Transcript Episode Zero: Why are we doing this?
Patty Sykstus
Well, hello, welcome to our very first episode zero is what we're calling this of the not one more podcast series that we are really excited about doing. And so tonight, what we're going to be doing is introducing ourselves letting you know a little bit about what this podcast series is going to be about and how we got here and why we're here today. My name is Patty Sykstus. I am the president of Not One More Alabama. And we are a local nonprofit based in north Alabama. And we really put most of our energy into trying to educate people, provide support, inspiration, reduce stigma that surrounds addiction, and surrounds people that struggle with substance use and their families. And so we try to serve those people, and helping them to find resources and just give them the support that they need, wherever they're at on their path of addiction and how it maybe has impacted them. About, mid 2020, we came together as a Board of Directors, and wanted to have a conversation surrounding race, racial equity issues, and how that presents itself in the industry of treatment and recovery. And really take a look at that. We wanted to look at ourselves as an organization, and, and just really have an open, candid, honest conversation about race, with the lens of what we do as an organization, in terms of supporting people who have been impacted by addiction. This was obviously something that is a huge issue in our world today. This immediately was following all of the major issues that we've all been hearing about and in our society and our communities. And we just wanted to dig in and have this conversation. And so that's kind of how we got started. And so tonight, what we're going to do is just we have four board members that are on, and we're just going to have a little bit of a conversation to give you a little bit of background about this podcast and this series and and why we're doing this. So I am going to turn this over right now and let the other board members introduce themselves. And then Maria is going to talk a little bit about the subject matter and what why we're going to be doing this and what we're going to be doing. So Maria, you want to jump in?
Maria Goodman
Yeah, thanks Patty. So yeah, like you said, mid 2020, it became apparent when we met as a board, and I am a board member, that we needed to have a very frank discussion about about race. I mean, our country was up in arms. And we didn't, we wanted to do something in our space in our space of substance use disorders and the impact that it has on our community and our families and individuals. And so we said that, hey, we can't just put a slogan there. And let that be done. So what are we going to do about it? And so as we talked, it became apparent that, you know, we never really talked about race. I joined the board a couple of years ago, because Patty and I have been friends and neighbors for a very long time - for over 20 years. And I don't know that we've, we've talked about many things, personal professional, but I don't know if we talked about how race impacts our perspective on things, and especially substance use. There's been no shortage of substance use issues in my family, and I've lived in Alabama all my life. I have a large family and five older brothers, and at least four of them have had some issues throughout their life with substance use disorders. And I've seen the impact. So I was happy to be a part of the board. And then I want to talk about how that impacted - and how I saw the different opportunities or the lack of opportunities because they were - we were a black family and how it rippled through generations in our family and the problems it has. So, I'm looking forward to all our episodes of bringing in different topics about substance use, in treatment, the laws surrounding sentencing, and then also let's talk about what we can do and have solutions in that space and how we move forward as a community with real recognition of who we are as people. So we also have on our podcast, we have another board member from Not One More, Mr. Blake, Cruttenden, and Blake, what are your thoughts on how we got here tonight, and why you feel moved to participate?
Blake Cruttenden
Thank you, Maria. There's a whole slew of things to answer that with. And to start off, I'm just kind of honored by Patty and everybody on the board just asking me to come and be a part of it. This has been a common impact throughout my life. And something I didn't realize that God had given me to do. And I was one of those callings that just came out. But kind of talking about the differences and stuff between all that it's, it's such a big impact in our world. And just like you were saying, it's something that we need to talk about, and needs to be out on the table. And we need to not talk about it only, but how it revolves around substance use disorder and the treatment world and really just kind of bring that picture together - that there is also chatter within the treatment world. You hear people all the time (speak of) 'concerns on this,' 'concerns on that,' 'the money here,' 'the money there.' And unfortunately, its impacted so many different ethnicities. It doesn't really matter where it is, or who you're talking to. It's everywhere. And as we all know, addiction doesn't discriminate. It doesn't matter where it is, or who it comes from, or what walk of life you're in. I mean, it's there. And whether we want to admit it or not, or hide or run or be shameful of it - it's not going to go away because of that. So I think a big reason of being on this board is to not only help everybody kind of get in front of it, but be a helpful resource - be someone that gets to play out and work in the community and, and figure out solutions and figure out what's a new situation I faced today that I can find a solution for tomorrow. It's an ever changing world, and to say that I don't learn something every day. I mean, that would be a lie. I do learn something new every day. And having a resource like NOMA, Not One More, there to be able to help is amazing. And being able to keep the website updated and informational for people as a resource is massive. And that can only drive us and strive us to move forward to do better.
