The Art of Trauma-Informed Care

Since the release of Garbage Bag Suitcase, I have had some interesting human encounters. I have traveled around the country and even into...

Lying is a topic that I have been meaning to cover on this blog for sometime, but frankly every time I sit down to write it, I get...

I was recently asked to be on the Incarcerate US podcast that is hosted by Dante Nottingham, an inmate who has been locked up since the...

When I speak to audiences, I often end my keynote with an exercise: I ask you to begin to notice the strangers seated around you. The...

Today we welcomed Shenandoah Chefalo, author of the memoir “Garbage Bag Suitcase,” talking about some of the failings of the foster care...

It's almost impossible to help a child or a parent in need and not be affected by what we are seeing. This is true for any professional...

First Step: The SPCA In the early part of the 1800s, Henry Bergh created The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) which p

Most people are only one or two personal connections from a foster child but don't know it. Statistically, there is one foster child for

I was speaking to an elementary teacher the other day and she provided some insights into how her job relates to the child welfare...

MAY IS FOSTER CARE AWARENESS MONTH Here is How YOU can help In 1988 with the help of Senator Strom Thurmond, President Ronald Regan...

For more than 20 years, well into her adulthood, Shenandoah Chefalo wouldn’t breathe a word about growing up as a foster child, concerned...

A NATION TRIGGERED Using Powerful Questions to Coach Ourselves to Bi-Partisanship It’s official: in the United States we have a new...

Writing for this blog is sometimes problematic for me. I try to be as transparent as possible and talk about the things that are truly...

HILLSDALE – With the goal of making life better for citizens in their community, Doug and Susan French of Hillsdale have delved into...

No one comes into foster care because of a pleasant situation. Shenandoah Chefalo is the author of Garbage Bag Suitcase, a memoir of...

I have never really been good at relationships. Intimacy scares me, and trust is something that is earned. When I travel now, speaking...

We all have experienced many difficult things in our lives. Often we allow an event or our environment to define who we are. When this...

I make no bones about it, as a foster child, I don’t think I was an easy person to get along with and I certainly wasn’t trying to make...

KiwaniTalk is produced by memers of the Kiwanis Club of Dearborn, Michigan. Recently they asked me on to talk about my book, Garbage Bag...