Episode Transcript
[00:00:07] Speaker A: Well, hello there, and welcome back to another week of the Just say something podcast. Philip Clark here from just say something. And I'm happy to have you with us today. Remember, you can always reach us at our website at just saysomethingsc.org. or, you know, that old fashioned thing sitting on top of your counter or desk called a telephone 864-467-4099 so we have an awesome guest today, and I'm looking forward to talking with her. Her name is Tiffany Parker, and Tiffany is the new CEO at Nami Greenville. So welcome and congratulations.
[00:00:54] Speaker B: Thank you. I'm so glad to be here. I appreciate it.
[00:00:58] Speaker A: Well, we're happy that you could work us into your busy schedule.
So tell us about Tiffany and what led you to where you are today with Nami.
[00:01:12] Speaker B: Wow, that's such a broad spanding question. I'll summarize it best by saying one. The field of mental health care found me.
I started off, I got invited on scholarship to go to Howard University. That's way back when, right? In 2003. Right.
So I've been in this field for quite a while, and my first big gig was leading an initiative with DC government, Department of Mental Health. And I was able to develop this memorandum of understanding with DC schools, EC, Child Family Services Administration, Medicaid assistance Administration, and Department of Mental Health to make sure youth who were aging out of foster care wouldn't fall through the cracks, right. Because we know that when youth age out of foster care and they're getting mental health care, they oftentimes become incarcerated. Substance misuse increases, homelessness increases. And so that was back in 2005, six. Right. Was doing that work back in DC. Since then, I had a chance to do research around no Child Left behind, eliminating disparities amongst the president's Freedom commission. I mean, it was just a great time, you know, in that DC DMV area. So I love my DMV area. Right. The true hu, the real hu. And so since then, you know, I've been able to come back home. South Carolina is home. I'm from Myrtle Beach, Carolina.
[00:02:44] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:02:44] Speaker B: I'm a military child, so I moved around considerably. But, you know, as an adult, I've been able to do case management.
I work with Prisma Health at that point. It was Greenville Memorial before it became back in the day, and helping to ensure that folks who did not have insurance received case management. So I was the lead for that proviso. During that time. Gosh, I worked. I was the first clinical director for Gateway House. Right. And work with Randy over there. And just that team over there, you know, I've built my own organization, universal Therapeutic Services, that's now going on seven years.
[00:03:29] Speaker A: That's awesome. Seven years. Congratulations.
[00:03:32] Speaker B: You know, and so I knew that in my education, my plight is to bring about systemic change. And so I majored in social work at Howard, but not your typical. So I'm a macro social worker. Program development, program evaluation, you know, policy research, you know, grant writing, resource development, all of that. But then I knew that in order to make the kind of change that needs to happen, I got to touch the ground, right? I can't be up in the ivory towers making change and not realizing who I'm impacting. So I had to do case management. I had to go inside of homes and work with community long term care and see our seniors and our caregivers, you know, helping folks. I knew that when I was a speech therapist in my earlier days, I knew that speech therapy wasn't enough in that these kids I'm trying to teach, and this was in Maryland in hydro, I'm trying to teach them how to articulate and understand language better. But they were coming in disheveled. They were coming in hungry. I literally used peanut butter, right, to help them because they were hungry. So I had to meet Maslow's hierarchy of needs. The parents were coming in disheveled. So I knew I had to do more. And I resigned from my position in the schools and worked with Ann Taylor. You know, I like to dress up. You know, I love good clothes, Phil. And so I sold clothes for Ann Taylor. And at that time, I met a gentleman who still owns his practice in Hinesville, Maryland, John Monroe, Doctor John Monroe. And he was like, had ten suits. I'm like, I'm going to get that commission. I got to be there, you know? And he said, well, I own a rehab company. I said, well, maybe I can get back into speech. I folded enough cashmere sweaters for the Christmas holiday. So I called him, and he started me off as a secretary. I started off as a secretary, right? And I went into that practice, and I started organizing the practice, analyzing the data, helping him see what he didn't see. And in that time, you say, you know what? You're a quick learner here. I want you to become. I want you to work with my mentoring program.
So I taught folks how to mentor youth.