Maria Goodman
Well, thank you. Thank you, Blake. And I think when we were meeting as a board, like I said late last mid last year, and I think one of the things that resonated to everybody was, when I allow, I'll give you credit for that was saying that addiction doesn't discriminate. And I think that became the the torch that we had to care for. And I conversations. Also we we have another board member, Miss Carla Bugg. And I want to ask you why you have a passion for this conversation and why you believe that it needs to be had and had now, and had with with a level of authenticity. And I'm interested to hear your perspective on that.
Carla Bugg
Well, good evening, everyone I am Carla Bugg. And the reason why I have such a passion for the talk is because I am a person in long term recovery. For the past 28 years, in some months, I have been a person in recovery by the grace of God. And I'm also a woman of color. And I work in the treatment setting. So I'm very passionate about what I do, because I have the lived experience. One of the reasons why I was I was so excited and so happy that Not One More Alabama decided to talk about it and not only talk about it, but make a statement about it on social media. When the George Floyd incident came up, NOMA stepped up to the plate. Because to be honest with you, at that point, some of the feelings that I was having was like, 'hey, if somebody don't say something, then I don't want to be a part of something that's gonna be ignored. You know, I don't want to be a part of an organization that's about addiction, but don't want to talk about, you know, what's really going on in the world.' And so I'm excited and I'm happy that NOMA stepped up and decided to talk about it. Um, just the fact that I have the lived experience is a lot because I've seen a lot. I've been to treatment several times, and not only treatment, but I've been incarcerated as a result of my addiction. And so I think I have a lot to contribute to the conversation. And I'm just so excited. And I feel so blessed and honored to be here in this podcast. And so thank you guys for having me.
Patty Sykstus
Carla, we are super happy that you're here tonight. I mean, this, you have an incredible voice in this conversation. And I just want to kind of say one thing, we've had this conversation behind the scenes, but now we're going to have this conversation right here on this podcast, that, you know, these can be kind of scary conversations to have, you know, that's probably why a lot of people don't go out and do it. And I've had this conversation with Maria several times, you know, I worry, just being really candid, I mean, I worry about saying the wrong thing, I worry about doing something that's more hurtful than helpful. And that would never be my intention. That would never be where my heart is. But sometimes you worry when you're doing something like this, that you aren't going to find the right words or say the right thing. And so, you know, we've had that conversation that we have to give each other the grace to know that we're doing this from a place of wanting to learn, wanting to do better, wanting to be a better organization, wanting to meet the needs of all the people in our community, not just a specific segment of our of our community. For me, personally, it's it was probably - and Maria, you may not even realize this, but one of the most eye opening, awakening moments for me is when we were sitting that day, at the during the scavenger hunt, we were talking, and we were bringing up the concept of natural consequences. And you brought up that, like, you know, we were talking about parents having to decide what natural consequences they're willing to let their children experience before they say 'no more,' you know, and because we preach to people all the time, you have to let them experience their natural consequences. That's how you change behavior, blah, blah, blah. And you had such an insightful comment when you just said, you know, that you're basically my takeaway from what you said was that your line of natural consequences could look very different than mine, because your child's outcome of those natural consequences could look very different than mine. And even if it's the same exact scenario. And that was such a moment of clarity for me, like, okay, that's why we're doing this, because that is so wrong on so many levels.
Carla Bugg
I like that. I like that.
