EAP is offering webinars on a variety of COVID-19 related topics to support emotional and mental health and wellbeing. Register for an upcoming live session or view a pre-recorded session on-demand below. More sessions will be added regularly.
From the Washington State Employee Assistance Program:
Leading the Human Side of Change
We are currently experiencing a rapid transformation of the workplace. As a leader, you may find yourself struggling with how to navigate and lead your team through the challenges that can come with change. In this webinar you’ll learn about the human side of change, how change impacts you as a leader and your work group, strategies to support your team through change, and what resources are available to support both you and your employees.
Wednesday, October 28, 2020 2:00pm-3:30pm Register
Navigating Change in Challenging Times
In our ever changing world, learning how to navigate change is an essential skill—one that can be developed. In this webinar we’ll talk about the impact of change, actions you can take to navigate change based on your unique response to stress, and resources available to support you.
Wednesday, September 23, 2020 8:30am-10:00am Register
How to Build Resilience When Your Job Involves Helping Others in Crisis
This webinar is intended for those who are supporting others in crisis e.g. customers, clients, students, employees/staff. During this webinar you will learn how your mind and body responds to stress, possible impacts on your emotional and physical well-being, strategies to build resilience, and supports and resources available to you.
Thursday, September 24, 2020 2:00pm-3:30pm Register
Wednesday, September 30, 2020 10:00am-11:30am Register
We care about you. How are you holding up? The LLN Executive Board is preparing a Lunch & Learn from noon to 1 p.m. Wednesday, Sept., 23 via Zoom to help you check in with yourself as we connect with one another and get tips on managing stress, isolation, and teleworking from Indira Melgarejo, LLN’s Health & Wellness Chair, formerly a psychologist in Venezuela.
A survey released by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention in August revealed that 41 percent of respondents reported symptoms of mental disorder, including trauma-related symptoms, depression, and anxiety. The study found a higher prevalence of symptoms of depressive disorder, suicidal thoughts, and anxiety among Hispanic respondents. (Source: ABC News)
So it is not surprising that in our own survey in June, LLN members said they are most interested in LLN activities that focus on managing stress, isolation, and teleworking. Let this lunch break be your time to briefly engage with your peers across the state enterprise and come away with vital information you can use
Editor’s Note: September is #SuicidePreventionMonthThis article first appeared in the August 2020 issues of the Washington State Employee Assistance Program’s Employee Frontline Newsletter:
Our state Department of Health (DOH) has been investigating and reporting on the many impacts of COVID-19 on all of us, including mental and behavioral health impacts. The COVID-19 pandemic has been widely regarded as a natural disaster, and in a June 2020 report the DOH considered the COVID-19 pandemic from this perspective and predicted significant behavioral health impacts of COVID using disaster response and recovery modeling. One of the report’s key findings is that suicides in Washington are expected to peak between October and December 2020. Washington’s suicide rate had already increased by nearly 19% from 1999-2016, and our state has the 21st highest suicide rate in the nation at 17.5 deaths per 100,000 people, higher than the national suicide rate of 14.5.
There is some good news: most suicides are preventable, and we can all take action to prepare and get in front of this curve. Here’s what you can do:
Most important: if you or someone else is at immediate risk of suicide, please don’t wait – call 9-1-1 or the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.
Take 2 minutes now to put the 24 hour crisis numbers in your phone:
Watch the 45 minute on-demand suicide prevention training webinar through the state’s Learning Management System (LMS): search for “WA-State Suicide Awareness.” Developed especially for use in the workplace by the state Department of Enterprise Services in partnership with a coalition of suicide prevention experts, the webinar content includes: suicide risk factors and warning signs; learning and applying the LEARN model; and information specific to supervisors, managers, and HR professionals. Organizations who do not currently have LMS access can purchase access to this training for their employees: contact the Workplace Learning and Performance team at traininginfo@des.wa.gov.
For more comprehensive suicide prevention and intervention information and resources, go to the EAP’s Suicide Prevention page.
And, if you’re struggling and in need of support and guidance, or if you’re concerned about someone in your life and aren’t sure what to do, don’t hesitate to reach out to the EAP, at 1-877-313-4455.
