion play a pivotal role in healing our world. It is finally time to stand up, revisit the structures of the past, and dismantle any systems still in place causing separation and oppression so we can live in a Free, Equitable, and Thriving world.
Annemarie has spent more than 20 years in the field of Diversity and Inclusion as an international speaker, facilitator, and consultant. She has guided thousands of clients using her leading-edge method to create inclusive environments. As a biracial queer woman, Annemarie’s warm approach and transparency soothe participants, creating opportunities to put down their defenses and open lines of authentic communication. She is a master at creating belonging and safety in business environments, and the communities we care about.
“We have to change the paradigm. I can be a person of colour and have value. You don’t have to strip me of my colour to help me rise in your regard.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. didn’t have a dream that suggested we not see colour in order to see the con- tent of character. Colour blindness implies judgment. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have to make a point to not notice my skin. And not seeing colour can’t be the only way you see my value. I believe Dr. King was asking us to lean into both/and.”
“Turning in and away from results in “us and them” thinking, which leaves little to no room for building connection, creating opportunities for dialogue, to hear and be heard, or to really see the other and be seen. “
“Because we focus on either/or. And in an either/or world, someone has to win, and someone has to lose.”
“When we hold both/and, we have an entry point for a possibility, an acknowledgment, a conversation, without the weight of having to choose a side.”
“The goal of a both/and space is to move us away from polarization toward greater connection, seeing more, and ultimately, greater belonging—and change.”
“It’s when environments are inclusive, and employees feel a sense of belonging and systemic barriers are removed that companies reap the true benefits of di- verse representation. “
You must be logged in to post a comment.