I'm going to go ahead and get
our recording started here.
I'd like to welcome our
presenters for today.
We have Tiffany Russell, who's
the Social Services Manager at
the Niles District Library in
Michigan.
She has also led the social
workers in rural and small
libraries project and is a
part-time structure at Western
Michigan University in Michigan
in the School of Social Work.
Also, we're thrilled to have
with us Anne Chapman who comes
to us as the Director of
strategic partnerships in mental
health and first aid at the
National Council for Behavioral
Health who's going to be talking
to us about the Mental Health
First Aid.
Training that is available.
I have shifted to Anne's slides
and I'm going to pass the ball
and welcome you.
Thank you so much for being
here, Anne.
>> Thank you, Jennifer.
Thank you for having me.
I'm really excited to be here.
Good afternoon, everyone.
So, as Jennifer mentioned, I'm
Anne Chapman.
I'm the Director of Strategic
Partnerships at the National
Council.
I focus on our community impact
work and partnering with
organizations that are helping
to grow the reach of Mental
Health First Aid in a variety of
capacities.
So, I'm here.
I'm not the main event.
I'm just the pre-event.
I forget what the first band is
called but I'm the warmup act.
I'm going to do a brief
presentation today to tell you a
little bit about Mental Health
First Aid, what it is, some of
the updates we have made the
last few years, how it applies
to sort of your communities
libraries and rural communities
and what you can do about
helping to implement the
training.
So I'm assuming that some of you
are familiar with Mental Health
First Aid and some of you this
is new.
This is sort of a high-level
overview and of course there are
additional resources in the
resource guide that Jennifer has
shared.
I actually work for the  National Council for
Behavioral Health.
We are a non-profit membership
association that represents an
advocates on behalf of community
behavioral health clinics and
providers across the country.
We do a variety of things.
We do advocacy work.
We do a lot of consulting,
practice improvement,
education.
It's our public education arm
that is Mental Health First
Aid.
So, we're actually the entity
that brought Mental Health First
Aid to the United States from
Australia, back in 2008.
I love this statement.
It is so crisp and clear.
Mental Health First Aid is the
help offered to a person
experiencing a mental health
challenge, mental disorder or a
mental health crisis.
The first aid is given until
appropriate help is received or
until the crisis resolves.
I love to liken this to CPR or
physical first aid.
If you know -- I'm sure many of
you are CPR certified.
You go through an initial
training.
You understand how to support in
a crisis, but you are sort of
that bridge between someone
experiencing a challenge and the
professional help.
You are not as a result of going
through Mental Health First Aid
training expected to be a
clinician or a provider in any
capacity.
It's really focused on that
early intervention, support
strategies.
So, why Mental Health First
Aid?
Mental health problems are
common.
Much more common than any of us
are aware of.
One in five adults will
experience a mental health
challenge over the course of a
year.
This past year, it has gone
higher than that.
And the number goes even higher
when you think of the course of
someone's lifetime.
That becomes one in two adults.
So mental health challenges are
prevalent.
It's important that we
understand them so that we are
able to notice when someone
needs help.
If we don't understand the
fundamental signs and symptoms
that we want to pay attention
to, we might not be able to
notice when someone is
struggling.
Stigma is highly associated with
mental health problems.
So, if one in two individuals is
going to experience some
challenge and potentially needs
support at sometime over your
lifetime, it's pretty remarkable
that some of us are afraid to
talk about it.
If you break your arm or you
have a heart attack or you are
diagnosed with cancer, you go
and get professional help and
talking about it is not as scary
or doesn't bring up that sort of
shame or stigma.
We really want to help promote
understanding of mental health
challenges to help reduce that
stigma that's out there.
Additionally, professional help
is not always available.
Typically, professional
behavioral health providers
often cluster in urban areas and
they are typically just, in
general, not enough providers to
support everyone that's in need
of some kind of professional
support.
So we want to know, how can we
better support individuals in
our community, in our family, in
our library community.
You know, what are those skills
we can work on ourselves.
Also, individuals are less
likely to seek out mental health
support.
It is something around 40% of
individuals have challenges and
don't seek support.
We have found they are much more
likely to seek support when
encouraged to do so by a trusted
individual in their lives.
Again, really trying to help
more people get the help they
need.
And then finally, often times we
are not sure how to respond.
There's this common sort of fear
or concern about potentially
saying the wrong thing, doing
something that would make the
situation worse.
So, we want to help people feel
empowered with some skills that
can help them intervene and
potentially save a life.
