Emma Smith | Author

Helping Families in Need: A Year-Round Commitment

Nov. 9, 2024

Every holiday season, our community comes together with a beautiful display of generosity. From toy drives to meal donations, people step up to make the season brighter for those in need.

And while these contributions are crucial, families need our support long after the decorations… Read More >>

The Medicaid Mental Health Gap

April 6, 2024

If you have Medicaid, like a third of all Michigan residents, you may have noticed that finding a therapist who is willing and able to take your insurance has become increasingly difficult in the past year or so.

At the start of 2023, mental health therapists began noticing a sharp … Read More >>

It's 10pm... Do You Know What Your Children Are Watching?

Oct. 21, 2023

When I was 11, I stayed up late one night watching the 1976 adaptation of Steven King’s Carrie by myself in the family living room. It absolutely terrified me. I don’t think I slept soundly for a week. And although I can laugh about it now, I actually consider that expe… Read More >>

Humans: Are We Toxic, or Just Learning?

Aug. 26, 2023

In the winter of 2010, I was newly independent. Only 19 and living with roommates while going to college, I also had a new best friend, Jenny. She and I had been attached at the hip for the better part of a year, and I was experiencing the intense kind of female friendship that is so often … Read More >>

Summer Is Here: Is Your Beach Body Ready?

June 17, 2023

There’s a meme I came across a few years ago, perhaps my favorite meme, that depicts a woman pointing angrily while shouting, “The beach gonna get whatever body I give it!”

I whole-heartedly embrace and appreciate this sentiment. For too long, my body has prevented… Read More >>

Foster Care: The Hidden Need in Your Community

May 13, 2023

Most of us shy away from the idea of foster parenting. It’s daunting just thinking about caring for a child who’s experienced neglect and abuse. We worry about the behaviors they’ll have and whether or not we’ll be able to meet their needs. We wonder whether they&rsq… Read More >>

Where the Blame Lies

March 4, 2023

On the morning of December 14th, 2012, 20-year-old Adam Lanza took a gun from the safe in his home and murdered his mother before driving to Sandy Hook Elementary, where he shot and killed 20 children and six staff members before taking his own life.

Medical reports would later reve… Read More >>

The Trouble with Boundaries

Jan. 7, 2023

Boundaries.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last five-plus years, you’re sure to have heard this buzzword floating around within your social circles. But lately when I hear someone mention boundaries, the immortal words of Inigo Montoya come to mind: &ldqu… Read More >>

Prayer, Gratitude, and Grace

Nov. 26, 2022

The other day, I was talking with a friend about prayer. She told me that her grandmother, who had five children, would write down her prayers for each of them and her 14 grandchildren every night.

Wow, I thought to myself, that sure sounds like a lot of work. I co… Read More >>