The Washington State Employee Assistance Program, EAP, is offering webinars on a variety of COVID-19 related topics to support emotional and mental health and wellbeing. Register for an upcoming live session or view a pre-recorded session on-demand below. More sessions will be added regularly.
In our ever changing world, learning how to navigate change is an essential skill—one that can be developed. In this webinar we’ll talk about the impact of change, actions you can take to navigate change based on your unique response to stress, and resources available to support you.
Thursday, September 17, 2020 2:00pm-3:30pm Register
How to Build Resilience When Your Job Involves Helping Others in Crisis
This webinar is intended for those who are supporting others in crisis e.g. customers, clients, students, employees/staff. During this webinar you will learn how your mind and body responds to stress, possible impacts on your emotional and physical well-being, strategies to build resilience, and supports and resources available to you.
Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, state agencies have had to adapt and figure out new ways of conducting business with minimal contact. With a few modifications, one contract employee at a women’s prison in Belfair has been able to continue culturally-informed programming for incarcerated members of the Native community. Red about JoySky Caudill’s work with Native women. Editor’s note: This article originally appeared on the Department of Corrections’ website. #WomenWhoMakeADifference
Photo by Artem Beliaikin on Pexels.com
by Rachel Friederich, ICSEW Communications Chair
BELFAIR, WASHINGTON—JoiSky Caudill ignites a bundle of cedar and sweet grass inside an abalone shell at Mission Creek Corrections Center for Women (MCCCW). With an eagle feather, she brushes the smoke around the incarcerated women’s faces, hands and feet. As she moves between the women, they sing.
The smudging ceremony is one that goes back centuries in Native communities. In many Native cultures, it’s a means of purification and cleansing.
Caudill has kept this tribal ceremony, along with several others, alive with a few modifications as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to postpone or cancel correctional enrichment programs statewide.
Her continuous work has earned Caudill a ‘Mother of the Year’ Award from White Bison, Inc. White Bison is a non-profit charitable organization that offers sobriety, recovery, addictions prevention and healing resources to American Indian/Alaska Native people.
“It’s an honor to be nominated for this award,” Caudill said. “When I found out, I was in tears. To be seen like that in somebody else’s eyes is a big boon and I’m still kind of shocked about it. You get a renewed energy to do this kind of work because it’s not just yourself that got seen. The women in this program got seen.”
Caudill didn’t always know she wanted to work at a correctional facility. She began volunteering at WCCW after a close friend and mentor passed away. Caudill was filled with grief. Another friend, who worked at WCCW, urged her to start volunteering there. Caudill found making a difference in the incarcerated women’s lives was making a difference in her own life.
“I spent a lot of time listening to the women and I realized, ‘Oh my goodness, this is where I want to be,’” Caudill said. “I knew this is what the Creator had in mind for me. In my heart, I know I am doing what I am supposed to be doing.”
Working through a pandemic
Joi Sky Caudill, Center, stands with members of the Red Willow at Mission Creek Corrections Center. Photo by Judith Gerren
During a normal week, Caudill leads cultural activities with a group of about two dozen incarcerated Native women, known as the Red Willow. Wednesday afternoons and evenings, the women gather in a room to make beaded jewelry and medallions to give away to their families and guests at the facility’s annual pow-wow. Twice a week, the women hold a ceremony inside the on-site sweat lodge, which includes traditional prayers, songs and storytelling. And once a week, Caudill leads a Wellbriety circle. ‘Wellbriety’ is a culturally based grassroots substance abuse recovery movement program specifically for Native community members.
Since the onset of the pandemic, the Department of Corrections has taken steps to slow virus spread among correctional facilities, including temporary suspension of visitation and large events like powwows. Correctional facilities have also temporarily suspended and/or modified recreational and classroom activities that normally involve group gatherings.
In the Red Willow, ceremonies like the sweat lodge have been split into two shorter sessions, to allow for smaller groups. The ‘sweat’ portion has also been temporarily suspended. But talking circles, smudging, prayer, song and dance still convene on sweat lodge grounds. All participants must also wear a mask.
