Continuing with the theme of sharing best practices in Trauma Informed Care, the second Sierra Region Learning Community, held on November 20, 2019, focused upon self-care activities. More than sixty people from throughout the Sierra Region participated. Special thanks to the three remote site hosts (Inyo, Mono and Sierra counties), as well our hosts at the hub site in Jackson, for supporting this event.
Participants heard from Doty Shepard, Director, Resilient Colorado. Doty shared a wealth of resources for self-care that we can use to lift ourselves, and also can be incorporated into peer support programs. Next, Schuyler Bright, C-IAYT, Registered Yoga Therapist with the International Association of Yoga Therapist, and Founder and Director of the Holistic Trauma Recovery Institute provided us with concrete ideas for self-care activities we can integrate into our work and home life. The use of bubbles to learn how to better regulate our breathing was a highlight! Vanessa Compton, Peer Personal Services Coordinator 
from Amador County Behavioral Health, shared concepts from her Life Works self-empowerment workshop that can be applied to self-care for staff and program participants.
Vanessa also shared the secret to happiness…spoiler alert, try lowering your expectations!
Next, time was provided for networking to identify barriers to making self-care activities available to co-workers, community members and the individuals and families we serve. Ideas were shared to overcome these obstacles, including integrating self-care into other activities that touch children and families such as Mommy and Me and pre-natal classes; making information available in community locations such as Post Offices and coffee shops; starting or ending staff meetings with a self-care activity; and using technology to promote self-care.
