Voices for Voices®

Showing up is the hardest part and the most powerful part. We talk about getting back in the gym and why self-care is not a flex, it is a commitment to your health, your mind, and your future. For us, the real win is consistency. It is walking in the door, doing the work you can do that day, and letting that habit support your mental health and longevity over time.

Then we zoom out to what it looks like to build Voices for Voices at a bigger level while staying grounded. Popularity does not protect you...

Listening is not a soft skill when someone is drowning. We sit down and get honest about how simply being present, staying in the room, and letting someone talk can be real support in a mental health crisis, in grief, or in the slow grind of everyday loneliness. I share why Voices for Voices exists, the big goal of reaching and helping three billion people, and why I see myself as a vessel for stories that matter.

We also talk about what it means to use a platform responsibly. Politics comes up because it is everywhere, but...

There’s a moment many people hit where they’re not okay, they know they need help, and they still can’t figure out what to say or who to call. I’m Justin Alan Hayes, and I’m talking straight about that moment the one where asking for help feels harder than suffering in silence. Mental health doesn’t come with a handbook, and there isn’t a laminated card with the perfect words that magically fixes a loved one, a family, or your own mind. That uncertainty can be terrifying, especially when you’re the “fixer” who’s used to solving prob...

A week can turn on one good update. We start with a grateful check-in, from summer heat and World Cup buzz to a personal moment of relief as my friend’s second hospital procedure finally works and his heart rhythm gets back into the expected range. It’s a reminder that progress is not always linear, but good news still shows up, and it matters.

From there, I shift into something I’ve been rebuilding in my own life: movement. After roughly nine to ten years away from the gym and a long stretch of sedentary habits, I just...

A priest shows up to give last rites, takes a call, then refuses because the person did not donate enough money. That story is hard to hear, but it points to a problem that shows up in more places than we want to admit: when care becomes transactional, dignity gets compromised fast.

From there, we talk about patient advocacy in the hospital through a current heart related hospitalization that hits close to home. I share what I saw and heard firsthand: cardiologists coming in without checking the heart, little visible note taking, and a steady push toward...

I spent years putting real effort into mental health, recovery, and getting through the hard seasons, but I also had to admit something out loud: I was ignoring my physical health. Not in a dramatic way, just in the slow, everyday way that happens when you sit more than you move, gain weight over time, and keep telling yourself you’ll start “later.” This conversation is my reset, and I’m sharing it in case you’ve been stuck in the same loop.

I talk through why I tried a three-day gym trial, what made this gym feel doabl...

A friend goes from celebrating 40 years of sobriety to landing in the hospital with a heart number that shocks everyone. That whiplash is where we start, because it’s the moment a lot of us recognize: life can feel stable, and then a call comes that changes your whole week, your whole mindset, sometimes your whole faith.

We talk through what we understand as non-medical people, including the basic idea of ejection fraction and why “within range” matters when doctors are watching your heart work overtime. But this is not a medical deep dive. It’s a human st...

Life doesn’t usually tell you right away whether you’re making the “right” choice and that silence can mess with your head. I talk about what it feels like to chase validation, second-guess everything, and carry a storm of thoughts you can’t quite shut off, even when you look fine on the outside.

From there, I get real about mental health support: why I resisted therapy for years, what finally pushed me to take counseling seriously, and why having one person who won’t judge you can be a turning point. We also dig into the fear tha...

Who’s holding the pen to your story and how much of it is really yours to control? We sit with that question and follow it where it leads: childhood memories of learning to write, the messy first drafts we all live through, and the uncomfortable reality that the biggest outcomes in life aren’t fully in our hands.

From my perspective as a believer, I share why I see Jesus as the author of my life, and how that belief changes the way I think about control, fear, and the clock that keeps moving whether we’re rea...

Watching your child scroll YouTube on a school-issued laptop can feel normal right up until the moment you see something that makes your stomach drop. We’re Justin Alan Hayes and Voices for Voices, and we’re putting out a blunt public service announcement about a viral-style airport “challenge” video where an adult uses prosthetics to disguise his identity inside a place that is supposed to run on verification, caution, and security.

We walk through why disguises in an airport are not just a goofy prop choice, but a behavior that can normalize deception in a high-security environm...

A prescription can be sitting at the pharmacy, but still be out of reach. I’m Justin Alan Hayes, and I’m putting a spotlight on what happens when prior authorization, insurance approval, and pharmacy systems collide and the patient pays the price, sometimes with their mental health.

