What does it take for a community to make it safe to ask for help? This week on We, Plural., Lisa sits down with Lisa Dominisse, CEO of Centerstone Indiana. Centerstone is one of the state’s largest behavioral health providers. Lisa D. is a former economic developer who still works out of local offices so she can hear from patients firsthand.

They talk about why stigma takes time to change (it took 911 about a decade to catch on, and 988 is on that road now), and why mental health and substance use can’t be treated separately. They also cover how Centerstone’s school-based staff reach kids early, before trauma turns into a complicated adulthood.

She also lays out the full range of what Centerstone does, from addiction treatment and clubhouses to homelessness outreach and military family services.

Recorded in September during National Recovery Month and Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. This episode includes discussion of suicide, addiction, and postpartum depression. If you or someone you love is in crisis, call or text 988.

Get more information about Centerstone at https://centerstone.org/

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What happens when a church decides its job isn’t to stay inside its own four walls? This week on We, Plural., Lisa sits down with Pastor David Norris of City Church For All Nations. He is a fifth-generation pastor, and his vision for community reaches well beyond Sunday morning.

Pastor Dave shares the story behind City Church’s new downtown Bloomington campus. They planted it on purpose in a part of the city where million-dollar condos sit blocks from people sleeping on the street, and it sits between two recovery houses. He talks about Healing Hands, the church’s outreach that provides food, clothing, and furniture to families in need, no strings attached. He also talks about City Recovery, which now draws around 170 people a week, built on the belief that everyone is recovering from something.

He and Lisa also talk about why churches sometimes underestimate their role in a community’s toughest challenges, what Pastor Tommy Barnett’s Dream Center in Los Angeles taught him, and the generational legacy he hopes to leave. He closes with a story from a school for expelled students, where a 15-year-old girl asked him a question he hasn’t forgotten: “What can God do with me?”

His challenge to every listener is simple: find a need and fill it. You don’t need a lot of money. Start where you are, with one person.

Learn more about Pastor Dave and City Church For All Nations at https://davidnorris.org/. Also, be sure to check out his podcast, The Marriage Podcast with Dave & Sumer at https://davidnorris.org/category/the-marriage-podcast-dave-sumer-norris/.

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In January 2021, Janaé Swan got the call: breast cancer. The same morning, her husband learned he had skin cancer. What came next was a lumpectomy, 30 straight days of radiation, and a promise she made to herself. She would not do the walks, and she would not wear the pink tutu.

Five years later, Janaé hosts the Susan G. Komen More Than Pink Walk, pink tutu included. She also keeps a prayer journal full of mammogram dates sent to her by women she's never met.

To kick off Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Lisa sits down with one of her closest friends. They talk about the moment in a cancer center waiting room that changed everything for Janaé, and why she stopped asking "why me?" and started asking "why not me?" Janaé also covers the real reasons women put off mammograms and the local resources that help with cost. And she shares the most useful thing a friend can do for someone in treatment. Hint: it isn't saying "call me if you need anything."

Want Janaé to pray over your mammogram date? Message her on Facebook or Instagram at Janaé Swan.

Chapters
0:00 Cold open
0:44 Welcome and Breast Cancer Awareness Month
2:12 Meet Janaé Swan
5:14 What stage two meant for treatment
11:20 The waiting room that changed everything
16:52 Why women put off mammograms
21:05 Finding community: the More Than Pink Walk
28:40 "Don't block my blessing"
33:00 The We Plural Promise

Resources mentioned: Susan G. Komen Indiana (including help with screening costs), The Pink Connection, and the More Than Pink Walk (Saturday, Oct 3, Military Park, Indianapolis)

This conversation shares one survivor's personal experience and is not medical advice. Talk with your doctor about the screening plan that's right for you.

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