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First, at the top of the list: SAMHSA Disaster Helpline and similar links.
Next in the list: Bundled “All Day” Events for organizations with events happening at multiple times throughout the day and/or in many formats or locations; these are bundled into a single listing to prevent endless scrolling. Usually these offer a lookup by zip code or other criteria.
Lastly, Time-Specific Events listed by start time from 12:01am early morning to 11:59pm late night. Warmlines and places east of Oregon’s time zone tend to start earlier (e.g. 4am in Oregon is 7am in New York).
All sites welcome pets and are accessible to people with disabilities.
Anyone seeking shelter should contact 211info(link is external) by dialing 2-1-1 or 1-866-698-6155. 211info staff are available to identify shelters, warming centers, and review transportation options 24/7 for Multnomah County.
Transportation
Free transportation to warming shelters will be available by calling 2-1-1. Starting at 6 p.m. Wednesday through noon Saturday, people in need can ride TriMet to warming shelters or any other warming space without being turned away if they cannot afford to pay fare. Due to road conditions, expect delays.
If you are concerned about someone you see during colder conditions, such as an individual who is not dressed for the weather conditions, call the non-emergency response line at 503-823-3333 and request a welfare check.
If someone is unsheltered and their life appears to be in danger, call 9-1-1 for medical attention.
Year-round shelters
Portland Rescue Mission 111 W Burnside Street, Portland 97209 Intake: Walk in or call 503-906-7690 for information. Additional beds available for winter shelter. Hours: Check-in: 7 days per week 8am-2pm for lottery, 7pm for bed, 7:30pm for mat
CityTeam International 526 SE Grand Avenue, Portland 97214 Intake: Walk in to sign up 5:45pm, must be checked in by 6:30pm. $5 nightly fee waived during severe weather. Hours: 7 days per week 5:45pm-7am
Wy’East Shelter 1415 SE 122nd Avenue, Portland 97233 Intake: Visit website to fill out an online referral form. Shelter intake times will vary as the shelter often maintains a waitlist. Once a space is reserved, the guest may continue to use the space until they no longer need it. Hours: Shelter services: 24 hours per day / 7 days per week, but check-in changes based on intake appointment time Referrals accepted Monday-Friday: 11am-4pm
Laurelwood Center 6130 SE Foster Road, Portland OR 97206 Intake: Intake is done through the TPI Resource Center. If guests arrive at the shelter location without going through the reservation lottery intake, they will be turned away. Once a space is reserved, it is saved until the guest does not return. Hours: TPI Resource Center walk in: 650 NW Irving Street, Portland, 7 Days per week 8am-4pm TPI Resource Center phone: Monday-Friday 8am-4pm, 503-280-4700 Shelter: 24 hours per day / 7 days per week
Gresham Women’s Shelter Intake: Call 2-1-1 to be added to a callback list when the list is open Hours: 24 hours per day / 7 days per week
Willamette Center 5120 SE Milwaukie Avenue, Portland 97202 Intake: Intake is done through the TPI Resource Center. If guests arrive at the shelter location without going through the reservation lottery intake, they will be turned away. Once a space is reserved, it is saved until the guest does not return. Hours: TPI Resource Center walk in: 650 NW Irving Street, Portland, 7 Days per week 8am-4pm TPI Resource Center phone: Monday-Friday 8am-4pm, 503-280-4700 Shelter: 24 hours per day / 7 days per week
Walnut Park Shelter 5329 NE Martin Luther King Junior, Portland OR 97211 Intake: Intake is done through the TPI Resource Center. If guests arrive at the shelter location without going through the reservation lottery intake, they will be turned away. Once a space is reserved, it is saved until the guest does not return. Hours: TPI Resource Center walk in: 650 NW Irving Street, Portland, 7 Days per week 8am-4pm TPI Resource Center phone: Monday-Friday 8am-4pm, 503-280-4700 Shelter: Overnight only until November 1st, then 24 hours per day / 7 days per week
River District Navigation Center 1111 NW Naito Parkway, Portland OR 97209 Intake: Intake is done through the TPI Resource Center. If guests arrive at the shelter location without going through the reservation lottery intake, they will be turned away. Once a space is reserved, it is saved until the guest does not return. Hours: TPI Resource Center walk in: 650 NW Irving Street, Portland, 7 Days per week 8am-4pm TPI Resource Center phone: Monday-Friday 8am-4pm, 503-280-4700 Shelter: 24 hours per day / 7 days per week
Creating Conscious Communities with People Outside (C(3)PO) Outdoor COVID-19 Shelter Intake: By reservation only. Walk in to one of the three locations listed below to sign up. Agencies will reach out as shelter space is available. Once a guest has a space reserved it is theirs until no longer needed. One site prioritizes people who identify as LGBTQ+, while a second site prioritizes people from communities of color. -BIPOC Affinity Village: 84 NE Weidler Street -Queer Affinity Village: 42 SE Water Avenue -Blended Village: NW 6th and Glisan Hours: 24 hours per day / 7 days per week
Bybee Lakes Hope Center Shelter Intake: Call 971-333-5070 for intake Hours: Intake: 7 days per week 8am-8pm
Multnomah County Family Shelters Intake: Call 2-1-1 to be screened and added to the waitlist Hours: Waitlist/Intake Line: 7 days per week 9am-5pm. Shelter: 24 hours per day / 7 days per week
Porch Light Youth Shelter 1635 SW Alder Street, Portland 97205 Intake: Walk in or call Janus Youth Access Center at 503-432-3986 Hours: 7 days per week 8:45pm-8:45am for emergency shelter access
Clackamas County
Open Shelters
Father’s Heart Street Ministry 603 12th St.,Oregon City 503-722-9780 Service pets (on leash or in carriers) are accepted. Open Date/Time: Wed., Feb. 22 2023 9:00 AM Close Date/Time: Fri., Feb. 24 2023 1:00 PM
Molalla Hope Center 209 Kennel Avenue, Molalla Dogs and other small pets in carriers are welcome, but check with the staff. Hot drinks available. Dinner is served around 7 p.m. Open Date/Time: Thu., Feb. 23 2023 8:00 AM Close Date/Time: Sun., Feb. 26 2023 8:00 AM
Zoar Lutheran Church Shelter, Dinner at 6PM 190 SW Third Ave.,Canby 503-266-4061 Dinner will be at about 5 to 6 p.m. There may be other activities at the church from 6 to 8 p.m. Dogs on leash and other small pets in carriers are welcome, but check with the staff. Open Date/Time: Wed., Feb. 22 2023 5:00 PM Close Date/Time: Sat., Feb. 25 2023 7:00 AM
Daytime Centers
Call 2-1-1 or visit 211info to confirm openings and for additional shelter information
Unless otherwise noted, all sites are ADA accessible, allow service animals only, and are open to the general public. Mask guidelines are subject to change but at this time are optional.
Canby Library – Open 503-266-3394 220 NE 2nd Ave, Canby map Monday–Thursday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday–Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Open to public as a warming center when temps reach 35 degrees or lower. We offer free Wi-Fi, restrooms, water fountain.
City of Milwaukie’s Ledding Library – Closed 503-786-7580 10660 SE 21st Ave., Milwaukie map TriMet: 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 70, 75, 99, 152, Max Orange Line Monday-Thursday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday & Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, noon to 6 p.m. We offer free Wi-Fi, restrooms, water fountain.
Estacada Community Center – Closed 503-630-7454 200 SW Club House Dr., Estacada map TriMet Line 30 Monday–Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. We offer free Wi-Fi, coffee, tea, water. Lunch is served Tuesday-Thursday, donation for 60 and older, and $4 for anyone else. Library, table games, and puzzles available.
Father’s Heart Street Ministry – Open 603 12th St., Oregon City map 503-722-9780 Monday–Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Gladstone Senior Center – Open 503-655-7701 1050 Portland Ave., Gladstone map TriMet Line 34 and 31 Monday–Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Open to public when temps reach 35 degrees or lower AND The Gladstone Emergency Center announces to public via city website, social media and phone message. We offer free Wi-Fi, coffee, tea, small snacks, and access to computers. Lunch is served Tuesday-Thursday. Suggested donation of $4 for 60 and older, and $5 for everyone else. Everyone is welcome.
Happy Valley Library – Closed 503-783-3456 13793 SE Sieben Park Way, Clackamas map TriMet Line 155 and 156 Sunday, Monday, Friday & Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. We offer free Wi-Fi, restrooms, water fountain.
Hoodland Library – Open 503-622-3460 24525 E Welches Rd, Welches map Serviceable via Mt Hood Express Monday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday, 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, noon to 6 p.m. Saturday, noon to 5 p.m. Restrooms and water fountains available.
Lake Oswego Adult Community Center – Open 503-635-3758 505 G Ave., Lake Oswego map 1/2 mile from Lake Oswego Transit Center Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. We offer free Wi-Fi, coffee, tea, and access to a computer. Lunch is served Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 11:30 a.m. Suggested donation of $4 for 60 and older, and $5 for everyone else.
Lake Oswego Library – Closed 503-636-7628 706 4th St., Lake Oswego map 3 blocks from Lake Oswego Transit Center, routes 35, 36, 37, 38 Monday –Thursday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. We offer free Wi-Fi, restrooms, water fountain.
Oregon City Library – Opening at noon 503-657-8269 606 John Adams St., Oregon City map TriMet Line 33 and 32 Monday – Friday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. We offer free Wi-Fi, restrooms, water fountain
Sandy Library – Open 503-668-5537 38980 Proctor Blvd, Sandy map Serviceable by SAM Monday and Tuesday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday & Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. Restrooms and water fountains available.
West Linn Community Center – Closed 503-557-4704 22500 Salamo Road, West Linnmap Monday – Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. We offer free Wi-Fi, games, a library, restrooms, water fountain.
West Linn Library – Closed 503-656-7853 1595 Burns St., West Linn map TriMet Line 35 Monday, Thursday & Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday & Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. We offer free Wi-Fi, restrooms, water fountain.
Washington County
Washington County opens additional Severe Weather Shelter Capacity 2/22/2023 at 3 p.m. until inclement weather ends
Washington County opens additional Severe Weather Shelter Capacity 2/22/2023 at 3 p.m. until inclement weather ends
Due to dangerous weather conditions, Washington County has activated inclement weather shelters to anyone seeking shelter through the winter weather event. Unhoused people seeking shelter should present in person at the locations listed below:
Shelters will remain open 24 hours throughout the severe weather event. Hot meals are provided for guests, no one will be turned away, and domestic pets are okay (be prepared to work with shelter staff as locations individual pet policies may vary). To help someone obtain transportation to a shelter location, please call 503-846-4722.
If someone outside is unsheltered and whose life appears to be in danger, call 9-1-1. Otherwise, if you see someone about whom you are concerned during cold weather call the police non-emergency number at 503-629-0111 and request a welfare check.
The Winter Shelter Program has historically operated between November and March to provide life-saving emergency shelter. Until Washington County increases year-round shelter capacity, winter shelter capacity is critical to keeping people safe from the winter elements.
From November 1, 2022, to May 31, 2023 Washington County funded four winter shelter sites throughout the County for youth, individuals, and families. Locations include the Hillsboro Cloverleaf building, the Beaverton Community Center, and motel vouchers for families and medically fragile individuals.
To access shelter and housing resources, contact Community Connect (our coordinated entry system to receive services) at 503-640-3263 or email communityconnect@caowash.org.
If someone outside is unsheltered and whose life appears to be in danger, call 9-1-1. Otherwise, if you see someone about whom you are concerned during cold weather call the police non-emergency number at 503-629-0111 and request a welfare check.
CLARK COUNTY, WASHINGTON
If you need shelter from winter weather, call the Council for the Homeless Housing Hotline at 360-695-9677. Council for the Homeless can provide referrals for winter shelters.
To get warm during the day, go to St. Paul Lutheran Church’s basement shelter at 1309 Franklin St., Vancouver, open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Overnight walk-in shelters include:
Living Hope Church, 2711 N.E. Andresen Road, Vancouver, open from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. No referral is needed.
Washougal Community Center, 1681 C St., Washougal, open from 6 p.m. to 7 a.m. No referral is needed.
Winter weather and City of Portland services
You can help all Portlanders survive the freezing temperatures by checking in on neighbors, whether housed or unhoused.If you are concerned for someone during colder conditions, such as an individual who is not dressed for the weather conditions, call the non-emergency response line at 503-823-3333 and request a welfare check.