Efforts to lower recidivism
Talking circles are a major part of all Red Willow ceremonies. During the talking circle, participants share common experiences as Native women.
Some conversations explore historical trauma. Historical trauma is cumulative emotional, physical and spiritual pain over one’s lifetime, Caudill said. Historical trauma can pass between generations in Native families. It can result from historic systemic racial inequalities in society and can lead to things like substance abuse and higher likelihood of incarceration.
In Washington’s correctional facilities, approximately 5.9%, or 1,011 incarcerated individuals (pdf) are American Indian or Alaska Native. According to the 2019 United States Census Bureau, American Indian and Alaska Natives make up only 1.9% of the state’s population. As of March 2020, the state’s recidivism rate among American Indian and Alaska Natives state is 44.5%.
And the rate hasn’t fluctuated much. According to the Department of Corrections’ Engagement and Outreach Director, Jeremy Barclay, the rate has remained between 41% and 45% for the past three years. But he’s confident the department has taken steps to lower that rate.
For example, the department has a tribal liaison, Nancy Dufraine, to work with tribes statewide to develop policies, agreements and programs that directly affect tribes. The position promotes effective communication between the department and tribal governments. The liaison also coordinates training among employees in cultural competency for providing services to tribal governments and tribal members. For the past year, the department also hired a second temporary liaison to work on projects and further the department’s work.
Dufraine says historical trauma, chronic poverty, health disparities and lack of access to behavioral health services are all factors that increase likelihood of a Native person becoming incarcerated. But having culturally informed programming can play a role in their success after incarceration.
“Access to this type of programming, including religious expression, education, training and health services while incarcerated with seamless transition upon reentry can have a large impact on recidivism as I see it,” Dufraine said. “These opportunities, especially religious expression, help identify paths to self-awareness and reborn cultural identity that builds strength and endurance to succeed.”
A place to heal
JoySky Caudill. Photo courtesy JoySku Caudill
Caudill is of mixed European descent and shares ancestry with the ancient Mayans of Mesoamerica. She says programs like Wellbriety are an example of the good that can come from incorporating culture in correctional programs. She says it’s not uncommon for incarcerated Natives to have lost their cultural connections by the time they are sentenced to incarceration.
“When one gets lost in their pain and suffering with drugs and alcohol, it’s the strength of the drugs and alcohol that gets in the way,” Caudill said. “We call it the mind-changer of drugs and alcohol. They get caught up in their addictions and don’t get involved in their culture.”
The program creates a safe place to talk with their peers, which often reawakens their ancestral ties.
“They join the Red Willow, and they start to remember their culture and traditions,” Caudill said. “They say, ‘I remember I used to do that. I used to dance and sing. I have to do that again.’ They start remembering what their culture is and what they used to do.
“They begin to dance again and we practice those things. We tell them to show us and pretty soon, they’re the ones teaching the other women. It’s so exciting to see them brighten up and be able to remember these things.”
Another topic the Red Willow have begun to discuss more often in the talking circles is the pandemic. While the women feel safe with each other, they worry about their families in their home communities.
Native communities are facing disproportionate rates of COVID-19 infection and death as a result of an insufficient Indian Health Services Budget, delays in federal relief funds and social detriments of health that put them at an elevated risk, according to Medpage Today, an accredited medical news service that provides continuing education to health care professionals.
“This pandemic can be a triggering time and can generate new fears,” Caudill said. “They may have loved ones who are sick.”
Caudill comforts them by creating a secure environment to express their feelings. She says she and the Red Willow are there to listen without judgement. And the women may arrange to speak with Caudill one-on-one, if it makes them more comfortable.
“Our Native American ceremonies have really brought me comfort in being so far away from my family,” said a member of the Red Willow, who is Apache and Cherokee. “Our spiritual ceremonies during this pandemic have been what I call ‘my dates with the Creator,’ being able to go out and smudge and pray and be in that safe zone has always given me that strength to where I’ve been able to have that peace of mind.”
Having a positive impact on the women’s lives is what pushes Caudill to continue her work at Mission Creek.
“That’s one reason I’ve done my very best to make sure I’m here — to allow these brothers and sisters to communicate their fears without any judgement.”
