Be the Light

10/06/2026

Recognizing domestic violence and responding with compassion can help create safer spaces for survivors.

In recognition of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, join MACC for Brave Space: Understanding Domestic Violence Through a Trauma-Informed Lens, presented by Rachael DuBose, M.S.Ed., LPCC-S, CCTP.

Explore power and control, trauma responses, and barriers to safety while learning approaches to recognizing abuse and responding to disclosures that support survivors’ autonomy and dignity.

October 29, 2026 | 10:00 AM–12:15 PM
2 Ohio CSWMFT & Peer Supporter CEUs available

Recommended for behavioral health professionals, social workers, counselors, peer supporters, educators, healthcare and human service professionals, and organizational leaders.

Visit our website or the following link to register: https://shorturl.at/VjxHF

10/05/2026

🗣️Auction is Live!

Tap in!💚💚💚

Today is the day!

Our Online Auction is now live! ⏰ We are excited to give our community a new, exciting, & accessible way to support the mission that drives our work. Take a look to see what community businesses & organizations have donated and make your bid today! 💙

👉https://www.32auctions.com/bethelight26 (link in bio)

09/30/2026

💚 On this last day of September, let's remind ourselves that su***de prevention does not end when September ends.

In 2024, the age-adjusted su***de rate among non-Hispanic Black Americans was 8.7 deaths per 100,000 people. Every number represents a person, a family, and a community forever changed.

Prevention can begin with acts of connection:
✅Check on the person who has become unusually quiet
✅Ask a second time when “I’m okay” does not feel convincing
✅Learn the warning signs of su***de
✅Help someone locate a culturally responsive therapist
✅Stay with a person while they call or text for support
✅Follow up after the immediate crisis has passed

We must also challenge the belief that Black people should survive pain silently. Strength can look like speaking honestly, receiving support, resting, setting boundaries, and choosing to stay. 💡

Let’s build families, organizations, faith communities, and systems where asking for help is welcomed and not punished. ✨

Call or text 988 or visit 988lifeline.org for free, confidential support 24 hours a day. You can contact 988 for yourself or because you are concerned about someone else. 💚

Sources: CDC 2024 Su***de Data and SAMHSA 988 Su***de Crisis Lifeline

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09/29/2026

✨Yesterday, I had to challenge my own negative thoughts because I had a training scheduled and "only" one person registered. That number tried to tell me a whole story:

Maybe people aren’t interested.

Maybe I’m not reaching the right people.

Maybe this isn’t working.

Maybe I should be further along by now.

Underneath all of those thoughts? Rejection.

An old wound that can make one unanswered email, one “no,” one empty seat, or one slow registration period feel like confirmation of every fear I’ve been trying to outgrow.

I had to remind myself:

One person registered.

One person said yes.

One person decided this training was worth their time, energy, and investment.

I’m challenging the thought that numbers determine impact.

I’m challenging the belief that slow growth means I’m on the wrong path.

I’m reminding myself that building something meaningful requires the courage to keep showing up before the room is full.

Whether it’s 1 person or 1,000, the passion remains. The purpose remains. The work remains important.

Sometimes being the light also means refusing to let disappointment dim your own.✨

09/28/2026

✨I’m excited to share that I’ve been selected as a member of the Cincinnati Regional Chamber’s WE Lead Class 21! ✨

This opportunity feels especially meaningful during a season when I’m intentionally expanding what leadership looks like for me while moving beyond clinical practice and continuing to grow as an educator, trainer, consultant, and CEO.

Through Be the Light, I’ve spent years helping clinicians, supervisors, and organizations think differently about trauma, psychological safety, leadership, and the spaces we create for people to do their best work. Now, I’m making space to invest in my own leadership development, too.

I’m looking forward to learning alongside an incredible group of Women Leaders from across Greater Cincinnati, building new relationships, challenging myself, and bringing what I learn back into the work I’m building through Be the Light.

Here’s to growing the leader while growing the vision.🥳

🔗 https://cincinnatichamber.com/blog/cincinnati-chamber-announces-we-lead-class-21/

58 leaders from organizations across the Cincinnati region to participate in WE Lead Class 21

09/22/2026

💚Supervision shouldn’t feel like another task to survive. Yet supervisors are often expected to navigate burnout, difficult conversations, accountability, emotional reactions, power dynamics, and the needs of their clinicians without ever being taught how to hold all of that well. That’s why I created Brave Space Supervision™.

This training moves beyond simply “checking in” with supervisees.

We’ll explore how to create supervision spaces where clinicians can be challenged, supported, reflective, and accountable, without supervisors feeling like they have to have every answer.

📅 September 28, 2026
⏰ 10:00 AM–1:15 PM
💻 Virtual
🎓 3 NBCC credit hours

If you're a clinical supervisor who wants to become more intentional about how you supervise, not just what you cover in supervision, this training is for you.

🚨Register at https://www.be-thelight.info

09/13/2026

💚Our young people need trusted adults who are willing to notice, listen, and act.

From 2018 to 2023, the su***de rate among Black young people ages 10–24 increased by 29.4%. Behind that statistic are children, teenagers, and young adults who may be carrying racism, identity-based stress, bullying, grief, family pressures, community violence, and/ or a sense that they have to manage everything alone.

Trusted adults can create an opening by asking:

💚“How have you REALLY been feeling lately?”


💚“Have things ever felt so overwhelming that you wished you were dead?”


💚“You do not have to handle this alone. Who would you feel safe to talk to?”


Asking directly about su***de does not put the idea into someone’s mind. It communicates that we are willing to hear the truth and stay present. Black youth deserve spaces where vulnerability is protected, their experiences are believed, and asking for help is met with care.


Call or text the 988 Su***de & Crisis Lifeline for free, confidential crisis support available 24/7.

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Source: CDC, Su***de Rates by Race, Ethnicity and Age, 2018–2023

09/12/2026

Excited and grateful for the opportunity!💚💚💚

We’re thrilled to feature Rachael DuBose as one of our speakers at the Building Bridges Conference 2026!

Session: Brave Spaces Over Safe Spaces: Creating Conditions for Healing Conversations

This session disrupts: The assumption that every space can be made “safe” simply by naming it that way.

This session redefines: Healing-centered dialogue through brave spaces rooted in accountability, psychological safety, cultural humility, repair, and courageous engagement.

Register at buildingbridgesconference.org

09/04/2026

💚💚💚

Last Friday, instructors Casey Frazee Katz and Rachael DuBose trained a group from SELF in Mental Health First Aid. Welcome to the group of over 5 Million Americans trained in MHFA across the USA!

09/04/2026

💚September is Su***de Prevention Month and Black mental health deserves more than silence.💚

Between 2018 and 2023, the su***de rate among Black Americans increased by 25.2%, even though the overall U.S. rate did not significantly change.

This is not simply an individual mental health issue. Racism, economic stress, community violence, barriers to culturally responsive care, and the pressure to remain “strong” can all make it harder to ask for help.

We can help change this by:
• Asking directly and compassionately about su***de
• Listening without judgment or immediately trying to fix things
• Taking changes in behavior, hopelessness, or withdrawal seriously
• Connecting people with culturally responsive support
• Reminding one another that needing help is human and not weakness

Black lives must matter in our mental health systems, our workplaces, our families, and our prevention efforts.

If you or someone you know needs immediate emotional support, call or text 988 or visit 988lifeline.org. Support is available 24/7.

Source: CDC, Su***de Rates by Race and Ethnicity, 2018–2023

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