November 1, 2024 • 41 mins
I Will Survive, Inc.
Website: http://www.iwillsurviveinc.org/
Alternate Website: http://www.iws10.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IWillSurviveIncPage/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@IWillSurviveChannel
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iwillsurviveinc12/
Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/iwillsurviveinc
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/i-will-survive-inc-
Palmer Firm Group Website: http://www.palmerfirmgroup.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OfficialAnisaPalmer
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@purposetv
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/TheAnisaPalmer
Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/AnisaPalmer
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anisapalmer/
Website: http://www.iwillsurviveinc.org/
Alternate Website: http://www.iws10.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IWillSurviveIncPage/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@IWillSurviveChannel
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iwillsurviveinc12/
Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/iwillsurviveinc
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/i-will-survive-inc-
Palmer Firm Group Website: http://www.palmerfirmgroup.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OfficialAnisaPalmer
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@purposetv
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/TheAnisaPalmer
Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/AnisaPalmer
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anisapalmer/
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
Are you a transitioning military or veteran woman looking for support, guidance,
and inspiration. You've come to the right place. Welcome to
Living Unapologetically Beyond the Uniform with your host, Renee Jones Hudson.
Renee brings powerful stories, practical advice, and expert insights to
help you redefine, rediscover, and reaffirm your life after military service.
(00:31):
Whether navigating a career change, seeking personal growth, or focusing
on your well being. We are here to empower you
every step of the way. So welcome the host of
Living Unapologetically Beyond the Uniform, Renee Jones Hudson. Let's embark
on this journey together.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Welcome to Living Unapologetically Beyond the Uniform. I'm your host
in Angel's husband, and I am thrilled to have you
with me today. This podcast is dedicated to all the
incredible women who have served and are now navigating their
transition to saveying life. So whether you're beginning this journey
(01:15):
or have been on it for a while, this show
is for you today. I am honored to have with
me Miss Anissa Palmer. She is a combat veteran, an
award winning nonprofit leader, and the visionary behind, I will
survive incorporated. Anissa's journey from military service to advocating for
(01:37):
health equity and supporting breast cancer survivor is truly amazing,
and I myself am happy to know this beautiful, beautiful soul.
So today we will dive into her story and hear
more about her impactful work. All right, miss Anissa, Before
(01:59):
we dive into the DTAs de tales of your work, though,
I would love for our listeners to hear more about
your story in your own words? Can you tell us
about yourself and where you where you're from.
Speaker 3 (02:11):
Absolutely, I'm thrilled to be here Renee, honored to serve,
grateful to be a veteran. But it all starts in
the Virgin Islands, in Saint Croix, where I'm originally from.
I went through the battle of losing my mom to Brencer.
Fast forward post military, I'm here serving almost fourteen years,
running boots on ground, different uniform, but truly honored.
Speaker 4 (02:36):
I love that. I love that.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
Definitely definitely inspiring. So let's start with that defining moment
your journey from combat veteran to breast cancer advocate. What
was the turning point that made you realize that this
was your mission, like to dedicate your life to health
equity and supporting those effected by breast cancer.
Speaker 3 (03:03):
I witnessed my mom struggle in her battle with breast cancer,
and I didn't really understand all the nuances that she
was going through. At the time, I was only five
years old, and so in that very fresh naive eyes
trying to identify what is going on with mom? Why
(03:25):
is her hair falling out? Why she missed dinner? Why
do I not see I did not go to her
with appointments. I was too young. My older sister went
with her, which some we were traveling to Puerto Rico
to nih in the mainland and the States, and so
long periods of time in between treatments, and her doctors
(03:47):
gave her a six month pretty much time of death
that she would not make it. She was diagnosed with
invasive stage four breast cancer that matacize to her lungs. Unfortunately,
she was adopted. We had no family history, and unfortunately,
(04:07):
before we knew second and third hand smoke exposure, her
adopted parents both smoked, so she was at higher risk
not only to get diagnosed with breast cancer, but also
because of metastasize the weakest organ in the body, her lungs.
Being exposed from such a young age all the way
(04:28):
thirties unfortunately had that major effect on her lungs.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
Man, I can only ex you know, I can only
imagine that experience as a child. You know, you're seeing
all of this happening, but you're not really fully understanding.
You know it's not good, but you don't know how
bad it is either, right, and then to feel helpless
as a child, you know, just witnessing all of this.
(04:53):
So you know, kudos to you your strength and everything
and for all that you're doing. I am completely like
inspired by you. I know, I don't know if you
know that, but I try to, you know, really encourage
and empower people in doing the thing that drives them.
And I'm witnessing you doing that, and you know it's
(05:14):
it's truly truly inspiring.
Speaker 4 (05:16):
So I love that for you. I love everything that
you're doing.
Speaker 2 (05:21):
So with that, you founded I will survive incoperated right,
And so I'm guessing that's in honor of your mother's
courageous battle with breast cancer. How has your mother's legacy
shaped your work and what do you hope people take
away from her story and your and your mission.
Speaker 3 (05:45):
Yes, absolutely definitely in honor of my mom, continuing the
legacy and finding the research. Initially first was Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama,
and the Bahamas had the highest mortality rates of breast cancer,
and so not being from the Bahamas, not having the
(06:05):
background of footprint, didn't make sense to move there and start.
But Georgia made sense, and so I have my undergrad
at Georgia State University, and so there's a lot of
fortune five hundred companies. You know, something has to be
funded here. Although I didn't really know what I was doing,
Georgia made sense, and so in Fulton and Decab County,
(06:26):
predominantly we serve the most greatest need and unfortunately the
highest mortality rate as well within the counties in the
metro Atlanta area. I hope that people take away from this,
Prevention is key the number one, and then early detection.
You know, if prevention is not an option, sometimes there's
founding history. Genetics are taking place with diagnosis, and so
(06:51):
if we do find it early, your increased the vival
rate is ninety percent or more, you know, and that's
what we'd love to see I think from my mother's
case specific they found it out a later stage, and
we hope that's never the case for anyone that we
are able to serve.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
Yeah, you know, you talk about the mortality rate here
and you know, with both of us being from the islands,
you know, like this weekend, I'm going home to bury
my aunt.
Speaker 4 (07:18):
She died from lung cancer. And you know that's one
of the things.
Speaker 2 (07:23):
It's not as you know, we're doing a lot to
educate people and you know, just encourage them to take more,
to take more precautions and all of that, and it's
not as what's the word, like the resources are not
as available. I mean you're having do research here where
(07:46):
we have a broader reach, and just think about those islands,
you know, and trying to impact people there, so you know,
maybe you could maybe this would go so global that
you can reach those people as just to educate them
at least, you know, because it is prevention is key
and we know that. So thank you again for all
(08:09):
that you're doing and just for you know, just what
you know how much you're impacting a lot of lives.
So let's shift gears a little bit. So as a
veteran you've had to embody resilience and adaptability.
Speaker 4 (08:22):
You know this all too well.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
So how has being in the military influence how you
tackle challenges in your advocacy work, and you know, especially
with you trying to serve underserved communities.
Speaker 3 (08:36):
Absolutely, I am so grateful for my short military career.
In that short time frame, I was able to grab
and hold on to different keys and skills that are
keep in my back pocket every day. And so the
first thing is always kind of see a whole for
the whole, you know, not duplicating services. If there's an
(08:57):
opportunity that you know, one organization or government entity does
not fill, you know, filling that need. And so up
when we first started, it was prevention. No one was
talking about prevention. And and you know, for me coming
you know from the islands, it makes sense. You know,
where you have somebody and you're getting natural vitamin D
every day and you're going swimming, so you get in
(09:18):
a physical activity to reduce all health dicharities. You know,
where you're eating all the great food and the fresh produce,
you know, might have a stop once a week, and
it's a natural killer. And so if you're incorporating these things.
