Refugee service providers are used to putting clients first, working long hours, and moving mountains to meet clients’ needs, no matter how difficult. This work is unique: we are entrusted with helping people who have experienced significant hardship and trauma as they rebuild their lives in a new country. Because our work is unique, our organizations have a unique role in supporting us.
As the coronavirus pandemic redefines “normal,” many people are experiencing more symptoms of emotional distress. For most of us, seeing some of these signs some of the time isn’t too concerning. It’s when we begin to feel this way most of the time that it can become alarming. Learning to recognize signs of emotional distress in ourselves or our loved ones is one step towards beginning to cope.
People in helping professions are being challenged in numerous personal and professional ways during the COVID-19 pandemic. Service providers are supporting clients who may be in crisis due to employment, childcare or healthcare needs. At the same time, we ourselves may be in crisis for similar reasons. The challenge of caring for and being concerned about family and friends, as well as clients, is leading to extreme stress in many helping professionals.
This blog post offers tips on how to help your clients cope during the COVID-19 crisis, including suggestions for sharing information in a trauma-informed way and supporting clients’ mental health and wellbeing.
This blog post offers tips on how to help families cope during the COVID-19 crisis. Helping children begin to develop coping skills in response to COVID-19 stressors can not only help them get through this volatile time, but also positively manage feelings during uncertain times in the future.
Did you know that July 30th is World Day against Trafficking in Persons? The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime chose “responding to the trafficking of children and young people” and “highlighting the importance of government action,” as the focus areas of 2019’s World Day. To mark this day, Switchboard is highlighting anti-trafficking resources …
On World Day against Trafficking, a Round-up of Anti-Trafficking Resources Read More »
This blog post was written by Bridging Refugee Youth and Children’s Services (BRYCS) and is included as an archived post on the Switchboard blog. For ten years, I served refugees at administrative and policy levels. I missed working with clients, but I feared vicarious traumatization (being negatively impacted from the heavy weight of experiencing traumatic …
