Episodes
Monday Feb 15, 2016
Monday Feb 15, 2016
Recently Jason's Connection's founder, Jason Harris, spoke with Colleen Hegge, an attorney who is very active in her community. She also has myasthenia gravis, an autoimmune disease.
In this fascinating interview, Ms. Hegge talks about her work, her life, and her struggle with MG."MG is a challenge...I try not to let it limit my life. Just because you have a chronic illness..you can't let it stop you from living."
For more information about myasthenia gravis, please visit: http://www.myasthenia.org/Tuesday Dec 22, 2015
Tuesday Dec 22, 2015
Recently Ericka McIntyre, Jason’s Connection’s Content Director, talked with Lloyd Woodcock, Director of Education for the Wheelock Family Theatre, Boston's professional, Equity theatre for families and children that is affordable, accessible, educational.... and fun!
In this insightful interview, Mr. Woodcock explains theatre education, and what the Wheelock Family Theatre does to make sure live theatre remains affordable and accessible.Wheelock Family Theatre is committed to: Quality – They work with top professional actors, directors, and designers from around New England to produce shows of the highest quality. Family – Their productions are designed to be a shared experience for intergenerational audiences—children, teens, parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles. Engagement – They enrich the theatre experience for young people by offering a free workshop or other activity before or after every performance. Inclusiveness – They are a national leader in service to audiences who are historically under-served: people with disabilities, people of color, and low-income families. Education – They offer a wide range of theatre classes and workshops, and work extensively with schools and community organizations. Their connection to Wheelock College informs and strengthens their educational programs.
For more information, please visit: http://www.wheelockfamilytheatre.org/Tuesday Dec 22, 2015
Tuesday Dec 22, 2015
Recently Jason Harris sat down to chat with Bill Sand and Bill Deimling of May We Help, an organization who create one-of-a-kind solutions for people with disabilities, to meet their mission of freeing people with specific needs around the world to engage in and pursue their passions and experience a better quality of life.
May We Help focuses on "engineering Inabilities into capabilities."
The team at May We Help volunteer to design and create unique custom solutions for individuals with special needs to engage in and pursue their passions.
For more information, please visit: maywehelp.org/Tuesday Dec 08, 2015
Giving Young People a Voice: Meet Filmmaker Erahm Christopher
Tuesday Dec 08, 2015
Tuesday Dec 08, 2015
"Every day someone is waiting for another person to notice they are broken or alone.
How many times do we really listen?"
Recently Ericka McIntyre chatted with Erahm Christoper, an award-winning filmmaker, about his latest project, Listen, and his work with Teen Truth.
In this fascinating and insightful conversation, Erahm explains how he became a filmmaker, and how film can empower.
In
1999, after the tragedy of the Columbine High School shooting, Erahm
did something radical--he went and talked to teenagers about how they
felt. And he really listened. This started him on the journey to giving a voice to young people.
"We
find reasons to disconnect, which is ironic, because what we want more
than anything in life is to connect....Social media is a perfect example
of that.
We're not saying, 'look at the pizza I had last night,'
we're saying, 'like me, share me, connect with me.'"
"[Bullying] is about the impact we have on each other. We fail to realize how powerful we are as human beings, and the influence we have on others."
Over the last nine years, Erahm Christopher has dedicated his life to giving youth a voice through student-shot films, leadership programs, and live experiences. His goal has always been to challenge teenagers to think differently about the issues and empower them to be the difference in their lives and the lives of others.
For more information about Teen Truth, please visit: http://www.teentruth.net/
Tuesday Dec 01, 2015
Tuesday Dec 01, 2015
Recently Jason Harris talked with Noel Julnes-Dehner about her work as a filmmaker and her films, Coming Home from the Streets, and The Right Track.
These films tackle the difficult subjects of human trafficking, prostitution, and re-entry of incarcerated persons into society.
"[In her films] People see themselves...'That could have been me...I could have gone that path...' People's lives are complicated, twisted, they make bad decisions, and you realize that we all make bad decisions, theirs just had those consequences [prison, etc.]"
Noel Julnes-Dehner is producer, director, and writer of the films The Right Track, and Coming Home from the Streets. An Episcopal priest, she has worked in prison, parishes, private school, retirement centers, hospitals, and as a writer and assistant editor for an Episcopal publisher.
Coming Home from the Streets will premiere on Thursday, December 3 at 6:30 pm at The Freedom Center, 50 Freedom Way, Cincinnati, 45202. The premiere is free and open to the public. And Q&A will follow the film.