And during that time of teaching that I ended up becoming the director of the mentoring program. A gentleman who worked with me there, Johan from South Africa, he came to me, he said, miss Tiffany, you need to be a social worker. I was like, johan, I'm not going to be a social worker. I'm not working with this. That's not happening. And here I am today.
Here I am.
[00:06:06] Speaker A: Never say never.
[00:06:07] Speaker B: Never say never. And so the dean, Dean Snell from Howard University, called me. He said, tiffany, you're late for class.
I hadn't applied. I wasn't thinking about social work. I was going to go back to Towson University and finish up my master's in speech pathology.
And he said, you know, you're late for class.
The semester started two weeks ago.
[00:06:30] Speaker A: You're really late.
[00:06:30] Speaker B: Get your behind over here.
[00:06:32] Speaker A: Right?
[00:06:32] Speaker B: So I got over there and I'm like, well, I'm not doing clinical check. I already know what it is to be a therapist. Speech therapy, all this stuff, work, writing notes. I'm like, I'm gonna do something that brings about a different kind of change, systemic change. And, yeah. So I'm honored. I'm honored to have been chosen.
Right?
[00:06:50] Speaker A: Yeah. That's awesome.
[00:06:51] Speaker B: I mean, that's what it is. It was truly being chosen. Cause I didn't think I would ever get into Howard University, which I didn't apply for and on scholarship, but it was. The fact that this is what I always say, is that when you're doing the work, then provision comes. When you're doing the work and you care about and you're doing it from your heart, then every need will be provided, even those that you didn't ask for.
[00:07:17] Speaker A: Right? Oh, I'm a firm believer in that. Um, yeah, that's just, um.
And then, too, our families are dealing with so much that you've. You started that journey in the early two thousands.
Fast forward to 2024.
[00:07:39] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:07:40] Speaker A: Where are you today?
[00:07:42] Speaker B: Hmm?
Tell me about that question. Cause that's a loaded one. Where am I mentally, where am I career wise?
[00:07:50] Speaker A: So let's start. Let's start with career. So, career wise, you had to make a. You. You decided to make a shift.
[00:07:57] Speaker B: I did.
[00:07:58] Speaker A: And so you went from being self employed to working for.
[00:08:06] Speaker B: So, yeah, so I'm leading a few things here, but not by myself.
[00:08:14] Speaker A: Right?
[00:08:15] Speaker B: Can't do it alone.
So I serve as the founder and CEO for Universal Therapeutic Services, along with my partner, Patrick Sapp, who serves as a COO, looks over the day to day operations.
I also have a consulting firm called Davidson Consulting Solutions, where I do grant writing, development needs assessment. All of that good work. And then my most. You know, I love this work with NaMI, the National alliance on Mental Illness, where I serve as the. The executive director since November of 2023, the future is really bright for Nami. You know, this is a different opportunity to really culminate all the things that I love.
Right. So I'm able to educate people about mental illness and how to advocate. Teach people how to advocate while advocating at the state level, at the local level. Right. You know, in partnership with Nami South Carolina and all of our other ten affiliates here in the state, I'm also able, through this organization, to offer free support for families and individuals living with mental illness.
[00:09:27] Speaker A: So when you say free support.
[00:09:30] Speaker B: Yeah, let's.
[00:09:31] Speaker A: What do you mean?
[00:09:32] Speaker B: Yeah? Yeah. So Nami overall, Nami national, and any other Nami that you go to, we have signature programs where individuals who are living with mental illness and or are supporting someone with a mental illness can go to a support group at least once a week. Right. So that way they can learn the skills, learn about the vernacular, the language, the symptoms, learn how other people are overcoming or are in the process of their journey of living with a mental illness.
And that's phenomenal. There's so many people that need help. Oh, and don't know where to go.
[00:10:11] Speaker A: Yeah. It's staggering. But there's also so many people that those of us in the field know they need help, but they're not there yet.
[00:10:21] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:10:22] Speaker A: And so I know, especially our youth, are dealing with more and more anxieties and depression.
So if I'm a parent and I have a 1014 and an 18 year old, what are some of the signs that I should look for to think, hmm, my child may need?
So therefore, I should reach out to tell us a little bit about.
[00:11:01] Speaker B: Yeah. So let me just take a step back. Is that right now, Nami, Greenville today on was this June 16 17th. June 17. We do not yet have programs available for those who are under the age of 18. I just want to put that out there.
