On Dec. 7 and 8 we had a Conference for Trauma-Informed Communities at Chisuk Emuna Synagogue in Harrisburg. We spent Thursday evening watching and discussing the film entitled Resilience. Friday morning we dove right into Trauma-Informed Communities with two fantastic keynote speakers--Hasshan Batts from the Lehigh Valley and Aquarius Gilmer from Philadelphia, where he works with HHS Region 3. We followed that with presentations by local trauma-informed leaders including Shileste Overton Morris from Center for Schools and Communities, Skip Brown from Communities Practicing Resiliency and Donnell Brown from the Tri-County Action Commission. Finally, we had an "opportunity session" to discuss where we are and where we are going, together. Our audience was diverse and included faith based leaders, community organizations, educators both private and public and particularly special, a group of African American 8th graders from the Nativity School. What wisdom their teacher, Rev. Vernal Simms, Sr. had in furthering their education with us, and our education with them. They showed us, spontaneously, their drill line work. Although this conference is over, there will be more. For now, please join our group so those of us in South Central PA, and elsewhere, can work towards creating a more trauma-informed community.
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