I'm like, yeah, there's just no way. And then you
move to the mainland of the States and it's like,
(09:41):
oh my goodness. You know, there's Dixons in the water
and in the air. Environment and all the resource organizations
that are out there in the United States and some
the globe does matter do a lot of environmental risks
of cancer. Canada and the European Union is doing a
lot more, and so they have where they're banning a
(10:02):
lot of things, a lot of chemicals that are approved
within this country in the United States, which is really unfortunate.
We have a lot of work to do.
Speaker 2 (10:11):
Yes, definitely, I do agree with you with the Europeans.
You know, they've really taken the health, the health piece
of their citizens into and I will speak for Netherlands
because I spent about a month there, maybe a year
or two ago, and I was very impressed with how
(10:32):
the government just took hold of the culture, just the
health culture for their citizens. I was really really impressed
with that. And you know, Anissa is really a super soldier.
She is so modest. She will not say that, but
you know, we spoke on a few occasions and I'm like, oh, yeah,
(10:53):
this was a super soldier for real, you know, and
you know, you know, you know I you know, you
and I have spoken about your military career and how
far you've wanted to go with that. And but because
of you know, this this mission here that you really
like you said you didn't know where it was gonna go.
How has has there been any point where you're like,
(11:16):
you know, I wish I could have or wish this,
And not so much in a negative way, you know,
because even though I'm retired, there are many.
Speaker 4 (11:25):
Aspects of the military that I miss, like.
Speaker 2 (11:28):
Truly, especially you know we used to do it's free,
the cords, just that everybody gathering, especially with US islands,
you know, you know, all the islanders. It's like we
tend to find each other. But there has there been
like at any point where you know, you you were
in that state you're like, man, I wish I could
have or in any at any time, And how do
(11:50):
you like, how do you get over that?
Speaker 4 (11:52):
You know? How do you like work through that?
Speaker 3 (11:55):
Yes? No, this is really great Renee because I I
think initially separation I struggled heavily on did I do
the right thing. It's in the middle of the recession,
it's twenty ten, and everyone's like, you know, you're not
going to be able to find a job. And I
shared only a few, you know, with a few people,
what my goals were and why this was so important
(12:17):
to me. And I remember sitting at my lieutenant commander
like a palmer, we need you. You can stay wherever
you'd like, you know, trying to make calls and requests
to move me wherever I wanted to go. Now I
have to do this. This is a mission that is
greater than serving in the military. This is purpose and
(12:39):
for me, you know, I didn't really know all of
what it encompassed at the time, but I had to
answer the call. I'm grateful that I did, you know,
because we're able to. We have been able to support
over four thousand families over the past almost fourteen years
that were coming up on now. And I look back
and think, if you know, if we didn't, like those
(13:01):
families would still be homeless, going through homelessness while fighting cancer.
I was going into foreclosure because they can struggling with
medical bills and trying to, you know, figure out who's
going to pay all these bills, with treatments, and losing
jobs and you know husband's unfortunately that left their wives
while they're battling children that in the school system without
(13:22):
mom helping, if they didn't have a guidance counselor in
school to help. You know, all these barriers that took place,
and looking back and it's like, wow, we really were
really making an impact in the communities.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
Yeah, yeah, you know that it can be tough. You know,
we know what transitioning is like. You know, some of
us can do it well or have done it well,
and there are some of us, you know, who struggle
or are still struggling to make that transition.
Speaker 4 (13:51):
But I like that you.
Speaker 2 (13:52):
Said, you know, at least before you got out, you
had a sense of purpose, You had that thing that
was pulling you to do something. And unlike you, I
did not have that. I found my purpose after. And
I say that because it's not to say that you
can you won't find it. You know. One of the
(14:12):
things I do think we don't surrender enough to, you know,
to just the process to what we're going through. And
I think for and I would ask your opinion on
this too. I think, in my opinion, I think why
so many of us struggle is because of that always
want I have to be doing something. I can't just
(14:34):
be sitting still. I need, I need to do. And
it's because of how we were programmed in the military.
We have a mission, all of this need to get done.
What is your take on that, like, how do you
how is your experience with that?
Speaker 3 (14:51):
Absolutely so for me, I missed the fact that I
was unaccessible certain deployments, you know, and then even we
had the Blackberries, it was only you know, my commander
needed it or you know, someone else needed it to
be able to reach me at all times if we're
running between you know, different forward operating bases or depending
on where our soldiers were at, you know, where a
(15:12):
company was dispersed, and depending what missions we had. And
so I actually miss being unreachable, being able to fully
unplug and not really unplugging because you're in a war zone,
you know. Yeah, but I take that, and I actually
have to make sure I write in my calendar from weekly, daily,
sometimes monthly, quarterly, annually, self care time, whether it's I'm
(15:35):
going on justification at this time, I'm blocking out this thing,
even if I'm going nowhere, see what, It just takes
some time to pour into myself. Yeah, I think that's very,
very necessary for many of our veterans who are struggling
in the post traumatic stress disorder. Really taking that time
to unplug and pour into our mental health. It's so important.
(15:56):
Make sure we get outside, get green time, you know,
the sunshine, and we look at the studies that shows
us these things work, you know, versus people who have
lived in Alaska their whole lives and see half the
year the dark space, and how that's detrimental for our mental health,
you know, And so encompassing all of those things and
all the research that shows us how to pour into ourselves,
(16:19):
how to unplug, how to incorporate good day to day affirmations,
you know, manifesting positivity, all the things I have to
do it, you know, otherwise I will be struggling heavily
like a lot of unfortunately my battle buddies.
Speaker 2 (16:37):
Yes, yes, I agree with you. I do count us
as the fortunate ones. But I love that in this
space we can, you know, in our own way, we're
reaching back, right. It's that that service that's instilled in us,
and you know, and that's basically why you do what
(17:00):
you do and why I do what I do, because
it's just inbreded in us to serve because we've experienced
our own version of trauma or you know, our own
version of our transition. And speaking for myself, just looking
at how challenging it was for me, I'm like, how
many other women you know? And I know men struggle too,
(17:22):
But you know, I, like I said, I focus on
the females because we tend to be a lot more
harder in ourselves, and we tend to really put ourselves
last in a lot of things.
Speaker 4 (17:34):
So, like I.
Speaker 2 (17:35):
Said, I really count us as the you know, we're
not like exceptional, but we're part of that group of
women that are trying to give back. So this I
love this conversation. You know, you and I could talk
for hours. So, like, your nonprofit has been impactful because
(17:58):
of the economic support, the prevention, education, and the health
services you provided those at risk or really affected by
breast cancer. What are some of the most rewarding moments
you've experienced through your work and how has some of
those moments reinforced your commitment to doing what you're doing.
Speaker 3 (18:20):
Absolutely, before the pandemic, we had a beautiful office we
had to close down in the pandemic, reducing overhead expenses
and costs, and we used to have this gratitude wall,
and so in this gratitude wall, we would post every
single thank you, not that we needed it, but it
was really for the team to really go back and say,
(18:42):
whatever you're feeling down or questioning where your purpose was
or why you were here with I Will Survive Incorporated,
take that time to just go look at that wall
and read those thank you notes from the families, from
the kids, from the husbands who felt that we stood
in the gap because he was focused on taking care
of the children or struggling himself, to helping wife get
(19:03):
to and from appointments, you know, and read those cars.
And this card wall was full from the sky down
to the floor, you know, in our office, and anytime
someone wasn't feeling great, as soon as they left, even
just reading two or three of those cards, they felt fulfilled, like, Okay,
I'm here, I'm grateful. Another piece, I remember visiting a
(19:26):
survivor single mom. Her son was seven years old at
the time. We were at North Side Hospital before the
pandemic where we could do hospital visits and we didn't
have that interruption, you know, part of our mission. And
so I remember you know, speaking with her before, She's like, yeah,
I just can't stand this hospital food, and so I
want to go pick up some nutritious food from Whole Foods.