We understand that early
intervention has better outcomes
and that's what Mental Health
First Aid is all about, early
intervention strategies.
So, why Mental Health First Aid
for public libraries?
Libraries have been implementing
Mental Health First Aid for
years and play an important role
in this.
You are a gathering place for
your community.
You are a central hub and a
resource center.
Mental Health First Aid before
the pandemic, of course, was
taught E in person and with
larger groups.
So an instructor or two would
teach about 30 people at a time
and we're always trying to offer
the course for as low cost as
available.
We want everyone who wants to
take a course to be able to take
a course.
Having a public space where it
is easier to convene individuals
is so, so important.
And then individuals come to you
all for resources.
So, how can you help to help
disseminate information about
Mental Health First Aid and
share this is a resource in your
community.
And finally, you know, being
that sort of essential link as
we try to empower everyone that
goes through Mental Health First
Aid.
One of the things you learn is
what are those local resources
in your community, such as that
if someone is experiencing a
mental health collage and you
want to refer them to a place
for more support, you can be
empowered with that knowledge
and help someone out who may be
is confused, not sure where to
turn, being able to give someone
assurance and share that
information is highly
impactful.
As I mentioned before, libraries
have been helping to implement
Mental Health First Aid for
ages.
Over 1400 libraries have held a
training which resulted in
36,000 participants being
trained through libraries.
California and New York are at
the top of the implementers, but
larger, denser populations, so,
of course.
And we just really appreciate
the support and hope to continue
that great work.
Also rural communities
experience unique challenges
that are important to keep in
mind.
So more than 6.5 million people
in nonmetropolitan communities
experience a mental health
condition or challenge in 2016.
So 6.5 million individuals,
that's a lot of people.
And then as I talked about
before, there's not enough
professional behavioral health
providers out there, especially
in rural communities.
So what is the extra support we
need to consider?
Approximately 1.3 million people
living in rural areas have
thoughts of suicide each year.
There are unique factors that
play into your communities.
Changes to, you know, farming
and agriculture, isolation, lack
of resources, a bunch of
different things that factor
in.
But again important statistics
to consider.
Then I talked about the shortage
of mental health professionals.
Unique factors are something
like stigma and lacking
anonymity.
Everyone's culture plays into
their thoughts, feelings and
beliefs about everything in
their life, but particularly in
mental health.
I think we find that there is
sort of this attitude of
strength and kind of suck it up
and push through and hard work
in rural communities that kind
of lends itself to this fear of
needing to reach out and ask for
help.
Additionally, with everyone
being so interconnected and sort
of knowing everyone in their
community, there's concern
around how could I get help and
ensure that information doesn't
get sort of more broadly out
there?
One of the positive sides of
this year of the pandemic is
that so many shifts have
happened in behavioral health.
So many restrictions were lifted
for providing behavioral
healthcare
telehealth.
We hope this sticks around
post-pandemic and the anonymity
piece gets better.
I think those are important
cultural things to keep in
mind.
Also, suicide rates are 3.58
times that of the general
population.
So in rural communities, the
suicide rates are significantly
higher.
This is due to many different
factors.
One of them being access to some
something ammunition that allows
for successful completion of
suicide more than not and being
isolated and able to consider
that and not have someone around
to check in on you.
Those are important
considerations to keep in mind
that are unique to some of your
communities.
Mental Health First Aid has been
growing.
As I mentioned before, we
brought the program here in 2008
and have since trained
2.5 million first aiders.
That number keeps growing.
Over the last year, as we have
ruled out the virtual delivery
of the training we E hope to
continue to grow this much
further.
It really is our big, audacious
goal that it becomes a public
good and everyone has access to
it as readily as CPR.
We think it is that important
and we want it to be accessible
to anyone and everyone who wants
to participate.
If you haven't heard of or been
through a training, this is a
general overview of what the
curricula follows.
You learn about the risk factors
and warning signs.
If we want to pay attention to
the changes of people around us
and cue in and notice signs and
symptoms that may indicate
someone is having a challenge.
We have to know what they are to
pay attention to.
Information shared on a variety
of mental health challenges,
prevalence rates, a lot of
data.
Again, with this aim towards
empowerment.
If these challenges are common,
as prevalent as they are, we
want to empower more people with
knowledge so that this isn't
some abstract concept but
something that you really
understand.
Much like in CPR, you learn the
ABCs of compression, we have a
Mnemonic that is demonstrated on
the left through the action
wheel.
So ALGEE sounds weird but it is
like the cola bear that you saw
on the previous side.
The program started in Australia
so we kept the same one when we
moved it here.
