The Voices for Voices Podcast Episode 16 with Voices for Voices Founder, Justin Alan Hayes
Justin Alan Hayes:
Hey everyone. Welcome back to the podcast. Today, we're going to dive into Voices for Voices, our main sponsor for the House of You podcast, sponsored by Voices for Voices. For those that don't know, we're going to jump into the mission, the vision, some of the events that we have coming up, and some partnerships that we also have to help guide the organization, the community and future episodes of this podcast.
Justin Alan Hayes:
Once again, I'm your host, Justin Alan Hayes. The mission of Voices for Voices is to provide educational materials, workshops, and seminars designed to assist individuals with mental health, career advancement and practical solutions to help manage workplace issues. So that's at the mission level. Let's go up, maybe that 20, 30,000 foot view to our vision. So our vision at Voices for Voices is to make mental health a non-negotiable priority for people everywhere, along with long term career development to become a healthy and productive member of society. And for those that don't know, Voices for Voices is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, which was founded to provide a platform for folks of all walks of life, to share their stories with others as we work to break that negative stigma around mental health and disabilities.
Justin Alan Hayes:
So let's jump in next to what we do. So what exactly does all of this mean for individuals for the community and for those out there who have been so gracious to support and continue to support our organization? So it's really a three step process of what Voices for Voices does. The first step is to inform and educate. We inform and educate through established facts, online resources, telephone numbers, podcast episodes, such as this, meetups and events that we'll dive into shortly.
Justin Alan Hayes:
The second step is intake, refer, follow up and follow through. Here, we guide individuals in their moments of need to predefined networks of medical and clinical professionals within one week of outreach with the option for Voices for Voices' financial sponsorship. This is a real key area. Not only do we want to be, and are we an organization that provides information that we do in step one with informing and educating, that piece is key, but I think we needed to go one step further. And so we are, and we continue to do that.
Justin Alan Hayes:
With my mental health situation and my mental health crisis, kind of my lowest level going on five years ago, prior to that absolute bottom out of my mental health, one of the things that I was running into was finding a professional individual to see, to learn more about what challenges that I had and to be able to move forward. I remember not only the many ER visits and coming out of those still just as scared and not really feeling great about leaving the hospital because the doctors and all the medical tests were coming back, that I wasn't dying right there right then. And while that was key and important, I still knew that something was up and I needed to explore that more.
Justin Alan Hayes:
And the closer I got to that bottom out point in my mental health, I started to do, I guess, some more research on mental health and what individuals, what professionals who actually see and treat and help individuals with mental health challenges. So seeking out doing the Google. So just doing the search of, mental health practitioner and searches like that, just to find out what what the title is. Is it MD for medical doctor? What are those initials?
Justin Alan Hayes:
And I remember more than one occasion where my family doctor, which was the only person I really knew on the medical side, in the past who I could go to and really help me feel better. So if I was not feeling well and it ended up being a cold or the flu or the annual physical and blood work, that was who I went to. And having some conversations, albeit in a super panic stricken state, while not consuming enough calories for my diet, I was put on a couple of different medications. And with that, I was given a sheet of paper, one piece of paper with a list of different organizations and some phone numbers to call, to potentially see somebody about getting that mental health help that I was starting to find that I really needed.
Justin Alan Hayes:
And upon looking at that piece of paper, once I got home and breaking through the stigma I had about mental health and those with mental illnesses, and then just plain and simple being able to pick up the phone and actually have a conversation with somebody about what I needed, what I was feeling. When I did that, I was coming across lots of roadblocks. And most of those roadblocks were around scheduling where, "Okay, Justin, we can get you in." So let's say hypothetically, we're at June 1st. And so I call on June 1st, "Yeah Justin, we can get you in. I have an appointment on August 27th, will that work for you at 9:30 AM?" And while an individual that doesn't need kind of immediate care that isn't going through a crisis that might be okay for somebody who has stabilized, such as where I'm at now with my journey as being in a pretty good spot and having follow up appointments. At that time, I wasn't stable and I needed to see somebody ASAP as soon as possible.
