On this episode Jay chats with friend and colleague Noelani Dizon. Lani and Jay met several years ago while working at a treatment center for co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders, and currently she is the program director for Whole Person Wellness, a program that assists individuals who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. Lani and Jay discuss many of her recent accomplishments and some exciting things she has on the horizon, and they really dig into childhood and adolescent struggles that almost contributed to none of this being possible. Lani gets candid about two suicide attempts in her later teens, and she shares about the power of therapy, finding authentic connections, and being willing to do the hard work required to persevere and come out the other side. Lani is a true testament to what can happen when you advocate for yourself and do what is needed to take charge of your mental health.

As an aside, there is talk about suicide in this episode. If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts please contact a mental health provider or call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1800-272-8255. You can also take yourself, or have a family member take you to the hospital for emergency evaluation.

On this episode Jay sits down with Nika Hirsch. Nika is the youngest guest so far on the podcast, at 10 years old. But, as you’ll hear, she’s one of the most inspiring guests. Nika and her mom run an Instagram account, This Life Rocks, which documents all of her amazing accomplishments and kind deeds. From a young age Nika has been dealing with selective mutism, which is an anxiety disorder that’s characterized by an inability to speak in certain social settings. So, it makes it all the more impressive that she could sit down with a total stranger and have this conversation. Nika uses her Instagram account to promote mental health awareness, spread kindness, and promote the various fundraising activities she’s always coming up with. Throughout her fundraising, Nika has raised several thousand dollars, most of which has been donated to various cancer foundations due to her father battling with sarcoma, a rare form of cancer, twice. In addition, at the time of recording this, Nika’s dad was in the hospital recovering from a brain surgery after a new cancer showed up.

Because Nika has been so brave through all that she faces, and because she does so much do help raise money for cancer research, Jay reached out to Nika’s mom and asked if he could set up a fundraiser with all proceeds being donated to a cancer foundation of their choosing. If you would like to get more information on this, please visit the show's Instagram page @comingintofocus, all one word and look for the post promoting this episode. And, while you’re at it, go check out This Life Rocks to see all of the amazing things Nika does.

Nika's Instagram: This Life Rocks

Jay's links:
Instagram
Focus Therapy Website
Facebook Group

On this episodeJay chats with Jason Naylor. Jason is an award-winning artist, designer, and creative director based in Brooklyn. Jason has received global recognition for his work, contributing to such names as Pepsi, Fenty, LuluLemon, Xbox and Sour Patch Kids, to name a few, and in 2018 BUMBLE named Jason one of the 100 Most Inspiring New Yorkers. Jason has become known and sought after, for his unique colorful style that regularly contains messages of love and positivity, and this passion for spreading kindness has led him to collaborate with mental health organizations such as the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Jason and Jay discuss how he began to home in on his particular brand, and what aspects of his own life led him to feel so passionate about contributing to overall mental health awareness. This is an extremely inspiring episode and one that you’ll probably find yourself wanting to listen to a couple of times.

Jason's Links:
www.jasonnaylor.nyc
Instagram
Store: www.opnheart.com

Jay's links:
Instagram
Focus Therapy Website
Facebook Group