Call 911 if someone is showing symptoms of hypothermia: shivering uncontrollably or suffering confusion, slurred speech or drowsiness. Get them somewhere warm and dry.
Our Benson bubbler water fountains are a critical drinking water source for people living outside, but they can be hazardous during cold weather as the water can leak on the sidewalks and freeze. We have turned most of them off for safety, but three bubblers remain in operation so that they’re accessible to those that need them. The working bubblers are located at:
NE Wheeler & NE Holladay
NW 6th & W Burnside
NW Everett at the waterfront, south of Steel Bridge (west side of the Willamette River)
Road closures and transportation updates
Get the latest severe weather travel tips, road closures, chain advisories and more on the Portland Bureau of Transportation’s Winter Weather webpage. PBOT serves as the City’s hub for real-time information to help you stay safe and get where you need to go during winter weather events.
Check highway conditions before you go at TripCheck.com
Check trimet.org for the latest bus and MAX service information before you go.
Check out The Water Blog for news about winter weather impacts to water. Be our eyes and ears! If you think you’ve spotted a broken main, call our 24-hour emergency line at 503-823-4874. Crews are ready to respond to emergencies, including water main breaks, 24 hours a day, and seven days a week.
Downed trees
Did you see a downed tree or large limb on City property or public streets? Report it by calling 503-823-TREE (8733). Please be patient; Urban Forestry crews are minimizing safety risks and clearing the largest debris first. Emergency dispatchers are available 24 hours per day, seven days a week.
Portland Parks & Recreation (PP&R) Urban Forestry work to address tree emergencies citywide due to severe weather conditions. The priority is to remove trees and tree debris from public roads and thoroughfares, starting with the most-traveled routes and working our way into neighborhoods. It’s important to provide ambulances and fire trucks with clear paths.
If you see large tree debris left by Urban Forestry emergency response efforts, crews will return at a later date to remove it. A large volume of emergency incidents will affect the timeline.
Here is additional information to help you as we continue the emergency response:
Call 503-823-TREE for the fastest way to report tree emergencies. If phone lines are busy, consider reporting online using the PDX Reporter website.
Emergency Situations:
If a tree emergency situation involves downed wires please contact your utility provider first. PP&R Urban Forestry staff are unable to respond until electrical hazards have been addressed. For road closures visit PBOT’s webpage.
Please avoid calling for NON-emergency issues as crews are focused at this time on reopening major roads and thoroughfares in Portland.
Large Branches & Trunks:
For larger branches or stumps, contact your garbage and recycling company to get a cost estimate for a special bulky waste pickup.
Or find pick-up and drop-off options through Metro’s Find A Recycler tool: type in your home address and search for “branches” or “stumps.” Or call 503-234-3000 to speak with a Metro recycling specialist (Monday – Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.).
If you see a woodpile that City of Portland crews assembled for later removal; that is standard protocol. It may take weeks for our capacity to allow for staff to remove the debris, as we deal with those more than 700 tree emergencies citywide.
Small Branches (up to 3 feet long and under 4 inches thick):
For wood debris on sidewalk, it’s the responsibility of the adjacent property owners.
If your yard or sidewalk are filled with tree branches after the snow melts, you can fill your green compost bin with branches up to 3 feet long and under 4 inches thick. You can also set out extra bags, bundles or cans of branches for $3.75 per bag, bundle, or can (The maximum size is 32 gallons and 45 pounds per bag/bundle/can)
Additionally, please consider contacting a Tree Care Provider or lawn care professional to assist with your debris pile.
Home safety advice from Fire & Rescue
Home heating can be a source of many hazards. From electric heaters to wood stoves, there are steps you can take to minimize your risk of a fire. For more information on how you can keep yourself and your loved ones safe in your home during winter weather, visit Portland Fire & Rescue’s Winter Fire Safety Tips or PF&R’s Twitter account for space heater, fireplace and other fire safety tips.
Stay safe when heating rooms in your home. Local fire departments report an uptick in families using space heaters to keep rooms warm. Alternative sources of fuel or electricity for heating or cooking can cause carbon monoxide to build up — in a home, garage, or camper — and to poison the people and animals inside.
Garbage, recycling and compost collection
In case of snow or ice, leave your bins at the curb. Your garbage company will come as soon as they can. Learn more.
Building inspections
Inclement weather may affect some building inspections from the Bureau of Development Services. Check the Bureau of Development Servicesservices affected by snow and ice.
Sign up for public emergency alerts at PublicAlerts so you know when an emergency is happening in the Portland-Vancouver Region. Getting info quickly gives you power to take action. It could save your life and the lives of your loved ones.
Sidewalks should be shoveled
Property owners or tenants are responsible for shoveling the snow and removing ice from in front of their homes and businesses. Check in with neighbors who might need a hand. Some elderly homeowners or people with disabilities may have physical challenges or risk injury in the snow and ice.
SAMHSA’s Disaster Distress Helpline provides 24/7, 365-day-a-year crisis counseling and support to people experiencing emotional distress related to natural or human-caused disasters.
The Disaster Distress Helpline, 1-800-985-5990, is a 24/7, 365-day-a-year, national hotline dedicated to providing immediate crisis counseling for people who are experiencing emotional distress related to any natural or human-caused disaster. This toll-free, multilingual, and confidential crisis support service is available to all residents in the United States and its territories. Stress, anxiety, and other depression-like symptoms are common reactions after a disaster. Call 1-800-985-5990 or text TalkWithUs to 66746 to connect with a trained crisis counselor.
Counseling Services
The Disaster Distress Helpline puts people in need of counseling on the path to recovery. Our staff members provide counseling and support before, during, and after disasters and refer people to local disaster-related resources for follow-up care and support. Since its launch in February 2012, the Disaster Distress Helpline has provided counseling and support in response to disasters such as Hurricane Sandy, the Boston Marathon bombing, and the Ebola outbreak.
The Disaster Distress Helpline is staffed by trained counselors from a network of crisis call centers located across the United States. These counselors provide:
Crisis counseling for people in emotional distress related to any natural or human-caused disaster
Information on how to recognize distress and its effects on individuals and families
Tips for healthy coping
Referrals to local crisis call centers for additional follow-up care and support
When you call or text, crisis counselors will listen to what’s on your mind with patience and without judgment. There is no need to give any identifying information when you contact the Disaster Distress Helpline. The counselor may ask you for some basic information at the end of the call, but these questions are optional and are intended to help SAMHSA keep track of the types of calls it receives.
Who Should Contact the Disaster Distress Helpline?
This crisis support service is for anyone experiencing emotional distress related to disasters such as:
The Disaster Distress Helpline is open to everyone. This includes survivors of disasters; loved ones of victims; first responders; rescue, recovery, and relief workers; clergy; and parents and caregivers. You may call for yourself or on behalf of someone else.
Call or Text
From the United States and its territories, call 1-800-985-5990 to connect with a trained crisis counselor, 24/7. Spanish-speakers can call the hotline and press “2” for 24/7 bilingual support.
Callers to the hotline can also connect with counselors in over 100 other languages via 3rd-party interpretation services; to connect with a counselor in your primary language, simply indicate your preferred language to the responding counselor and she/he will connect to a live interpreter (interpretation in less commonly-spoken languages may require calling back at an appointed time). Learn more and download information about the Disaster Distress Helpline in 30 of the most commonly-spoken languages in the U.S.
To connect with a live DDH crisis counselor 24/7 via SMS, from the 50 states text “TalkWithUs” for English or “Hablanos” for Spanish to 66746. Spanish-speakers from Puerto Rico can text “Hablanos” to 1-787-339-2663.
Texting is subscription-based and only involves a few steps:
Enroll in the service by texting TalkWithUs or Hablanos exactly as written. It’s important to do this before sending your first text message because otherwise the enrollment may fail, and you will not be able to speak with a counselor, or you may accidentally subscribe to another service.
Look for confirmation that your subscription was successful. You will receive a Success! message if it was.
To unsubscribe, text Stop or Unsubscribe to 66746 (or 1-787-339-2663 from Puerto Rico) at any time. For help, text Help to 66746 (or 1-787-339-2663 from Puerto Rico).
Standard text and data message rates will apply when texting from mobile phones. International text and data rates may apply from within U.S. territories and free association nations. SAMHSA will not sell your phone numbers to other parties.
The Disaster Distress Helpline’s TTY number 1-800-846-8517 is available 24/7 to Deaf and hard of hearing individuals, who can also utilize the texting options or their preferred Relay service (including 7-1-1) to connect with the main DDH hotline 1-800-985-5990, 24/7.
Other Inquiries
If you’re not in immediate need of crisis counseling support and would like to contact us for other reasons, send an email. Contact us for:
Technical problems. If you encountered a technical problem while trying to contact the Disaster Distress Helpline, please include your name and preferred contact information in your email if you wish to receive a reply.
Provider inquiries. Providers with specific inquiries about technical assistance and support, requests for materials, and exploring collaborations are encouraged to send an email.
Feedback. To provide feedback about your experience reaching out to the Disaster Distress Helpline, send an email describing your experience and SAMHSA will look into the matter. Please include your name and preferred contact information if you wish to receive a reply.
Social media inquiries. Email us with questions about the Disaster Distress Helpline’s use of social media.
All media inquiries. Members of the media with questions about the Disaster Distress Helpline are encouraged to call the SAMHSA Media Services Team at 1-240-276-2130.
Our staff appreciate hearing from people about their experiences. SAMHSA takes feedback about our services, whether it is positive or negative, very seriously.
SAMHSA also encourages public promotion of the Disaster Distress Helpline. Anyone can use the Disaster Distress Helpline logo and telephone number on their website and link to the Disaster Distress Helpline’s materials and social media properties.
Call 211 for information about disaster-related evacuations, shelters, food and clothing distribution, volunteer opportunities, and other resources and referrals. Or visit the national 211 Call Center Search website to find the 211 information and referral center nearest you.
The National Center for College Students with Disabilities (NCCSD) offers several resources and strategies to locate deaf-accessible crisis services, community resources and hotlines:
Crisis Line for VideoPhone users who use American Sign Language (available 24/7): (321) 800-DEAF (321-800-3323)
“when the world comes crashing at
your feet
it’s okay to let others
help pick up the pieces
if we’re present to take part in your
happiness
when your circumstances are great
we are more than capable
of sharing your pain”
― Rupi Kaur, The Sun and Her Flowers
00 – Chatline – Text HELP to 741741 to Connect with a Crisis Counselor for Crisis / Depression – 24/7 Weekdays and Weekends
Connecting with someone who cares and listens can make a difference and can help us get through our most difficult moments.
Whether it’s friends, family, or community – Everyone needs Somebody to lean on!
NOTE: Wait time can vary. Usually a response comes pretty quickly in under 5 minutes. Sometimes the wait can be 5 to 15 minutes or longer if there is a disaster or other reason.
Who are the Crisis Counselors? They are trained volunteers who—with the support of full-time Crisis Text Line staff—use active listening, collaborative problem solving, and safety planning to help texters in their moment of crisis.
Crisis doesn’t just mean suicide; it’s any painful emotion for which you need support.
This service is for short term needs and is not a substitute for a friend or professional therapist.
People can dial, call, text or chat 988, a the three-digit number, available 24/7, to directly connect anyone experiencing a behavioral health crisis to compassionate care and support from trained crisis counselors. 988 connects callers to the existing Oregon partners of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, a network of local crisis call-centers throughout the country. 988 call-centers in Oregon are operated by Lines for Life statewide, and Northwest Human Services in Marion and Polk counties.
How Does 988 Work?
988 was established in July 2022 to improve access to crisis services in a way that meets our country’s growing suicide and mental health-related crisis care needs. 988 provides easier access to behavioral health crisis services, which are distinct from the public safety purposes of 911 (where the focus is on dispatching Emergency Medical Services, fire and police as needed).
911 continues to operate as it does across the state. For serious and life-threatening situations, 988 call centers work with local mental health providers to support appropriate interventions.
The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) and Oregon’s 988 call centers are collaborating with 911 Public Safety Answering Points to develop a roadmap on how 911 and 988 can coordinate with each other in the future.
988 crisis counselors are trained to use the least invasive interventions. Oftentimes, responding to a call, text or chat is all that is needed to help someone in crisis. In fact, more than 95 percent of current calls are resolved over the phone.