Justin Alan Hayes:
So each ER visit that I was released and given a clean bill health, along with those phone calls that I was having, and the feedback about not being able to be seen for at least a couple months. And I remember at least one call that I had, I kept going to the manager and the next department trying to go up the food chain and this nurse practitioner was on the phone. And basically her job was, does this individual need immediate care in my opinion right now? Or can they wait? And her opinion was I could wait. And again, I was given a day and a time out into the future. So not only was the fact that the appointments I was being given once I actually had the guts to do that, to make those calls, the location was also a big problem.
Justin Alan Hayes:
So for those that may not know one of the triggers, one of the events, the feelings that can happen with somebody with a mental health challenge and specific talking about myself with anxiety, is driving. And so I had driven for 35 years by myself for much of that time, going through the whole permit process and then driving to and from friend's house, to and from family functions to college, to really everything that I really was invited to. So driving for me, wasn't something new. But during that time, driving felt like a foreign language to me. I was having panic attacks while I was driving. I had to pull over at least one time on the way to dinner with my now wife, because I was feeling as though I was blacking out as I was driving. Which is not a good thing to happen for anybody in the car, let alone the driver for their health and safety and the other individuals and passengers in their vehicles.
Justin Alan Hayes:
So being in a geographic area that is potentially 20, 30 minutes away from when that appointment or where that appointment is being scheduled, that's a problem. Because number one, the amount of time that I just mentioned, and then number two, the distance. So how am I going to get there? And again, in an ideal situation, in a normal state of affairs, that was no problem for me. But during that time, it was a problem. And that was one of the, when I think the big drivers was like, "Oh my gosh, nobody's listening to me. Nobody's helping me. I need help right now. What else can I do? I've had any test imaginable and they're all coming back. Okay. I can't get an appointment for two months and if I can get one it's 20, 30 minutes away. So how am I going to drive there?" And so how was I going to go through that situation just again, on the merits of having an appointment, being able to drive there and being able to make it from day one to again, maybe 45, 60 days out.
Just want to let you know about our upcoming Voices for Voices, A Brand New Day event, which is our annual gala event. It's on October 12th at 7:30. For those that are in the Northeast Ohio area, it's going to be held at the Canton Cultural Center and tickets are $20 and all the proceeds go towards the Voices for Voices organization, which is also a 501(c)(3). Dr. Jessica Hoefler is going to be one of the ... I call it the blockbuster speakers, but one of the three individuals that's really going to talk a lot about what she's talked about here with us today and really just that thought of A Brand New Day, kind of like with Piper's Key, of unlocking and setting her free, that's with Voices for Voices and with the brand new day event specifically.
You'll want to share experiences of real everyday people, not celebrities, just people that are going through and have gone through some traumatic things, whether that is mental health related, whether that is anything really traumatic. So it doesn't have to be mental health related. That's how I started the organization, but obviously as I'm learning and want to have a broader reach, that individuals with mental health challenges aren't the only individuals that have gone through traumatic experiences. So again, Dr. Jessica Hoefler will be one of the blockbuster speakers. We're also going to have Brian Laughlin, who is a lieutenant at the Twinsburg Fire Department. Then one of my actual former students, James Warnken, he is an online specialist with expertise and search engine optimization and data analytics and he's actually legally color blind. So he goes through certain software packages to be able to do the work for his businesses now. Even when he was my student at Walsh University, there were some I guess, accommodations, accessibility, things that he was able to do.
So really not only from a spectrum of age range, but from first responder to somebody in education, traumatic, male, female, that we are all going through and have gone through things and I really want with A Brand New Day is to talk about not just some of the tough times, but how the message of a particular mission and vision is living on and how it's touching and reaching and helping more people. So again, you can find out more about A Brand New Day at voicesforvoices.org, or you can go to Eventbrite, which is the official event platform to put events together, and you can search A Brand New Day and then you'll find the event tickets there. Then you can join us in person. We'd really love to have you and bring a friend, a family member, somebody that would like to be uplifted.
