This past May, for Mental Health Awareness Month, CHOC challenged the community to “check in” on each other with a five-week “Check-In Challenge,” which was created by its volunteer mental health advocacy committee. Each Monday, CHOC challenged its social media and blog followers, as well as providers and staff, to check in with a different community group, from caregivers to “strong friends.” The need to “check in” was inspired by the experience of living through the pandemic for well over a year.
“CHOC is a community of strong friends, caregivers, neighbors and essential workers who have been hailed as ‘healthcare heroes.’ That label, although appropriate, can be a challenge. After an exhausting year, it was time to check in on each other and ourselves,” says Liz Hawkins, one of the lead volunteers who helped plan CHOC’s Mental Health Awareness Month in collaboration with CHOC’s psychology and marketing teams.
Part of the initiative included thoughtful banners on CHOC’s pedestrian bridge, traversed by providers and employees, that encouraged staff to check in with themselves. These banners included somatic-based questions as employees walked from the parking structure to the hospital such as: “How am I feeling today?” “When was the last time I took a deep breath?” “Am I drinking enough water?” “What does my body need today?” In the portion of the bridge leading from the hospital to the parking structure, the questions became more internally focused, “How am I coping?” “How can I be kinder to myself?” “What am I grateful for today?” “Who is in my support network” and “Do I give myself permission to lean on it?”
Additionally, CHOC held a mental health art and word contest for school-aged children who submitted entries defining what “checking in” means to them. A video highlighting the contest can be viewed at choc.org/checkin. There, you can also get the “Check-In Playlist” created by CHOC’s music therapists and podcasts featuring CHOC’s Check- In Challenge. All of these initiatives, including a series of mental health blog posts, engaged over 14 different CHOC departments, dozens of community organizations, and faith and school groups to “check in” on our kids, ourselves and each other.
While Mental Health Awareness Month gave us an opportunity to spread the word about the importance of “checking in,” we hope the themes of the month will continue for the staff at CHOC as well as for the larger community. This pandemic has taught us the importance of connection and community. The need to “check in” with each other has never been greater.
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