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My Year of Waking Up – Series: Part 5 of 5

My Year of Waking Up:  “Have Hope”

The final piece in this reflective series on my recent learning about individual and institutional racism, about the difference between equality and equity, and about myself, is dedicated to hope. As I mentioned at the start of this series, Bryan Stevenson, author of “Just Mercy” urged us to do four things in our desire and effort to build a just and equitable world for all, the last of which was to have hope. 

During Stevenson’s post-election visit to Seattle, you can imagine that many in the audience were feeling uncertain and unhopeful. The white supremacy, violence and hate we have witnessed over this past year have further challenged our sense of hope. Bryan Stevenson strongly suggested that hopelessness is not an option. He said it is critical that we must always have hope and believe that together, we can create the world we want to live in. He went even further to say that “when you become hopeless, you become part of the problem, as hopelessness is the enemy of justice”. We must have hope.

So, how do I feel hopeful, especially as I wake up a little more each day to the gross injustice and inequality, experienced by my neighbors, co-workers and friends? Most of all, I stay hopeful through the increasing number of people I witness seeking to learn more, to listen for understanding, and to venture slowly into uncomfortable – dialogue changing – conversation.

In December I had the opportunity to participate in a two day training called “Undoing Institutional Racism”, hosted by the People’s Institute Northwest. The training was overbooked. So, 55 or more of us sat shoulder to shoulder in a chilly church social hall for two full days of learning that exposed the deep history of racism in our country, built on white privilege and supremacy. We were engaged in different ways to explore our individual and collective understanding of race based oppression and inequity.

In one exercise, we were each asked to state our primary race identification (Black, White, Asian, Native American, Hispanic), and to say what we liked most about “being White, or Black…”. I struggled to think of what to say, because I had never thought about being White, and when it was my turn to answer to the group, I said “I’m not sure, maybe because it’s easy…?” My response of ease, along with “I’ve never thought about it”, were the most common response from White participants.

Clearly, it’s a privilege not to consider your race when walking through life — when applying for a job, traveling to different parts of the country, shopping, looking for a new place to live, driving over the speed limit or walking home in the dark. Interestingly, most non-white participants reported that they “liked” being strong, facing adversity, being resilient, they also reported being very proud of their cultural traditions, cuisine and creative abilities. In essence, people of color report that what they like about themselves is that they are capable of coping with adversity and oppression. This simple, learning-in-public exercise was hard, and revealing, and I think it left each of us a little more awake, it certainly did me. It felt hopeful to see this large group of people show up and actively participate in two days of powerful, albeit uncomfortable awakening. 

Day to day, I find the most hope close to home, at WithinReach. I work with people who are committed to health equity, to equity in general. As a team we want to understand why such significant inequities exist for Washington communities of color, and what our role is in creating more equitable health outcomes for all families in our state. The top priority in our 2017-2019 Strategic Framework is dedicated to: Improving overall health and health equity in Washington. We don’t know the perfect path forward in pursuit of this goal, but we are committed to reducing our individual and organizational bias, and to creating a plan to move every part of our work toward equity. Most of all, we are listening more deeply in our effort to create a different dialogue.

So, where does this leave me? Above all, grateful for each of the learning experiences I had this past year and the awakenings they offered me. I cannot say I am fully woke, but rather ready to keep ‘waking up’. Bias, racism and inequity are not new, but the need to understand and address them is more critical than ever to our survival. Black Lives Matter. Hate has No Home Here. And, I hope to be more awake each day. 

<<Back to Part 4

Tags: Bryan Stevenson   CEO Perspective   Have Hope   institutional racism   Just Mercy   Kay Knox   white privilege   

My Year of Waking Up – Series: Part 4 of 5

My Year of Waking Up:  “Change the narrative by listening deeply to others”

My past ‘year of waking up’ was not only enhanced by Bryan Stevenson, author of “Just Mercy” and my gym pal and local high school teacher, Eddie Stead as I described in the introduction to this series but by many others I was fortunate to meet throughout 2017. Each person has granted me the gift of awareness, courage and hope. They’ve helped me examine my own privilege and be more aware of the racism that affects the daily lives of so many in our country. I’ve been encouraged by Bryan Stevenson’s third charge to us, “change the narrative by listening deeply to others”, because it has the potential to transform how I approach just about everything.