About Mission Creek Corrections Center: Mission Creek Corrections Center is an all-female adult minimum custody prison located in Mason County, Washington. It has been continuously operated since 2005 and has a capacity of 321.
The program includes a phone line to speak with support specialists and connect to community resources
Release date: July 6, 2020
Release Number: FEMA R10 COVID-19 NR-003
From FEMA and the Washington State Joint Information Center on COVID-19 Response:
OLYMPIA–In response to COVID-19, Washington has launched Washington Listens, a support program and phone line to help people manage elevated levels of stress caused by the pandemic. People who call the Washington Listens support line will speak with a support specialist and get connected to community resources in their area. The program is anonymous.
“Washington Listens helps people cope and strengthen their resiliency in these uncertain times,” said Sue Birch, director of the Washington State Health Care Authority, the agency managing the program. “It complements the state’s behavioral health response services by providing an outlet for people who are not in crisis but need an outlet to manage stress.”
“This pandemic has had far-reaching effects that extend beyond our physical health. We are still in this fight against this virus, and this assistance will help Washingtonians recover during this uniquely stressful time,” said Mike O’Hare, FEMA Region 10 administrator.
The Washington Listens support line is 1-833-681-0211. It is available from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. TTY and language access services are available by using 7-1-1 or their preferred method.
Providers and tribes that have partnered with Washington Listens include American Indian Community Center, Colville Tribe, Community Integrated Health Services, Crisis Connections, Frontier Behavioral Health, Okanogan Behavioral Healthcare, and Swinomish Tribe.
The Washington Listens support line is made available by a $2.2 million Crisis Counseling Assistance and Training Program (CCP) grant funded by Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and supported by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). This program supports short-term interventions to mitigate stress, promote the use or development of coping strategies, and provide emotional support to help Washingtonians understand and process their stress.
Resources and self-help tips are available on walistens.org.
The Washington State Employee Assistance Program, EAP, is offering webinars on a variety of COVID-19 related topics to support emotional and mental health and wellbeing. Register for an upcoming live session or view a pre-recorded session on-demand below. More sessions will be added regularly.
In our ever changing world, learning how to navigate change is an essential skill—one that can be developed. In this webinar we’ll talk about the impact of change, actions you can take to navigate change based on your unique response to stress, and resources available to support you.
How to Build Resilience When Your Job Involves Helping Others in Crisis
This webinar is intended for those who are supporting others in crisis e.g. customers, clients, students, employees/staff. During this webinar you will learn how your mind and body responds to stress, possible impacts on your emotional and physical well-being, strategies to build resilience, and supports and resources available to you.
a traumatic event or vicarious trauma leads to prolonged symptoms of re-experiencing (flashbacks, nightmares), avoidance (of thoughts, people, situations), negative thoughts and mood (shame, fear), and arousal & reactivity (irritable, angry, reckless, issues with concentration or sleep).
anxiety causes you to worry excessively in intensity, frequency, or amount of distress it causes, or when you find it difficult to control the worry (or stop worrying) once it starts.
you are feeling little interest or pleasure in doing things you once enjoyed, or you are feeling down, depressed, hopeless, or are having thoughts of suicide.
In the NCHS survey, Black and Latinx/Hispanic adults were more likely to report anxiety or depression than whites or Asians. This tragic yet unsurprising result makes sense, given the harsh realities and impacts of longstanding systemic racism in our country coupled with the disproportionate health and economic burden of COVID on BIPOC. Know that EAP is committed to and is actively working to dismantle oppression within our program and services. We wholeheartedly support your right to have a safe space in counseling, and you are welcome and encouraged to ask for a counselor who identifies as a person of color—we will do our best to accommodate your request.
The Washington State Employee Assistance Program is offering webinars on a variety of COVID-19 related topics to support emotional and mental health and wellbeing. Register today for these upcoming live webinars:
*New* Couples: Managing Your Way through COVID-19 (live)
EAP is offering webinars on a variety of COVID-19 related topics to support emotional and mental health and wellbeing. Register today for these upcoming live webinars:
Working from Home during COVID-19: Coping with the Challenges, Setting Yourself Up for Success (live)