Sonoma State University is putting on Town Hall events this month on the impacts of Covid-19 and how it has affected people. These Town Hall’s will be held on zoom and will be available for staff and faculty only. 

The first Town Hall took place last week on Wednesday, February 17, with the second one scheduled to take place this week on Wednesday, February 23 for any Sonoma State Faculty and Staff that would like to attend. It will be moderated by Assistant Vice President for Human Resources Jeff Banks, and will last for approximately one hour in length. 

These Town Hall’s are a place for teachers and other faculty members to have a safe space to share their stories about how COVID-19 has affected them. 

The event is sponsored by the Office of the President: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion; Human Resources; and Risk Management & Safety Services and according to the brochure for the event, “[Will] discuss how the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting us– our families and communities.” 

These Town Hall’s are a place for teachers and other faculty members to have a safe space to share their stories about how COVID-19 has affected them. Staff members will have a chance to hear other people’s stories as well as telling their own. The event features many speakers from different departments who want to share their stories and, “…provide and receive comfort and support,” according to the brochure.  

One of the speakers, Vice President for Diversity and Strategic Initiatives Jerlena Griffin-Desta, spoke about why she elected to be a speaker in this event. “I facilitated a Kitchen Table Talk with the Black Faculty/Staff Association in Jan. regarding how they were coping with COVID and the inherent impacts since I know that people of color are more adversely affected by the pandemic,” she said, “We learned just how affected some of the staff are by COVID. It was heartbreaking. We then thought to create the same space for sharing and support for all SSU staff and faculty.”

Another speaker, Joyce Lopes, said, “We wanted to provide a space for faculty and staff to come together and encourage each other.”

The event is a great opportunity for any faculty members to have a chance to share their stories and receive support from their colleagues. “It is good for employees to come together to hear each other’s stories and to know that they are not alone, that SSU cares, that we wish to affirm their stress, anxiety, and for some, depression, due to the pandemic,” Griffin-Desta said.

Sonoma State has many services and has had many events for students to help them deal with the stress of COVID-19. Students can visit CAPS and can even attend specialized events to take their minds off of the stress in their day to day lives. There have been plenty of events for students, but not very many to help the faculty. “As you know, our students are central to all we do. Student success and support is our north star and guiding value. And our faculty and staff are key to providing students with education, services, and support,” said Lopes, “So, supporting our faculty and staff is important to ensuring they have the bandwidth to support our students. We are looking holistically at how to provide support in many ways and forms for faculty, staff, and students. This is one of those options.”

“We wanted to create a space for staff and faculty to share their experiences with trying to maintain employment, while dealing with childcare, eldercare, family members who have died, are sick, need care, etc., while also trying to come to work to support the institution and support our students,” said Griffin-Desta, “We wanted to provide a space for us to listen to each other’s stories and render support, compassion, and advice to each other.”

For any staff and faculty that wish to attend this event, check your email for more information.