(19:48):
And they're, you know, all the great things they have.
So it was like some fresh baked salmon, some fresh
greens and whatever carbs they had. She had a full, balanced,
nutritious meal and drove up to North Side Hospital and
her son asked me, as I'm trying to feed his mom,
you know, or she's very frail. Her stage was stage three,
(20:10):
it went to stage four, It had some blood cloths,
her cancer motastized to her bones. She was living with
so much stuff. Praise God, she's here today in cancer free.
Her woman he asked me the hardest question I ever had,
is my mom going to die? This is before I
(20:33):
became a mom, and so I'm like, Lord, please help
me answer this the right way I'm supposed to, you know,
without lying, but also having emotional intelligence and empathy in
place for seven year old Yeah. I don't remember exactly
what I said parbade him, but I remember him hugging
(20:54):
me so tight with my answer, and I said, God,
thank you, thank you, as I'm almost about to shed
tears because this moment's really really hit because I lost
my mom, you know, and he's very close to the
age I lost her, and it was just like it
was one of the hardest cases we ever had, and
the fact that she still here brings me so much joy.
(21:17):
She became the first time this year and helping her
publish her book books now and so seeing it full circle,
I think those moments really bring us back full circle,
like this is why we're doing what we're doing. This
is why our organization matters, This is why our programs
are critical and need funding to support and continue to
do the work we're doing. So yes, those are those
(21:40):
are those are great moments. You know.
Speaker 2 (21:43):
I love that I can see like your energy or
excitement and you know, just the you know, that's your baby.
And one of the things you talked about, which I
think a lot of times we tend to forget the caretakers, right,
we tend to forget to check in with and even
the supporters, like you say, sometimes we question am I
(22:04):
doing the right thing? Is you know, so you know,
like is this where I'm really supposed to be. So
that gratitude wall that you talk about, it really it
really is so powerful. It's a simple thing, but like
you said, just reading one note can really reinforce. Okay,
this is why I'm here, This is why I'm doing this,
(22:25):
and get you right because you get tired too, right,
You get tired because you're taking on a lot. You know,
your your your assistant, your employers, your employees are taken on,
you know all of that. So it's good to I
like that you have a gratitude wall and you know,
just another way to help them understand that. You know. Look,
(22:50):
you you're in the right place at the right time,
and you're helping so many, so many, so many more
people that need it. Wow, it's so amazing. All right,
So living unapologetically is at the heart of this podcast, Anissa,
How do you live unapologetically in your work and your
(23:13):
personal life? And what advice would you give our listeners
striving to embrace their true selves and live unapologetically as well,
especially our veterans.
Speaker 3 (23:28):
Yes, living unapologetically. I love the name of this podcast.
Really it's fit for you and the work that you're doing.
But yes, I think for me, living unapologetically is I'll
start with my mom. The greatest quote she ever gave
me before she passed, excuse me, was no matter what
(23:50):
you do, be a good person. And so we try
to incorporate that in every single thing, you know, that
we're doing. And I like to reference the late great
Congress John Lewis as well, getting into good trouble, you know,
living unpojectly is getting into good trouble. You know, Yeah,
you don't want to do the bad trouble. You don't
want to do with the people, and you know, toxic environments,
(24:12):
whether through food, through you know, the earth fortunately and
all the damage that we have done as humans to
our earth. But the good trouble to see a whole,
fill the hole, you know, wherever we can, and to
find purpose in it so that we are you know,
kind of that whole putting on that oxygen mask first
before we're able to really pour heavily into others in
(24:35):
the service space. I think it's critical, you know, to
a part of living unapologetically.
Speaker 4 (24:40):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (24:41):
I know, for me, the most impactful well, the most
impactful message that I heard was from John Maxwell, and
it's about adding value, which is you know kind of similar.
So and I think that's why we're in this space
we're in because are always trying to seek things that's
(25:02):
much bigger than us. We find ourselves in spaces where
like how did I get here? But we're supposed to
be there, right, So He's laid the path we just
have to follow. You know, a lot of you hear
about being authentic, and you know everybody's trying to live authentically.
What does that look like for you? And you know,
(25:25):
and how does that authentic live in? And it's kind
of aligned with living unapologetically, but sometimes you know that
you can kind of misrepresent that. So what does authentic
living mean to you as well?
Speaker 3 (25:41):
I'd like to ask that for me, authenticity and living
in that vibration, it's it's it's really living to me
from the soul in essence, you know, fully, no clothes on,
nothing to cover up, no mass being here. Authentic self
(26:02):
is in the raw, everything in the raw. So people
use it to me, you know, the third eye or
the first eye, depending on which a group with right.
But I used to get told when I first moved
to Atlanta. You know, I want to see I used
to always have my head down. I always used to
look down and don't have confidence. You know, I was
working at myself receieve, and like, I want to see
(26:23):
in your eyes. And I say why, I say, well,
the eyes are windows to the soul. You know. I'm
able to actually see you if I can see into
your eyes. And so I don't want anybody to see me.
I don't want you to see me. I don't want
you to look at my eyes. I don't, you know.
And that was my way of hiding myself because scared
of so many things. I had so much trauma, you know,
(26:46):
before I moved to Atlanta and just being scared, you know,
and I learned that, you know, we have to remove
the fears to live, you know, authentically, you know, and
if people don't like your people don't and you know,
appreciate who you are whatever.
Speaker 2 (27:05):
You know.
Speaker 3 (27:06):
To get to the point, yeah, yeah, you know.
Speaker 2 (27:10):
It's funny because when I first came to this country,
I used to do the same thing. I walk with
my but but you said something that's really pivotal. It's
also because a lot of the trauma that we we
deal with, you know, we don't get to we don't
get to express what those feelings are right. And then
with our culture, it's not a thing that we do
(27:34):
right because we don't have the r it's not something
that we do. So and this goes back to me
saying I feel like we're a part of the fortunate group,
especially being immigrants. You know, you know, we get to understand,
you need support, you need to speak, you need to
really figure out who you are, because all of that
(27:55):
has been distorted in some way. Sometimes it's by people
you trust. Family, so you know, you're literally trying to rebuild.
And this speaks to our service and the military, the
amount of transitions that we go through. You know, coming
from the island is a transition. It's a transition. And listen,
(28:18):
in the army is a transition. In the army, you
have to transition to theirs. So you as an individual,
and this is why everybody's walk, you have to just
respect it, right, you have to respect it because you
really don't know how big, how big their shoes are,
how small it is, you don't know, so hold on.
(28:44):
So it's like you know, so it's it's one of
those things where you do have to embrace the transition
as it comes because it's not a it's not an
easy thing to do. It's not an easy thing to do.
(29:08):
And we can talk about the transition from the islands
and trauma and all of that. That's a whole another gamut.
Speaker 4 (29:17):
That's not there because this wouldn't stop.
Speaker 2 (29:21):
But I do, I do really appreciate you sharing, you know,
just even tapping into it a little bit. You know,
you mentioned health equity and I and I'm and I'm
understanding that it's a tie into prevention and you know,
(29:42):
just wanting people to embrace Okay, this is a thing.
We need to figure out how to to figure it out,
work with it, and cure it if we can catch
it when it's early. How do you incorporate or what
what do you do as far as health equity, you know,
how do you educate people? Are you actually incorporating fitness,
(30:05):
nutrition and all of that, So tell us a little
bit about how that ties into what you're doing.
Speaker 3 (30:12):
Absolutely, health equity for us is also paying attention to
our medical team, the client's medical team, to ensure that
they have a patient centered approach versus that kind of blind,
you know, masses approach on the treatment process. So typically
(30:32):
it's the surgery, chemo, radiation and different variations of that.
