A growing number of organizations in Greater Richmond are working to educate the community about the impact of trauma on children and families. The effort involves service providers, educators, government agencies and community groups. In the first of an ongoing series on Trauma and Resilience, WCVE’s Catherine Komp has more for Virginia Currents.

Learn More: Find information about the Greater Richmond Trauma Informed Community Network and follow ChildSavers to learn about upcoming “Surviving and Thriving” community trainings. Read about the Adverse Childhood Experiences Study, and find more resources with ACEs Connection and the Walla Walla, Washington Children’s Resilience Initiative. 

Transcript:

ChildSavers Director of Mental Health John Richardson-Lauve stands before a group of teachers, social workers, foster parents and other advocates. He asks them to raise one hand and point.

John Richardson-Lauve: And with the other hand put out your thumb.

Then switch, switch again

Richardson-Lauve: Switch, switch [laughter].

This playful but challenging brain exercise sets the stage for an intensive training about trauma and how it affects neurodevelopment.

Richardson-Lauve: The first question we try to answer with it is why trauma matters, what is the issue we’re trying to address by helping to educate people about trauma and why it’s important to know. The second issue is about how trauma affects the brain and behavior and specifically when we’re talking about kids, trauma affects the ability to learn in a school environment or anywhere else. And then we move into building resilience, both for individuals as well as resilient communities and systems and organizations.

[For more of this story, written by Catherine Komp, go to http://ideastations.org/radio/...rengthen-communities]