Produced and Delivered Web-TV Programming
Breaking The Silence with Dr Gregory Williams
Youth Foster Care, Social Workers and the Juvenile Justice System
Guest, Journey Ishmon
This Week's Guest is Journey Ishmon.
Journey is a first-generation college student at the university of North Texas studying social work and maintaining a 4.0 GPA. She has a strong focus on advocacy for youth in foster care. Her work is shaped by lived experience inside the foster care system and juvenile justice system that strengthen her commitment to supporting children impacted by systemic harm.
If you wish to get into contact with Journey, invite her to speak at an event or interview Journey. Feel free to contact her at her email: ishmonjourney91@gmail.com
Dr. Gregory Williams hosts social work student and advocate Journey Ishmon to explore the profound pressures facing modern youth and the systemic failures of the foster care system. The discussion highlights the critical importance of breaking the silence surrounding personal trauma and demonstrates how lived experience can be transformed into a powerful engine for social reform.
Invisible Burden of Modern Youth
Today’s youth face a unique landscape of pressure that differs significantly from previous generations, primarily driven by the omnipresence of social media and heightened societal expectations. Dr. Williams notes that young people often feel a relentless need to succeed and "fit in," which is exacerbated by the digital age where every mistake can be broadcasted and archived forever. This environment fosters a "masking" culture, where individuals smile publicly while struggling privately with anxiety and isolation. Journey Ishmon corroborates this, noting that social media creates a false standard of perfection that makes real-life struggles feel shameful and isolating.
Navigating the Failures of Foster Care
Journey Ishmon’s personal narrative reveals the harrowing realities of a system that often prioritizes placement over well-being. Entering foster care at age 13 due to domestic violence and neglect, Journey experienced 10 different placements over four years. Her time was largely spent in group homes and emergency shelters rather than traditional family settings. She describes environments where basic rights like privacy and safety were compromised, including facilities where doors were locked from the inside and windows were bolted with plastic. Despite her "basic" care level and high academic performance, her pleas for a safer environment were frequently minimized or ignored by caseworkers and the system at large.
Turning Pain into Purpose
Despite the systemic harm she endured—including a period of being over-medicated with antidepressants to "manage" a poor environment—Journey maintained a 4.0 GPA and is now a social work student at the University of North Texas. Her advocacy focuses on the shortage of foster homes and the need for "safety nets" that prevent children from entering the juvenile justice system. She emphasizes that while her trauma was temporary, her commitment to changing the system is permanent. Journey now works with programs like PUSH to support foster care alumni in higher education, ensuring that their voices, which were once silenced, are now heard at the highest levels of policy.
The dialogue between Dr. Williams and Journey Ishmon serves as a stark reminder that while the foster care system is often "failed," individual resilience and advocacy can forge a path toward healing. Journey’s story underscores that a person's history does not define their identity, and that "breaking the silence" is the first step in turning life's pain into life's purpose.
Youth Foster Care, Social Workers and the Juvenile Justice System
Guest, Journey Ishmon
This Week's Guest is Journey Ishmon.
Journey is a first-generation college student at the university of North Texas studying social work and maintaining a 4.0 GPA. She has a strong focus on advocacy for youth in foster care. Her work is shaped by lived experience inside the foster care system and juvenile justice system that strengthen her commitment to supporting children impacted by systemic harm.
If you wish to get into contact with Journey, invite her to speak at an event or interview Journey. Feel free to contact her at her email: ishmonjourney91@gmail.com
Dr. Gregory Williams hosts social work student and advocate Journey Ishmon to explore the profound pressures facing modern youth and the systemic failures of the foster care system. The discussion highlights the critical importance of breaking the silence surrounding personal trauma and demonstrates how lived experience can be transformed into a powerful engine for social reform.
Invisible Burden of Modern Youth
Today’s youth face a unique landscape of pressure that differs significantly from previous generations, primarily driven by the omnipresence of social media and heightened societal expectations. Dr. Williams notes that young people often feel a relentless need to succeed and "fit in," which is exacerbated by the digital age where every mistake can be broadcasted and archived forever. This environment fosters a "masking" culture, where individuals smile publicly while struggling privately with anxiety and isolation. Journey Ishmon corroborates this, noting that social media creates a false standard of perfection that makes real-life struggles feel shameful and isolating.
Navigating the Failures of Foster Care
Journey Ishmon’s personal narrative reveals the harrowing realities of a system that often prioritizes placement over well-being. Entering foster care at age 13 due to domestic violence and neglect, Journey experienced 10 different placements over four years. Her time was largely spent in group homes and emergency shelters rather than traditional family settings. She describes environments where basic rights like privacy and safety were compromised, including facilities where doors were locked from the inside and windows were bolted with plastic. Despite her "basic" care level and high academic performance, her pleas for a safer environment were frequently minimized or ignored by caseworkers and the system at large.