Maria Goodman
It's interesting Patty, though, ordinarily, that's not typically a thing that I would say, maybe not in public, I might say that if we were standing, you know, in my driveway, but yeah, it's a real thing. And and so and I know, I mean, without even hearing, the whole conversation, Carla knows exactly what I'm talking about. The thing is, that we don't - I guess we don't say it enough to realize that that's a part of the decision - you know - landscape. But it's real, you know. I have to consider that - I mean like just if my sons wanted to get handguns and get permits to, I guess, carry, but when or if they get stopped, they're probably going to show that they have a permit to have a handgun. So is a cop going to assume he has his gun with him that night? So do I want him to have a gun? I don't know.
Patty Sykstus
To me, those are the things like that, that to me was just a real moment of clarity, you know, not that I didn't get it before because I got it. But that was a real world explanation. For me being somebody that didn't have to think about that in that lens. And it just provided a moment of clarity for me. And just a moment of insight into why we're doing this We need to understand that we need to understand that that's part of the thought process that our brothers and sisters might be having to consider that somebody else doesn't have to consider. And to me, that's what this is all about. It's like, 'let's educate ourselves. Let's inform ourselves.' Because as an organization, I'm going to go out and have a conversation with a parent and say you need to be thinking about those natural consequences. What are those going to look like for your child? You know, what happens if they get arrested? What's that going to look like for them? It never probably, okay just full disclosure, I mean, I never probably thought about that from a race perspective. Like what is that natural consequence look like for your son versus my son? I mean, let's literally it never, never really even thought that way. And so to me, that's what this is for, I need to think that way. I need to be considering those things. But that's part of this process of change. And that's part of, of waking up a little bit. And so if we stumble around a little getting there, I hope everybody will give us a little grace for that, because we don't have a roadmap. This is something really new for a lot of us. But I think we all feel like it's a really important conversation to have. And we were fortunate enough, we were able to get a grant through the Community Foundation's Racial Equity Fund, which is helping to support this project. And we were really grateful for that, because we really just want to dig in and start learning what what those issues are out there that maybe in some way, we can have a voice in trying to bring about some change and, and make things better for all people in our community.
Maria Goodman
Yeah, thanks, Patty. We can't promise that we won't stumble. But we can definitely promise that we will be bold, and we realize that we are going to, we're going to talk about those issues. And and willing to, to bring about the people in a community across the country, maybe that they can help us and provide resources, provide solutions and provide, you know, courses of actions for us to try together. So we'll be bold, we're going to talk about it. And we will carry this torch.
Patty Sykstus
I'm excited. And one of the things we talked about when we first started having the conversation about doing the podcast was that we don't want to just sit and talk about the problem. We are all aware there's a problem. But I think digging into the problem is important. Learning about the problem is important. Educating ourselves and our community, everybody that's listening, to the problem. But we're hoping that each episode will end with really delving into what what are the solutions? What can we do different? How can we do better. And so that's really kind of our format as we move forward. Tonight, it's just an introduction night. But as we go forward, our hope is to spend some time digging into the problem learning, educating ourselves on the problem, and then spending some time really trying to identify those solutions. What's out there, what can we do? What can we do different as individuals, as an organization, as a community? What can we do different? You'll have, throughout the series, you'll have Maria and I will be there in some form. Caral will be on a lot of them. Blake will be popping in. So you'll have any combination of us throughout each episode. And we'll be bringing in speakers from a national level to kind of look at big picture issues. And then we're going to bring in some people that are right here on the ground in our local communities, to really help us to understand what's happening right here in Alabama. So really excited and really looking forward to it, these are going to be some pretty incredible conversations. So we want to make sure that everybody knows how to find Not One More Alabama. We have a presence on our website. So that's https://notonemorealabama.org - all spelled out, Not One More Alabama (dot) org. We are also very visible on social media, primarily on Facebook, we also have a LinkedIn site, Instagram and Twitter. So we're we're very active in trying to keep current information out in the public and letting people know what's going on. So keep an eye on our social media. Our website has tons and tons of resources on there. So anybody who's out there looking for help, feel free to use the tools that we've created to give you that.
Maria Goodman
Thank you and we hope you will join us on this journey. And we'd be interested to hear your feedback. So we appreciate you and we appreciate your participation and attention.
