An Attitude of Service to Others Contributes to One's Growth

    As I do my daily work, I keep in my mind the people who are receiving help for their Substance Use and Mental Health Disorders.  For the various Local Substance Abuse Authorities (LSAA's) I work with, I am proactive in addressing their data reporting concerns. Finding issues ahead of time empowers me to reach out with potential solutions. 

    My coworkers all have an attitude of service to others and that helps us all grow in our personal development as people.  We all love to help each other out with questions posed by our teammates.

    Since I have a background working with an LSAA, this is helpful for our Team. This helps me develop an attitude of care and concern for the people across the LSAA's. It would be fun to drive around Utah to find the locations where the various LSAA's are based and meet in person the people with whom I work. This travel would develop positive relationships with our data managers across the State of Utah. 

    Knowledge of Trauma Informed Care inspires me to move forward in being of service to the Citizens of the State of Utah. My first exposure to Trauma Informed Care was in January 2016 when I participated in the Homeless Point in Time count for citizens experiencing homelessness. I've participated in the PIT Count 5 of the last 7 years since 2016.

    Service to Others develops our compassion for everyone.  When we love our neighbors as ourselves our relationship to a God we believe in deepens. Life is a blessing and we can share our talents, inner peace, service, and tranquility with others. 

    Feeling like my attitude of service to others is facilitating my growth in this role as the person who brings solutions to our providers across Utah.

    A kind act can go a long way....to gentleness in the world.

    Have a great week everyone!!!

    ~TommyJ~

    

My Next Chapter is Unfolding...

On Monday, April 4, 2022 was my first day at Utah Department of Human Services, Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health (DSAMH) as a Research Assistant I with the Data Team, which is now the Utah Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Substance Use and Mental Health (OSUMH). This is very exciting to work with the various Local Authorities across the State of Utah that provide Substance Use and Mental Health Services to people with these disorders. 

Have been with the Team for 3 months and 3 weeks now and have helped Providers with their data upload issues. This team is awesome and we all care about each other.  Another part of my role is updating file specifications for uploads to our website for Admissions, Discharges, Substance Use Disorder Services, Recovery Support Services and Indicated Prevention. These assignments will develop more into Mental Health Related Services, i.e., Mental Health Events, Mobile Crisis Outreach Team and Stabilization and Mobile Response. 

My goal with OSUMH is to further develop my technical and communication skills and develop constructive working relationships with our Providers. My peers are interested in developing my skills. I go to work everyday with an open and grateful heart and realize how fortunate I am to work in this awesome environment. 

We all give each other constructive feed-back in a non-critical manner. We all have a great rapport with each other. Our Team is transparent and we freely let each know we goofed up somehow. It's a welcoming and kind environment. 

Today is the Beginning of my 63rd Journey Around the Sun

Today is my birthday, I turn 62 today. It has been a great day so far, and got to spend it with my child, Heather, my wife Sircy, and our 3 dogs, Zola, Velda and Stella. 

It's been relaxing most of the day and was able to get coffee from my favorite cafe, Beans and Brews at 2700 South and Highland Drive.

My spiritual work is to be open to what life brings without complaining and my choice is to reflect inward and ask for guidance on how to respond to what life brings me. 

My mother passed nearly 3 months ago on December 6, 2021. Time flies. I've been looking for work since July 1, 2021. I'm open to what life brings me work-wise. 

My point with this blog is to bring kindness and love to the world without contributing to negativity in the world. What we choose to do with our lives will cause positive or negative ripple effects overall. This is why I choose to be kind and loving to all and listen without judgment. Being open to life is what keeps us moving and being happy with the blessings we already have in our worlds. 

Hope everyone has a beautiful day today and starting tomorrow and be mindful of the gifts life gives us. 

Love to all, everyone!

~TommyJ~

Groundhog Day and Snow on the Ground

I woke up this morning and was quite surprised to see snow on the ground. Didn't check the weather forecast from last night. It's partly cloudy out this morning and sometimes the sun has been out for a brief period. I'd like to rewatch the movie Groundhog Day starring Bill Murray. This would be a fascinating film to watch uninterrupted from electronics and other interruptions. 

Today has been a good day so far and I'm relaxing at home and pondering the next steps in my life journey. It's good to do some reading on spiritual related topics. I like to sit and read with a cup of hot cocoa or tea. Part of my spiritual practice involves engaging in my art related interests, like photography, writing, and theatre (reading plays or rehearsing a part). These practices help me stay connected to my True Self. 

