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A community is more than a place on a map. It's a collection of people, possibilities, and promises we make to one another. As President and CEO of the Shiawassee Regional Chamber of Commerce, Jordan Hankwitz is helping turn those promises into progress by supporting the partnerships, businesses, and bold ideas that allow rural communities not only to survive, but to thrive. Featured in 'The Curious Edition' of AwareNow Magazine: www.awarenowmagazine.com Guest:Jordan Hankwitz Host: Allié McGuire Music by: Louis Island Produced by: AwareNow Media

We often celebrate the courage it takes to overcome adversity, but what happens when overcoming isn't a choice? When life leaves us with circumstances we cannot change, strength takes on a different meaning, one rooted not in controlling what happens to us, but in discovering what remains within our control. In this deeply thoughtful reflection, we explore the quiet heroism of acceptance, the unexpected freedom found in letting go, and the profound truth behind five simple words: "I wasn't given a choice." Written & Narrated by: Paul S. Rogers Music by: Christof Walters Published in 'The Truth Edition' of AwareNow

Forty years after receiving a letter that reduced her academic performance to a series of percentile rankings, Sonja Montiel revisits the shame she carried and the story those numbers failed to tell. As the daughter of immigrants navigating two languages and cultures, she reflects on what happens when schools measure a child's performance without understanding the person behind it. In this deeply personal open letter, Sonja challenges us to reconsider how we define potential, communicate progress, and protect something no score should ever diminish: the joy of learning. Written & Narrated by: Sonja Montiel Music by: Borrtex Published in: The Truth Edition of AwareNow

Young people are often spoken about, studied, and represented by others, especially when the conversation turns to mental health. Through Life at Your School, filmmaker Céd Hopkins is changing that dynamic by placing the camera, the story, and the creative responsibility directly into students’ hands. In this conversation, we explore what becomes possible when young people are not simply invited into the room, but trusted to lead it.Featured in 'The Truth Edition' of AwareNow Magazine: www.awarenowmagazine.comGuest: Céd Hopkins & Luis RamirezHost: Allié McGuireMusic by: Ziv MoranProduced by: AwareNow Media

Janet Huey believes film can do more than hold our attention. It can create space for conversations we have been taught to avoid. As an impact filmmaker whose work explores mental health, domestic violence, generational trauma, addiction, and survivor advocacy, Janet is interested not only in the stories we tell, but in what those stories can change once they are told.Featured in 'The Truth Edition' of AwareNow Magazine: www.awarenowmagazine.comGuest: Janet HueyHost: Allié McGuireMusic by: Alon PeretzProduced by: AwareNow Media***If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, please know that you are not alone. You deserve to feel safe, to be heard, and to be supported. Confidential help is available through the National Domestic Violence Hotline. Call 1-800-799-SAFE (7233), text START to 88788, or visit thehotline.org.

Some stories are created. Others feel as though they have been waiting for us to become ready enough to carry them. For Gio Israel, what began as a search for connection became Seekers, a deeply personal journey across cultures, continents and generations to sit with those carrying ancient wisdom before that wisdom disappears. His work is not simply about preserving what elders know, but questioning what it means to receive something sacred, to honor it without owning it, and to recognize when the work we choose may also be the work that chose us.Featured in 'The Truth Edition' of AwareNow Magazine: www.awarenowmagazine.comGuest: Gio IsraelHost: Allié McGuireMusic by: BorrtexProduced by: AwareNow Media

Some people spend their lives following a pattern. Others find the courage to create their own. For Nancy Volpe Beringer, a journey through single motherhood, adult bullying and personal reinvention led her to earn a master's degree in fashion design at 61, become a finalist on Project Runway at 64, and discover a purpose far greater than fashion itself. Today, she's redefining what it means to be seen, celebrated and included, bringing that vision to the runway at MS Focus on Fashion, where people living with multiple sclerosis, myself included, will wear her designs. This is a story about more than what we wear. It's about what becomes possible when we finally allow ourselves, and each other, to belong.Featured in 'The Truth Edition' of AwareNow Magazine: www.awarenowmagazine.comGuest: Nancy Volpe BeringerHost: Allié McGuireMusic by: BirrajProduced by: AwareNow Media

There are experiences that divide our lives quietly into a before and an after, and cancer has a way of drawing that line without asking permission. For Christina Nicole Lynn Olson, breast cancer became more than something happening inside her body. It became a deeply personal journey through fear, change, identity and the complicated work of continuing to become yourself when so much suddenly feels uncertain.Featured in 'The Truth Edition' of AwareNow Magazine: www.awarenowmagazine.comGuest: Christina OlsonHost: Allié McGuireMusic by: Dor Ben LuluProduced by: AwareNow Media

