Mindful Headlines

January is Human Trafficking Awareness Month and for the first time ever, Washington state has launched a statewide campaign.

This week on the Mindful Headlines podcast, KING 5’s Jessica Janner Castro talks to Rebekah Covington, a survivor of sex trafficking. She grew up in Federal Way and fell into the sex trafficking industry when she was 18 years old.

Covington is now the corporate relations manager at the nonprofit Businesses Ending Slavery and Trafficking (BEST) as a way to help leaders and businesses learn how to better help victims.

Organization for Prostitution Survivors

Real Escape from the Sex Trade (REST), a direct service agency in Seattle

The Lantern Project, which offers education on human trafficking in schools

There has been increased alcohol use during the pandemic, particularly for women. A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found alcohol consumption increased 14% compared to before the pandemic, with women increasing their heavy drinking days by 41%.

This week on the Mindful Headlines podcast, Roberta Romero, a KING 5 journalist, reveals her own battle with alcoholism and shares her story of recovery.

Am I an alcoholic? quiz from American Addiction Centers

Crisis Connections Teen Link for teens needing mental health help

Charlie Health mental health treatment for teens, young adults and families

Peer Washington offers peer emotional support for LGBTQ community and those impacted by addiction

Crisis call helpline: 2-1-1 or 1-877-211-9274

List of recovery centers in Washington

Evergreen Recovery Centers

Hazeldon Betty Ford outpatient drug rehab

Lakeside-Milam Recovery Centers

Northpoint Washington

Residence XII

The New Year is almost upon us, and that means it’s time to consider making resolutions or goals for 2022. But is it a good idea to make resolutions? How do you keep them?

This week on the Mindful Headlines podcast, KING 5 anchor Jessica Janner Castro talks to motivational speaker and author Mike Robbins about best practices to close the chapter on the old year and start anew.

In this week’s “Mindful Headlines” podcast, KING 5 Anchor Jessica Janner Castro spoke to Seattle author Paula Becker about her new book on grief. The book is titled “A Little Book of Self-Care for Those Who Grieve,” and Becker wrote it while coping with the loss of her son Hunter.

In the podcast, Becker’s therapist Laura Takacs also shared helpful tips for coping with grief during the holidays.

Crisis Connections (support services for those in King County)

Providence grief support services

Erica Wiley, vice president of development for the United Way of King County, explains the brain science behind giving and explains why she thinks people tend to give more during the holidays.

Volunteer for free tax prep with United Way of King County, which has a mix of in-person and virtual opportunities. 

KING 5’s annual Home Team Harvest drive to benefit Northwest Harvest is underway. This year’s goal is to raise 21 million meals. Ways to donate: Online at king5.com/hometeamhavest, text “HOMETEAM” to 41444 or starting Nov. 1, visit your local Safeway or Albertson’s to give $5, $10 or $12 toward grocery cards.  

Watch the Home Team Harvest broadcast special on Dec. 4 at 10 a.m. on KING 5, king5.com and the KING 5 mobile app.

Every Veterans Day we honor the men and women who have fought and sacrificed for our country.

Jeremy Grisham is now a licensed mental health counselor, but he was once a patient.

Grisham is a medically retired U.S. Navy Hospital Corpsman and combat veteran who served his enlistment attached to a Marine Corps unit during the Iraq War. He was once diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and was homeless before getting help from the VA system. As the interim counseling and wellness director at the Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs, he now holds an executive role in the very system that lifted him out of despair.

Read the article on this story on king5.com. 

Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs counseling and wellness

Veterans crisis line: 1-800-273-8255, press 1 or text 838255

Have you ever voted for a candidate simply because you recognize their name? Or because they seem kind? You’re not alone. We can often make emotional and frankly irrational choices when it comes to politics.

Historian and journalist Rick Shenkman talks about his book “Political Animals: How Our Stone-Age Brain Gets in the Way of Smart Politics.”

Shenkman argues that our emotions, biases and impulses can greatly influence us at the ballot box.

Shenkman is an Emmy award-winning journalist who has written numerous books about politics and presidential history. He is also the editor and founder of George Washington University’s History News Network, a website featuring historians’ perspectives on current events.

Dolores Huerta, 91, has been an activist for more than six decades. To celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, she sat down with KING 5 anchor Jessica Janner Castro to talk about her advocacy work, immigration and equity in governance.

Huerta has received numerous awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and she was the first Latina to be inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame.

Dolores Huerta Foundation

Dolores Huerta Biography via the National Women’s History Museum

Dolores Huerta biography via the National Park Service

We sat down with Erin Romanuk, Seattle Public Schools student support services supervisor, to find out how Washington state's largest school district is making mental wellbeing a priority as the pandemic continues.

Watch the interview with Romanuk on YouTube.

Mental health services at Seattle Public Schools

September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month and this week on Mindful Headlines, Jessica Janner Castro talks with a young woman who recently survived a suicide attempt.

Kelsey Motley, 27, shared her story with KING 5 in hopes of saving lives.

“I was never the person to think that I would struggle with mental health issues to that extreme. It can happen to anyone. If you are struggling and you’re trying to do it alone, please don’t,” said Motley.

Read the full article on king5.com

Resources

Pathlight Mood & Anxiety Center

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

National Alliance on Mental Illness

National Suicide Prevention Month | National Prevention Information Network (cdc.gov)