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Erika gives and update on what is happening on the ground in Phoenix, where extreme heat makes shade and hydration a matter of life and death, and where the gap between need and available shelter beds turns “public order” policies into survival crises. We also unpack how mutual aid gets targeted, why lawsuits matter, and what it means when a city’s response leans on policing instead of housing.

We then explore another stated where criminalization of homelessness as a pipeline into the carceral system. Louisiana’s House Bill 211 becomes a stark example, with escalating fines, the threat of prison time, and the possibility of forced labor for being unhoused. We also dig into how definitions of homelessness get narrowed to shrink the numbers on paper while real people lose access to services. From property seizures during sweeps to the economics of private prisons and ICE detention, we connect policy choices to incentives, profits, and human rights.

We then look at why so few people have the moral courage and professional responsibility, especially in veterinary medicine through a One Health lens that links human, animal, and environmental wellbeing. We share what it’s like trying to advocate for colleagues and veterinary students in Gaza, what “leadership” looks like when organizations stay quiet, and why sustained activism matters, including lessons from the documentary How to Survive a Plague. If this hit a nerve, subscribe, share the episode, and leave a review so more people can find the show and join the conversation.

We talk briefly about what racism and privilege looks like in connection with the World Cup

Finally we would like to thank Sammy Obeid for being such a brilliant comedian and educator.

Scotland Fans Donate Nearly $30K to Providence Charities amid World Cup Group Stage

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Thousands Scotland Supporters March in Providence, RI ⚽️

Texas Screwworm Resource Website | New World Screwworm Resources

Shows | Sammy Obeid

Thousands Could Be Forced Into Unpaid Labor in Louisiana Under New Bill - Newsweek

2nd lawsuit filed against Phoenix's new ordinance on homeless services in parks

https://animalwag.org/

https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/460a/9d62bcdfe3564a67a7b2c87bd7b41c9196aa.pdf

https://truthout.org/articles/social-work-institutions-have-remained-silent-on-palestine-that-must-end/

#endgenocide #homelessness #systemfail #sammyobeid #worldcup

Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
https://uppbeat.io/t/hartzmann/no-time-to-die
License code: S4CEQWLNQXVZUMU4

Artwork and logo design by Misty Rae.


Special thanks to Joanna Roux for editing help.
Special thanks to the listeners and all the wonderful people who helped listen to and provide feedback on the episode's prerelease.


Please feel free to email Matt topics or suggestions, questions or feedback.
Matt@unitedstatesofPTSD.com

Send us Fan Mail

Matt opens up about a follow up to his experience with a Men's Group. The group sent out an all user email with all of the attendees home addresses to each other. Matt talks about why this is concerning as two things happened. The first being that there is no valid form that was signed to authorize this to happen. We talk about contact information would reasonable be defined as phone and email, in this type of setting. Second, a complaint filed against someone for inappropriate behavior with the agency acknowledging a safety risk and commitment to the victim to protect would also prevent this from happening in theory. But it didn't. Matt talks candidly over the difficulty accepting the reality of victimization and the cultural norms of protecting the wrong people. This leads into a conversation Erika brings up about the restrictions of feeding the hungry in Arizona and how the Phoenix is not punishing people, with the treat of prison time and fines for helping the needy. Erika approaches this from a macro lens of how larger systems continue to oppress the population.

If this conversation hits home, subscribe, share it with someone who cares about safety and justice, and leave a review so more people can find us.

GOP Arizona Attorney General debate gets heated and ugly

ASU booted group that feeds homeless outside campus building

Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
https://uppbeat.io/t/hartzmann/no-time-to-die
License code: S4CEQWLNQXVZUMU4

Artwork and logo design by Misty Rae.


Special thanks to Joanna Roux for editing help.
Special thanks to the listeners and all the wonderful people who helped listen to and provide feedback on the episode's prerelease.


Please feel free to email Matt topics or suggestions, questions or feedback.
Matt@unitedstatesofPTSD.com

Send us Fan Mail

Matt reflects on a retreat and discussed the pro's and con's of peer led support groups. This is the first episode is a mini series topic about when therapy is weaponized.

Matt talks about the effectiveness of peer groups, in terms of creating a mutual safe space that lacks professional power differentials. Matt and Erika discuss how this can be an asset to people who are in need of this space. We also explore mutual aid and reciprocity.

However, when people enter this for the wrong reasons the damage can be severe. Matt briefly touches on a sexual predator who was using the men's groups as his personal grooming grounds. They also discuss how professionals who change roles can sometimes be too connected to ego and not enough to the process. We also look at when therapeutic colloquialisms like "tell me how you feel" or "I invite you to" sound great on TV, but may not elicit a deeper connection.

We look at difference between knowledge and skill and how sometimes this can be a quagmire of uncertainty.

After Erika and I recorded, it was brought to my attention that the person I referenced was arrested and accused of operating a massage parlor which was alleged to be a prostitution ring.

Unlicensed Coventry massage therapist charged with prostitution, police say

Subscribe for more honest conversations about PTSD, mental health, and community care, then share this with someone who’s searching for safe support and leave a review with your biggest peer support green flag. What’s the one boundary every group should enforce?

Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
https://uppbeat.io/t/hartzmann/no-time-to-die
License code: S4CEQWLNQXVZUMU4

Artwork and logo design by Misty Rae.


Special thanks to Joanna Roux for editing help.
Special thanks to the listeners and all the wonderful people who helped listen to and provide feedback on the episode's prerelease.


Please feel free to email Matt topics or suggestions, questions or feedback.
Matt@unitedstatesofPTSD.com