Foster Care & The Holidays: A Mixed Bag of Emotions
Last year at this time, I received a private Facebook message from an individual who was struggling. She was a professional who was...
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The Art of Trauma-Informed Care
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Donell Edwards
Nov 30, 20171 min read
The Perils of Our Broken Foster Care System
Most people are familiar with the horror stories associated with our foster care system. Our guest for this program, Ms. Shenandoah...
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Jordon P. Cooper
Nov 6, 20171 min read
The Story of Our Failing Foster Care System
Shenandoah Chefalo, author of "Garbage Bag Suitcase: A Memoir," calls attention to a failing American foster care system. You can listen...
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Shenandoah Chefalo
Oct 29, 20175 min read
4,600 And Counting: Missing from Foster Care
I was working on this month's blog and then realized that I had to set it aside. Someone shared a Time Magazine article with me that...
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Shenandoah Chefalo
Oct 1, 20174 min read
Burning Coals of Emotional Abuse: Minimizing, Invalidating & Gas Lighting
Since the release of Garbage Bag Suitcase, I have had some interesting human encounters. I have traveled around the country and even into...
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Shenandoah Chefalo
Aug 2, 20171 min read
Incarceration, Homelessness & Addiction: The Foster Care Problem
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...
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Shenandoah Chefalo
Jul 30, 20172 min read
STRANGER DANGER
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...
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Shenandoah Chefalo
Jul 20, 20171 min read
Christal Frost Radio (Podcast)
Today we welcomed Shenandoah Chefalo, author of the memoir “Garbage Bag Suitcase,” talking about some of the failings of the foster care...
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Shenandoah Chefalo
Jun 27, 20173 min read
Children As Animals: The Evolution of the Child Welfare System
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
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Shenandoah Chefalo
Jun 20, 20173 min read
How to Help Foster Youth Maintain Their Rights
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
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Shenandoah Chefalo
Jun 13, 20173 min read
The Connection Between Teachers and the Child Welfare System
I was speaking to an elementary teacher the other day and she provided some insights into how her job relates to the child welfare...
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Shenandoah Chefalo
Apr 28, 20173 min read
May is Foster Care Awareness Month: Here is How You Can Help
MAY IS FOSTER CARE AWARENESS MONTH Here is How YOU can help In 1988 with the help of Senator Strom Thurmond, President Ronald Regan...
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Shenandoah Chefalo
Mar 30, 20174 min read
Self Help: More Than Just A Book
I have written before about how I was a self-help book addict. I read every book I could find, re-reading several of them and even going...
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Shenandoah Chefalo
Mar 7, 20171 min read
Topeka Capital Journey-Author Talks About the Importance of CASA
For more than 20 years, well into her adulthood, Shenandoah Chefalo wouldn’t breathe a word about growing up as a foster child, concerned...
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Shenandoah Chefalo
Dec 8, 20162 min read
Who Gets The Life Raft: The Difficult Relationships of Foster Youth
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...
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Shenandoah Chefalo
Nov 20, 20161 min read
Couple Devotes Time To Children
HILLSDALE – With the goal of making life better for citizens in their community, Doug and Susan French of Hillsdale have delved into...
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Shenandoah Chefalo
Nov 10, 20161 min read
The Giving Back Podcast - PART 1
No one comes into foster care because of a pleasant situation. Shenandoah Chefalo is the author of Garbage Bag Suitcase, a memoir of...
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Shenandoah Chefalo
Sep 26, 20163 min read
Can Living Alone Heal Trauma? A Year to Find out
I have never really been good at relationships. Intimacy scares me, and trust is something that is earned. When I travel now, speaking...
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Shenandoah Chefalo
Sep 11, 20161 min read
James Miller Lifeology Podcast
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...
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Shenandoah Chefalo
Aug 30, 20164 min read
Comfort in Chaos: Understanding Trauma Brain
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...
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