childhood trauma

354 Amy's Mess

Hunger, for the lucky among us, is an inconvenience, the final straw during a bad day that fuels a bad temper, or an awkward moment in a silent room. But for many in our community hunger is painful, difficult, and inescapable making it near impossible to do anything let alone attend school. Approximately 2.5 million children are homeless in the United States, many of whom somehow still have to attend school, often hungry. But we can help, whether it be through donations or time, we can help the children in our communities.

Today Sarah Elkins and Amy Adams discuss Amy’s Mess, a nonprofit organization that seeks to feed the children and families of the Helena Community and to spread awareness of the plight of homeless families. 

Episode 98: Make a Choice to Experience Resilience & Growth Through Struggle

In our conversation, Oleg shared some important moments in his story, particularly of his first few months in his adopted family in the United States. What I love about the stories he shared was how he presented the other characters, the supporting roles in his stories. From the classmate on the soccer field who managed to understand Oleg’s body language to pass the ball to him, to his adoptive parents who placed small sticky notes on everything in the house, wall, window, door, table, fork, couch, to help him learn English, Oleg can look back at his transition with gratitude for those characters. He looks for those parts of his experience to share the beauty of overcoming odds.

A Hero's Story Doesn't Have to be Epic

One thing people seem to misunderstand about being a storyteller, or simply about sharing stories, is that a story doesn't have to be flashy or exciting to make it interesting. As a matter of fact, most people prefer stories they can relate to, that they find humor in, and that connect with them on an emotional level.