For more information about the film Coming Home from the Streets, please visit: http://www.noelcoproductions.com/films/coming-home-from-the-streets/
For more information about the film, The Right Track, please visit: http://www.noelcoproductions.com/films/the-right-track/
Tuesday Nov 17, 2015
Recovering from Addiction, One Step at a Time: Meet Tom Cocagne
Tuesday Nov 17, 2015
Tuesday Nov 17, 2015
Recently Ericka McIntyre sat down to chat with Tom Cocagne about alcoholism, overeating, and how he has used twelve-step programs to recover from these addictions.
In this inspirational interview, Tom talks about his forty-year journey of sobriety. It hasn’t been an easy trip. He first battled alcoholism, and then overeating. He has worked the twelve steps to battle both addictions, and has much wisdom for people struggling with these issues, and for their friends and families.
“[Recovery] is a journey, not a destination. And you have to enjoy the journey…. Whether you’re one year sober,
or forty years sober,
we still just take it one day at a time.”
“No matter what the addiction is, no matter how hopeless you think [it is]…I’ll quote John Maxwell, he said, ‘a person can live forty days without food, four days without water, four minutes without air, but a person cannot live 1 second without hope.’ There is a way out. If you go to…any kind of twelve-step meeting, you’re going to find a lot of people that have the same problem you’ve got, and you’re also going to find in that room many people who are recovering, one day at a time.”
Tom Cocagne is seventy-two years young. He's been married for forty years. He has five children, fifteen grandchildren, and fourteen great-grandchildren. Retired from Humana Health Care, he has forty years in Alcoholics Anonymous, and three years in Overeaters Anonymous. He is a member of Seven Hills Church and enjoys playing tennis, swimming, and reading.
If you or someone you know is battling an addiction, please visit: Alcoholics Anonymous; Overeaters Anonymous; Narcotics Anonymous; Al-Anon Family Groups; Nar-Anon Family GroupsTuesday Nov 10, 2015
Tuesday Nov 10, 2015
Recently Jason's Connection's Founder, Jason Harris, spoke with Tony Buettner, Vice President of Product and Business Development for Blue Zones, an organization that helps people live longer, better lives.
"Research shows here in America, that we should be living, on average, to a healthy age 90.... The reality is, on average...we're living to 78, we're leaving 12 good years on the table. What we found [about people] in the Blue Zones...they are living long, good lives. What we're trying to bring forth are the learnings from those populations, and evidence-based ways where people can choose and implement strategies to...get some of those good years back"
Tony Buettner is a National Speaker and Business Development at Blue Zones. One of Tony’s primary tasks is that of Project Manager for Blue Zones Projects; His work encompassing strategic planning, operations, and the facilitation of successful implementation of all Blue Zones Community projects. Tony brings direct knowledge and insight of the Blue Zones expeditions, research, and insights into those populations to help them live longer, better. His experience gained during his participation on expeditions with Dan Buettner, his brother, and his over 30 years of world travel, bring pertinent experience in the understanding of health and wellness as it relates to populations and cultures. Tony’s day-to-day responsibilities at Blue Zones offer deep insight into the research that forms the foundation for the product development and implementation of the methodology behind the Blue Zones Projects. This interaction brings deep-seated understanding to how Blue Zones interfaces in the six sectors of communities that include policy, worksites, restaurants, grocery stores, schools, and with individual engagement. His background in quality management systems complement the rigor and thoughtfulness in developing a scalable product model as well as one that can be sustained in the Blue Zone Project communities.
Blue Zones started in 2004, when Dan Buettner teamed up with National Geographic and the world’s best longevity researchers to identify pockets around the world where people live measurably longer better. In these “Blue Zones” they found that people reach age 100 at rates 10 times greater than in the United States. After identifying 5 of the world’s Blue Zones, Dan and National Geographic took teams of scientists to each location to identify lifestyle characteristics that might explain longevity. They found that the lifestyles of all Blue Zones residents shared nine specific characteristics. We call these characteristics the Power 9®. Dan’s subsequent book The Blue Zones hit the New York Times best-seller list and took Dan everywhere from Oprah to TED to Bill Clinton’s Health Matters Initiative. The success prompted a new challenge: could we improve health and longevity in the US? In 2009 they partnered with AARP and the United Health Foundation to apply the Power 9 principles to Albert Lea, MN. It worked: after just one year, participants added an estimated 2.9 years to their average lifespan while healthcare claims for city worker dropped 49%. Harvard’s Walter Willett called the results "stunning." They are now building Blue Zones in cities and businesses across the country. Their mission – to help people live longer, better lives – is spreading.