If a 988 call cannot be resolved over the phone, a mobile crisis team or first responder may be dispatched.
Other important facts to know:
988 is available through every landline, cell phone and voice-over internet device in the United States, as well as text and chat.
The current technology for 988 routes callers by area code, not geolocation.
988 is not currently available when phones are locked or do not have prepaid minutes.
The transition to 988 does not impact the availability of crisis services for veterans and military service members. They can call 988 and press 1 to connect with the Veterans Crisis Line.
For support in Spanish, callers can press 2 to connect with the Red Nacional de Prevención del Suicidio.
The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline has an infographic with more information on what happens when people call, text or chat.
Community partners interested in helping promote 988 can use posters, social media shareables and other materials about 988 from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration at samhsa.gov/988. Learn more about 988 in Oregon on OHA’s 988 webpage. Read OHA’s press release about 988.
NOTE:
PeerGalaxy has a 988 Card and web page with additional resources.
00 – Hotline – SAMHSA Disaster Distress Videophone @ (800)-985-5990 and ASL NOW APP link for American Sign Language (ASL) Users – 24/7 Weekdays and Weekends
@ phone
Disaster Distress Helpline Videophone for American Sign Language Users
Call or Text (800)-985-5990 or Visit ASL NOW link below
Find answers to the most frequently asked questions about the Disaster Distress Helpline Videophone for American Sign Language Users.
The Disaster Distress Helpline (DDH) is a 24/7, year-round, confidential, multi-lingual crisis counseling and emotional support resource for survivors, responders, and anyone in the U.S./territories struggling with distress or other mental health concerns related to any natural or human-caused disaster. Calls and texts to 1-800-985-5990 are answered by trained counselors from a network of independently operated crisis centers located across the country. https://www.samhsa.gov/ddh
While most people impacted by disaster will be able to bounce back fairly quickly with help from their support networks, others may experience significant emotional distress or other mental health concerns that can impede recovery. Deaf and hard of hearing people may be especially at risk for disaster-related distress. Barriers to accessibility for mental healthcare, emergency preparedness, and disaster relief services are just a few distress risk factors that Deaf/HoH people face throughout the disaster cycle.
In addition, the vast majority of crisis hotlines are set up to accommodate hearing, not Deaf/HoH, callers. While video Relay connections can offer 3rd-party interpretation between ASL users and hearing counselors, the responding counselor still may not fully understand the needs or be able to communicate effectively via the interpreter, especially if the caller is in crisis. While crisis chat and text services can seem like a sufficient alternative to hearing hotlines, Deaf people might understandably assume that responding chat/text counselors may not understand their needs as Deaf individuals, and therefore may be resistant in accessing these options.
The DDH VP is intended for American Sign Language users, regardless of fluency level or whether they are fully Deaf or hard of hearing. The common denominator is that ASL is the language being used between the caller & counselor. Callers who cannot communicate at all in ASL should not use the DDH VP. These callers should call or text the DDH 1-800-985-5990 via their standard phone device.
The national Disaster Distress Helpline is a network of independently operated crisis centers located across the United States. DeafLEAD is the not-for-profit crisis center that staffs and responds to DDH VP calls, 24/7/365. DeafLEAD’s mission is to “provide individuals who are Deaf and hard of hearing with comprehensive, unified and continuous support by enhancing socio-emotional development, effective communication and leadership through education.” Learn more about DeafLEAD
While most people impacted by disaster will be able to bounce back fairly quickly with help from their support networks, others may experience significant emotional distress or other mental health concerns that can impede recovery. Deaf and hard of hearing people may be especially at risk for disaster-related distress. Barriers to accessibility for mental healthcare, emergency preparedness, and disaster relief services are just a few distress risk factors that Deaf/HoH people face throughout the disaster cycle.
In addition, the vast majority of crisis hotlines are set up to accommodate hearing, not Deaf/HoH, callers. While video Relay connections can offer 3rd-party interpretation between ASL users and hearing counselors, the responding counselor still may not fully understand the needs or be able to communicate effectively via the interpreter, especially if the caller is in crisis. While crisis chat and text services can seem like a sufficient alternative to hearing hotlines, Deaf people might understandably assume that responding chat/text counselors may not understand their needs as Deaf individuals, and therefore may be resistant in accessing these options.
The DDH VP is intended for American Sign Language users, regardless of fluency level or whether they are fully Deaf or hard of hearing. The common denominator is that ASL is the language being used between the caller & counselor. Callers who cannot communicate at all in ASL should not use the DDH VP. These callers should call or text the DDH 1-800-985-5990 via their standard phone device.
Sometimes callers to the Disaster Distress Helpline Videophone (“DDH VP”) may not get through on the first try because of high call volume, or might get disconnected because of poor WiFi or cellphone service, etc. If you experience any technical difficulties when connecting to the DDH VP, first try calling or connecting again. Sometimes it may take 1 or 2 attempts to get through. If you’re attempting to connect through the “ASL Now Link” at the DDH website, and you are not able to get through, you can try connecting from a different browser for the 2nd attempt (for example, if the first time you tried was through Google Chrome, for the 2nd attempt, try Microsoft Edge or Mozilla Firefox). If for whatever reason you’re still not able to get through and you’re wanting to connect with the DDH as quickly as possible, you can also try texting to 1-800-985-5990; your text will likely be answered by a hearing DDH crisis worker, and they are still trained to support anyone experiencing distress or other mental health concerns.
The DDH is funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA; a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services) and is administered by the nonprofit Vibrant Emotional Health; Vibrant also administers the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-TALK) for SAMHSA, of which the DDH is a sub-network. Learn more about SAMHSA and Vibrant
01 – Helpline – LFL – Lines for Life Alcohol and Drug Helpline @ 800-923-4357 – 24/7 Weekdays and Weekends
@ Phone
Call 800-923-4357 (24/7/365) or
Text RecoveryNow to 839863 Monday-Friday, 2-6pm PT.
The Alcohol and Drug Helpline serves anyone who needs information, support, or access to resources and treatment for alcohol or drug use. If you or someone you know needs help, the Alcohol and Drug Helpline is free, confidential, and available for calls 24/7/365. The Alcohol and Drug Text Line is open Monday through Friday, 2pm to 6pm PST.
Call or text us for help understanding or dealing with alcohol and drug use or addiction. When you call us, we listen and support. We provide hope, referrals, resources, and information. Our highly trained staff and volunteers provide immediate assistance, non-judgmental listening, and compassionate support that can put you on a path to healing.
If you are under age 21 and would like to talk with a peer about alcohol and drug use or abuse, contact our YouthLine. YouthLine is a free, confidential, teen-to-teen crisis and help line.
Call (877) 968-8491
Text ‘teen2teen’ to 839863
Chat https://www.oregonyouthline.org
We listen. We support. We keep it to ourselves.
Teens are available to help daily from 4-10pm PST (adults are available by phone at all other times!).
YouthLine is a free teen-to-teen crisis support and help line.
YouthLine is confidential to a point- while we will never share conversations had on the lines, we are mandatory reporters. If a young person is unable to agree to safety for themselves or another person, or if abuse is occurring, YouthLine contacts other agencies to ensure the best support and safety for the young person in crisis.
01 – Helpline – NCPG – National Council on Problem Gaming – National Problem Gaming Chatline – 24/7
@ Online Via Chat
Whether it happened to you or to someone else, we can all help track sanctuary promise violations.
Everyone has the right to live safely in Oregon. Oregon’s sanctuary laws promise safety, human rights, and dignity for all. If you or someone you know was targeted in violation of Oregon’s Sanctuary Promise laws, please call 1-844-924-STAY/1-844-6-AMPARO or report online at SanctuaryPromise.Oregon.gov or PromesaSantuario.Oregon.gov. On the Oregon Department of Justice’s Sanctuary Promise hotline, you can report a suspected violation, receive support, and be connected to resources. The Oregon Department of Justice may open an investigation into the violation.
Sanctuary Promise Response Hotline
1-844-924-STAY (1-844-924-7829)
Spanish Direct Line: 1-844-626-AMPARO (1-844-626-7276)
Operators are standing by
9am to 5pm Pacific time, Monday – Friday.
Interpreters in over 240 languages.
After hours? Leave a message and we’ll return your call.
We accept all Relay Calls.
Since 1987, Oregon has officially been a sanctuary state that supports immigrant and refugee communities by prioritizing human rights, dignity, and safety.
The Sanctuary Promise Act », signed into law on July 19, 2021, strengthens the existing state sanctuary laws. It restricts the collection and prohibits sharing of information related to a person’s national origin, immigration, or citizenship status. Oregon state and local public resources and personnel, including state and local government offices and law enforcement agencies, are prohibited from being used for immigration enforcement.
If you suspect a violation of Oregon’s sanctuary laws, we want to hear from you. Suspected violations can be reported through this online portal (available in 8 languages by using the language menu in the upper righthand corner of this screen) or the Sanctuary Promise Hotline at 1-844-924-STAY (1-844-924-7829). Call us in any language. We have a direct access Spanish language website at PromesaSantuario.Oregon.gov with a Spanish direct dial hotline at 1-844-6-AMPARO (1-844-626-7276).
Examples of violations to Oregon Sanctuary Promise Laws include:
Investigation or interrogation by police for immigration enforcement purposes;
Most inquiries, storing, or sharing of information about national origin, immigration, or citizenship status by police or state or local government;
Civil arrest without a judicial warrant/order from a court facility;
Arrests by federal immigration of a person on their way to or from court or while at court;
Police collaboration with federal authorities for immigration enforcement purposes;
Denial of services, benefits, or privileges to a person in jail or on probation/parole based on immigration status;
Police establishing coordinated traffic stops or traffic perimeters to enforce federal immigration laws; or
State or local government or police failing to document or report requests from a federal immigration agency relating to immigration enforcement;
Report a Sanctuary Promise Violation
Information About The Victim/Targeted Person
Note: The targeted person’s identity will not be shared publicly by ODOJ, but will be used and shared with the state/local government agency during the course of any investigation ODOJ opens. It will not be shared with federal immigration agencies or otherwise be shared to assist with immigration enforcement. If a specific person was not targeted in the violation, you can simply put “general public” as first and last names.
SAMHSA’s National Helpline, 1-800-662-HELP (4357) (also known as the Treatment Referral Routing Service), or TTY: 1-800-487-4889 is a confidential, free, 24-hour-a-day, 365-day-a-year, information service, in English and Spanish, for individuals and family members facing mental and/or substance use disorders. This service provides referrals to local treatment facilities, support groups, and community-based organizations.
La Línea Nacional de Ayuda de SAMHSA es un servicio gratuito, confidencial, disponible las 24 horas, los 7 días de la semana, los 365 días del año. Esta línea telefónica es un servicio de información (en inglés y español) para personas y familias que enfrentan trastornos mentales o de uso de sustancias.
What Is Substance Abuse Treatment? A Booklet for Families
Created for family members of people with alcohol abuse or drug abuse problems. Answers questions about substance abuse, its symptoms, different types of treatment, and recovery. Addresses concerns of children of parents with substance use/abuse problems.
Assures teens with parents who abuse alcohol or drugs that, “It’s not your fault!” and that they are not alone. Encourages teens to seek emotional support from other adults, school counselors, and youth support groups such as Alateen, and provides a resource list.
Family Therapy Can Help: For People in Recovery From Mental Illness or Addiction
Explores the role of family therapy in recovery from mental illness or substance abuse. Explains how family therapy sessions are run and who conducts them, describes a typical session, and provides information on its effectiveness in recovery.
01 – Linea de Ayuda – L4L – Lines For Life – En Español – Lifeline ofrece 24/7, servicios gratuitos en español @ 888-628-9454
@ Phone
Lifeline ofrece 24/7, servicios gratuitos en español, y no es necesario hablar inglés si usted necesita ayuda.
¿Qué pasa cuando llamo?
Cuando usted llama al número 1-888-628-9454, su llamada se dirige al centro de ayuda de nuestra red disponible más cercano. Tenemos actualmente 200 centros en la red y usted hablará probablemente con uno situado en su zona. Cada centro funciona en forma independiente y tiene su propio personal calificado.
Cuando el centro contesta su llamada, usted estará hablando con una persona que le escuchará, le hará preguntas y hará todo lo que esté a su alcance para ayudarle.
