The Philadelphia ACEs community, as well as other communities nation-wide, has been striving to make Philadelphia one of the first "trauma-informed cities". But what does this mean? Sanctuary-trained City officials? Trauma-informed policy? Trauma counselors in every public school?
Please comment below on what a trauma-informed Philadelphia means to you as well as projects you know of or you are working on to move towards that goal.
Wow, Shoshana! The very thought of what you propose is thrilling!
So do we start top-down or bottom-up? I have mixed feelings and experiences:
In my old career of Performance Development and Training I know that top-down is typically ideal to gain traction and pull-through of any new initiative BUT it is fraught with political/bureaucratic snags...in my work with teaching meditation to kids and to Student Assistance Counselors (SACs) I can say that they are where the proverbial "rubber meets the road" in terms of maximum service delivery, consistency and benefits so we wouldn't want to wait for top-down to reach them. I have created a workbook/leader's guide for Student Assistance Counselors and teachers to introduce mindfulness in the schools and I'm happy to provide it to any/all at no cost if that is of some help.
Best wishes,
Devpreet Kaur
