Category: Health

By Kalvin Valdillez, Tulalip News

At the start of 2017, the Tulalip Tribal Court implemented a new program to assist addicts on their recovery journey. The Healing to Wellness Court originally drew a bit of skepticism from Tribal membership due to failed experiments with drug courts in the past. However, after tailoring the wellness court to the individual client and incorporating cultural involvement, the program saw success, with a handful of clients completing the program and many addicts who are clean and working hard to maintain their sobriety.

Four years since the announcement of the Healing to Wellness Court, the Tribal Justice department is gearing up to introduce a similar program, but with an emphasis on not only helping their clients live healthy and sober lives, but to reunify families who have been torn apart by the opioid epidemic. Family Wellness Court aims to get the parents clean, help them regain custody of their children and get them out of the court system for good. 

Tulalip Tribal Court Director, Alicia Horne explained, “The Family Wellness Court is very similar to the Healing to Wellness Court. It’s an alternative program to help parents with addiction and it’s an evidence-based program to help parents with addiction sustain sobriety. This is something that is different from your traditional beda?chelh case management. The Family Wellness program has wrap-around, intensive family case management to help the family as a whole, so the parents can maintain stable sobriety.”

Although the Family Wellness Court’s game plan mirrors the Healing to Wellness Court model in many aspects, the court wants to stress that the two programs are completely separate from one another. Family Wellness will work with individuals on their own accord, through either a referral or self-referrals, as the new program is 100% voluntary based and not mandated by the courts. Whereas the Healing to Wellness Court works on criminal cases and their clients could potentially face jail time if they fall out of compliance. Family Wellness Court is a guided program where a team creates an individualized plan for the parent, and since the program is voluntary and does not work on criminal cases, the client does not face jail time if they fall off track.  

“We’re one of the first in the nation to be doing this as a tribe because we want our people to be healthy, happy and successful,” said Family Wellness Court Coordinator, Melissa Johnson. “We want people to understand it’s different than the standard dependency proceeding that parents involved with beda?chelh go through. With more frequent review hearings, in the drug court model, they get a chance to show their progress in real-time. They tend to get their kids back faster in this type of program because of the intensive case management and the added support.”

A team will meet regularly, on a weekly-basis, to discuss the client’s progress or regression. The team then decides on the appropriate action to take, whether that is awarding them with incentives or providing intervention services or resources to help them find their way back to the road of sobriety. 

“We assist parents with medical care if they need it, as well as referrals to housing, helping with job placement, job training, so they can live a healthy and sober life and maintain it on their own,” Melissa stated. “We want to give them the skills, the foundation to maintain that healthy lifestyle once they’re finished with our program. One of our goals is to have fewer CPS and beda?chelh involvement.”

Members of the team include Tulalip tribal court’s Chief Judge Michelle Demmert, Associate Judges Janine B. Van Dusen and Leona Colegrove, as well as a Child Advocate Attorney, Parent Advocate Attorney, beda?chelh Manager (Natasha Fryberg), beda?chelh Social Worker, Substance Use Disorder Counselor, Family Wellness Court Coordinator (Melissa), Recovery Support Specialist, and the Wellness Program Manager. 

Said Melissa, “The team meets weekly and the program is going to last around a year, sometimes it takes longer. It’s based on individual needs because some parents need more support than others. Rather than feeling lost in the system, the participants will gain a sense of continuity and identification with the program. The hearings will allow the judge to provide the support, encouragement and responses as needed. What happens really is the courtroom becomes more of a therapeutic environment versus what it is now. We want them to build trust and a relationship with the judge, so they’re not afraid of interacting with the judge.”

The Tulalip Tribal Court believes that this collaboration between multiple departments, with the same intent of helping someone attain sobriety, is the key to success with drug court clients. Helping them establish relationships with the judges and task force members, the clients are included in the entire process from the moment they accept the help from the Family Wellness Court to the moment they are reunified with their children. 

“I am thrilled that the Tulalip tribal court and community will be able to engage in this holistic child welfare program,” shared Child Advocate Attorney, Chori Folkman. “Studies have shown that this type of collaborative team-based approach results in faster case resolution and more families becoming reunified than a normal child welfare case. The support of beda?chelh will be complimented by all the other team members who will be working hard to support the needs of parents to become healthy and reach their full potential for the children. I think that in the Tulalip system, we can make this type of court successful as we tailor it to the specific needs of the Tulalip community.”