It is focused on how you may
intervene earlier on with
someone experiencing a
challenge.
That consists of how you would
approach someone, listen
nonjudgmentally, give assurance
and information which we say is
hope with facts.
Encourage professional help and
encourage in self help and other
support strategies.
A lot of time spent putting that
into action and practicing what
it feels like.
Additionally, all of this is --
this is an evidence-based
program.
There is a strong set of journal
articles and research studies
that have been done about the
effectiveness of the program and
that's really helped proliferate
this training.
There are three curricula
options and I notice I am going
a little long.
I will speed it up.
Adult, youth and teen, which you
see on the left.
The main of the curricula is
indicative as how you the
learner learn to support through
the training.
So adults, individuals that take
that course are 18 and up and
learn to support other adults.
Youth, again, the learners are
18 and up but they are learning
how to support young people.
Teen is our newest curricula
that have been in pilot phases
the last year and rolling out
more broadly very, very soon.
It's actually appear-to-peer
model.
The learners are teens and they
learn to be peer supports to
other teens in their community,
which we are really excited
about.
We have three delivery pathways,
in person, virtual and blended.
They are varying in length based
on some of the logistical
factors that come into play
depending on how you are
delivering the material.
As I alluded to before, we have
made quite a bit of enhancements
and updates to the curricula.
So, when we brought it here from
Australia in 2008, it was a
pretty straight over
translation.
We took exactly what Australia
had done, made some adjustments
and then brought it here to the
U.S.
Over the course of the last two
years, through a lot of research
and feedback from people
connected to Mental Health First
Aid, we have made updates and
released a new curricula earlier
on in 2020.
Manual updates, participant
processing guides, centralized
guide and the teen curricula is
new.
We have supplements and
modules.
So within the adult curricula
there are certain populations
that have unique experiences,
unique stressors that need
customized content to address.
We have made about seven
modules.
They consistent of public
safety, veterans and their
families.
There's a rural communities
supplement, an older adult
supplement.
There's a module for higher-ed
and I think there are a couple
I'm missing.
There's some customization to
some of the content.
Then if you are interested in
finding a course, these are the
instructions on how you do it.
I -- National Council is the
headquarters.
Our primary role is training
other individuals to be
instructors.
We teach individuals to be
instructors and then they are
empowered to bring the training
to their community.
The best way for you to get
involved is to find an open
training that's available or
connect directly with a
community instructor in your
area.
You go to our website.
You click "find a course."
If you want to find it by
location, you can do that in
this time where most everything
is being delivered virtually.
You can just keep out the
location and put in a date range
and that will bring up all of
the courses that are open and
available.
You can join someone's course in
New York City, even if you are
in Minnesota because everything
is virtual at this point.
You'll see the course sort of --
I don't know.
The little buttons that show
adult, youth, Spanish, there is
a now a virtual one.
So it is a V inside of a little
green circle and it will tell
you the course is virtual and
then you click to find out if
there are open seats.
You can also toggle away from
the courses and click to the
instructors and that will bring
up a list of virtually certified
instructors.
Then again, as I mentioned, you
can reach out to them and they
can host one for you or let you
know when they have upcoming
courses.
It's sort of up to what works
for your community and then
there is always the option of
becoming an instructor yourself
and then you can run the courses
ongoing and bring them to your
community that way.
Last thing, we love to close
with our action plan.
Today you are taking time to
learn about some tough topics
and you are taking time out of
your Davie ya this webinar.
Don't forget that taking care of
yourself is essential to taking
care of others around you.
Our action plan is always what
are three self care activities
that you can plan into your
schedule to do within the next
seven days?
Think of who two supportive
people are that you could call
and check in with if you needed
to and what's one goal you might
set around mental health
awareness to work towards over
the course of the next year.
I will stop there and open it up
to questions.
>> Fantastic.
Thank you so much, Anne.
This is great.
There was a flood of folks that
chimed in at the beginning
saying they had taken the
training and really appreciated
it.
>> Oh, great.
>> Yeah.
Your comments about the shortage
of mental health care providers,
every time I hear someone say
that my heart clinches because I
know we are going to need more
of them.
So, I don't know what sort of
recruitment efforts are coming
from those institutions, but
hopefully we get more, as well.
It's so great to know these
resources are there.
I thought it was interesting --
somebody made the comment that
the information is more for the
general public but that they are
interested in gaining more
skills as a librarian with
library-specific challenges.
So I know that is always an
opportunity for us in the field
to find more ways to bring
specifics.
>> Yeah.
