Telling my storyby Phillip Cooke
You think you know me?
You think you can tell my story?
What I can and can’t handle?
Why do you try to set up a wall?
Place me in a box?
Surround me with a barb-wire fence?
Label me and put me in some “neat” category?
Trust is earned–not demanded!
Assumptions are detrimental to the human spirit, mind, and body
Lies seek to kill and destroy
Hate divides and conquers
I only know me
Only I can tell MY story!
I know what I can and can’t handle
I bust down walls
The box gets broken down and disposed
The barb-wire fence is forever snapped
From the same red blood are all nations and peoples of the Earth
Trust is precious like gold
It’s oK to say I don’t know
The truth sets me free
Love builds bridges and connects people together
I know where I have been
I know where I am today
I know where I’m going tomorrow
So I ask again
Do you know who I am?
NO! I know who I am!!
Education: Berea College (AAS Industrial Technology Management, 1995), Columbus State Community College (AA, 1998), Ohio State University (BA Geography, 2002), *Southern New Hampshire University (MA Communication)
*10/2021-present
Peer Specialist, Bee Well LLC, Fountain House
Member, Education Unit, Fountain House
Certified Recovery Peer Advocate-Provisional (#CRPA-P-4290)
Certified Peer Specialist-Provisional (#NYCPS-P-3522)
Certified Tax Preparer, Community Tax Aid/Fountain House
Academy of Peer Services Support Volunteer, Peer Academy, Fountain House
Connecticut Center for Addiction Recovery-Designated Recovery Coach (CCAR-RC)
Certified Opioid Overdose First Responder (as of August 1, 2018)
safeTalk-Trained Suicide Prevention Counselor (as of July 20, 2017)
Public Speaker, Writer, and Group Facilitator
Founder, Hope and Success For The People
Founding Board Member (Treasurer) and Volunteer, The Friendship Squad
Member and Volunteer, Access To Recovery Coalition
Volunteer Staff Writer, helpNYC Corporation
Board Member At-Large and Co-Chair Professional Affairs and Development Committee, New York Association of Black Psychologists (as of September 14, 2021)
Editorial Board Member, Mental Health Affairs Blog
Master of Arts Degree Candidate, Communication-New Media and Marketing (Online), Southern New Hampshire University
Ph.D. Seminar Student, Mental Health Psychoanalysis, Harlem Family Institute
Honorary Doctorate of Divinity (Hon. D.D.), Ordained Minister, Universal Life Church
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