The South: Survivance, Agency, and Navigating Systems

In this episode, we step through the South Door. This direction teaches us about bravery, adolescence, truth-telling, and becoming. Host Jessica Regan guides listeners through land-based reflections, grounding invitations, and the raw testimonies of survivors navigating the barriers to forensic evidence collection in rural and remote communities. Through stories of water, land, internal knowing, and refusal to accept systems that are not safe, this episode asks: What does bravery mean to you? And how can community, choice, and compassion shape a more trauma-wise future for survivors? What You’ll Hear: Opening Reflections: Bravery & the Land Jessica shares a childhood story of swimming in the Great Lakes—an early lesson in courage, surrender, and awe that frames the episode’s exploration of truth and becoming. Teachings of the South Door: Co-Producer and Advisor, Robyn, offers grounding through Indigenous Focusing Oriented Therapy, inviting listeners to place a hand on the heart and remember that our beating rhythm is a marker of continued life, identity, and becoming after trauma. Themes We Hold In This Episode: - Bravery as stillness, truth, and returning to self - Anger and shame as forms of medicine - Survivors as experts of their own experiences - Systemic dismissal and disbelief - The emotional labour survivors carry - Community-rooted visions for care and justice A Wellness Invitation This episode discusses sexual violence, drug-facilitated assault, colonialism, and systemic harm. Jessica offers grounding pauses throughout the episode. Please listen with care and take breaks when needed.