One on One with Swope Health: Deborah Mann

Swope Health announces a new edition of its podcast, One on One with Swope Health, featuring Deborah Mann, executive director of the Emmanuel Family and Child Development Center, 4736 Prospect Ave., Kansas City.

Eric Wesson, managing editor and publisher of The Call, hosts the show’s conversations with Kansas Citians about issues of importance to the community’s health and wellbeing. In this conversation, Wesson and Deborah discuss her background and the story of the Emmanuel Center. She describes the range of services offered at the Center, which is home to a Swope Health KidsCARE clinic, and hints at her plans for the future.

In the course of the discussion, Deborah describes a tale of perseverance and resilience, and shows herself as a role model for driving positive change for children and families in Kansas City’s East Side communities.

Deborah describes how her mother cared for children in the family home, and how she too came to see childcare as her calling, understanding that quality childcare can impact the entire family. Over the 30-plus years of her career, she has built the Emmanuel Center from a daycare to a one-stop shop for family support. With the Swope Health KidsCARE clinic, the center provides pediatric, dental and behavioral healthcare plus related social support services.

She intends to expand the Emmanuel campus with a much-needed parking lot and then add a science and technology-focused facility for school-age kids as well as a job-readiness center for high school and adult family.

In this conversation, learn more about Deborah’s vision for Emmanuel Center and her drive to bring affordable housing into the area.

Listen now:

YouTube:
https://youtu.be/JxkHmAufeLc

Spotify: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/swopehealth/episodes/One-on-One-with-Swope-Health-Deborah-Mann-e24h3bk

One on One with Swope Health: Rev. Darren Edwards

Swope Health announces a new edition of its podcast, One on One with Swope Health, featuring the Rev. Darren Edwards, lead pastor of United Believers Church in Kansas City.

Eric Wesson, managing editor and publisher of The Call, hosts the show’s conversations with Kansas Citians about issues of importance to the community’s health and wellbeing. In this conversation, Wesson and the pastor, a community activist, discuss the city’s homicide rate and efforts to build stronger relations between the community and the Kansas City Police Department, among other topics.

Rev. Edwards is a native of Waxahachie, Texas. He has served on the adjunct faculty at Saint Paul School of Theology and led bible study groups for the Kansas City Chiefs. He has served on the board of trustees for Lifeway Christian Resources and for Word & Way magazine.

In 2020, Rev. Edwards founded an initiative called “Getting to the Heart of the Matter” to prevent violent crime by engaging the faith community to build a bridge between the community and the Kansas City Police Department.

In this conversation, Rev. Edwards says the initiative did not get to the heart of the matter, noting that will take “major surgery.” He describes his effort as one of stepping from the river into the ocean, and then getting bitten by sharks. But, he added, he now feels wiser and has learned from his experience.

He calls for leadership to invite courageous people to the table, people who live in the areas debilitated by crime. The people who live in the community know the issues and the solutions but lack the resources to address the issues.

Agitators in the streets and negotiators in leadership may not be operating from the same agenda, but desire the same things: a safe community, healthy children, jobs and equitable resources. He explains why he wants aligned leadership of the Mayor, the Police Chief and the Prosecutor – and he says he believes they can be aligned.

Rev. Edwards also talks bluntly about systemic oppression that lies at the root of the problems. He offers suggestions for bolstering relationships between the police and the community, and for addressing the issues of affordable housing. He calls on leadership to engage the community for answers.

He notes: “Even a doctor asks ‘Where do you hurt?’ That’s the problem – you’ve got people trying to tell me where I hurt.”

 

Listen to the full conversation:

YouTube:
https://youtu.be/YhMdN2IieHU

Spotify: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/swopehealth/episodes/One-on-One-with-Swope-Health-Rev–Darren-Edwards-e23glcn

One on One with Swope Health: Ryana Parks-Shaw

Swope Health announces a new edition of its podcast, One on One with Swope Health, featuring Kansas City Councilwoman Ryana Parks-Shaw, representing the city’s Fifth District.

Eric Wesson, managing editor and publisher of The Call, hosts the show’s conversations with Kansas Citians about issues of importance to the community’s health and wellbeing. In this conversation, Wesson and the councilwoman discuss the city’s new $30 million allocation to address crime prevention over the next five years.

Councilwoman Parks-Shaw began serving her first term in August 2019. She has lived in the 5th district with her family for over 22 years.

In this conversation, she reviews her history and education, and her experience as an “Avon lady” and small-business owner. She describes the Avon business as preparation for her city council work – getting her ready for knocking on doors and talking and listening to people.

