The Couch Live: On Campus- UCF Edition
What started as a discussion to bring a Town Hall meeting to the University of Central Florida Campus, evolved into The Couch Live Radio Show showing up in person. All too often we appear to speak to the younger generation warning them about the big bad wolves, dangers in the dark, and how they will one day understand, but not today. Well definitely NOT TODAY, because we wanted to listen. Listen to what they thought about drugs, alcohol, addiction, and what we can do to better arm them with the information and resources to succeed though all that comes with it. We wanted the truth, the way they see it.
The Couch Live can be heard Fridays from 12-1pm on www.WJHM102JAMZ.com and watched on Facebook Live by going to www.Facebook.com/TheCouchLive. The show focuses on all issues related to addiction and recovery, and is sponsored in part by The N.O.W. Matters More Foundation.
On April 18th, the co-ed fraternity of Lambda Alpha Epsilon sponsored the event. LAE is a pre-professional criminal justice fraternity. LAE on the UCF campus is led by some incredible individuals like their president Milena Canete and Spider Council Member Julie Candelaria. Together with The N.O.W. Matters More Foundation they helped create & make this event a success. They invited The Couch Live to record a show outside the UCF Student Union. The Host Lui Delgado, CAP brought along his co-host and President of the foundation Trinity Phillips, guest host and local therapist from Solace Counseling Aaron Moore, LMHC, and guest producer from Indie Jamz Elvy Natalia. Pictured above are The Couch Live personalities along with members of the LAE fraternity, and some therapists from the UCF counseling center.
Thanks to the draw of the free pizza provided by the Orange County Drug Free Office, we attracted an audience. Free food has always worked as secret weapon to get some attention. What was not expected, was the level of insight and concern they actually had about the subject matter.
We met some insightful students who joined us on The Couch, literally since we brought one, and interviewed them on the air. One was a Sociology student who was wearing a NORML wristband. She admitted to being a marijuana smoker, wanted it to be legalized, but does question her ability to be one that can smoke marijuana successfully. She openly admitted that her own parents are marijuana smokers and that her father has even smoked marijuana with her, after her turning 18 of course. Although she doesn't fear the genetic predisposition to addiction, she did admit that she suffers from clinical Depression, and that her use of marijuana makes her depression worse.
This is common with marijuana. People having a social, philosophical, or political opinion favorably on the substance, but not necessarily planning to use it even if and when it is fully legalized due to other reasons.
Despite the laughs and playful discussions, the common question or concern for the day was; how can I help someone who may have a drug or alcohol problem? The second was, what is addiction and is it really a disease?
This allowed us to discuss and educate them in a way that could make sense to them. College is a place to learn, but notorious for its views on play and experience. However, they want to avoid the deadly mines and quick sand because the ultimate goal is to succeed in life. All in all, it was a very successful event. One that we plan to repeat again and again in the future.
Having the UCF counseling program available just steps away, helped us ensure that should anyone require additional help or understanding of any of the subject matter discussed, that they could get it right there on campus. The best thing is that they can get the help free and CONFIDENTIALLY.
The N.O.W. Matters More Foundation is also available to help anyone at UCF, or any other campus find the necessary help for them or someone they care about. If you or someone you know would like to discuss a personal situation to know how to navigate the next step please do not hesitate to contact our own Founder and Host of The Couch Live, Lui Delgado at 407-721-5402.