A few months back, I had a candid conversation with King County Councilman, Larry Gossett, and his Legislative Aide, Larry Evans. Though our conversation was about WithinReach’s key role in helping develop a coordinated Help Me Grow network as part of King County’s innovative Best Starts for Kids Initiative, it quickly it veered toward health equity. After describing the work of WithinReach, Larry Evans asked me to consider a parenting scenario he had recently witnessed between an African American Mom and her young toddler. In the scenario, a young Mom interacted with her toddler in what might have been seen as too harsh, and included a tough warning to her daughter about potential consequences of her behavior.

Larry offered me a huge gift, he asked me to wait until he was completely done, before I responded. In the end, he asked me how I would have interpreted the scenario, and how my organization would have approached this family. With this, he opened the door for me to explore my bias based on my own upbringing and experience as a parent, instead of feeling defensive and jumping in with what I thought was right answer, “Oh, we would treat her like any other Mom…our organization really cares about diversity and equity …we’re not biased”.

We talked openly about the filters I apply to the world based on my white privilege, and the assumptions, I might have made about this Mom and her children. We talked about institutional racism and how it keeps families in need from being served, or even seeking help; and we talked about how WithinReach is truly committed to the health of all families and yet, we are only beginning to understand what health equity means, and how we can play a role in making it a reality.

Larry Evans’ gift – inviting me to pause before responding – offered me the opportunity to listen deeply.  As most people who know me will agree, this isn’t my strong suit, I am always ready to respond, and most often do.  At the end of our time together, we all agreed that Bryan Stevenson is right, listening for understanding is key to creating a different dialogue; and the only way we can do that is to extend open, non-judgmental invitations for important conversations to happen.

<<Back to Part 3                                      On to Part 5>>

Tags: Bryan Stevenson   CEO   equality   Implicit Bias   institutional racism   Just Mercy   Kay Knox   listen deeply   white privilege   

My Year of Waking Up – Series: Part 3 of 5

My Year of Waking Up: “Do things that are uncomfortable”

Photo: Thank you to Dr. Victoria Gardner for facilitating our All Staff Retreat (pictured in the center, in red, with our Intercultural Competency Committee members and myself)!

I started this series by saying that 2017 was a big year of learning for me about individual and institutional racism, about the difference between equality and equity, and about myself as a white person of privilege. After hearing Bryan Stevenson, author of Just Mercy, I have been focused on the 4 things he encouraged us to do. The second of which was to “do things that make us uncomfortable”. Thanks to our staff Intercultural Competency Committee I had the opportunity to jump right in to my own discomfort, through a wonderful all-staff learning event.

The Committee hosted our annual learning retreat, which has been happening for more than 10 years. The retreat provides a chance for us to step away from our daily work and dive into shared learning about how we can realize our strategic priorities, improve our program and services, or enhance our individual growth. In preparation for this year’s retreat, we were encouraged to take one or more of the Implicit Bias tests, through Harvard’s Project Implicit. As I began answering the questions, I felt calm and confident that my non-biased view of the world would be obvious in my survey answers. It was not. As you might guess, the result showed that I have an ‘implicit preference for Northern Europeans’ – white people. Despite my initial disbelief and shame, I woke up a little more, as I realized that implicit bias is a part of my very being – it is in my cells, by genes, my history – it is inextricably tied to my lived experience. It creates the gap between what I believe and how I act – consciously or unconsciously. It informs my thoughts, words and actions whether I like it or not. This doesn’t mean that I just accept this fact, but instead use this awareness to listen more deeply to those who are affected by my bias and the bias of others.

Though our retreat focused on the results of our first organization-wide Cultural Responsiveness Assessment (as part of Portland State University’s Protocol for Culturally Responsive Organizations), this exercise provided an opportunity for each of us to open the day’s learning a little more aware of how our implicit bias affects how we show up every day.

Bryan Stevenson encouraged us to do things that are uncomfortable – to have uncomfortable conversations. My implicit bias learning has made me more open to having different and perhaps uncomfortable conversations. I have begun to refer to myself as a “white leader” in conversations, to challenge myself and others to recognize the implicit bias I/we bring to our work. Our Board is having brave conversations about what it will take to add diversity to our Board, given that we are largely a white group, with mostly white networks. They are committed to prioritizing diversity and moving beyond our traditional circles to recruit a more diverse Board.

Most of all, we are all getting more comfortable being uncomfortable.
 

