Each year in California there are more than 20,000 brain-injuries and 16,000 strokes. High Hopes is a brain-injury rehabilitation program in Tustin helping people who have suffered brain-injuries, strokes, or who have Multiple Sclerosis, receive appropriate treatment and recover their lives. Mark Desmond, Director of High Hopes, discusses the physical, cognitive, and behavioral aspects of rehab, and how robotics has helped advance treatments. Saxophonist Eric Marienthal also joins the show to share about the Eric Marienthal & Friends Concert that helps raise awareness and funds to assist in the rehabilitation costs for brain injury treatment. Hosted by Karyn Bower and Nicholas Reese.

A holistic approach to student academic success means including the whole family when addressing educational disparities. Neighborhood based community centers remove the transportation barrier to academic and leadership development programs while allowing families and their children to build the kind of relationships that will support a child from preschool through college. Lori Ohls, Sr. Director of Programs and Strategy at KidWorks, joins the show to share the power of hope and purpose in facilitating the social and emotional wellbeing in kids who live in distressed communities.

A study commissioned by Orange County found that being supported through Project Kinship significantly reduced the likelihood that people who were formerly incarcerated would become incarcerated again. In this show, Project Kinship’s Director of Programs, Madeline Rodriguez, and Peer Navigator Coordinator, Raymond Sanchez, share how restorative practices through a trauma informed lens are providing hope, healing, and transformation in the lives of those impacted by incarceration, gangs, and violence. Hosted by Karyn Bower and Nicholas Reese.