Yeah.
Absolutely.
I mean, that's a great
observation and absolutely
true.
Mental Health First Aid is
really intended to be as broadly
applicable as possible.
And it's all about if you think
about d if you think of mental
health being on a continuum, it
is in the early stages.
We are all about early
intervention and how to access
and encourage professional
mental help.
Totally hear you.
It is more on the generalized
side, but that's the intent
because it's all about how can
you support people in your
community, not asking that you,
yourself to be a clinician.
There are a bunch of other
trainings that are available if
you want to dive deeper,
particularly into suicide.
Look into what other trainings
that may suit you.
>> Excellent.
Just to clarify, there was a
question.
Is there a way to refer others
in how to find I community
instructors already in the
communities.
I don't know if you have blog
posts of something that people
could direct other folks to find
that information.
>> Sure.
Absolutely.
If you go on to the web page,
there's a couple of different
resources.
We have a leg blog that comes
out.
There are some case -- a page on
case studies that dives into how
certain communities and
organizations are implementing
and then the page I showed you
about finding a course and
finding an instructor is open to
all.
So anyone that wants to find an
instructor in their community
can go on to that public page
and look for someone that way.
>> Okay.
And one more quick question.
I'm guessing that this is
probably addressed in the
training, but what legal issues
should one be mindful of when
intervening, particularly when
it comes to youth?
>> Yeah.
So, similar to CPR and physical
first aid, the good Samaritan
laws a apply they are slightly varied
across states so you want to
look into that.
But if you have been through a
med cat first aid or CPR
training, you are never asked to
do anything that is outside of
your comfort zone.
We are mindful of what your
comfort level is and always
considering the safety of
everyone involved.
And then pulling in the
professional help when your
capacity has been surpassed.
>> Someone asked if that varied
state by state and it sounds
like it does.
>> Yeah.
>> Definitely worth diving in
for your state specific as.
We excellent.
Let's go ahead and transition to
Tiffany Russell.
Thank you so much, Tiffany, for
being here and if other folks
have outstanding questions for
Anne about the Mental Health
First Aid, you can also reach
out and contact them directly
with the e-mail here or post
anything else to chat.
So, thank you.
And welcome, Tiffany.
>> Thank you very much.
Thank you all for joining us on
this afternoon.
Thanks to Anne.
I'm a great big fan of Mental
Health First Aid.
I really am in support of the
work that they are doing,
specifically about the
education, providing education
and also decreasing the stigma
that's associated with mental
health.
I think that is really, really
important.
We're going to be talking about
using a trauma-informed approach
in libraries today.
Before we get started, a little
bit about myself.
As was mentioned earlier, I'm
the Social Services Manager at
Niles District Library in
Michigan.
We were the recipients of a
three-year grant that allowed
the library to hire a full-time
social worker, which is myself.
And we also have the ability to
have social work interns.
Through that period of time, we
were meeting with patrons,
helping them to get connected
with resources, assisting them
with different things they would
come to the library for.
It's been a great pleasure.
We have helped a lot of people,
even throughout this pandemic,
which of course I will changed
some things but we really -- I
really believe in the work of
having a social worker in
libraries and that collaboration
is really been amazing.
So, before we get started, I
have an exercise that I'd like
to do.
I always start my presentations
with this because I think it is
super important.
What we are going to do is take
about 30 to 60 seconds and we
are just going to take some time
to breathe.
Here you will see a picture of
my dog, my chocolate lab.
This is chocolate Russell.
I use this picture because one
day we were outside and trapper
just turned 2 years old.
Those of you with dogs or pets
know that the puppy, baby phase
can be exhausting.
He is often not sitting still
and on the go and ram bungs.
I took this picture one day
because we were outside and it
was a really nice day, a really
nice evening.
He stopped and he sat there on
our deck and he just stopped and
you see he closed his eyes and
literally was just taking a deep
breath.
I hurried and snapped the
picture because as I said it was
a rare moment and then I
thought, wow, even my dog took a
moment and recognized the
importance of taking time toll
breathe.
I think it is important to
notice the importance of deep
breathing, particularly in the
phase that we are all in right
now, this virtual world.
We are often rushing from one
virtual thing to the next and we
don't have enough time in
between all the time.
So, there's some great benefits
to deep breathing.
It can help with relieving
stress and anxiety.
It is a great way to ground
yourself and recenter yourself
and refocus.
So I I would like to take about
30 seconds for us to do this
deep breathing activity and if
you are sitting somewhere, you
can feel to put your feet flat
on the floor.