Another reason that clients are remaining clean and sober throughout and following their journey with the Healing to Wellness Court program can be credited to the Tulalip culture. The program requires its clients to fulfill ‘give-back’ hours to the community. During those volunteer hours, clients not only occupy their time and keep their hands busy during fun, healthy community events, they also begin the process of reintegrating back into the tribal community by participating in cultural practices such as singing, dancing, and learning more of their ancestral lifeways. 

Alicia agrees that the cultural aspect is one of the major contributors to the success of Healing to Wellness Court clients, which is why the tribal courthouse elected to include community and cultural involvement in the new Family Wellness Court program, providing good medicine while encouraging their clients to drop the bad drugs.  

With the establishment of the Family Wellness Court, the Tulalip Justice System continues to combat the drug epidemic on the reservation. The tribal court recently launched the ODMAP program which tracks overdoses that occur on Tulalip territory to help prevent and reduce the loss of lives due to overdose in the community. 

Family Wellness Court intends on officially beginning operations, offering their services to the community, by mid-January 2021. To qualify for the Family Wellness Court’s services, you must be the parent of a Tulalip tribal member who currently has an open child dependency case with the Tribal Court System. Please contact your attorney, beda?chelh social worker or call (360) 716-4764 if you believe the Family Wellness Court can benefit you and your family. 

  “The Family Wellness Court is a model of a community involvement approach. We hope that the community will begin to see the courts as a healing institution; one that can provide solutions for the communities’ various needs,” expressed Chief Judge Demmert. “The Family Wellness Court is another example of how the tribal justice system is evolving to address the needs of the community in a culturally competent manner. We all need to recognize that we have the knowledge of our ancestors standing with us and at times, holding us up.” 

By Kalvin Valdillez, Tulalip News

Did you know that there is a program that helps with resources, education, and general support designed specifically for Tulalip tribal families living with children?  If not, you’re not alone as the program is still relatively new. A division of beda?chelh, the young program is spreading the word about their services and what they can offer Tribal families. 

Stated beda?chelh manager, Natasha Fryberg, “I want to bring forth our FIT team to start getting more resources out in the community so we can create positive engagement with potential clients and families.”

The Family Intervention Team, or FIT, currently consists of two social workers, Lena Hoeflich and Kayleigh Canby, who are dedicated to aiding Tulalip families by helping them along their journey through tough times. Whether you are a single pregnant mother or a family dealing with a rebellious teen, they are available and ready to help support you and provide any services or needs you may require. 

“I always describe it to clients as a voluntary program,” said Kayleigh. “Our goal is to kind of bolster the family, or bring in supports, to help them be successful in whatever they want to do. Usually, the goal is to try and keep their families together and we bring in those supports to help them be successful. We support parents, we support children, we support everybody.”

The FIT mission is to achieve immediate and lasting positive change for families, in the best interest of the children, whether you live on or off the reservation. FIT makes it their priority to see that you receive assistance and will refer you to a program, professional or specialist who will provide you with further care. 

Lena explains, “We try to bridge a gap that a family might be experiencing, a hardship – whatever that may be. We meet with families and it is family-led. It’s not prescriptive, because it just depends on whatever the family needs, and whatever they’re going through at that time. For example, if someone calls and says this person was driving and their kid wasn’t in a car seat, we can come in and ask if we can educate them on the necessity of a car seat. Can we provide them with a car seat? We can ask, what else do they need? Do they need groceries? Do they need help paying bills? Do their kids need assistance being set up in online schooling?”

Some resources and services that FIT assists families with include parenting skills, housing, food and nutrition, domestic violence, independent living skills, chemical dependency, teen support and mental health. 

“If a family is experiencing a really difficult time with their teenager, we work with them and get them set-up with Family Haven. We will work with them before, during, and after they have those intervention services, just to make sure that everything is continuing to go well. Or we might work with families who may have difficulty paying a bill. We look to see if there are resources within the Tribe or within the state or Snohomish County, just to try to find different ways to help,” said Lena.

