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August 31, 2018
We often think
that Memorial Day and Labor Day bookend our summer. I hope that our summer
weather is not coming to an end, but it definitely means that school will soon
be in session. So, with that reality, I wanted to share a few e-mails I
received recently, and some other things from this week.
It is that time
of the year again – school is starting. Parents are out shopping for school
supplies, buying school clothes and adjusting schedules. As part of your school
preparation, please parents, take time to have a conversation about bullying
with your child. Whether your child is the target, bully, or merely a witness,
talking to your child and your influence can help change the culture for the
better.
- 90% of 4th-8th graders report being
victims of bullying and 80% of all high school students report having been
cyberbullied. (Kulbarsh –Officer.com)
- Headlines reporting the tragic stories of a young
person’s suicide death linked in some way to bullying (physical, verbal,
or online) have become regrettably common. Bullycide is a new term used to identify those
children/teens who were victims of bullying and became so emotionally distressed
that they committed suicide. Revenge is the strongest motivation for school shootings. Harassment
and bullying have been linked to 75% of school-shooting incidents.
- Bullying often presumes that youth who
are bullied are at great risk for suicidal thoughts and behaviors. But
research shows that bullies themselves are at risk as well.
Bullying can no longer be dismissed as a rite of passage
experience or just something kids do. Bullying is a traumatizing experience for
the victim, which can result in long-standing emotional, physical scars
and even death.
It
is a great privilege and our solemn duty to protect those who have been
entrusted to us. So, please have the conversation.
Maureen
Womack
CEO
Wellfound Behavioral Health Hospital
 Friday, August 31, is National Drug Addiction Awareness Day and there were a few events that took place this week in recognition of this issue.
Thursday evening Battlefield Addiction held a dessert potluck at their Battlegrounds Coffee Shop. There were close to 100 in attendance, including some who might have been clean for a few days, a year, some who haven’t quite made it to clean yet, and a group that no one wants to belong to –parents who have lost a child to an overdose.
The work that Art and Angie and their board of directors (most of them parents who have a child with addiction) are doing in our community is invaluable. As I mentioned during my comments that evening, I am proud of the opportunity to partner with Battlefield, and at the same time so very sad that the need for us to do so even exists.
 On Friday morning, the Auburn King County Library held an event as well. Brad Finegood, Chief Health Integration Strategist, King County Behavioral Health and Recovery Division, was on hand to welcome the attendees. We heard from Arti Patel from Washington Poison Center. That organization has been in existence for 62 years, and they are staffed 24/7/365 with nationally certified poison information specialists. They handle 63,000 calls per year.
A few of the staggering facts that Arti presented:
- About two Washingtonians are dying of an opioid related overdose per day
- Roughly 21-29% of patients prescribed opioids for chronic pain misuse them
- Between 8-12% develop an opioid use disorder
- An estimated 4-6% who misuse prescription opioids transition to heroin
- Four in five new heroin users started by misusing prescription opioids
What can we do? Start a conversation about drug use without stigma and with empathy. For information on how to do that you can go to Stop Overdose or Starts With One. As I’ve said many times, this is no longer “those people” and “their problems,” they are our loved ones and the solution begins with us!
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“Be the reason
someone believes in the goodness of people.”
-Anonymous
 It is hard to
even fathom how far we have come!
We started Ray of Hope with three staff offering 5.5 hours of service and now have six staff offering 11 hours of service -- AND – in February, we
took over the management of the full-time night shelter we call Sundown Shelter
with three staff offering 10 hours of service seven days a week! We have also expanded
services by implementing showers two days a week and laundry.
Service
providers from Work Source, DSHS, Veterans Support and MultiService Center come
weekly. Three churches provide a meal a month.
We have seen
people come for a while and leave, some come and haven’t gone. Some
have gotten jobs, some have housing, some have stabilized enough they are back
into treatment, some have gone home (out of the area). We are
currently waking eight of the 40 in our Sundown Shelter so they can get to
work!
All are fed and warm with phones charged, ID’s obtained, licenses renewed, and working on stability and
a different future than where they are!
A team of
able-bodied are the “Ray of Hope Work Crew” and go around the neighborhood and around the river bank off of Brannan Park picking up garbage!
“Sweat Equity”
has been implemented and all are asked and expected to participate in some
form.
Thank you City of Auburn and Valley Cities Mental Health for your support and land and
building!
Thank YOU Auburn for
your financial support - it’s taking more than anticipated to run these but the
reward is life changing!
Debbie
Christian
Executive Director
The Auburn Food Bank
Please remember
to watch out for students as they make their way to the first days of the
school year. They might be excited about getting back to school (it could
happen!), and not pay attention to the crosswalks. The school zone speed limit
is 20 miles per hour when the yellow lights are flashing. Know the rules of the
road – especially about school buses! Below is a very good graphic that Auburn
Police Department had on their Facebook page.
 We did have a bit
of fun Friday around noon.” Harry the Husky” and a few of his friends came down
to visit us! Are you wondering why? Well, seems that UW is playing Auburn on
Saturday, so they wanted to visit a friendly Auburn, one who is cheering for
the Dawgs to win!
We had a group of City employees who are Husky supporters
join us at city hall for some photos and good fun. How many WSU Cougars showed
up for the fun? The answer – as you probably guessed is NONE (at least none
willingly). It’s all in good fun!
Check out the video of his visit on Twitter!
Enjoy this weekend – maybe visit the Auburn International Farmers Market on Sunday from 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. The Market will continue each Sunday through the end of September, so time is running out. For the students heading back to school, I wish you a successful year. For the teachers, thank you for helping to shape our future, and to your successes as well!
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