If you do a lumpec to me, removing a small tumor,
you know, with a small amount of breast tissue to
a mass tech to me removing a mass breast tissue
with a tumor, or double mass tecnomy to remove double
breast here with tumors and some that had spread to
lymph nodes various underneath the arms and other places. For us, uh,
(30:58):
you know, having that conversation with the client is important,
you know, the bedside manners, you know, and so if
you're in a zip code that has more access, if
you will to better treatment options, better conversations, better bedside manners,
you know, we can't have that. It's a good article
out there called Bankhead to Buckhead, and it really goes
(31:20):
into differentiation pieces of how access whether it's education, to
health systems to affordable housing options. Everyone should have access
to these things, not just that people live in certain
zip codes. And so for us, it's educating on all stakeholders,
whether it's the health systems from North Side to Piedmont
(31:42):
and Henry County, to different political leaders within the various
municipalities across the Atlanta region, to know every single person involved.
I think in this decision making process, everyone needs to
have a seat at the table. With an equity. A
(32:03):
lot of low income or disadvantaged communities weren't invited to
have a seat at the table, and so we said,
well we'll we'll speak for the voiceless. In order to
have to have trust within the community, we have to
be our authentic selves. Has no problem to build that
trust so that we can speak on their behalf on Hey,
this isn't working. You know, we need better. We need
(32:24):
to demand better care, better treatment of better access. And
so we were doing that, which helps a lot.
Speaker 2 (32:32):
Yeah, you know what I as you were talking, this
question came to me. You know, homelessness, Veteran homelessness is
a big, big problem, right What what is the statistics
of veterans that you serve? And you know, are are
there more homeless veterans? And I don't know if you
(32:55):
have that number. This is just a question that I'm
asking in case you do. But you know, what is
the statistics of that the veterans versus homeless veterans? And
do you even keep is that something that you keep
track of? You know that you're really monitoring.
Speaker 3 (33:10):
We haven't monitored closely. And I'll tell you why. So
Georgia is not a high homeless veteran population state California
is Virginia used to be. Virginia's numbers actually got down
to zero. It's one of three states that zero. Yes,
and it's impressive because we're trying to identify how we
(33:34):
can replicate some of the models when it comes to
our survivors, because we deal with a veteran and non
veteran families battling breast cancer. And so for us with
the veteran families that are battling breast cancer, identifying what
resources they have and so if a veteran is diagnosed
with breast cancer, was their risk exposure while during deployments
(33:57):
and so then there are one hundred percent covered their
treatment options and a lot of veterans don't know that.
And so it's our job to educate our communities to
make sure that they know of all of their resources
so they do not have to battle in silence. They
do not have to you know, work in silos, you know,
using us as a nonprofit partner to help in their
(34:20):
back but also plugging them into all the resources through
the Veterans Administration and all the veterans resources that are
out there within the veterans community.
Speaker 2 (34:29):
Yeah, you know, the before I started doing my i'm
studying now and you know, just realizing how many veterans,
even just outside of my studies, which led me to
some of the information that I do have now, I
didn't realize how many veterans don't really know that there's
(34:54):
resources for them, or they don't have the access, or
they think they don't have the access. And it's because
of mis education, right because they're not getting led and
it's you know.
Speaker 4 (35:05):
It's twofold. I think I think it's twofold.
Speaker 2 (35:08):
You know, some of it does take you making an
effort to find the information, and then there's so much
negative stigma around the veterans affairs. Some of it may
be truthful, but I feel personally, I feel like they're
they're really trying. They're making a much better effort, especially
(35:29):
when it comes to women's health. You know, the fact
is there's a lot more veteran than their people to
support them. That's the main fact, which is why organizations
such as yourself, you know, I will survive inc DSP waypoint.
That's why these organizations are here, Like we're that plug
right where that fill the gap. We're filling in the gap.
(35:52):
You know, trying to plug into bigger resources. So we
could say, hey, send them our way or we'll send
them your way, but it's the eduction piece, the lack
of knowledge, while a lot many veterans just are still
without the support that they need. So, like, you know,
I'm gonna keep saying this, Anisa, kudos to everything that
you're doing, you know, and all those you know nonprofits
(36:15):
that are there trying to support our communities.
Speaker 4 (36:18):
It's it's it's a big shoe to fill, it.
Speaker 2 (36:21):
Really is, but it's very rewarding, you know, just me
being a part of one. I sometimes sit and I'm like,
I'll be a part of this one too. I'll be
a part of this one too. But you can only
do so much, right because you do have to come
back to your own health, your own you know, making
sure you're you're able to support. You've got to support
(36:41):
yourself so that you can support others.
Speaker 4 (36:44):
So thank you. I just love everything that you're doing.
All right. So coming to a.
Speaker 2 (36:51):
Close, I want to thank you so much Anissa for
sharing your journey and your insights with us today. You know,
for just you know, giving us a little bit more
of who you are and what you do. Seeing how
you live unapologetically and honor your mother's legacy through such
meaningful work is truly, truly, truly inspiring. So with that,
(37:13):
how can our viewers connect with you? How can they
find you?
Speaker 3 (37:19):
Yes, please connect with me. I'm on LinkedIn Anissa Palmer.
My Instagram is the Anissa Palmer. Someone else got Anissa
Palmer first, and also Facebook Anissa Palmer. If you want
to connect with the charity I will survived in dot
org and the charities all of our social media as well.
Speaker 4 (37:40):
One thing you didn't talk about, Anissa, is your book.
A bit about your book. I forgot to talk about that.
Speaker 2 (37:47):
She has a book, everyone, so tell us where we
can find the book and kind of just go get
into a little bit.
Speaker 4 (37:55):
What inspired you to write the book?
Speaker 3 (37:58):
Yes, absolutely so. First came out in twenty nineteen and
it's called Purpose the Ultimate Climax. And I wrote this
book because I found so many people that weren't living
in their purpose but also were living with a lot
of burnout. And so I think it was a game
changer to help from folks who are reading it and
(38:21):
purchased it all across the United States and the Caribbean, Canada,
India and they shared on how it has been able
to impact their lives. So I'm glad I followed it
into it to write it, and folks can purchase it
on Amazon on my website. And then the second book
(38:41):
I wrote called Nonprofit Success Blueprints, and it's really just
being a nonprofit space for as long as I've been
and seeing different nuances that have changed when it comes
to federal laws to state laws, and how in my
consulting business I'm able to help nonprofits really help you
know whether it's mission and drifting and how to avoid that,
(39:02):
but also collaborative efforts and partnerships. We like to use
a lot of private public partnerships. And so that book's
also available on Amazon or on my website as well.
Speaker 2 (39:13):
Yeah, so we'll make sure it's in the notes too.
I'll make sure all your contact information is in the note.
So tell everyone again where they can reach you, because
I did kind of cover that up with.
Speaker 4 (39:24):
Your book stuff. So tell them again where they can.
Speaker 2 (39:26):
Reach you, because I want them to find you.
Speaker 3 (39:31):
Yes, absolutely, please contact me palmerfirmgroup dot com. It is
my website where I do a lot of consulting, and
all the books are there and then you know can
connect with me on LinkedIn, Instagram, the Anissa Palmer, Facebook
Anissa Palmer and then for the charity, I Will Survive
in dot org and we're all over social media as well.
Speaker 2 (39:55):
Thank you, Anissa, thank you for joining us today, and
to all all our listeners, thank you for tuning in
to living unapologetically beyond the Uniform. If today's episode inspired you,
please like, share, and pass this along to other veterans
who could benefit from these conversations. Remember to join me
(40:17):
live every Friday at eleven am for more stories and
insights that empower you to live boldly and thrive beyond
the uniform. Until next time, keep living unapologetically.
