Slam the Gavel
Slam the Gavel
Danica Joan, M. Ed Has Created A Movement Of ProfessionalsThat Assist In Restoring Families
Ms. Danica Joan, back on Slam the Gavel, has dedicated her life to advocating for families after going through a contentious divorce. Her work continues to evolve, and she's created a network of experts who expand her ability to support parents as they enter new, often fraught, territory.
Danica Joan has developed expertise in three primary practice areas, and created informative social media platforms that provide support and guidance for individuals, families and professionals who are involved in custody matters.
We discussed her new community platform Hope4Families, which provides vetted resources to the Family Stabilization community, which serve families and children seeking professionals as well as the professionals themselves. Hope4Families is in pre-launch status: https://hope4families.net/welcome/
To reach Danica Joan, M.,Ed: https://kidsneedboth.org/about/ and https://danicajoan.com/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/kidsneedboth/permalink/4201306473255401/
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Good evening and welcome to Slam the Gavel, the show that tells it all regarding family court and CPS issues. I'm your host, Marianne Petri. And since 2016, Monica Shimonik has been coaching moms and dads as they navigate through the treacherous waters of the family court racket. Aside from workshops, which helps with specific problems, her 12-week signature course, The Best Interest of the Parent, uses a four-quadrant model to create a robust healing and empowerment system so that you control the narrative in your life, not the state. Use coupon code SLAM the gavel to get 10% off the course. And the website is included in the podcast notes. Right now, I've got another guest who's back on. Her name is Danica Joan. Last time she was on SLAM the Gavel was on April 27th of this year, 2021. And she has dedicated her life to advocating for families going through a contentious divorce. Her work continues to evolve, and she's created a network of experts who expand her ability to support you as you enter new, often fraught territory. And she's developed expertise in three primary practice areas. And we're going to talk about hopeforfamilies.net. And we've got a lot to talk about. So I welcome you, Danica. How are you doing?
SPEAKER_01:Hi, wonderful. Thank you for having me on again.
SPEAKER_00:Oh, glad to have you back on.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, we've got a lot going on. It's been um it uh it's not been a time of relaxation during this whole time of COVID. Um it's actually been an amazing opportunity to to create what's next for families. It's been um, and what's next is our team at Kids Need Both has been working diligently with uh um some tech guys to create a community, a platform community uh for families. And um, and we've actually given it its own domain, and it's called hopeforfamilies.net. Uh and the reason for doing that is our mission is to uh collaborate with all the experts and actually cause their effectiveness because we could touch one family at a time, or we could touch one professional at a time. And if we can support the effectiveness of these professionals and um and make their jobs more effective, we touch more families.
SPEAKER_00:Oh, definitely. And people need to support each other, and and that will that will give the support that everyone needs.
SPEAKER_01:Oh yeah, it it's been it's been something that I think for over 20 years. I've been in this work since 2001, and um, and it's I think from the very get-go, I was all about collaborating and curating um information that desperate families need because at that time I was that desperate parent who who was just begging for information. Um, and so I tried to pull it to pull it together and put it on a website. My first my first version of that was basically kind of a an information dump onto a website. And now we, you know, I'm looking at how the different social media platforms are going and what works and what doesn't work. Uh, and that's when I thought, you know, we can work smarter if we come together in unity uh to serve the families. And um in that, so I mean, we can talk about what works and what doesn't work. Uh, in currently in a lot of the social media groups that we uh that I kind of peruse and and stuff like that, are very much um the people are very disempowered. They're looking for some, you know, to for someone to say that it's gonna be okay. And they're also they're just so wounded that that sometimes the groups become sort of this place of sewage just to to swirl around in the same old, same old, and and that doesn't work. It's so important to get these people out of these groups where they're just dumping their emotions and get them with a like a trained person, a trained expert, like a coach in a safe space, like a coaching group. Um the other thing that I saw was uh courses. A lot of our professionals have shifted from in person to being able to do it online. Um, I think everybody it was a steep learning curve for all of us who who had no experience with online uh communication. So that's where we're supporting them as well in helping to in this platform that we're creating, it's connected to Zoom, it's something where you can have live groups, you can also have those just those uh those you know discussion boards and stuff like that. But also we've added the component of having a learning management system. Um, and one of the reasons my background is in instructional technology and and and education, so I see a huge value in providing these you know courses and things like that to not only courses that are the end user is the family, but courses that are for the professional development of these of um you know this professional community that's on the platform. Um and in that we also have uh added a directory. So we're curating, we're going, we're scouring the whole universe, anywhere where we can find an event that is of like mission and vision, is what we're up to. We're taking those events and we're putting it on our direct our um our calendar of events, and we're then we're pushing other people's events out into the other social media outlets. So there, so there's just like more um more people helping them to get the word out. And um, and I guess the last one is we're developing uh a directory of professionals for the parent user that um can subscribe and tap into just the right people that they need to find. And it's uh it's also rated. So the reason for the rating is because how many times have you asked for an attorney and somebody recommended it because that person won them their case, and then you get in there and they just they they've cost you tens of thousands of dollars and they haven't uh helped you at all. Uh so it's super important to to make sure that all of our professionals are here to to help families, not um monetize families, you know.