So it’s not just the speakers, we're also going to have a special needs band, RockAbility, going to be playing. So some real rock music. So some of these individuals are going to be playing real live instruments with some mentor musicians and everything from the music. It's all going to be played live, in person. We're not going to use auto tune like some of the music today, and even the singers, the vocals, are going to be done. So it's going to be a lot of fun. We hope you'll make plans to join us and you'll see more on this coming up on our social media pages, the Voices for Voices on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, wherever you consume content, as well as future podcasts.
Justin Alan Hayes:
So bringing that back to Voices for Voices and this step two of the intake, referring, follow up and follow through, what I wanted to do and what we are doing Voices for Voices is to guide the individuals who are in crisis, who do need help now. Yes, they may need help in the future, but given how precious life is and everything that goes along with it, if too much time goes and passes, there's a chance that the outcome might not turn out to the positive. And so this second step of being able to get individuals seen, get them in contact with an individual that understands this individual is in crisis right now, this time, this day, this location, and they need help.
Justin Alan Hayes:
And so part of that is, individuals who may be going through detoxing. They may have, again, an appointment for two days from now, but with them going through a detox program, now there's withdrawal symptoms. And so as much as we don't want individuals to use and abuse legal, recreational drugs, individuals going through that detox may need to use to get them to that point where they can get to that next appointment. So part of this step two is getting the individuals to be seen by individuals who are trained and if deemed appropriate and deemed past the certain metrics that they have out there. I don't know all those metrics. I don't have that medical background, but I do know the individuals that do have that background.
Justin Alan Hayes:
And so that's where Voices for Voices is reaching out to other organizations that we can help guide individuals through. Whether that is again with the appointment, with that bridging process of, okay, this individual has an appointment in two days, and they're kind of going through that detox process. And they're having a rough go at it, that individual and individuals like them are over 70% more going to make it and attend that counseling, that therapy session that would be set out for two days, because that individual will have gone through that tough period. They would've worked through it with a licensed and training professional. And that's huge for individuals. We want people to live. We want people to survive and thrive. And so we have to support people at all steps of the process, and not really judge them as like, "Oh, well, you know what, Justin, you did it to yourself. So we can't help you." That's the wrong way. That's how, I would say, I think the old Justin would've approached things. But now we're approaching things in a much more systematic, medical backed partnerships with organizations who have a lot of that same mission is to help others.
Justin Alan Hayes:
As I mentioned on a podcast in previous episodes, just as an individual, you think of a mission statement like I just read for Voices for Voices, individually I have the mission statement basically as simple as helping others and wanting to help as many people throughout my lifetime that I can, whatever that may be. I know that not everybody I talk to I'm going to help. Not everybody I talk to is going to agree with how I see things and my experiences. And I'm okay with that. But I'm finding that spending my time helping others is much more helpful these days for me.
Justin Alan Hayes:
So yeah, that second step is key. A lot of organizations out there in my research, they provide a ton of education. And so while we want to provide that education and informing those individuals in the community, we don't want to stop there. So we're not stopping there, we're continuing on with that second step. And then the way we really bring things home is kind of that third step. So if you think of a circle or think of a clock, right? So that 12 to 3 time frame. So those three hours that span in would be more, or I guess we're thinking since we have three, so be 12 to 4, would be the inform and educate. Then the second four hours would be the intake, refer, follow up and follow through. Which again, to really just close out step two of following through and following up. So not just send in individuals once they have an appointment like, "Oh, well, we got those individuals scheduled, so our job's done." So our job's done on one side of the coin, but the other step is how are things continuing on?
Justin Alan Hayes:
Because I know from my experience that the day that I started to get help, the day that I was admitted to the hospital, that was just one day. I didn't know how many days I was going to survive if I wasn't at that point, finally, after all the struggle, all the energy, just being so drained from trying and trying and not knowing what to do and getting the cold shoulder a little bit from the medical community. Having somebody to follow up and then to follow through, to say and reach out like, "Hey, are you doing okay? Or what's your treatment plan look like, and how's that going?"
Justin Alan Hayes:
And so, again, those first two steps are key. But we feel that our third step really brings things home and brings those individuals from all walks of life, doesn't matter what they do for profession, what they don't do, what industry, what location they're in, what political party they're in, the goal is to tell others, that what I found is I was never asked about my political background as I was going through that process. And so just as crazy as things are, that we should, again, just treat people as the humans that they are.
