Higgins Named SEMHS "Employee of the Quarter"

By Nancy Harris

July 25, 2003

Katherine "Hawley" Higgins was surprised by her peers when she was named "Employee of the Quarter" for the 4^th quarter of FY 2002-03. The staff awarded Hawley with a framed certificate, a $100 bill, a lapel pin, and several personalized gifts. She will be introduced at the next meeting to the SEMHS Board of Directors.

Hawley earned this honor by the "contagious" attitude she displays in her work as a Consumer and Family Advocate at Southeast Mental Health Services. She has a way of making both staff and mental health consumers feel empowered, valued and comfortable. She is a key model for new staff who need to learn the empowerment approach that has boosted Southeast into the national spotlight in the past few years. She recently developed a peer volunteer program, where people with severe mental illness learn leadership skills, and volunteer their time in the Crisis Hostel to make others feel comfortable and welcome. She is the only advocate employed by the center, and serves all six counties in Southeast Colorado. She is the advocate for Prowers County Youth Center in Lamar as well, and is the liaison to Sycare’s Office of Consumer and Family Affairs.

Hawley joined the staff at Southeast over 6 years ago, and has been an asset in the roles of both clinician and advocate. A native of Boston, she and her husband, Chris, have made La Junta their home, where Chris is employed as a firefighter for the La Junta Fire Department and as a police reserve. Each year, both Hawley and Chris volunteer their time coaching youth in the In-line Hockey league. Hawley is active in the Lutheran/Episcopalian congregation, and serves on the fire department’s Auxiliary.