SPEAKER_00:Right. Because a lot of these families have just blown so much money on attorneys to the point that now they're practically broke trying to fight their battle to get their kids back.
SPEAKER_01:Oh, it's and it's just heartbreaking. And you would think that you know that somebody would have a conscience on the on the court level or or whatever to, but they don't have an answer. That's really what it is. They are so busy dealing, you know, you've got an attorney, they're not their background typically is not mental health counseling. Um so they don't know what to do with this, you know, this client that's just a hot mess. Um they just so it gets to the point where they're just okay, they they get um they just take the money and they do what they need to do. Uh and they're not the the parent, and I've always said this, is before you hire an attorney, you really need to hire yourself a coach, whether you call it a custody coach, a divorce coach, or or whatever, you need to get yourself plugged in with a coach that can be your shining light to guide you through this emotional roller coaster. Um, and they will tell you if they feel that it's a point where you need to get an attorney, but they will also um attorneys are a tough thing because the moment that you you hire an attorney, you are declaring war in many respects.
SPEAKER_00:Definitely, yeah, because the other side becomes defensive and then they hire an attorney, and it'd be it would just be great if people could just mediate and be mature enough to do that. But sometimes this is not the case.
SPEAKER_01:I think you know that I something in the state of Florida, an attorney cannot represent both sides. Like if a if a party they say, hey, I we would like to do this as as amicable as possible, but we still want that legal representation to help us to make sure we're putting laying the groundwork. I mean, you're laying the groundwork for 20 years of co-parenting, so they you want to know that it's done right, but you can't, if you bring in an attorney, they have to represent one parent against the other parent, which automatically puts the other unrepresented parent in survival mode, and and um, and it's that's just it's really sad. Um, I do know that you can do mediation-centered uh divorce or custody and stuff, and you know, mediators come in different flavors. So there's educator mediators like I am, um, there's mental health counselor mediators, and then there's attorney mediators. Um, so you you do have access to something that's not so adversarial, but education is is the key to you know to going through this with power and without reacting and and escalating things unintentionally.
SPEAKER_00:And the the thing is that the sad thing is that things can escalate very quickly.
SPEAKER_01:Oh my goodness. Yeah, you're you're talking about um, you know, a lot of times we get into relationship and we're like, oh my gosh, I'm at the love of my life. Well, until you give birth to the love of your life, really, your children are like these child that can do no wrong, and and you love them and they cause you so much pain, but you love them anyway. And you can't really say that necessarily with another adult that causes you pain. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER_00:You know, I it's just some parents are just you know, they've never heard of a divorce coach or you know, even mediation, um, or or they've tried that and that hasn't worked, but it's it is a good idea to have a coach get you through this and prepare you for what could happen next.
SPEAKER_01:For sure. Um and and I I will tell you, I have several situations where I have saved people um you know twenty thousand dollars or more. There was a couple that came to me in them in the midst of the pandemic, everything just went you know sideways with them. And they were completely you know divorced and and everything was settled, but um, you know, life creates triggers. So they fought in court uh for a while until one party, you know, their attorney says, you know, before we move forward, I need 20 grand. And this is a this is a situation that was already you know divorced and and a done deal, uh, but things weren't working. So this person came to me and they said, We I'd really like for us to go through um a mediation. So I had several sessions with them, and there was I was mediating slash coaching and working, trying to get this, these co-parents on the same page and come up with some agreement. And uh oh my goodness, they they saved a fortune. Not to I mean, and that's just the monetary um example of the the emotional uh damage that could have it could have caused, you know, with the children and stuff like that.
