On Saturday May 14th, the Press Democrat featured local ACEs efforts in South Sonoma County in the article "Petaluma schools implementing new approach to work with struggling students." The Petaluma Health Care District and the Health Action Chapter sponsored a Paper Tigers screening on May 12 that drew 221 folks. Reporter Christi Warren captures the experience here:
On a recent school day in Petaluma, 57 students were on a waitlist to see a city schools therapist. The number of students seeking help is growing, but the school district lacks the funding to hire more counselors.
Not only school administrators are concerned. An event Thursday night at Boulevard Cinemas focusing on childhood trauma and its impact on students drew more than 200 people.
Administrators and the Petaluma Health Care District hosted a screening of the 2015 documentary “Paper Tigers” accompanied by a speakers panel discussing “trauma-informed care,” how to care for struggling students who’ve experienced trauma.
The approach focuses on recognizing certain traumas, known as adverse childhood experiences that can lead to toxic stress. There are 10 recognized ACEs falling into three categories: abuse, neglect and household dysfunction.
A December 2014 report by the San Francisco-based Center for Youth Wellness shows that more than 20 percent of adults in Sonoma County have experienced at least four ACEs. Research shows that people who experience that many ACEs are 12 times more likely to attempt suicide, 10 times more likely to use intravenous drugs, seven times more likely to suffer from alcoholism, five times more likely to suffer from depression, and twice as likely to experience heart disease, stroke or cancer.
Brian Farragher, executive director of the Hanna Boys Center in Sonoma, led the panel discussion. He’s been using trauma-informed care in his work since about 2000.
“At the end of the day, what goes wrong in many of our schools and in our treatment centers is we think we can change kids,” he said. “We think we can change other people. We can’t. And it creates a lot of stress and a lot of anxiety because we’re banging our head against the wall. What needs to change is the way we approach these situations.”
Read more here: http://www.pressdemocrat.com/n...menting-new-approach
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