Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
[00:00:07] Speaker B: And thank you very much for tuning in to your best you real conversations on mental wellness brought to you by Mental Health America of Dutchess county and the Northern and Southern Dutchess Community Coalitions. We're grateful that you're here today. Hope that you are being your best you, whatever that means in your given situation. We got a great episode today ahead of us. I'm really excited to get into this. With us today we have Jun Kang, generic case manager. And not just being a case manager.
She went from being an MHA client to this role here. So she's seen it on both sides of the aisle here. So I'm really excited to get into her story. June, thank you so much for being here today.
[00:00:42] Speaker A: Thank you for having me.
[00:00:43] Speaker B: Absolutely. So first things first, for anybody who's unaware of what the case management team does, could you give us, like, a little brief overview on the role of a generic case manager?
[00:00:55] Speaker A: Okay. I work with those that don't have Medicaid either. They are ineligible due to having being over the age of 65 and just being on Social Security, or they have private insurance or not insured at all.
So we look into all facets of that to see how we can help. And sometimes the answer is that they need to get on Medicaid and we assist with that. We also assist with things like, how are you doing?
Like, do you. Are you good with your housing? Are you good? Do you know the resources?
Because some of them are on the lower end of the income and we just make sure that we can help. Be it if I have to go to the food pantry or in the times in between, I give them all the information for what's available out there.
And I also do things like if they need to go to Social Security or do be on public assistance, helping them with, you know, filling that out and being there if they need a support.
[00:02:01] Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely. Something that Andrew said on a prior episode was he kind of compared the case management team, a lot of the people here, but case management in particular, to being somebody's coach, life coach, in a sense.
[00:02:18] Speaker A: Yes.
We are there to empower, not enable.
Hmm.
[00:02:24] Speaker B: That's a big differentiation right there. Yeah.
[00:02:27] Speaker A: Right.
[00:02:27] Speaker B: What would that look like to empower rather than enable?
[00:02:31] Speaker A: So, for instance, with the Section 8 that just opened up both in Poughkeepsie and for Pathstone. Okay. I would give somebody like a client the information, be it a link shared or the times and availability. Yeah. And then I will see how much they can do on their own. And should they, I would say on there, do you? If you need help after you've done that, please let me know. We will schedule it as soon as possible. So I can help you with that,
[00:03:01] Speaker B: because it's one of those things where nobody learns if somebody else does it for them.
[00:03:06] Speaker A: Yes. Yeah.
[00:03:07] Speaker B: So you give them the resources, help guide them along, and then, you know, step in when and where necessary. No, that's important. And I think that's a great thing that the case management team is doing all across the board. And I'm sure we'll keep learning from variety from people. But, you know, you being one of the first case managers that we're really talking to on this program, I'm excited to kind of dive into it.
How long have you been with MHA now as a case manager?
[00:03:33] Speaker A: Since April.
[00:03:34] Speaker B: Since April. Okay. So you're coming up on a year then?
[00:03:38] Speaker A: Yeah. I moved from OPWDD and then came back into this field. Okay. I've been in this field for a while.
[00:03:45] Speaker B: Have you now? Okay, gotcha. How long would you say that's been then?
[00:03:48] Speaker A: Well, I started out in this field. I went to school and started out, and then things caught up with me.
I went on disability. I went through the whole rigmarole that a lot of our clients do. Being on public assistance, not having a car, being trapped, all of that.
And that's when my therapist went and reached out to MHA and put in a referral for me. So I was a client for a while, but how I felt after a while is. I don't want this to be the end of my story.
[00:04:28] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:04:28] Speaker A: I want to go back and do what I love, and I want to see if that's even a possibility. So I started putting out feelers, and that's where I am today.
[00:04:37] Speaker B: Wow. Okay. So this was always the goal. There just ended up being a gap in between.
And then.
And then you ended up getting back here to the thing that you always wanted.
That's terrific. I. I think that's really neat. One thing that I'm learning with a few of these discussions, some people didn't know that they had this calling, and then it kind of came upon them, and then they became a part of it. You always had the calling. Life got in the way for a little bit, but you got here.
[00:05:06] Speaker A: Yeah. And honestly, I was doing this kind of stuff on my own. Yeah. Because I'd been through so much that I knew a lot of the information and what people needed, so I was helping them before I was even in this role.