I walk you through a real timeline: the missing prior authorization notice that should have hit my prescriber immediately, the multi day delay that follows, and the moment CVS tells me my medication is “ready” for $372. After the form is finally approved, the price changes to $90, but the process somehow...

My prescription didn’t change, my doctor didn’t disappear, and the pharmacy had the medication ready, yet I still hit a wall that left me without a key psychotropic med for a day. The wall was insurance prior authorization, and the price tag on the other side was $376 for a 30-day supply. I’m telling this story because it’s not rare, and because medication access should never hinge on a hidden form nobody sends until you’re already out.

I break down exactly what happened between my prescriber, CVS, and UnitedHealthcare Surest and why the communicat...

Two big events in one day can feel like a victory or a minefield, depending on what your brain and body are carrying. We’re Justin Alan Hayes and Voices for Voices, and we’re unpacking a recent weekend that held both joy and pressure: celebrating a friend’s 40 years sober and drug-free, then showing up for a child’s recital with all the crowds, noise, lights, and unpredictability that can trigger anxiety and panic attacks. If you’ve ever wondered why “normal plans” can feel impossible, you’ll feel seen here.

We talk openly about mental health, major de...

Forty years sober sounds like a headline, but it’s actually thousands of small choices stacked on top of each other. We met up with Don Matis Jr. out at Hudson Springs Park on a bright day to celebrate a bright kind of win: four decades free from alcohol and drugs. Don doesn’t romanticize recovery. He talks about how sobriety is built minute by minute, how quickly “just one” can turn into a full relapse, and why staying alert matters even after 20 or 40 years.

We also go deeper than the milestone. Don shares how early trauma and earl...

A stopwatch in a classroom can teach a lesson nobody intended: your value equals your speed. We get personal about how timed quizzes in elementary school planted stress, anxiety, and a “finish first” mindset that followed us into adulthood, even when the grades never depended on the seconds. If you’ve ever felt your heart race during a test, or judged yourself because someone else turned their paper in sooner, you’ll recognize the pattern fast.

We also talk about what it means to feel “backwards” in a world built for the majority. Justin shares how being left-handed...

We spend so much time scanning other people for flaws that we forget to check the one relationship that shapes every single day: how we treat ourselves. Justin Alan Hayes gets real about self-talk, compassion, and the thin line between healthy pride and empty ego, then calls out how “harmless” gossip and people-watching can quietly train us to be harsher on ourselves than we’d ever be on anyone else.

From there, the conversation turns personal and practical. Justin shares how Voices for Voices doubles as a living journal, a way to vent, process emotions, and take the we...

Mother’s Day can expose the quiet cracks in a home: the assumptions, the missed signals, the “I meant well” moments that still land like neglect. We sit down with David Solomon, a new dad navigating newborn life, and he doesn’t sugarcoat what he’s learning. Watching his wife carry the physical toll of feeding and caring for a baby reframes everything, especially the way our culture dismisses stay-at-home moms. The core message is simple and challenging: appreciation is not a feeling, it’s a practice.

We dig into what meaningful Mother’s Day appreciation actually looks like in...

Episode 500 is coming up fast, and I wanted to slow down for a minute and talk about what it really takes to keep a mission-driven show going. Voices for Voices exists because you share it, talk about it, and help other people find it. I explain where you can watch and listen across platforms, why word of mouth matters more than any algorithm, and how our nonprofit work stays sustainable through simple support that stacks over time.

Then we shift from big goals to a very personal milestone in our home: our dog Lucy turns three today...

A family photo in front of the Disneyland castle turns into something stranger: a whispered “Hello,” a tall man with golden hair and pointed ears, and then he’s gone. We read and react to the “Venus Man of Disneyland” folklore from our Mythical Creatures Around The World page and unpack why stories like this travel so fast, especially when they tap into shared wonder, fear, and the need to make sense of what we can’t explain.

We also share a big update: Voices for Voices acquired Mythical Creatures Around The World in late 2025, and we’re building it...

Practice sounds ordinary until you notice how much of your life depends on it. We dig into the difference between practicing and not practicing, starting with the kinds of incentives that got many of us moving as kids, including the Pizza Hut Book It era where reading at home actually came with a reward. But the real point is bigger: practice is how you build competence, and competence is how you build confidence you can feel in your body.

From there, we follow the shift that hits in middle school, college, the trades, and your first job...

Choose Goals That Are Yours, Not Someone Else's | Episode 496

Every day you wake up, you are already moving closer to something. The uncomfortable part is naming it: are we getting closer to our dream, or closer to inactivity that feels safe because it is familiar? We sit with that question and keep returning to it from different angles, because clarity is not a lightning bolt, it is a practice.

