“As you grow older you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself and one for helping others.” ~Audrey Hepburn I remember this moment vividly, almost as if I was in her classroom yesterday. The elementary student ran over to me, a grin spreading wide across her face, before she wrapped her arms into a tight hug around my legs. Her eyes glowed with excitement as she told me she had recognized me from helping in her classroom a previous year. After four years of reading to...

April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month, an opportunity to appreciate the ways we work together to keep families strong. Everyone has a role to play in making sure that our community is a great place for children and youth to thrive. Whether acting as a caring neighbor, a family member, a parent, or coworker, we can prevent child abuse and neglect by helping parents be the best they can be. There are seven wellness practices shown to reduce stress and strengthen resilience. This week...

Last month, LegacyWorks Group was able to participate in a training surrounding Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) science and trauma informed care, led by Terri Allison. While LegacyWorks Group is a non profit focused on community driven projects, we are not healthcare providers nor do we work directly with youth in the community. Yet we still value ACEs science and wanted to incorporate the language and practices more within our own work. Most of the trainings associated with...

Family Service Agency is a non-profit organization that has provided basic needs assistance, family support, and mental health counseling since 1899, and has offices encompassing most of the entirety of Santa Barbara County. They are truly dedicated to promoting a trauma responsive team through their year-long training with the National Council for Behavioral Health and annual surveys to measure the organization’s progress in becoming a more trauma informed agency. Through these trainings,...

The North County Rape Crisis and Child Protection Center was created out of frustration and desperation at the height of the women’s movement in the 1970’s. In the mid 70s the founder Joyce Howerton was fed up with the lack of support and services for women in the area and decided to create her own hotline in her home garage. All she had was a desk and a landline phone to help connect with the women of the community and provide safe space for those that had been abused. This attitude of...

Today is International Nurses Day. Welcome Every Baby Family Connects Nurses have stepped up their work during these trying times in our community; providing telehealth visits, Zoom Mothers’ Groups, a baby scale loan program and porch delivery of First 5 CA Newborn Kits. Americans rank nurses as the most trusted profession. Parents are already reporting that a WEB-FC Nurse telehealth-visit provides valuable guidance, plus peace of mind. Often, just talking to families in general about how...

The Santa Barbara County Probation Department is excited to join a team of trauma informed community partners dedicated to resiliency and collaboration. In our commitment to improve the ways in which we serve our youth and families, we recently implemented the Positive Achievement Change Tool (PACT). The PACT screens for ACEs in addition to assessing a youth’s risk to reoffend and criminogenic needs. This, along with training around the latest research on the adolescent brain and ACEs...

Children and Family Resource Services is a young 501(3)(c) formed in partnership with Santa Barbara County Education Office. While the nonprofit is young, our multiple programs have been operating for many years, providing comprehensive programs to support the health and resilience of the children and families in Santa Barbara County. Our vision is Healthy and Resilient Children and Families. Our mission is to provide high quality, family-focused, strength-based services to build resilient...

The Mission of the Public Health Department (PHD) is: To improve the health of our communities by preventing disease, promoting wellness and health equity, while ensuring access to needed health care, and maintaining a safe and healthy environment. Our Vision is: Healthy people, healthy community, healthy environment. In our efforts to make our vision a reality and achieve our mission, the PHD recognizes the significance and impact trauma, adversity, and resilience has on health outcomes. As...

It’s our Mission to partner with all members of the community to achieve resilience against substance use, reductions in violence and promote a healthy and safe environment for our youth and families. Fighting Back Santa Maria Valley was founded in 2003 by a coalition of concerned organizations and community members. The Coalition was alarmed by the negative impact of Drugs and Alcohol on the youth and families of the Santa Maria Valley. Over the years the focus of the 501(c) 3, non- profit...

Our Vision People Helping People has a vision that all men, women and children in our service area have the opportunity to attain self-sufficiency with dignity, are able to fulfill their potential, and live in a healthy community. Our Mission People Helping People is dedicated to improving the lives of men, women, and children in the Santa Ynez Valley, Los Alamos, and surrounding communities by addressing emergency and basic needs, furnishing comprehensive integrated family and individual...

IVYP's vision is a community where children are loved, valued and respected and families are able to reach their highest potential. We are in the midst of a strategic plan, and working to flesh out a Theory of Change. Our working idea is that by building a resilent and connected community, IVYP seeks to mitigate the effects of poverty, racism and trauma so that ALL children and families can prosper and thrive. We are working on resilience through a child centered lens, in our children's...