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PNS - Monday, September 26, 2022 - We take a look at the risks as midterm elections approach, reclaiming degraded lands could benefit the economy and the climate, and a totem pole travels the U.S. for a 'just' clean energy transition.
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Big Sky Connection - Many types of nonprofit organizations have been overextended during the pandemic, which can't help but affect the folks who work for them. Comments from Laura van Dernoot Lipsky, founder and director, Trauma Stewardship Institute, speaking at a Montana conference today (Friday) about workers being overwhelmed as a result of meeting increased needs.
Click on the image above for the audio. Nonprofit organizations employed nearly 30,000 Montanans in 2019. (Artur/Adobe Stock)
Eric Tegethoff
September 23, 2022
The work of some nonprofit organizations has only increased with the pandemic and the needs that have come from it. An author and expert in the field of trauma speaks at a Montana conference today about many workers' feelings of being overwhelmed.
Laura van Dernoot Lipsky, founder and director of the Trauma Stewardship Institute and author of "The Age of Overwhelm", said there's a cycle for nonprofits in which they become overextended because of structural issues within society, which in turn affects their workers.
"You have individuals who are trying to sustain doing this exceedingly hard work," she said, "but in environments where it's almost impossible to do it or near impossible to do it."
van Dernoot Lipsky said it also can be hard for workers because of their vicarious exposure to trauma over time, or when they work in environments where there's high burnout. About one in nine Montanans works in the nonprofit sector.
The Montana Nonprofit Association's annual GATHER conference is taking place virtually this week and in-person next week in Helena.
Van Dernoot Lipsky said it's important for organizations to reconcile the fact that they won't be able to meet all the needs in their community.
"And when you have these very devoted folks working for you," she said, "we've got to honor and make sure that the work environment is sustainable for them, so that we are not inadvertently causing harm to the very folks who are doing this work in an effort to reduce harm out in society."
Van Dernoot Lipsky said people in the nonprofit industry who are feeling depleted or disheartened should understand that they are not alone.
"One of the messages that I think is very important is for folks to remember that whatever they've got going on, they are in really good company and that they're not alone and it's not just them," she said. "And so, just wanting to make sure that we interrupt that isolation, anywhere we possibly can."
References
Citation: Montana nonprofit economic-impact report Montana Nonprofit Association 1/2021
Citation: GATHER conference Montana Nonprofit Association 2022
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Eric Tegethoff, Producer, Contact
Eric Tegethoff is a journalist covering the Northwest. Eric has worked as a reporter for KBOO, XRAY FM, and Oregon Public Broadcasting in Portland, Oregon, as well as other print and digital news media. In 2012, Eric traveled to North Dakota to write about the Bakken region oil boom. He's also worked at a movie theater, as a campaign canvasser and quality assurance at a milk packaging factory. Eric is originally from Orlando, Florida. He graduated from the University of Florida in 2010.
Persistent ID: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erictegethoff/
Languages Spoken: English
Topic Expertise: Northwest state politics, environment, labor
Local Expertise: Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana
Demographic Expertise: low-income families, labor
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PNS - Friday, September 23, 2022 - The health-care subsidy extension relief for small businesses; Consumer groups press for a bill to reform credit reporting, and an international group aims to transform how people view peace and conflict.
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PNS - Friday, September 23, 2022 - Condemnation of the Russian war on Ukraine continues at the U.N. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says there's a need for worker training to rebuild Puerto Rico, and the House takes on record corporate profits while consumers struggle with inflation.