<<Back to Part 2                                      On to Part 4>>

Tags: Bryan Stevenson   CEO   diversity   Equal Rights   equality   equity   Implicit Bias   injustice   Just Mercy   Kay Knox   privilege   shame   systemic oppression   

My Year of Waking Up – Series: Part 2 of 5

PART 2: “Getting Proximate”

Pictured from right to left: Dr. Ben Danielson, Alex Sosa, Patty Hayes, Kay Knox 

As I described in the introduction to this series, this has been a year of deep learning for me — about racism, bias, inequity, and myself.  The chance to hear Bryan Stevenson, the author of Just Mercy, contributed hugely to my learning, as have a number of other experiences I had this past year. One such experience was when I attended a Forum facilitated by our WithinReach Breastfeeding team and members of the Breastfeeding Coalition of Washington.

With generous funding from the Pacific Hospital Preservation District Association, the Forum gathered about 100 cross-sector community partners to explore Breastfeeding Disparities in African American Moms in King County.  I am embarrassed (and uncomfortable) to say that I attended this meeting primarily to show my support as CEO of WithinReach, not because I thought the learning was intended for me. I was wrong. 

Dr. Ben Danielson, Medical Director at Odessa Brown Children’s Clinic in Seattle’s Central District, was one the speakers at the forum. He shared loads of research-based data that described how health and social service systems routinely treat African American women differently. Whether it is that they are significantly less likely to be provided information about breastfeeding by hospital staff after giving birth – to support them in giving their babies the best, and healthiest first food; or, that African American Moms are often judged as being single, less capable parents with absent fathers if they show up to a clinic appointment alone (research shows that African American dads are equally involved in their children’s lives).

The Breastfeeding Forum was an opportunity for me to get ‘proximate’, as Bryan Stevenson suggested we must all do to build a just and equitable world for all.  Stevenson encouraged all of us to start by getting close to those who are broken, those you are oppressed, those who suffer inequity daily, so that we can serve as witnesses to racism, both individual and institutional, in a real way.

Each time Dr. Danielson provided another data point illustrating structural racism in our health and social service systems, the African American women in the room emphatically responded with strong acknowledgement of this lived experience, “Amen, yes, Amen”.  What an eye opening experience, to take step closer to being a witness.  It was humbling in that moment to realize that the learning was all mine.

I have struggled over the years to figure out what my role and the role of our organization should be in reducing health disparities. And on this day, the message was clear: We cannot expect those oppressed by institutional racism to change the systems that oppress them. It is up to me, a white leader, and it is up to WithinReach to help change these systems.  

First, we must get close, and serve as witnesses.

 

<<Back to Part 1      On to Part 3>>

Tags: Bryan Stevenson   CEO   CEO Perspective   Health Equity   Just Mercy   Kay Knox   privilege   systemic oppression   

My Year of Waking Up – Series: Part 1 of 5

PART 1: New Friends, New Learning
Pictured right, Eddie Snead (L) and Kay Knox (R)

Over the last year, I have experienced deep learning about racism, bias, inequity, and myself. I have learned that even though I can authentically say that I believe all people are created equal, and deserve equal protections under the law and an equal opportunity to thrive, my privilege and cultural and historical experiences, as a white woman, make it impossible for me to act in absolute alignment with these beliefs.

I recognize that this realization may be uncomfortable to read. That’s ok, it makes me uncomfortable. In fact, it used to make me feel embarrassed and a bit defensive, but not anymore, because I am starting to wake up.

Over the last year, I have come to realize that this discomfort is key to creating the world I want to live in, but don’t. Not in a blaming, judgmental way, but in a learning, deep listening, and hope-filled way.

I’d like to share my learning with you, as an invitation for conversation, exploration, and possibly a path to change the world, even just a little.

It all started at the gym, when I met Eddie Snead, a high school teacher, who became a Facebook friend and a periodic recumbent cycling pal. Eddie is one of the most positive people I have ever met. He is also a consummate teacher – always urging students, friends, and family to expand their minds by reading more. Eddie urged me to read Bryan Stevenson’s book, Just Mercy, to help me understand the deep impact of structural racism. I felt sick and overwhelmed by the horrific stories of oppression and institutional racism in Just Mercy, but I also felt invited to search for hope, always, by both Bryan Stevenson, the founder of the Equal Justice Initiative, and my new friend, Eddie. I had been one of the people who wondered why not “All Lives Matter”? After reading Just Mercy, I finally got it. Sure, all lives matter, but not all lives experience individual and institutional racism every day. Black Lives Matter is about this prevalent systemic oppression and injustice. It is a necessary message, a necessary movement, aimed at helping all of us wake up more.

