When I first started out in the poverty and self-sufficiency field almost 30 years ago, I helped facilitate a focus group in Philadelphia at a transitional work/homeless women’s shelter. Today, one woman still stands out.
She had several children, but each had been removed from her care and her parental rights terminated. Although she was only in her 30s, she looked much older. During the focus group, she shared how she had finally turned a corner — was working and ready to find her own place. I asked her what helped, after so many years of hardship and loss, and her response surprised me: dental work.
She shared her long history of domestic violence, having had her front teeth knocked out as a teen and never being able to get them fixed. “I couldn’t get a job,” she said, “because I couldn’t smile.”
When working with young people in a range of human service and court systems, it’s not uncommon to have a client who has experienced trauma. In the rush of case management work, unearthing these experiences, especially with older clients, can be difficult, as can assessing the effect they have on their development and ability to fully participate in services.
[For more of this story, written by Jeanette Hercik, go to https://youthtoday.org/2016/05...informed-approaches/]
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