SPEAKER_00:And I don't think parents realize that when they do get divorced, the damage that is going to happen in through the family court system with the kids, they don't realize this is I'm sorry, my voice is going, but uh that this is going to happen.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, it just it's um you don't know. I mean, you don't have any experience in even if you have someone uh in your life who's experienced divorce or your parents divorced or whatever, um it is it is a whole mind field that you just I mean, and for one thing, you're not thinking because you're you're you when you get into that emotional survival state, you're thinking of your primitive brain instead of the the in the the logical parts of your brain. And um, so even biologically, it's not smart to take an emotional situation and go it alone.
SPEAKER_00:No, and you you can't go it alone when you're going into that courtroom where there's no cameras, there's no jury, there's no backup. And sometimes parents can't get a lot of people to go with them.
SPEAKER_01:That is so true. Um, I was very fortunate that uh when I was, and a lot of times when you are at that broken point of ending a marriage, which you know you thought you would it would never happen to you, but it did, but when you get to the point where I'm um this marriage is not working, and um knowing that there's more than just heartache with your spouse, there's you know that these children uh are really the the the victims of something that they have no control over. Um and it's and it really is scary. I was very fortunate to have my sister be there every single court hearing, and even and many of them got postponed and diverted, and it was just all these tactics um and stuff like that. But she was she was there by my side no matter what, and that made a big difference. And I'll tell you, that is not something that everybody has available to them, um, and and which is another reason why to to get yourself plugged into um a coach situation.
SPEAKER_00:Because these courts, they you know, the the opposing counsel is always pulling a continuance, you know, a continuance, it's it can go on for months. So it's like hurry up and wait. Oh, now we have to wait. And it's good to have a coach, you know, guide you through that, even that stress.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, you know, attorneys are designed, they are wired strategically, they are strategic in there. So when they look and they see, oh, well, you know, this hearing is not this hearing is not going to go in our favor. So what uh chess piece can I move so that it won't hurt my client that we have a chance of winning? So they completely are not even thinking about standing up and representing the child because they're not paid to represent the child, they're paid to represent their client even if they don't like their client, um, even if they don't believe their client's doing the right thing. Um, a really good attorney will also put their client with a coach so that first of all their client is not blowing their phone up with all of these emotional, reactionary, fearful calls. Um there they actually have a calmer client that uh that you know will will like them in the end, you know, because they'll appreciate the fact that they they cared enough, that clon that that uh attorney cared enough about the well-being of that parent after everything's said and done to put them with a coach.
SPEAKER_00:Now, when did when did you start this um hopeforfamilies.net? Did how long did that take?
SPEAKER_01:It took, so we did, it was last year, April, uh, we had our conference. It was in 2020. We did our conference in April that shifted from in-person in Lakeland, Florida to an online conference, um, and it exploded. I mean, it just really expanded from uh I think nine speakers to 18 speakers, and um we were able to reach, I think, did I say, I think it was 12 countries that plugged into our conference, our online conference. So that was what really had us say, wow, this is amazing! Like now this conference is because it's online and it's recorded, we have it, you know, it's life goes beyond the weekend that it happened. Um so we thought, how can we help people um ongoingly to um and you know, and bring everybody together? And it took about six months of weekly meetings with my team to just bounce ideas off and what works, what didn't work, what what's missing, where the gaps are in family advocacy and stuff. And then we and it just sort of it started taking shape, you know. It was like this this ball of clay that started slowly realizing what we wanted to create it to be, and and so it was just it, it's just brilliant um that we get to offer offer this to not only the families, the the parents, but we get to offer this to be of support to the professionals too, because everybody's doing, you know, they've got their their own thing, they've got their own shingle out, um, and they're doing great work, but we're all kind of doing it on our own, uh, trying to make a difference. And I was like, we need to be, we need to have some sort of an alliance or some sort of a network that we can come together and help each other to to be better. And there's no reason why some of these people that I know, they're they don't even make money at uh doing this as a profession. They are supplementing it with another job so that they can still be a voice to these families. And I just I'm like, you know, there's there's there's got to be a happy balance where um, you know, parents can pay, but not go broke in finding the right people to help them um navigate this. Um so the concept is bringing in all of these. Um I've actually put a call out to to find 20 leaders in family advocacy globally who want to help us to be content creators for this platform. That means we'll help them with writing their courses, we will help them with start having their um their live groups, um, any anything that uh any place where we can. This can be a certain, you know, this can help them to further their mission. We want to be there alongside to kind of walk them through it because not everybody is like really high tech and stuff like that, and and some of the professionals need coaching on that side. The reason that we decided to create a whole new domain called HopeforFamilies.net was because we did not want it to be kids need both and our programs. We did not want people to lose their own identity in what they're creating by coming up under kids need both organization. So this whole platform is really a consortium of professionals coming together to have services for families.
