In a space that used to be an abandoned state hospital, Lora Lesak has created an early childhood classroom filled with natural light and comfortable chairs — a room designed to feel like a home.
As director of Developmental Health Services for Allentown’s Community Services for Children, she says that’s exactly what children who’ve experienced trauma need.
“We have gotten children that have needed to remain in the hospital for two weeks to be weaned of substances — whether it’s cocaine, whether it’s opiates, whether it’s prescription drugs,” said Lesak. “Sometimes we get a one- or a two-year old because a parent who was doing well is no longer doing well. Sometimes we get a one-, two-, or even two-and-a-half year old who was introduced to Children and Youth because the parent was actively using and the child was severely neglected.”
[For more on this story by Kyrie Greenberg, go to https://whyy.org/articles/alle...kids-dealing-trauma/]
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