Kayleigh added, “I have a mom that I’m working with right now and I’m trying to help her find a mental health counselor. At the same time, I reached out to a couple different agencies locally, she’s a pregnant mom, so she needs a bed to sleep on. We do the legwork of trying to find those materials. I have another family and their children are in need of winter clothes, so we find those resources in the community to get warm clothes for those kids.”

The majority of clients and families that FIT has helped so far are referrals from Child Protective Services. However, FIT wishes to assure Tribal members that they are here for the people, and welcome any community-referred and self-referred clients. Although they are an extension of beda?chelh, their focus is to work with clients and take preventive measures and progressive steps to help keep families together. 

“A lot of families have a huge support network, but there are other individuals who don’t have any support networks at all,” Kayleigh expressed. “We’re here to help support them, we are apart from CPS. We are a voluntary program, we’re not going to hunt you down or tell you what to do. I think that’s the biggest message is that we’re just here to help, we’re here to raise-up the community in the ways that they want.”

Lena agreed, saying, “I think that’s a distinction that we’re trying hard to make people understand, because when we do call and say we’re a new program with beda?chelh, that usually closes the door immediately. We’re very different. The whole point of our program is to prevent families from having interventions or any interaction, really, with CPS or the court systems. We’ll work with any family who we think would be a good ‘fit’ in the program.”

For additional information about the Family Intervention Team, please contact (360) 716-3284.

Submitted by AnneCherise Jensen 

People from many cultures have a long history of gathering mushrooms for food, medicine, dyes, clothing and decoration. Over the centuries, humans have accumulated a considerable amount of knowledge about mushrooms, whether they be poisonous, edible or medicinal species. However, because of their variety of health effects, many people have steered away from incorporating wild mushrooms and other fungi into their diet. 

Mushrooms are a common, and plentiful wild edibles that grows naturally in the Pacific Northwest. If we have the proper tools, hands on experience, education and resources, we can easily identify and locate some edible species and incorporate them into our diet. This article will dive deeper into some common variations of local, edible mushrooms, their health properties, and how to incorporate them into meals in the kitchen. Let’s get started!

Did you know that there are over 2,000 varieties of edible mushrooms? In fact, there are actually more species of edible mushrooms than poisonous mushrooms. Most poisonous mushrooms won’t kill you, side effects usually include upset stomach, vomiting and/or food poisoning symptoms. Some common poisonous mushrooms grown in the PNW include Sulfur Tufts and certain types of Amanitas. Keep in mind, poisonous mushrooms are only harmful when eaten. The harmful toxins they contain cannot penetrate the skin, and won’t harm you if touched, only digested. Make sure to always cross reference a species before consuming.

Edible mushrooms are tasty, nutritious and can be used in a wide variety of dishes. Mushrooms contain the 5^th flavor called umami, which is also known as savory and having a meat-like taste and texture. In fact, mushrooms can often be used as a meat substitute in the kitchen.  Foraging for local mushrooms is an economical and nutritious way to enhance meals at home (they’re free). There are thousands of nutrient dense mushrooms in the forest just waiting to be eaten. The best part is the more you forage wild mushrooms, the more abundant they grow the following year. Here are some tips to help you on your next mushroom forage. 

Mushroom Foraging Tips:

• Spring and Autumn are the best months to forage for mushrooms. Winter temps are usually too cold with snow and frost on the ground, while Summer is typically too hot and dry. Some species grow all year round, but generally mushrooms prefer moist damp soils in the cooler months. This is a great hobby to pick up especially in Fall. 
• Don’t pick or eat mushrooms that you don’t know are safe. Be sure to study field guide books before and after a mushroom forage. Use multiple identification books to properly identify before consuming. 
• Be sure to bring a basket to carry your foraged mushrooms in. Having holes at the bottom of the basket allows the spores (mushroom seeds) to fall onto the ground and allow for more potential fungi growth in the forest.
• Start by searching your local forests. Go on a walk in the woods. Search for mushrooms on the ground, in the soil, on the fallen trees, and in the timber. Observe what types of mushrooms you find, take a couple pictures from different angles. Go home and research what you saw. 
• Go mushroom foraging after a few days of rain. Mushrooms and other fungi require lots of rain and water for them to grow and thrive. This will increase your chances of finding fresh, healthy specimens. 
• “Choose mushrooms with a firm texture, even color and tightly closed caps. They can be stored in the refrigerator in a paper bag for up to one week, but best used within a few days. To prep: Brush them off with your finger then rinse and pat dry with a paper towel or clean towel. Some mushrooms, such as shiitakes, should have their stem trimmed before cooking”. (Wolfram)
• Be prepared. Other common tools used on a mushroom forage include a pocket knife, field guide book, camera or phone, and family or friends to share the experience with. 