My awakening continued when I had the incredible honor of hearing Bryan Stevenson speak in-person at Benaroya Hall. His visit to Seattle came a few weeks after the election, and I will admit, I needed his insight and guidance more than ever. He suggested that to build a just and equitable world for all, we must concentrate on doing the following four things:

1. Get proximate to be a witness. He challenged us to get close to those who are broken, those who are oppressed, those who suffer inequity daily, so that we can serve as witnesses to racism, both individual and institutional, in a real way.

2. Do things that are uncomfortable. Be willing to get close and listen deeply to those who struggle against systems that are created by our dominant culture. He suggested we must be brave and take risks, we must be willing to get uncomfortable to move to a different place.

3. Change the narrative by listening deeply to others. We must stop assuming we understand the challenges our neighbors face, we must stop talking, put our defenses down, and listen deeply to truly understand how people are affected by racism and injustice.

4. Have Hope. Knowing that many in the audience were likely feeling unhopeful at the time, he strongly suggested that this was not an option. Believing, that together, we can create the world we want to live in is critical. He did not mince words, saying: “when you become hopeless, you become part of the problem, as hopelessness is the enemy of justice”. We must have hope.

Over the next few weeks, I plan to reflect on each of these actions – and how they have contributed to my year of waking up. I hope you will follow me in this exploration, even if it is uncomfortable, because I think the world we want to live in depends on it.

On to Part 2 of this series>>

Tags: Bryan Stevenson   CEO   Equal Rights   Health Equity   injustice   Just Mercy   Kay Knox   privilege   systemic oppression   

Building Communities that are Inclusive, Healthy & Safe

When we devote our life’s work to the betterment of our communities, our society, and the world – it is incredibly difficult to witness the hate, pain and injustice of recent events – for it goes against everything we believe in.

After engaging in powerful conversations as a staff these past couple weeks, and processing together our sadness and despair over what occurred in Charlottesville on August 12th, we feel compelled to speak out, as individuals and as an agency.

We condemn the white supremacy, violence, and racist actions we witnessed in Charlottesville, and the prevalent hate that so many people in our country are facing every day. We feel obliged to turn quickly and clearly toward justice and inclusion, and to take positive steps toward equity each day.

As a result, we dedicated the top priority in our 2017-2019 Strategic Framework to Improving Overall Health and Health Equity in Washington State. We are committed to creating a plan to increase equity in all parts of our work. To start, we have identified ways to reduce our individual and organizational bias through inter-cultural competency trainings, self-reflection, and group discussion. Through this hard work, it has become clear to us that we cannot strive for health equity without acknowledging that implicit bias and racism are intrinsically tied to the health inequities experienced by our clients and the communities we serve on a daily basis.

We know undeniably that we don’t have all the answers or solutions, but we are certain that we must band together for peace, equity, and justice because together we are stronger than the hate around us. Together we can ensure that every family has an equitable opportunity to thrive.

We welcome your help in building communities that are inclusive, healthy and safe. To learn more about Implicit Bias visit the Perception Institute, or about Implicit Bias in Healthcare, consider reading this series by Dustyn Addington, at the Foundation for Healthy Generations.

-Kay Knox

Tags: CEO   Charlottesville   Communities   Hate   Health Equity   Implicit Bias   inclusion   inequities   justice   Safe   

Celebrating, Learning and Leaping

As the leaves turn colors and fall from the trees, I am reminded in this season more than any other, that life is a series of beginnings and endings and beginnings. This is how it goes. There are things to celebrate and things to grieve, there are old journeys to remember and learn from, and there are new ways of thinking to be explored.
In this season of reflection, we are doing just that. We are looking back and celebrating the things we accomplished over the past 3 years to help families across Washington live healthier, safer lives. Astoundingly, over the last three years our staff informed more than 1,000,000 people about critical health and nutrition supports available to them.

More specifically, we helped more than 32,000 families enroll in health insurance, and nearly 18,000 access in the WIC nutrition program. In addition, we provided 232,000 families with information on immunizations, informed 174,000 families about local breastfeeding resources, and provided 227,000 families with information on free summer meals programs in their neighborhoods. Beyond the numbers, we helped set the stage for a coordinated statewide Help Me Grow network, became recognized as national experts in addressing vaccine hesitancy, and our Healthy Connections Model is widely known to be an effective and efficient model for addressing the social determinants of health.

Now we are looking ahead and exploring, as Seth Godin says, “the space between where we are now, and where we want to be, ought to be, are capable of being.” He describes this as a gap between our reality and our possibility, and notes that if we imagine the gap as a huge gulf or crevasse we will surely be paralyzed.