[00:05:19] Speaker B: Yeah. Wow. Okay. So let's Go back in time a little bit.
Here you are. This sounds like this is what you went to school for. This was your passion very early on.
Walk us through some of that early education through this, before life got in the way.
[00:05:36] Speaker A: Well, let's see. I went to college at Russell Sage, which is in Troy.
[00:05:42] Speaker B: I was College of St Rose, so I visited there often.
[00:05:45] Speaker A: Yes. So. So at that point, it was mostly a women's college, and I don't know if that's the case now. Not as much, but I only saw, like, one or two males during one in a day class and one in a night class, and that was it.
[00:06:03] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:06:03] Speaker A: So from there, I went and started first an internship with Grace Smith House. So I got to learn the domestic violence side, and then I worked as a preventive case manager, which is when CPS comes in, they find that there's enough that's going on, but not enough to take the children out.
That's when we would step in, do the home visits, follow up on whatever courts mandated.
Then I took a pause after that.
[00:06:37] Speaker B: Okay. Was the pause necessarily your own discretion, or was it rather something came up that made you have to pause?
[00:06:48] Speaker A: Honestly, I dealt. I had not dealt with a lot of my own issues, which later.
One of them was ptsd.
[00:06:58] Speaker B: Interesting.
[00:06:59] Speaker A: So this kept bringing up a lot of it, which I had not addressed.
And I needed to get help at that point.
[00:07:11] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:07:11] Speaker A: Because I suppressed it for a while. And, yeah, I just needed the help.
So I reached out, got myself a therapist, and I've even been hospitalized.
But I think that was good in a way, because it was what I needed at the time. So that can be the best me that I am now, right?
[00:07:35] Speaker B: Absolutely. If you don't mind me asking this question just for clarification, and you don't have to go super into detail.
Was the. Was the PTSD job related or was it something prior from your personal life?
[00:07:48] Speaker A: Prior from when I was in college.
[00:07:50] Speaker B: Gotcha. Because the only reason I'm asking was I was curious if.
If it was through the job and there were just coping skills that you hadn't learned yet for the job or if it was just something prior to. I was just curious. I'm sure somebody out there might have been curious about that as well. Okay. So, yeah. So here you are. You have these things in your own life that you're trying to figure out. You know, you can't pour from an empty cup. You know, you have to work on yourself in this regard. So now, being on the other side here, you were Building yourself up to be an advocate for others. But now you are the one that's needing some of this help through therapy and eventually becoming an MHA client. What was this time of year like? What was this time of your life like?
And how did you feel being on the other side?
[00:08:36] Speaker A: It took a while because people don't understand what ptsd, especially severe. When you've taken it and bottled it down for so long, it's not like a quick fix.
[00:08:49] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:08:50] Speaker A: It's learning your triggers. It's learning how to cope, learning all the skills.
Right. And then it's also learning how to like yourself as who you are because you're not who you used to be. You have to acknowledge that. Take the. The bits and pieces of who you are now that you, like, forge yourself again. Yeah.
[00:09:13] Speaker B: Yeah. I'm 100% with it. I've probably said this quote on almost every episode so far. So sorry if I sound like a broken record, but it. See, every time, like, it pops into my head.
It is so pertinent to whatever's being said. When I started therapy, a line that really helped me really help cope with a number of things.
Self love doesn't mean you have to like yourself in the moment. It means that you care enough to put the time and energy in to become the version of self you want to be.
[00:09:47] Speaker A: I would absolutely agree with that.
And it's also learning to, like, slowly who you are now. Yeah. Appreciate what you have and also knowing what you will not stand anymore.
[00:10:03] Speaker B: The boundaries.
[00:10:04] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:10:05] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:10:06] Speaker A: Because a lot of the times when we have been through a lot of trauma, we tend to think of that as our norm, that that is what we deserve because we have not forgiven ourselves. We have not been able to like ourselves so that we think that's what we are deserving.
[00:10:29] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:10:29] Speaker A: And you need to slowly recognize that and then build yourself up and start saying, I won't take that anymore. I want to like myself as who I am and let go of the things that are holding me back.
[00:10:45] Speaker B: Amen. What you said there about certain things being the norm, when you don't know anything else, it's hard to seek out something different.
[00:10:54] Speaker A: Right.
[00:10:54] Speaker B: Without. Without the help, without the guidance. And that's why people in your case, the case managers, are out there to really help guide in that regards.