Well, hello, welcome to our very first episode zero is what we're calling this of the not one more podcast series that we are really excited about doing. And so tonight, what we're going to be doing is introducing ourselves letting you know a little bit about what this podcast series is going to be about and how we got here and why we're here today. My name is Patty Sykstus. I am the president of Not One More Alabama. And we are a local nonprofit based in north Alabama. And we really put most of our energy into trying to educate people, provide support, inspiration, reduce stigma that surrounds addiction, and surrounds people that struggle with substance use and their families. And so we try to serve those people, and helping them to find resources and just give them the support that they need, wherever they're at on their path of addiction and how it maybe has impacted them. About, mid 2020, we came together as a Board of Directors, and wanted to have a conversation surrounding race, racial equity issues, and how that presents itself in the industry of treatment and recovery. And really take a look at that. We wanted to look at ourselves as an organization, and, and just really have an open, candid, honest conversation about race, with the lens of what we do as an organization, in terms of supporting people who have been impacted by addiction. This was obviously something that is a huge issue in our world today. This immediately was following all of the major issues that we've all been hearing about and in our society and our communities. And we just wanted to dig in and have this conversation. And so that's kind of how we got started. And so tonight, what we're going to do is just we have four board members that are on, and we're just going to have a little bit of a conversation to give you a little bit of background about this podcast and this series and and why we're doing this. So I am going to turn this over right now and let the other board members introduce themselves. And then Maria is going to talk a little bit about the subject matter and what why we're going to be doing this and what we're going to be doing. So Maria, you want to jump in?
Maria Goodman
Yeah, thanks Patty. So yeah, like you said, mid 2020, it became apparent when we met as a board, and I am a board member, that we needed to have a very frank discussion about about race. I mean, our country was up in arms. And we didn't, we wanted to do something in our space in our space of substance use disorders and the impact that it has on our community and our families and individuals. And so we said that, hey, we can't just put a slogan there. And let that be done. So what are we going to do about it? And so as we talked, it became apparent that, you know, we never really talked about race. I joined the board a couple of years ago, because Patty and I have been friends and neighbors for a very long time - for over 20 years. And I don't know that we've, we've talked about many things, personal professional, but I don't know if we talked about how race impacts our perspective on things, and especially substance use. There's been no shortage of substance use issues in my family, and I've lived in Alabama all my life. I have a large family and five older brothers, and at least four of them have had some issues throughout their life with substance use disorders. And I've seen the impact. So I was happy to be a part of the board. And then I want to talk about how that impacted - and how I saw the different opportunities or the lack of opportunities because they were - we were a black family and how it rippled through generations in our family and the problems it has. So, I'm looking forward to all our episodes of bringing in different topics about substance use, in treatment, the laws surrounding sentencing, and then also let's talk about what we can do and have solutions in that space and how we move forward as a community with real recognition of who we are as people. So we also have on our podcast, we have another board member from Not One More, Mr. Blake, Cruttenden, and Blake, what are your thoughts on how we got here tonight, and why you feel moved to participate?
Blake Cruttenden
Thank you, Maria. There's a whole slew of things to answer that with. And to start off, I'm just kind of honored by Patty and everybody on the board just asking me to come and be a part of it. This has been a common impact throughout my life. And something I didn't realize that God had given me to do. And I was one of those callings that just came out. But kind of talking about the differences and stuff between all that it's, it's such a big impact in our world. And just like you were saying, it's something that we need to talk about, and needs to be out on the table. And we need to not talk about it only, but how it revolves around substance use disorder and the treatment world and really just kind of bring that picture together - that there is also chatter within the treatment world. You hear people all the time (speak of) 'concerns on this,' 'concerns on that,' 'the money here,' 'the money there.' And unfortunately, its impacted so many different ethnicities. It doesn't really matter where it is, or who you're talking to. It's everywhere. And as we all know, addiction doesn't discriminate. It doesn't matter where it is, or who it comes from, or what walk of life you're in. I mean, it's there. And whether we want to admit it or not, or hide or run or be shameful of it - it's not going to go away because of that. So I think a big reason of being on this board is to not only help everybody kind of get in front of it, but be a helpful resource - be someone that gets to play out and work in the community and, and figure out solutions and figure out what's a new situation I faced today that I can find a solution for tomorrow. It's an ever changing world, and to say that I don't learn something every day. I mean, that would be a lie. I do learn something new every day. And having a resource like NOMA, Not One More, there to be able to help is amazing. And being able to keep the website updated and informational for people as a resource is massive. And that can only drive us and strive us to move forward to do better.
