Hi friends! In this episode I'm expanding on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on student well-being and academics. There is a lot of fear mongering about this topic, so I'm bringing some calm to the chaos. Le me know what you think! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thestewardproject/support…

Hi Friends! It's been a minute since I've dropped an episode of the podcast...and by a minute, I mean 3 years! As a solo social worker in a school district working through the pandemic, it's been a challenge to do anything extra. But now I'm back! Thank you to those of you who kept asking about the podcast and gently pushed me to get things moving …

Hi Friends! In this moment, we are all in some form of shelter-in-place/lockdown/quarantine as we try to navigate this global pandemic. COVID-19 has taken over our lives. And for some of us, it's created some dysregulation and feelings of instability. The truth is, we are experiencing a global TRAUMA. And many of us are experiencing the stages of g…

Radical Self-Care for Helpers, Healers & Change-makers includes the regular practice of REMEMBERING. As our work gets more challenging and our world gets more chaotic, it’s vital to pull back into our WHY. Work with other humans is messy...so why THIS work? Remembering who we are, at the core of our being, helps us gain an understanding of the ways…

In this episode of The Steward Project podcast, I'm offering something a little different. This episode, I'm offering a guided meditation to help us expand our containers in order to thrive in a challenging world as we do radical work. When I was in Mexico for my yoga retreat, I made sure to sneak down to the beach and record this guided meditation…

In this episode of The Steward Project podcast, I'm sharing what I call the Radical Self-Care Reality Check. Rates of burn-out, chronic illness, and death by suicide are on the rise among Helpers, Healers, and Change-makers. This has long-term impacts on us as human beings but also impacts the outcomes we are trying to achieve for those we serve an…

In this episode of The Steward Project podcast, we're exploring the cultivation of compassion as an act of Radical self-care. Compassion is the foundation of a Radical Self-Care practice. Without self-compassion, we may not believe that we need or are worthy of the same care we give to others. We may feel that self-care is selfish or a luxury. But …

In this episode of The Steward Project Podcast, I'm getting real about burn-out. It's a topic that is coming up a lot and there is growing awareness of what burn-out is and how it impacts us. However, there is a special flavor of burn-out experienced by those of us in the Helping, Healing, or Change-making fields. Join me for this in-depth discussi…

In this episode of The Steward Project, I want to talk about Love & Light and Good Vibes Only. Now, you know I'm a big believer in Love & Light. And in Good Vibes. Absolutely. But there's this way of using these things to cover up sadness, anger, frustration, or hopelessness. It's used to silence the pain of others, to invalidate the uncomfortable …

In this episode of The Steward Project, let's talk about Healing and Healers. Let me start by saying I believe in healing and I believe there are Healers in the world. The healing process requires reverence and space to truly work...but what happens when everyone is promising to "heal" us with a 60 minute yoga class or a sound healing or a reiki se…

In this episode of The Steward Project, I want to give you permission to SLOW DOWN. As helpers, healers, activists, and changemakers, we are exposed to a lot of oppression and injustice in the world. And we often run towards it in order to be of service to those suffering first-hand from these injustices. But sometimes, we have to slow down, pull a…

Spiritual Bypass is defined as, "the use of spiritual practices and beliefs to avoid dealing with our painful feelings, unresolved wounds, and developmental needs." As we start any spiritual journey, we must become aware of spiritual bypass and how that can impact our path. For some, coming across a teacher or "guru" who is engaging in spiritual by…

It's Back to School time! Whether you're getting your own kids ready to go back to school or you're going back to school yourself (as a student or an educator), you know the drill...school supply shopping, getting that new first-day-of-school outfit, and preparing for the first day.The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act is the federal law that …

This episode of The Steward Project Podcast came from a post I saw on Instagram. The post hit a nerve for me and when I saw the comments from fellow social workers I knew I had to address this topic: Ethics & Humanity.When we think about our work with clients, we must understand and uphold privacy and confidentiality. Of course. We must also hold v…

This latest episode of The Steward Project podcast explores the difference between caring for others and carrying them. When we CARE for others, we help guide them towards love & belonging. When we CARRY others, we keep them from doing the accountability work needed to change but we also set ourselves up for serious burnout. Join me as I share how …

Let’s talk about what’s happening on our southern border. The separation of families, specifically separation of children from their parents, is causing severe trauma. What does this mean? In this episode, I share briefly about what is meant when people say “these kids are being traumatized” and share a few tips on self-care as we fight these despi…

Welcome to Episode 4 of The Steward Project Podcast, a conversation on mental health. Specifically, depression and suicide in the wake of the recent suicides of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain. If you or someone you love suffers from depression or have/have had suicidal thoughts, this is the episode for you. In this episode, I share some brain scie…

May is Foster Care Awareness month! This month I'm sharing about the foster care system. This beast of a system that cares for almost half a million kids yearly is still somewhat mysterious to those outside of it. This is part 2 of a 3-part series...Part 1: The What, Where & How of foster care w/ data & info; Part 2: The Who of foster care, sharing…

May is Foster Care Awareness month! This month I'm sharing about the foster care system. This beast of a system that cares for almost half a million kids yearly is still somewhat mysterious to those outside of it. This will be a 3-part series...Part 1: The What, Where & How of foster care w/ data & info; Part 2: The Who of foster care, sharing my p…

Welcome to The Steward Project podcast! In this first episode, Nicole shares about the journey thus far and how 20+ years of social work experience has informed her current work in the world. How did she get started in social work? What has the path over a 20 year career looked like? What are the challenges we face in this helping, healing, and cha…

Hi there! I'm Nicole Steward and I'd like to introduce you to The Steward Project podcast. The goal of this podcast is to create a space to discuss the intersections of service, social justice, spirituality and self-care. Yes, that's a lot of S's but each one is vital to those of us doing helping, healing or change-making work. Join me as we build …