Speaker 1 (40:34):
This has been Living Unapologetically Beyond the Uniform with your host,
Renee Jones Hutson. We hope you found inspiration and valuable
insights in today's episode. Remember your journey of redefining, rediscovering,
and reaffirming your life post military is unique and powerful.
Stay connected with us for more stories, advice and support.
(40:58):
Until next time, Stay strong, wrong, and stay empowered. Listen
Friday's eleven am Eastern on the Bold Brave TV Network
powered by B two Studios
Are you a transitioning military or veteran woman looking for support, guidance,
and inspiration. You've come to the right place. Welcome to
Living Unapologetically Beyond the Uniform with your host, Renee Jones Hudson.
Renee brings powerful stories, practical advice, and expert insights to
help you redefine, rediscover, and reaffirm your life after military service.
(00:31):
Whether navigating a career change, seeking personal growth, or focusing
on your well being. We are here to empower you
every step of the way. So welcome the host of
Living Unapologetically Beyond the Uniform, Renee Jones Hudson. Let's embark
on this journey together.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Welcome to Living Unapologetically Beyond the Uniform. I'm your host
in Angel's husband, and I am thrilled to have you
with me today. This podcast is dedicated to all the
incredible women who have served and are now navigating their
transition to saveying life. So whether you're beginning this journey
(01:15):
or have been on it for a while, this show
is for you today. I am honored to have with
me Miss Anissa Palmer. She is a combat veteran, an
award winning nonprofit leader, and the visionary behind, I will
survive incorporated. Anissa's journey from military service to advocating for
(01:37):
health equity and supporting breast cancer survivor is truly amazing,
and I myself am happy to know this beautiful, beautiful soul.
So today we will dive into her story and hear
more about her impactful work. All right, miss Anissa, Before
(01:59):
we dive into the DTAs de tales of your work, though,
I would love for our listeners to hear more about
your story in your own words? Can you tell us
about yourself and where you where you're from.
Speaker 3 (02:11):
Absolutely, I'm thrilled to be here Renee, honored to serve,
grateful to be a veteran. But it all starts in
the Virgin Islands, in Saint Croix, where I'm originally from.
I went through the battle of losing my mom to Brencer.
Fast forward post military, I'm here serving almost fourteen years,
running boots on ground, different uniform, but truly honored.
Speaker 4 (02:36):
I love that. I love that.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
Definitely definitely inspiring. So let's start with that defining moment
your journey from combat veteran to breast cancer advocate. What
was the turning point that made you realize that this
was your mission, like to dedicate your life to health
equity and supporting those effected by breast cancer.
Speaker 3 (03:03):
I witnessed my mom struggle in her battle with breast cancer,
and I didn't really understand all the nuances that she
was going through. At the time, I was only five
years old, and so in that very fresh naive eyes
trying to identify what is going on with mom? Why
(03:25):
is her hair falling out? Why she missed dinner? Why
do I not see I did not go to her
with appointments. I was too young. My older sister went
with her, which some we were traveling to Puerto Rico
to nih in the mainland and the States, and so
long periods of time in between treatments, and her doctors
(03:47):
gave her a six month pretty much time of death
that she would not make it. She was diagnosed with
invasive stage four breast cancer that matacize to her lungs. Unfortunately,
she was adopted. We had no family history, and unfortunately,
(04:07):
before we knew second and third hand smoke exposure, her
adopted parents both smoked, so she was at higher risk
not only to get diagnosed with breast cancer, but also
because of metastasize the weakest organ in the body, her lungs.
Being exposed from such a young age all the way
(04:28):
thirties unfortunately had that major effect on her lungs.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
Man, I can only ex you know, I can only
imagine that experience as a child. You know, you're seeing
all of this happening, but you're not really fully understanding.
You know it's not good, but you don't know how
bad it is either, right, and then to feel helpless
as a child, you know, just witnessing all of this.
(04:53):
So you know, kudos to you your strength and everything
and for all that you're doing. I am completely like
inspired by you. I know, I don't know if you
know that, but I try to, you know, really encourage
and empower people in doing the thing that drives them.
And I'm witnessing you doing that, and you know it's
(05:14):
it's truly truly inspiring.
Speaker 4 (05:16):
So I love that for you. I love everything that
you're doing.
Speaker 2 (05:21):
So with that, you founded I will survive incoperated right,
And so I'm guessing that's in honor of your mother's
courageous battle with breast cancer. How has your mother's legacy
shaped your work and what do you hope people take
away from her story and your and your mission.
Speaker 3 (05:45):
Yes, absolutely definitely in honor of my mom, continuing the
legacy and finding the research. Initially first was Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama,
and the Bahamas had the highest mortality rates of breast cancer,
and so not being from the Bahamas, not having the
(06:05):
background of footprint, didn't make sense to move there and start.
But Georgia made sense, and so I have my undergrad
at Georgia State University, and so there's a lot of
fortune five hundred companies. You know, something has to be
funded here. Although I didn't really know what I was doing,
Georgia made sense, and so in Fulton and Decab County,
(06:26):
predominantly we serve the most greatest need and unfortunately the
highest mortality rate as well within the counties in the
metro Atlanta area. I hope that people take away from this,
Prevention is key the number one, and then early detection.
You know, if prevention is not an option, sometimes there's
founding history. Genetics are taking place with diagnosis, and so
(06:51):
if we do find it early, your increased the vival
rate is ninety percent or more, you know, and that's
what we'd love to see I think from my mother's
case specific they found it out a later stage, and
we hope that's never the case for anyone that we
are able to serve.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
Yeah, you know, you talk about the mortality rate here
and you know, with both of us being from the islands,
you know, like this weekend, I'm going home to bury
my aunt.
Speaker 4 (07:18):
She died from lung cancer. And you know that's one
of the things.
Speaker 2 (07:23):
It's not as you know, we're doing a lot to
educate people and you know, just encourage them to take more,
to take more precautions and all of that, and it's
not as what's the word, like the resources are not
as available. I mean you're having do research here where
(07:46):
we have a broader reach, and just think about those islands,
you know, and trying to impact people there, so you know,
maybe you could maybe this would go so global that
you can reach those people as just to educate them
at least, you know, because it is prevention is key
and we know that. So thank you again for all
(08:09):
that you're doing and just for you know, just what
you know how much you're impacting a lot of lives.
So let's shift gears a little bit. So as a
veteran you've had to embody resilience and adaptability.
Speaker 4 (08:22):
You know this all too well.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
So how has being in the military influence how you
tackle challenges in your advocacy work, and you know, especially
with you trying to serve underserved communities.
Speaker 3 (08:36):
Absolutely, I am so grateful for my short military career.
In that short time frame, I was able to grab
and hold on to different keys and skills that are
keep in my back pocket every day. And so the
first thing is always kind of see a whole for
the whole, you know, not duplicating services. If there's an
(08:57):
opportunity that you know, one organization or government entity does
not fill, you know, filling that need. And so up
when we first started, it was prevention. No one was
talking about prevention. And and you know, for me coming
you know from the islands, it makes sense. You know,
where you have somebody and you're getting natural vitamin D
every day and you're going swimming, so you get in
(09:18):
a physical activity to reduce all health dicharities. You know,
where you're eating all the great food and the fresh produce,
you know, might have a stop once a week, and
it's a natural killer. And so if you're incorporating these things.
I'm like, yeah, there's just no way. And then you
move to the mainland of the States and it's like,
(09:41):
oh my goodness. You know, there's Dixons in the water
and in the air. Environment and all the resource organizations
that are out there in the United States and some
the globe does matter do a lot of environmental risks
of cancer. Canada and the European Union is doing a
lot more, and so they have where they're banning a
(10:02):
lot of things, a lot of chemicals that are approved
within this country in the United States, which is really unfortunate.
