Employee spotlight: Michael Chapman, administrative assistant

Michael Chapman is an administrative assistant in Evergreen Health’s Behavioral Health department. He greets patients, schedules appointments and helps counselors with patient follow-up. Michael is also a member of the Tuscarora Nation, and in his personal life he tries to bridge his work at Evergreen with his work in his community.

The Tuscarora Nation is a Native American tribe and First Nations band government of the Haudenosaunee, with members today in New York and Ontario. The Tuscarora reservation, where Michael grew up, is in Niagara County. Michael attended Buffalo State University, graduating with a degree in fine arts and interior design, and spent many years working in retail until he joined team Evergreen in January.

“I was recommended for this job by a friend who worked here. They’ve known me for many years, and understand how important it is for me to be involved in helping the community. They thought Evergreen would be a great place for me because of what they stand for. I decided to work here because Evergreen helps make a difference.”

When he started working at Evergreen, Michael realized he had seen a lot of the issues that patients in the behavioral health department were facing before: “I began to learn what our patients go through and how I can understand it on a personal level. Mental health and substance use are problems that tons of Natives face. I grew up seeing family members struggle with their issues. They didn’t get the help that they needed. Now, some are able to.”

As a respected member of both the Tuscarora Nation and the LGBTQ+ community, Michael’s words carry a great deal of weight in his community, and he’s using that power to change attitudes about some of the issues people in the Nation face.

While there’s no official link between Evergreen and the Tuscarora Nation, Michael hopes that his efforts to connect with his community outside of work will help make more people in the Nation aware of the care they can receive at Evergreen. He hopes to take lessons from programs and models of care at Evergreen as he builds community programs that could help people in the Nation who are struggling with mental health and substance use. In turn, he hopes that his colleagues at Evergreen can learn more about the Tuscarora Nation, the culture and way of life of Native people, and the health issues people in the Nation are facing.

Working at Evergreen, Michael has seen how the harm reduction model of care helps providers meet patients where they are, and work towards their goals in the way that’s best for them. The work he does at Evergreen, where he supports patients in the Behavioral Health department as they receive care for mental and behavioral health issues like depression and drug use, runs parallel to some of his lived experiences.

Michael explains some of the issues that affect the health of people in the Tuscarora Nation: “Depression and addiction, these struggles have flowed down from being forced out of their land and into slavery, given smallpox blankets, put into residential school, having who they are ripped and whipped away from them.” There is an additional layer of struggle for those who are LGBTQ+: “Growing up in a Native community as a gay male was tough,” Michael recalls. “Homosexuality was looked down upon. I was uncomfortable and embarrassed of myself for many years, but that didn’t stop me from trying to figure out who I am as a person while loving my culture. It was even a struggle with my parents. I had to deal with not having that safe place and constantly having to watch my back in fear.”

Michael goes on to describe how mental health issues have affected his family: “I lost my uncle, who I looked up to as a father. He committed suicide. I lost my cousin, who was my best friend. We were hip to hip growing up and I lost him to suicide. A couple of months later I lost another cousin to suicide as well. I saw how important mental health is, for everyone. I wanted to take what I’ve learned and gone though to maybe help others one day. I feel it’s important to share it because it’s not talked about. Most of our friends, or strangers, don’t understand what you go though.”

In hopes of raising awareness of these issues within his community, Michael began volunteering. He worked alongside a family friend to create a program for people his age in the Nation, “to bring them together, get them away from drugs and teach them how to work together and help give back to their community.”

In 2022, Michael worked with Susan Bissell Lewis, who runs the Nation’s Health Center, to bring the first Pride celebration event to the Tuscarora Nation. “Bringing Pride to the community was a long battle. We had to fight to get people to understand and to make this community a safe space for all.“ Michael was unable to attend the Tuscarora Nation’s first Pride event in 2022 but was a leader of this year’s 2023 Pride event, and attended along with the Pride Center, who tabled at the event with information about services at the Pride Center, linkage to services at Evergreen and free safer sex supplies.

“We started the day by raising the Pride flag. Susan wanted me to raise the flag, to symbolize that I was starting to be a bigger part of the change that this community needs.” Michael says, “change is coming. It isn’t going to be easy. But it will be worth it to educate people and make our community a safe place for all. To make someone like myself or someone you know feel able to speak their stories.”

Michael leaves us with a final bit of wisdom: “I want to leave something for everyone to think about. Always be kind to someone, say hello, give a comment, a smile, lend a hand. You never know what someone can be going through and something so simple can make their day so much better.”