Episode 20 Guest: Ocesa Keaton, MSW Host: Shimon Cohen, LCSW   Listen/Subscribe on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify Follow on Twitter & Instagram, Like on Facebook Join the mailing list Support the podcast www.dointhework.com   In this episode, I talk with Ocesa Keaton, who is the Executive Director of Greater Syracuse H.O.P.E. in Syracuse, New York. Ocesa details the incredibly comprehensive and thoughtful strategies H.O.P.E. uses in their anti-poverty work at both the systems and individual levels to eliminate systemic barriers that maintain inequity and prevent people from having opportunities. We discuss the racial wealth gap in the U.S. and stereotypes and inaccurate beliefs about people in poverty. Ocesa shares her journey of wanting to become an entertainment lawyer but choosing social work due to her own health issues and a social worker who helped her. She stresses the importance of policy work and why voting is critical for social change. I hope you enjoy the conversation.   [email protected] www.greatersyracusehope.org     ***BOOK PROMO*** This City Is Killing Me: Community Trauma and Toxic Stress in Urban America, by Jonathan Foiles Order at  https://beltpublishing.com/collections/new-coming-soon/products/this-city-is-killing-me ***Use the code DTW for 10% off (and to help out the podcast)***   Through a remarkable set of case studies, Foiles opens up his therapy door to allow us to overhear the stories of Jacqueline, Frida, Robert, Luis, Anthony, and other poor Chicagoans. As we listen, Foiles teaches us how he diagnoses, explains how therapists before him would analyze these patients, and, through statistics and the example of Chicago, teaches us how policy decisions have contributed to these individuals’ suffering. The result is a remarkable, unique work with an urgent political call to action at its core.