Send us a text

Content note: This episode includes candid conversation about aging, dementia, and caregiver stress.

What’s the right time to talk about senior care—and how do you even begin? In this episode of Hope Comes to Visit, I sit with Shona McIntyre, a senior care advisor, social worker, and certified dementia practitioner with nearly two decades of experience helping families navigate complex decisions with clarity, compassion, and confidence.

We unpack the messy middle: noticing early signs of change, starting “the talk” without stripping dignity, and why planning before a hospital crisis protects both options and peace of mind. Shona explains the real differences between independent living, assisted living, memory care, and skilled nursing—and why modern senior communities look more like apartment living with support (think chef-prepared meals, robust activities, and on-site care).

We also dig into caregiver guilt, how to frame conversations around safety + independence, what actually determines a good fit (level of care, lifestyle, and budget), and the huge time savings of working with a local advisor who has walked the buildings, tasted the food, and knows the teams.

If you’re caring for an aging parent—or love someone who is—this episode is a steady hand on your shoulder and a practical path forward.

Guest: Shona McIntyre — seniorcommunityconnections.net
Resource: The Caregiver’s Advocate (Vol. 2)

Thank you for listening to Hope Comes to Visit. If this conversation helps, follow the show, share it with someone who needs hope today, and leave a review - it helps others find their way to these conversations.

New episodes drop every Monday, so you can begin your week with a little light and a lot of hope.

For more stories, reflections, and ways to connect, visit www.DanielleElliottSmith.com or follow along on Instagram @daniellesmithtv and @HopeComestoVisit

Send us a text

This episode includes honest discussion of addiction and legal consequences.

What does recovery look like when the compulsion won’t let go? In this conversation, I am privileged to sit with Kelli Bauer, who lives with kleptomania—an often-hidden addiction—and has paid steep personal and legal costs. This conversation is brave and vulnerable. We talk about the difference between “shoplifting” and a clinical compulsion, how shame and secrecy keep us sick, what (actually) helps day-to-day, and why, for Kelli, hope looks like refusing to give up—one hour, one errand, one decision at a time.

We cover:

• Kleptomania vs. “casual shoplifting” (compulsion, not character)
• Consequences: arrests, career loss, media fallout—and rebuilding anyway
• Supports that help: meetings, service, meds, accountability
• Real-life tactics: don’t shop alone, stay in the same aisle, phone-in support
• Triggers everywhere (stores on every route) and how to plan around them
• Redefining hope when relapse happens

Resources & Links

• CASA (Kleptomania & Shoplifters Anonymous) — weekly meeting info
• Terry Shulman’s counseling/resources for theft & compulsive behaviors
• Instagram and TikTok: @twoliveswithkel

If you or someone you love is struggling, please reach out to a licensed professional or a local support line.

Thank you for listening to Hope Comes to Visit. If this conversation helps, follow the show, share it with someone who needs hope today, and leave a review - it helps others find their way to these conversations.

New episodes drop every Monday, so you can begin your week with a little light and a lot of hope.

For more stories, reflections, and ways to connect, visit www.DanielleElliottSmith.com or follow along on Instagram @daniellesmithtv and @HopeComestoVisit

Send us a text

Gentle note: we talk honestly about grief and child loss—please listen with care and kindness for yourself.

What does healing look like when the unthinkable happens? In this episode, I’m sitting with Melissa Hull—author, speaker, coach, fierce advocate, and Drew’s mom. After losing her son in a tragic drowning, Melissa has worked to choose a different ending for herself: love in motion, faith as a daily practice, grief as a path that can still lead to purpose.

In this conversation, we get real about:

• why presence over platitude matters when you don’t know what to say
• practical water safety Melissa teaches in classrooms (and why it saves lives)
• the letter that became her lighthouse—and how choice + agency help us heal
• self-forgiveness as parents, especially around the holidays
• tangible ways to support grieving friends (and how to ask for what you need)

If you’re in a tender season, consider this a steady hand to hold.

Resources & Links for Connecting with Melissa
Guest: melissahull.com
Book: Dear Drew: Creating a Life Bigger Than Grief
Earlier memoir: Lessons from Neverland

Thank you for listening to Hope Comes to Visit. If this conversation helps, follow the show, share it with someone who needs hope today, and leave a review - it helps others find their way to these conversations.

New episodes drop every Monday, so you can begin your week with a little light and a lot of hope.

For more stories, reflections, and ways to connect, visit www.DanielleElliottSmith.com or follow along on Instagram @daniellesmithtv and @HopeComestoVisit