Starting Jan. 14, Sno-Isle Libraries will begin a new Issues That Matter series, Pandemic Pressures: Supporting and Family Mental Health. The series will focus on the profound effects the coronavirus pandemic has had on everyone’s emotional well-being with events aimed to help individuals and families of all ages.

All Issues That Matter events will be online as Zoom webinars.

Sno-Isle Libraries staff are working with public health officials in Snohomish and Island counties to identify issues, develop event topics, recruit panelists and provide current mental-health resources. Organizers plan to schedule several Pandemic Pressure events in early 2021.

Health officials emphasize that it’s normal now to feel “not OK” amid the pandemic, so it’s more important than ever to destigmatize and normalize asking for help to deal with emotional and mental-health needs. People don’t have to bottle up feelings of fear, grief, sadness, anger and frustration that the pandemic has stirred up. Everyone has those feelings now and it’s a struggle to process them.

The first Issues That Matter event, Wellness in Uncertainty, is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 14. Panelists will help individuals and families learn if their feelings are normal or if they’re a sign to seek help, how to identify warning signs in yourself and loved ones, and share information about available resources. Online registration for this event is open now.

Issues That Matter organizers recognize how the pandemic has affected families on multiple fronts. Sno-Isle Libraries recently surveyed customers with children in school or day care to learn how the pandemic has affected their routines and what related issues they want to discuss.

Organizers are considering several family-focused event topics, including how to keep scheduling norms for stability, parenting skills, technology issues, community and school resources, substance abuse, self-care, coping with grief and others.