Thoughtfoolery Jason Jones and Todd Gossett

Chauntelle Lieske, Executive Director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, Spokane, joined us to discuss NAMI's work of support, education, and advocacy for those impacted by mental health conditions. We discussed the current mental health crisis, how the holidays affect our mental health, and what we can do if we or someone we love is experiencing mental health needs. To learn more about NAMI's work here in Spokane, you can find them at namispokane.org/.

Among churches, there's often a culture of silence around domestic violence, and when it occurs churches have often acted in a way that makes the situation worse. Maryclare Beche, the author of the recent Sojourners article, Here's How Your Church Can Help Survivors of Domestic Violence, joined us to talk about where we've gone wrong as the church in responding to domestic violence and how we can recognize the signs of domestic violence, establish safe sanctuaries, and create a culture of care. If you'd like to learn more about Maryclare, you can find her on Twitter at twitter.com/bechemaryclare.

Executive Director of the Smith-Barbieri Progressive Fund and the Secretary/Treasurer of the Spokane Low Income Housing Consortium, Lerria Schuh, joined us to discuss her recent article in the Spokeman-Review advocating for taking the time to properly relocate the residents of Camp Hope rather than a quick disbanding of the encampment of those experiencing homelessness. We discussed what it takes to transition a person from homelessness, what real compassion looks like, and how creating real solutions to homelessness makes financial sense for everyone.

Todd and Jason share, as we're soon to celebrate one year of Thoughtfoolery, what they appreciate about this project, what they've learned, and what's next.

Author and editor, Julie Christine Johnson, joined us to talk about her growth in anti-racism, the stories she tells, and life on the Olympic Peninsula. She shared with us how she was profiled in Heather McGhee's book, The Sum of Us, as an example of someone doing the work of self-education on racism and advocating for opposing racism, how this growth affects her writing, and she also told us about the books she is writing now. If you'd like to learn more about Julie and her writing, you can find her at juliechristinejohnson.com.

Dr. Dawn Weaks, Co-Pastor of Connection Christian Church in Odessa, Texas, joined us to share about her new book, Breakthrough:  Trusting God for Big Change in Your Church. In the book, she chronicles the change that Connection Christian Church went through, changing its name and location, in order to rediscover the call and vitality that God had for them. She tells this story not only for them to remember but also so that all churches might see and know that they, too, can experience a breakthrough and find again the new life God calls us all to. If you'd like to learn more about Dawn and the book, you can find her at dawn.weaks.org.