She describes her reasons for running for office: to make a difference across the community, especially in violence prevention. She is an advocate for the KC 360 program to bring the community together – all walks – to address violence.  She also serves on the finance committee for Kansas City, and spearheaded the drive to allocate funding to invest in neighborhoods, youth, and crime prevention.

Parks-Shaw wants to see special attention to youth programs. The program will open May 1 with requests for proposals, a review process, and then distribution via the City’s Public Health Department.

She describes her Municipal Academy proposal, a kind of boot camp to provide internships for youth to introduce them to careers within the city. She envisions it growing into a year-round program.

Parks-Shaw has also been deeply involved in the city’s housing issues. She describes a program – Zero KC – to prevent homelessness and improve housing and job opportunities. The goal is zero functional homelessness, defined when no more people enter homelessness than leave it, a steady state. The discussion encompasses homeless camps, re-entry of formerly incarcerated persons, and the reluctance of some homeless people to seek shelter.

Parks-Shaw draws upon prior experience in hospice care and Point-in-Time counts to inform her work. She intends to continue her work listening to the community and implementing community-based solutions to preventing violence and homelessness.

In City Council, she serves on the  Finance, Governance and Public Safety Committee, and the Special Committee on Housing Policy. She also serves as the Vice Chair of the Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Commission, Co- Chair of the Health Commission and Chair of the Mayor’s Houseless Task Force. She also serves as a member of the Kansas City Zoo Board of Directors and the Starlight Board of Directors.

She is a long-time healthcare executive. She has a Bachelor of Science degree from Missouri State University and a Master of Science degree from Southwest Baptist University.

Parks-Shaw is an alumni of Ruskin High School in the Hickman Mills School District. Motivated by her membership in Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority and the Greater Kansas City Chapter of the Links, Inc., she has a deep passion for community service and improving access to healthcare and healthy lifestyles. She has attended St. James United Methodist Church, also in the 5th district, for over 35 years.

Listen to the full conversation:

YouTube: https://youtu.be/fiR54GOA738

Spotify: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/swopehealth/episodes/One-on-One-with-Swope-Health-Raina-Parks-Shaw-e22ce9i

 

One on One with Swope Health: Melesa Johnson

Swope Health announces a new edition of its podcast, One on One with Swope Health, featuring Melesa Johnson, Deputy Chief of Staff in the Office of Mayor Quinton Lucas. Johnson also serves as the Mayor’s director of public safety.

Eric Wesson, managing editor and publisher of The Call, hosts the show’s conversations with Kansas Citians about issues of importance to the community’s health and wellbeing. In this conversation, Wesson and Johnson address violent crime as a public health crisis.

Johnson is a native of Kansas City, and was a student of the Hickman Mills School District, then at Bishop Miege High School, before attending Columbia University in New York City.

Johnson, a lawyer, has worked in the law offices of Seyferth Blumenthal & Harris LLC and Baker Sterchi Cowden & Rice, and was a federal judicial clerk in the chamber of the U.S. Magistrate Judge Willie Epps Jr. She also was an assistant prosecutor in the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office.

She received her law degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law. She also has a bachelor’s degree in political science, African-American studies and music history from Columbia University.

Working in crime prevention is challenging, she notes, adding that she genuinely believes there can be positive change. It will require collaboration across the leadership of the city, the police department and the prosecutor’s office, using evidence-based strategies. Johnson said she appreciates the openness of Chief Stacey Graves and her willingness to engage with the community and neighborhoods, as well as the prosecutor’s office and the city. “A welcome change,” she said.

Johnson notes the clearance rates for criminal case files have been improving, based on the improving relationships between the police and prosecutors.

Johnson focuses on collaboration in her role leading Partners for Peace, a program to reach family members touched by violent crime and provide support, with a goal of preventing further crime. The initiative requires collaboration of the city, the prosecutor’s office and more than a dozen community social service providers. She also notes the impact of KC 360, a crime prevention program modeled on a similar program in Omaha, also driven by collaboration between the community, police, justice systems and social service agencies.

She describes new steps in addressing violence prevention, including one starting with prisoners before release from Department of Corrections, to help build a foundation of support for their re-entry. A second initiative works with the Gang Intelligence Unit, identify those close to the crimes, and providing support for ways to change their lives.

She is an enthusiastic supporter of the city’s $30 million funding for crime prevention, which she calls an historic piece of legislation. She explains mechanisms in place to drive a different result with this funding, including the involvement of Dr. Marvia Jones of the Health Department, and social service agencies, both new and established.

