Healing Hearts: Parenting with Purpose-Support for Resilient Families, Support for Parents, Childhood Trauma Advocacy Parents Speak Up for Kids

In this episode, Sophia Mills and Rylie Heck speak with Julie McGue, an adult adoptee, identical twin, and author. At the age of 48, a breast biopsy brought to light the limitations of closed adoption, sparking a quest to uncover her birth circumstances, family medical history, and genealogy. Beyond her writing, Julie is a mother, grandmother, and an identical twin, embracing the myriad roles and experiences life has offered her. She has a lifelong passion for storytelling and has filled countless journals and binders with narratives and reflections from her experiences.  She writes about finding out who you are, where you belong, and making sense of it.

Julie has published two award-winning books, Twice a Daughter is about the five year search for birth relatives. Belonging Matters is a collection of essays about adoption, family, and kinship. Her third book, a prequel to Twice a Daughter, comes out in Feb. 2025. Julie McGue takes us on a gripping exploration of her profound adoptee journey through a medical crisis within the confines of closed adoption, discovering personal identity and voice while weaving resilience and inspiration from every challenge faced.

GUEST INFORMATION/LINKS:
 https://juliemcgueauthor.com
www.facebook.com/juliemcguewrites
www.twitter.com/juliermcgue
www.instagram.com/julieryanmcgue
www.Goodreads.com/julieryanmcgue
www.linkedin.com/in/julie-mcgue-a246b841

In this episode, Sophia Mills speaks with Rebecca Korda, program manager for recruitment and training at the National Youth Advocate Program. Rebecca provides quality services to children and families within the dependency system here in southeast Florida. 

Rebecca began her career as a case manager with ChildNet in 2012. She transitioned to working the last 8 years with foster parents and the youth they serve. First, as a treatment coordinator ensuring the children's appointments and needs were monitored. Then, as a licensing specialist monitoring foster parents were in compliance and good standing with DCF regulations. Currently, Rebecca works as a trainer and recruiter actively trying to dispel the myth that it takes "someone special" to be a foster parent. She has learned through professional and personal experience that being a foster parent simply means putting aside your own conveniences at times to ensure the children coming into your home feel welcomed and valued. Rebecca's expertise serves to educate and encourage anyone interested in becoming a foster parent. She also works with foster parents struggling because, per Rebecca's words, "being a foster parent isn't all sunshine and rainbows." There are struggles which require expert guidance. It is important to ensure foster parents and the children in their home are given necessary care and attention from the system of care responsible for their placement. 
Rebecca offers personal experience. Many people work in the foster care system but not all of them are also licensed foster parents. Her ability to recruit and assist soon-to-be foster parents comes from a unique place; lived experience. Rebecca's lived experience as a foster parent has improved the way the state mandated curriculum is delivered to people attending foster parent training classes.  

GUEST INFORMATION/LINKS: 

NYAP.org
https://nfpaonline.org/
Maybe Days: A book for Children in Foster Care
EveryParent (Palm Beach parent app)
https://www.cscbroward.org/families/ (Children's Services Council)

In this episode,  Sophia Mills and Sofia Scher talk about the need and importance of PPEC with Thomas LoBianco, the vice president at Tender Care PPEC.  Tender Care is a Prescribed Pediatric Extended Care Center (PPEC) which is basically a daycare for kids with special medical needs. They help birth to 21 and are staffed with nurses and therapists. They have six locations in Florida and are free with Medicaid.

UPCOMING EVENT: 2nd Annual Special Needs Resources Expo on Saturday, April 13 from 1-3 PM at Mall 2121 in St. Augustine, Florida.
For more information,  check out this information: https://www.tcms.care/st-augustine-2024-expo/


GUEST INFORMATION:

Website: www.tcms.care 
Facebook: Tender Care PPEC
Instagram: teamtendercareppec
TikTok: teamtendercare
YouTube: tendercareppec
LinkedIn: tendercareppec 

In this episode,  co-Hosts Sophia Mills and Sofia Scher have a conversation with Debbie Reber, the parent of a 19 year old neurodivergent child and the founder and CEO of Tilt Parenting. Tilt Parenting was created in 2016 to support parents find more confidence and hope in raising their differently wired children.

GUEST INFORMATION

Debbie Reber is a parenting activist, bestselling author, podcast host, speaker, and the CEO and founder of Tilt Parenting. Tilt Parenting is working to change the way neurodifferences in children — ADHD, learning disabilities, autism, giftedness, processing challenges, twice-exceptionality, and more — are perceived and experienced so these children, and the parents raising them, can thrive in their schools, their families, and in their lives. She is the author of more than dozen books, including my most recent book "Differently Wired: Raising an Exceptional Child in a Conventional World." Before Debbie launched Tilt, she spent more than fifteen years writing inspiring books for women and teens, and frequently spoke about issues like media literacy, self-esteem, and confidence, and consulted for clients including the Girl Scouts, the Disney Channel, McGraw Hill, and Kaplan. In the earlier years of her career, Debbie worked in TV and video production, producing documentaries and PSAs for CARE and UNICEF, working on Blue’s Clues for Nickelodeon, and developing original series for Cartoon Network. Debbie currently lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Social Media: 

https://facebook.com/tiltparenting  
https://instagram.com/tiltparenting

Website Links:

https://tiltparenting.com/club
https://tiltparenting.com/podcast
https://tiltparenting.com/book

In this Heart to Heart episode, Tonya Cajuste tells a story of a parent who feels overwhelmed and their child who feels unheard . Join in to understand the importance of engaged parenting and learn some advice about ways to navigate scenarios like this one.

In this episode,  Host Sophia Mills has a conversation with licensed mental health professional, certified parent coach, & Mom of two, Elyse Jones. Sophia and Elyse discuss the importance of understanding your child's love language and how that can impact discipline styles and behavior outcomes.


GUEST INFORMATION
Elyse Jones is a thought provoking international speaker who has trained & supported thousands of parents, educators & villagers for over a decade as a school counselor & community practitioner. As a licensed social worker, certified parenting coach & ordained minister she understands that being a mental health professional isn’t just a career, it’s a calling.
She is the founder and chief consultant of Parenting for the Culture, a therapeutic coaching & consulting practice committed to bringing awareness & interruption to generational patterns that often sneak into our parenting practices & plague our communities. She provides collaborative services & interactive workshops to school districts, churches & corporations who understand that peace on earth begins at home.
She is a wife to an amazing husband, Karlton Jones. Together they have two beautiful children, their three-year-old son KJ & their six-year-old daughter Gracie. Although small in stature their children have been huge in impact, daily reminding them of this truth: “Your greatest contribution to the kingdom of God may not be something you do but someone you raise.” By the grace of God, they are committed to intentional parenting, raising a generation of children who will not need to recover from their childhood.


Social Media: @elysejonesofficial (FB, IG, & YouTube)


Self Paced Course: https://elyse-jones-01f9.mykajabi.com/UnOverwhelmed?cid=16cdd24f-a33b-474c-9243-aad148920aaf


Email address: elyse@parentingfortheculture.com