Professional Goals and Interests: Community organizing/education; Gathering narratives of experience for policy conversations; Facilitating regional social justice movements; Strengthening existing local solutions for housing, employment, and health equity
Organizational Leadership and Policy Practice
- Partners with the Family Program and Community Access Team to explore solutions available for both families and single women/trans Members who are unhoused
- Schedules in-house appointments, provides referrals to local service agencies, distributes donated resources, and creates intentional spaces for support with adult and youth Members of The Gathering Place
- Connects with other community organizations to learn about existing networks within Denver that serve people experiencing homelessness or poverty
- Participates in focused staff training sessions; topics include de-escalation methods, gender sensitivity and understanding, mobile crisis team utilization, and budgeting priorities in the nonprofit sector
- Orchestrated HelpLine communications from info@nami.org; trained volunteers to draft and format email replies
- Provided definitive resources to volunteers or interns during calls; offered debriefing after distressing conversations
- Integrated data to create periodic reports and administer online HelpLine call survey, enhanced presentations of findings with graphic recording to illustrate qualitative impacts
- Served as a liaison between NAMI callers and local crisis services, transferring callers with suicidal intent or other urgent concerns to the appropriate response networks
- Moderated online Discussion Groups; partnered with other departments to optimize conflict resolution
- Referenced local, state, and national resources to provide relevant information for each caller's needs
- Listened thoughtfully to understand, encouraged individuals and family members to seek professional guidance
- Shared personal knowledge and experiences of mental illness with callers, reinforcing solidarity and empathy in peer support
- Responded to emails delegated by HelpLine staff; curated a selection of resources for each situation, including context for their relevance and purpose towards recovery
Practiced approaches to identifying symptoms of illness, safely treating minor injuries, utilizing an automated external defibrillator (AED), and performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) with adults and children
Learned protocol for addressing opioid overdose situations, instructions for administering naloxone, and advice about actions to undertake after intervention
Adult Basic Training Certification
Studied appropriate responses to assist those in mental health crisis as a fellow community member; discussed action plans for de-escalating a situation before professionals arrive
- Practices well-honed listening skills to give full attention to those in need; considers each individual’s situation and builds necessary rapport
- Develops and utilizes large personal knowledge base, creating broad understanding of a wide range of issues and the ability to develop versatile solutions
- Models flexibility by embracing differing views without perceiving as a challenge to ego; understands how cultural and personal contexts can influence ideas