Turning Pain into Purpose
Despite the systemic harm she endured—including a period of being over-medicated with antidepressants to "manage" a poor environment—Journey maintained a 4.0 GPA and is now a social work student at the University of North Texas. Her advocacy focuses on the shortage of foster homes and the need for "safety nets" that prevent children from entering the juvenile justice system. She emphasizes that while her trauma was temporary, her commitment to changing the system is permanent. Journey now works with programs like PUSH to support foster care alumni in higher education, ensuring that their voices, which were once silenced, are now heard at the highest levels of policy.
The dialogue between Dr. Williams and Journey Ishmon serves as a stark reminder that while the foster care system is often "failed," individual resilience and advocacy can forge a path toward healing. Journey’s story underscores that a person's history does not define their identity, and that "breaking the silence" is the first step in turning life's pain into life's purpose.
Chuck And Julie Show with Chuck Bonniwell and Julie Hayden
Colorado GOP at a Crossroads, the Fight for Grassroots Control
Guest, Jermey Goodall
Former CO GOP Chair Horn’s personal attorney makes his move to plunder the Party bank accounts. Plus Chair candidate Jeremy Goodall joins the show.
The Chair Race and the Fight Over Open Primaries
In this episode of The Chuck & Julie Show, Chuck Bonniwell and Julie Hayden focus on the Colorado Republican Party’s internal fight over leadership, money, and control of the primary process. Their main guest is Jeremy Goodall, a candidate for Colorado Republican Party chair, ahead of the May 30 election in Buena Vista. The discussion begins with the party’s push to opt out of Colorado’s open primary system, which the hosts and Goodall argue allows unaffiliated voters and Democrats to influence Republican candidate selection. Goodall says his position is that the chair must serve the will of the Republican Party’s rank-and-file members, and he states that if elected, he would continue pushing to remove the party from the open primary system.
Jeremy Goodall’s Vision for Party Leadership
Goodall presents himself as a grassroots-aligned candidate who believes the party needs to rebuild from the bottom up rather than through top-down control or donor-driven politics. He argues that the Colorado GOP’s financial problems are not the root problem but a symptom of dysfunction, mistrust, and internal antagonism. His proposed solution is to empower county chairs, encourage difficult but necessary conversations, and create enough trust that ordinary Republicans will be willing to contribute time, effort, and small donations. He points to the Protect Kids Colorado initiative as an example of what can happen when volunteers are given a clear goal and a strong vision, noting that thousands of volunteers helped gather more signatures than expected.
Money, Trust, and Grassroots Fundraising
The hosts press Goodall on the reality that the Colorado GOP is deeply broke and may need hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars. Goodall acknowledges that fundraising is difficult, especially under Colorado’s strict campaign finance limits, and says the party cannot rely only on a few wealthy donors. Instead, he argues that the party must restore confidence and build a broad base of smaller donors. The conversation frames money as tied directly to trust: if members believe the party has a purpose, direction, and integrity, they will be more likely to give. Goodall also stresses creativity, vision, and focusing on what the party can do rather than becoming paralyzed by what it cannot afford.
Brita Horn, Steve Klenda, and the Legal Crisis
A major portion of the episode centers on the hosts’ account of the legal and financial crisis involving former chair Brita Horne and attorney Steve Klenda. Julie explains that, according to their understanding, Klenda has a $231,000 judgment against the party plus 18% interest, and that this does not simply mean the party owes him money, but that he may be able to garnish Colorado Republican Party bank accounts. The hosts say party attorneys are working to stop or delay the process, but they describe the situation as dire because any stay appears to depend on a $289,000 bond that the party cannot realistically post. They argue that whoever becomes the next chair will immediately inherit this crisis and that the party must unite around survival before other disputes can matter.
The Deeper Divide Inside the Republican Party
The episode also explores the larger philosophical divide between grassroots Republicans and what the hosts describe as establishment or “RINO” Republicans. Chuck argues that the divide is not merely personal but rooted in real disagreements over how candidates should be selected and what kind of party Colorado Republicans should have. The hosts and Goodall criticize petitioning, open primaries, and donor influence, saying these systems produce candidates who are too liberal or insufficiently accountable to the Republican platform. Goodall says unity cannot mean forcing the overwhelming majority of grassroots members to submit to a small minority, arguing that true unity comes from standing with the majority rather than demanding capitulation.
