Hi Elaine,
We just had a very successful film viewing and panel discussion here in St. Johnsbury, Vermont. I facilitated and the panel members consisted of:
- Family Support Programs Coordinator for Prevent Child Abuse Vermont,
- ED from our local Community Restorative Justice Center,
- Maternal and Child Health and Nurse Home Visiting Program Manager from Caledonia Home Health & Hospice,
- Nurse from our largest public PreK-8th Grade School,
- Community Health Worker from our local Critical Access Hospital who is embedded in our public school, and
- Director of our Recreation Department who runs our Summer Camp programs and other community sports team programs.
Before the film I provided them with the Strengthening Families Framework (see attached) and told them I would first ask "How do you in your work/practice/service strengthen families, and which protective factors do you tend to focus on (Parental resilience, Social connections, Knowledge of parenting and child development, Concrete support in times of need, Social and emotional competence of children)?"
Before I ended up asking that question, each of the panelists introduced themselves and talked about how they felt connected to this conversation, personally and professionally. I did the same.
Our State's Director of Mental Health Integration prepared a really useful way to set up film viewings and panels in the context of prevention (PrevLens) - it is also attached.
My observation was that it was useful for the community members who were present to hear about all of the really incredible and resilience-building programs and groups and services we already have in our community - and how they could become more involved.
Good luck!
-Kari