Being contacted by a Department of Justice is not an every day occurrence. When I got the email that there was a local event being put on that would host educators from all over the Central Valley I had to accept the invitation and be apart of it. I truly believe there is a huge need for educators to be apart of these types of events because teachers need to understand all of the latest findings involving mental health. I think teachers often think I need to get these bad behaving kids who just want to disrupt class far away from me. While I agree teachers shouldn’t enjoy a disruptive student, I also believe that understanding why a student may be disruptive gives us a better chance at making a connection with the student and possibly changing the course of their life in a positive way.
Throughout my years of work, wether it was my non-profit Freewheel Project or through substance abuse and mental health speaking, i’ve built a vast group of contacts and resources. These people have come to my aid/support in the different types of work I am doing. Several years ago, a now friend, J.D came to help the Freewheel Project board of directors. J.D and I have stayed friends for a long time and he recently reached out to me and wanted me to speak with the middle school and high school students of Parlier Unified School District.
The September tour was in full affect and as soon as finished up a grueling month that only afforded me 3 days off, I rolled straight into my October swing. First event was located in Ashville North Carolina. Ashville was another healthcare conference I would be keynoting. The drive into Ashville was interesting because I actually spoke an hour outside of Ashville and it was super country where I went. There was this Santa theme park on the way to the casino where the event was being held and I literally was like, “What the heck?!!” I’ve never heard of it and it looked pretty cool. The area that the conference was being held was a reserve if I’m not mistaken. I knew that there was struggles in the area because when I pulled up to the gas station to get me snacks through the evening, a couple people in the parking lot were clearly struggling with crystal meth addictions.
After finishing up in Kingston, New York, I made the small trek to Kalamazoo Michigan for the NASW Conference. Michigan seems to be the most progressive state concerning mental health, behavioral health and substance use disorder. You have probably heard me mention that recently after my blog from the Detroit conference. It was good to be back in Michigan so quickly and it was awesome to work with such a genuine group of people who decided on me as their speaker.
Typically, when I work, I work independently. That means I book and handle all of my events. However, I do work with several agencies who have me on their list of speakers and they will pitch me for events they believe I’m a good fit for. Tracy, who is a wonderful lady, at Speakers for Change lined up my trip Kingston, New York recently. New York is a place I tend to visit often the past 2 years, especially the Northern regions of the city. If you remember from following me, my last visit was in the Canton area. Kingston is not quite as North as that, but it was near the Albany area. Heading into this trip I had already been to Maryland, Texas & Oklahoma so to say I was a little tired getting there would be a total understatement.
Oklahoma is hardly a hot spot for my work and that is not to say that it isn’t needed but it’s not a location that I’ve spent a great deal of time in. Although I have been before and will be back in the Tulsa area in January. I was invited to speak several months ago by the Choctaw Nation at their annual conference being held in Durant, Oklahoma.
