MENTAL HEALTH RESOURCES:

This year’s Mental Health Month is like no other. The coronavirus pandemic, the stay-at-home directives to contain it and the economic downturn has had an impact on everyone’s mental health in some way.

Stress and anxiety are at an all-time high. Life is anything but normal now. Many of you are working at home while your spouses, significant others, and children are sheltered with you. Parents have become teachers, and you are stressed. Feelings are running high from uncertainty to fearfulness, which produces anxiety. Now more than ever, you need to know you are not on your own. There are resources available to help. Listed below are links to Community Hotlines and Resources to guide through this stay-at-home period.

Dial 211 or visit www.211cny.com. 211CNY is free and available 24/7.

This information is from last month’s newsletter but seems pertinent as ever:

Self-quarantine. Shelter in place. Safe at home. Social distancing. Asymptomatic carrier. Novel coronavirus. New phrases that have become an everyday part of our lexicon.

We’re standing at least six feet away from people. Working virtually. Avoiding face-to-face visits with parents, grandparents and grandchildren.

It’s unsettling, even frightening. It’s a completely abnormal situation that’s becoming our new normal. For how long? We don’t know.

We do, however, have IBEW Local 43 resources to assist with all of the above challenges that may be impacting you and your families during these unprecedented times. Please contact one of the organizations listed below if you are stressed or anxious because of job uncertainty, social isolation and health concerns stemming from the coronavirus pandemic.

• eni offers professional short-term counseling. Members and Family receive up to 8 sessions with a counselor at no cost ($) for each separate issue that arises during a calendar year. If needed, eni will assist you in finding long term counseling that is covered by IBEW Local 43’s Health Plan.
  Call Eni at 1-800-327-2255 for assistance.
  Our Member ID is: 93793410 Our Group ID is: 8413
  
  
• Optum Emotional Support Help Line is free of charge during the pandemic and available to anyone, so you can share it with family and friends. Call Optum at 1-866-342-6892.