Yo mismo necesito ayuda
Una persona capacitada le escuchará y hablará con usted. Si es necesario, podrá darle información sobre recursos o servicios existentes en su comunidad que podrán prestarle ayuda después de la llamada. Siempre puede usted volver a llamar al número 1-888-628-9454 si lo necesita o lo desea.
Una persona querida necesita ayuda
Si está usted preocupado por una persona que usted sabe que está pasando por una crisis o que piensa en suicidarse, nuestros centros pueden ayudarle. Una persona calificada del centro puede:
Darle ideas y sugerencias sobre la forma de acercarse a la persona que le preocupa. Puede ayudarle a pensar qué podría decir para alentar a esa persona querida a pedir ayuda.
En algunos casos, el centro puede hablar en conferencia al mismo tiempo con usted y con la persona que le preocupa.
Algunas comunidades tienen equipos móviles que pueden visitar a las personas en sus hogares. Si hay uno de esos equipos en su zona, nuestro centro le pondrá en contacto con él.
Llamo para pedir información sobre cuestiones de salud mental
No hace falta que esté usted en crisis para llamarnos. Nuestros centros pueden responder a preguntas generales sobre salud mental, depresión, suicidio, recursos de salud en la comunidad, y muchas cosas más. También es posible llamar para averiguar más sobre las actividades de prevención del suicidio en su zona.
Algunos datos sobre la Línea de Prevención del Suicidio y Crisis
Las llamadas son gratuitas desde cualquier teléfono en los Estados Unidos.
Nuestras líneas funcionan las 24 horas todos los días de la semana, de modo que usted puede ponerse en contacto con una persona capacitada en cualquier momento en que lo necesite.
Su llamada es confidencial; esto significa que la persona que le escucha hará todo lo posible por no divulgar su identidad.
Prestamos servicios en inglés (988) y en español (1-888-628-9454)
Somos la única red nacional de respuesta a situaciones de crisis con financiación del Gobierno Federal.
01 – Support Line – Racial Equity Support Line w BIPOC Lived Experience @ 1-503-575-3764 – 8:30am to 5:00pm PST Weekdays M-F
@ Phone
The Racial Equity Support Line is a service led and staffed by people with lived experience of racism. We offer support to those who are feeling the emotional impacts of racist violence and microaggressions, as well as the emotional impacts of immigration struggles and other cross-cultural issues.
Many of us experience racism every day.
Unfortunately, we live in a culture where racist acts happen often. From workplaces to housing to healthcare, we know that our communities aren’t getting the same kind of treatment as others.
Experiencing racism can harm our mental wellness.
Whether in small acts, or violent ones, racial bias can have serious emotional impacts. Racism changes how we see the world around us. It’s stressful to worry about how people see us as different or dangerous. It’s exhausting to notice the ways that people treat us as less-than, day in and day out. It’s heartbreaking to turn on the news and learn about more violence against people who look like us.
We get it. And we’re here to talk. To support. To connect.
The person who answers may be a stranger – but we understand what you’re going through. We’ll listen to your situation as you talk through your feelings, and we may offer resources based on what seems most helpful to you.
Call us today at 503-575-3764.
This line is available weekdays from 8:30am to 5pm, Pacific Standard Time.
If you have questions or want to reach the Director of Equity Initiatives, please email Donna Harrell at DonnaH@linesforlife.org.
Toll-Free Access
If you need toll-free access, call any line at Lines for Life and ask to be transferred to the Racial Equity Support Line during its operating hours.
For example, you can call Lines for Life / National Suicide Prevention Line @ 1-877-273-8255 and ask to be transferred to the Racial Equity Support Line between 8:30am and 5pm PST.
02 – Urgent Info – OHA – FREE COVID Test Kits & Positive Result Hotline – Weekdays 8am-6pm, Saturdays 10am-4pm PST
Residential households in the U.S. can order one set of 4 free at-home tests from USPS.com. Here’s what you need to know about your order:
Limit of one order per residential address
One order includes 4 individual rapid antigen COVID-19 tests
Orders will ship free starting in late January
Fill in the form with your contact and shipping information to order your tests.
USPS only requires users to enter their name and the address where the kits will be shipped.
NOTE: If you have an apartment number or suite, be sure to put the apartment number on the 1st address line. Otherwise, you might get an error message rejecting the request, indicating the address was already used.
If you test positive:
NEW: State of Oregon has a website and hotline number you can call for information on next steps if you test positive for COVID.
Hotline:
Toll Free (866) 917-8881. Staff available Monday through Friday, 8am-6pm PST. Saturday 10am-4pm PST.
OHA issues health advisory for lamprey in the Columbia River and its Oregon tributaries
Agency recommends limited meals due to levels of PCBs, mercury in lamprey tissue
PORTLAND, Ore.—Oregon Health Authority (OHA) is issuing recommendations on the amount of lamprey from the Columbia River and its Oregon tributaries that people should eat.
Fish tissue data from the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (CRITFC) show polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) at levels of concern in lamprey for the general population, and for PCBs and mercury for vulnerable populations (children under 6 years old, people who are or may become pregnant, nursing mothers). Meal recommendations are needed for lamprey harvested in advisory area, according to public health officials.
OHA issues advisories when fish or shellfish tissue data show that the levels of contaminants — in this case, PCBs and mercury — are high enough to potentially harm health. OHA calculates meal recommendations to help people better understand the number of fish meals they can safely eat in one month. These meal recommendations for lamprey are found in Table 1.
Table 1: Recommended meals for lamprey: Columbia River and its Oregon tributaries
Whole body1 meals per month
Recommended consumption rates2
All collection sites
Contaminant
General population
(People childbearing age)
Vulnerable population
(Children under 6, people who are or may become pregnant, nursing mothers)
Columbia River and its Oregon tributaries
PCBs + mercury
4
2
1OHA did not convert whole body data to fillet-only data due to the physical characteristics of lamprey (high lipid content), and because a high percentage of their body weight is edible and eaten.
2 A meal is about the size and thickness of your or your child’s hand or one ounce of uncooked fish for every 20 pounds of body weight.
Eating too many fish contaminated with PCBs or mercury can cause negative health effects over time. These health effects include damage to organs, the nervous system and the brain, leading to potential learning and behavior problems. PCBs and mercury can also be passed along to babies during pregnancy or in breastmilk.
Because lamprey are consumed mainly by Tribal members in Oregon, Washington and Idaho, and these Tribes consume the whole fish as a cultural and spiritual First Food, this advisory is an important tool that can reduce exposure to PCBs and mercury, especially for the Tribes’ most vulnerable populations (especially those with thyroid and immune system problems).
Tribes, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and other organizations are working to restore Pacific lamprey numbers.
“Lamprey have been an important part of the cultures, diets, and ceremonies of Columbia Basin tribes since time immemorial,” said Aja DeCoteau, executive director of the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission. “The tribes have been successfully leading the effort to restore this threatened fish throughout the Columbia River Basin, not only to protect its role in the ecosystem, but also to preserve our access to this important First Food. As Oregon’s largest consumers of lamprey, this consumption advisory will impact tribal people most of all. We must all work together to make limiting consumption a temporary solution because the tribes believe that the long-term solution to this problem isn’t keeping people from eating contaminated fish—it’s keeping fish from being contaminated in the first place.”
Tribes that do not have reserved fishing and hunting rights and non-Tribal members need a permit to harvest lamprey at Willamette Falls from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and must harvest in accordance with State regulation in OAR 635-017-0090. This is the only location where Tribes without reserved rights and non-Tribal members can harvest, consistent with ODFW regulations.
While it is important for people to know about contaminants in lamprey, it is equally important to continue to eat at least two meals of a variety of fish from a variety of sources each week to gain important health benefits. Fish are high in protein and a rich source of nutrients like omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3s provide protection from heart disease and are an important brain food for adults, children and fetuses.
As future data becomes available for lamprey from the Columbia River and its Oregon tributaries, OHA will evaluate and update the advisory meal allowances as needed.
When fishing in the Columbia River and its Oregon tributaries, OHA advises fishers to visit the OHA fish advisory webpage at HealthOregon.org/fishadv for a list of other areas and water bodies with existing fish advisories and recommended meal allowances for other types of fish. Here is a direct link to a PDF of the advisory.
JOB / CAREER FAIRS, EVENTS, OPENINGS, AND INTERNSHIPS
Peer Support, Recovery & Wellness
NOTE: Information here is provided solely as a courtesy without any guarantees or warranties or liability of any kind whatsoever. Use at your own risk and expense.
If you learn of any opportunities not listed here, please share via social media or email: webmail@peergalaxy.com.
OSPO – Oregon Senior Peer Outreach
Seeking Independent Contractor for Evaluation. Contact Sharon Kuehn, Program Manager. 503-308-2624 between 9am & 5pm PST, Monday thru Friday.
Seeking PEARLS Coach for the Program to Enhance an Active Rewarding Life for Seniors to reduce depression with older adults. This is a part-time job, 14 hours per week, $19+ per hour. For more details visit the links below:
MHAAO – Mental Health and Addiction Association of Oregon is recruiting for several positions including 2 in Multnomah County – PSS/CRM Kaiser Project Nurture and PSS/CRM Voluntary Isolation Motel/Shelter (VIMOS) plus 1 in Washington County – PSS/CRM PRIME+ (Spanish Version). For more details visit the link below:
Folktime is recruiting for several positions including Peer Support Specialist, Youth Peer Support Specialist, Mobile crisis response team (Clackamas MCRT), Caring Connector, and others. For more details visit the link below:
Multnomah County Crisis Assessment & Treatment Center (CATC) looking for Peer Support Specialists to join mobile crisis respoinse team. For more details visit the links below:
Peer Recovery Solutions is excited to provide over 150 FREE continuing education units in 2022-23. Our goal is to help make the peer/recovery mentor field strong, healthy, and effective.
Below is a list of trainings you can take for FREE that will help build skills, meet the requirements of re-certification, and even achieve an CRM II (an advanced peer certification through the Mental Health and Addiction Certification Board of Oregon).
Learn more about CRM II status by visiting www.mhacbo.org and clicking certifications.
Participant Criteria and Directions
To receive credit you will need to be a peer/recovery mentor or someone who supervises/works with peers/recovery mentors. To receive credit you will need to attend the entire meeting and be visibly engaged.
To attend, you just need to click the links below. All trainings are hosted digitally on GoogleMeets.
Many of us are going to need to find the words to talk to the kids in our lives about tragic events like the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. Here’s a free resource from A Kids Company About to help you do that was written by Crystal Woodman-Miller, one of the survivors of the Columbine school shooting.
I hate that we need tools like this. I can’t wait for us to have to write the book “A Kids Book About Why It’s So Hard To Buy A Gun”
There aren’t enough words to explain all the thoughts, emotions, and heartbreak that comes with yesterday’s tragedy in Uvalde. We hope this book helps everyone start somewhere.
We’re making #AKidsBookAboutSchoolShootings free for kids, grownups, and educators everywhere, so that this conversation can get started when it matters most.
FREE DOWNLOAD
A Kids Book About School Shootings by Crystal Woodman Miller:
Addiction is a medical condition. Treatment can help. Recovery is possible.
Opioid addiction, also known as opioid use disorder (OUD), is a chronic and relapsing disease that can affect anyone. In fact, millions of Americans suffer from opioid addiction.
As with most other chronic diseases, addiction is treatable. If you or someone you know is struggling, treatment is available. While no single treatment method is right for everyone, recovery is possible, and help is available for opioid addiction.
Recovery is possible
Preventing overdose death and finding treatment options are the first steps to recovery. Treatment may save a life and can help people struggling with opioid addiction get their lives back on track by allowing them to counteract addiction’s powerful effects on their brain and behavior. The overall goal of treatment is to return people to productive functioning in their family, workplace, and community.
Opioid addiction treatment can vary depending on the patient’s individual needs, occur in a variety of settings, take many different forms, and last for varying lengths of time.
Evidence-based approaches to treating opioid addiction include medications and combining medications with behavioral therapy. A recovery plan that includes medication for opioid addiction increases the chance of success.
Medications used in the treatment of opioid addiction support a person’s recovery by helping to normalize brain chemistry, relieving cravings, and in some cases preventing withdrawal symptoms. The choice to include medication as part of recovery is a personal medical decision, but the evidence for medications to support successful recovery is strong.