So there are not yet. You hear me say that big yet. Any support groups or educational classes for individuals who are under the age of 18 at our office. Okay.
[00:11:36] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:11:37] Speaker B: And I'm gonna get back to the signs, but I want to make sure we put this out there. That we do. However, in partnership with Nami South Carolina, offer a program that's called ending the silence. Ending the silence is where we are able to go to our schools, talk to those who are in middle to high school about suicide, and how we can decrease the rate of suicide. Prevention of suicide. Right. So ending the silence, letting them know that they don't have to be alone. So you hear that ending the silence. That silence.
So, for parents out there wondering, what do I look for? When your child becomes silent?
When your child starts to isolate, when your baby boy or baby girl starts to have these behaviors that are not typical atypical behaviors, like sleeping for prolonged periods of time, starting to hang around different groups of friends that they typically weren't hanging around, that are giving that negative kind of peer pressure, and they're seeking something. When you find that the language that they're saying is strongly negative, you know, everything is, woe is me, and I'm not good. And you hear them doing this negative self talk. I'm horrible. I'm ugly. Nobody likes me. Nobody. You know, those kinds of things. But the biggest is when they go silent.
When they go silent, that means that there's some other things that's happened along the way before they go silent. Right, right. And so when they go silent, we know that, uh oh, some things have happened, and some time has passed by. Right. So look out for those behaviors of maybe they're being more agitated, more irritable, easily irritated. You know, they seem to be tearful and crying. And these are the same things that you look for in adults.
[00:13:33] Speaker A: I was about to say, you don't have to be a child to.
[00:13:36] Speaker B: You have these things.
[00:13:37] Speaker A: Right, right.
[00:13:38] Speaker B: So these are the same types of symptoms, and we look at these changes in behavior. Two weeks or more. Okay, so if it's two weeks or longer, then we're like, okay, wait a minute. Or if, you know, you ask your child, how are you feeling? And for the past two weeks, we're like, eh, meh. Mm.
Like, wait, isn't there something good that happened this week? And they can't seem to find it?
[00:14:03] Speaker A: Right.
[00:14:03] Speaker B: Then you might say, okay, let's take a deeper dive.
What else is going on here? Yeah.
[00:14:09] Speaker A: Well. And it's all. It goes back to communication.
And whether it's home or in the workplace or wherever, communication is the biggest key there. So as far as your classes and your groups that you offer with Nami, Greenville, are you doing? Do you have in person, or is everything online?
[00:14:33] Speaker B: No, we have in person.
[00:14:35] Speaker A: Wonderful.
[00:14:35] Speaker B: So Monday evenings at 130 Industrial Drive, right off of Lawrence Road. 06:15 p.m. to about seven.
I guess you can come right to our office. You don't have to register. Just walk in. Just walk in. And we have two support groups running at the same time. One is our family support group. Excuse me, our Nami family support group. And that is for individuals who are supporting a loved one. Or a close friend or family with a mental illness so they can come and say, hey, listen, I have a child, I have a husband, I have a wife, I have an auntie, a grandmother, and I don't know what to do. Right, right. And that's real. Happens to a lot of us.
[00:15:20] Speaker A: A hundred percent, 100%.
[00:15:22] Speaker B: Then we have our connections support group. That's individuals who are living with a mental illness and they can connect with their peers, you know, to understand I'm not alone.
[00:15:35] Speaker A: Right.
[00:15:36] Speaker B: Other people are dealing with anxiety, too. Other people are dealing with depression or eating disorders or suicidal ideations or homicide. I mean, whatever it might be. Right. And they can be there and get support and hear from other peer. Hear from their peers.
[00:15:53] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:15:53] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:15:54] Speaker A: All right. And you also offer some of those same things online or via Zoom.
[00:16:01] Speaker B: Yeah. So for those two classes, we have a hybrid mechanism. So at the same time those classes are going on, folks can also join in remotely.
[00:16:09] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:16:10] Speaker B: And. Yeah. And our connections classes is really growing. And so we're looking to probably have one entire hybrid and then one all in person. So we're figuring it out, but the word is getting out.
[00:16:22] Speaker A: Well, that's good. That the words getting out, that that resource is available out there and that it's free.