Part of a series of books I've been reading has been a set based on the introductory text King, Warrior, Magician, Lover. This is a journey into the mature masculine psyche based on the works of Carl Jung, who is known for his archetypal explanations. The 4 books are entitled, The King Within, The Warrior Within, The Magician Within and the Lover Within. The four books explore the shadow and mature of the archetypes. They are great books. I've read them before and I like to continue reading them again. 

So let's close this post with the Serenity Prayer:

God, Grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can and wisdom to know the difference.

Have an awesome day today!

~TommyJ~

Both Feet Flat on the Ground Keeps Me Calm

 In 2021, I discovered that when my feet are flat on a floor or the ground outside this keeps me from overthinking things. Experiencing flatness through my feet helps me feel connected to the earth and my heart so I can do the next right thing. 

Before that, my feet were not always flat on a surface. It seemed to keep me a bit on edge some of the time. 

When I'm working on a household task/project or making food for the dogs, if I don't feel the flatness, I remember to set my feet flat. This is helpful quite a bit. It helps me slow my thinking down so I can "Glow Flowly" and to be in the moment so I'm not overthinking everything. This connection helps me feel love with my family and being present for those whom I care about.

When I was growing up, my friends and family told me I walked on my toes a lot. Didn't realize what the implications were then. It does feel great to have my feet flat on a surface!

Have an awesome day, everyone!

~TommyJ~

Trauma Informed Care & the Point In Time Count

This morning I finished the first day of the Homeless Point In Time Count as Mandated by the Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development. Our team has been assigned to an area from 900 West heading West to Redwood Road and from State Road 201 South to 3500 South. Part of the area includes the Jordan River. The three of us hiked along the Jordan River and did not encounter any individuals experiencing homelessness. We may hike along there tomorrow morning from 4 AM to 6 AM which are the hours for the PIT Count.

Part of the joy of doing this activity is our understanding of Trauma Informed Care. If you would like to understand what Trauma Informed Care is, here is a link to The Puppy Story on YouTube which illustrates Trauma Informed Care. The video is just over five minutes long.

We will be covering this same area Friday and Saturday Mornings from 4 AM to 6 AM. Part of the Point In Time Count is encountering people who are experiencing homeless and asking them survey questions which we have on our phones. This data is collected and is uploaded into the Utah Continuum of Care's HMIS database. This data is later reported to the Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development. 

One of the benefits of this survey is that we can connect people experiencing homeless with local resources to get them housed first so they can work on their traumas they have experienced in their lives. The wonderful part of this is we get to connect with people without judgment and share our compassion and respect. If the people we engage with decline to answer a question, they can do that freely and we can  note that in the questionnaire. There is no negative consequence for not answering a question. We use an application that uses location services on our phones so Case Workers can locate these individuals and help them connect to services.

So now we are onward to the next two mornings, now. I will share a photo of our team on this blog post after Saturday morning. 

Trauma Informed Care is realizing some of us have experienced trauma of some form in our lives and we could have adopted ineffective coping mechanisms, e.g. Substance Use and other Behavioral and Mental Health Disorders. 

Utah has a wide array of services to people across the state. This is why I love to be in Public Service. Service is where it is at.

Have a wonderful life, Everyone!

Best and Kindest Regards!

~TommyJ~

Mortality Hit Home Eight Days After the Mercur Visit

A few days after I went to visit the Mercur Cemetery I got a call from my step-sisters letting me know my mother would not last for another 48 hours. On hearing that news, I got a ticket for a flight to Raleigh/Durham, NC and rented a car to drive to Laurinburg, NC.

I arrived at the assisted living facility where my mom was in Laurinburg at about 1:15 A.M. I spent the night in her room that evening. She was in hospice care at the assisted living facility and because she was declining rapidly, her body could not process any medication they put in her mouth. The morphine was not working so 3 days later they arranged for her to be transferred to a local hospice facility.

The next day my step-dad and two step-sisters and I went to the hospice facility. A few minutes after we arrived, a nurse gave mom an injection of morphine and within 15 minutes she passed from life into the next world.

This experience has been quite difficult as I've been doing some reflection about her life and how she influenced me. She gave me a good work ethic and helped me learn to read at a young age and she engaged my obsession with books and academia.

This past week, I got a small urn with some of her ashes in it. 

I'll continue to work on healing from this event. Grief is a natural process and I won't "get over it." I will adjust to this new world without her.

Blessings to everyone!

~TommyJ~