Rather he suggests that “the magic of forward movement is seeing the space as leap-sized, as something that persistent, consistent effort can get you through.” Herein is the grace—our work is to hold tight to a strong vision, while taking one step at a time toward a new reality.

Over the next several months our Board and Staff will work together to define a new 3-year strategic direction for our work. We know we want our new direction to be nimble and bold, in every way rooted in our strong history of service, capacity-building and advocacy, and inspired by our unending belief that every family deserves to be healthy and safe.

We look forward to having you join us on the journey ahead, in leap-sized strides, making sure that every family can be healthy and safe!

Tags: benefit programs   health insurance   hunger   Public Health   Washington state   WithinReach   

We are all pathways of hope

When I tell people the story of WithinReach – how we connect families across Washington to the resources they need to be healthy – without fail, the response I get is, “wow, you must really give people hope.” Better yet, when someone witnesses our staff in action, working directly with families – respectfully exploring their needs, patiently describing the available resources, making sure they know the next steps on the path, and bolstering their will to advocate for their health – the observer invariably says something like: “you could just hear the hope in her voice.”Though I have experienced this over and over in my years at WithinReach, telling people that we are in the business of increasing hope always seems like an insufficient outcome for our work.  Assuming, of course, that hope is a nice ‘extra,’ not a critical marker of success.  Turns out I was wrong.  We are absolutely, powerfully, in the business of hope.

At the recent Science of Hope Conference, hosted by our friends at the Foundation for Healthy Generations, I learned that hope can be measured, and it plays a key role in well-being. Research psychologists have identified 24 character strengths, that when maximized, help people flourish.  These strengths help us cope with stress and adversity, AND, it turns out that hope is the top predictor of well-being!

There are 3 key elements in the theory of hope. First, we need a desirable goal; next we need a viable pathway or pathways to reach our goal, and last, we need the will or energy to move along the path to our goal.

This is actually the PERFECT description of the work we do with families every day. The families who reach out to us have critically desirable goals – whether it is a young woman who thinks she might be pregnant and doesn’t know what to do next, or a single Dad who has lost his job and can’t provide enough food for kids, or a newly re-located family who doesn’t know how to get connected to early intervention services for their son who has autism – everyone is driven to help their family be as healthy as possible.

Our work is about helping people find pathways to their goals, and feeling supported to move along the path, no matter the roadblocks that come their way.

Keynote speaker Professor Chan Hellman painted hope as a social gift, and each of us as a pathway of hope for others. It’s real, our work is about hope.

Tags: Family Health Hotline   Foundation for Healthy Generations   Science of Hope   WithinReach   

Learning Our Way Through

Leading a non-profit organization that creates real social impact in the world today is harder than ever. We all work at high speed to keep up with the VUCA world we live in – a world of volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity.

At WithinReach, we believe in growing leadership capacity from within.  And so, we regularly ask ourselves: what leadership competencies will help us create the greatest impact for the families, and how do we grow them?  A recent blog post by Nancy Winship at the Waldron Group, suggests that to meet the demands of the complicated, ever-changing landscape in which we work, we must be able to ‘learn our way through’ – becoming competent in discernment, resilience, courage, tolerance/respect and above all, self-awareness – the honest assessment of how we show up in our work as leaders, and in which areas we need to grow.

Most non-profit organizations find it hard to devote adequate, if any, resources to leadership development.  We are no different, but we are committed to being different.  We want to ensure that our staff gain the competencies they need to lead successfully in our dynamic world.

Every day, we are learning our way through together…to make the connections WA families need to be healthy.
 

Tags: leadership   nonprofit   Washington state   WithinReach   

Back to school…every day!

As our daughter, Mari, gets ready to start her sophomore year of high school, we are preparing ourselves for another year of learning. New experiences, new challenges, and yes, the back to school forms and the endless school lunches!   Through it all, I sense her excitement.
Preparing for her next year of learning makes me reflect on my own learning during my first year as CEO at WithinReach.  I have learned a great deal in the 16 years I have worked at WithinReach, but I have learned more about what makes this incredible organization excel in the last 12 months than ever before.  I want to share just a few of my learnings with you now; I hope they resonate with you when you think of us.

