The “Keep Our Children Safe” project in the Skid Row area of Los Angeles is proposed as a potential avenue towards building resiliency in the children living in the area along with their immediate families. Skid Row is known for its high level of crime and drug use and exposure to these adverse childhood events (ACEs) and trauma have been associated with negative health outcomes later in life. Building resilience in the target population can prevent and/or reduce those negative health outcomes. This project will be administered by trained social workers in conjunction with workers at the Union Rescue Mission and will take a trauma-informed approach. Project components include both individual and group activities for children and families to identify and address ACEs as well as an introduction to and practice of resiliency building tools.
Overall, the project falls under the secondary prevention level as the target audience are children who have already faced at least one ACE, homelessness, and are at a high risk of future ACEs due to their current living situation. Project activities work towards building resilience in the target population through educating parents (if present) and working with children to identify ACEs as well as introduce resiliency tools, which pushes the project into a tertiary level of prevention in that treatment will be taking place. Children or parents who report additional ACEs that have occurred since the start of the project will also fall into the tertiary prevention level (Philanthropy Network Greater Philadelphia, 2016).
The CDC’s Social-Ecological Model will be used as a framework for this project (CDC, 2021). At the individual level, staff will work with children to identify harmful or potentially harmful scenarios that they may encounter and identify why they may be harmful and how to avoid them. Along the same vein, they will also build skills to help them be more resilient. Also, at the individual levels, parents will learn skills related to better supporting their children in their current environment and how to recognize and prevent ACEs. The individual level skills for both parents and children will influence the relationship level as parents will be better equipped with knowledge of how to avoid putting their child(ren) in any situation that would further exacerbate trauma. This multi-level approach is better suited for this type of project as it will allow for knowledge to be gained by children and parents and foster safer and more trusting relationships within families who find themselves on Skid Row (CDC, 2021).
SAMHSA’s trauma-informed principles (SAMSHA, 2014) will serve as a guide for the project as the project will utilize a trauma-informed approach aimed to build resilience and increase health knowledge among children and their families. The principle of safety will be incorporated into the project through creating an environment within the Union Rescue Mission that is welcoming and promotes well-being. When children initially enter into the program, staff will go through a detailed introduction and overview of the project with both them and their parents that will foster trustworthiness and transparency. The peer support principle will be included in the project through opportunities for parents and children to take part in group activities with others in the program who have similar experiences. The principle of collaboration and mutuality will be present in the program as program study staff will work in conjunction with Union Rescue Mission staff in order to provide the highest quality of care in line with trauma-informed approaches and build upon methods already shown to be effective in building resilience and preventing future trauma. Children and parents will have the opportunity to discuss their experiences with program staff and others to help program staff better serve their needs and use those experiences to promote the principle of empowerment, voice, and choice. Lastly, the principle of cultural, historical, and gender issues will be utilized in the current project through initial cultural competency training with all project staff that will be included in the overall project training. Adequate cultural competency training will also serve to boost the effectiveness of the other 5 principles to most effectively conduct a trauma-informed project (SAMSHA, 2014).
References:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2021). The Social-Ecological Model: A Framework for Prevention. Retrieved March 2021, from https://www.cdc.gov/violencepr...ocialecologicalmodel.htmlCDC_AA_refVal=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2Fviolenceprevention%2Foverview%2Fsocial-ecologicalmodel.html
Philanthropy Network Greater Philadelphia, Thomas Scattergood Behavioral Health Foundation, and United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey (2016). Trauma Informed Philanthropy: A Funder’s Resource Guide for Supporting Trauma-Informed Practice in the Delaware Valley.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. SAMHSA’s Concept of Trauma and Guidance for a Trauma-Informed Approach. HHS Publication No. (SMA) 14-4884. Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2014.
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