Assertive Engagement Newsletter 

March 2023

Happy Women's History Month! Spring is finally here and I'm loving the longer days and sun on my skin. Especially after the heavy snow we saw this winter. There's a flower pot on my porch that has me thinking about resilience lately. During the snow and deep freeze, the pot cracked and the back side completely fell off. After the initial snow melt, I figured it was over for the plant and I've been meaning to toss the pieces and compost the soil. My procrastination paid off for the plant, because as it has gotten warmer and the sun has shown its face, the plant has come back to life and is still happily growing.


I'm reflecting on the things I've gone through that I thought would break me, and I still continued to grow. We hear it time and time again in our Assertive Engagement workshops. Participants generously share the hardships and traumas they have survived, and are now using the knowledge they've gained to serve others in our communities. It's powerful to see how resilient people can be and how eager they are to help others who are experiencing similar situations.


We'll share more about how glorifying resilience can be detrimental if we don't examine systemic causes of trauma and advocate for critical changes. At the same time, we want to uplift organizations who play a part in supporting people who have experienced trauma and are growing through it.


Thank you for reading, enjoy the sun, and appreciate the growth around us.



The Assertive Engagement Team,


- Helen & Rhea

Original Spanish:

Camino a la cornera

O sea a la esquina

Con mi prima

Nosotras nacidas en un país

A qual nuestros padres vinieron

Huyendo de la pobreza de nuestra tierra querida

Me bañan

Purificándome con las ideas que nos dará una vida nueva

Pero mi corazón lleno de orgullo palpita a el ritmo de las canciones de mi pueblo

Cómo puedo hacer entender que no importa cuantas veces me bañen yo sigo con el orgullo Mexicano en este estado americano

Que miedo demostrar cariño en un país lleno de poder y solo un corazón por ofrecer

Le cuento a My Friend lo que es ser mexicana cuando ella me dice que perdóne la ignorancia Americana pero yo qué puedo perdonar que ya me e bañado en este sueño Americano


English:

I walk to the “cornera”

My Spanglish tongue mixing my two languages

My brother by my side

We were born in a country

From which our parents came to

Fleeing from the poverty of our beloved land

They bathe me

Purifying me with the ideals that will give us a new life.

But my heart is still full of love that beats to the rhythm of the songs of my people.

How can I make it be understood that no matter how many times I am washed, I am Mexican in this American state

How scary it is to show your vulnerability in a country full of power

I only a heart to offer.

I tell “My Friend” what it is to be Mexican, when she tells me to forgive the American ignorance, but what can I forgive when I have washed myself in this American dream


Alondra Vazquez Sierra

AE Participant, Feb. 2023


Strength & Resilience


This month's topic is resilience. The American Psychological Association gives this definition:


"Resilience is the process and outcome of successfully adapting to difficult or challenging life experiences, especially through mental, emotional, and behavioral flexibility and adjustment to external and internal demands."


More simply, resilience is being able to cope with and recover from setbacks. Here we discuss how to develop and cultivate the skills and resources needed to become more resilient.


I initially learned about resilience when studying social emotional learning in the youth development field. Teaching young people how to develop resiliency is critical for healthy emotional growth. For example, when I won against my niece at Candyland and she cried and flipped the board over, I knew we needed to work on skills like mindfulness, self awareness, and self regulation. We know everybody encounters hardships and adversity throughout their life, so learning what tools work best for us is essential.


This article from Michigan State University lists 10 Traits of Emotionally Resilient People with resources and ideas on how to develop these traits for yourself. How many of these traits do you practice already?


1. They self-regulate and set boundaries.

2. They keep good company.

3. They cultivate self-awareness.

4. They practice acceptance.

5. They're willing to sit in the space of non- judgment and not-knowing.

6. They look for meaning.

7. They have a menu of self-care habits.

8. They practice an optimistic worldview.

9. They entertain alternative endings.

10. However, they also get out of their head.


One activity we do in our AE training is to get folks to list where they find resilience in their lives. Feel free to find inspiration from the February 2023 AE training cohort!

"It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society."

-Jiddu Krishnamurti

Dig Deeper into Resilience

It's important to bring into the conversation the role systemic oppression plays in the need for resilience. If you weren't always up against adversity, you wouldn't NEED to develop your resilience.


Lourdes Dolores Follins, psychotherapist and licensed clinical social worker, says


"Resiliency isn't something that you have; it's something that you work at developing, like muscles. And the workout is constant hardship, usually from systems we have no relief from. So we learn how to live with them."


Upon hearing about someone's hardship and seeing the ways they've grown through it, we may be tempted to provide affirmations and praise for their resilience and strength. Affirmations and praise are great tools to use, but our tools are only as good as the context we use them in. When we glorify the resilience developed by coping and surviving systems of oppression, it might not feel like a compliment.


