Laura's Note: 

This post is old news -- the United Way of Monroe County Breakfast Panel it recounts happened in July 2019. It may not be news at all to any of you who happened to attend. But I wanted to share it because when I happened across it well after the fact, it gave me a lilt of hope--someone else out there is paying attention! We KNOW other ACEs-aware folks are among us, we just haven't necessarily made all of their acquaintances yet. To me, it's exciting to know that the topic is getting discussed more and more in Monroe County and beyond. This breakfast panel is proof.

Did anyone in this community attend the breakfast? What were your impressions and experiences? Please share! 

And how would you answer the question posed to the panel: "You're each been given a magic want to address the issue of childhood trauma. The catch is, you can only pick one thing. What would you pick that would have the biggest impact on the issue?" 

Would the one thing you pick depend on conditions unique to Monroe County, Indiana, or would it be something you believe would be effective in any geographic location or culture?

Read on for more about the panel discussion:

“You’ve each been given a magic wand to address the issue of childhood trauma. The catch is, you can only pick one thing. What would you pick that would have the biggest impact on this issue?”  

Panelists explored this and other questions posed by the audience at the July 11th Wake Up! With United Way which focused on "Unteachable and Difficult - Understanding Childhood Trauma.”  

Jerry M. Jesseph, M.D., Ph.D., Clinical Professor with the IU School of Medicine offered his response to the posed question. “Education,” he said. “If we educate ourselves, it’s pretty obvious what to do. We reach out. We look for vulnerable people in our communities. We put our efforts there,” Jesseph added. He noted the Kids with Absent Parents (KAP) Program as being a prime example of getting the community involved and proactive about the issue. 

Jeff Baldwin, Executive Director of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Bloomington agreed with Jesseph and elaborated on his answer. “The magic wand,” he gestured with his hand, “is getting society to move and shift in a completely different way in thinking across the board on the importance of taking a child from birth to productive, healthy adulthood.” 

[To read the rest of this post on the United Way of Monroe County website, click here.]

[Photo from here.]