Common species of locally foraged, edible mushrooms:

There are over 100 species of edible mushrooms that are common in the Pacific Northwest region. Some species are rarer and some are generally easier to find. Here are five common wild mushrooms I’ve personally identified and located in our region, starting from most common to least common.

Chanterelles: Chanterelles rank among the most popular edible wild mushrooms. Chanterelles are usually vase or trumpet-shaped mushrooms with wavy-like gills. This mushroom has a fruity, apricot-like aroma and mild, peppery taste. Most are yellow or orange. In its healthiest form, this is a very firm & rigid mushroom, don’t harvest if mushy or gooey. 

King Bolete: There are about 20 different types of Boletes that grow in the Pacific Northwest. They contain spores underneath their caps, and are usually very spongy. Most Boletes are edible, but vary in flavor. The King Bolete is one of the most common edible Boletes in this region. They are medium to large in size, caps are usually yellow-brown, red-brown, or dark red. This is the largest Bolete and is usually pretty easy to identify. 

Lobster Mushrooms: Medium to large sized mushroom, in a layer of bright orange to vibrant red tissues, usually shaped like an upside down pyramid. Found in woods, especially under conifer trees in the Pacific Northwest. Lots of flavor and considered a high quality edible. With its unique vibrant red colors, this mushroom is one of the easiest to identify. 

Morel: Morels have a distinctive honeycomb-like shape and vary in color from light yellow to dark brown. They are earthy in flavor and should be cooked before eating. However, these are usually only harvested in the spring months in recent forest burn areas. 

Oyster Mushroom: Oyster mushrooms are usually white, light grey or light yellow. They are smooth, trumpet-shaped that grow in clusters and have a light flavor. There are a few species of oyster mushrooms. All are edible but vary in flavor, color and shape. 

Mushroom Identification Resources: Below are some mushroom identification books that I use frequently. There are others out there, but these are just a few that I’ve used. I find it helpful to use books that are specific to your area. Mushrooms of the PNW is probably my most used and helpful book. Check your local bookstore or find these off Amazon. 

• The Fungal Pharmacy: Robert Rodgers
• Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest: Steve Trudell & Joe Ammirati
• All That Rain Promises and More… : David Arora
• National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mushrooms: Gary H. Lincoff  
• Mushrooms – How to Identify & Gather Wild Mushrooms & Other Fungi: Thomas Laessoe 

Nutrition Properties 

“One cup of raw sliced mushrooms has approximately 20 calories and are a good source of potassium and, depending on the variety, can provide selenium and copper. Mushrooms have significant amounts of three B-complex vitamins: riboflavin, niacin and pantothenic acid. The B vitamins help release energy from the fat, protein and carbohydrates in food. They also can be excellent sources of vitamin D if they have been exposed to ultraviolet light right before or after harvesting”. (Wolfram) 

Cooking & Consuming 

Mushrooms provide a wide range of flavors and opportunity in the kitchen. However, when first starting to eat wild edible mushrooms, it’s best to start by eating them in small portions. Some individuals have a hard time digesting wild mushrooms and get a mild upset stomach at first. The best way to overcome this, is to start with small portions and gradually eat more wild mushrooms as you get more comfortable with them. A suggestion to those who pick a mushroom variety for the first time – have an adult cook and taste a small amount of the mushroom first, and wait 24 hours to be sure there is no reaction, before making a large portion to serve to family, especially kids. When cooking, make sure the mushrooms are fully cooked, usually about 10-20 minutes of frying, steaming, sautéing, or baking will cook them thoroughly. 

Sources: 

• All That the Rain Promises and More.. : by David Arora 
• Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest : Steve Trudell & Joe Ammirati 
• **This material was funded by USDA’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – SNAP.  This institution is an equal opportunity provider.