Justin Alan Hayes:
So that third step, we call that workforce development and advancement. And so this is really where Voices for Voices gets, let's say weaved in to, or I guess the other side, this is where the House of You gets weaved into Voices for Voices. So where the House of You does provide workforce development and advancement, everywhere from consulting sessions to again, educational materials, to teaching materials, to again, informing and educating on that span of the spectrum. And so this is really one of the big things of why I wanted to put this episode together, is because this is relatively new for Voices for Voices, is to bring those individuals back into the workforce.
Justin Alan Hayes:
I'm using my experience again, I was in between jobs kind of at my worst. So if an individual is in between jobs, looking for a job while an individual, again, needs money to pay for bills, the health is most important. There's not going to be any bills to pay if an individual doesn't make it to that next step. And so that's why the informing and educating, we feel, is important as kind of that foundation, just that baseline, and then bringing that into the clinical setting. And again, following, following through the timing, getting individuals seen, giving them an opportunity to, again, if they need to bridge going through that detox process between the appointment to have individuals that can help out that way.
Justin Alan Hayes:
That I know from my experience, I wasn't really being a, I'll say, a very well functioning member of society. And everybody is different, everybody's level of functioning person in society looks different. So this doesn't mean that everybody needs to strive to be a CEO or own their own company. What this means is whatever an individual comes to find out that they want to do with their time, where, when they go to work, that they don't feel that it's as much work as it is.
Justin Alan Hayes:
And what do I mean by that? If you are an individual and you go to work and you have, let's say for the last 15 years, and you don't have a ton of stress that really comes from that. And you're able to manage kind of the personal relationships that you have. That work might not really feel like it really is work. It feels like something that you like to do. Something that gives your life meaning, where I stand and where I sit of being in a position of wanting to help others. That's where I feel that I'm giving the most back to society and where I feel that I just feel the most validated.
Justin Alan Hayes:
And whatever that looks like. There's times where money gets spent maybe more than should in a certain situation. But when that cause, and when that thing is going to morph into something bigger than myself, at some point into the future, that's when I say, barring taking a financial level down to where you don't have any emergency money available and taking your family near the bankruptcy level and into those levels that if you manage your money well, and there are some things that some amount of money, whether it might be $20 might be $100 and all that can be relative to your situation.
Justin Alan Hayes:
But when you're in that situation where you do those things, and you don't feel like the things that you're doing is so much work. Yeah, it is work. There are things that you're doing. There are times where you sit more than you stand. If you're working on the computer. Maybe you're traveling via car, or maybe via train, maybe via plane or bus. And so there's going to be all those types of variables that come in into play. But when you truly buy into what you are doing, then that's really where you want to be. And that's one of the keys of why myself, I started the House of You five years ago. And here with Voices for Voices is to really make that impact and to be doing something that I love to do that I'm able to help others. And it comes in different shapes and sizes and flavors and all that good stuff. But that's something that I'm able to do. And that's why I'm able to be with you here today on the podcast.
Justin Alan Hayes:
So by integrating the House of You with Voices for Voices, and kind of our third step of what we do at the high level for Voices for Voices, it was key because it's really taken two things I'm passionate about and putting them together and integrating them to be able to take again, the mental health, the individuals with challenges, that side of the equation and that side of the coin, and then looking at the House of View and that workforce development and advancement.
Justin Alan Hayes:
And so the goal with that third pillar, that third step of the workforce development and advancement is through the proprietary curriculum of the House of You, which I have legally patented with the United States patent and trade office in DC. This curriculum will be brought back to those individuals that go through our program, our process, and that will help the participants not only bolster their workforce foundation. And that foundation could be, "Hey, I'm a student in college. I'm heading into the trades out of high school. I'm heading in the military, or I'm just getting out the military and heading back into into society in a non-military standpoint."
Justin Alan Hayes:
Or it could be that C-suite executive that lost their job, or is in between careers, just having a look at themselves and finding that what they have been doing, isn't bringing them as much gratification and fulfillment as what they should feel, especially as a human being, right? We're only on earth for a number of years. And do we want to spend those years on the more happier or fulfilled or validated side of the equation or not? And where those things that we can control, we want to control those things.