I remember for a long time seeing these TikToks reels, videos, whatever, very captioned, where it's like, here I am telling a joke that's revealing something traumatic about my past, and everybody's looking at me Is like, that's not normal, bro. I was like, oh, it's not. Should I see somebody about this? But that revelation happens to a lot
[00:11:25] Speaker A: of people, though, because we don't even realize it.
[00:11:28] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:11:29] Speaker A: Because it's. It could not just be the trauma. It could be the environment as well that, you know, makes the all the norm. And it's not.
[00:11:39] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:11:41] Speaker A: And you need to start to like yourself to say, I deserve better.
[00:11:46] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah. No, everybody deserves better. And everybody deserves more. And everybody deserves.
[00:11:52] Speaker A: But they don't understand it.
[00:11:54] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:11:55] Speaker A: And they think that that is what they deserve after what. Whatever they feel the guilt for. Yeah.
[00:12:00] Speaker B: And I'm assuming that's very similar to how you were feeling when you were dealing with your struggles in that kind of gap period then.
[00:12:06] Speaker A: Yep.
[00:12:07] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:12:08] Speaker A: Took me a while, because to go from where I was, like, helping others to recognizing that I needed help, that was a huge thing for me. Yeah. That was something I was ashamed of.
And then to slowly start to recognize what triggers me, what helps me, what do I need for myself to get better. And then to then say, okay, now we know this.
I want to get better. I deserve that for myself. To start to, you know, change that thinking where, this is all you deserve, this is what you get for all that you. That's happened to you, and be like, no, this is not.
Yeah, I deserve better, and I'm not going to settle for less.
[00:13:04] Speaker B: Yes, totally.
Those are the affirmations that you have to be saying to yourself. That's the stuff that you should be saying to yourself. You said.
You said a second ago that going from the place of helping others to now being the one that needs the help, you felt a sense of shame.
Now that you are in the position again where you can help others. And you are past that point.
You've gone through a lot of that coping. Obviously, that's. It's a lifelong journey, but you've gotten a lot of the success out of it.
How do you approach people who feel ashamed seeking the help in your job? And should people feel ashamed for asking for help?
[00:13:46] Speaker A: Absolutely. Nobody should ever feel ashamed.
For, one, being able to recognize they need help, that takes a lot of courage.
And two, getting the help that they need, that takes a lot of courage. They should be proud of themselves for even being able to do that. Not a lot of people can.
So my way is to build them up, like, hey, you know, look at the little things that you've done. Hey, you. You showered for me. You got yourself ready. You're on time. That's Great.
[00:14:21] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:14:21] Speaker A: This is a much better than what you happen to them. Take pride in that.
[00:14:25] Speaker B: The little victories.
[00:14:26] Speaker A: The little victories. And that's what you need to focus.
Because as humans, we are kind of set to remember the negative, because that was how we would know and remember what dangers. And we have not grown past that.
[00:14:43] Speaker B: The defense mechanisms.
[00:14:44] Speaker A: Exactly. So it's harder for us to remember the positives. And having it said, you don't know how much that helps.
[00:14:53] Speaker B: Yeah, without a doubt.
So you went to therapy, and then you became MHA client yourself.
So having this added perspective of being once a client to then now being the case manager, what have you taken with you from the time of being a client that has made you become more relatable in your job now?
[00:15:20] Speaker A: I guess I would say that having a support sometimes when you feel like you're not supported is a huge thing. And that's what MHA is here for. And that's.
Sometimes I had felt that nobody understood me, wanted to understand me, or was willing to say, you know, I'm here for you. Yeah. I mean, aside from a therapist, which in my mind, I'm. I'm thinking, hey, they're paid to, you know, because that was kind of like the negative talk and. And stuff like that coming up. But just knowing that there's somebody outside of that who's there that I can talk to really helped.
[00:16:04] Speaker B: Big difference right there.
[00:16:05] Speaker A: Yeah. There's so much I want to give back.
[00:16:07] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:16:08] Speaker A: Because this is one thing I need to work on, because I felt like I took for so long that I need to do this, and that's something that I'm working on because I'm like, you know, it's okay, because in that time period, you were not well.
You had to take care of you. That was your job.
[00:16:25] Speaker B: That's what you have.
[00:16:26] Speaker A: And that's kind of something I say to the people that I see that your job right now is taking care of you.
