Summer has officially settled into Chattanooga (which is a good or bad thing depending on who you ask), however this week feels fulla good reasons to get out of the house and into the community.

This week we’ve got Juneteenth celebrations, Pride blooms, local happenings, and a conversation with Lauren Mann of The AIM Center about community, belonging, and the super duperest Clubhouse in all of Tennessee.

And because no issue is complete without a little delightful nonsense Taylor Swift Code speak, Clementine has arrived with a Taylor Swift theory board connecting daisies, country music, Toy Story 5, and even fate itself.

So pour yerself a cup of the good stuff, take a break from pretending you'll tackle that summer project today, and let’s see what’s happenin’ around the neighborhood!

As always, we’ve added a fresh track to this week’s issue purely for vibes as you read. Click the link below before ya start reading if you wanna listen!

This week’s Front Porch Partner is Mindstream. They ain’t local-local, but every lil’ click sends $1.68 jingle janglin’ straight into the Chattynooga coin purse. No forms or fuss, just a quick tap that helps keep this porch swing rockin’ and the stories flowin’.

If you’ve got half a second between sips of coffee, give it a click and consider it your good deed for the day. Appreciate ya, neighbor.

Show ‘em whatcha got for us, Mindstream!

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I finally got to sit down with Lauren Mann of the AIM Center this week, and lemme tell ya, we hit it off faster than Meemaw volunteerin’ to lead a hymn sing. Turns out me and Lauren are cut from the same cloth: both of us got a soft spot for Warped Tour, Florida, and a hankerin’ for To Write Love on Her Arms.

That last one ain't a coincidence, as To Write Love on Her Arms is a lil' nonprofit that spends its days remindin' folks the heavy stuff is worth talkin' about, out loud, with no shame attached. Which, wouldn'tcha know it, is just about the exact work Lauren pours herself into others right here in the Scenic City!

Lauren didn't start out in mental health, but helpin’ little critters at the Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando before making her way to Chattanooga with her husband, where she landed at a local shelter here. However, she kept buttin' up against the same hard truth in the industry: a whole lotta folks were struggling to care for themselves, which created a domino effect for the amount of care they could give their fur babies. So she followed that thread straight to the AIM Center, where she could hopefully hit the root of that problem through a different change of scenery.

Ask her what the work's really about and she keeps it plain: meetin' people right where they are. Not where they wish they'd be, where they're standin' right in front of her that day.

That's because this has been the AIM Center's whole way of doin' things since 1989, when seven Chattanooga families dreamed up a place of belongin' for the people they loved. These days it's the only internationally accredited Clubhouse in all of Tennessee, and more than 3,000 neighbors have come through its doors.

Oh, and once you’re a member, you’re always a member.

I had the honor of wanderin’ the halls of the AIM Center Clubhouse before our yap session, and lemme tell ya that this beats any other Clubhouse I been apart of right in the tookus. That’s ‘cause Lauren mentions it’s intentionally done through an evidence-based model where members and staff run the whole operation shoulder to shoulder through what they call the "work-ordered day." Folks pitch in on the stuff that actually keeps the place goin' from cookin' and servin' meals, data entry and clerical work, graphic design, mannin' the snack bar, and keepin' the fitness center hummin'. Those are real skills that walk right out the door and into real jobs.

What it ain't is a hospital or a waitin' room. Ya just walk in and somebody's expectin' ya, and is downright glad ya showed. That feeling of bein' wanted and useful is a big part of the medicine. The work speaks for itself: just last year, the crew welcomed 55 new members, served up more than 10,000 meals out of the Clubhouse kitchen, and helped over 285 families keep a roof overhead. Now that’s some real neighborin’ if ya ask me.

The part that stuck to my ribs like gum (not sure how medically accurate that is) was when I asked Lauren what members wished folks outside of the clubhouse knew about them, and she hears the same answers nearly every time:

I'm kind.
I'm hardworking.
I'm just like you.
And the big one, "I'm not my diagnosis."

I’ll admit firsthand that it’s super easy (and mighty convenient) to slap a label on someone and make it their whole personality. But in reality, about 1 in 5 people will struggle with a mental illness, and 1 in 20 with a serious one.

That can be the fella ahead of ya in the checkout line, the gal makin' yer art, even your neighbor two doors down. Lauren'll be the first to tell ya the diagnosis was never the interestin' part, but the person living with it.

If ya want proof, their 2025 annual report is full of members tellin' their own stories, and I'd say it's worth every minute (and maybe a tissue or two).

Speakin’ of great stories, The AIM Center is throwin' its very first Mental Health Hero Awards Dinner in October, which I believe is just an excuse to holler "heck yeah!" at the people holdin' the community together while dressin’ up all fancy-like.

There's ten award categories, honorin' everybody from advocates and helpers to storytellers gettin' it right to the members whose own grit lights the way. And somewhere in your life, I'd bet my best overalls, there's a hero who belongs on that list. You can nominate ‘em right here until July 15th!

What I can't shake after sittin' with Lauren is how much of the real work happens in the ordinary stuff, like a shared meal in the Clubhouse kitchen or a pile of chores that everyone tackles together. It’s easy things to take for granted (speakin' for myself, since I sure do gripe when Meemaw puts me on dish duty). But for somebody runnin' short on dignity and meaning, those small tasks hand a little of it more and more each time.

And I think that’s all that matters.

If you ask me, it’s a great time to be a conspiracy theorist. It’s an ESPECIALLY great time to be a Swiftie conspiracy theorist.

This summer, the Swiftie conspiracy theorists have been working overtime. We all know Miss Swift does not do one thing without intention. She’s a walking Easter egg! For weeks, Swifties have been connecting dots, circling clues, and making wildly specific predictions. And as it turns out, we were right (again).

So here’s what we know. Taylor wrote “I Knew It, I Knew You,” which is a certified bop and is officially part of the Toy Story 5 soundtrack. Maybe that’s all this is. Maybe Taylor wrote a song for a movie and we’re all reading too much into it. But if you know anything about Swifties, you know that’s not how this works. The clues are adding up. 

Does Taylor have a bigger role in the film than just the soundtrack? Could she be voicing a grown-up Emily, Jessie’s childhood owner? And perhaps most importantly… is this the beginning of the Debut (Taylor’s Version) era?

I’m just saying… We’ve got daisies. We’ve got yellow. We’ve got country music. We’ve got enough call backs to make me feel like I just stepped back into 2006 and need to update my MySpace profile.

Not that I had a MySpace profile in 2006… I’m only 11. Come on, guys.

And if it is Debut TV, I only have one request: give us the unreleased songs. The people have been WAITING. I may only be 11 years old, but OG’s know “I’d Lie” is a BANGER. 

Who knows, maybe we’re clowning. Swifties usually are. But every once in a while, the theories turn out to be true. The countdown was real. The song was real. Something is happening. The timeline is healing!!!

And as for Conformity Gate… well. That’s definitely real too. But you guys aren’t ready for that conversation yet.

Thanks for spending a little piece of your day with us! Whether you’re heading to a Juneteenth celebration, cheering on local makers, nominating a mental health hero, or building your own celebrity conspiracy corkboard in the corner, we hope this week makes ya curious enough to look around and notice the good stuff already blooming nearby.

We’ll be back next week with more porch chatter, tiny wonders, and whatever Clementine stuffs in next to her ever-growin’ evidence folder.

When ya get a brain freeze, I hope ya think of us!

— Bubby & Clementine