Conversations and Connections

In this episode, Stuart talks with the Family Crisis Center's newest member of the Prevention Team, Rebecca Martinez, who also serves as the agency's Student Advocate at Stephen F. Austin State University.   Rebecca tells Stuart what exactly a student advocate does, the services the agency can provide for students, and why she chose her career path. 

Celesse Goeyns is the Director of the Boys and Girls Club of Diboll.  Stuart talks with Celesse about the services the Boys and Girls Club provides to East Texas kids and why she feels the work she does there is so important.

Gary Roberts with the Brown Family Health Center is a man with many hats.  In this episode, Gary talks about everything from educating the community about STD's, to his ministry to area sex workers, to gardening.   

Consent is one of the main cornerstones of the Prevention message we bring to students and the community.  In this episode, the Family Crisis Center's Prevention Team talks about what exactly is consent, why it's so important, and how you can start introducing the concept of consent to young children.

The Family Crisis Center's Prevention Program has a very good relationship with Angelina College, and a lot of that has to do with Jordan LaCaille.  Jordan helps us with coordinating on-campus projects and always welcomes the Prevention Team to many of her activities on campus.  We talk with her about the importance of spreading relationship violence prevention messaging on campus, and the challen...

June is Pride Month, and in recognition of the month Stuart travels to Stephen F. Austin State University to have a talk with Megan Morton, the Director of Communication and Danial Gillis, Director of Membership with the SFA LGBTQ Plus Equality Caucus.  What is it like to be a member of the LBBTQ Plus community in Deep East Texas?  What unique challenges to members of the community face here?  We'...

For many of our clients, Melissa Youngblood is the very first person they will come into contact with at the Family Crisis Center.  In today's episode, Melissa talks to Stuart about her job as Intake Specialist for the agency, and also the role she plays at Mantooth House in Lufkin. 

Many times the survivors that stay in the safe house have no reliable way to get around, and that's where Transportation Specialist Paula Campbell comes in.  It's Paula's job to make sure our safe house residents get to doctors appointments, job interviews, and other important destinations.  

What do blueberries and the Family Crisis Center have in common?  It's the annual Blueberry Cupcake Battle of course!  In the episode, Stuart talks with Family Crisis Center Community Outreach Coordinator Greta Rich about this year's Cupcake Battle at the Texas Blueberry Festival in Nacogdoches!

Attorney Charlie Lewis provides an invaluable service for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault.  As the Family Crisis Center's Staff Attorney, Charlie has seen his share of family court cases.  In this episode of Conversations and Connections, Charlie talks with Stuart about the various services he provides the clients and the challenges associated with the family court system.

What's it like cooking for what can be up to 30 people or more every day?  In this episode of Conversations and Connections, Stuart talks with Kitchen Manager Veronica Sessions about just that.  From planning meals, to grocery shopping that can run as high as $700 a week, Veronica does it all!

In this episode of Conversations and Connections, we talk with outgoing Executive Director Heather Kartye and the person who will soon take over the reigns of leading the Family Crisis Center, Whitney Burran.  Heather will talk to us about what she will take away from her experience as Executive Director, and Whitney will share with us what she's looking forward to the most.  No guarantees that te...

In this episode of Conversations and Connections, Stuart talks with counselor Mary Curtis about working not only adults, but children who are affected by domestic violence in their home environment.  Stuart and Mary also talk some about how faith can play a role in the counseling process.  

Probably one of the first things someone thinks of when they hear about the Family Crisis Center of East Texas is the shelter or "safe house" that the agency operates.  In this episode of Conversations and Connections, Stuart talks with the man who see to the day-to-day operations of the shelter, Greg Sims.  They talk about Greg's duties, as well as what it's like to be a man in charge of the shel...

April 27th is East Texas Giving Day.  In this episode, Stuart talks with the Family Crisis Center's Development Director Melissa Wheeler about the importance East Texas Giving Day to a non-profit agency like the Family Crisis Center, and how the East Texas community can give to the cause.  

When a domestic violence survivor reaches out to the Family Crisis Center of East Texas for services, many times they are a parent.  In this episode of Conversations and Connections, Stuart talks with Children's Advocate Monica Ibarra about how she works with the children of our clients to help them cope with various situations they may be facing.   

In this episode, Stuart sits down with Kim Riddle to talk about the recent Safer East Texas Training the Family Crisis Center hosted at Angelina College, the importance of such a training for East Texas agencies, and what other training opportunities the Family Crisis Center of East Texas offers.

The Family Crisis Center of East Texas accepts college students as interns every year.  In this episode of Conversations and Connections, we talk with Community Outreach Coordinator Greta Rich about the agency's internship program, and who can qualify for an intern.  We'll then talk with Sadarria Christian, Shelby Brown, and Emily Adams, three of the agency's interns for the spring of 2021.  

February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month.   In this episode of Conversations and Connections, Stuart talks to Lufkin ISD Social Worker Tonja Akridge about how teens are affected by abusive relationships.   How does abusive relationships affect their social lives?  What about their school work?   Want to know more about the Family Crisis Center of East Texas?  Visit our website at https://w...

In this episode of Conversations and Connections, Stuart talks with Family Crisis Center board member Jim McReynolds.  Mr. McReynolds is no stranger to East Texans.  The former Texas State Representative talks about what it means to him to be a board member, the challenges that such a position has, and what he finds rewarding about serving the community.   Want to know more about the Family Crisis...

Harold's House provides an important service to the East Texas region.  They provide a safe and secure place for children to tell their story of being the survivor of sexual assault.  Ashley Cook, the Community Education Director for Harold's House talks about the services her agency provides the community, and the all too real problem of sexual assault of children in our community.  

In this episode, Stuart sits down with the agency's operations director Whitney Burran about things employers need to know about employees who may be experiencing domestic violence.  What is the employer's responsibility?  What can an employer do to provide support for their employees?  We'll answer these questions and more.

In this episode we conclude our four-part series on human trafficking with a conversation with Special Investigator Lazaro Robles with the Department of Family and Protective Services.  

We continue our conversation on the topic of human trafficking.  In this episode, Stuart welcomes back Maria Villarreal from the Family Crisis Center of East Texas and also Investigator Brandon Lovell from the Nacogdoches Sheriff's Office.

We continue our conversation with the agency's Human Trafficking Specialist Maria Villarreal.  We talk about the differences between human trafficking and sex trafficking, some of the myths associated with human trafficking, and more.