Understanding that the need to build resilience often comes from perpetual exposure to trauma (often resulting from systems of oppression like classism, sexism, racism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism etc.) is key to understanding a person's experience.


We can use our empathetic lens to understand that the feelings surrounding their growth from adversity are likely complex; the feelings are complex because the person had no choice in whether to build that resilience in the first place. Resilience in this way is a necessary survival mechanism. Anything that we are forced to develop, because failure to do so could result in catastrophic life changes, might not feel good for the resilience builder. This is ok! Intent is important, but never more important than the impact our actions have on another.


Resilience is a beautiful thing to witness, yet for the resilience builder it can feel like a heavy burden to lift. Remember to give grace and compassion to yourself and others. We don't know the journey another has had to build resilience or the healing journey they're embarking on because of it.

This comic, written and illustrated by Connie Hanzhang Jin, is inspired by a Life Kit episode featuring Lourdes Dolores Follins and hosted by TK Dutes. See the rest of the comic and listen to the episode by clicking the button below.

Listen to the podcast

SAAM 2023

Prevention Demands Equity


Content warning: sexual assault


As we look ahead to April, which is Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM), we wanted to share some ways to get involved in prevention and in supporting survivors.


The National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC) website has resources for those who want to learn more, raise awareness, and participate in events. They even have a meme contest for youth to create waves of positivity online.


Locally, Multnomah County and the Family Violence Coordinating Council are hosting their annual SAAM Conference on April 14th for domestic and sexual violence advocates and for those working with survivors. More information can be found on the conference website.

"We can trace a line from sexual violence to systems of oppression. We need to expand our prevention work to not just reach the people who are most impacted, but to change the larger systems that continue to perpetuate oppression."


-National Sexual Violence Resource Center

Learn more about Project Opal, an exciting venture, to expand the eco-system of holistic and inclusive support for survivors and advocates. 

College to County

"My mentor continuously looks for ways to help me reach and identify goals of mine, he looks out for me and checks in with me about job postings online, and ensures that I have looked into them to see if any have sparked my interest. He encourages me to push past my limits in the best ways and offers many words of encouragement to become my best self."



-C2C Intern Cindy Palafox on her county mentor

Paid Summer Internships!

This summer Multnomah County will host over 70 paid internships through the College to County program, including two positions with the Assertive Engagement Initiative!


Act fast! Applications must be submitted by April 2nd. The intern will work with a county mentor for 12 weeks over the summer, with professional development opportunities and the chance to network with county staff. You'll learn the knowledge, skills, and abilities to work in various county positions.


This is a great opportunity for students from historically excluded communities to access networking opportunities, and hopefully join the county one day in our work!


See all the position descriptions here, including the AE Data, Research & Evaluation position and the AE Communications position.


An illustration with three people. The person on the left has brown skin, short dark hair in a bob cut, yellow overalls and orange shirt and is looking off in the distance holding a magnifying lens. The person in the center has tan skin, a dark green dress, white bun and is looking straight ahead through binoculars. The erson on the right has light skin, yellow shirt and orange pants and short brown hair and is looking off into the distance with a hand to their brow.

Have a story or thoughts to share? Email us: aeinfo@multco.us!

Question of the Month


Where can you find examples of resilience in your community?


Tell us about it and we'd love to feature it in our next newsletter!

March Poll

Which one of these represents the most important example of women's strength for you?

Choose one:
My ancestors
Myself
My family
My friends
My partner
The younger generation
Historical figures

February Poll Results!


Thank you to everyone who responded with how you give and show care in your community!


The most popular response (33%) was spending quality time with loved ones. This response is great because both you and your loved ones benefit!


A quarter of you (25%) build each other up by offering affirmations and support to show care.


We also see folks sharing gifts or food (18%) and participating in service based activities together (15%) to support their community.


Taking care of the community that supports and cares for you can reduce feelings of isolation and physical and emotional benefits, no matter your approach.



Upcoming Virtual Training Opportunities


June

  • Day 1 Tuesday, June 20th, 9am - 3pm
  • Day 2 Thursday, June 22nd, 9am - 3pm
  • Day 3 Tuesday, June 27th, 9am - 3pm 
  • Day 4 Thursday, June 29th, 9am - 3pm



Registration for June training opens April 24th at 11:00 a.m. via this newsletter.



We are taking a break from training in April and May to focus on production of our video module e-learning series.


We will announce any future training sessions via this newsletter, stay tuned!


Upcoming Community of Ongoing Practice Sessions



April 27

Resilience

2:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.


May 25

Healing

2:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.




Sign up to join our community of practice email list and get updates on future programming and events.

What is a Community of Ongoing Practice?


A group of people who share a common interest and interact often to learn from each other and advance their work. 




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