[00:16:33] Speaker B: Yeah. We're all in different seasons of life.
[00:16:36] Speaker A: Exactly.
[00:16:36] Speaker B: There are certain moments where we need more or less help.
[00:16:40] Speaker A: Right.
[00:16:40] Speaker B: Without a doubt. And it doesn't undervalue you by any means. It just means that's where you are at a given point.
[00:16:47] Speaker A: I just need to get over the fact that I have to keep giving because I. I took for so long. Yeah. And it's also cultural in me.
[00:16:57] Speaker B: Okay, could you explain that to me?
[00:17:00] Speaker A: I'm 50% Japanese. I was born in Japan. Oh, wow.
[00:17:03] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:17:04] Speaker A: So I was born in a very Japanese household.
So in Japan, they only recognize physical health and it's only recent that slightly they've begun to see that there's the mental health aspect due to the skyrocketing amounts of, like, suicides, mental health, like the hikikimori, which is those that, you know, live in their womb, basically. Oh, okay. And then their parents just give them food. That's learned helplessness because you're providing all of this. What happens if you're not able to give them that anymore? If you pass away? Yeah. And there's sad cases I'm hearing where both pass away because they can't leave their room and there's no more food.
[00:17:56] Speaker B: Yeah, that's hard.
[00:17:58] Speaker A: So. Yeah. And Japan has a real issue with recognizing the mental health aspect.
And it's slowly getting better, but it's not where it should be.
[00:18:13] Speaker B: Yeah, no, that's very interesting. But it's. It's true what you said culturally, how.
And I think you said this earlier, how, like one of the reasons why some people won't speak out, won't ask for help, or they won't.
They won't let down their guard. It could be a cultural thing. What might be something like speaking out might be something that somebody is more used to just because of their environment and then somebody else where it's like, we don't do anything like that. Why are you talking about that?
[00:18:43] Speaker A: And, you know, with Japanese, one of the things that I had to learn is to maintain eye contact, because normally we look down, especially women. Yep. And how am I supposed to help people when I'm doing that? Yeah.
[00:19:01] Speaker B: So that is a typical cultural thing, though, Right. Where that's actually.
Forgive me if I'm wrong or have my facts mixed up, but isn't that in Japanese culture, more sign of respect than the eye contact?
[00:19:13] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:19:14] Speaker B: So. And that's valid in and of itself, but. Yes. Being here. Being here in this situation, it's different.
[00:19:22] Speaker A: Yeah. I do remember when I first had an Asian client and they did very typical things, which is, you know, come out with drinks, refreshments, snacks.
And when we ended, and this was our first visit, when we ended, I pulled that person aside and I said, hey, it's okay.
You don't have to provide us with drinks or snacks, especially if you cannot afford it.
Yeah. It's okay.
Because for us, this is not something that we are expecting.
I know that it's difficult because in our culture, that is something that we do when guests arrive. Yeah. But I need you to release that and understand that with financial situation, you don't have to do that. It's okay.
[00:20:17] Speaker B: How do you think they took that, hearing that from somebody with their culture or similar culture?
[00:20:22] Speaker A: They stopped. They did. They did.
[00:20:23] Speaker B: That's beautiful.
[00:20:25] Speaker A: Because they. They didn't know when or how.
Because that's normal. Yeah. For them. Right.
So having somebody understand that and just be able to say, hey, that's okay if you wanna. If you stop, because I understand, you know, your finances are tight. You need to watch out for you. And we're not expecting this. We're here to help you.
[00:20:49] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:20:50] Speaker A: You know, so. Yeah.
[00:20:52] Speaker B: Wow. So with that, did you have a case manager?
[00:20:57] Speaker A: I had several.
[00:20:57] Speaker B: You had several. Okay.
[00:20:59] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:20:59] Speaker B: Gotcha. So it became a village.
[00:21:02] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah.
[00:21:03] Speaker B: And as they say, it takes a village sometimes, right?
[00:21:06] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:21:06] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:21:07] Speaker A: I still remember my first case manager that I had. He was excellent and he helped me see that I deserve better.
And it took a while because, you know, when you've gone through a lot of things, it's layer after layer after layer of all of the. That negative. Like an onion. So you gotta, like, peel away at it in order to rebuild yourself.
[00:21:40] Speaker B: And just like an onion, there's probably going to be some tears with it, but you have to get through that in order to peel away to the center and get to where you need to be.