Tuesday Nov 03, 2015
Tuesday Nov 03, 2015
Recently our founder, Jason Harris, spoke with Libby Harrison, Project Manager for the Cincinnati Exchange Project, a local advocacy organization that promotes education and the harm reduction model, committed to making the drug using community healthier while increasing drug treatment enrollment.
How the Cincinnati Exchange Project works: Participants will get a new syringe for every used one.
This is a one-for-one program. Participants will also receive education
on safer sex, safer injection use, and where to get drug treatment and
medical care. Trained staff and professionals are on site to help answer
any questions. CEP is a legal program; if participants engage in any
illegal activity (including drug use while at the site) law enforcement
will be contacted. CEP does not promote the use of drugs; therefore any
participant engaging in drug use or drug buying on-site or near the site
will no longer receive services.
Thursday Oct 01, 2015
Lending a Hand: Monkey Helpers for the Disabled
Thursday Oct 01, 2015
Thursday Oct 01, 2015
Recently Jason's Connection's founder, Jason Harris, Founder of Jason's Connection, talked with Megan Talbert, Executive Director, of Helping Hands: Monkey Helpers for the Disabled. Since 1979, Helping Hands has been helping adults with spinal cord injuries and other mobility impairments throughout the United States live more independent and engaged lives. They do this by providing them, free of charge, with a unique service animal: a highly trained service monkey to help with their daily tasks.
In this fascinating interview, Ms. Talbert explains how having a service monkey can be life-changing for people with mobility challenges, and the process of training and placing the monkeys.
Helping Hands: Monkey Helpers for the Disabled's mission is to improve the lives of those with spinal cord injuries and mobility impairments. The service animals they provide bring more than just a willing set of nimble hands to their recipients. They also bring companionship, joy, and the renewed sense of purpose that comes from taking responsibility for the health and well-being of another creature. Their work encompasses all aspects of this service:
- They raise, train, and match the monkeys with carefully chosen recipients
- They provide extensive coaching and customized in-home training at the start of each placement
- They oversee each monkey’s lifelong behavioral, nutritional and medical needs
- They provide ongoing active support and mentoring for every partnership
- They place retired monkeys in loving homes where they are well cared for.
Tuesday Sep 22, 2015
Tuesday Sep 22, 2015
Recently Jason's Connection's Content Director, Ericka McIntyre, talked with Bill Shannon, an interdisciplinary performance artist, visual artist, skater, and dancer.
In this fascinating interview, Mr. Shannon talks about his life with a disability, his art, his dance, and gives his truly singular view of the world. Diagnosed with Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease when he was 5 years old, but he is first and foremost an innovative artist.“Part of the challenge of the ambiguity of disability…ambiguity is a scattershot of assumptions…you have to make yourself a neutral pallet and listen…. When I say ‘abandon assumptions’ I’m abandoning assumptions of what people are thinking of me, not just them abandoning assumptions about me.”
Bill Shannon was born in Nashville, Tennessee in 1970. In 1975 he moved to Pittsburgh, PA where he spent the remainder of his childhood and adolescence. In 1992 Shannon attended the The Art Institute of Chicago, earning a BFA in 1995. In 1996 Shannon moved to NYC and immersed himself in the art, dance and skate cultures of Brooklyn and Manhattan while expanding his performance work to multimedia video installations, group choreography and the theater arts. Over the past two decades Shannon’s installations, performances, choreography and video work have been presented nationally and internationally at numerous venues, festivals and events including, Sydney Opera House, Tate Liverpool Museum, NYC Town Hall, Portland Institute of Contemporary Art, The Holland Festival, Amsterdam, Temple Bar Dublin, Kiasma Museum Finland, Hirshhorn Museum and many more. Shannon also completed a project with Cirque du Soleil where he choreographed an aerial duet and a solo on crutches for their 2002 production “Varekai,” which continues to tour into 2011. Shannon has been honored with a Newhouse Foundation Award a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship and a Foundation for Contemporary Art Award among others. He has also received support for his work from the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Dance Project of the New England Foundation for the Arts, Jerome Foundation, New York Foundation for the Arts, Arts International: The Fund for U.S. Artists at International Festivals PA Council on the Arts and others. In 2005 Shannon moved his family back to his childhood home of Pittsburgh Pa to participate in his extended families urban farming project, Wild Red’s Urban Farm. Shannon, as of 2011, performs publicly on a project by project basis while also working on a book project, video installation and other new media and green materials projects. Shannon continues the evolution of his technique of dance on crutches via spontaneous street skating sessions through the city to local spots with smooth tip surfaces.
For more information, please visit: http://www.whatiswhat.com/