 |
Resilient Voices & BeyondResilient Voices & Beyond is a podcast that amplifies the voices of those who were once silenced and aims to empower a new generation of foster care alum leaders. Through conversations with community partners, leaders, advocates, and activists,... Author: Michael D. Davis-Thomas Aka MDDTSpeaks
Resilient Voices & Beyond is a podcast that amplifies the voices of those who were once silenced and aims to empower a new generation of foster care alum leaders. Through conversations with community partners, leaders, advocates, and activists, this podcast educates listeners on reforms, policies, and advocacy related to foster care, adoption, kinship, CCIs, JJ, and the child welfare system. The podcast challenges stigmas and labels surrounding these topics and creates a dialogue on reform and advocacy that is already happening or needs to happen. The core values of Resilient Voices & Beyond include empowerment, inclusivity, education, collaboration, authenticity, and innovation. The mission of the podcast is to create a platform for silenced voices to be heard and received, while the vision is to inspire and empower a new generation of leaders committed to making a positive change in the world. Language: en Genres: Education, Kids & Family Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it Trailer: |
Listen Now...
" She believed she could, so she did ”
Episode 52
Thursday, 11 September, 2025
đď¸ Episode 52 â âShe Believed She Could, So She DidâGuest: Faith M. Keen | DHHS Intern ⢠FSM Contractor ⢠LEx Policy Advocate ⢠TLE Member ⢠BSW Candidate ⢠Future MSWPodcast: Resilient Voices & Beyond Podcast â Season 3Host: Michael D. Davis-Thomas Episode Description:In this powerful and soul-baring conversation, host Michael D. Davis-Thomas is joined by rising advocate, policy shaper, and lived experience leader Faith M. Keen, for an episode that feels more like a mirror than a mic. Titled âShe Believed She Could, So She Did,â this dialogue is a tender, tenacious, and truth-filled journey through the harsh realities of childhood adversityâand the radical self-determination it takes to rise from it.Faith doesn't just speak her truthâshe lives it. From a chaotic upbringing marked by instability, addiction, and displacement, to finding belonging through advocacy, higher education, and a fierce belief in the power of lived experience, Faithâs journey is a living testimony of what resilience looks like when nurtured in community and courage. Together, Michael and Faith dive into:The emotional toll of caring for others when no one cared for youReframing trauma as purpose without glamorizing the painThe role of policy advocacy in restoring dignity to foster youthThe nuance of self-care in a space that demands our pain for progressNavigating healing while still showing up as âthe strong oneâThe balance between being a voice for the voiceless and being heard yourselfAs she shares deeply personal storiesâfrom driving her mother while under the influence to being adopted by extended family who didnât always understand her worthâFaith unpacks the layers of survival and silence, of grief and grit, that so many foster youth carry but rarely have safe space to process. She and Michael explore how systems often force youth to perform wellness while still bleeding, and how real change must include not just policiesâbut peace.Faithâs work with Fostering Success Michigan, Michiganâs Team with Lived Expertise (TLE), and her continued advocacy through public speaking and youth engagement is helping reshape how the state and nation see system-impacted youthânot as broken, but as brilliant. Her upcoming pursuit of an MSW at the University of Michigan is yet another step in becoming the change she needed as a child. This episode isnât about triumphalism. Itâs about truth. Itâs about community. And itâs about choosing healingâeven when no one taught you how. đŁ Because believing in yourself isnât clichĂŠ when youâve survived systems designed to make you forget how. đ Connect with Faith M. Keenđ¸ Instagram: @keen.faith.210đ Facebook / đ LinkedIn: Faith Keenđ§ Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, YouTube, and all major streaming platforms. đ˘ Support the PodcastVenmo: @MDDTSpeaks | CashApp: $MDDTSpeaksInc | PayPal: MDDT1Email: mddtspeaks@gmail.com for sponsorships, collaborations, and donor inquiries.
