Tonette Walker, First Lady of Wisconsin (R), is an unexpected leader in the movement to transform healthcare and our communities to become trauma informed, and she has been paving the path for others to join in. Ms. Walker describes how she came to take on this issue with such passion – noting that at the orientation retreat for gubernatorial spouses, everyone was asked to take on an issue they care deeply about. For First Lady Walker that would be trauma informed care and she began her work to transform the state through Fostering Futures.
“The benefits of trauma informed care reach far beyond the person affected, extending to the family, community, state, and even the nation,” said First Lady Walker. Nearly every county in the state of Wisconsin now has trauma informed initiatives and programs underway, which is tracked on the WI Office of Children’s Mental Health website. Her vision, “Everyone needs to be trauma informed and understand what that means — from the bus driver, to the lunch aide, to the school administrator, and even the governor.”
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