Cascadians,

With great sadness, I want to let you know that we lost a dear colleague today. Police were called to an incident at McCarthy Place early this morning, where Haley Rogers, Mental Health Aid II and 5-year Cascadia employee, was pronounced dead on the scene. A client has been taken into custody.

This is shocking and terrifying, and I want to empathize with all of you in this moment of mourning. We have reached out to Haley’s family and are ensuring they have what they need as they grieve their loss.

In the same vein, we want to ensure you all have what you need to help process this abrupt and unforeseen event. Please know that Cascadia’s Employee Assistance Program (EAP) services are available to all Cascadia employees and their families. The Trauma Support Team is also here for you, offering one-on-one and group assistance and resources. I encourage you to reach out if you find yourself in need of support.

As Haley’s family makes arrangements, we will share any memorial information with you as appropriate, as I know many of you will want to share your condolences and honor Haley.

In the coming days we will assess what happened. Executives, senior leaders, and staff will work together to ensure something like this does not happen again. We will also work with residents and all clients to ensure they have the support they need to navigate this event.

Haley’s work—and the work of all mental health aids and frontline staff—is the essence of what we do at Cascadia. Across our community we see the tragedy of unmet mental health needs, and the work we do to overcome those needs often goes overlooked.

As we mourn Haley’s sudden and untimely passing, we must all remember that this work is good work. It is important work. And it is needed work for the health of our friends, families, neighbors, and communities.

I hope we will be there for each other in the coming days and weeks and show support for the hard work we all do.

Sincerely,

Derald