I'm curious, from having multiple case managers to then becoming a case manager yourself, are any of them now your peers?
[00:21:57] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:21:57] Speaker B: That's beautiful. Do you want to talk about that for a second?
[00:22:01] Speaker A: Well, I won't. Name.
[00:22:03] Speaker B: I was about to say you don't have to name names. It's probably confidentiality, but just like the more the feelings, the experiences.
[00:22:09] Speaker A: At first it was awkward because I didn't know how to approach. Approach them because now I've gone from being their client to being a coworker.
[00:22:19] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:22:20] Speaker A: And slowly re recognizing a new side of themselves and just letting myself say it's okay. Yeah. Like you are not just a client now. You're here to help others.
Let's focus.
Let's, you know, make sure that we support our co workers, but also make sure that we focus on what the needs are of my clients and incredibly important self care.
[00:22:51] Speaker B: Self care is big, without a doubt, you know, and that's one thing that I'm learning about MHA is, you know, this is a very difficult job that many of the people here are doing.
But I also feel like there's a lot of strong supports here within this company.
You know, I've only been here officially for a few months now. Worked with MHA outside as a freelancer. In other capacities for years.
But it just seems like there's a great support system, there's a great village, there's a great.
When you need that help internally, it's there for you.
[00:23:26] Speaker A: Yeah. I have actually never had such strong support in supervision and you know, just people that can back you up.
[00:23:37] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:23:39] Speaker A: That was an incredibly new experience for me.
[00:23:43] Speaker B: A little odd at first, right?
[00:23:44] Speaker A: Yes, yes. Because you know what, they, they build you up, they help.
[00:23:48] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:23:49] Speaker A: And I'm. I wasn't used to that. You know, I was used to being very independent, doing a lot of things that I needed to.
But then, you know, when the negative things do crop up and they will.
[00:24:00] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:24:01] Speaker A: I'm being honest, they do crop up at times.
[00:24:04] Speaker B: That's life.
[00:24:05] Speaker A: That is how it is.
They're there for you. Which makes such a difference.
[00:24:10] Speaker B: It does, it does. Walking in here and just the experiences I've had so far with as you said, supervision and co workers and support and I'll admit when this building closes down around 5 o' clock on weekdays, that's weird for me. You know, I've been in positions where I've been forced to work later or expected to not have a work life balance.
[00:24:35] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:24:35] Speaker B: And here it's like no yo still have work life balance. You need to have that work life balance.
[00:24:40] Speaker A: Same cuz I came from a salary position where I was working 60 to 70 hours a week.
So that's intense coming from that. And then coming here which pretty much, you know, prioritizes your self care and, and doing that was just. I had to relearn certain things like I don't have to be, you know, constantly on the run.
[00:25:05] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:25:06] Speaker A: Trying to get everything done on the dot and just let myself have the freedom of. Okay, there's a lot of things going on. Take a breath, go outside for a bit. Nobody's going to get upset that you do that. Yep.
[00:25:19] Speaker B: Yeah. It's true.
God. Yeah, you're right. The moments of, at being at previous jobs, if you do like one little thing to care for yourself, it's like oh shoot, what is my boss going to think? What are my co workers going to think? It's like oh my God, am I shirking my responsibilities?
[00:25:33] Speaker A: Like exactly.
[00:25:34] Speaker B: It's, what's, what's your, what you need? And people here like okay, if you need that pause just like the, the mindful text that we get that say every day, take a pause, you know like that's a great example of it.
So as a case manager now, now getting to, you know, these People that you've known and now working with as peers. Now you're out there reaching the goals that you set for yourself earlier on in life.
[00:25:59] Speaker A: Was one of my goals is to become from a client to this.
[00:26:06] Speaker B: That was a goal then, too.
[00:26:07] Speaker A: That was one of my goals that I was looking up to, to eventually becoming because I wanted to give back as MHA has given to me.
[00:26:16] Speaker B: Beautiful. So how do you feel like you have given back? Tell me, tell us now what that's looked like when you've been working with your clients. The. The good, the bad, and the ugly. You know, I know. Such a weighted question, but, yeah, what are. What have been certain, Mom.
This career that have really stood out to you that you can share respectfully, but the confidentiality at the same time.
[00:26:42] Speaker A: Right.