The conversation probes the benefits and challenges of solutions like conflict resolution, in context of broader societal issues of root causes of crime, including poverty, racism and inequality. Johnson raises large cultural questions: How do we start conversations about the cultural and value norms that need to change in our own houses?

Listen to the full conversation:

YouTube: https://youtu.be/KpYAujuLXdE

Spotify: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/swopehealth/episodes/One-on-One-with-Swope-Health-Melesa-Johnson-e22cd4r

 

One on One with Swope Health: Lewis Diuguid

Swope Health announces a new edition of its podcast, One on One with Swope Health, featuring Lewis Diuguid, former columnist and reporter for The Kansas City Star. Diuguid is a lecturer, writer, multimedia consultant, and certified diversity facilitator. He is the author, most recently, of Our Fathers Making Black Men, a story of his father and lessons from his life.

Eric Wesson, managing editor and publisher of The Call, hosts the show’s conversations with Kansas Citians about issues of importance to the community’s health and wellbeing.

Lewis is a native of St. Louis and a former member of the editorial board of The Kansas City Star. He shares his insights about St. Louis (“a bigger version of Kansas City with big city problems, a little worse, with more infighting among African-Americans”). He shares stories of his upbringing (in a laboratory) and how his “infection with the bug of journalism” was prompted by a high school teacher.

Diuguid was recently featured in Black Men Speak, a publication of Our Health Matters. In his conversation with Eric, he calls for Black men to talk more about their health and pay more attention to nutrition.

He describes his own “forced march” into gardening and growing vegetables as well as the later appreciation of the harvest, including cooking vegetables he’s grown. He offers two cooking suggestions: back off the salt, don’t cook vegetables to mush – keep some crunch.

The One on One conversation also delves into large issues of local and international scope – including the unequal system of education, the lack of public school funding, and the failure of schools to demand excellence from students.  He discusses his trips to Cuba and shares some of his experiences, explaining Cuba’s “culture of we,” compared to America’s “culture of me.” It was in the Cuban media that he learned of the United Nations’ designation of the International Decade of People of African Descent, designed to call attention to issues of racism, police abuse and brutality, civil rights struggles and injustices worldwide.

Listen to the full conversation:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1V7hrfo2KH87WWb5LM21ym

YouTube: https://youtu.be/y0PVZrknH8k

AnchorFM: https://anchor.fm/swopehealth/episodes/One-on-One-with-Lewis-Diuguid-e1vn6qq

 

One on One with Swope Health: Larry Lester

Swope Health announces a new edition of its podcast, One on One with Swope Health, featuring Larry Lester, CEO of NoirTech Research Inc. Lester is a sports researcher and historian, author and co-author of several books about the Negro Leagues baseball conference and players.

Eric Wesson, managing editor and publisher of The Call, hosts the show’s conversations with Kansas Citians about issues of importance to the community’s health and wellbeing.


In this episode, learn about Lester’s history, experiences in Kansas City, and his views on the importance of understanding Black history.

“We need to know our history, Black history, where you come from and our roots,” he says. Understanding the struggles of our ancestors can put your own challenges into perspective, and give strength for the ongoing struggles.

Lester also speaks in personal terms about the importance of mental health, especially for Black men, who, he says, often are taught not to cry or show vulnerability.

“As a Black man, I know it’s very difficult to admit you need help with mental health, therapy or medication. We tend to be very strong and resilient. We think we’re bulletproof, but we’re not,” he said. “That’s part of the weakness of the Black man.”

Lester notes that the feelings of anger at being marginalized and misunderstood are sometimes repressed and internalized, until they build up and reach a boiling point. Instead, he calls for Black men to reach out to each other to talk, to share honest feelings and vent those emotions.

Lester also talks about the need for financial literacy in the Black community, specifically education about generational wealth, managing credit and making investment decisions that can bring greater rewards over time. He shares personal experiences as part of a class-action discrimination lawsuit against Bank of America and explains how to build strong credit by paying off balances each month.

Lester was featured in the special edition of “Our Health Matters” — Black Men Speak: Health, Strength & Hope.

Lester’s discussion is available on video and audio podcast.

Hear the conversation here:

YouTube: https://youtu.be/6MeCKN1EpQs

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2P4N9czXRIKaZqMHBSBbQE

AnchorFM: https://anchor.fm/swopehealth/episodes/One-on-One-with-Larry-Lester-e1v1ahg

One on One with Swope Health: Melissa Robinson

Swope Health announces a new edition of its podcast, One on One with Swope Health, featuring Kansas City Councilwoman Melissa Robinson, who talks with Eric Wesson, managing editor and publisher of The Call.