Justin Alan Hayes:
And if I think of an interview process, an individual can control what time they show up for the interview, how many resumes they bring, if they bring a portfolio, what clothes, if they dress appropriately for the interview, whether that's a suit, business casual with a sport coat, whether that's a dress, whether that's a pant suit, whether you're male or female. Those are things that you can do yourself. But the things that you can't really worry about, you don't have as much impact as how the interviewers feel about the answers you're giving to questions, how maybe a relationship at their house, maybe they got into a disagreement with their significant other. And so while that individual came to work, they might have a little bit more anxiety in their head space than other days.
Justin Alan Hayes:
And so where we can help at Voices for Voices and the House of You, help those individuals find their foundation to build off of that, and ultimately lead those individuals to that workforce freedom and satisfaction that I just talked about in my own experience here with Voices for Voices and with the House of You.
Justin Alan Hayes:
So these are the three key areas that Voices for Voices focuses on. And I'm glad I was able to really talk about that and just flesh that out for those individuals who are out there that weren't sure what exactly Voices for Voices does. And so on our website, this information can be found under the, what we do. Just a real, pretty basic way of getting what we do out to individuals across the world and who may have an interest in what we do.
Justin Alan Hayes:
This advertisement is sponsored by Voices for Voices. Come see the second annual Voices for Voices, A Brand New Day live conference and event on Wednesday, October 12, at 7:30 PM at the Canton Cultural Center. Tickets are $20. All ticket proceeds are tax deductible as Voices for Voices is a 501(c)(3). Tickets can be found on VoicesforVoices.org.
Justin Alan Hayes:
Okay. Coming back from our commercial break, another area to really just solidify before we move on, is we have the way individuals get in contact with us. So an individual going through a crisis, an individual who's been vetted through, let's say an organization like NAMI the National Alliance on Mental Illness. And they deem that an individual does indeed need help, need care. And they're in that critical crisis mode. And so the way individuals can reach out to us for our services and for that guidance that just shared is by dialing (330) 970-9747. That is (330) 970-9747.
Justin Alan Hayes:
So as we get moving onto this next area of really getting the information, again, out to the community is by events. And so there are different events and things that we do at Voices for Voices that get the word number one, about who Voices for Voices is what we are, who we are, what we do. So that's why that first kind of segment of the podcast was helpful.
Justin Alan Hayes:
But then there's other aspects where sometimes events come to my attention. And I look at the possibility of attending them to network, right? So letting more people know about your organization or yourself is better than less. If you're continuing to want to grow, and in my instance wanted to help more people, than just by myself, without an organization kind of attached to me. And so ways we do that are through different conferences, different potential ways of traveling to areas outside of our main jurisdiction or our main sweet spot of being in Northeast Ohio. So we are a global organization, Voices for Voices is. But again, the bulk of the work that we're able to do is isn't Northeast Ohio. So anytime I have the ability or anybody from Voices for Voices has the ability to get outside of that geography, geographical area that's helpful.
Justin Alan Hayes:
And so coming up, there are several areas that we'll be at. So the first is we're going to be in Crete Greece on May 29th to June 6th. Then next we're going to be in Warsaw, Poland, June 7th to June 9th. And then lastly, Frankfurt, Germany, June 9th to 12th, and given current events, things that occur, kind of that macro global scale as things sometimes do, individuals sometimes get displaced from where they live in. And one of those situations, unfortunately, is occurring over in Eastern Europe.
Justin Alan Hayes:
And so I was going to already be in Greece, as I mentioned on May 29th to June 6th in Germany, June 9th and June 12th. But I had a couple of days in between where there were open days. So I didn't have anything professionally, organizationally planned at that time. And really to just give a look into me and my thought process that looks like, okay, so I have a couple days, I can hang out in Greece extra couple days. I could head to Germany a couple days earlier, or, well, wait a minute. What's going on in the world, what's happening with Russia, invading Ukraine and individuals having to flee their homes? And so my wheels start turning of, "Okay, Justin, you're going to be in that area of the world. Is there a way that you can make an impact through Voices for Voices and just as a human to other humans?"