A Call to Make the Colorado GOP Republican Again
Goodall closes by asking state central committee members to support him because he says he has been involved in the party’s battles since 2010 and understands the history firsthand. He frames his campaign as an effort to make the Colorado Republican Party “Republican again,” restore brand integrity, and move away from politics controlled by donor dollars. After Goodall leaves, the hosts continue discussing the Klenda judgment, the limits of appealing to the national Republican Party, and the difficulty of creating a new party or moving assets. The overall episode portrays the Colorado GOP as facing an existential test involving leadership, debt, legal threats, open primaries, and whether the grassroots can regain control of the party’s future.
Colorado GOP at a Crossroads, the Fight for Grassroots Control
Guest, Jermey Goodall
Former CO GOP Chair Horn’s personal attorney makes his move to plunder the Party bank accounts. Plus Chair candidate Jeremy Goodall joins the show.
The Chair Race and the Fight Over Open Primaries
In this episode of The Chuck & Julie Show, Chuck Bonniwell and Julie Hayden focus on the Colorado Republican Party’s internal fight over leadership, money, and control of the primary process. Their main guest is Jeremy Goodall, a candidate for Colorado Republican Party chair, ahead of the May 30 election in Buena Vista. The discussion begins with the party’s push to opt out of Colorado’s open primary system, which the hosts and Goodall argue allows unaffiliated voters and Democrats to influence Republican candidate selection. Goodall says his position is that the chair must serve the will of the Republican Party’s rank-and-file members, and he states that if elected, he would continue pushing to remove the party from the open primary system.
Jeremy Goodall’s Vision for Party Leadership
Goodall presents himself as a grassroots-aligned candidate who believes the party needs to rebuild from the bottom up rather than through top-down control or donor-driven politics. He argues that the Colorado GOP’s financial problems are not the root problem but a symptom of dysfunction, mistrust, and internal antagonism. His proposed solution is to empower county chairs, encourage difficult but necessary conversations, and create enough trust that ordinary Republicans will be willing to contribute time, effort, and small donations. He points to the Protect Kids Colorado initiative as an example of what can happen when volunteers are given a clear goal and a strong vision, noting that thousands of volunteers helped gather more signatures than expected.
Money, Trust, and Grassroots Fundraising
The hosts press Goodall on the reality that the Colorado GOP is deeply broke and may need hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars. Goodall acknowledges that fundraising is difficult, especially under Colorado’s strict campaign finance limits, and says the party cannot rely only on a few wealthy donors. Instead, he argues that the party must restore confidence and build a broad base of smaller donors. The conversation frames money as tied directly to trust: if members believe the party has a purpose, direction, and integrity, they will be more likely to give. Goodall also stresses creativity, vision, and focusing on what the party can do rather than becoming paralyzed by what it cannot afford.
Brita Horn, Steve Klenda, and the Legal Crisis
A major portion of the episode centers on the hosts’ account of the legal and financial crisis involving former chair Brita Horne and attorney Steve Klenda. Julie explains that, according to their understanding, Klenda has a $231,000 judgment against the party plus 18% interest, and that this does not simply mean the party owes him money, but that he may be able to garnish Colorado Republican Party bank accounts. The hosts say party attorneys are working to stop or delay the process, but they describe the situation as dire because any stay appears to depend on a $289,000 bond that the party cannot realistically post. They argue that whoever becomes the next chair will immediately inherit this crisis and that the party must unite around survival before other disputes can matter.
The Deeper Divide Inside the Republican Party
The episode also explores the larger philosophical divide between grassroots Republicans and what the hosts describe as establishment or “RINO” Republicans. Chuck argues that the divide is not merely personal but rooted in real disagreements over how candidates should be selected and what kind of party Colorado Republicans should have. The hosts and Goodall criticize petitioning, open primaries, and donor influence, saying these systems produce candidates who are too liberal or insufficiently accountable to the Republican platform. Goodall says unity cannot mean forcing the overwhelming majority of grassroots members to submit to a small minority, arguing that true unity comes from standing with the majority rather than demanding capitulation.
A Call to Make the Colorado GOP Republican Again
Goodall closes by asking state central committee members to support him because he says he has been involved in the party’s battles since 2010 and understands the history firsthand. He frames his campaign as an effort to make the Colorado Republican Party “Republican again,” restore brand integrity, and move away from politics controlled by donor dollars. After Goodall leaves, the hosts continue discussing the Klenda judgment, the limits of appealing to the national Republican Party, and the difficulty of creating a new party or moving assets. The overall episode portrays the Colorado GOP as facing an existential test involving leadership, debt, legal threats, open primaries, and whether the grassroots can regain control of the party’s future.