We have a lot of work to do.
Speaker 2 (10:11):
Yes, definitely, I do agree with you with the Europeans.
You know, they've really taken the health, the health piece
of their citizens into and I will speak for Netherlands
because I spent about a month there, maybe a year
or two ago, and I was very impressed with how
(10:32):
the government just took hold of the culture, just the
health culture for their citizens. I was really really impressed
with that. And you know, Anissa is really a super soldier.
She is so modest. She will not say that, but
you know, we spoke on a few occasions and I'm like, oh, yeah,
(10:53):
this was a super soldier for real, you know, and
you know, you know, you know I you know, you
and I have spoken about your military career and how
far you've wanted to go with that. And but because
of you know, this this mission here that you really
like you said you didn't know where it was gonna go.
How has has there been any point where you're like,
(11:16):
you know, I wish I could have or wish this,
And not so much in a negative way, you know,
because even though I'm retired, there are many.
Speaker 4 (11:25):
Aspects of the military that I miss, like.
Speaker 2 (11:28):
Truly, especially you know we used to do it's free,
the cords, just that everybody gathering, especially with US islands,
you know, you know, all the islanders. It's like we
tend to find each other. But there has there been
like at any point where you know, you you were
in that state you're like, man, I wish I could
have or in any at any time, And how do
(11:50):
you like, how do you get over that?
Speaker 4 (11:52):
You know? How do you like work through that?
Speaker 3 (11:55):
Yes? No, this is really great Renee because I I
think initially separation I struggled heavily on did I do
the right thing. It's in the middle of the recession,
it's twenty ten, and everyone's like, you know, you're not
going to be able to find a job. And I
shared only a few, you know, with a few people,
what my goals were and why this was so important
(12:17):
to me. And I remember sitting at my lieutenant commander
like a palmer, we need you. You can stay wherever
you'd like, you know, trying to make calls and requests
to move me wherever I wanted to go. Now I
have to do this. This is a mission that is
greater than serving in the military. This is purpose and
(12:39):
for me, you know, I didn't really know all of
what it encompassed at the time, but I had to
answer the call. I'm grateful that I did, you know,
because we're able to. We have been able to support
over four thousand families over the past almost fourteen years
that were coming up on now. And I look back
and think, if you know, if we didn't, like those
(13:01):
families would still be homeless, going through homelessness while fighting cancer.
I was going into foreclosure because they can struggling with
medical bills and trying to, you know, figure out who's
going to pay all these bills, with treatments, and losing
jobs and you know husband's unfortunately that left their wives
while they're battling children that in the school system without
(13:22):
mom helping, if they didn't have a guidance counselor in
school to help. You know, all these barriers that took place,
and looking back and it's like, wow, we really were
really making an impact in the communities.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
Yeah, yeah, you know that it can be tough. You know,
we know what transitioning is like. You know, some of
us can do it well or have done it well,
and there are some of us, you know, who struggle
or are still struggling to make that transition.
Speaker 4 (13:51):
But I like that you.
Speaker 2 (13:52):
Said, you know, at least before you got out, you
had a sense of purpose, You had that thing that
was pulling you to do something. And unlike you, I
did not have that. I found my purpose after. And
I say that because it's not to say that you
can you won't find it. You know. One of the
(14:12):
things I do think we don't surrender enough to, you know,
to just the process to what we're going through. And
I think for and I would ask your opinion on
this too. I think, in my opinion, I think why
so many of us struggle is because of that always
want I have to be doing something. I can't just
(14:34):
be sitting still. I need, I need to do. And
it's because of how we were programmed in the military.
We have a mission, all of this need to get done.
What is your take on that, like, how do you
how is your experience with that?
Speaker 3 (14:51):
Absolutely so for me, I missed the fact that I
was unaccessible certain deployments, you know, and then even we
had the Blackberries, it was only you know, my commander
needed it or you know, someone else needed it to
be able to reach me at all times if we're
running between you know, different forward operating bases or depending
on where our soldiers were at, you know, where a
(15:12):
company was dispersed, and depending what missions we had. And
so I actually miss being unreachable, being able to fully
unplug and not really unplugging because you're in a war zone,
you know. Yeah, but I take that, and I actually
have to make sure I write in my calendar from weekly, daily,
sometimes monthly, quarterly, annually, self care time, whether it's I'm
(15:35):
going on justification at this time, I'm blocking out this thing,
even if I'm going nowhere, see what, It just takes
some time to pour into myself. Yeah, I think that's very,
very necessary for many of our veterans who are struggling
in the post traumatic stress disorder. Really taking that time
to unplug and pour into our mental health. It's so important.
(15:56):
Make sure we get outside, get green time, you know,
the sunshine, and we look at the studies that shows
us these things work, you know, versus people who have
lived in Alaska their whole lives and see half the
year the dark space, and how that's detrimental for our mental health,
you know, And so encompassing all of those things and
all the research that shows us how to pour into ourselves,
(16:19):
how to unplug, how to incorporate good day to day affirmations,
you know, manifesting positivity, all the things I have to
do it, you know, otherwise I will be struggling heavily
like a lot of unfortunately my battle buddies.
Speaker 2 (16:37):
Yes, yes, I agree with you. I do count us
as the fortunate ones. But I love that in this
space we can, you know, in our own way, we're
reaching back, right. It's that that service that's instilled in us,
and you know, and that's basically why you do what
(17:00):
you do and why I do what I do, because
it's just inbreded in us to serve because we've experienced
our own version of trauma or you know, our own
version of our transition. And speaking for myself, just looking
at how challenging it was for me, I'm like, how
many other women you know? And I know men struggle too,
(17:22):
But you know, I, like I said, I focus on
the females because we tend to be a lot more
harder in ourselves, and we tend to really put ourselves
last in a lot of things.
Speaker 4 (17:34):
So, like I.
Speaker 2 (17:35):
Said, I really count us as the you know, we're
not like exceptional, but we're part of that group of
women that are trying to give back. So this I
love this conversation. You know, you and I could talk
for hours. So, like, your nonprofit has been impactful because
(17:58):
of the economic support, the prevention, education, and the health
services you provided those at risk or really affected by
breast cancer. What are some of the most rewarding moments
you've experienced through your work and how has some of
those moments reinforced your commitment to doing what you're doing.
Speaker 3 (18:20):
Absolutely, before the pandemic, we had a beautiful office we
had to close down in the pandemic, reducing overhead expenses
and costs, and we used to have this gratitude wall,
and so in this gratitude wall, we would post every
single thank you, not that we needed it, but it
was really for the team to really go back and say,
(18:42):
whatever you're feeling down or questioning where your purpose was
or why you were here with I Will Survive Incorporated,
take that time to just go look at that wall
and read those thank you notes from the families, from
the kids, from the husbands who felt that we stood
in the gap because he was focused on taking care
of the children or struggling himself, to helping wife get
(19:03):
to and from appointments, you know, and read those cars.
And this card wall was full from the sky down
to the floor, you know, in our office, and anytime
someone wasn't feeling great, as soon as they left, even
just reading two or three of those cards, they felt fulfilled, like, Okay,
I'm here, I'm grateful. Another piece, I remember visiting a
(19:26):
survivor single mom. Her son was seven years old at
the time. We were at North Side Hospital before the
pandemic where we could do hospital visits and we didn't
have that interruption, you know, part of our mission. And
so I remember you know, speaking with her before, She's like, yeah,
I just can't stand this hospital food, and so I
want to go pick up some nutritious food from Whole Foods.
(19:48):
And they're, you know, all the great things they have.
So it was like some fresh baked salmon, some fresh
greens and whatever carbs they had. She had a full, balanced,
nutritious meal and drove up to North Side Hospital and
her son asked me, as I'm trying to feed his mom,
you know, or she's very frail. Her stage was stage three,
(20:10):
it went to stage four, It had some blood cloths,
her cancer motastized to her bones. She was living with
so much stuff. Praise God, she's here today in cancer free.