SPEAKER_00:And I like how you said it this is a global problem.
SPEAKER_01:It really is. We had, I think Father's Day, we've also been doing monthly panels. It just so happened that in June we did two panels or two different weekends. We had panel discussions, but normally we do a panel once a month and it's an hour long, and we bring a few experts on. And in June on Father's Day, we had representation from uh Canada, the UK, and the United States. I know there was at least three countries represented for that particular panel, and um, and that's part of what we're doing as far as bringing in professionals that we invite to come on to live panel discussions. Um, and then of course, with those panels, we're able to um provide that content to uh you know to to families and and stuff like that as well. Uh so in a way we're doing sort of a a one-hour um conference once a month.
SPEAKER_00:That's good. Um will this eventually branch off, I don't know, to older, well, young adults that have been through the court system that you could help?
SPEAKER_01:I think the way that because it's a collaboration project of uh different agencies and um and professionals and stuff like that, the the the key to being part of the platform is being is having a similar mission and vision. And that would include working with young people. I know one of our one of our board members, uh Dawn McCarty, she was a she was a child who was abducted by her parent, and she wasn't able to reconnect with her father until she was 44 years old, I believe. And uh, or maybe it was 44 years later, but anyways, about that time, she finally reconnected with her father and kind of got a lot of the missing pieces to her life story together. So now what she does is she's of service to uh to families uh through I think um safe at home is what her um program is called. And it's about cybersecurity, it's about because that was, I mean, she was abducted. This is this is something that is um it's it's kind of a hotbed thing in the community with with um you know mostly in the lines of those the prostitution rings and and all that, but uh, but in the family part, there's about I think four percent of every uh child of divorce is uh has been subjected to some sort of parental abduction. Point being is when we come out of the dysfunctional, hopefully we can actually reduce the amount of children who are traumatized by divorce and battles, but there is going to be a percentage who grow up and that's their childhood, and we have to be there for those young adults to find healing.
SPEAKER_00:And and the thing is, how will they come to you? Some some of them don't even know what happened, or they just brush it under the carpet and go on with their lives. Hopefully they seek you out?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I think it's a lot of it is just getting the word out. I know um we're we also generate um lots of different social media posts, whether it's blogs or memes or um or videos and stuff like that, that we kind of look at our community and see where where everything is kind of get a um the temperature of the community and we create our own unique blogs as well as sharing other people's. Um you know, it it's unfortunately in those situations, um it is through awareness, it is through, remember thinking about all those uh posters and or you know, those billboard campaigns that try to, you know, to reduce people from you know from the or for people who were addicted to cigarettes, you know. Um a lot of times they don't get it, or people who have um, you know, who are trying to get off of drugs and alcohol, a lot of it is just getting the word out and having a conversation that um just keep the conversations going and they'll find their way to us.
SPEAKER_00:It's yeah, I'm sure it's hard for them to process everything. And um, like as far as media platforms, have you thought of TikTok?
SPEAKER_01:We've we've been looking at, we're trying to get to all of the different uh social media platforms that we that we can, and yet we are a small team. So um I'm sure that that's a possibility. That's that is definitely a possibility. Another one is I know that we have several people in our advocacy groups that we would be supporting that have programs for schools. That would be huge because as much as it's important to get legislative change happen, it's important to get the courts to to get it, to get the importance of um preserving the family ties. It that's a top-down approach, and it does things don't really move very fast if you go top down, because if you make legislative changes, fine, you made a law that says we're we in the state of Florida are pro-equal shared parenting. That's wonderful, but if you don't have a buy-in from the judges, and you've got judges that their old way of thinking was when the marriage didn't work out, the the mom takes care of the kids and the dad becomes the breadwinner. They can easily take their personal use and say, you know what, I know legislative set says this, but I have the right to override legislation and say for the best interest of the child, um, they they need to be in one home. So, really, to make true change, and this is something I've sort of discovered, I've been in the discovery of is grassroots. You've got to have grassroots conversations, you've got to have conversations with your neighbors, you need to you know get into into your service organizations like Kiwanas Clubs or or different places the Alliance Club and different places and have conversations with people that you know and that know you. That's really what's going to shift things. And um, I know we're a member of we're we're partnered with um the United Way of Central Florida, so that's also a great way to connect with you know nonprofits to other nonprofits without going um straight to the family level, that's important too. But um it's like it's like a multi-prong approach.