If you have arms on your chair,
you can rest your arms or your
hands on your chair and then we
will take a couple of deep
breaths.
So, what we are going to do is
we are going to take a deep
breath in and then we will
slowly release it and I'll count
that down for you.
So we're going to take a deep
breath in.
Two, three, four, and then
exhale, two, three four, deep
breath in, and exhale two,
three, four.
One more time, deep breath in,
and exhale, two, three, four.
Again, this is a great way to
ground ourself and recenter and
refocus throughout the day.
I encourage you to use it if you
are having meetings, at the
beginning of your meeting, in
the middle of your meeting and
in particular if you are
participating in something where
the topic is a little tough.
Today, we will be talking about
trauma.
If anyone needs to take some
moments to do deep breathing,
please feel free to do this.
Here's the definition of
trauma.
This is from SAMHSA, which is
substance abuse and mental
health health services
administration.
It comes from the Greek word of
wound.
So trauma by Neve addition is
individual trauma resulting from
an event, series of events or
set of circumstances experienced
by an individual as physical or
emotionally harmful or
life-threatening with lasting
adverse effects on that
individual's functioning and
their mental, physical, social,
emotional or spiritual well
being.
I think that last sentence is
really important.
Let's ask who's affected by
trauma and what does trauma look
like?
Picture in your mind -- answer
this question if your mind.
Who's affected by trauma and
what does trauma look like?
Can you identify trauma?
I have some pictures here of
people you may or may not be
familiar with, some
celebrities.
We have Jim Carrey, Oprah
Winfrey, Charlize Theron, Tyler
Perry and Nelson Mandela.
Believe it or not, all of these
people have experienced a form
of trauma within their lives.
Oprah was abused as a child.
Tyler Perry was also abused and
grew up with a period of
homelessness, Jim Carrey as
well.
Charlize Theron, her mother shot
her father in a domestic dispute
and we know Nelson Mandela spent
years in prison in south
Africa.
You'll notice the center is
blank.
I left that blank on purpose
because I want you to think
about who you know that fits
there.
Maybe it's yourself.
Maybe it's a family member.
Maybe it's a co-worker.
Maybe it is someone who
frequently visits the library.
The point is that trauma does
not discriminate, right?
Doesn't matter if you are black,
white, male, female, short,
tall, old, young.
Most people will experience a
form of trauma in their life.
There are three types of trauma
that are key to note.
We have acute trauma, which is a
single incident.
Something that happens one
time.
Then we have chronic trauma.
And that is repeat or prolonged
exposure to trauma.
So child abuse or maybe domestic
violence for example.
And then we have complex
trauma.
Complex trauma is when you are
exposed to a varied -- or varied
and multiple events.
Let's say you experienced child
abuse as a child and then you
grew up and got into an accident
and you had to maybe have  amputation or house
fire, when you have multiple
things that have occurred.
And then we want to talk about
and consider the ACEs study.
If you are open to it you can
answer yes or no in the chat if
you have heard about the ACEs
study?
It talks about how these adverse
experiences in childhood can
have life-long impacts on your
physical or your mental health.
We will talk a little more about
 ACEs in just a
moment.
Here's some other sources we may
not consider.
Things that can be traumatizing
or considered a trauma for
people.
There's some generational
poverty is a source of trauma,
structural and systemic racism,
discrimination based on gender
identity, homophobia, racism,
sexism, child abuse, intimate
partner violence, immigration
and last but not least global
pandemics.
How can we talk about trauma
without mentioning the fact that
we have all been living through
a trauma the past year.
This COVID-19 thing has
definitely impacted all of us.
It's been a global thing,
right?
So, that has been a source of
trauma for many, many people.
We went from living life, as we
knew it, our normal lives, to a
quick and abrupt interruption of
that.
We lost people in 2020.
There were people who had to say
good-bye to loved ones over cell
phones or video who weren't able
to grieve properly.
We obviously had to learn this
new virtual world that we are
all in right now.
So there's a series of things
that were pretty traumatic for
us and we're actually still
living in the midst of that.
I think it is super important to
mention that we should consider
a global pandemic as a trauma.
Here's a great graphic that
talks about t the ACEs.
It breaks it down as far as
places these adverse experiences
can occur and there are three
categories, household, community
and environment.
It lists some examples there,
talking about what ACEs within
the household would look like.
Some examples, abuse, divorce,
substance abuse and within the
community breaks it down further
and talks about racism, poverty,
discrimination.
And then it goes further and
talks about the environment and
mentions pandemics there again
but also includes natural
disasters and things like that.