Justin Alan Hayes:
And so after doing some research, I decided there was. That there are a couple different spots in Warsaw, Poland, where individuals, unfortunately, again, have had to flee their homes and not know what they're going to go back to. And so some of those individuals have ended up in a Warsaw, Poland. And so after doing a little bit more research, making sure the organization and the location was legit, because a lot of times in these situations, unfortunately people in the organizations sometimes try to take advantage of others and they're like, "Yeah, we'll collect all this money and we'll collect all these things and yeah, we'll get it to the people in need." And I'm more of a, "Well, I could do that. Or how about if I ship some of those humanitarian aid supplies, like hygiene kits, blankets, children's books, some candy for the kids?" And deliver those and hand those hand to hand to the individuals that need it.
Justin Alan Hayes:
And so that's what I'm going to do. So that's how the Warsaw, Poland interlude trip came up for me. And it really drives home again, the mission of Voices for Voices, of helping others in situations that sometimes it could be something that the individual went through because of something they did, sometimes it's not. And so at Voices for Voices, we want to support the individuals that kind of meet our sweet spot of the individuals and the backgrounds that we do. And this is a perfect way to be able to do that.
Justin Alan Hayes:
And so that's huge for Voices for Voices being in existence for two years to be able to take that outreach outside of the United States, outside of Northeast Ohio, to other individuals that potentially not potentially, they do need the help. And so hopefully that should give a little insight into kind of my thinking of, "Okay, if I'm able to do something, maybe let me look at it and see if I actually can do it, whether that's a financial side of things, whether that's physically," whatever that may be. Because I also have a family, right? I have a wife and a three year old. So I can't always just be running off to everything that is a great opportunity. I have to really just think about things.
Justin Alan Hayes:
So I was going to be in Europe and that's how that trip came to be about. And more to be seen about that trip. And I highly recommend that if you're available again on October 12th to come join us at the Canton Cultural Center and we will have a little bit of a revealing about that journey of helping others on that grand scale. And that's helpful to, again, the individuals that will be helped, but also to me, an individual to have that good feeling that gratefulness, it really brings things home and gives me an opportunity, again, to just give thanks for kind of the small things that overlook on a daily basis. And so that's something, gratitude that's helpful.
Justin Alan Hayes:
This ad is sponsored by Voices for Voices. Packages are available to sponsor Voices for Voices for the coming year. There are three tiers, bronze for $500 where you receive printed material coverage, two tickets to Voice for Voices events, a small booth at the annual A Brand New Day conference in October, and the logo on our Voices for Voices website.
Justin Alan Hayes:
For $1,500 is the silver package. That gets you everything in bronze, plus printed material coverage on all printed materials, a full one table event sponsorship at our A Brand New Day event and conference in October. Logo on website. Prominent, but non-exclusive coverage at the annual Voices for Voices, A Brand New Day conference. Recognition at the annual conference, corporate size booth at the annual conference, and four tickets to various Voices for Voices events and conference. Additionally, a quick ad on the podcast, the House of View podcast sponsored by Voices for Voices at least once a month.
Justin Alan Hayes:
And then our top giving package is the gold package for $3,000. This includes all the benefits in bronze and silver plus prominent coverage on all printed materials, premier sponsor coverage at the second annual A Brand New Day event in October, a full six person table, 12 tickets, and a 30 minute meet and greet with Voices for Voices, founder, Justin Alan Hayes, and a signed copy of his mental health journey Prescription for Living. Exclusive coverage as a premier sponsor in all media, the opportunity to speak and be recognized at the annual A Brand New Day event in October, corporate booth exhibition space at the annual Voices for Voices conference, free admission to the Voices for Voices event conference seminar, and an intro sponsorship and a quick ad for every podcast.
Justin Alan Hayes:
If you're interested, you can reach out to Justin Alan Hayes at president@voicefor, the letters F-O-R, VoicesforVoices.org. Or you could head over to our VoicesforVoices.org website, and you can find sponsorship information and payment options there as well.