SPEAKER_00:And that that's a lot to do. I like do you have any help in someone helping you or you have a staff helping you?
SPEAKER_01:I do. I have very small staff, and um and I I I find that the busier I am, like the the less I'm able to sleep because my mind is going like crazy in the middle of the night. I'm like, oh my gosh, I gotta do this and I gotta do that. But I do have I have a great uh technology team that's been working on the platforms, and um, and we also have uh I have an assistant that's been amazing at you know supporting us as far as generating social media and helping people with uh their course creation and stuff like that. Um and then you know it's it's really made up of a bunch of advocates that are just I'm all in, I want to do whatever it takes to get the word out because this um this is this is horrible for families. We are the family is the the core of society. If you don't restore, if you you can't restore society without without starting with the families.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, that's so true. Um, and like Dr. Mark Roseman said, these court systems are destroying families for like six generations to come down.
SPEAKER_01:Oh, it's yeah. Um one thing that I uh I know is that yeah, we program. If you think about um a little a little human being is comes into the world like a brand new iPhone, it comes off the factory uh factory, it's got some basic programming in it, some basic things, but it's not been customized. And when as a child gets older, their their programming is developing. Um and the thing is, is the programmer, which are the moms and the dads, the programmer is programming them based upon the the fallibility of where how they were programmed. So if they were programmed with just a mom or just a dad, and they there is this like unspoken belief that the child just needs one parent. And it just it starts building the programming builds generation after generation, and it can be interrupted, like you can come from bad programming, um, and once you recognize what was unhealthy, what worked and what didn't work, um, and heal yourself, you can create, you know, your children to have healthy programming, so to speak, um, you know, and help them along. But you know, you gotta help yourself. You gotta put that oxygen mask on first before you put it on your child, kind of thing. Right. Um, which is one of the reasons I really, you know, I I encourage. I I became a mom very young. I was 21 when I started having my children, and I get that in your 20s, you're still you're you're trying to learn how to be an adult, you're based upon your childhood programming, and then in the process, you're you know being a parent to, yeah, like there's a lot of things, a lot of ways that I am different in working with my grandchildren than um that and things I wish I could have had a do-over with my own children. So, and which is why I'm I encourage my children, please wait, wait, wait to to have your families and um you know just a little bit later. But I also get that um the key is not necessarily the age, um, it's it's at the level of healing that you are that needs to happen first.
SPEAKER_00:Right, and that's where the coach comes in also and helps with the healing.
SPEAKER_01:Yes, and and and that's where you know schools, if we had schools that were teaching teach had a specific class for healthy communication, that would make a huge difference because a lot of this is all based in the ability to be, you know, healthy communication. And you're not really taught that. I don't know, I don't know, can you think of us of a class that's offered, you know, in the K through 12 level that taught that strictly teaches communication?
SPEAKER_00:No, I mean all we had was how to um handle a checkbook. I mean I remember that class, that was it.
SPEAKER_01:Yes, and that's irrelevant now, right? Um yeah, you know, communication and communication is um, and this is something that I work with with my clients, whether I'm coaching them or I'm mediating them, is to get them to see what it's like on the other side, on the the other person's uh perspective. And it's just so easy to um in relationships, especially you know, when I whenever marriage has gone sour, it's so easy to to almost I say objectify uh the other person like they're an object, like they are either an obstacle or something that doesn't work anymore, doesn't work for me, and they don't work for my kids because um I know your deepest, darkest secrets, and um we had a collusive bond where we kept each other's um you know secrets together, but no longer is that acceptable. And um so yeah, communication, um, teaching the one parent, teaching both of the parents that the other side is human and fallible, and uh it's important to see um to to have communication and to let go let go of a lot of things in order to be whole and complete. But a lot of people are afraid to be vulnerable because vulnerability was what got them into an unhealthy relationship.
SPEAKER_00:No, that's very true, and then they're worried it will be used against them.
SPEAKER_01:Oh yeah, and sometimes it is. And that's where if you had a coach who was thinking doing the thinking for you and helping you to get grounded and stuff, they could tell you, you know what, don't though those those items, and I know they worry you and you're afraid that they're gonna use it as a weapon. Um, you know, a coach could tell you, forget about that. Forget how many times do we, in reaction to what we think somebody else is going to do, we make a move. Not because they've done anything, but but we're we're making a um a strategic move in reaction to what they might do. Right, and then we mess it all up, you know, it's like um inviting, you know, having a family dinner and everybody's bringing uh potluck and stuff. Um oh my goodness, I had one time a friend of mine, she was wonderful, and she would say, Okay, everybody, you know, bring a covered dish or favorite dish. But then in her mind, because she wasn't sure what everybody was gonna bring, she was like, Well, I'm I'm going to buy everything just in case uh we get too many macaroni salads and stuff. So I'm like, okay, so now we have enough food to feed an army. And um, you know, just it you can see how in even in that silly example, how everything can really go askew by um by living living in reaction to what might happen. To the I I call it the what if world. Yes.
