Revisiting Celebrate Your Wounds as Much as Your Wins Part Deux w/Tamara Smith-Jones

A follow up visit with Tamara Smith-Jones to see where she is at in her mental health journey. She shares more insights and tools that can be helpful to all of us.

From Tamara: For the last decade I have had the honor of leading a non-profit named “Helping Others Maintain Earth (H.O.M.E.)” that connects underserved communities to resources like education, food, and healthcare, which are a right not a privilege. Today my immediate attention is on mental health and substance misuse recovery, self-discovery, psychological safety, whole health, and communal healing. While I genuinely enjoy working with people from all over the world, I place particular emphasis on African Ancestry/Black and faith-based communities. As a person with lived-experience in recovery, who represents both of these communities, I’m determine to dispel myths and debunk stigmas that have historically prevented us from healing our pasts to prepare our futures.

I use trauma-informed healing to help people breakthrough trauma by processing emotions, identifying language to explain them, developing tools to navigate them, and establishing healthy boundaries to maintain peace. My work with those who have lived-experience with mental health and/or substance misuse challenges entails supporting and emboldening them to embrace their stories of recovery so they can inspire hope, resilience, and perseverance in others on their journeys. Because I understand the importance of being proactive, I also work with those who have not been diagnosed to help identify early signs and symptoms leveraging the valuable information to collaborate on next steps.

I’ve partnered with National Alliance on Mental Illness San Mateo County Affiliate (NAMI-SMC) to offer a mental health recovery support group for the African Ancestry/Black community ages 18+ called “We Health Better Together”. Groups takes place on the 2nd Tuesday of every month from 6-7:30pn PST via zoom and on the 4th Tuesday of every month 6-7:30pm PST in person.

Please join me on a journey where we take care of ourselves so we can be present for others. #HealAsWeGrow #HealingInSolidarity #WeHealBetterTogether
Disclaimer: the definition of “schizoaffective disorder” provided during this episode was as it was explained to by Tam by Provider #6 which may not present the same “signs and symptoms” for others.

 When I’m not doing research and development in the behavioral health space you can find me spending time in nature with my emotional companion dog Jax (who rescued me 10 years ago!) or in the kitchen trying new recipes for both of us. I’ve been a faithful 49ers fan since the 80’s and in the last few years have found football to be very therapeutic. It’s a huge part of my wellness recovery plan.

To find out more about me and the work I do please visit:

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/tsmithjones or contact me at [e-mail]

Find out more about Lineage & Legacy (L&L) by visiting www.lineageandlegacy.org

Find out more about NAMI at www.nami.org,  NAMI-SMC at www.namisanmateo.org or contact me at [e-mail]

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