Let's talk about some of the
effects of trauma.
How can trauma affect people?
It can affect people by
disrupting healthy environment.
Trauma can create other mental
health issues such as depression
and anxiety.
It can lead to substance abuse
issues, divorce, child abuse and
increase in crime, poverty,
unemployment and also it can
produce multi-generations of
people with untreated trauma.
But we have people who are
traumatized, the chances of that
continuing if they don't get
help or don't get treated are
pretty common.
You might say, why is this
important?
Why do we need to treat trauma?
SAMHSA says serious effects on
health, behaviors,
relationships, work school and
other aspects of life.
It is important for behavioral
health, healthcare and other
providers to gain the knowledge
and skills needed to promote
healing recovery and wellness.
I think you should pay
attention.
If there is anything to pay
attention to in this statement,
it is the last sentence.
Talking about promoting healing,
recovery and wellness.
Why it is important to
understand trauma within the
library setting?
Here are some thoughts I have
about that.
It is important to understand
trauma because ultimately it
shapes our interactions with the
people that we serve.
I often tell people, we don't
know what people are facing or
experiencing before they come to
us, and we don't know what they
are going to face or experience
when they leave.
Understanding that really helps
us shape our interaction with
that person that is in front of
us at that moment.
It helps eliminate judgment,
stereotypes and biases and it
also helps understand why people
respond the way they do.
When we understand trauma and we
know what trauma is and we can
identify trauma, it helps us
understand why a person is
acting the way they do, why they
are responding to us the way
they do, why they are using
certain words.
Why are they acting a certain
way.
And then it prevents us from
retraumatizing individuals,
which is ski.
We don't want to retraumaize
people.
If we understand trauma, we know
that it will shape our
interactions and help us not to
retraumaize people.
And then it also helps build
trust with patrons.
I think this is so key weenie
talking about the people that we
serve.
Building trust with you are a
patrons is really important.
You might say, okay, I
understand that part but now
where do we begin, right?
Where do we begin?
I'm glad you asked.
I think this is a great place to
start.
Recognizing and talking about
what the four Rs of
trauma-informed service are.
Here I have them broken down.
It is realize, recognize,
respond and resist.
The first is realize.
We want realize the impact of
trauma.
How it can impact groups,
communities and the person.
Second part is recognizing.
We want to recognize the signs
and symptoms of trauma in a
person, in families, in staff
and other people that are
involved in the system.
The third R is responding.
We want to respond to trauma by
integrating principles in our
policies, procedure and
practices and the last is
resist, which we just talked
about.
That is resist retraumaizing the
individual.
We don't want to retraumaize
people.
It is super important for us to
understand trauma.
How do we apply trauma-informed
approaches in our library?
The key here is beginning with a
person-centered approach.
SAMHSA has this yet about
person-centered care.
You may or may not have heard
this term, person-centered
approach.
I like to think of it -- or it
reminds me of a medical type of
term.
Because I have some experience
in medical social work and I
remember us using it often.
But SAMHSA says, person-centered
care means people have control
over their services and then
goes and talks about amount, and
duration of services.
It also says person-centered
care is respective and
responsive to the cultural,
linguistic and other socialal
environmental needs of the
individual.
So basically what we get out of
that is the person is at the
center of after service.
And we should treat people as a
person first.
We don't treat people in
relation to their circumstance
or their label.
We don't want to attach labels
to people either.
How do you respond to patrons
experiencing trauma?
This is a question that often
comes up in conversations I have
had here at the library that I
work at, and other libraries,
our partner libraries, our
webinars.
We often talk about how do we
respond to people who are
experiencing trauma?
In those moments it may seem
really hard and I don't know
what to do or what to say.
Here are some points I think are
great to think about.
Think first thing we want to do
is apply compassion.
So, if we lead with compassion
that's a great place to start.
We want to be compassionate
about people's circumstances,
thinking about what it is like I
said earlier, what they may be
facing before they come to us
and what they may be facing
after they leave.
Acknowledging people's
strengths.
We don't want to focus on the
weakness of a person.
We want to focus on what their
strengths are.
Focusing on the behavior as
well.
This is key.
We want to focus on what that
person's behavior is, not
necessarily other things that
may be contributing to that.
We want to pucks on what they
are doing and what their
behavior is.
Creating welcoming spaces.
This can look different for
everybody.
It can be the way your library
looks, it can be a person saying
hello when a person walks into
the library.
It can be simple as a person
giving instructions on where to
go for the bathroom or letting
them know you have a bathroom in
the quiet area.
