• Talking with children about Corona-virus Disease 2019: Messages for parents, school staff, and others working with children:

    Families please remember: stressed out adults have a hard time de-stressing youth. Parents need to do their best to remain calm, composed, and role model healthy self-care. Our immune system can become compromised when we are stressed out and lacking sleep.

    If you know your student is suffering from a mental health condition such as anxiety or depression, families are urged to be extra vigilant at this time.

    1. Discuss a communication plan with your child and keep in touch with them during the day if you can’t be home with them.
    2. Make sure they have a trusted ADULT to contact during the day if you are not available.
    3. Ensure that prescriptions are up-to-date and filled, if applicable.
    4. If self-harm or suicidal thinking is a concern, post crisis line resources at your home and make sure your child knows them.

    How to support children & teens through loss & trauma
    ​
    Supporting Teenagers and Young Adults During the Coronavirus Crisis:
    Article for parents with helpful tips that are more mental-health focused. An important tip from this article is for families to validate their kids disappointment. Especially for our seniors- this is a huge loss for many of them and they may not be able to experience the things that they were looking forward to for so long.  

    Thrive Inside- Smiling Mind
    (Also recommend the Smiling Mind app- free meditations and mindfulness exercises)
    The website is great, and suggests these 6 questions (below) for people to check in with each day (would be great for families to check in with their kids about):

    • What am I grateful for today?
    • Who am I checking in on or connecting with today?
    • What expectation of ‘normal’ am I letting go of today?
    • How am I getting outside today?
    • How am I moving my body today?
    • What beauty am I either creating, cultivating or inviting in today?

     
    Some ideas for self-care during the quarantine:

    • Start or practice a new hobby (cross-stitching, painting, cooking, musical instrument, gardening, etc.)
    • Mindfulness exercises (Mind Yeti has some great videos on Youtube)
    • Spa day/afternoon with homemade face masks
    • Stretching (Youtube has great videos for a guided stretch)
    • Journaling, making a list of gratitude’s
    • Reading (many websites have free ebooks right now: www.earlybirdbooks.com , www.bookhub.com/welcome , www.freebooksy.com , www.free-ebooks.net )
    • Take a nap
    • Go for a walk
    • Play a game (video games, or board/card games with a family member, or try online game websites like www.unofreak.com)



    Urgent Mental Health Needs
    If you or someone you know is having a mental health crisis or needs counseling support, please  contact Project Respond via the Multnomah County Call Center at 503-988-4888

    Cascadia Behavioral Healthcare’s Urgent Walk-in Clinic is open seven days a week from 7:00 AM to 10:30 PM and serves all individuals in Multnomah County regardless of insurance, income, or age. They are located at 4212 SE Division, Suite 100, Portland, OR 97206. Call us at 503-963-2575.

    Additional resources and supports offered through Cascadia Whole Health (including information about Project Respond and the Urgent Walk-In Clinic) can be found at: 
    https://cascadiabhc.org/services/crisis-intervention/
    Suicide Crisis and Prevention Resources include:National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
        Call 1-800-273-8255 (English)    1-800-628-9454 (Spanish)
        https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/

    Youthline:
        Text “Teen2Teen” to 839863

    Lines for Life
    Call 800-273-8255 OR TEXT '273TALK' TO 839863
    https://www.linesforlife.org/

    The Trevor Project
        Call 1-866-488-7386 
        https://www.thetrevorproject.org/

    OEA Choice Trust
    https://oeachoice.com/covid-19-resources-page/

    Guide to Parenting & Family Health During COVID-19

    https://www.joinsprouttherapy.com/parent-and-health-covid19

    Reporting Child Abuse
    If you think someone is being hurt or is in danger, call 911 immediately.Report child abuse to the Oregon Child Abuse Hotline by calling 1-855-503-SAFE (7233). The Oregon Child Abuse Hotline receives calls 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. This toll free number allows you to report abuse of any child or adult to the Oregon Department of Human Services. You can also report child abuse by calling a local police department, county sheriff, county juvenile department, or Oregon State Police.