Justin Alan Hayes:
So today on the podcast, it was a very informative from us at Voices for Voices, the House of You, being able to have this platform to share stories, which was the basis of how Voices for Voices was started. Voices for Voices was started as a once a year event, which is now our October event around world mental health day. And now we have grown to be again, a full 501(c)(3) organization, have the podcast. We are doing outreach, not only in the community with how those three steps of our process that we're doing, by guiding through our mission and our vision. We're also doing again that outreach globally, where it makes sense financially, individually, personally, coming up with, again, that upcoming trip to be able to help some other humans that are in need and could use some help.
Justin Alan Hayes:
And I can't be more excited about not only what Voices for Voices is, what we stand for, but what we're doing. The partnering of organizations to help us fulfill our mission and vision. That is one of the areas that I'm just very excited with. Because with my mental health and my mental illnesses, even though I'm here at the podcast and speaking and do a lot of public speaking, I'm really, my psychiatrist says is I'm an introvert. So I'm really reserved, but then there's times where I can kind of turn on not being an extrovert. And so being able to share those times where I'm able to turn on me being an extrovert and share my story and my experience that can potentially help even one more person. Whether that's through this podcast, whether that's through me teaching the collegiate level students at the university level, whether that's even helping my three year old daughter, just helping her grow up and learn and explore.
Justin Alan Hayes:
I know at the end of the day, if I've done that, and I know I have, and I'm going to continue to do that, that's the work that makes me feel the best individually, makes me feel the most accomplished. And it takes the focus from being predominantly just about Justin, Justin, Justin, and putting that on others. And so taking the time and energy where I spent on things not so, going out and partying and doing all that for many, many, many years abusing alcohol and the nine yards there, I'm taking that energy and really turning when I get those urges of those bursts of energy of, "Okay, what else can I do to help the organization help in turn other individuals?"
Justin Alan Hayes:
And so that's why you see many social media posts from our organizations. That's why, again, the podcast is and will continue. There are going to be some really great episodes that are going to be continuing that I think everybody's going to enjoy. There's going to be a live stream coming up with one of our guests. And we're just going to continue to provide as much information and give as many people who have gone through trauma, mental health challenges, other challenges, the ability to share their voice. And some of that's through the spoken word. Some of that is through music which you'll see at our October A Brand New Day event. Some of that will be through artwork where individuals are expressing themselves through art. That could be through sign language interpretation for the individuals that is most helpful for. And so truly that is what Voices for Voices is.
Justin Alan Hayes:
That's what we are, and we're just going to continue to grow more. And we're excited for all the individuals and outpouring of support from the community and individuals and organizations that believe in us and to want to continue and start partnerships that we can find ways to help more people. Because that we all could use a help at some time. And like that song, sometimes you need somebody to lean on. And that is where Voices for Voices comes into play for many people, both now and into the future.
Please donate to Voices for Voices, a 501c3 nonprofit charity today at: https://www.voicesforvoices.org/shop/p/donate
#thankyou #justinalanhayes #501c3nonprofit #charity #charityfundraiser #organization #podcast #recoveryispossible #nonprofit #mentalhealthmatters #advocate #disabilityinclusion #stigmafree #erastour #taylorswift #taylor #youbelongwithme #maroon5 #memories #music #guitar #studio #singing #voices #thevoice #sing #epic #alternative #recovery #accessibility #501c3nonprofit #501c3 #abrandnewday #sponsor #legacy #voicesforvoices #thanksbrain #podcast #faith #mentalhealth #mary #jesus #christmas #holidays #motherteresa #survivor #motherangelica #angels #ewtn #stjudes #donatetoday #givingtuesday #givetoday #donate #support #share #gift #human #goingviral #viral #news #wegivecatholc #media #mentalhealthishealth #theinterview #interview #ukraine #ukrainewar #art #expression #arttherapy #suicideawareness #depression #anxiety
#mentalillness #ronaldmcdonaldhouse #menu #2022 #2023 #gala #substancefree
#sleep #nutrition #nontoxicpeople #foofighters #davegrohl #davidgrohl
#taylorhawkins #chesterbennington #linkinpark