It is about creating a welcoming
space.
The next ties into not labeling
people.
Instead of us generalizing
people and saying, oh, the old
guy is here again.
Maybe we should get to know that
person's name and refer to him
as his name.
Instead of saying the homeless
guy, the homeless lady, the lady
that carries all of the bags.
The woman with four kids that is
here on Wednesdays.
Let's use people first
language.
Let's identify them as who they
are.
And call people by their names.
Develop that relationship with
them and have conversations and
get to know our patrons.
The last point is don't assume.
I think we really should think
about the danger of aZs.
We don't want to make
assumptions about people because
it is not good to do that.
And we can make assumptions
based on a lot of things.
We can make assumptions based on
a person's appearance, based on
a person's body odor, all types
of things, but it is best and
safest not to do so.
We don't want to assume
something about someone because
we don't know what their story
is.
When we I talk about applying
trauma-informed practices or
approaches or using a
trauma-informed lens to
policies, procedure and
practices, I encourage everyone
to have discussions about your
policies and who they target.
Also, ask yourself the question,
are your policies enforced with
equity?
I get so many comments and a lot
of feedback and a lot of
conversation about this here.
There are some examples that we
can use when we talk about our
policies being enforced with
equity and policies specifically
in who they may target.
Some examples I can throw out
there that I can think of is
sleeping in the library.
That's a common issue.
It's a common debate, back and
forth, about should people be
allowed to, you know, sleep in
the library or should they not
be allowed to sleep in the
library?
Other things, you know, talking
about banning policies.
If your library has a policy on
banning people and who you ban.
If your library has a policy on
how many bags a person can bring
into the library, things like
that.
It is all about having a
conversation.
It's not going to be something
that you resolve right away but
it is about having a
conversation and asking yourself
these questions.
Here's a concept that I think is
really important and relevant to
this work when we are talking
about being trauma informed.
It's the idea of moving from
what's wrong with you to what
happened to you?
Please don't misunderstand what
I'm saying.
I don't think that we should go
up to people and ask people
what's wrong with you or what
happened to you, but this is
more about changing the way we
think about our interactions
with people.
As opposed to saying, oh, my
gosh, what's wrong with that
person?
Change your way of thinking to
say what happened to that
person?
Maybe it is something that
happened to them that is
contributing to the way they are
responding or acting.
It's more of a mindset.
So please understand that I'm
not suggesting anybody go up to
anybody asking these questions
but it is more about thinking
differently when we examine our
response and our interactions
with people.
Keep in mind, the same approach
cannot be used for everyone.
Everyone is different.
There are circumstances where
you will do one thing with one
person and may not work with the
next person.
Each person has their own unique
story.
You'll see my little cookie
cutter here and it is basically
saying there's no cookie cutter
approach here.
It is really a process.
Here are the key takeaways we
talked about.
We talked about the definition
of trauma and who experiences
trauma and remember that can be
anybody.
And remember that trauma doesn't
discriminate.
We talked about how trauma can
cause other physical and mental
disorders.
We talked about the importance
of understanding trauma and
changing the way that we respond
to and think about trauma.
And moving from what's wrong
with you to what happened to
you.
I think the last thing, the last
point here is remembering this
is a commitment to continuing
the work.
It is a process.
And it's a process that's going
to take time.
It's going to take
conversations.
It's going to take work on
everybody's part.
Thank you.
>> Well, fantastic, Tiffany.
So great.
A lot of great discussion and
sharing in chat.
There's one question, one
interesting discussion going
on.
Somebody mentioned that just a
reminder that some people do not
appreciate person-first language
including many in the disability
community.
It is important to recognize and
check the language we use, but
we have to make sure we aren't
alienating or making people more
comfortable in the process.
So there is a little discussion
around that.
I don't know if you have
thoughts around that.
>> I agree with that.
It is definitely something you
have to know what community you
are dealing with and also really
understanding person-centered or
people first is really about
what the person wants.
If I'm part of a community, I
would expect someone to ask me,
what is my presence?
What should I refer to you as?
What makes you comfortable.
We want to do that first.
We don't want to make an
assumption.
We want to ask people and get
their input on how we should
address them.
Definitely.
>> Absolutely.
I think this is a great point --
or great question and one that I
anticipated.
Any advice on dealing with
co-workers who don't seem open
to this and who consistently
ignore treating people with
respect, especially co-worker
and have made jokes about COVID,
and even about somebody losing
their mom.
You know, issues of racism may
be coming up.
