Blog

[Posted in the Homer News on May 5, 2016]

I recently had the opportunity to participate in a conversation.  Maybe you have too? Conversations may make up our day from morning till night, but do they matter?

I recently had the opportunity to participate in a conversation between several concerned citizens who were discussing the health of our community. They were concerned about heroin use. They were supportive of the new needle exchange program so that good people who were hooked on a bad drug wouldn’t be dying of infections.

But they noted that the program seemed to be addressing a problem at the end of the cycle, not the beginning. How do we head off problems as huge as drug use? Is this conversation going to solve anything?

I recently had the opportunity to participate in a series of conversations MAPP sponsored over two days about our local health systems.  Professionals from all aspects of our community got together to share their perspective and rate where we land on the 10 essential health services. These cover everything from our community’s ability to identify health problems to our ability to address them in an emergency. Analyzing our community’s skill level was interesting, but did it solve anything?

I recently had the opportunity to participate in a conversation in the line at the post office with a man who had just had a visit from his adult son.  He fed him all the amazing food Alaska has to offer, hung out and chatted father to son like they never had before. His son told him about his time in Iraq, stories he had never told anyone. This man in line next to me was glowing with pride and obvious love for his son.

Did that conversation solve anything?

Of course it did.

All of these conversations show the importance of connection and they tie around in a circle. One was about drug use. One was about our community health system. One was just about connecting over the little things.

The interesting note is that in order to solve a drug problem you need to have a skilled health system but you also need to have people who are supportive and listen so those little things don’t build up into big problems.

Even in the MAPP-sponsored conversations I participated in, the topic of clear communications and collaborations between agencies was a common thread. How can you address an emergency situation if you don’t know what others are doing or what skills or plans they have?

Did these conversations solve anything? They always ended in more insight and a sharing of business cards and numbers. So in that two-day period our community health system became a bit more connected.

In the conversation about heroin, this group of concerned citizens recognized that the root causes for addiction lie in how healthy emotionally, physically and mentally a person can be. To address those root causes a true community movement of caring and support will make the most difference. That means making sure that kids have safe places to go, role models and opportunities to grow while adults have the support they need to live a healthy life too.

Did that conversation solve anything? Since this group of concerned citizens was looking to direct future funding of programs, that was indeed an important conversation for the health of our community. It’s part of a paradigm shift in the way we see addiction and the importance of social connection in all of our lives.

Humans simply need connection to others to move forward. This may be at work, it may be at the community level, it may be at home. But we must never underestimate the importance of these conversations. Meaningful conversations are happening every day.

I recently had the opportunity to participate in a conversation with a coworker about missing work because of chronic health issues in the family. We talked about kids, about a recent birthday. We talked about having a place across the Bay and how wonderful it was to go there, about a new boat.

We didn’t solve a thing.  But I think the world is a better place now.

Kyra Wagner is the coordinator of Sustainable Homer and a member of the MAPP steering committee.

April 7, 2016

[Posted in the Homer News on April 7, 2016]

Role models are truly vital to a healthy and resilient community. I’m not just saying that, that is science. Luckily, this community has so many wonderful people with amazing talents and impressive stories that it would be impossible to share them all.

We are also lucky that there are certain events, like the recent Women of Distinction Awards, that give us the chance to honor some of these local icons. Interestingly, the recipient of the Lifelong Learner Award this weekend, Linda Chamberlain, could tell you about the science behind how role models can make a community resilient.

Linda has been working on the forefront with researchers around the country who have been clearly demonstrating how the effects of childhood trauma can follow a person into adulthood and manifest as seemingly unrelated disease, illness and social hardships.

I attended one of Linda’s presentations here in Homer myself and I was stunned.  Keep in mind that I am more likely to know what makes a carrot in my garden grow than what makes a human tick, but even with my lack of medical background her words were clear.

What science clearly shows is that when someone experiences trauma, their body reacts. Heart rate increases, a biochemical reaction takes place, hormones are released and neurons ignite. That is all normal. But when stress becomes toxic, trauma is intense or long-term, then the body will adapt to that. Brains actually shift in structure to accommodate for stress reactions.

This means that later in life the body will hold on to the patterns of intense reaction to stress. Side effects that seem completely unrelated, like obesity or addiction, have been shown to tie directly back to the levels of toxic stress experienced as a child.

What the studies have shown that I found most shocking, however, was that Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) were not just happening in houses that fit a stereotype for child abuse. ACEs are experienced at all levels of society, throughout our communities everywhere.

Let me tell you, after hearing that ACEs are everywhere and that these traumatized kids grow up to be unhealthy adults, Linda’s presentation was ranking as a real downer. But for any of you who know Linda and her chipper personality, you also know that she loves sharing the positive side.

This is where she gets to tell her audience about the solution. Lots of people have experienced ACEs, but many grow up to be solid, grounded and healthy adults.

