Episode 6: Ancestors, Trauma, and Healing

Jayden Alexander opens our episode with his personal story about being forced to leave home as a teenager due to his gender identity. After living in a group home, he moves from Florida to San Fransisco for a job offer that doesn't pan out and finds himself alone, an entire continent apart from everyone he knows. After days of wandering along the freeway, he eventually lands in Los Angeles, finds permanent supportive housing, and begins work as an advocate for others in the community.

Molly then interviews Colleen Echohawk, executive director of the Chief Seattle Club, a non-profit dedicated to meeting the needs of homeless and low-income urban Native people in Seattle. They discuss the unique circumstances and inter-generational trauma facing the native community, as well as the specific measures needed to address urban indigenous homelessness.

https://www.chiefseattleclub.org/

We close the episode with Molly's son Jack reading the poem "Rabbit Is Up To Tricks" by Joy Harjo, the first Native American US Poet Laureate.