Welcome to Episode 19 of Inspiring Community: An Inspire to Rise Podcast. Today’s episode was led by our host, Drew Brandom! Please join us as he interviews our guest, Michael Seeraj.

Mr. Seeraj is the Chief Financial Officer at Inspire to Rise and has over 21 years of accounting experience in both the private and not-for-profit sectors. In 2017, he was presented with the Business Journal - Ultimate CFO of the Year Award.

Mr. Seeraj discusses his career journey, from three days at UPS to make rent, to moving from company to company as a CFO, identifying holes and fixing problems as he went. When Aida Seeraj, his wife, came to him with an idea for a not-for-profit that would aid community members, he provided the framework to ensure they would be able to keep the doors open.

Inspire to Rise, Inc. is a nonprofit focused on holistically helping make the community a little better, happier, and healthier place. For more information or to support our mission, please contact us at weinspiretorise.org or via phone at: 1-844-WE-RISE1 (1-844-937-4731).

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Welcome to Episode 18 of Inspiring Community: An Inspire to Rise Podcast, led by our Community Behavioral Health Director, Anna Santiago. Please join us as she interviews our guest, Nikki Runion.

Professor Runion is an Instructor of Social Work at the University of North Florida, but before she became involved in academia, she spent years with children and families in the foster care system through the Department of Juvenile Justise, as school therapist, and as a provider of therapeutic services for individuals and families experiencing trauma and mental health needs in community-based settings.

Inspire to Rise, Inc. is a nonprofit focused on holistically helping make the community a little better, happier, and healthier place. For more information or to support our mission, please contact us at weinspiretorise.org or via phone at: 1-844-WE-RISE1 (1-844-937-4731).

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Welcome to Episode 17 of Inspiring Community: An Inspire to Rise Podcast led by our Prevention & Family Preservation Director, Robin Rossmanith. Please join us as he interviews our guest, Treevonia Robinson.

Ms. Robinson began using cocaine at the age of 16 and continued to do so for the next 23 years. While she always quit using whenever she was pregnant, she went back to cocaine after she finished nursing each of her first four children. It wasn't until after the birth of her fifth child, and a diagnosis of Congestive Heart Failure that left her heart functioning at 22%, that Ms. Robinson got the help she needed to quit using cocaine permanently.

At the time of recording, Ms. Robinson's heart had returned to 44% functionality, and her then 7-month-old child was strong and healthy.

Inspire to Rise, Inc. is a nonprofit focused on holistically helping make the community a little better, happier, and healthier place. For more information or to support our mission, please contact us at weinspiretorise.org or via phone at: 1-844-WE-RISE1 (1-844-937-4731).

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Welcome to Episode 16 of Inspiring Community: An Inspire to Rise Podcast. Today’s episode was led by our host, Drew Brandom! Please join us as he interviews our guest, Mrs. Enricka James.

Mrs. James discusses her life, from being born and raised in Jacksonville, Florida, to moving to Atlanta to pursue modeling, moving to Las Vegas, moving to New Orleans, and raising three children (ages 6, 3, and 13 months) with her husband, Lloyd James. After a difficult time in 2024, they decided to move back to Jacksonville, where Mrs. James’ mother still lived, after being told they could move into Mrs. Lloyd’s late-grandmother’s home. Upon arriving in Jacksonville, they discovered the home they expected to live in had been condemned and was unlivable.

After reaching out to a friend who worked for Healthy Start, Mrs. James and her family were able to receive much needed help and a new beginning. She is also engaging in services through Inspire to Rise, Inc. Mrs. James now has her own business and she and her husband own their own home.

Inspire to Rise, Inc. is a nonprofit focused on holistically helping make the community a little better, happier, and healthier place. For more information or to support our mission, please contact us at weinspiretorise.org or via phone at: 1-844-WE-RISE1 (1-844-937-4731).

Thank you for listening.

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Welcome to Episode 15 of Inspiring Community: An Inspire to Rise Podcast. Today's episode was led by our guest host, Michael Seeraj! Please join us as he interviews our guest, Ms. Anna Santiago, Director of Community Behavioral Health at Inspire to Rise, Inc.

Ms. Santiago discusses her career trajectory and how she moved from a Bachelor's in Criminal Justice to a Master's of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. She discusses "her why" - why she is passionate about providing mental health services to others and why she believes community services are so important. She also discusses her role as Director of Community Behavioral Health at Inspire to Rise and the importance of providing counseling services to the juvenal population.

Inspire to Rise, Inc. is a nonprofit focused on holistically helping make the community a little better, happier, and healthier place. For more information or to support our mission, please contact us at weinspiretorise.org or via phone at: 1-844-WE-RISE1 (1-844-937-4731).

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Welcome to Episode 14 of Inspiring Community: An Inspire to Rise Podcast. Today's episode was led by our guest host, Community Behavioral Health Director Anna Santiago! Please join us as she interviews our next guest, Ms. Betsy Dobbins, Founder & Executive Director of the Center for Children's Rights, a restorative organization dedicated to advancing the well-being of youth.

Ms. Betsy Dobbins is an attorney, social worker, but above all a restorative justice practitioner dedicated to cultivating embodied communities and systems of care within which youth and the adults who work with them can thrive. Ms. Dobbins' work focuses on the intersection of right relationship and rights-based frameworks, with reciprocal relationships and transformation as integral to creating community pathways to well-being for youth.

We welcome you to hear her story, passion, and hear "her why” ---- why she is so passionate about what she does every day to make an impact on the youth and families she serves in this community.

Inspire to Rise, Inc. is a nonprofit focused on holistically helping make the community a little better, happier, and healthier place. For more information or to support our mission, please contact us at weinspiretorise.org or via phone at: 1-844-WE-RISE1 (1-844-937-4731).

Thank you for listening.

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Welcome to Episode 13 of Inspiring Community: An Inspire to Rise Podcast led by our host Drew Brandom! Please join us as he interviews our guests, three youth from the INSPIRED Youth Program at Inspire to Rise, Inc.!

The INSPIRED Youth Program is a Prevention & Recovery Program for youth at risk of opioid misuse or with substance misuse disorders and/or who are struggling with mental illness. The program provides the additional recovery services the youth and family need to build the youth’s coping techniques, positive social supports, and life skills in a holistic and healthy way, so that the youth can feel heard, seen, and loved!

Inspire to Rise, Inc. is a nonprofit focused on holistically helping make the community a little better, happier, and healthier place. For more information or to support our mission, please contact us at weinspiretorise.org or via phone at: 1-844-WE-RISE1 (1-844-937-4731).

Thank you for listening.

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Welcome to Episode 12 of Inspiring Community: An Inspire to Rise Podcast led by our host Drew Brandom! Please join us as he interviews our guest, Ms. Cassandra Croft, Peer Community Advocate at Inspire to Rise, Inc.

Ms. Croft shares her personal life and recovery journey and discusses “her why” ---- why she is so passionate about what she does every day to make an impact on the youth, individuals, and families she serves in this community. She also explains her role at Inspire to Rise as a Peer Community Advocate and discusses the power of the Peer in assisting others in their mental health and substance misuse recovery journey.

Inspire to Rise, Inc. is a nonprofit focused on holistically helping make the community a little better, happier, and healthier place. For more information or to support our mission, please contact us at weinspiretorise.org or via phone at: 1-844-WE-RISE1 (1-844-937-4731).

Thank you for listening.

Send us a text