Medications for opioid addiction include:
Buprenorphine
Available as dissolving tablet, cheek film, extended-release injection, or 6-month implant under the skin.
Can be prescribed by a doctor for use outside a clinic.
Methadone
Available as daily liquid.
Can only be used in a certified opioid treatment program setting.
Naltrexone
Can be prescribed by any clinician who can legally prescribe medication.
Only used for people who have not used opioids for at least 7–10 days.
Talk with a doctor to find out what types of treatments are available in your area and what options are best for you and/or your loved one. Addiction is a chronic, relapsing disease; be sure to ask your doctor about the risk of relapse and overdose.
f you notice that someone may be struggling with opioid addiction:
Ask if you can help. Everyone can play a role and take action to help their loved ones in recovery. Treatment and the support and help from family, friends, co-workers, and others can make a big difference in the recovery process.
Be supportive, and reduce stigma. Stigma or the fear of stigma may stop someone from sharing their health condition and prevent them from seeking the health or behavioral health services and support services they need. Recognize that opioid addiction is a medical condition, not a moral failing. Stopping stigma is important to helping loved ones feel safer and healthier.
Carry naloxone. Naloxone can reverse overdose and prevent death. It is a non-addictive, life-saving drug that can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose when administered in time.
Resources for Families and Children Facing Tragic Events
Racial Stress – Racism – Hate Crimes
Helpful Resources to Address the Mass Shooting in Uvalde, Texas
Many thanks to Michelle Zabel, MSS, Assistant Dean, and Director, The Institute for Innovation and Implementation, for compiling this list of resources in response to the horrific mass shooting in Texas earlier this week.
Helping Young People Cope With Mental Health Challenges
Vox Media’s NowThis is linking arms with Ken Burns and PBS to share an upcoming documentary titled “Hiding in Plain Sight: Youth Mental Illness.” Scenes from the forthcoming film will be shared across NowThis social platforms throughout Mental Health Awareness Month in May. NowThis will host a live TikTok conversation about the topic, as well. The goal, Burns said, is “to get this material out to young people around the country.” The film itself will debut at the end of June on PBS.
Uplift by Youth Era: Teaching Youth Peer Support Skills
More than 500 youth signed up for the most recent Uplift event! Studied by the University of Oxford and co-designed with young adults, Uplift by Youth Era is the future of peer support. Empower a young person in your life to be who they need, and apply to join the next Uplift training in June!
Randolph “Randy” Muck September 14, 1955 to April 21, 2021 in Memoriam
On the first anniversary of his death, several of us who knew and worked with Randy write this tribute to remember and honor his impact on so many people. Randy provided much-needed leadership from within the federal government to develop and disseminate evidence-based substance use treatments designed for adolescents and their families. He was successful because he had a rare ability to connect with all the groups important to improving adolescent treatment: provider organizations, schools, juvenile justice, counselors, federal agency decision-makers, researchers, private foundations, and most importantly—adolescents and their families. He saw how these groups could align their different interests and collaborate. This, in turn, helped youth, families, and systems of care in ways that continue to have an impact.
HHS Awards Nearly $25 Million to Expand Access to School-Based Health Services The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), recently announced nearly $25 million will be made available to improve and strengthen access to school-based health services in communities across the country. Awards will support local partnerships between schools and health centers to provide children and youth with the comprehensive physical and mental health care they need.
Investing in Prevention Makes Good Financial Sense Primary prevention—including screening and intervention before negative health outcomes occur—is relatively inexpensive. The higher-risk behaviors it is designed to reduce are so costly to the healthcare system that it is staggeringly wasteful not to make sure that screening and treatment referrals are readily implemented and faithfully reimbursed by insurers and that interventions are convenient for parents and their children.
PAX Good Behavior Game Speaking of prevention…
The PAX Good Behavior Game is an evidence-based universal preventive intervention applied by teachers in the classroom. This evidence-based practice consists of research-based strategies with origins in behavioral science, neuroscience, and cultural wisdom that operate together to improve children’s self-regulation. Teachers implement these strategies as part of their daily routines in carrying out tasks such as getting students’ attention, selecting students for tasks, transitioning from one task to the next, working as part of a team, limiting problematic behavior, and reinforcing pro-social behavior.
HHS Launches New Maternal Mental Health Hotline
The Maternal Mental Health Hotline is a new, confidential, toll-free hotline for expecting and new moms experiencing mental health challenges. Those who contact the hotline can receive a range of support, including brief interventions from trained culturally and trauma-informed counselors and referrals to both community-based and telehealth providers as needed. Callers also will receive evidence-based information and referrals to support groups and other community resources.
Six Things You Need To Know About Music and Health A growing body of research suggests that listening to or performing music affects the brain in ways that may help promote health and manage disease symptoms. More justification for the plethora of music videos posted in Friday Update!
Going Digital: Behavioral Health Tech Aaahhhh!!! Less than 20 days!!! Well? Have you registered for the 2022 Going Digital: Behavioral Health Tech summit on June 8-9th yet? Can’t make it? Wondering if you can access all of the sessions with our hundreds of speakers after June 8-9th? YES, but ONLY if you register in advance. So, you should probably get on that.
Building a More Equitable Juvenile Justice System for Everyone Racial inequities regarding the policing of children, and the subsequent disparities in their treatment within the juvenile justice system, have been problems in this country for far too long. It is encouraging that many states and counties are not only recognizing these issues but are taking action. The CSG Justice Center is committed to providing research-driven, data-informed solutions to our partners to continue building safer and stronger communities for everyone, especially our youth.
Disruptions to School and Home Life Among High School Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic — Adolescent Behaviors and Experiences Survey, United States, January–June 2021 Young people have experienced disruptions to school and home life since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020. From January to June 2021, CDC conducted the Adolescent Behaviors and Experiences Survey (ABES), an online survey of a probability-based, nationally representative sample of U.S. public- and private-school students in grades 9–12. ABES data were used to estimate the prevalence of disruptions and adverse experiences during the pandemic, including parental and personal job loss, homelessness, hunger, emotional or physical abuse by a parent or other adult at home, receipt of telemedicine, and difficulty completing schoolwork. Prevalence estimates are presented for all students by sex, race and ethnicity, grade, sexual identity, and difficulty completing schoolwork.
CDC Survey Finds the Pandemic Had a Big Impact on Teens’ Mental Health According to a survey published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than four in 10 teens report feeling “persistently sad or hopeless” during the COVID-19 pandemic. Girls were twice as likely to experience mental health troubles compared to boys. And LGBTQ students were hit the hardest. The CDC’s findings were gathered from online surveys from a sample of 7,700 US students during the first six months of 2021.
New Initiative to Define Policy Recommendations for Embedding Equity into 988 The Kennedy-Satcher Center for Mental Health Equity & Beacon Health Options are joining forces to create and develop an equitable crisis response for the future of behavioral health service delivery ahead of the July 2022 launch of 988.
State Policymakers Can Support Equitable School-based Telemental Health Services This brief presents five ways state policymakers can support equitable school-based telemental health services, with recommendations based on relevant policy context, existing research, and—in some cases—feedback from interviews with five TMH providers who testified to on-the-ground experience with these interventions.
In times of community or world-wide crisis, it’s easy to assume that young children don’t know what’s going on. But one thing’s for sure — children are very sensitive to how their parents feel. They’re keenly aware of the expressions on their parents’ faces and the tone of their voices. Children can sense when their parents are really worried, whether they’re watching the news or talking about it with others. No matter what children know about a “crisis,” it’s especially scary for children to realize that their parents are scared.
Some Scary, Confusing Images
The way that news is presented on television can be quite confusing for a young child. The same video segment may be shown over and over again through the day, as if each showing was a different event. Someone who has died turns up alive and then dies again and again. Children often become very anxious since they don’t understand much about videotape replays, closeups, and camera angles. Any televised danger seems close to home to them because the tragic scenes are taking place on the TV set in their own living room. Children can’t tell the difference between what’s close and what’s far away, what’s real and what’s pretend, or what’s new and what’s re-run.
The younger the children are, the more likely they are to be interested in scenes of close-up faces, particularly if the people are expressing some strong feelings. When there’s tragic news, the images on TV are most often much too graphic and disturbing for young children.
“Who will take care of me?”
In times of crisis, children want to know, “Who will take care of me?” They’re dependent on adults for their survival and security. They’re naturally self-centered. They need to hear very clearly that their parents are doing all they can to take care of them and to keep them safe. They also need to hear that people in the government and other grown-ups they don’t even know are working hard to keep them safe, too.
Helping Children Feel More Secure
Play is one of the important ways young children have of dealing with their concerns. Of course, playing about violent news can be scary and sometimes unsafe, so adults need to be nearby to help redirect that kind of play into nurturing themes, such as a hospital for the wounded or a pretend meal for emergency workers.
When children are scared and anxious, they might become more dependent, clingy, and afraid to go to bed at night. Whining, aggressive behavior, or toilet “accidents” may be their way of asking for more comfort from the important adults in their lives. Little by little, as the adults around them become more confident, hopeful and secure, our children probably will, too.
Turn Off the TV
When there’s something tragic in the news, many parents get concerned about what and how to tell their children. It’s even harder than usual if we’re struggling with our own powerful feelings about what has happened. Adults are sometimes surprised that their own reactions to a televised crisis are so strong, but great loss and devastation in the news often reawaken our own earlier losses and fears – even some we think we might have “forgotten”
It’s easy to allow ourselves to get drawn into watching televised news of a crisis for hours and hours; however, exposing ourselves to so many tragedies can make us feel hopeless, insecure, and even depressed. We help our children and ourselves if we’re able to limit our own television viewing. Our children need us to spend time with them – away from the frightening images on the screen.
Talking and Listening
Even if we wanted to, it would be impossible to give our children all the reasons for such things as war, terrorists, abuse, murders, major fires, hurricanes, and earthquakes. If they ask questions, our best answer may be to ask them, “What do you think happened?” If the answer is “I don’t know,” then the simplest reply might be something like, “I’m sad about the news, and I’m worried. But I love you, and I’m here to care for you.”
If we don’t let children know it’s okay to feel sad and scared, they may think something is wrong with them when they do feel that way. They certainly don’t need to hear all the details of what’s making us sad or scared, but if we can help them accept their own feelings as natural and normal, their feelings will be much more manageable for them.
Angry feelings are part of being human, especially when we feel powerless. One of the most important messages we can give our children is, “It’s okay to be angry, but it’s not okay to hurt ourselves or others.” Besides giving children the right to their anger, we can help them find constructive things to do with their feelings. This way, we’ll be giving them useful tools that will serve them all their life, and help them to become the worlds’ future peacemakers — the world’s future “helpers.”
Helpful Hints
Do your best to keep the television off, or at least limit how much your child sees of any news event.
Try to keep yourself calm. Your presence can help your child feel more secure.
Give your child extra comfort and physical affection, like hugs or snuggling up together with a favorite book. Physical comfort goes a long way towards providing inner security. That closeness can nourish you, too.
Try to keep regular routines as normal as possible. Children and adults count on their familiar pattern of everyday life.
Plan something that you and your child enjoy doing together, like taking a walk, going on a picnic, having some quiet time, or doing something silly. It can help to know there are simple things in life that can help us feel better, in good times and in bad.
Even if children don’t mention what they’ve seen or heard in the news, it can help to ask what they think has happened. If parents don’t bring up the subject, children can be left with their misinterpretations. You may be really surprised at how much your child has heard from others.
Focus attention on the helpers, like the police, firemen, doctors, nurses, paramedics, and volunteers. It’s reassuring to know there are many caring people who are doing all they can to help others in this world.
Let your child know if you’re making a donation, going to a town meeting, writing a letter or e-mail of support, or taking some other action. It can help children to know that adults take many different active roles and that we don’t give in to helplessness in times of worldwide crisis.
What do we tell our children?
How do we reassure them of their own safety?
At The Dougy Center in Portland, Oregon, we’ve provided grief support groups for children, teens, young adults and their parents or adult caregivers since 1982.
Based on our experience, here are some things for adults to keep in mind as you struggle with how to talk with children following tragic events, such as natural disasters, plane crashes, or school shootings.
1. Don’t project your fears onto your children. They take their cues from the adults around them.
You can’t hear the news about children being murdered or communities devastated by natural disasters without thinking about how you’d feel if it happened to your family, friends, or hometown. The outpouring of care and empathy for the families who lost loved ones will be powerful, and…we all know it could have been our friends, our child, our family and community members who died or were injured.
