Supporting Ourselves and Others: Dealing with Isolation, Mental Health and Substance Use During COVID-19

Note: The technical quality of our remote episodes is a work in progress. Thank you for bearing with us as we adjust to new recording challenges.

This episode of Meet The Problem Solvers is centered on the emotional and psychological pressures of the COVID-19 outbreak. Judy talks with social workers Laura Hutson and Brittany Jones. Laura, who works at Boston Health Care for the Homeless, shares ideas and resources that folks dealing with acute or chronic mental health stresses might use, and she and Judy offer up compassionate ways we can offer support to people we are concerned about during these stressful times.

Brittany works with justice-involved individuals as part of a Los Angeles County supportive service/re-entry program. She describes challenges her clients have dealt with during the pandemic, including the sudden loss of connection and uneven access to technology, and isolation. She and Judy talk through several “lessons learned” that can strengthen social service systems and their ability to support clients through future crises.