Leadership legacy is a gift.  I started my new role with the recognition that I was stepping into it on the heels of amazing leaders – the women who envisioned, started, and grew WithinReach.  Over the last year, I have channeled them often, AND I have learned from each and every member of our Board, all of whom have become teachers and guides for me.  For 27 years, WithinReach has been blessed with the strength of smart, committed leaders.   This history of strong leadership provides the vision, strategy, and stability we need to serve more families each year.

Trust is key. Over the last year, I have learned that the key to our success is trust.  Do the families we serve every day trust that we will make the connections they need to live healthy lives? Do our donors trust that we will help them fulfill their vision for a healthier Washington?  Do staff trust that their supervisors will help them do their best and more? Does the Board trust me to build on the successes of the past? I believe the answer is yes, because we are an organization that values integrity, quality, and compassion – all important pieces to building trust.

Plans are only as a good as they are nimble. As we continue to work our 3-year strategic plan, it is clear that our plans must bend and sway to match our ever-changing world.  Our vision is a constant: everything we do is aimed at ensuring that all families have quality health care and adequate nutritious food to eat.  And yet, when a measles outbreak hits like it did this year, we must be ready to respond – to redouble our efforts to ensure that every child in Washington is protected from vaccine-preventable diseases.  It is our nimble, innovative, dynamic nature that makes us a true agent for change.

The CEO role is exciting and exhausting. It goes without saying that the CEO role is a big one, and my days are busier than ever before.  They are busy because the opportunities to improve the health of all families in our state are beyond measure, and because the staff at WithinReach stand ready to examine, develop and implement each opportunity.  Our smart, caring, and committed staff push themselves harder every day to make the connections WA families need to be healthy. I can only follow their lead.

One thing I know for sure… if my second year as CEO is anything like my first, I will learn new things each day.   So, here’s to going back to school…every day!

 

 

Tags: Back to School   CEO   Public Health   Washington state   WithinReach   

Transformative Generosity

“I know that donations to WithinReach are very wise investments in our children and families, and I appreciate the hard work and dedication you all put into the work of the organization.”

This was a long-standing donor and friend of WithinReach—Carolyn Gleason’s—response when we called to thank her for fulfilling her annual pledge, and to ask her if she would continue to support our work on behalf of kids and families.   Her answer over the phone was:  “Of course!”, and then she sent the follow-up message above.

We were so pleased by her response, because this is exactly how we would like our supporters to think of us: as a ‘good investment.”   A wonderful book titled “The Generosity Network” describes that ‘true generosity is rooted in relatedness.’  The authors note that all of us have vision for a better world; it is when we are able to connect with individuals and organizations who share our vision that real transformation happens in the world.

WithinReach makes the connections Washington families need to be healthy – and our connection with Carolyn and others like her are some of the most important connections we make on behalf of children and families.

Through our connection, we are investing in healthy communities, one family at a time.

 

Tags: Washington state   WithinReach   

Coloring Isn’t Just for Kids

I have never worked with a more productive group of people.
WithinReach staff get SO much done!

The last few weeks have been insanely busy for us. Responding to a wave of media requests in reaction to the recent measles, coordinating stakeholders across the state to help pass Breakfast After the Bell legislation, helping thousands of families apply for or renew their Apple Health coverage, bringing our experience and expertise with the Affordable Care Act to a Health Benefit Exchange Board meeting, attending listening sessions with the US Surgeon General, Vivek Murthy, MD, during his visit to Washington…..The list goes on and on – and our staff are always ready to step up, to say ‘yes’, to dig in and do more to make the connections WA families need to be healthy. Though this may be a recipe for success, it most certainly creates some stress.

That’s why I decided to share a recent Huffpost article at our staff meeting this week. The article, Coloring Isn’t Just For Kids. It Can Actually Help Adults Combat Stress., says that it has been found that coloring – that’s right, crayons and coloring books – has the power to reduce stress. In fact, the article says coloring “generates wellness, quietness and also stimulates brain areas related to motor skills, the senses and creativity”.

Many of us are ‘yellow pad doodlers’, so this makes sense. Not only did I share the article, but I offered staff the opportunity to color during staff meeting and beyond. Staff jumped in, and the accompanying picture highlights the result of our staff meeting coloring.

I realize coloring will not reduce the demands placed on our staff, or the crazy fast pace with which they work, but perhaps it brought a small moment of quietness to the day – and hopefully, the message that we care about the health and well-being of all WA families – including our own.

 

Tags: Affordable Care Act   Breakfast After the Bell   coloring   creativity   Health Benefit Exchange   Huffpost   Measles   stress-relief   vaccines   Washington Apple Health   Washington families   Washington state   WithinReach   

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