Identifying with the senselessness and randomness makes us all feel more vulnerable. But we should remember that children don’t always see things the same way that adults do, and it won’t be helpful to them for us to fall apart. They need to see that we care, that we feel terrible about this tragedy, and that we will do everything we can to keep them safe. They will take their cues from our behavior.
It’s okay to show emotion. We can model for children that feeling sad, scared, and upset is normal after tragedies. But we don’t want to overwhelm them with our emotions, or put them in the position of having to ‘parent,’ or take care of, the adults around them. Make sure you also model taking care of yourself, by sharing with trusted and supportive adult friends, eating (and drinking) healthfully.
2. Try to limit their access to the recurring news and exposure to the tragedy over and over.
Over-exposure to the graphic and emotional news can be overwhelming for children and can cause unnecessary anxiety and fear. Some children who repeatedly watched the footage of planes crashing into the towers on 9/11 thought it was happening again and again. Some children (and some adults) may have difficulty getting graphic scenes and images out of their minds. Too much exposure can fuel their fear, so don’t let them sit and watch the news over and over. Better yet, set the example of not doing so yourself as well.
3. Understand that you can’t completely shield them from what happened.
It would be next to impossible to hide these events from children, as much as we wish we could. You might be able to shield your own child in your home, for example, by not turning on (or owning) a television, but you can’t protect your children from hearing about it from other kids. The fact is, they will hear about it, so although they don’t “need” to know about it, pretending we can shield them is magical thinking.
That said, you don’t need to give them more information than they can handle, or more than they’re asking for. A simple, “Did they talk about what happened in _____ today at school?” would be a good starter. They need to know that you’re not trying to hide the truth from them, that you’re open to talking about it, but that you’re also not forcing them to do so.
4. Model truth-telling and build trust with your children by letting them hear things, even hard things, from you directly.
Eight days after the 9/11 attacks, I was meeting in small groups with pre-school workers in New York City, talking about how to respond to the young children in their care about the events. A man asked to speak to me privately after one of the trainings, and asked for my advice around his 7-year-old daughter. For the last week, since September 12th, she had been having stomach aches and difficulty sleeping. He said it was not tied to the events of 9/11 because, “We don’t have a television.” As his story unfolded it was evident that he did not want to have to explain to his child why people would do such horrible things, a normal dilemma that we face as parents and adults. This child was experiencing physical reactions, as it turned out, not primarily because of her reaction to the events of 9/11, but because she was unable to share her fears and concerns and questions in her own home, faced with her parents’ denial.
Here are some principles to keep in mind as you talk with children:
1. There is no one typical reaction one can or should expect from children.
Their responses will vary all over the ‘emotional’ map, from seeming disinterest to nightmares, eating issues, and anxiety. How any specific child will respond will depend on their age, previous experience with death and loss, and their personality style. Fearful children will tend to worry; quiet children may keep their feelings to themselves; those who want to appear unfazed may exhibit a sense of bravado or lack of caring. Of course, children directly affected – those who had a family member die; those who witnessed the tragedy; those who had friends die – will tend to have longer-term reactions and needs. Watch for changes in behavior, or concerning trends. While it would be normal to have heightened anxiety and sleeplessness, any concerning behavior or troubling symptoms should be taken seriously, and if warranted, professional help sought.
2. Many children will have an increased sense of fear about their safety.
Understandably. So will many adults. After a shooting at an Oregon mall in December 2012, the news outlets were filled with people who said they’d never take their children there again. Others said they’d return as soon as it opened in order to support the stores and employees who had experienced the traumatic events, and whose livelihoods were going to suffer as a result of the several day closure. Some runners in the Boston Marathon vowed to return; others said they would never do so again.
While we can’t guarantee to our children that nothing bad will ever happen to them, we can provide assurance that these events are relatively rare, and that we will do everything we can to keep them safe. Children may have many questions about the events, particularly about natural disasters. Answer their questions with language that fits their developmental stage. It’s okay if you don’t know the answer to a question. If it’s a question that might have an answer, offer to look up more information. You can also ask children what they think the answer is as they often have thoughts and ideas they want to share with you. In the case of natural disasters, if your child is fearful of something like that happening in your community, talk with them about the safety plan that you have in place for your family and home. You can also look into what community safety measures are in place and whatever elements are relevant with your children. Many children will be reassured knowing that there are specific, tangible things they and your family can do if something occurs. Some examples include, picking a meeting place, keeping flashlights in every bedroom, talking about where you will keep emergency water and food.
3. Children want, need, and deserve the truth.
In over 30 years of providing grief support to thousands of children and teens at The Dougy Center for Grieving Children & Families, we have never heard a child say, “I’m glad I was lied to.” Many, however, struggle with anger and lack of trust toward parents or other adults who lied to them. When we don’t tell the truth, they learn that we cannot be trusted. As difficult as it can be at times, and as horrendous as the truth may be, children want, need, and deserve the truth. Being able to talk openly and honestly with your children about tragic events and other losses, creates a foundation of trust, enabling them to come to you in the future with their questions, fears, and concerns.
How race-related stress affects you and your relationship with your child
What effect does racism have on your health and well-being?
Not only does racism impact you as a parent, it can also impact how you interact with your children. Experiences of racism build on each other and can chip away at your emotional, physical and spiritual resources as a parent, contributing to race-related stress. Race-related stress can make it hard to have the space needed to take care of yourself as a parent, which reduces the emotional space you need to adequately take care of your children.
Physical Effects
Physical Effects can include increased hypertension, illness and risky behaviors such as substance use.
Emotional Effects
Emotional effects can include depression, anxiety, anger, irritability and aggression.
Spiritual Effects
Spiritual effects can include a decreased sense of purpose, lack of connection with the larger community, isolation from larger social groups and reduced involvement in communal activities that you enjoy.
Potential reactions to racial stress or trauma
Insecure Feelings
Feelings of shame and lack of confidence due to feeling that a situation cannot be changed.
Lack of Trust
Feeling detached or a lack of trust for others due to experiencing multiple losses or letdowns. This can make it very difficult to seek out help and to identify potential safe sources of support.
Triggers
Reminders of the event, such as particular people or situations, can also trigger strong emotional or physical responses (e.g., crying or rapid heartbeat).
Difficulty Controlling Emotions
Difficulty controlling emotional responses (going from “zero to one hundred”) can occur as the body helps you adapt to potentially unsafe situations, making you feel constantly on “alert.”
The body’s response to the experience of racism can make accessing resources to cope with the situation difficult. Race-related stress is unique in that it threatens psychological resources that are needed to cope and fulfill basic needs such as financial support, housing, access to jobs, etc.
When your body is in stress mode, it is geared up to help you and your child survive, which sometimes leads to impulsive decisions. If you live in a chronic state of stress related to racism, you can start to engage in survival coping. Survival coping can help you to deal with very hard or potentially life-threatening situations. However, if you continue to exist in this mode long-term, it can make it difficult to enjoy being in the moment with your child and can reduce your ability to feel safe and in control.
What impact can racial stress have on your parenting?
Experiencing race-related stress can also impact the quality of parenting relationships in the following ways:
Impostor syndrome
When you are exposed to racism repeatedly, you often start doubting yourself and can feel like you are an imposter in dominant culture settings or in settings where you feel as though you do not belong. Your inner thoughts might sound something like: “Am I being judged?” “Am I worthy?” “I got lucky.” “I only got this because I am Black.”
Being overly alert (hypervigilance)
Experiencing racial stress can make you more aware of potential dangers and negative experiences that can occur. This, in turn, can make the experience of parenting even more stressful. When you interact with your children, you can sometimes be reminded of negative race-related experiences that you had when you were a child. This reminder can amp up emotional responses, or hyperarousal, making it hard for you to “keep your cool” and be open to flexible problem solving.
“Helicopter parenting” (monitoring in fear)
These experiences of racism and unwarranted blame or lack of acceptance can make you want to protect your children so much, that you don’t allow them to explore in the way that they need to. You may shelter them from failures, which everyone needs to experience in order to learn how to manage everyday life. You may tend to be overly cautious or suspicious. Examples can include not allowing your children to have sleepovers or go to the park, even with your supervision.
Difficulty regulating emotions
When your past influences your emotional state, it can affect your emotional responses to both big and minor stressors with children, such as when they misbehave. This, in turn, can lead to being overprotective or overuse of physical discipline, as a means of survival.
For children, having parents who can keep perspective (stay cool) when children are upset, or misbehaving is very important. Likewise, it is important to stay calm when disciplining a child, otherwise discipline may go overboard. Both of these things can be hard if you are having difficulty controlling your emotions.
Avoidance
Avoiding situations that are related to racism can be a needed strategy to survive; such as instances that may involve violence or threat to yourself or your family. Sometimes you may avoid reminders of past experiences due to the pain or discomfort they cause.
If you find yourself avoiding strong feelings or situations with your child that bring up painful memories, it may make it hard to show affection and support for your child. It may even make it difficult to know how to provide emotional support for your child during times of stress. For instance, if your child brings up their own experience of oppression or an event in their life reminds you of something from your own childhood.
Mistrusting others
Racism can lead to distrust or mistrust of other communities. Internalized racism is when you begin to accept negative messages about your own abilities and inherent worth by the dominant group in society.
When you use society’s norms to judge yourself, you can feel depressed, unworthy and just not good enough. You are taught in many ways to take these feelings and paint them onto another group.
Intra and interracial violence, contention among disenfranchised communities or color, and the way the media conveys information about people of color, contribute to this.
This kind of coping can make you more vulnerable to racism, because on some level you may believe in racial hierarchy and difference when you belittle other groups. And when you show your children that it is right to discriminate against certain other groups, you make them more vulnerable to discrimination that they face.
Minimizing racism
Racism is overwhelming, as is the history of violence. You are sometimes taught that accepting this and minimizing racism is the only thing you can do. But when you ignore racism, and accept powerlessness, you encourage your kids to internalize racism. This can lead to increased levels of depression, anxiety and externalizing behaviors (e.g., engaging in risky behaviors, such as alcohol or substance use).
When you believe that you should be able to handle and manage it all without a break or without asking for help, you are at increased risk for health problems and can miss important cues about your well-being and safety.
Self-blame
Experiencing chronically unfair and dangerous discriminatory practices due to race can lead to feelings of low worth. For parents, this can also lead to a questioning of your parenting choices and abilities.
Unbalanced Racial and Ethnic Socialization (RES)
Unbalanced messaging or communication about race and ethnicity occurs when you only promote messages of mistrust, preparation for bias, or only give racial pride messages to your children.
Strategies to deal with racial stress and practice self-care.
So, what can you do to mitigate racial stress?
As parents, it is important to develop positive identities and share your cultural identities with your children. Positive cultural identity and advocacy are protective factors against racism, which can help to reduce and prevent racial stress.
There are many other ways to cope with stress and everyone has different preferences. Reducing stress can also allow you to model healthy coping strategies for your child. Here are some suggestions you can try.
Build or access a support network
Incorporate traditions at home
Get some exercise
Deep breathing
Journal
Limit your media intake
Counseling/therapy
Spirituality
Podcast
You are not the only person dealing with race-related stress and connecting with other people with similar experiences and feelings can help you to successfully navigate racism.
Talk with family and trusted friends specifically about racialized events that have occurred and how to handle them
Start or join a group with others who may have had similar experiences and similar interests, like a book club that reads books by Black authors, or spend time with other African American parents who have the same concerns you do about how your children are treated at the school.
Seek out activities that you can do with your friends or family (e.g., exercising, cooking, watching a family show or movie together, etc.)
Legislation
Much of the debate today is around gun control. Below are links to two bills currently pending in Congress.
Resource Lists to Support Mental Health and Coping with the Coronavirus (COVID-19)
LISTS COURTESY OF THE SUICIDE PREVENTION RESCOURCE CENTER
GENERAL AUDIANCE
NEWLY ADDED! Coping-19 – This website from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Ad Council provides resources for people dealing with anxiety, depression, financial uncertainty, grief, isolation, prejudice, or sleeplessness. It also provides resources on healthy living topics such as exercise, nutrition, and meditation, family activities, and medical guidance.
