Pivot, Perseverance & Passion: Business Recovery Forums

Many small businesses are overwhelmed with navigating the new normal while implementing rigid safety and sanitation protocols. Staying afloat during this challenging time and with ever-changing information requires the ability to pivot, have perseverance, and passion. Join Pandemic Small Business Navigator, Denise Anderson, and fellow business owners for weekly forums to get answers to questions and share challenges and information during this critical period as we re-open our economy.

Recordings and resources from the Spring series:

July 1, 2-3:30 pm: “Well-Being in the Workplace: Managing Stress & De-escalating Conflict”

Previous conversations in this series were intended for business owners but this one really targets a broader audience. “Workplace” has come to mean a different thing – our workplace may now be our kitchen or the garage. I even had a Zoom meeting with someone in a tree house! We now know all of our colleagues’ pets and children. In this context stress in the workplace translates more expansively than in the past and this session provides tools and information to recognize and address challenges as they arise in this new environment.

Can you find your HAPPY place, again? We are in the middle of a crisis and it is normal to experience emotional distress, but it is necessary to take care of ourselves, our families and our work. Everyone worries about the same things, but few of us talk about it or know what to do. Following an incident a few weeks ago, at an area Farmer’s Market, we at Vital Communities started talking about the fear and anxiety caused by this pandemic and the different ways we as individuals manifest stress. It impacts how we work and interact with others so it felt like an important topic to explore further – how to identify and respond to stress-induced behavioral challenges.

Join us to learn from local experts and explore tools and resources that support emotional and physical well-being for all of us – employers, employees, customers and clients.

Share your pre-forum questions with Denise at denise@vitalcommunities.org

We are making a video of this meeting to be shared later online. The video will show the Zoom boxes of those who speak and ask questions. If you wish to speak but not have your face appear, feel free to disable your camera. You may also watch the session online after it’s posted.

Previous forums:

May 27: Restaurant and hospitality Zoom audio recording (forum starts at 14 minutes into the recording)

Presenters-
Andrew Chevrefil, Andrew.Chevrefils@vermont.gov, Vermont Department of Health
Gordon Lodewyk, Gordon.Lodewyk@vermont.gov, Vermont Department of Health
Michael Hinsley, michael.hinsley@hanovernh.org, Hanover Health Officer

June 10: Restaurants #2 Zoom recording, Password: 9D#^R%Tk

Presenters
Andrew Chevrefil, Andrew.Chevrefils@vermont.gov, Vermont Department of Health
Gordon Lodewyk, Gordon.Lodewyk@vermont.gov, Vermont Department of Health
Michael Hinsley, michael.hinsley@hanovernh.org, Hanover Health OfficerLori Hirshfield, Department of Planning and Development – lhirshfield@hartford-vt.org
Brett Mayfield, Health Officer – health@hartford-vt.org
Scott Cooney, Fire Chief – scooney@hartford-vt.org
Mike Bedard, Fire Marshall – mbedard@hartford-vt.org

**June 17: Eat, Celebrate, and Sleep Zoom recording, password 8Zr9+7**

Presenters:
Nancy LaRowe, Vital Communities Local First – nancy@vitalcommunities.org
Amy Spears, Vermont Chamber of Commerce – aspear@vtchamber.com
Kiki Keating, KikiNetwork Global Connections – kiki@kikinetwork.com
Denise Anderson, Vital Communities Pandemic Small Business Navigator – denise@vitalcommunities.org

June 24: The OTHER Covid-19 Laws, recording, password 4L%8^994

Presenters:

Denise Anderson, Pandemic Small Business Navigator at Vital Communities
Kim LaBarge, EA, Public Accountant – kim@labargeaccounting.com
Richard Paul, Jr., CPA – richardpaul@richardpaulcpa.com

July 1: Well-Being in the Workplace: Managing Stress & De-escalating Conflict recording, password 9U&8+97t

Following this session Vital Communities realized that some of the suggested actions offered by the Officer Santagate, taken out of context, could be considered inappropriate, insensative, or dangerous in the current system of white supremacy.

The de-escalation presentation was focused on conflicts involving enforcement of face covering and other public health protocols during the pandemic. Our invitation to law enforcement was intended to offer tips and techniques for businesses, by-standers, and the community to have the skills and confidence to de-escalate a situation without police intervention. Office Santagate clarified that the police should only be called when there is a real physical threat and not when someone “feels uncomfortable”, especially given the current racial tensions and that Hartford Police Department follows the state recommended Anit-Bias Policing polies.

Presenters:

M. Chase Levesque, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Geisel School of Medicine
Melissa.C.Levesque.Folsom@Dartmouth.eduJessica Geiben Lynn, Sr. Organizational Effectiveness Consultant, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center. Jessica.J.Geiben.Lynn@hitchcock.org
Officer Cori Santagate, Hartford Police Department, Csantagate@hartford-vt.org

Wellbeing in the Workplace – Resources

GENERAL RESOURCES
National Suicide Prevention Hotline: 1-800-273-TALK (8255)
Crisis Text Line: Text 741741 from anywhere in the US to text with a trained Crisis Counselor.
Psychology Today Website – To find a specialized therapist, refer clients to the Psychology
Today website where they can enter filters to help them find a therapist who takes their insurance
and specializes in what they are looking for – both by diagnoses and approaches.

LOCAL RESOURCES

DHMC Psychiatric Emergencies: (800) 556-6249, press 7 (24 hours, 7 days a week)
UVCovidRelief.org
A group of volunteer licensed mental health counselors who are available for 30-minute
appointments to support residents of the Upper Valley who are affected in any way by the Covid-
19 pandemic. Individuals can take advantage of up to 6 sessions and can book the appointment
online through the website: uvcovidrelief.org.

NEW HAMPSHIRE COUNSELING AND SERVICES

West Central Behavioral Health
9 Hanover Street, Suite 2
Lebanon, NH 03756
Providing comprehensive mental and behavioral health treatment for adults ages 18+ and
seniors. Their clinical team develops a personalized plan of treatment designed to assist clints in
managing symptoms, improving health, and enhancing quality of life. They offer individualized
counsline sessions as well as psychiatric assessment, case management and emergency services.
GENERAL INQUIRES: (603) 448-0126
EMERGENCY SERVICES: (800) 564-2578

VERMONT COUNSELING AND SERVICES

HCRS
49 School Street,
Hartford, VT 05047
GENERAL INQUIRIES: 802-295-3031
CRISIS LINE: 800-622-4235
HCRS provides creative, collaborative and compassionate health care services that are
responsive to the needs of our community. They provide emergency services, individual
counseling, adult outpatient and substance abuse programs and more.

CLARA MARTIN CENTER
39 Fogg Farm Road
Wilder, VT
GENERAL INQUIRIES: (802) 295-1311
CRISIS LINE: 800-639-6360
Serving children, families and individuals coping with behavioral challenges, emotional stress,
mental illness, alcohol and other drug problems. They offer counseling, psychiatric services,
consultations, short term crisis intervention, education for families related to emotional and
behavioral challenges, evaluations, respite care, housing, assistance in obtaining disability
benefits, help with finding and keeping employment, outreach and home-based services, alcohol
and drug treatment, a walk-in clinic and a 24-hour emergency service system.