We’re busy people. Our to do list-wake, prep, eat, email, travel, meetings, calls and deadlines. Then there’s our kids-wake, feed, transport, talk, feed, homework, mini-crisis, hug. Then there’s screen time with CNN, NY Times, The Guardian, LinkedIn, FB and Twitter.
Honestly, there’s just not another free minute in the day, right? In an odd way, being so overextended brings you some satisfaction. You did design your lifestyle, right?
I get it. When it comes to supporting a progressive cause, we’re lucky if we find time to click “give” to transfer $50.00 to a worthy socially-engaged project.
People working in the public sector are really busy. They’re doing their best, against all odds, to keep children and families from descending into total misery. They’re so busy putting out fires that they can’t find time to learn how to stop fires from erupting in the first place.
And to make it all worse, nobody seems to be in charge when it comes to ending some of our most pressing social challenges like making sure our children are not traumatized, abused or neglected. Think about it, who in your city in responsible for making sure that every boy and girl is growing up in a safe household?
Would that be the mayor and city councilors?
The county manager and commissioners?
The school superintendent and school board?
The child welfare office manager?
If you do manage to talk with a government leader, they most likely will tell you, in all honesty, that preventing adverse childhood experiences, trauma, abuse and neglect, is not really in their job description. And they would be right.
We all live in US cities where a local government’s budget does not include the following line item: programs to ensure our children’s safety.
So how do we change local government’s priorities? How do we work with a mayor and city council people to prioritize the safety, health and resilience of all our kids, which means investing in all our families no matter in which zip code they reside. I fully appreciate, as a former government worker, that government normally moves like a barge—very, very slowly. It’s designed that way for some good reasons and some crazy-making ones.
I know, from a recent personal experience, that we have some compassionate, courageous and smart government leaders open to innovation, including creating new ways of serving families and funding solutions. They get it. And they need our loud collective support.
There is a wealth of data to direct us to the new protocols, policies and programs shown to ensure safe childhoods, resilient families and resourced communities. And it will take all of us taking a break from our you-just-can’t-believe-how-busy-I-am lives to start reaching out to our government leaders, who are just as busy as you are.
We collectively need to stop, reflect and focus on what really matters. I vote we do whatever it takes to prioritize the safety of all our kids, those that live in our homes, next door and across town.
If you agree, put this 15-minute task on your weekly to do list: email a local government official (mayor, city councilor, county manager, county commissioners, school superintendent and school board, your state representative—(their contact info is on their respective organization’s website) and share something like: I have been reading about the epidemic levels of adverse childhood experiences, trauma and maltreatment. We know the emotional and financial costs are significant. It’s clear that our children and families need support. What is the local government department that ensures the safety and health of all our children with a focus on preventing trauma? I realize this is a complicated issue with a complex answer. I appreciate your time and civic service.
Post on social media the responses, asking for ideas for next steps. Synergy will follow.
It’s time for answers and action. Let’s get busy.
Read a chapter of Anna, Age Eight— free of charge. www.AnnaAgeEight.org
Explore our Resilience Leaders program focused on creating safe childhoods and strong families. www.ResilienceLeaders.org
Attend our community conversation on childhood trauma and child welfare 2.0. The authors of Anna, Age Eight: The data-driven prevention of childhood trauma and maltreatment, Katherine Ortega Courtney, PhD and Dominic Cappello, discuss their book focused on local strategies for ending childhood trauma and how to create a very new type of child welfare focused on prevention—a monumental challenge that requires the engagement of all of us. Thursday, July 26, 2018 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM, Santa Fe Community Foundation. Fees: FREE. Ask about attending this forum remotely through streaming. For more information and to reserve a seat:https://www.santafecf.org/what...mp;cdt=7%2f26%2f2018
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