I don't know if you have seen
how libraries -- I mean, one
thing I would encourage you to
consider is starting with the
learning guide thinking of
customizing that to address the
questions and activities you, as
a group, could pursue.
I think building that
understanding through those
connections and those
conversations for them to
understand the trauma either
individuals are experiencing 0er
that the community is.
I'd love to have your thoughts
on bringing others on board to
be more trauma informed.
>> Honestly, I think it can be
as simple as a platform like
this or having some time devoted
to these conversations in your
staff meetings, in your morning
meetings, things like that.
It is a topic that is serious
and needs to be discussed.
Maybe sometimes people don't
understand the full -- the full
effect of what this is caused
for other people.
I think it is as simple as that,
having that conversation.
There's probably more that can
be done on a one-to-one basis
with a supervisor or something
like a that when you get into
people being inconsiderate than
kind of thing but having a
simple conversation and saying
this is what experience are
experiencing or have
experienced.
So back to everybody needing to
lead with compassion.
That's not showing compassion
by, you know, telling someone
what their experience is or is
not.
Following those key concepts and
having those conversations, I
think, is super important.
>> Yeah.
I want to emphasize, it's so
interesting, I believe, how
COVID has really shifted our
thinking about the time that
this process takes and that it
takes -- knowing that it takes a
long time but we really do have
all of the time in the world to
focus on this to make the
experiences of those in our
community better.
So I feel like prioritizing the
time that it takes to have these
conversations, even that three
realms of ACEs as a tool.
Give them to staff and have a
discussion.
My personal experience with
becoming more aware of trauma
came through my own experience
of having a son with cancer.
>> Yeah.
>> Looking around the world
after that diagnosis, my whole
perspective on road rage and
people complaining and lying in
line at the grocery store
completely changed because I
looked everybody with an
awareness that maybe they are
coping with trauma.
Even that awareness of how much
more trauma there is than we
presume I think is a good place
to start.
>> Oh, yeah.
Yeah.
>> Excellent.
There are some folks asking
about being excited about having
more Social Workers work with
libraries.
I'll add a link to the event
page, as well but we did a great
webinar looking at how to engage
with students in social work
that can bring some of that as
well as many examples from
libraries that are engaging with
Social Workers and with
everything that we do in
libraries.
I encourage you to think about
any of those potential partners
in your community, whether it be
just having a better set of
referral tools for you to guide
patrons, or opportunities for
your staff discussions and
learning.
Those organizations are going to
be here to help you with those
staff learning needs, as well.
>> Yeah, definitely.
I'm excited about the social
work and library collaboration.
I think just if I could speak
about 30 seconds on the fact
that my library is a small and
rural library, hence the title
of our program.
I think if people are creative
and think outside of the box and
utilize partnerships and
resources, that there are ways
to meet that need if you have
that in your library.
>> Fantastic.
Of course, back to reminding you
of the Mental Health First Aid
curriculum.
That additionally would be an
excellent way to start the
learning and conversation at
your library.
>> Excellent way.
Yes, definitely.
>> If you are in a small
community with a small staff or
maybe on your own, definitely
think of this is a learning
opportunity for your volunteers,
your board.
What a wonderful way to bring a
common language to all of those
in your community that are a
part of your library.
So you can bring those folks on
board, as well.
All right.
Well, Anne, do you have any --
oh, looks like she had to step
away.
We won't ask her for outstanding
questions.
Tiffany, do you have some final
thoughts you would like to send
folks away with?
>> I think -- I was just
scrolling the chat and saw a lot
of conversation and different
well, this happened here or
there or you can't forget this.
I think it is important that
people understand that this is
not a one-way thing.
It is really a work.
It's going to take some
commitment and conversations.
They will not always be
comfortable.
But it's going to be necessary.
If we think about ultimately
what our goal is, our goal is to
provide the best service to the
patrons that we serve.
Having that at the forefront and
then working our way through
that and to our end goal is what
is important.
Just don't get discouraged by
those type of things, those type
of uncomfortable conversations
because sometimes they are super
necessary in order to create
something even better for people
that we are serving.
>> Fantastic.
All right.
Well, I encourage you all to
take some deep breaths as you
transition back to the rest of
your work for today.
Thank you so much, Tiffany, for
leading us through this learning
and best of luck in your journey
and thank you to all of you who
joined us today.
I send condolences to any of you
who have been impacted by the
loss of family members.
That's heart breaking for sure.
So thank you all.
And we'll followup later on
today once the recording is
posted and I'll send you all a
certificate for attending today
and we look forward to seeing
you next time at a WebJunction
webinar.