Why is that? It all comes back around to role models.

When kids have toxic stress in their lives and no one is around to talk to or no one shows they care, then that stress can roll around in their heads much longer and literally affect the structure of their brains.

If there is, on the other hand, a caring teacher or neighbor or relative that shows up with kind words then that stress reaction can be stopped. The body can relax and adapt to an environment of safety instead of just stress.

That is so simple it may sound silly. But that is exactly why the Alaska Youth Risk Behavior Survey asks students if they feel comfortable seeking help from at least one adult besides their parents if they had an important question affecting their lives. Those who answer yes have the answer to healing and future resiliency. You can’t always change a child’s home life, but you can influence their overall experience.

Emotions are real and they affect us physically. If we experience too much dis-ease, then we end up with disease later on. Articles abound on the subject.

But I love the potential that Linda talks about for our resilient and adaptive brain and body. Having people in our lives that we look up to, who show us a non-stressful way to be and an ounce of time and care can make all the difference.

So how can our community best connect with our youth? How can you best become that adult that youth feel comfortable seeking help from?

Remember, you aren’t just helping a child, you are improving your overall community health for the long term.

If you had a chance to hear Chris Fontaine’s words at her Hero of the Heart speech at the Women of Distinction event recently, then you would have heard another amazing person talking about the major importance of adults listening to kids, believing their stories and encouraging them to talk; that this significantly decreased their likelihood to self-blame and have further physical problems connected to a traumatic event.

So we have wonderful role models in this community.

And their message is clear: for healthy adults and a healthy community, be a role model yourself and connect with kids.

Kyra Wagner is the coordinator of Sustainable Homer and a member of the MAPP steering committee.

[Posted in the Homer News on March 3, 2016]

By Kyra Wagner

I usually don’t like using strong words like “always” and “never” and “everything” or “nothing,” but sometimes I just can’t help it.  Like right now.

Everything that matters for community starts with the individual.

I think I can safely say that. Communities develop a personality, a culture, a reputation and that is built on the actions of the individuals who live there. Some individuals may affect that more, but all individuals make up the whole.

So what is the culture of our community?

MAPP’s 2015 Community Perceptions survey asked what people see as the strengths of our community.  Natural beauty ranked number one (of course), but coming in second was “People Help Each Other.” That may sound cheesy, but it is an important aspect for a healthy, resilient community.

Last month at a MAPP community meeting, collaborative projects from all around town were highlighted. One after another stood up to explain how organizations and individuals were working together to achieve goals that were bigger than themselves. Goals that were too big to work on alone.

That was heartwarming and fun, and then the conversation evolved into considering ways that organizations can share some of their core activities, everything from office space to accounting services, in these times of statewide budget slashing. That kind of collaboration is a sign of adaptability and resilience that will help us all make it through hard times.

(And let me tell you, we are famous state-wide down here on this end of the Kenai Peninsula for our ability to work together.)

So if it is true that people help each other at the community level, is it true at the individual level?

Indeed it is. There was another question on that Community Perceptions survey that was much more personal. It asked individuals to rank if they “have supportive and loving relationships” in their lives. The question allowed the respondent to select “Always,” “Frequently,” “Sometimes” or “Never.”

It turns out that 89 percent said “Always” or “Frequently.”  The culture of caring definitely runs strong in our community, even at the individual level.

Not to be a downer, however, I can’t help noting that 10 percent said only “Sometimes” and 1 percent said “Never.”

This makes me think about this culture of caring.  What makes up a culture? My favorite definition of culture is:  a way of life of a group of people — the behaviors, beliefs, values, and symbols that are accepted, generally without thinking about them, and are passed along by communication and imitation from one generation to the next.

It’s true that we generally don’t think about being a culture of caring, we just do it. It tends to benefit us as much as others.  But if it is truly part of our beliefs and values, it wouldn’t hurt to think about ways that we can pass it along.

How do we pass it on? How do we find those “Sometimes” and “Never” folks and treat them in such a way that the next time they fill out this survey they will mark “Frequently” or “Always”?

This isn’t just about passing the culture of caring on to the next generation of youth, but also the next generation of new people who come to town.  “Sometimes” and “Never” folks could live right next door.

As I said, I don’t like to use strong words like “Always” and “Never.” But I find that it depends on where it is used.  For example, I am totally excited that almost two-thirds of survey respondents said they “Always” have supportive and loving relationships.  Most of us do.

I would, however, especially like to erase “Never” from the vocabulary when we talk about love and support.

Culture may be defined as behaviors and beliefs that we generally do without thinking, but we have a chance to define the culture of our community.

So go ahead and think about it. Create the culture you want to live in. Whether it is love and support at the individual level or collaboration at the community level, it makes us all part of a healthier community.

Kyra Wagner is the coordinator of Sustainable Homer and a member of the MAPP steering committee.