So Thanksgiving was an incredibly big event in that I made sure. I called all my clients, made sure that they had food, and then if they didn't, could they pick it up or did they need it delivered?
I went and mapped it all out, did a little sheet.
I helped so many. There were so many that needed something. And then they were sending all these grateful texts afterwards, like, it was so delicious. Thank you so much for helping me. Because I wasn't sure what to do.
And for some of the people when I talked to them that said, you know, I have this turkey for now, I said, do you have anything for Christmas?
Because I want you to think of that as well.
[00:27:30] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:27:31] Speaker A: So I think, I believe I helped probably 3/4 of my caseload.
[00:27:35] Speaker B: That's impressive.
[00:27:36] Speaker A: That's a lot of people.
[00:27:38] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:27:38] Speaker A: You know, there have been highs and lows, just like in everything, because I'm human. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed. Oh, yeah. And I just acknowledge that.
And then I know that supervision is there, you know, to help me.
And knowing that somebody has your back, somebody will help you, is such both a difference that I am still adjusting to.
And it's so empowering for yourself that, hey, you're not in this alone.
And I think that's pretty much what
[00:28:17] Speaker B: MHA stands for, based on what I've seen. I agree. Without a doubt. So again, you mentioned Thanksgiving time frame. We're not all that removed from the holidays. It was only just a couple of months ago. Like December, November, all that.
That can be such a difficult time period. Not just one month, two months, a whole time period for people. Because sure, it's the time of giving, but it can be the time of lack.
[00:28:42] Speaker A: I also remember that in early November, SNAP benefits did not come to many people.
[00:28:49] Speaker B: Yes. Thank you for bringing that up. Yeah. So what did that look like for you and your clients?
[00:28:54] Speaker A: So with us, with me in particular, I do have some on the lower end who did receive SNAP benefits, but made too much to be able to get on the Medicaid side.
[00:29:04] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:29:05] Speaker A: So they were not able to get food. So each week I was calling and saying, hey, do you have food? Do you need me to help you out?
And going to the pantries, picking up three, four people at a time, and then making sure that they had something, especially before the weekend, because I want to make sure everybody's got something. Yeah.
It was rough for everybody. And I think that just as all of us, case management, we really made a lot of effort to make sure that nobody went hungry.
[00:29:41] Speaker B: Yeah. It's such a big difference that could be made. Having a meal. Before I got affiliated with MHA officially, I did a lot of work with the Regional Food bank of New York. And we've had a lot of discussions in regards to what it's like, who comes to the food bank, what they see, what comes in and out when it comes to food wise, when it comes out to the people. And one of the things that we talked about was breaking down some of the stigmas of the people that come in there. It's not people who are completely jobless, completely homeless, completely, completely without.
It's your neighbors. It's without a doubt your neighbors who. It could be you're in a long period of lack. It could be all of a sudden, shoot, I'm missing something and, like, I need to do this real quick.
These situations are endless.
[00:30:33] Speaker A: I say to them, life happens, so do not regret or be ashamed of letting me know of what's going on so that I can help if possible.
Because, you know, all of a sudden, they could have a huge electric bill that they were not expecting. And then they're thinking, how can I make ends meet and still have food?
[00:30:54] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:30:55] Speaker A: So I'll be like, okay, let me take care of the food. And then we'll go over a budget. We'll see what we can do.
[00:31:01] Speaker B: Yeah.
My friend Barry, who works with the regional food bank, you know, he said, sure, of course, there's the issues with people who are already in low income, but then you have people who are actually doctors, lawyers, teachers, people with, quote, unquote, established careers.
[00:31:22] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:31:22] Speaker B: Where something happens and they have to be there. And some people might look at that and it's like, why do they need to be there? Like, look at them. Like, they got that job, they got that position. It's like, why do they need that?
[00:31:33] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:31:34] Speaker B: Said life happens. You don't know what exactly led to that. Them to being there. But if you ever get pushed to that moment in your own personal life, don't be ashamed of it. It's okay. These resources are there.
[00:31:47] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:31:47] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:31:48] Speaker A: And I want them to understand that, you know, we're here to help.
Don't be ashamed.
Don't. I hear apologies a lot.
[00:31:58] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:31:59] Speaker A: Like, I'm sorry to bother you, but I really need this.
