Tina Says...

The holidays are approaching. For many, this can be an exciting season of spending time with family and friends, preparing big meals, giving and receiving gifts, decorating, worshipping, or traveling. But not everyone enjoys this stressful time of the year. People with lower incomes and survivors of trauma often find the holiday season extremely difficult.

For people who have experienced trauma, especially childhood adversity, it may feel like the ghost of Christmas Past just won’t go away. While some find nostalgia in the holidays, trauma survivors can have painful memories of being harmed, or of all the things they may not have experienced. Holiday gatherings with family and friends can be loud and overstimulating, and challenging for those who may have eating disorders or addictions. The notion of visiting with family can bring up feelings of shame or fear.

How can we help make the holiday season happy, or at least tolerable, for survivors of trauma? We can be a support system or help them identify one. We can remind them that they always have a choice – they have the right to decline an invitation to a holiday gathering, and if they do go, they don’t have to stay. We can talk about healthy ways of coping that don’t involve overeating, drugs or alcohol. We can offer ideas for grounding (breathing, naming 5 things they can hear, see, touch, or smell, etc.) If the trauma is related to the loss of a loved one, we can give them permission to grieve. And above all, we can be kind to them and talk about ways they can be kind to themselves. It’s OK not to be “on” throughout the holiday season.

For families with low incomes, the holidays often bring increased anxieties about how to make ends meet. Forty million Americans still live in the lowest income bracket in the US, juxtaposed with the fact that the average household spends over $1,000 on gifts for the holidays. In 2022, and more than half of all Americans reported experiencing moderate to severe financial hardship. For families who are struggling to pay their rent, higher winter utilities, and food costs, buying gifts is often out of the question.

How can we help make the holiday season less stressful for people without the resources to enjoy that huge family dinner or to pack the tree with presents? We can volunteer at soup kitchens or shelters for the holidays, or donate funds, clothes or toys to charities that have holiday programs. We can quietly drop off food or toys on the doorsteps of those single moms, public services workers, and cashiers that are working at minimum wage. We can remember that those secret Santa exchanges, potluck dinners or group donations to your local church aren’t easy for all of our friends and neighbors. As a culture, we can turn back to simpler traditions like homemade meals around classic board games and avoid the consumerism that brings guilt to those who can’t participate. We can avoid judgment when we see someone who buys their children gifts instead of paying their gas bill in its entirety.

Let’s remember that the reason we celebrate Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas or Kwanzaa is about love and community. Enjoy!

November is Homeless Awareness Month. The number of people experiencing homelessness in our county has grown since the pandemic. From October 1, 2022 through September 30,2023, 20,427 shelter bed nights have been provided to men, women, and children. Cattaraugus County Department of Social Services provided the most with 10,898 nights provided, the Genesis House provided 5,593 shelter bed nights, Kinley Hill Emergency Shelter 3,014, and CCA's Victim Services Safe Haven 992 shelter nights.

Connecting Communities in Action’s Transitional Services Department will be offering ways people in the community can help people experiencing homelessness on our Facebook page throughout the month of November. If you are looking for practical ways to assist people experiencing homelessness, follow us on Facebook and Instagram.  

Besides Facebook posts Transitional Services will be accepting donations throughout November of new underwear to benefit the Kinley Hill Homeless Shelter, Genesis House, and CCA Victim Services Safe Haven. All sizes from children to adult would be greatly appreciated. Please contact Elizabeth Milks if you would like to donate at emilks@ccaction.org or 716-346-2493.

On November 17, 2023, from 11:00 am – 1:00 pm, Transitional Services Staff will available at the Olean Public Library for an outreach event. Staff can answer questions and provide resources to address the current homeless concerns in our county. Please consider wearing purple on November 17th to show support for Homeless Awareness.

#TogetherWeCanEndHomelessness

We are very pleased to share with all of you the final draft of our CDC Accelerator Plan. This plan was developed by a dynamic community team that included CCA staff, the Cattaraugus County Health Department, Universal Primary Care, Southern Tier West, the Seneca Nation, Southern Tier Health Care Systems, Cattaraugus County Department of Aging, and Canticle Farms. It was lead by Peter Carpino as our consulting facilitator. 

Special thanks go out to Bridget Sanford for securing the grant award from the Centers for Disease Control and for guiding the process, and to Kari Kennedy, who was our Project Coordinator for much of the process. 

This document is found on CCA’s website: CCA Agency Reports.

The plan prioritizes two Social Determinants of Health (SDOH): Access to Care and Food Security, and focuses on the western portion of Cattaraugus County where there is the greatest need.  For each SDOH, you will find a detailed plan of action, budget and timeline. Our goal is to secure funding for these priority areas over the next few years.  

As part of our Employee Wellness Initiative, CCA partners with two local vendors for healthy, fresh food options for lunches and snacks. Harvest Moon Food Service is a Native American owned and operated restaurant providing us weekly with fresh salads and wraps; they are located in Salamanca, New York. Go To Meals out of Olean, New York, offers us healthy-portioned, complete, fresh dishes, and snacks. Check them out!