At the heart of Benchmark’s Partnering for Excellence (PFE) Annual Conference is the commitment to bring together professionals and those with lived experience. This includes being sure that professionals hear from young adults who have experienced child welfare and “grownups” who share their story often or who may have never shared their story publicly before.
This year was no different. But, what was different this year was the bonding that took place between those with lived experience. This year, 3 amazing women found comfort in meeting one another. It was a beautiful opportunity to watch healing take place organically and without intention.
Brittney, a youth who went through Benchmarks’ PFE Pathway, stood on stage with her adoptive mom, quietly listening, but being sure to correct any parts of the story that her mom got incorrect. She was most courageous as she listened to her family’s story being told to 180 professionals that she didn’t know. But, with the knowledge that her mom was next to her and her clinician was in front of her in the audience, she bravely attested to her trauma and recovery through her presence. Her opinion after the conference was over: she wants to come and talk on her own next year.
Samantha joined Benchmarks’ PFE as a community partner because she knew that if the PFE interventions had been available when she came into custody, the relationship with her mom would forever had been changed, instead, she was left feeling like she was at fault and the healing between her and her mom took many years. As a community partner, her encouragement keeps the professionals going. While trying to shift systems to make them more trauma-responsive, it is easy for professionals to get frustrated, but Sam is always there to continue to encourage us and help us see the impact that she believes we will have on families.
Finally, ACEsConnection’s own Cissy White presented. Cissy has become one of PFE’s biggest cheerleaders and also an advocate to whom we hold ourselves accountable. Cissy and PFE met last year when she came to share her own story. Cissy encouraged us to continue to bring together professionals and those with lived experience and it is suggestion that we have taken to heart. Having Cissy be a part of the PFE conference is quickly becoming a tradition.
Everyone’s trauma is different and everyone’s response to trauma is different. As such, everyone’s healing process is different. But one thing that professionals hear often is how trauma can leave one feeling alone without anyone who understands. This year, thanks to bringing professionals and those with lived experience together, professionals understand the impact of trauma a lot better. And, for these three women, a little bit of healing took place, the seed of friendship was sown, and there was some comfort in knowing that they are not alone.
The Benchmarks’ Partnering for Excellence (PFE) model creates a more trauma-informed community, through the development of agency partnerships, to improve the well-being of children and families. With this program, children entering the child welfare system are screened for trauma and referred for a Trauma-Intensive Comprehensive Clinical Assessment (TiCCA), an in-depth evaluation completed by a trained, certified TF-CBT mental health clinician, when appropriate. In this way, PFE aligns multi-systemic processes around a common clinical assessment and shared responsibility for treatment and outcomes.
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