Maria Goodman
Well, thank you. Thank you, Blake. And I think when we were meeting as a board, like I said late last mid last year, and I think one of the things that resonated to everybody was, when I allow, I'll give you credit for that was saying that addiction doesn't discriminate. And I think that became the the torch that we had to care for. And I conversations. Also we we have another board member, Miss Carla Bugg. And I want to ask you why you have a passion for this conversation and why you believe that it needs to be had and had now, and had with with a level of authenticity. And I'm interested to hear your perspective on that.
Carla Bugg
Well, good evening, everyone I am Carla Bugg. And the reason why I have such a passion for the talk is because I am a person in long term recovery. For the past 28 years, in some months, I have been a person in recovery by the grace of God. And I'm also a woman of color. And I work in the treatment setting. So I'm very passionate about what I do, because I have the lived experience. One of the reasons why I was I was so excited and so happy that Not One More Alabama decided to talk about it and not only talk about it, but make a statement about it on social media. When the George Floyd incident came up, NOMA stepped up to the plate. Because to be honest with you, at that point, some of the feelings that I was having was like, 'hey, if somebody don't say something, then I don't want to be a part of something that's gonna be ignored. You know, I don't want to be a part of an organization that's about addiction, but don't want to talk about, you know, what's really going on in the world.' And so I'm excited and I'm happy that NOMA stepped up and decided to talk about it. Um, just the fact that I have the lived experience is a lot because I've seen a lot. I've been to treatment several times, and not only treatment, but I've been incarcerated as a result of my addiction. And so I think I have a lot to contribute to the conversation. And I'm just so excited. And I feel so blessed and honored to be here in this podcast. And so thank you guys for having me.
Patty Sykstus
Carla, we are super happy that you're here tonight. I mean, this, you have an incredible voice in this conversation. And I just want to kind of say one thing, we've had this conversation behind the scenes, but now we're going to have this conversation right here on this podcast, that, you know, these can be kind of scary conversations to have, you know, that's probably why a lot of people don't go out and do it. And I've had this conversation with Maria several times, you know, I worry, just being really candid, I mean, I worry about saying the wrong thing, I worry about doing something that's more hurtful than helpful. And that would never be my intention. That would never be where my heart is. But sometimes you worry when you're doing something like this, that you aren't going to find the right words or say the right thing. And so, you know, we've had that conversation that we have to give each other the grace to know that we're doing this from a place of wanting to learn, wanting to do better, wanting to be a better organization, wanting to meet the needs of all the people in our community, not just a specific segment of our of our community. For me, personally, it's it was probably - and Maria, you may not even realize this, but one of the most eye opening, awakening moments for me is when we were sitting that day, at the during the scavenger hunt, we were talking, and we were bringing up the concept of natural consequences. And you brought up that, like, you know, we were talking about parents having to decide what natural consequences they're willing to let their children experience before they say 'no more,' you know, and because we preach to people all the time, you have to let them experience their natural consequences. That's how you change behavior, blah, blah, blah. And you had such an insightful comment when you just said, you know, that you're basically my takeaway from what you said was that your line of natural consequences could look very different than mine, because your child's outcome of those natural consequences could look very different than mine. And even if it's the same exact scenario. And that was such a moment of clarity for me, like, okay, that's why we're doing this, because that is so wrong on so many levels.
Carla Bugg
I like that. I like that.