Her woman he asked me the hardest question I ever had,
is my mom going to die? This is before I
(20:33):
became a mom, and so I'm like, Lord, please help
me answer this the right way I'm supposed to, you know,
without lying, but also having emotional intelligence and empathy in
place for seven year old Yeah. I don't remember exactly
what I said parbade him, but I remember him hugging
(20:54):
me so tight with my answer, and I said, God,
thank you, thank you, as I'm almost about to shed
tears because this moment's really really hit because I lost
my mom, you know, and he's very close to the
age I lost her, and it was just like it
was one of the hardest cases we ever had, and
the fact that she still here brings me so much joy.
(21:17):
She became the first time this year and helping her
publish her book books now and so seeing it full circle,
I think those moments really bring us back full circle,
like this is why we're doing what we're doing. This
is why our organization matters, This is why our programs
are critical and need funding to support and continue to
do the work we're doing. So yes, those are those
(21:40):
are those are great moments. You know.
Speaker 2 (21:43):
I love that I can see like your energy or
excitement and you know, just the you know, that's your baby.
And one of the things you talked about, which I
think a lot of times we tend to forget the caretakers, right,
we tend to forget to check in with and even
the supporters, like you say, sometimes we question am I
(22:04):
doing the right thing? Is you know, so you know,
like is this where I'm really supposed to be. So
that gratitude wall that you talk about, it really it
really is so powerful. It's a simple thing, but like
you said, just reading one note can really reinforce. Okay,
this is why I'm here, This is why I'm doing this,
(22:25):
and get you right because you get tired too, right,
You get tired because you're taking on a lot. You know,
your your your assistant, your employers, your employees are taken on,
you know all of that. So it's good to I
like that you have a gratitude wall and you know,
just another way to help them understand that. You know. Look,
(22:50):
you you're in the right place at the right time,
and you're helping so many, so many, so many more
people that need it. Wow, it's so amazing. All right,
So living unapologetically is at the heart of this podcast, Anissa,
How do you live unapologetically in your work and your
(23:13):
personal life? And what advice would you give our listeners
striving to embrace their true selves and live unapologetically as well,
especially our veterans.
Speaker 3 (23:28):
Yes, living unapologetically. I love the name of this podcast.
Really it's fit for you and the work that you're doing.
But yes, I think for me, living unapologetically is I'll
start with my mom. The greatest quote she ever gave
me before she passed, excuse me, was no matter what
(23:50):
you do, be a good person. And so we try
to incorporate that in every single thing, you know, that
we're doing. And I like to reference the late great
Congress John Lewis as well, getting into good trouble, you know,
living unpojectly is getting into good trouble. You know, Yeah,
you don't want to do the bad trouble. You don't
want to do with the people, and you know, toxic environments,
(24:12):
whether through food, through you know, the earth fortunately and
all the damage that we have done as humans to
our earth. But the good trouble to see a whole,
fill the hole, you know, wherever we can, and to
find purpose in it so that we are you know,
kind of that whole putting on that oxygen mask first
before we're able to really pour heavily into others in
(24:35):
the service space. I think it's critical, you know, to
a part of living unapologetically.
Speaker 4 (24:40):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (24:41):
I know, for me, the most impactful well, the most
impactful message that I heard was from John Maxwell, and
it's about adding value, which is you know kind of similar.
So and I think that's why we're in this space
we're in because are always trying to seek things that's
(25:02):
much bigger than us. We find ourselves in spaces where
like how did I get here? But we're supposed to
be there, right, So He's laid the path we just
have to follow. You know, a lot of you hear
about being authentic, and you know everybody's trying to live authentically.
What does that look like for you? And you know,
(25:25):
and how does that authentic live in? And it's kind
of aligned with living unapologetically, but sometimes you know that
you can kind of misrepresent that. So what does authentic
living mean to you as well?
Speaker 3 (25:41):
I'd like to ask that for me, authenticity and living
in that vibration, it's it's it's really living to me
from the soul in essence, you know, fully, no clothes on,
nothing to cover up, no mass being here. Authentic self
(26:02):
is in the raw, everything in the raw. So people
use it to me, you know, the third eye or
the first eye, depending on which a group with right.
But I used to get told when I first moved
to Atlanta. You know, I want to see I used
to always have my head down. I always used to
look down and don't have confidence. You know, I was
working at myself receieve, and like, I want to see
(26:23):
in your eyes. And I say why, I say, well,
the eyes are windows to the soul. You know. I'm
able to actually see you if I can see into
your eyes. And so I don't want anybody to see me.
I don't want you to see me. I don't want
you to look at my eyes. I don't, you know.
And that was my way of hiding myself because scared
of so many things. I had so much trauma, you know,
(26:46):
before I moved to Atlanta and just being scared, you know,
and I learned that, you know, we have to remove
the fears to live, you know, authentically, you know, and
if people don't like your people don't and you know,
appreciate who you are whatever.
Speaker 2 (27:05):
You know.
Speaker 3 (27:06):
To get to the point, yeah, yeah, you know.
Speaker 2 (27:10):
It's funny because when I first came to this country,
I used to do the same thing. I walk with
my but but you said something that's really pivotal. It's
also because a lot of the trauma that we we
deal with, you know, we don't get to we don't
get to express what those feelings are right. And then
with our culture, it's not a thing that we do
(27:34):
right because we don't have the r it's not something
that we do. So and this goes back to me
saying I feel like we're a part of the fortunate group,
especially being immigrants. You know, you know, we get to understand,
you need support, you need to speak, you need to
really figure out who you are, because all of that
(27:55):
has been distorted in some way. Sometimes it's by people
you trust. Family, so you know, you're literally trying to rebuild.
And this speaks to our service and the military, the
amount of transitions that we go through. You know, coming
from the island is a transition. It's a transition. And listen,
(28:18):
in the army is a transition. In the army, you
have to transition to theirs. So you as an individual,
and this is why everybody's walk, you have to just
respect it, right, you have to respect it because you
really don't know how big, how big their shoes are,
how small it is, you don't know, so hold on.
(28:44):
So it's like you know, so it's it's one of
those things where you do have to embrace the transition
as it comes because it's not a it's not an
easy thing to do. It's not an easy thing to do.
(29:08):
And we can talk about the transition from the islands
and trauma and all of that. That's a whole another gamut.
Speaker 4 (29:17):
That's not there because this wouldn't stop.
Speaker 2 (29:21):
But I do, I do really appreciate you sharing, you know,
just even tapping into it a little bit. You know,
you mentioned health equity and I and I'm and I'm
understanding that it's a tie into prevention and you know,
(29:42):
just wanting people to embrace Okay, this is a thing.
We need to figure out how to to figure it out,
work with it, and cure it if we can catch
it when it's early. How do you incorporate or what
what do you do as far as health equity, you know,
how do you educate people? Are you actually incorporating fitness,
(30:05):
nutrition and all of that, So tell us a little
bit about how that ties into what you're doing.
Speaker 3 (30:12):
Absolutely, health equity for us is also paying attention to
our medical team, the client's medical team, to ensure that
they have a patient centered approach versus that kind of blind,
you know, masses approach on the treatment process. So typically
(30:32):
it's the surgery, chemo, radiation and different variations of that.
