Seen Out Loud
Seen Out Loud is a show about disrupting the child welfare system by the simple act of seeing families in their full humanity. Seeing people for who they truly are, and learning from their stories, offers new perspectives and compelling insights that can lead to radical transformation of America’s foster care system. Listen with us to families as they share deeply personal stories about their experiences with the child welfare system. Hear them express how the moments they were finally seen and valued shaped the trajectories of their lives. In this podcast, we accompany these stories with conversations about the work happening on the front lines of the family well-being movement—a collective effort aimed at meeting the needs of families to prevent systems intervention and the removal of children from parents. Hear leaders of the movement describe how they are actively building a future where families are engaged in systems work and have what they need to stay together and thrive.
Episodes
17 episodes
Addressing Poverty to Keep Families Together with Sarah Winograd
Sarah Winograd’s journey as a “professional volunteer” led to the realization that poverty was a driving factor in the child removals in the families she was working with. See how Sarah mobilized her community to address family poverty to help ...
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Season 2
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Episode 8
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47:44
In the Community, Of the Community with Cherie Craft
Cherie Craft, the founding CEO and Executive Director of Smart from the Start, talks about her organization’s unique approach to engaging communities and addressing conditions to enhance child and family well-being. Cherie references a previous...
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Season 2
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Episode 7
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50:25
The Impact of Community Conditions with Matthew Jackson
In this episode, Matthew Jackson explains how the community conditions he grew up in influenced the trajectory of his life into adulthood, and the difficulties he experienced with leaving “Jungle” in the past and charting a new path for the bet...
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Season 2
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Episode 6
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43:45
The Risk and Power of Storytelling with Keri Hope Richmond
Keri Hope Richmond, Child Welfare Policy Advocate, Speaker, joins conversation on engaging storytellers with lived experience with the child welfare system. Listen as Keri talks about her experiences sharing her story about navigating foster ca...
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Season 2
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Episode 5
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30:52
In Search of Belonging with Sana L. Cotten, Part Two
Pick up where part one left off with Sana L. Cotten on her journey to find answers about her family history. In this episode, Sana, who has never met her father, goes on a 10-year search to locate her paternal family and find belonging. She ref...
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Season 2
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Episode 4
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28:03
In Search of Belonging with Sana L. Cotten, Part One
Determined to discover where she came from, Sana L. Cotten recalls her ventures to uncover her past, face her family’s trauma, and reconnect with relatives who are part of her story. Hear from Sana how the process of learning about her birth fa...
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Season 2
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Episode 3
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35:18
A Pivotal Moment For Parent Allyship with Gina Wassemiller
Gina Wassemiller is a mother of three and a passionate parent ally. In the short film “Being Gina” she shares her evolution from being a parent struggling with substance use disor...
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Season 2
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Episode 2
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21:35
How to Influence Systems Change with Dr. Bruce Perry
Dr. Bruce Perry and Matt pick up from their conversation in Season 1 to dive deeper into strategies for creating positive change for families. Hear Dr. Bruce Perry give his advice for organizations like the Institute for Family on what it takes...
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Season 2
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Episode 1
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31:35
BONUS EPISODE: NAVIGATING TOGETHER WITH JAQUIA AND RAVEN
On this bonus episode celebrating social work month, Jaquia Wilson returns to the mic with her former social worker Raven Mitchell. Hear from Jaquia and Raven about the solid foundation they built during Jaquia’s time in foster care. Get insigh...
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Season 1
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Episode 9
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12:25
THE MOMENTUM IS BUILDING
From the national to community level, hear how the movement to prioritize family well-being is gaining momentum. In this season finale, three guests give insight on conversations taking place across the country around supporting families and re...
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Season 1
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Episode 7
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33:03
THE WALLS STARTED TO COME DOWN
Brett and Jessica Crisp have been married for over a decade and have a 9-year-old adopted son. They served as licensed foster parents with Children’s Home Society of North Carolina from 2016 to 2020. Through their experiences as adoptive parent...
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Season 1
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Episode 6
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45:35
CRACK THE CONCRETE WHEN YOU WALK
Hear what life was like for Jaquia Wilson, the youngest of nine children, who went from growing up with a loving mother in the Bronx to aging out of foster care without a support system. Jaquia demonstrates resilience through a series of traged...
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Season 1
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Episode 5
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37:58
MY DARKEST MOMENT WAS NO LONGER GOING TO BE BLEAK
Hear from Alise Morrissey about the impacts of individuals—a volunteer, a judge, an attorney, and a program leader—who offered glimmers of hope by seeing her for who she was instead of her circumstances. Alise tells her story of going from stra...
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Season 1
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Episode 4
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46:20
PEOPLE CHANGE THROUGH STORIES
Systems change when people change. And people change through stories. Dr. Bruce Perry candidly offers compelling insights on the power and science of storytelling. This episode demonstrates how some of the most important things we can do to imp...
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Season 1
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Episode 3
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33:27
LOOKING FOR THAT WARM HUG ALL MY LIFE
Shrounda Selivanoff takes us on a journey from childhood to motherhood, including a head-on collision with the child welfare system. Hear from Shrounda on how being seen and acknowledged for who she was changed her life forever. Shrounda is a p...
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Season 1
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Episode 2
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38:33
WHAT IF WE DIDN’T HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL BAD ENOUGH
Spoken word poet, Slam Anderson, and her mom, Lillie Lee-Williams, engage in an emotional conversation demonstrating the strength of family bonds despite a 14-year child welfare-initiated separation. This episode questions what would happen if ...
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Season 1
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Episode 1
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24:58
Seen Out Loud Podcast Trailer
Seen Out Loud, formerly Seen and Heard, is a show about disrupting the child welfare system by the simple act of seeing families in their full humanity. Listen to their stories with your host Matt Anderson. Tune in weekly to hear new perspectiv...
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Season 1
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Episode 0
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2:03