We talk about how to find your direction when you are not sure what you want yet, including a simple, underrated tool for goal...

Your Psychiatrist Can't Help If You Don't Tell Them This | Episode 495

A missing refill can feel like a personal failure, even when it’s really a system problem. We’ve both felt that sudden drop in the stomach when the pharmacy record says one thing, the clinic says another, and your pill bottle says you have one day left. That kind of uncertainty can spike anxiety fast, especially when you’re managing mental health with ongoing prescription medication and strict refill rules around controlled substances.

We walk through how these medication mix-ups mess with y...

We're Pushing 500 Episodes - Here's Everything We Do | Episode 494

Almost nobody needs another vague “mental health resource” they need a clear path to action. We go live with a straightforward update on Voices For Voices: what we are, how we work, and how you can actually find us and support the mission without guessing or digging through links.

We talk about the Voices For Voices TV Show and Podcast as we push toward 500 episodes, and we clarify a question we get constantly: yes, we are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. That means donations and many purc...

Clean Bed, Safer Body with Bedding That Cares | Episode 493

A hospital bed can look clean and still be a revolving door for pathogens. That’s the unsettling premise behind our conversation with Rich Cordero, who founded Betting That Cares to tackle one of the most ignored parts of healthcare: what happens on the mattress, day after day, when someone can’t simply get up and walk away.

We talk through Rich’s low-cost bedding isolation idea built around two plastic sheets and disposable pads, designed to separate what you can control from what you ca...

Dyslexia And Autism Don't Cancel Out Your Gifts | They Shape Them | Episode 492

Autism can change how we process the world, but it doesn’t change our worth, and it definitely doesn’t erase our ability to create, lead, and build something that matters. We sit down with David Solomon to talk about life on the spectrum, the pushback that comes with being misunderstood, and why calling autism “a crutch” misses the point. For David, dyslexia and autism don’t cancel out his gifts, they shape his workflow, his communication style, and the way he sees stories wi...

9 Years Sober and Still Getting Pressure: Here's How I Stay Steady | Episode 491

Friday nights can reveal what we’re really living for. Justin Alan Hayes gets candid about the mindset he carried 20 to 25 years ago, when weekends revolved around alcohol, pre-gaming, and chasing the next high, and how different life feels now with nearly nine years of sobriety on the horizon. With Voices for Voices approaching 500 episodes, we talk about what it takes to build a grassroots 501(c)(3) nonprofit charity that stays focused on mental health, trauma recovery, and lowering stigma, even when the world fe...

She Carried the Shame for 30 Years | Now Ellen's Demanding Justice | Episode 490

Silence protects offenders, not survivors, and Ellen is finished staying quiet. She joins us to share what happened when she was raped at 14, how blame and disbelief followed her for decades, and why speaking up now feels like a form of protection for the next person in line. We talk honestly about what it’s like to carry trauma in your body, live with PTSD triggers, and rebuild after addiction, depression, and years of feeling unseen.

We also zoom out to the sy...

The Grass Got Cut And So Did My Stress | Episode 489

Some days, the biggest mental health breakthrough is finishing a basic chore. Justin Alan Hayes shares a raw “days in the life” update that starts with the mission behind Voices for Voices and ends with a surprisingly powerful story about mowing the lawn while living with ongoing mental challenges.

We talk through what it takes to keep a mental health nonprofit moving, including how you can support the work, where to find resources on voicesforvoices.org, and why we’re building a clearer home f...

Flashbacks During Spring Chores? Here's What's Actually Happening | Episode 488

A messy yard can be more than a weekend chore. Sometimes it’s a trigger, a mirror, and a mental health workout all at once. Justin Alan Hayes shares what happened when spring weather turned his hilltop lawn into a tall, waterlogged project and why the first mow of the year brought back anxiety, perfectionism, and memories from an earlier life.

We talk about the pressure to keep up with neighbors, the obsession over “straight lines,” and how quickly your brain can turn a simple...

Safe Enough to Dream | Safe Enough to Build | Episode 487

If you’ve ever felt torn between “do more” and “I’m running on empty,” this one is for you. I’m Justin Alan Hayes, and I’m sharing what it looks like to build Voices for Voices while protecting mental health, managing stress, and refusing to let burnout decide the pace. The goal is big, but the strategy stays human: community, consistency, and self-care that actually works.

