Dominic Taylor, Photo Courtesy/Bail Daily Archive
Employees in the hospitality industry have long faced mental health issues. According to a study published in the American Journal of Epidemiologyhotel and restaurant service workers are at increased risk of depression, sleep disorders, stress and addiction.
CHOW, which stands for Culinary Hospitality Outreach and Wellness, was launched in Colorado in 2018 to address the mental health challenges facing hospitality workers. Since then, the group has sought to build community and provide mental health and wellness skills and resources to those in the industry.
CHOW hosted its first Vail-based conference on Wednesday, January 25th. The conference was available directly at the Vail Public Library and virtually via Zoom.
Kayla Weber, who owns Revolution Power Yoga at Avon and leads Eagle Valley Behavioral Health’s peer support group, which specializes in mindfulness and grief support, is helping the group anchor itself in the valley. It was one of the free Vail Mental Wellness series talks held at Root and Flower.
“I really liked their mission and felt there was a need in our community,” said Weber.
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Weber recognized this need from her own experience of witnessing and being part of “the unhealthy work environment that hospitality creates.”
“We are told over and over again to give up on ourselves and our needs for the needs of our customers. “I love this community and the people there, so I started supporting this style locally. I wanted to.”
To lead the conference, Weber completed a training session with CHOW.
At the first meeting on Wednesday, Weber said he would be taking “temperature measurements” to gauge the needs of the group, followed by an icebreaker and guided discussion where people would ask, “How are you doing?” or perhaps allow them to share whatever they have.” Ask the group for ideas on how to handle a particular situation, or discuss other things. “
For now, the group meets once a month, but Weber’s goal is to provide consistent support for this segment of the local workforce.
“Support doesn’t have to be big, intimidating, and expensive. It doesn’t have to be therapy (but if you can shake it, it’s a nice addition). is to create a safe space for people to gather and discuss what we often keep locked up.
And as the group is established, she hopes it will build healthy connections between individuals. is to promote
In addition to Vail, CHOW hosts these conferences in Denver, Colorado Springs, Fort Collins and Steamboat Springs. Eagle County community members can also attend these meetings virtually.
“We do this because we want to remove the stigma from conversations about mental health. That’s more than 29 times as many,” said life coach Jasmine Parks-Papadopoulos, CHOW’s Community Head. “So even if all therapists licensed to operate and work filled the docket entirely with just people working in the food, beverage and hospitality industries, it would not be enough for all of us to come and go.”
But CHOW’s work goes beyond hosting these discussion groups statewide. The organization also offers mental health training courses that provide insight, resources, and skills on issues affecting workplace health in the industry. It also partners with Khesed Wellness to offer her 16 free outpatient mental health and wellness sessions to hospitality industry workers.
Beyond training and conferences, the organization also offers a free Workplace Wellness Toolkit with wellness practices and actionable items designed for business owners in this industry and a free Workplace Wellness Toolkit for individuals to guide their wellness journey. We have also created a workbook available for purchase.