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): Stress and Coping – This web page contains basic guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on managing mental health stressors during COVID-19. Available in other languages, including Spanish, by clicking the button “Languages” under the title.
Mental Health and Psychosocial Considerations during the COVID-19 Outbreak – This information sheet from the World Health Organization (WHO) contains suggestions for coping with COVID-19 for the general population and specific groups including health care workers, caretakers of children and older adults, and people living in isolation.
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): Grief and Loss – This web page from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) contains information on coping with grief and loss, including loss of a loved one during the COVID-19 pandemic, loss due to changes in daily routines and ways of life, and helping children cope with grief. Available in other languages, including Spanish, by clicking the button “Languages” under the title.
Coronavirus Anxiety: Helpful Expert Tips and Resources– This web page, updated daily by the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA), contains links to a wide variety of resources for coping with general anxiety and some specific anxiety disorders during COVID-19, including articles, information sheets, blog posts, and videos.
Coping with Stress During Infectious Disease Outbreaks– This web page from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) provides bulleted lists of behavioral, physical, emotional, and mental responses that are common signs of stress and anxiety during infectious disease pandemics like COVID-19. It also includes ways to relieve the stress.
Tips for Coping with Coronavirus Stress – This sheet from PsychAlive provides suggestions for self-care to help cope with stress during COVID-19, including mindfulness meditation; a breathing exercise; practicing self-compassion, optimism, and gratitude; and connecting with other people and with nature.
Coronavirus: Building Mental Health Resilience – This blog post from the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) suggests ways to build resilience, which means learning healthy ways to adapt and cope with adversity and distress during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also discusses growing emotionally beyond simply coping.
Responding to COVID-19: Provider Well-Being – This section of the Mental Health Technology Transfer Center’s (MTTHC) website has a list of resources that address the well-being of mental health providers. It includes webinars, presentations, toolkits, and information sheets.
Treating Suicidal Patients during COVID-19: Best Practices and Telehealth (Archived Webinar) – In this webinar from the Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC), experts discuss three best practices for treating people at risk of suicide that can be delivered effectively via telehealth: safety plans, treatment that directly targets suicidal thoughts, and DBT-based self-help skills. Also available is a series of three brief videos made from this webinar.
Safe Suicide Care During a Pandemic– This web page from the Zero Suicide Institute (ZSI) contains descriptions of, and links to, resources for health care leaders and mental health professionals on providing safe suicide care.
Tools for Behavioral Health Professionals During a Public Health Crisis– This sheet from the Northeast and Caribbean Mental Health Technology Transfer Center Network (MHTTC) provides information for behavioral health professionals on maintaining wellness, recognizing signs of burnout, supporting staff, and using telehealth.
Telepsychiatry in the Era of COVID-19 (Archived Webinar)– This webinar by SMI Adviser provides an overview of how to use telemental health and video visits during the COVID-19 pandemic. It includes information on the legal, clinical, cultural, and practical aspects of using technology to deliver care. It covers topics such as which telemental health platform to use, licensure, consent, online prescribing, and billing.
COVID-19 Tips: Building Rapport with Youth via Telehealth – This article by Van Dyk, et al. at the UCLA Pediatric Psychology Consultation Liaison Service provides tips on how to introduce telehealth to children and adolescents, build rapport with them, and keep them engaged.
HEALTH CARE WORKERS AND FIRST RESPONDERS
Emergency Responders: Tips for Taking Care of Yourself –This web page from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides signs of burnout and secondary traumatic stress as well as self-care techniques and tips for setting up a buddy system with another emergency responder for mutual support.
Tips for Healthcare Professionals: Coping with Stress and Compassion Fatigue – This sheet from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) contains information on stress and signs of distress and compassion fatigue after a disaster. It describes strategies to cope and enhance resilience, including instructions for relaxation exercises, and lists resources for more information and support.
Tips for Disaster Responders: Preventing and Managing Stress – This sheet from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) contains information on preparing for a disaster and coping during and after it. Suggestions for planning with loved ones are included.
Caring with Compassion: Supporting Patients and Families in a Crisis (Archived Webinar) – In this webinar from the Schwartz Center, Patricia Watson, PhD, and Richard Westphal, PhD, RN, discuss strategies health care professionals can use to address the five essential human needs that support recovery from adversity and stress. They also explain how to use the Stress First Aid framework to assess for stress injury, discuss patient needs, and make referrals to other supports.
Supporting a Family Member Who Is a Health Care Worker– This information sheet from the Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC) offers practical guidance for addressing the emotional needs of a family member who is a health care worker. It is modeled on the NOVA Crisis Response Program.
Supporting the Children and Teens of Health Care Workers – This information sheet from the Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC) offers practical guidance for addressing the emotional needs of children and teens of health care workers. It is modeled on the NOVA Crisis Response Program.
COMMUNITY LEADERS
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): Reducing Stigma – This web page from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides basic information about stigma related to COVID-19 and ways that public health officials and other community leaders can reduce it.
Social Stigma Associated with the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) – This information sheet from several organizations including UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO) explains what social stigma is, why it is occurring so much with COVID-19, its impact, and how to address it. The sheet suggests preferred language and messages to use when talking about COVID-19 and provides examples of actions that can counter stigmatizing attitudes.
The Critical Role of Prevention During and Post Pandemic (Archived Webinar) – This webinar from the Great Lakes PTTC is a starting point for a regional dialogue as organizations start preparing for recovery from the many effects of COVID-19 including on substance misuse, mental health, suicide, and domestic violence, and the important role that prevention professionals will play in the response.
NEWLY ADDED! COVID-19 and Anxiety (Archived Webinar) – This webinar from the National Indian Health Board includes general background on anxiety, how feelings of anxiety may be heightened during the pandemic, resources and coping mechanisms that may help, and questions and answers with attendees. This webinar is designed for community members, Tribal health and behavioral health professionals, Tribal leaders, and partners.
NEWLY ADDED! Suicidality and COVID-19: How to Help (Archived Webinar) – This webinar from the National Indian Health Board includes general background on suicide in Indian Country; intervention and prevention; what is unique about COVID-19 that may contribute to suicide risk; resources and suggestions that may help; and questions and answers with attendees. This webinar is designed for community members, Tribal health and behavioral health professionals, Tribal leaders, and partners.
Recommendations for Tribal Ceremonies and Gatherings during the COVID-19 Outbreak – This web page from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) contains recommendations to assist in reducing the spread of COVID-19 during tribal ceremonies and practices such as sweat lodges, social gatherings, and seasonal ceremonies. These events are important in protecting the health and well-being of tribal members.
Elder Mental Health During COVID-19 – This information sheet from the Center for American Indian Health provides information on ways to support American Indian elders during COVID-19. It includes suggestions for managing stress, activities to help maintain well-being, ways to support elders with medical needs, and steps residential care facilities can take to ensure elders’ safety.
NEWLY ADDED! Redefining the Sophomore Slump during COVID-19 (Archived Webinar). This webinar from Kognito is a panel discussion with three higher education leaders who discuss what they are expecting when students return to campus, the types of conversations campus members may need to have with students and the support they can provide as students adjust to a new normal given what they have experienced during COVID-19, including grief, loneliness, uncertainty, and fear.
Students Struggle but Don’t Seek Colleges’ Help – This article from Inside Higher Ed describes the low use of college counseling services compared to student needs, the possible reasons, and where else students are getting support. Then it provides 12 suggestions for improving college mental health services now and after the pandemic.
Supporting Vulnerable Campus Populations during the COVID-19 Pandemic – This set of guidelines from the American College Health Association (ACHA) provides information on how to support college and university populations that are disproportionately impacted by the pandemic and economic downturn. It covers Black, Asian, first generation/low income (FGLI), international, Latinx, LGBTQ+, Native American, undocumented students, and students with disabilities.
Mental Health Amid the Coronavirus Pandemic – This web page from Active Minds provides a variety of resources for students, parents, and faculty to help support student mental health during the coronavirus pandemic. Included are videos, blog posts, and webinars.
Changing the Conversation about Mental Health to Support College Students During a Pandemic (Archived Webinar Series) – This is a series of two webinars from the Mountain Plains Mental Health Technology Transfer Center Network (MHTTC) and Active Minds:
Session II: Campus Mental Health: How Do We Come Back to the New Normal? – This session covers what coming back to the “new normal” will look like for college students’ as they return to campus and how campuses can effectively support the return of students in providing a place for recovery and education.
SCHOOLS
NEWLY ADDED! COVID-19: Resource Center: Guidance and Supports This part of the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) website includes links to numerous resources under the categories of “Return to School,” “Crisis & Mental Health,” “Families & Educators,” and “Service Delivery & Special Education.”
CASEL Cares Initiative COVID-19 Resources – This webpage from the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) contains guidelines for educators, parents, and caregivers with four focus areas, and a large list of resources on social and emotional learning for educators.
Responding to COVID-19: School Mental Health – This section of the Mental Health Technology Transfer Center’s (MTTHC) website has a list of resources that address educator well-being and a list of other COVID-related school mental health resources. Both lists include webinars, presentations, toolkits, and information sheets.
COVID-19 Resources – This web page from the National Center for School Mental Health (NCSMH) provides many resources on mental health and coping, with sections specifically for school staff and administrators and for students and families. It also has a section on technology to support school mental health, and a webinar for school mental health clinicians on using telemental health to provide services and support to students and families.
Trauma-Informed School Strategies during COVID-19 – This sheet from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) provides specific guidance for educators, school staff, and administrators on the physical and emotional well-being of staff; creating a trauma-informed learning environment; identifying, assessing, and treating traumatic stress; trauma education; partnerships with students and families; cultural responsiveness, emergency management and crisis response; and school discipline.
Supporting Students Experiencing Trauma During the COVID-19 Pandemic – This blog from the Regional Educational Laboratory Appalachia (REL Appalachia) lists common trauma symptoms and provides preventive strategies that can be used virtually to create a safe and predictable environment, build relationships, and help students with self-regulation. It also provides links to other resources to use in supporting students.
Tools for Educators during a Public Health Crisis – This sheet from the Northeast and Caribbean Mental Health Technology Transfer Center Network (MHTTC) provides information for educators on self-care, signs of distress, and strategies for working parents and students.
EWLY ADDED! COVID-19 Resource Guide for Parents and Guardians – This webpage from the Jed Foundation has links to resources to assist parents and guardians in helping themselves and their teenage and young adult children cope with the mental health effects of COVID-19.
Countering COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Stigma and Racism: Tips for Parents and Caregivers - This information sheet from the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) contains tips for parents and caregivers on addressing stigma and racism related to COVID-19 with children. It also provides suggestions to help children feel safe and deal with stigma they may encounter.
COVID-19: Five Helpful Responses for Families – This web page from Conscious Discipline provides information on five ways to help children feel safe and connected during COVID-19. Each section includes links to activities, examples, stories, and webinars for children and parents to help incorporate the strategies.
Supporting Families During COVID-19 – This resource list from the Child Mind Institute includes links to a large number of resources, including ones specifically for children with anxiety disorders, ADHD, autism, and PTSD. There are also links to resources relevant for all children on managing anxiety, discipline and behavior, and dealing with loss.
Co-Parenting during a Pandemic – This information sheet from Parents Lead.org contains a checklist with items that can help in adjusting co-parenting plans. It also provides information on what to do if one parent thinks the other parent is a risk due to COVID-19
TEENAGERS
NEWLY ADDED! Mental Health Advocacy Online – This webpage from Active Minds includes a short video of high school students sharing their experiences during COVID-19. It also has links to free self-care resources for teens and young adults and a network where student leaders can chat about promoting mental health during COVID-19.
Teen Voices: Coping with the Pandemic – In this short video from MindWise Innovations, teens talk about the challenges they’re experiencing during the COVID-19 pandemic, how they’re learning to cope, and what they need from adults.
OLDER ADULTS
Reducing Loneliness and Social Isolation among Older Adults – This sheet by the Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC) provides information on the risk factors for and impact of loneliness and social isolation on older adults, tools to identify loneliness in older adults, and interventions and resources to reduce loneliness and isolation.
COVID-19: We Must Care for Older Adults’ Mental Health – This web page from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) covers key risk factors that impact mental health and well-being in older adults and how they can be worsened by COVID-19. It also includes steps that everyone can take to support older adults during COVID-19.