For filmmaker Mike Coffey, living with cerebral palsy has shaped his perspective, but it has never limited his imagination. With his award-winning supernatural thriller One Eye Open arriving in select AMC theaters, he's bringing his vision to the big screen with a story designed to keep audiences on the edge of their seats. In this conversation, we explore the life behind the lens, the challenges of pursuing a creative dream while living with a disability, and what it means to finally see that dream come to life.Featured in 'The Truth Edition' of AwareNow Magazine: www.awarenowmagazine.comGuest: Michael CoffeyHost: Allié McGuireMusic by: Philip DanielProduced by: AwareNow Media

When JFo’s mother died, grief arrived as something enormous, unfamiliar and impossible to neatly explain. So JFo did what came most naturally: she began to draw it, eventually giving the thing she was feeling a face, a personality and a name, while her wife, JC Wilde, stood beside her as both witness and creative partner. What began in loss became Grief Monster, an illustrated exploration of what can happen when we stop trying to make grief disappear and instead make room for it to sit with us.Featured in 'The Truth Edition' of AwareNow Magazine: www.awarenowmagazine.comGuests: JFo & JC WildeHost: Allié McGuireMusic by: RisianProduced by: AwareNow Media

Twelve years ago, Daniel Matterson walked into a clinic as a young radiographer and walked out with a diagnosis that would change his life: multiple sclerosis. Rather than allowing that diagnosis to determine his future, he pursued a dream of becoming a doctor, turning his personal experience with MS into a professional purpose. Now, with a scholarship secured and a PhD beginning in September 2027, Dr. Matterson is preparing to study the very disease that changed his life, hoping to change what living with it looks like for others.Featured in 'The Truth Edition' of AwareNow Magazine: www.awarenowmagazine.comGuest: Dr. Daniel MattersonHost: Allié McGuireMusic by: Itay KashtiProduced by: AwareNow Media

Some people change the world by the roles they play. Others change it by refusing to play the roles the world has assigned them. RJ Mitte did both.Best known for his groundbreaking portrayal of Walter White Jr. in Breaking Bad, RJ was far more than an actor. Living with cerebral palsy, he became a powerful voice for disability representation, using his platform to challenge stereotypes, confront discrimination and advocate for a world where people are recognized for their abilities rather than defined by their disabilities. Through his work in film, television and advocacy, he helped open doors, shift perceptions and remind an industry, and a society, that inclusion is not an accommodation. It is an opportunity. When AwareNow first interviewed RJ following his work on Triumph, a film in which he starred and served as executive producer, we spoke about representation, bullying, resilience and the importance of standing up for yourself and others. He spoke candidly about his own experiences, the changes he hoped to see and the responsibility we all share in creating a more inclusive world. One of his most powerful messages was also one of his simplest: "Disability is an asset." On October 12, 2026, RJ died by suicide at the age of 34. His passing is a heartbreaking loss for his family, friends, colleagues and the disability community he worked so passionately to represent. It is also a painful reminder that we can never fully know the struggles another person may be carrying, even someone whose strength and optimism have inspired so many. In honor of RJ's life and legacy, we are republishing our original interview in its original context, allowing his words to speak for themselves. What follows is more than a conversation from years ago. It is a reflection of what he believed, what he fought for and what he hoped the world might become. RJ believed that disability should never be mistaken for inability. He believed in the power of representation, the importance of opportunity and the dignity of being seen for who you truly are. Today, we remember him not for the way his life ended, but for the difference he made while he was here. His voice mattered. His work mattered. His life mattered. And his message lives on. If you are struggling, you are not alone. Call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.

Some of the skills that save us are the same ones that later teach us how to see one another. For John Patterson, learning to move carefully through a world that did not always feel safe became something more than survival: it became a practice in curiosity, empathy, and understanding realities beyond his own. His story is a powerful reminder that what we endure can shape not only who we become, but how deeply we are able to recognize the humanity in someone else. Featured in 'The Unhidden Edition' of AwareNow Magazine www.awarenowmagazine.com Written by: Sonja Montiel Narrated by: John Patterson Music by: idokay Produced by: AwareNow Media

There is a space between surviving and healing that rarely gets named. It is where endurance begins to loosen its grip, but recovery has not yet fully taken hold. In that in-between, we begin the quiet, difficult work of making room for life again. Featured in 'The Complex Edition' of AwareNow Magazine www.awarenowmagazine.com Written & Narrated by: Paul S. Rogers Music by: Peter Carvallo Produced by: AwareNow Media

Suzanne Akullian and her husband, Leo, built a life in motion, filled with surfing, snowboarding, skiing, mountain biking and the freedom to simply go. Then multiple sclerosis began changing what movement looked like for Leo, and with it, the shape of the life they had always known. What began as Suzanne’s determination to help the man she loves hold onto his independence has grown into AxEL Mobility, a mission to reimagine mobility not around what people have lost, but around everything they still want to do. Featured in 'The Complex Edition' of AwareNow Magazine: www.awarenowmagazine.com Guest: Suzanne Akullian Host: Allié McGuire Music by: idokay Produced by: AwareNow Media