How a nurse and comedian learns to ask for and accept help

Comedian Kelli Dunham accepts a challenge to head to Times Square in New York City to ask a few strangers for help.

Justin Kramon

August 5, 2024

Kelli Dunham (right) was never good at asking for help —but after her partner, Heather McAlister died, Dunham promised McAlister that she would face her fear. (Courtesy of Kelli Dunham)

This story is from The Pulse, a weekly health and science podcast.

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Comedian Kelli Dunham has spent her life helping people — as a nun, a nurse, and a caretaker for loved ones. But even though Dunham’s had some hard times in her life, she struggles to accept help from others. This contradiction is at the center of her new standup show, Second Helping. In performances like the one she did recently at First Person Arts, Dunham has made it her mission to get people comfortable with accepting help.

But producer Justin Kramon wonders: Is Dunham really getting better at asking for help herself? To find out, he’s set up a challenge for her. The two head to Times Square in New York City and Dunham can’t leave until she asks a few strangers for help.

Will she do it? The result is awkward, funny, and revealing about what it means to let a little help into your life.

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