SPEAKER_00:You know, and I think people, you know, they jump to conclusions, and if they could just co-parent calmly, that would be that would be great for everyone. And I I have seen it done. I have a friend, I I have two friends that they're in co-parenting relationships all the way up to their kids graduated, high school, and everyone is just very uh amicable. It can be done. But then there's those, I don't know how many percentage that it just doesn't work that way with them.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, you know, um I would say, you know, those who react badly and they resort to parental alienation and stuff like that, um, a lot of times they're completely, they've completely blindsided the the other parent. The other parent did not expect that when they asked for a divorce, that the the one perpetrating parental alienation was um was going to act react so like like in such a um you know obsessed way, like win at all cost, even if the children are destroyed, as long as I win, win, win. When you think about it, and this was something I had to really ponder over the last um few months, is what was their little child like that was, you know, what happened when they were a little child that would have them resort to that? I mean, and more than likely, um, I know in you know, in some situations, in my situation, um there was the I'm so afraid you're gonna kidnap my children from me that I am going to preemptively kidnap them from you. That's that example of living in the what if, and now the children are traumatized. Um it was I I during during COVID, I actually, my kids they lost their father. Um and it was it was an interesting thing for me to sort out emotionally because I really uh we went through a horrible, horrible custody battle that lasted for for um for solidly over five years. And um, you know, and but I was a stand for I'd always been a stand for the kids to have a loving relationship with both of us and that both of us participate in uh equal shared parenting. And um, but I think it was, you know, when I looked at now, because he he passed away in March, and I think about um there was some bittersweet moments because you know people who didn't know him were like they were almost elevating him to sainthood. And my kids and I, we were like, I know they were thinking this, and I was silently thinking this. I'm like, okay, those people don't know him, like know him completely, and um, and it's not my place to set the record straight and say, Oh, you just don't know who he really is or was. Um, but I actually from I had this really weird like compassion because I know my kids were hurting so bad, they wanted to have they loved their father, and as much as they knew all the warts, they knew all the ways that he was flawed, they loved him anyway. So my heart hurt because my kids were hurting, and so that's what drove me to be able to help my kids sort out his affairs, help my kids with taking the burden off of writing the obituary, taking the burden off of planning the funeral and stuff. And you know, there were definitely some triggers of you know how you know, and I think that's what people do. Way when somebody dies, suddenly for a moment, that person could do no wrong. Um, but I but but I also had the experience of compassion for him as the human that he was, the the the little boy that was so traumatized that he resorted to traumatizing. Um so I know it can be done. I know if I can make something workable and yeah, my kids are now adults and they're healing, they're still healing, but I think that's what you do in your 20s anyway. Right. Uh the it's important to for the advocates to come together and be this united force. Uh, I mean, we can be a force of nature to transform families.
SPEAKER_00:Definitely. Um is there anything else you'd like to add?
SPEAKER_01:I would say um if there was anything I would say to um this platform, this community, or some of us are calling it a movement, um, is for families. Um we we haven't completely gotten past some of the beta parts of it. Um right now we're creating content, we're bringing together, in fact, we're soliciting for 20 uh professionals and advocates who want to partner with us to generate content for, I say for the platform, but it's really for themselves too, because they're writing, if they're writing a course that's a course they want to charge for, um they can do that. And the whole platform is designed to um offer any any service that you can offer any place else. We've tried to find uh figure out how we can offer it uh cheaper and better for the profession to cause the effective leadership of the professionals and to be of service to the family users as well.
SPEAKER_00:That's excellent. I'm so glad I had you on. I'll probably have you back on again, you know, with updates, you know. Um okay, Slam the Gav is a podcast to help the public understand what really goes on in these family courtrooms. I'm your host, Marianne Petrie, author of Dismantling Family Court Corruption, Why Taking the Kids Was Not Enough, and Cry Out for Justice Poems of Truth. Please join us again with Danica and other guests that will be coming on. Thank you so much, Danica.
SPEAKER_01:Thank you for having me.
SPEAKER_00:Thank you.