Robinson talks about her background, including her education and 15 years’ experience with the

Black Healthcare Coalition, a Kansas City non-profit with a mission to eliminate healthcare disparities through advocacy and access to care. She describes her activism in policies, which had roots in her service on the city’s Public Improvements Advisory Committee.

One of her earliest projects related to Brush Creek, which originates in Johnson County, Kansas, in a cemented channel to flow into eastern Kansas City to an unimproved earthen dam in the segregated Third District. The area was a natural collector for all the trash and debris picked up from Johnson County and through the Kansas City Plaza. She worked with former Councilman Jermaine Reed to get the Army Corps of Engineers to invest in the Brush Creek clean up – an act of environment justice supported by Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II.

The resulting $20 million investment gave Robinson the impetus to run for city council representing the Third District, further advocating for equity and parity for all members of the city.

Robinson’s ongoing work includes trash and blight removal, as well as stepping up fines and enforcement for offenders, and addressing issues of water shutoffs in her district. She has worked on more than 200 ordinances in her tenure at City Council, and speaks with passion and conviction about the work still underway:

  • Addressing racism as a public health crisis
  • Social and economic mobility for residents
  • Affordable and middle-class housing, in appropriate density to attract goods and services
  • Economic development throughout the city
  • Reparations for African-American Kansas Citians.

Her interests on city council intersect with her efforts at the Black Healthcare Coalition, which works to address the social determinants of health; ensuring the organization is making a significant impact on reducing health disparities in the areas of hypertension, obesity, infant mortality, diabetes, breast and prostate cancer and childhood asthma.

Robinson also is the former Board president for the Kansas City Public Schools. She is a passionate advocate for ensuring all children have access to a globally competitive education.

Watch and listen in:

YouTube: https://youtu.be/OXzElztbXjY

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2C3nAPekakLgsMdEPpQk4g

AnchorFM: https://anchor.fm/swopehealth/episodes/Swope-Health-One-on-One-with-Melissa-Robinson-e1untma

Spotify:

One on One with Swope Health: Judge Ardie Bland

Swope Health announces a new edition of its podcast, One on One with Swope Health, featuring Ardie Bland, Veterans Law and Municipal Court Judge for the 16th Judicial Circuit Court of Missouri – Kansas City Municipal Division. Judge Bland presided over Missouri’s first Veterans Treatment Court.

Eric Wesson, managing editor and publisher of The Call, hosts the show’s conversations with Kansas Citians about issues of importance to the community’s health and wellbeing.

Judge Bland is a native of Kansas City, Missouri, who attended Lincoln Preparatory Academy, Truman State University and then Drake University Law School. After law school, he returned to Kansas City to practice law and serve as the law clerk for the Honorable Thomas H. Newton. He worked as a decision writer for the Office of Hearings and Appeals in the Social Security Administration.  While with the Social Security Administration, he became passionate and knowledgeable of the physical and mental health diagnoses and their impacts on an individual’s ability to function in society.

In 2015, he became presiding judge over the Kansas City, Missouri, Mental Health Court, where he was able to help individuals with mental illness connect with mental health service providers, obtain treatment, and stay medicated without being incarcerated in an attempt to reduce police interaction and harm to the individual or the community.  Judge Bland currently serves as a Veterans Law Judge for the Veterans Administration Board of Veterans Appeals.

In this conversation, Judge Bland describes his call and passion for serving the community, especially in the area of mental health. He talks about the need for more education and understanding about mental health and treatments and therapies, to remove stigma and fear.

He notes that Black men have an issue in being seen as vulnerable, which he says is arguably tied to the experience of slavery. In slavery, men who were seen as hurt or weak were devalued. Even now, there’s great pressure to raise Black boys to be tough – but he argues, being tough should include being able to face problems and seek help.

Judge Bland also speaks on the relative scarcity of Black men in professional mental health roles – medical doctors, therapists, counselors – calling for greater understanding and appreciation of the profession. He also talks about the need to help young Black men and boys “find their voice” and understand themselves.

With examples from his years on the bench in mental health court and truancy court, Judge Bland shares practical tips on helping young Black males and their families.

You can also read Judge Bland’s article in the recent special edition of Our Health Matters, titled Black Men Speak: Health, Strength and Hope. The edition is available for download: https://kcourhealthmatters.com/black-men-speak-health-strength-and-hope/

One on One PodcastListen to the podcast:

YouTube: https://youtu.be/HFnvT8aP9Xg

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1V7hrfo2KH87WWb5LM21ym

AnchorFM: https://anchor.fm/swopehealth/episodes/Swope-Health-One-on-One-with-Judge-Ardie-Bland-e1t4e5r

One on One with Swope Health: Gwen Grant

Swope Health announces a new edition of its podcast, One on One with Swope Health, with host Eric Wesson interviewing Gwendolyn Grant, the president and CEO of the Urban League of Greater Kansas City.

