Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1487667
Winter 2023 – LOCAL695.COM 7 more ambitious goal: How can we train our future members to be more successful members of our community? Phase Four: Dare to Change: Lastly, we will hold a three-part workshop/seminar hosted by expert Catrice Munson on unconscious bias training for the membership. The workshops will include a foundational session on inclusion workspaces, exploring privilege and microaggressions, and tools for interrupting bias to become an ally. These virtual workshops will be standalone classes, but will draw on information from each session. Munson has worked with the IATSE International at General Executive Board meetings. Both her experience and her knowledge within our industry will prove to be invaluable to our members. We are also partnering with Behind the Scenes, an organization committed to the mental health and safety of entertainment workers. Their mental health and addiction initiatives are serving our industry on all levels. Lori Rubinstein and Pat White from the New York IATSE office spoke to our delegates at the D2 Convention this year. Like First-Aid Certification, this class aims to teach the early warning signs of mental health relapse and suicide prevention in the work environment. Like First-Aid, we are not meant to give medical advice, but to be an intermediary until medical help can be brought to those who need it. The Board of Directors has committed to funding classes so that forty members may become certified. I was inspired to take their Mental Health First-Aid Training Certification after the presentation made at the D2 Convention. Mental health and substance abuse awareness are causes in which I am deeply entrenched and I have made the commitment to be of service to my co-workers during stressful times. While I will probably never know what became of the man at the restaurant, I feel that I was more prepared to intervene on his behalf thanks to the skills and resources that the Behind the Scenes Certification class have given to me. He never openly answered my question about his suicidal intentions. I could tell he was nearing his limit and needed the compassion our country seems to lack these days. I asked him if he would like some additional numbers to hold onto if he needed someone to talk to. We also set boundaries on the discussion—no politics, no negative discussion, only positive material to discuss until his friend came. He appreciated the guard rails, while delving into what was troubling him. His friend arrived and I briefed him on the situation. They left to get some food. I'm unsure what will happen to that FROM THE PRESIDENT continued from page 4 man moving forward. I'm relieved he reached out to a friend who was prepared to help him and also asked to rumble in a time of extreme crisis to two strangers who were willing to help. The friend I was with asked me where I had learned to ask those questions, saying that my confidence in asking them was spot on. I said, "I was recently trained in Mental Health First-Aid Certification. The whole class is based on asking those tough questions." I hope you will take advantage of these services and resources the Board has been passionate about. We encourage all to participate in the committee training, membership seminars and to sign up for the Mental Health First-Aid Certification classes. The rumble skills we learn will help us traverse through tough conversations with what will only create a more open, honest, vulnerabile, and compassionate community. This is the heart of "Reshaping 695." Jillian Arnold President