Community Action of Southern Kentucky share the power of Courageous conversations
CAVE CITY, KY.- The Community Action of South Central Kentucky partnered with community members and leaders, to shed light on uncommon conversations that take courage and ultimately can save a child.
Andrea Willis, Community Collaborations coordinator tells us how there’s no rule book for parenting and there’s no rule book for being a kid. At the Courageous Conversations conference, community leaders from all over discussed uncomfortable topics that should be talked about at home but can get swept under the rug. “Life be life and parenting be parenting. We want to take the stigma off all that. If you need some assistance, you don’t have to be poor. You don’t have to be rich. Hey, you had to have some kids. You got some kids and need some help. I’m here and we’re here to do that for you.”
Stacey McDonald, a psychologist and The McDonald’s Ministries Founder tells us how this stigma is found in many households. It is especially common in the African American community.
Stacey says, “The stigma is so stubborn. The black community as well as the faith community, that’s where the impact needs to be made. So you go where impact is needed. You go where the stigma is so stubborn so that you can help to heal and hopefully to create mental health awareness and wholeness.”
Having tough conversations can change the trajectory of your life because life can happen to anyone. Kayla Harmon, a family and adult peer support specialist shares her experience. “I’ve been there I’ve been the one that’s been in addiction and like, didn’t know that there was hope. There were a lot of things that I didn’t know that anything existed to help me be successful on the outside.”
Andrea also discusses how, not having uncomfortable conversations with your children at a young age can impact their future in so many ways.
She says, “Kids are like like our seeds. And so I’m planting the seed. I gotta make sure that I put all the nutrients in the soil so I can grow some better kids. So we’re just fertilizing the soil. We’re getting all the information out there. Each one to each one. Take what we learned today, take that into your community.”
Community Action of Southern Kentucky is a hub for family children and senior resources. For more information on how you can put the courageous conversations to action, visit https://www.casoky.org/ or https://www.wrighthunterconsulting.com/.