Grant is a native of Kansas City who has long been recognized as a passionate and strong voice advocating for social justice and economic empowerment for African Americans and women. She is the first woman to lead the KC Urban League in its 100-year history. She is the recipient of numerous honors including the National Urban League’s Whitney M. Young Leadership Award for Advancing Racial Equity, William Jewel College Yates Medallion for Distinguished Service, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference Community Service Award, and the National Urban League Association of Executives Academy of Fellows designation.

The Urban League publishes the State of Black Kansas City, a collection of articles and commentary on key points from the Black/White and Hispanic/White Equality Indexes. The every-other-year publication spotlights the gaps in Education, Employment, Health, Social Justice and Civic Engagement in Kansas City. The most recent report from 2021 is titled “Charting the Path Forward: Is Equity Enough?”

In this interview, Grant describes her earliest moments of civil rights advocacy, recalling how her mother instilled in her a sense of duty to work for change. At the time when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, there was a march called Solidarity Day in Washington, D.C., and Gwen, as a pre-teen, decided to go. It was a watershed moment, she recalled.

Early in her career, she worked for the YMCA before joining the Urban League, where she found her home.

She speaks on the civil right struggle then vs now, on today’s political climate with policies and practices that hold back Black people. She talks about the steady roll-back and erosion of rights, the ongoing threat to democracy.

“We have not achieved equality,” she says. “We are not free. Our slavery has just taken on a different form.”

Considering Urban League’s work in health disparities in Kansas City, Grant notes “Systemic racism is a public health issue.” To address health issues, Grant sees the need to address racism in all factors – education, housing, crime, and especially, the black-white wealth gap. She also describes the Urban League’s efforts in education on COVID-19 vaccinations, flu vaccines and other the importance of access to healthcare, including mental healthcare.

Listen in to the conversation and her comments on reparations, economic advancement, guns in society, and racism in the criminal justice system and policing.

“It’s time to galvanize all who are for inclusion and equal rights for everyone.”

Listen:

YouTube: https://youtu.be/m2uOctpwrKU

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1V7hrfo2KH87WWb5LM21ym

AnchorFM: https://anchor.fm/swopehealth/episodes/One-on-One-with-Swope-Health-Gwen-Grant–Urban-League-of-Greater-KC-e1s1cee

 

One on One with Swope Health: Ruth Ramsey

Swope Health announces a new edition of its podcast, One on One with Swope Health, with host Eric Wesson interviewing Ruth Ramsey, publisher of Our Health Matters™, a monthly health publication focused on Kansas City.

Ruth is an entrepreneur, founding her business Ramsey & Associates Design in 1989. She launched the print and digital magazine in 2005, as she became increasingly aware of the sharp health disparities facing African Americans and other minorities. There is strong evidence showing how hypertension, type 2 diabetes, cancer and other diseases are much more prevalent among Blacks. Ruth determined she could help the community by offering information on how to take care of themselves and get preventive screenings.

Our Health Matters appears five times a year and is distributed free at 100-plus locations throughout the Kansas City metro area and via mail subscriptions.

In this interview, Ruth describes her Kansas City roots and upbringing, and her journey that led to launching Our Health Matters as a way to bring beneficial impact to the community. With the special issue “Black Men Speak,” members of the community offer personal stories of strength, health and hope.

The issue offers frank tales of racism, prejudice and discrimination, lack of access to employment, housing and employment, and those traumatic impacts on health. As an example, Ruth describes an interview with a 16-year-old young man. When asked how he is perceived by society, he said without a moment’s pause, “They think we’re criminals.”

What can we do better for black men and boys? That’s the reason for the special issue. Authors bring expertise from fields of economic development, health, education, housing, employment, social justice, public safety and government. The magazine serves as a resource to the community, providing guidance, inspiration and references for driving positive change.

This issue takes a step to broaden the perception of black men in the community. “We need to look at and support our community of black men and boys,” Ruth says.

LISTEN NOW:

YouTube: https://youtu.be/MwMYkEtEhoM

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1V7hrfo2KH87WWb5LM21ym

AnchorFM: https://anchor.fm/swopehealth/episodes/Swope-Health-One-on-One-with-Ruth-Ramsey-e1qk0uc