Since the pandemic began in 2020, over 72,000 people have called our Emotional Support Helpline to talk with NY Project Hope’s trained crisis counselors and over 2.5 million people have logged onto NYProjectHope.org to find links to community resources, as well as information and coping tips. We want folks to know that they are not alone; NY Project Hope is here for ALL New York State Residents! NY Project Hope is a program of the NYS Office of Mental Health and is funded by FEMA.

In the fall, many students will be returning to school after a two-year period during which they were socially isolated due to the COVID-19 pandemic and although there are signs of hope for the future the COVID-19 pandemic continues with much talk about the delta variant driving spikes in new infections and increased vaccination rates amid ongoing controversies about vaccine and mask mandates.  As we look toward the uncertain future, schools can play a major role in promoting collective healing from COVID-19.  It will take preparation and a comprehensive approach that supports students, families and staff to move towards recovery from what has been and will continue to be the largest mass disaster event of our lifetime

While animal companions such as dogs, cats, and even horses have been kept close to the home for centuries, an ever-increasing body of research has supported the role of animals in promoting emotional health in humans. Animals provide a unique therapeutic benefit beyond what can be accomplished exclusively through traditional interventions. Animal-assisted interventions have wide-reaching benefits and the impact is particularly well noted when working with those who have experienced trauma.

Earlier this year, legislation was passed that directed the Commissioner of the Office of Mental Health “convene a workgroup and report regarding frontline worker trauma informed care” in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.  This group was launched in February with Donna Bradbury (OMH) and Glenn Liebman (MHANYS) as co-chairs and is comprised of thirty trauma-informed care champions from a variety of fields and perspectives from across the state.

Is there ever a perfect time? My parents, loved ones, and mentors would tell me no. There will never be a perfect time. No matter how hard we try to “control”, “manage”, and “optimize” our time, we will still be left with the feeling that we need more or didn’t accomplish what we wanted to do or needed to do. How many times has “If I could turn back time or had more time” echoed across our minds at some point in our day, month or year? What would we do if we could turn back time or had more time?
 
That acknowledgment that there will never be a perfect time and the need to take action is what drove the creation and formation of Care Compass Network’s Regional Trauma-Informed Care Network (RTIC) in April 2019. Our team has been together for over two years and all of us believe that the time is NOW to push the Trauma-Informed Care movement forward.
 
We are proud to fund and support a total of four- TIC pilots in their journey towards trauma-informed and building resiliency for their staff and community that they serve.

Much research and scholarship has been dedicated to understanding the way trauma, such as social injustice and systemic inequality, affects people. When this type of research is used to disrupt the social status quo or restore power to marginalized groups it is called social justice research. However, history shows that research may also further oppress groups and maintain systemic inequality when the people effected don’t have a voice in the results.  Within a Youth Voices project, we are striving to hear the narratives of youth in Monroe County. Here are some things we've learned.

Sextortion is the issue of maliciously using information to blackmail people into sexual acts or allowing the perpetrator to get away with sexual assault.  A complicated topic and experience that can be traumatizing across multiple levels, sextortion is only made more prevalent and complex in the current environment.  Be sure to read this month's newsletter for even more information on this critical topic.

Whenever someone I am meeting for the first time asks me what I do for a living, I’m often met with the question “why?” The focus doesn’t tend to be on the victims/survivors aspect of my work, but rather on the reasons why I choose to work with incarcerated individuals. It is true that I have an academic interest in incarceration, the politics of punishment, and how mass incarceration in the US is an extension of slavery and colonialism. But the honest answer to the “why” is deeply personal for me. One of the common threads throughout what I have witnessed both personally and professionally is trauma.

How can we effectively apply the foundational concept of the 3 E's of Trauma to assessing needs in such an atypical experience as an ongoing pandemic?  And why might it be important to do so?  One aspect of current media coverage promotes the idea that we should anticipate a large-scale mental health crisis at best and nearly universal trauma at worst.  While there are very real risks related to our health and well-being in coping with these times, by considering the 3 E’s within the current context can provide a more hopeful, action-oriented framework.