If you do a lumpec to me, removing a small tumor,
you know, with a small amount of breast tissue to
a mass tech to me removing a mass breast tissue
with a tumor, or double mass tecnomy to remove double
breast here with tumors and some that had spread to
lymph nodes various underneath the arms and other places. For us, uh,
(30:58):
you know, having that conversation with the client is important,
you know, the bedside manners, you know, and so if
you're in a zip code that has more access, if
you will to better treatment options, better conversations, better bedside manners,
you know, we can't have that. It's a good article
out there called Bankhead to Buckhead, and it really goes
(31:20):
into differentiation pieces of how access whether it's education, to
health systems to affordable housing options. Everyone should have access
to these things, not just that people live in certain
zip codes. And so for us, it's educating on all stakeholders,
whether it's the health systems from North Side to Piedmont
(31:42):
and Henry County, to different political leaders within the various
municipalities across the Atlanta region, to know every single person involved.
I think in this decision making process, everyone needs to
have a seat at the table. With an equity. A
(32:03):
lot of low income or disadvantaged communities weren't invited to
have a seat at the table, and so we said,
well we'll we'll speak for the voiceless. In order to
have to have trust within the community, we have to
be our authentic selves. Has no problem to build that
trust so that we can speak on their behalf on Hey,
this isn't working. You know, we need better. We need
(32:24):
to demand better care, better treatment of better access. And
so we were doing that, which helps a lot.
Speaker 2 (32:32):
Yeah, you know what I as you were talking, this
question came to me. You know, homelessness, Veteran homelessness is
a big, big problem, right What what is the statistics
of veterans that you serve? And you know, are are
there more homeless veterans? And I don't know if you
(32:55):
have that number. This is just a question that I'm
asking in case you do. But you know, what is
the statistics of that the veterans versus homeless veterans? And
do you even keep is that something that you keep
track of? You know that you're really monitoring.
Speaker 3 (33:10):
We haven't monitored closely. And I'll tell you why. So
Georgia is not a high homeless veteran population state California
is Virginia used to be. Virginia's numbers actually got down
to zero. It's one of three states that zero. Yes,
and it's impressive because we're trying to identify how we
(33:34):
can replicate some of the models when it comes to
our survivors, because we deal with a veteran and non
veteran families battling breast cancer. And so for us with
the veteran families that are battling breast cancer, identifying what
resources they have and so if a veteran is diagnosed
with breast cancer, was their risk exposure while during deployments
(33:57):
and so then there are one hundred percent covered their
treatment options and a lot of veterans don't know that.
And so it's our job to educate our communities to
make sure that they know of all of their resources
so they do not have to battle in silence. They
do not have to you know, work in silos, you know,
using us as a nonprofit partner to help in their
(34:20):
back but also plugging them into all the resources through
the Veterans Administration and all the veterans resources that are
out there within the veterans community.
Speaker 2 (34:29):
Yeah, you know, the before I started doing my i'm
studying now and you know, just realizing how many veterans,
even just outside of my studies, which led me to
some of the information that I do have now, I
didn't realize how many veterans don't really know that there's
(34:54):
resources for them, or they don't have the access, or
they think they don't have the access. And it's because
of mis education, right because they're not getting led and
it's you know.
Speaker 4 (35:05):
It's twofold. I think I think it's twofold.
Speaker 2 (35:08):
You know, some of it does take you making an
effort to find the information, and then there's so much
negative stigma around the veterans affairs. Some of it may
be truthful, but I feel personally, I feel like they're
they're really trying. They're making a much better effort, especially
(35:29):
when it comes to women's health. You know, the fact
is there's a lot more veteran than their people to
support them. That's the main fact, which is why organizations
such as yourself, you know, I will survive inc DSP waypoint.
That's why these organizations are here, Like we're that plug
right where that fill the gap. We're filling in the gap.
(35:52):
You know, trying to plug into bigger resources. So we
could say, hey, send them our way or we'll send
them your way, but it's the eduction piece, the lack
of knowledge, while a lot many veterans just are still
without the support that they need. So, like, you know,
I'm gonna keep saying this, Anisa, kudos to everything that
you're doing, you know, and all those you know nonprofits
(36:15):
that are there trying to support our communities.
Speaker 4 (36:18):
It's it's it's a big shoe to fill, it.
Speaker 2 (36:21):
Really is, but it's very rewarding, you know, just me
being a part of one. I sometimes sit and I'm like,
I'll be a part of this one too. I'll be
a part of this one too. But you can only
do so much, right because you do have to come
back to your own health, your own you know, making
sure you're you're able to support. You've got to support
(36:41):
yourself so that you can support others.
Speaker 4 (36:44):
So thank you. I just love everything that you're doing.
All right. So coming to a.
Speaker 2 (36:51):
Close, I want to thank you so much Anissa for
sharing your journey and your insights with us today. You know,
for just you know, giving us a little bit more
of who you are and what you do. Seeing how
you live unapologetically and honor your mother's legacy through such
meaningful work is truly, truly, truly inspiring. So with that,
(37:13):
how can our viewers connect with you? How can they
find you?
Speaker 3 (37:19):
Yes, please connect with me. I'm on LinkedIn Anissa Palmer.
My Instagram is the Anissa Palmer. Someone else got Anissa
Palmer first, and also Facebook Anissa Palmer. If you want
to connect with the charity I will survived in dot
org and the charities all of our social media as well.
Speaker 4 (37:40):
One thing you didn't talk about, Anissa, is your book.
A bit about your book. I forgot to talk about that.
Speaker 2 (37:47):
She has a book, everyone, so tell us where we
can find the book and kind of just go get
into a little bit.
Speaker 4 (37:55):
What inspired you to write the book?
Speaker 3 (37:58):
Yes, absolutely so. First came out in twenty nineteen and
it's called Purpose the Ultimate Climax. And I wrote this
book because I found so many people that weren't living
in their purpose but also were living with a lot
of burnout. And so I think it was a game
changer to help from folks who are reading it and
(38:21):
purchased it all across the United States and the Caribbean, Canada,
India and they shared on how it has been able
to impact their lives. So I'm glad I followed it
into it to write it, and folks can purchase it
on Amazon on my website. And then the second book
(38:41):
I wrote called Nonprofit Success Blueprints, and it's really just
being a nonprofit space for as long as I've been
and seeing different nuances that have changed when it comes
to federal laws to state laws, and how in my
consulting business I'm able to help nonprofits really help you
know whether it's mission and drifting and how to avoid that,
(39:02):
but also collaborative efforts and partnerships. We like to use
a lot of private public partnerships. And so that book's
also available on Amazon or on my website as well.
Speaker 2 (39:13):
Yeah, so we'll make sure it's in the notes too.
I'll make sure all your contact information is in the note.
So tell everyone again where they can reach you, because
I did kind of cover that up with.
Speaker 4 (39:24):
Your book stuff. So tell them again where they can.
Speaker 2 (39:26):
Reach you, because I want them to find you.
Speaker 3 (39:31):
Yes, absolutely, please contact me palmerfirmgroup dot com. It is
my website where I do a lot of consulting, and
all the books are there and then you know can
connect with me on LinkedIn, Instagram, the Anissa Palmer, Facebook
Anissa Palmer and then for the charity, I Will Survive
in dot org and we're all over social media as well.
Speaker 2 (39:55):
Thank you, Anissa, thank you for joining us today, and
to all all our listeners, thank you for tuning in
to living unapologetically beyond the Uniform. If today's episode inspired you,
please like, share, and pass this along to other veterans
who could benefit from these conversations. Remember to join me
(40:17):
live every Friday at eleven am for more stories and
insights that empower you to live boldly and thrive beyond
the uniform. Until next time, keep living unapologetically.
Speaker 1 (40:34):
This has been Living Unapologetically Beyond the Uniform with your host,
Renee Jones Hutson. We hope you found inspiration and valuable
insights in today's episode. Remember your journey of redefining, rediscovering,
and reaffirming your life post military is unique and powerful.
Stay connected with us for more stories, advice and support.
(40:58):
Until next time, Stay strong, wrong, and stay empowered. Listen
Friday's eleven am Eastern on the Bold Brave TV Network
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