Awareness to Action in Athens, Georgia

A tree of resilience and leaves of individual messages created by summit participants in Athens, GA

A few months ago, I left my very comfortable life in sunny San Diego in pursuit of a new career opportunity in Atlanta, Georgia. There were many questions running through my mind about what this new adventure in the South would bring, and one of those questions had me wondering what was happening in Georgia in regards to awareness and understanding of ACEs and the implementation of trauma-informed practices. Maybe there was a place for me to help bring some momentum from California and other places around the country I’ve been able to work with and learn from as a result of my work with ACEs Connection Network. And then one day, several weeks after my arrival, an email was forwarded to me completely by chance. In it was an announcement for a community summit in Athens, GA with phrases like “building resilience,” “trauma-informed communities” and “improving public health and well-being.” I immediately knew these were my people! I found them; or rather they had found me by way of chance through an email.

Last week, on May 22^nd and 23^rd, I joined 240 of my fellow Georgians in Athens, home of the University of Georgia and about 65 miles northeast of Atlanta. The community summit, Awareness to Action, Community Summit on Trauma and Toxic Stress, gathered professionals from education, law enforcement, criminal justice, child welfare, mental health and many others, as well as parents and concerned community members from Athens and surrounding rural areas, and several of us from Atlanta. The goal was to engage the Athens community to determine action steps needed in an effort to becoming a trauma-informed community. One thing that immediately struck me was that the summit was FREE. Another important note is that a few weeks prior to the summit, an email went out saying registration was FULL, capped at 240 people, and if we could no longer attend, we should let organizers know so they could make room for those on the waiting list. Clearly, there was an interest and need for this topic in the community.

Robin Saenger was the keynote speaker on day 1, founding director of Peace 4 Tarpon and a familiar name and voice, who I’ve had previous phone calls with, but had never officially met. She shared the journey of Tarpon Springs (FL) becoming a trauma-informed community, starting with her run and subsequent election for public office, along with the evolution of how Peace 4 Tarpon came to be. She told the story of how the name was chosen, through a naming contest on a community Facebook page. Peace 4 Tarpon was the idea of an 11-year old boy; proving everyone’s voice in the community mattered. Saenger’s recurring theme, that everyone has a piece to contribute in the community, coincides well with Peace 4 Tarpon’s motto:
Offer the peace/piece you can.

Saenger also spoke about Peace 4 Tarpon’s involvement with Mobilizing Action for Resilient Communities (MARC), being one of 14 communities selected around the country to participate in a 2-year learning collaborative. MARC funding has offered Peace 4 Tarpon much needed financial support, allowing them to become more organized, print brochures and training materials, maintain a website and most importantly, learn from the other 13 communities around the country doing this work. And it continues to allow Peace 4 Tarpon to share their story with new communities like Athens who are just beginning the work.

The remainder of the summit was grounded in small group discussions, brainstorming, strategizing, visualizing and turning ideas into action. We were assigned to tables on day 1, and after Saenger’s keynote, each table engaged in small group discussions for the rest of the day. We were first asked to think of one word or concept from Saenger’s talk that resonated with us. A young professional in our group shared the idea she was most struck by was the reframe that the trauma-informed ideology gives us. Instead of asking, “what’s wrong with you,” we ask, “what happened to you.” I have heard this reframe many times over the last 4 years or so, as I’ve learned more about ACEs science and trauma-informed practices. But this was a good reminder for me that somewhere, somehow, somebody is hearing this for the first time and it is pushing them to that “aha” moment we often talk about. So we need to keep saying it, wherever we go because there’s no telling when, or with whom, these words will make a difference.

Groups continued with discussion about the impact of trauma on the Athens community, on an individual, interpersonal and community level. We reviewed strengths and challenges in the community in relation to addressing ACEs and toxic stress. Tables had a variety of participants from different sectors, ensuring that many voices and perspectives were represented in the small group discussions.

After lunch, summit organizers led us through a visualization exercise, asking us to close our eyes and think ahead to the year 2030.

Each of us is on a different bus, serving as a tour guide to leaders from a variety of communities around the country. These leaders have come to Athens to learn about how the community has addressed trauma and toxic stress. It is our job to share the journey with them, to point out all of the things that have changed in the community. What do we see in this new community? What are people doing as we tour the streets? Where are people working? Where are children playing? Who is caring for the elderly? What do the buildings look like? What do the parks look like?

This was a highly valuable exercise and one that any of you could try in your own communities! Together, each table wrote down the things we saw on sticky notes while on the tour bus. Then, together as a group, we put the ideas into categories and bundled them together. We were also asked to rank them in order of importance, which was a challenge as we thought all of our ideas mattered! But it also forced us to recognize that without basic needs like housing and food, other ideas like clean parks, community art projects and education are irrelevant.

Summit organizers took all of our ideas at the end of day 1 and created a master list of all the categories that were generated by this diverse group of over 200 people. Categories included things like public awareness, basic needs, early childhood education, health care, community well-being, inclusiveness and diversity, education and community organizing/engagement. Education and community well-being were the 2 most common themes across all twenty + groups.

When we returned for day 2, each table was marked with a category and we spent 20 minutes at our table of choice discussing concrete strategies for achieving trauma-informed community well-being, housing, education, etc. Groups were asked to be specific when thinking about what steps Athens needs to take to achieve these goals. We did this 5 times over, so each of us spent 20 minutes discussing strategies for addressing multiple issues that mattered most to us. This also meant that each table facilitator took notes and ideas from 5 different groups, resulting in pages of ideas, strategies, methods, contacts and perspectives for achieving a trauma-informed Athens.

Groups talked about creating public awareness campaigns using documentaries like Resilience and The Raising of America.  They shared their ideas for mentoring programs, involving everyone from young children to adolescents and the elderly.  People had ideas for enhancing transportation in the community, engaging local businesses and working with law enforcement to build trust and safety in the community.  

The Summit allowed me the opportunity to connect with like-minded individuals in my new state and got our wheels turning about the possibility of an ACEs Connection group in Georgia. It felt good to be with my people again! The group left inspired and tasked with action, each of us committing to 3 concrete next steps (sharing their story was one of mine!) for inching the community closer to the ideal place we all visualized 13 years in the future. So stay tuned for more because we are just getting started.  

If you are interested in participating in a Georgia group, send me an email at jenhossler@gmail.com and I’ll keep you posted!