Image provided by: The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs; Warm Springs, OR
About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 4, 2001)
October 4, 2001 P.Vje 11 High Lookee Lodge celebrates one-year anniversary Spflyay Tyrooo, Wytw Springs, Oregon Residents host over 200 visitors High lxikcc I-odge is one of and watermelon. People were the finest assisted livinu homes also welcome to take a tour of anywhere. The atmosphere at High Ixokee really is more like a lodge than an assisted living facility. The lodge recently celebrated its one-year anniversary. With help from volunteers, including people from Warm Springs Fire and Safety, the lodge was host to over 200 visitors last Wednes day afternoon. Visitors were treated to lunch, including salmon, hamburgers, deer meat, salad, ) J : 1 I . ( v National tragedy, call Counselors offer advice on how to adjust As a result of the Sept. 1 1 terrorist attacks, a number of Warm Springs residents are preparing for military service. Some are volunteering while others, on reserve status, are being called up. This can be a difficult and emotional time for the individu als preparing for service, as well as for their family and friends. Anyone wishing to talk with a professional counselor about this or any other difficult situation is encouraged to contact the Warm Springs Community Counseling Center, 553-3205. Also, seek out elders or other people you trust, church members, or 4-H leaders, for example.. Since the Sept. 11 attacks, counselor Charlotte Herkshan has talked to veterans who were re-traumatized by the event. "In talking with veterans," Herkshan said, "One of the main things I try to get across is that their emotions are natural, that their reaction is natural to an the lodge. Seventeen elders live at High Ixokec Lodge. There are a total of 35 living spaces. Thirteen staff people work there, providing around-the-clock care. Anyone in the community is welcome to come to Bingo at the lodge on Wednesday and Sunday evenings at 6:30. Church services, also open to the community, are held at 7 p.m. on Tuesdays. t I i " I V f ... X 0 'UWMJ'K . - unnatural event." In experiencing trauma, she said, veterans are actually react ing more naturally than most of the rest of society. The veterans, she said, "are more acutely aware." The feelings a person has had as a result of the Sept. 1 1 attacks might tend to compound an emotional trauma that the person had already been experi encing, said Guy Wallulatum, alcohol and drug treatment specialist at the Counseling Center. "A national tragedy or threat of war will obviously add more grief and cause us worse distress," said Wallulatum. "This is espe cially true when we have ioved ones in the military service or in the reserves or joining the military service out of loyalty to our country." Wallulatum said that the recent losses of leaders and other community members, and crimes of violence, have already caused grief and fear among residents. "Fear," he said, "turns into an i 4 VI 'M " ; .It ' .' ' i i' f A v I.;- ' ' j ; ., I -'.. y C ' . v-". . - 1 7 .... - -v.i'. ... ... f Phalm by Pin M.Mriun V - : : 1 Above Gloria Mitchell visits with her grandmother Nettie Shawaway. At left, Wilbur ,,: Johnson prepares deer meat. , Over 200 guests showed up for j last week's one-year anniversary celebration at High Lookee. ... i : , : i to military enemy too. We need to honor them and support each other at home and in our community. Song, prayer and ceremony together, are needed." There is also a cost to caring for and about people, said Wallulatum. He said that those in the helping profession - counselors, teachers, police officers, emer gency personnel, doctors, nurses, clergy, advocate volunteers, and other helpers - will also be affected by listening to stories of fear, pain and suffering of others. There are many names for this, such as secondary trauma, vicarious trauma, counter transference, deep grief and compassion fatigue. "In life we are all helpers and caring people," said Wallulatum. "We share in our people's grief and help each other with our families, friends, neighbors and with our community." The following information is from the Ace-Network website regarding compassion fatigue: The concept of compassion fatigue (CF) emerged only in the - . it can compound feelings of grief "In life we are all helpers and caring people. We share in our people's grief and help each other with our families, friends, neighbors and with our community. " Guy Wallulatum Treatment Specialist last several years in the profes sional literature. It represents the cost of caring about and for traumatized people. Compassion Fatigue is the emotional residue of exposure to working with the suffering, particularly those suffering from the consequences of traumatic events. Professionals who work with people, particularly people who are suffering, must contend with not only the normal stress or dissatisfaction of work, but also with the emotional and personal feelings for the suffer .3 i i -A - f "A 'VAN, ing. Compassion Fatigue is not "burnout". Burnout is associated with stress and hassles involved in your work; it is very cumula tive, is relatively predictable and frequendy a vacation or change of job helps a great deal. Com passion fatigue is very different. Compassion fatigue is a state of tension and preoccupation with the individual or cumula tive trauma of clients as mani fested in one or more ways including re-experiencing the traumatic event, avoidance numbing of reminders of the event, and persistent arousal. Although similar to critical incident stress (being traumatized by something you actually experience or see), with CF you are absorbing the trauma through the eyes and ears of your clients. It can be thought of as secondary post-traumatic stress. There are human costs associated with CF. Job perfor mance goes down, mistakes go up. Morale drops and personal relationships are affected - peoples' home lives start to deteriorate, personality deterio rates and eventually it can lead to overall decline in general health. Symptoms of CF include emotional numbing, social withdrawal, work-related night mares, feelings of despair and hopeless, among others. Ways to cope with CF include spending time with family and friends who do not spend all their time talking about "prob lems"; engage in hobbies or relaxing activities, such as gardening golf, art; take relaxing vacations, etc. For more information visit the website at www.ace network.com. Story idea? We want to hear about it! Call The Spilyay at 553-3274. 4