The Empathy Bug Alexandria Fitzgerald

Today on The Empathy Bug, we are infecting people with the knowledge of social justice and explaining what the differences between these two sayings are.

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Lives_Matter 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Lives_Matter 

https://www.adl.org/education/references/hate-symbols/white-lives-matter 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Lives_Matter 

www.theempathybug.com 

Find out what I've been up to since February and what this upcoming year holds for The Empathy Bug. 

One this episode of The Empathy Bug I got the pleasure of interviewing two couples and talking to them about their love story.

Our first couple is my aunt Kate and her girlfriend Tammy. Though they were from different worlds they managed to connect online and find a love strong enough to move across the country for.

Our second couple is my baby sister Geneva and her fiance Dewayne. They met on a whim, at an anime convention that Dewayne hadn't originally planned to attend. Over a year later they now have a child and are planning to have their wedding sometime the end of this year.

I love these stories so much, and even though I was there to see them as they unfolded I still learned a lot that I had never known before. Please join us as we celebrate love and the future.

Today's episode is Domineque Ray, a Muslim man that was killed on death row this previous Thursday. He was denied the right to have his imam, Yusef Maisonet, with him at his time of death.  Tune in to hear my personal opinions on this controversial topic.



Also please remember that this month's charity highlight is Our House, a homeless shelter in Arkansas that is treating the root cause of homelessness and helping Arkansas families stay off the streets. 

www.ourhouseshelter.org



Sources for this episode are:

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/muslim-denied-presence-of-imam-at-his-execution-in-alabama-66729

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_religion

https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/first_amendment

I'm so excited to start my monthly charity highlight today! During the month of February I will be trying to draw awareness towards one of my favorite charities, Our House. They are an amazing homeless shelter here in Little Rock Arkansas. I had the pleasure of interviewing Sierra Fisher, their Community Engagement VISTA. We talked about the causes of homelessness, what our house is doing to help, and what we can do as a community to help with this cause.

If you would like to know more about Our House you can visit www.ourhouseshelter.org or call  (501) 374-7383 

theempathybug.wordpress.com

https://endhomelessness.org/resource/ending-chronic-homelessness-saves-taxpayers-money-2/

https://www.thv11.com/article/news/local/report-arkansass-homeless-population-increased-by-nearly-10-percent-in-2018/91-5926face-ade9-4685-beb7-d413e4cab782

On today's episode I speak from the heart about my mental health struggles and how I cope every day. I also gives advice for people caring for or loving someone with mental health issues. This was not an easy episode for me, but after having a bad week I knew that it was needed. I am not a therapist, I am not a doctor, I'm just a woman who has been suffering for a long time. If you are struggling with mental health issues please get help, be it through therapy or support groups.



You can also check out http://www.pleaselive.org/hotlines/ for a complete list of hotlines to call if you feel like you are in crisis mode. These are trained professionals that will get you the help you need.

Suicide Hotline  1-800-SUICIDE (784-2433)

1-800-273-TALK (8255)

Trevor Hotline (Suicide)  1-866-4-U-TREVOR

GriefShare  1-800-395-5755