We are so excited to share, in time for Mental Health Awareness Month, our new podcast!

In My Backyard is an open conversation about children and mental health. Our CEO, Patricia Costales, LCSW, speaks with experts about the many factors that contribute to emotional distress in children, how to address those factors and how to create a community where all children have the help they need to be healthy and happy.

“With everything that has happened this past year, the COVID-19 pandemic and racial uprising, I wanted an outlet where I could speak with other experts about how these issues impact the mental health of our children and families,” said Patricia. “A podcast not only gives us the opportunity to discuss these issues, but offer advice and hope to those struggling.”

Our first two episodes are available to stream now on our website at www.tgclb.org/podcast/ and on all major platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Podcasts. Future episodes of In My Backyard will be published bi-monthly on the 1st and 15th.

Click here to listen to episode #1, Children’s Mental Health, where Patricia talks with Guidance Center clinical social worker, Mickey Prince, ACSW, who treats some of our most psychiatrically troubled children. We will hear their reflections on what they see in their clients – the struggles the children already faced and the impact the pandemic is having upon them.

Click here to listen to episode #2, School Closures and Children’s Mental Health, where Patricia talks with Dr. Tiffany Brown, Deputy Superintendent of Long Beach Unified School District, on how schools are trying to manage the educational, emotional and social needs of children during a global pandemic and what her concerns are for the return to the classroom.

Future episode topics include:

  • BLM and the Impact of Race on Mental Health
  • Law Enforcement and their Interaction with The Mentally Ill
  • Incarceration of the Mentally Ill

“It is my position that by shining a light on these issues and admitting that they are in our own backyards, we can make it easier for a struggling child to get help,” said Patricia. “And, ideally, we can all begin to be kinder and more supportive of each other.”

This podcast is made possible through generous donations from supporters and listeners like you. Please visit tgclb.org/donate or text HOPE to 562-262-5689 to make a one-time donation or join our Hope and Healing Club to become a monthly donor today. And subscribe to In My Backyard on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. In My Backyard is produced by Tricia Costales and Matthew Murray. Production assistance provided by Julie Ruano. Thank you to Jay Vincent B for original music. All other music licensed through SoundStripe.