7 Ways to Boost Your Loved One’s Morale during the Coronavirus Epidemic – This web page from AARP for loved ones of older adults briefly describes seven ways to help keep older adults engaged and decrease their feeling of isolation even when you cannot be with them in person. It includes a section with tips for thanking the staff at a care center. Also available in Spanish.
Older Adults & Isolation during COVID-19 (Archived Webinar) – This webinar from Mental Health America for older adults and people who support them describes challenges faced by many older adults that can be worsened by COVID-19 and ways that peer support specialists can help. It also provides specific suggestions for older adults living in isolation on how they can connect with other people, including online.
Encouraging Older Adults to Stay Active and Safe during the Coronavirus Pandemic – This web page from the National Council on Aging (NCOA) provides tips for older adults on how to safely stay active and exercise at home. Staying active can help with mental health and coping. Also included is a link to some exercise videos specifically for older adults.
For information sheets in Spanish for a general audience, see the General Audience section above.
Strategies to Support the LatinX Community – In this presentation by the Addiction Technology Transfer Center (ATTC) Network and the Prevention Technology Transfer Center (PTTC) Network, four presenters discuss ways substance misuse providers can support Latinos during COVID-19, including those with substance misuse problems.
Stress Management during Quarantine for Mental Health Providers Serving Latino Clients (Archived Webinar) – This webinar from the National Hispanic and Latino MHTTC identifies stressors in the Hispanic and Latino population that can be exacerbated during quarantines for infectious disease outbreaks. It covers tools for stress management tools that mental health providers can use with their Hispanic and Latino clients. Special considerations regarding telemental health and for working with Latino youth are also provided.
COVID-19 and the Impact on Intimate Partner Violence for Latinos (Archived Webinar) – This webinar from the National Hispanic and Latino MHTTC addresses the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, including shelter in place practices and isolation, on Latino/Hispanic individuals who experience intimate partner violence (IPV). It also covers cultural resilience and coping strategies relevant to Latino families, and ways to reduce stress and IPV.
9 Strategies for Quarantining in a Non-LGBTQ+ Affirming Environment – This article from the LGBTQ+ community platform, them., provides suggestions for LGBTQ+ youth on how to live in isolation with people who may not accept one’s LGBTQ identity. Therapists and crisis management experts from The Trevor Project helped compile the information.
Queer Lives Worth Living (Archived Open Conversation) – This conversation with two staff from The Trevor Project and the president of the American Association of Suicidology (AAS) is directed toward providers serving LGBTQ youth. The focus is how to address the needs of LGBTQ youth as they face the issues of COVID-19 and the recent increased attention on racism and police brutality.
COVID-19 Resource Lists from Partners of the Suicide Prevention Resource Center
The National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention (Action Alliance) has developed a list of resources on safe messaging and for some specific populations.
The Zero Suicide Institute (ZSI) has developed a resource list for health care leaders and mental health professionals that addresses safe suicide care.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has developed a resource list for individuals, providers, communities, and states focused on behavioral health care.
Education Development Center (EDC) has developed a list of resources related to health, mental health, and education.
04 – Resources – ODHS – Oregon Department of Human Services – During COVID You are not alone
The Safe + Strong Helpline (1-800-923-HELP/4357), in partnership with the Oregon Health Authority, is an emotional support and resource referral line that can assist anyone who is struggling and seeking support. Callers do not need to be in a crisis to contact this line. Help is free, available 24/7 and interpreters are available.
Support for service members, veterans and their families at Military Helpline – 888-457-4838 or text MIL1 to 839863
Veteran’s Crisis Line – 800-273-8255 press 1 to talk to someone, text 838255 to connect to a VA responder or call 800-799-4889 for hearing impaired support
Crisis Text Line – Text START to 741-741. For Spanish text to 800-662-4357
StrongHearts Native Helpline offers confidential and culturally appropriate support for domestic and sexual violence affecting Native communities – 844-762-8483
The National Deaf Domestic Violence Hotline offers 24/7 intervention, information and referrals through video phone (855-812-1001), email and chat for Deaf, DeafBlind, DeafDisabled survivors
NW Network provides domestic and sexual violence services for LGBTQ survivors (206-568-7777)
OPEC has a new website! Visit health.oregonstate.edu/opec for the most update OPEC information. ORParenting.org will be phased out by the end of 2022.
OPEC HUBS IN OREGON
About OPEC Hubs
The Oregon Parenting Education Collaborative (OPEC) supports a statewide network of parenting “Hubs.” As part of their role, OPEC Hubs:
Provide infrastructure to support parenting education efforts across their region, serving as a “go-to” place for families and community partners related to parenting resources and programs, support professional development opportunities for parenting education professionals, and collect data
Foster community collaboration to coordinate parenting programs across community partners, build relationships between cross-sector partners, and leverage available resources in support of families
Expand access to and normalize parenting education programs through a combination of direct service and mini-grants to partner organizations to meet the needs of all families in their communities. OPEC Hubs support a blend of universal and targeted parenting programs that are evidence-/research-based and culturally-responsive
The OPEC Logic Model illustrates the strategies, outputs, and outcomes of this work.
Ready to get connected? Your local OPEC Hub can connect you with in-person and remote parenting classes, workshops, resources, and family events in your community.
The guide complements the training manual. It has been developed in collaboration with organizations already delivering Peer2Peer. It provides insights and ideas on the different ways to run and facilitate the course.
Hollie, a Peer Worker with Penumbra, tells us what peer support means to her. This short animation is a powerful way to show the value and impact of peer support. It is also available on our YouTube channel where you can watch, download or share the film.
A short film that describes Peer2Peer as a route to recovery through peer support training and employment. This link takes you to our YouTube channel where you can watch, download or share the film.
The Alexander Foundation is a non-profit, 501(c)3, all-volunteer organization whose sole focus is to give back to the LGBTQ+ community of Colorado.
ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS
COMMUNITY ASSISTANCE GRANT
This program provides assistance to those individuals who are experiencing temporary financial difficulties. Community Assistance is intended for immediate needs such as rent, security deposits, medical expenses, food, clothing, utility bills, and other basic living expenses. Assistance checks are issues only to third parties; for example, the recipient’s landlord or utility company.
Eligibility
Applicants must be:
Part of the LGBTQ+ community
Reside in Colorado
Pre-approved by a recognized Referral Agency
Applicants must demonstrate financial need and must not have received Community Assistance from The Alexander Foundation within the previous 12-month period. The maximum amount of assistance is $200. Individuals may only receive assistance three (3) times.
THE ROCKY MOUNTAINEERS MOTORCYCLE CLUB OF COLORADO CATASTROPHIC ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
This program is intended to provide support to those who are at risk of losing their ability to provide basic life needs due to treatment or complications related to cancer, a catastrophic illness, or a serious illness. Examples include medical care, housing, food, clothing, phones, and utilities. Unlike one-time assistance provided through the Community Assistance Program, this program provides fixed monthly assistance for up to 12 months. The amount of assistance is determined by the recipients’ needs but cannot exceed $2400 (or $200 per month).
Eligibility
Applicants must be:
Part of the LGBTQ+ community
Reside in Colorado
Have been diagnosed with a form of cancer, catastrophic illness, or serious injury. HIV positive status alone does not qualify someone for this program.
The applicant’s healthcare provider must certify the condition or diagnosis.
Applicants must demonstrate financial need, and cannot have received financial assistance from the Foundation during the previous 6 months. The “Certification of Medical Condition” must come from the applicant’s healthcare provider, and may also be e-mailed or faxed.
HOLIDAY LETTER ASSISTANCE
The Holiday Letter Assistance program provides one-time assistance during the traditional holiday season from November through December. The amount of assistance is based on need and the financial support appeal response from the community.
Eligibility
The recipient must be:
Part of the LGBTQ+ community
Reside in Colorado
Demonstrate financial need
A certification from aReferral Agencymust accompany the application. Individuals may receive Holiday Letter Assistance a maximum of three times. Holiday letter Assistance is issued to third parties based on the need expressed in the application.
Application Process
Three to four weeks before the deadline, The Alexander Foundation’s Assistance Programs Director will notify Referral Agencies when Holiday Letter Assistance applications are due (typically at the end of November/early December). Referring agencies are encouraged to contact The Alexander Foundation to ensure all mailed applications have been received.
HOW TO APPLY: COMMUNITY & CATASTROPHIC ASSISTANCE APPLICATION PROCESS
All Assistance Program applications MUST come from a Referral Agency. Applications are processed as they are received, and distributions occur within three to four weeks of receipt of the completed application.
Referral Agencies must fax or e-mail assistance applications to The Alexander Foundation’s office on behalf of an applicant; mailed applications will not be accepted. To learn more about these programs, including the information required for Community Assistance and Catastrophic Assistance Grants, please contact aReferral Agency.
SCHOLARSHIPS
The Alexander Foundation was founded in 1981 as a public, non-profit, philanthropic organization. Through our three education scholarships, the foundation has continued a tradition of caring for the LGBTQ+ community to overcome barriers they may face in pursuit of academic success.
Applicants for ALL scholarships must:
Identify within the LGBTQ+ community
Be residents of Colorado
Be pursuing a degree at an accredited institution of higher education in the state of Colorado
Applications for ALL scholarships require:
A completed online application form
A personal essay that tells us about you and your goals, how the scholarship will help you achieve them, elaborate on your financial need, and your current or future plans for supporting the LGBTQ+ community.
Two signed letters of recommendation, including at least one academic reference on school letterhead.
A photocopy of a state or federally issued ID
Furthermore, each scholarship has additional eligibility and application requirements. Please see below for further details about each of the three scholarship opportunities.
Applications will be accepted through March 20, 2022.
The Alexander Foundation Scholarships
Scholarships awarded from The Alexander Foundation provide financial assistance to those seeking a higher education degree from an accredited institution in the State of Colorado. Selection for awards are based on merit, need, and service to the LGBTQ+ community. Annual scholarship award amounts range from $300 to $3,000.
Eligibility and Process
In addition to the requirements listed above, each applicant must also:
Be pursuing a higher education degree within Colorado. However, exceptions may be made in certain instances. If you would like to apply for an exception, please elaborate in your personal essay (i.e., online program, continuing education over the summer, etc)
Applicants may apply as often as they wish; however, recipients are limited to a cumulative maximum award limit of $9,000.
The David and Sharon Alexander Scholarship was created through a generous donation from the Alexander family. This scholarship, named for David and Sharon Alexander, serves to honor the contributions they made to furthering the education of their children, through providing funding to future generations of educators.
Awarded annually to a student pursuing a degree that supports education and learning, recipients will receive a $1000 scholarship to be used on any school related expense. Students awarded the David and Sharon Alexander Scholarship are eligible for a continued annual award of $1000 for up to four years.
Eligibility and Process
In addition to the requirements listed above, each applicant must also:
Be pursuing a degree in education, higher education, counseling, school psychology, social work, special education, or a teaching certificate. Students pursuing their first degree post high school will be given preference, however, any student pursuing a degree in an education related field is encouraged to apply.
Demonstrate financial need in their application process.
Fill out an additional supplement, providing a statement that addresses the importance of education and your goals for pursuing a degree in an education related field.
Applicants who are not awarded the David and Sharon Alexander Foundation Scholarship will automatically be considered for all other Alexander Foundation Scholarships.
The Jordon Connor Memorial Scholarship was created through a generous donation from Michael & Gina Connor and Michael Alexander. The scholarship, named for Jordon Connor, serves to honor Jordon by providing funding to future generations of mental health providers dedicated to serving LGBTQ+ communities.
Awarded annually to two students pursuing a degree in a mental health-related field, recipients receive a $1,000 scholarship for any school-related expenses. Students who are awarded the Jordon Connor Memorial Scholarship are eligible for a continued annual award of $1,000 for up to four years.
Eligibility and Process
In addition to the requirements listed above, each applicant must also:
Be pursuing a degree in a mental health-related field (social work, psychology, counseling, etc.) at an accredited institution of higher education in the state of Colorado Students pursuing their first degree post-high school will be given preference. However, any student pursuing a degree in a mental health-related field is eligible and encouraged to apply.
Demonstrate financial need in their application process.
Fill out an additional supplement, providing a statement that addresses the importance of education and your goals for pursuing a degree in a mental health-related field.
Applicants who are not awarded the Jordon Connor Memorial Scholarship will automatically be considered for all other Alexander Foundation Scholarships.
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