We at MI Healthy Mind are delighted to receive multiple 2021 Muse Creative Awards for our episodes “Returning Citizens” and “The Perfect Storm”. These awards allow us to spread stories of hope and to help eliminate the stigma surrounding mental illness. Our slogan, “Let’s Talk About It!” is an everyday reminder to each of us that the work we do is truly important in promoting the conversation, support and acceptance that is so critical to the one in five Americans suffering from some form of mental illness.

“Returning Citizens” explores the hardships faced by those re-entering society after incarceration, and explains why these individuals need our collective support rather than judgment. “I just felt like being a hustler was the only thing I knew how to do.” Leon El-Alamin understands how and why so many returning citizens find themselves trapped in a cycle that lands them repeatedly in jail. And he’s dedicated to helping break that cycle. Mr. El-Alamin, founder of M.A.D.E. Institute, and Derrick Jackson, Director of Community Engagement at Washtenaw Sheriff, share what they’re doing to help former inmates reintegrate into society, and avoid recidivism.

In the explosive episode, “The Perfect Storm”, MI Healthy Mind asks Kevin Fischer, director of the National Alliance of Mental Illness, Michigan (NAMI of Michigan), Leon El-Alamin from M.A.D.E. Institute, and Dr. Carmen Maria McIntyre, renowned psychiatrist, to shed light on the circumstances, frame of mind, and history of the African American community that are driving the protests and unrest of 2020 and 2021. “For centuries, and definitely for decades, African Americans have felt helpless and hopeless…We just try to live for today, because we don’t feel like we have a voice.” Dr. McIntyre beautifully sums up the sentiment of many African Americans as feeling unheard and unseen for too long.

“Winning these awards could never have been possible without the dedicated work of our Team and Crew [at Relativity Communications and Team Wellness Center] through everything we’ve faced this year.  For this I thank them all, as well as those brave heroes who have continued to share on our show their stories of triumph over the most unimaginable odds,” says Millie Elston, Executive Producer of MI Healthy Mind and President of Relativity Communications.

Thank you, Mr. Fischer, Mr. El-Alamin, Dr. McIntyre, and Mr Jackson for making these award-winning episodes possible by sharing your stories and expertise. And thank YOU for your viewership and continued support of our show!