[00:16:28] Speaker B: That's right.
[00:16:29] Speaker A: And they're finding it. So, you know, it's. Those of us in this kind of work realize that there's so many resource guides.
[00:16:40] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:16:41] Speaker A: And then when somebody comes in and says, oh, I need help with, well, here's a resource guide, nobody's going to look through it. They're just not going to take the time, because we need to be better prepared as a community to provide them with their continuum of care, whether it's addiction, whether it's mental illness, no matter what it is, just as we come around and support people with cancer and heart disease and diabetes and things along that line. So I know you're working real hard to reduce that stigma.
[00:17:16] Speaker B: Yes, yes. And here's the thing. While the resources, you know, are becoming more present in the community, people knowing about them, we need more facilitators, we need more folks to volunteer, because here's the thing. When a class is full or a support group is full, then that means everybody's not getting their voice heard, you know? So if you got 20 people in a support group, hey, that's pretty much in your capacity. So then we know we need to have others.
[00:17:44] Speaker A: Okay, so. And you're talking about additional volunteers. So what would it take for someone that's listening to us right now to reach out and say, I would love to be a volunteer for a group.
[00:17:58] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:17:58] Speaker A: What kind of requirements?
[00:18:00] Speaker B: Yeah. And there are requirements because we are a Nami national affair affiliate, and all the programs that we offer, our signature programs at this time, we have to make sure that they run to fidelity. Right. And so lived experience is number one. Right. We cannot talk the talk if you haven't walked the walk.
[00:18:22] Speaker A: Right.
[00:18:22] Speaker B: And so saying, you know what? I myself have dealt with anxiety and would love to lead a support group, or I know of someone who live with bipolar, and I want to, you know, help them out, and I want to be able to give back.
How can I get trained up? And so that's the very first criteria is that, one, they have a lived experience that they are not afraid to talk about.
[00:18:47] Speaker A: Right.
[00:18:48] Speaker B: Right. I do. I know what it is to live with anxiety. I know what it is sending my child to school, you know, with epilepsy and ADHD and central auditory processing and dyslexia. And as a mom, you know what I mean, hearing his stories, I know it is to have a husband living with epilepsy and afraid for him at work.
So that level of anxiety.
But thankfully, I have a squad, and I have some coping strategies, and I'm able to talk about it.
And so I'm able to talk about it.
I know what it is to lose a child and have depression, but the other thing is, I know what it is to get through it and live.
[00:19:38] Speaker A: Forward and get to the other side.
[00:19:40] Speaker B: Get to the other side of it. Right. And that's what's important. And so we say, you know what? In order to serve with us, you got to know about it. You have to have. Have had it touch your life in a way that it impact you so much that now you want to make a change, now you want to be a voice of. For those that oftentimes appear to be voiceless.
[00:19:59] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah.
We hear that a lot, you know, and kind of the same thing for our parenting classes.
I had someone the other day, it's like, I would love to learn your curriculums and everything that you do. And I said, oh, okay. Well, the first prerequisite is, do you have kids?
What? No, sorry. Then I won't. I can't teach our classes, but I have to make sure that the people who teach the classes have those skills. Yeah, that's right.
So as we look at different segments within our community, and when I say segments, different, like veterans. Do you have a program specifically for veterans?
[00:20:49] Speaker B: We do, and we have partnered with upstate Warrior solutions to host our 1st. 1st home front class.
[00:20:58] Speaker A: Tell us about that.
[00:20:59] Speaker B: So home front is a. And I hope I'm not wrong in this, but it is an eight week course. It's an eight week course where veterans and their family members can come and learn about the challenges that our veterans face. Right. My father's a veteran. My brother, he's still active, and he's a major in the army. I know. I understand. I mean, hearing my daddy talk about coming back from Desert Storm, you know, my brother haven't fought in, you know, and been present and so. And moved around. I mean, so there's. There's challenges that family members and our military service persons go through when they've served.
[00:21:39] Speaker A: Right.
[00:21:39] Speaker B: There's things that he will never share with me. My brother, Norma, dad will never share with me. So when we can learn ways to support them, that's what we want to continue to do. So we're happy to partner with upstate warriors solutions.
[00:21:53] Speaker A: Do you have any other specific, like the veterans that are available out there?