We get real about the everyday stuff that shapes our nervous system more than we admit, from weather whi...

When You're Waiting for Bad News | How to Show Up for Yourself | Episode 486

Some days don’t just feel “busy” or “off” they feel heavier in your body and louder in your mind. We talk honestly about why certain days of the week can trigger stress and anxiety, from the Sunday scaries and workplace burnout to that sinking feeling when you know a tough appointment is coming. If you’ve ever felt your brain bracing for Monday, a deadline, or a manager dropping three more tasks on your desk, you’ll recognize the mental load we describe an...

Why a Puppy's Medication Sent Me Back to the Worst Day | Episode 485

A syringe shouldn’t be able to time-travel, but sometimes it does. I’m connecting a few moments that still live in my nervous system: my grandma’s declining health, her move through care facilities, the day she kept saying “we need to get out of here,” and the shock of being asked to hold her still while staff gave her a shot. It’s a raw look at how caregiving, elder care, and grief can create trauma triggers that don’t fade just because t...

Sexual Assault Awareness Needs Real Action, Not Just Promises | Episode 484

We’ve got a lot of “special days” on the calendar, but I keep coming back to one question: why do we wait for a date to care? I walk through a handful of April awareness days and holidays and use them as a mirror for how we live the other 364 days, from health and family to the environment and the way we treat one another when no one is watching.

That includes a frank look at Easter and how easily meaning gets buried...

Novocaine Brain And The Accidental Kardashian Vibe | Episode 483

A cracked filling doesn’t sound like a big story until you’ve lived through the years that lead up to it. I’m Justin, and I’m talking candidly about what happens when mental health and major depression knock out your routines, including brushing, dental cleanings, and basic maintenance. When I finally got back into the dentist chair after that “mental health valley,” the bill wasn’t just money, it was reality: fillings, crowns, and the slow work of rebuilding what I’d let slide.

I also walk...

When Technology Gives Disabled Artists a Real Voice | Episode 482

A commercial stopped me in my tracks: a young girl onstage making music with her eyes. Not metaphorically, literally. That moment sent me straight back to my experience with a special needs orchestra where musicians use iPads and GarageBand to play songs with confidence, structure, and joy. It also reminded me why Voices for Voices exists in the first place: “having a voice” is not limited to spoken words, and access to expression can be life-changing.

We dig into what assistive technology and disability incl...

How Folklore Becomes A Shared Universe For Every Community | Episode 481

Your hometown has lore. Someone saw something. Someone swears it happened. And most of the time, those stories stay trapped inside a diner booth, a school hallway, or a local police report. We want to pull them into the light and build something bigger than another random monster tale.

We’re joined by David Solomon, CEO and founder of Mythical Creatures Around the World, to share the blueprint for a shared universe built from small-town folklore, cryptid sightings, and regional legends across the Un...

The Gap Between What Companies Promise and What They Do | Episode 480

A “we care about mental health” slogan is easy to print. Living it as a workplace policy is the hard part. I’m Justin Alan Hayes, and I’m getting real about how expectations, judgment, and chaotic work culture can pile up into stress and anxiety that follows you home. If you’ve ever felt like you’re failing when the system is actually broken, you’re not alone.

I walk through what it looks like when onboarding falls apart: no clear direction, no...

My Mom Saved Me At That Funeral | Episode 479

A funeral can be a strange kind of trigger, even when you think you’re prepared. I share what it felt like to walk into a service with my anxiety running high, why grief-heavy spaces are hard for me, and one simple choice that made it more manageable: I didn’t go alone. If you deal with stress, panic, or emotional overload, this conversation offers something practical and human, not polished advice from a distance.

That day also brought me back into a church I hadn...

The Song That Broke Open Everything At This Funeral | Episode 478

A funeral can make everything else feel quieter and somehow sharper at the same time. We start with gratitude for the Voices for Voices community and the mission to reach and help billions, then the day takes a turn into something more personal: showing up for family, sitting in a Catholic Mass, and letting grief do what it does.

What stayed with us most was the way a life got honored through meaning, not perfection. The urn was a golf ball, a simple...

Diagnosed With Autism in My 30s | Why People Doubted Me | Episode 477

Some people hear “loud concert” and think inconvenience. I hear it and think sensory overload, the kind that can flood your body with too much sound, too much light, and too much motion all at once. For Autism Awareness Month, I’m getting personal about being diagnosed on the autism spectrum in my thirties, what that clarified for me, and why so many autism and mental health challenges stay hidden in plain sight.

We talk about the parts of autism you can’t easily...