Is there any way that you can do something for me? And I'm really sorry to. You know, you're probably with somebody or you're probably really busy, but I really need something. I hear the I'm sorry apologies and that a lot. So I dressed it with them. I said, don't ever have to apologize when this is my job to help you. And in order for me to help you, I need to know what you need.
[00:32:28] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:32:30] Speaker A: So there's nothing to apologize for.
[00:32:32] Speaker B: Yeah.
I'm apologizing right now. I'm getting emotional. Right here is like taking a pause there for a second.
[00:32:45] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:32:45] Speaker B: Let's unpack the apologies right there. That's such a phenomenal thing, what you just said.
So many people feel like they have to apologize for being in a quote, unquote, sorry situation.
And I feel like the theme of this episode has absolutely been, like, don't be ashamed.
[00:33:04] Speaker A: Yes. Yeah.
[00:33:06] Speaker B: And so when you do hear somebody constantly apologizing, what do you.
What do you typically say to them to reassure them?
[00:33:16] Speaker A: I tell them that this is my job, you know, and there's nothing to apologize for.
You are good the way you are.
Life happens.
Everybody needs help sometimes.
But if you can't tell me what it is, I can't help.
So thank you for having the courage to tell me. It's nothing to apologize for. Thank you for letting me know, because I don't want anybody to feel guilty about that.
How can we help if we don't know how?
[00:33:52] Speaker B: Yeah. You have to be able to communicate, and it takes a while to kind of get past some of that. You know, we people put up walls.
[00:34:00] Speaker A: Yeah. And it could be cultural and, you know, it could be, you know, from trauma.
All different things can make them, you know, keep saying, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Yeah. But letting them understand that you. You understand, and that you're there to help just builds them up a little
[00:34:22] Speaker B: bit, and that's why MHA is here to do just keep building up.
[00:34:26] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:34:27] Speaker B: So as we're getting towards the end of this episode. Not completely wrapping up. Getting towards the end. I want to talk about the beauty that comes out of this job. We've talked about a lot of beauty. But yeah, I would love to hear if you have any other specific moments. You mentioned Thanksgiving already of how you're able to help majority of your caseload here. But have there been moments of beauty that have stuck out to you while you've been either before MHA or here at mha?
[00:34:56] Speaker A: I have a client that calls me her angel.
She cannot read or write, and I make the time out to help her with her mail.
Then I found out when I spoke to her she has not. She has no primary that's here. It's still in the city.
She has no nothing.
So I reconnected her and made her a patient of her these. I took her to the appointment so I could help with the paperwork.
And she's just so grateful because she's like, I've never had somebody help me so much. And I said, that's what we're here for. That's what we do.
That's what we're built for. Because honestly, I think that's an innate thing with us. Yeah, it's. We have the empathy, the understanding, and we feel the need to project it somewhere to do something about it.
And I think that's pretty much encases our case management.
[00:36:03] Speaker B: I don't know where we could go from there. That person, please, just says it all right there.
June, thank you so much for being here on this episode of youf Best yout. This has been really beautiful.
But I do ask all people who come in here, is there any last little nugget that you want to share either to emphasize something that's been said, address something that hasn't been said? Is there any last little nugget you'd like to share?
[00:36:27] Speaker A: Yeah, I think so.
Don't be afraid or ashamed to ask for help.
Know that you can ask for a referral from either your therapist, your psychiatrist, or your doctor, your primary doctor. Do not feel ashamed to ask for help. It's a strength recognizing that you are in need of help and you need it.
And you cannot take care of things the way that things are going right now. You need somebody to help you. Do not ever be ashamed of it.
It's okay to accept help. It's okay.
It's a strength to remember that you need help and to go ahead and take it.
Never be ashamed.
[00:37:13] Speaker B: June, this is so beautiful. Again, thank you so much for being here.
[00:37:15] Speaker A: Thank you so much, Connor.
[00:37:16] Speaker B: Absolutely. And hopefully we can have you on again too. I would love to hear more. This is fantastic. To all of you listening out there. We are doing this weekly.
I don't know which number this is on the full schedule. We'll see once we have everything recorded and placed out. But in the meantime, make sure that you subscribe on the YouTube channel MHA of Duchess county, and then follow us on social media and wherever you listen to podcasts. We greatly appreciate you being here. We want to say thank you to all the staff here at mha, including June. That's why we are doing this, to help shed a light and make sure that you can be your best. You. You have a good.