Maria Goodman
It's interesting Patty, though, ordinarily, that's not typically a thing that I would say, maybe not in public, I might say that if we were standing, you know, in my driveway, but yeah, it's a real thing. And and so and I know, I mean, without even hearing, the whole conversation, Carla knows exactly what I'm talking about. The thing is, that we don't - I guess we don't say it enough to realize that that's a part of the decision - you know - landscape. But it's real, you know. I have to consider that - I mean like just if my sons wanted to get handguns and get permits to, I guess, carry, but when or if they get stopped, they're probably going to show that they have a permit to have a handgun. So is a cop going to assume he has his gun with him that night? So do I want him to have a gun? I don't know.
Patty Sykstus
To me, those are the things like that, that to me was just a real moment of clarity, you know, not that I didn't get it before because I got it. But that was a real world explanation. For me being somebody that didn't have to think about that in that lens. And it just provided a moment of clarity for me. And just a moment of insight into why we're doing this We need to understand that we need to understand that that's part of the thought process that our brothers and sisters might be having to consider that somebody else doesn't have to consider. And to me, that's what this is all about. It's like, 'let's educate ourselves. Let's inform ourselves.' Because as an organization, I'm going to go out and have a conversation with a parent and say you need to be thinking about those natural consequences. What are those going to look like for your child? You know, what happens if they get arrested? What's that going to look like for them? It never probably, okay just full disclosure, I mean, I never probably thought about that from a race perspective. Like what is that natural consequence look like for your son versus my son? I mean, let's literally it never, never really even thought that way. And so to me, that's what this is for, I need to think that way. I need to be considering those things. But that's part of this process of change. And that's part of, of waking up a little bit. And so if we stumble around a little getting there, I hope everybody will give us a little grace for that, because we don't have a roadmap. This is something really new for a lot of us. But I think we all feel like it's a really important conversation to have. And we were fortunate enough, we were able to get a grant through the Community Foundation's Racial Equity Fund, which is helping to support this project. And we were really grateful for that, because we really just want to dig in and start learning what what those issues are out there that maybe in some way, we can have a voice in trying to bring about some change and, and make things better for all people in our community.
Maria Goodman
Yeah, thanks, Patty. We can't promise that we won't stumble. But we can definitely promise that we will be bold, and we realize that we are going to, we're going to talk about those issues. And and willing to, to bring about the people in a community across the country, maybe that they can help us and provide resources, provide solutions and provide, you know, courses of actions for us to try together. So we'll be bold, we're going to talk about it. And we will carry this torch.
Patty Sykstus
I'm excited. And one of the things we talked about when we first started having the conversation about doing the podcast was that we don't want to just sit and talk about the problem. We are all aware there's a problem. But I think digging into the problem is important. Learning about the problem is important. Educating ourselves and our community, everybody that's listening, to the problem. But we're hoping that each episode will end with really delving into what what are the solutions? What can we do different? How can we do better. And so that's really kind of our format as we move forward. Tonight, it's just an introduction night. But as we go forward, our hope is to spend some time digging into the problem learning, educating ourselves on the problem, and then spending some time really trying to identify those solutions. What's out there, what can we do? What can we do different as individuals, as an organization, as a community? What can we do different? You'll have, throughout the series, you'll have Maria and I will be there in some form. Caral will be on a lot of them. Blake will be popping in. So you'll have any combination of us throughout each episode. And we'll be bringing in speakers from a national level to kind of look at big picture issues. And then we're going to bring in some people that are right here on the ground in our local communities, to really help us to understand what's happening right here in Alabama. So really excited and really looking forward to it, these are going to be some pretty incredible conversations. So we want to make sure that everybody knows how to find Not One More Alabama. We have a presence on our website. So that's https://notonemorealabama.org - all spelled out, Not One More Alabama (dot) org. We are also very visible on social media, primarily on Facebook, we also have a LinkedIn site, Instagram and Twitter. So we're we're very active in trying to keep current information out in the public and letting people know what's going on. So keep an eye on our social media. Our website has tons and tons of resources on there. So anybody who's out there looking for help, feel free to use the tools that we've created to give you that.
Maria Goodman
Thank you and we hope you will join us on this journey. And we'd be interested to hear your feedback. So we appreciate you and we appreciate your participation and attention.
