🎙️ Episode 53 — “It Can Be Done”
Guest: Hery “Eddie” Acosta | Author, Speaker, Youth Advocate
Podcast: Resilient Voices & Beyond – A Healing-Centered Conversation
Foster Healing Fellowship Capstone Series

Episode Description:

In this gripping and hope-filled episode titled “It Can Be Done,” host Michael D. Davis-Thomas sits down with author, speaker, and youth advocate Hery “Eddie” Acosta, whose life story is both testimony and blueprint. This is more than an interview—it’s a healing-centered conversation that exposes the cost of trauma, honors the grind of growth, and celebrates the sacred act of becoming whole.

Eddie doesn’t sugarcoat survival. From being locked in a closet as a child to navigating cycles of generational pain, Eddie shares how he went from being misunderstood in classrooms to mentoring hundreds of teens every week through his groundbreaking work in Oregon. With 13+ years of hands-on experience in youth programs, Eddie is now the visionary behind Ohana Teen Night, where over 300 teens find refuge, belonging, and possibility every Friday night. 

Together, Michael and Eddie explore:

• Childhood trauma, behavioral stigma, and how schools often punish pain
• Mindset shifts from “why me?” to “watch me”
• The messy, nonlinear process of healing—and what real breakthrough looks like
• The burden of navigating trauma in Black and Brown communities
• What it means to become a diamond in the rough—and why pressure doesn’t always break us
• The spiritual, emotional, and cultural power of having a therapist of color
• Building youth programming that feels more like family than a facility

This episode is part of Michael’s Foster Healing Leadership Fellowship Capstone: Resilient Voices & Beyond: Healing-Centered Conversations and Storytelling, and it holds true to its mission—honoring lived experience as sacred knowledge and creating space for authentic, heart-to-heart reflection.

Whether you’re a young person currently in the struggle, a professional seeking to serve better, or someone carrying unspoken wounds of your own—Eddie’s story will remind you: It can be done. 

📚 Grab Eddie’s Book:
Eddie in the Rough – Becoming a Diamond

🌐 Connect with Eddie:
Website: speechesbyeddie.com
Instagram: @speeches_by_eddie | @neweddieacosta
Facebook: Eddie Acosta 🎧 Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, YouTube, and all major platforms.

📢 Support this Healing-Centered Work:
Venmo: @MDDTSpeaks | CashApp: $MDDTSpeaksInc | PayPal: MDDT1
Email: mddtspeaks@gmail.com for donations, sponsorships, or collaboration.