Hi there Jack!

Jack Lam (They/Them, He/Him) is a passionate about queer/trans advocacy and mental health. Jack has experience with crisis intervention and suicide prevention work, education around gender identities and experiences, and intergroup dialogue facilitation. Through their Instagram, they also commonly share helpful, easy-to-digest guides and reflections to help us all be better advocates and allies. Jack's work is informed by their identity as a queer, non-binary Malaysian Chinese person. They aim to help shape a society that is more willing to embrace and celebrate the queerness in us all. Currently, they are a Clinical Social Work graduate student and Trauma Fellow at the University of Houston.

In this episode, we have an authentic conversation revolving around identity and allyship. Jack shares their journey to finding their passion in trauma therapy, their preconceived notions about the states growing up in Malaysia, and the actualizations they had once moving here. We share with them our frustration that arises when trying to converse with friends and family who may have differing opinions and Jack gives us tips to instead create a constructive dialogue rooted in empathy and patience. We also discuss the harmful impact of societal gender norms and why it is imperative we work to dismantle them so that space can be created for everybody to be valued. Jack's instagram has been such a helpful resource for the three of us as we educate ourselves in anti-racism work and navigate authentic, sustainable allyship. We encourage everybody to check out their account after listening to this episode!

We also chat about:

The importance of local elections
Learning vs. unlearning
Understanding the range of coping mechanisms

Resources:

Instagram: @jacklamlj (www.instagram.com/jacklamlj)
Mentioned: The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez

Ep. 38- Allyship & Choosing Courage Over Comfort with Jack Lam