[00:21:59] Speaker B: Yep. So. So you heard me talk about our connection support group. So the home front class, that's just. It's not just, but it's an educational class. Eight weeks only. Now, our connections support group. Listen, these folks, they are so vigilant. They said, we need our own. We need our own support group. And so we have a support group that happens every. Was it first and third Wednesday of the month, right at our office Wednesday morning, 09:00 a.m. and folks are there, I mean, all branches of military having their coffee and donuts and supporting one another. Right. By a trained veteran who's a facilitator. Again, I can't go in there and facilitate. I've never lived a life of a service person. Right, right. And so to see that our folks are saying, you know what? I need to step up. And I want to be someone who could help my fellow service persons to understand, you know, what's needed for them. So, yeah, yeah.
[00:22:56] Speaker A: As I think about that, I know my dad was in Okinawa, and he never talked about anything that happened over there, but I also know that he ended up in the VA hospital in Philadelphia for longer than he was in Okinawa.
But that's another podcast.
So we talked a little bit about volunteering to lead groups. Do you use volunteers in other ways?
[00:23:31] Speaker B: We do. We do. So we use volunteers when it comes to sharing their story. We have a presentation that's called in our own voices. Right. And so individuals can say, you know what? I have a story to tell because my journey has gotten better.
And I can see the light at the end of this dark, what was a once dark tunnel. And so we have ongoing presentations at Carolina Behavioral center and at Marshall Pickens. Right. So that's on a weekly basis we do those presentations. We want to get out in the community more and doing those presentations, you.
[00:24:08] Speaker A: Know, so, so if someone's listening to this and they're like, oh, I would love to have that at, whether it's church, whether it's work, whether it's just your neighbors.
I mean, there's so many opportunities. How would someone go about getting in touch with?
[00:24:26] Speaker B: Absolutely. So on our webpage, you'll see under that volunteers Tabdeh. There are multiple ways where you can volunteer. You can volunteer for facilitator. And I think once you click on a few things, it'll drop down and give you the option. But the first thing is just reaching out to us and letting us know that you're interested. We'll schedule an interview with that person and really tune in to them and give them, because here's the thing. They may come in and say, oh, you know what? I want to help out with Nami walks.
[00:24:57] Speaker A: Right.
[00:24:58] Speaker B: Or I want to help out with doing a tabling event.
But then the more they get in, they learn, oh, I do want to share my story, and I want to go and I want to share my story to high schoolers, or I want to share my story. I want to do the church circuit. I want to share my stories maybe early Sunday morning or during Sunday schools or, you know. Right. And so, yes, we take the effort to really see where the person is and what's the best fit for them based on our programming.
[00:25:27] Speaker A: Okay, so what is your website?
[00:25:30] Speaker B: Our website is www.nammigreenvillesc.org.
[00:25:36] Speaker A: Okay. And phone number?
[00:25:38] Speaker B: Our phone number is 864-331-3300 right.
[00:25:46] Speaker A: All right. So last thing.
[00:25:48] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:25:49] Speaker A: Is there one bit of advice or something that you want our listeners to hear that you haven't already said?
[00:26:00] Speaker B: Yeah, that's a good one.
I just want everyone to know that you're not alone.
I want you to know that support is available for you.
I want you to know that you don't have to break the bank to get support and to start getting the help that you need. I want you to know that you are needed in this community, that if you have overcome, because some things we can't walk around, we can't walk over. We just got to go through them. That your story of victory is necessary for such a time as this. Connect with us at Naumeet Greenville. Let us serve with you. Let us support you. Let us live with you and heal with you. Thank you.
[00:26:47] Speaker A: Wow.
Powerful. Thank you, Tiffany. Thank you for being with us today.
[00:26:52] Speaker B: Thank you, my honor.
[00:26:53] Speaker A: You're welcome back anytime.
[00:26:55] Speaker B: Oh, thanks, friend.
[00:26:57] Speaker A: And so this will conclude another podcast of just say something and be on the lookout for a new episode every Tuesday in your inbox of your email. Again, this is Philip Clark with just say something. You can always find us at justsaysomething sc.org or pick up the telephone and dial 864-467-4099 thank you again for being with us, and I look forward to seeing you next time.
