Anxiety, depression, and substance abuse are just three issues that children aged 11 through 18 are enduring as a result of adverse childhood experiences. In Calhoun County, Florida, the rate of children who skip school out of concern for their safety, felt hopeless, and experienced over 4 ACEs was drastically higher than all other counties in the state. To address these risk behaviors and predecessors to chronic health conditions or even dropping out of school, our program aims to utilize a trauma-informed mentorship program between at-risk students and their teachers, with the guidance of health educators. We will focus on strength-building and relationship bonding between classmates and their role models. Student participants will be able to establish goals for success and work on them with their mentors and peers. Together, we aim to set the new generation of leaders up for success.
Our program utilizes the trauma-informed principles of Peer Support, Collaboration, and Empowerment. The program will take place within middle and high schools following the normal school day, and students will be able to participate in group activities, group therapy, and other interactions to learn from their peers and mitigate feelings of loneliness. Collaboration will be present as community health workers will partner with the teachers within the public schools, as well as with child psychologists and other health professionals to facilitate this program. Finally, each child’s experiences and strengths will be assessed through group activities and resilience-building strategies will be presented.
The individual and relationship levels of the social-ecological model will be prioritized through this program. The individual level will be addressed through self-reflective activities that students will complete with each session to discover how their home life, environment, and experiences have shaped them into the individuals they are today. Students will have the opportunity to self-reflect and identify a prime area in which progress can be made, such as improving grades, creating a resume or application, or learning how to have a better relationship with a parent. The relationship level will be very prevalent in this program because much of the activities are in place to increase the likelihood of companionship among peers and teachers. Mentorship helps with the relationship level of the SEM because the student is establishing a connection with someone who will be in contact with them frequently and see their progress every day.
The program addresses mainly the secondary and tertiary levels of prevention in the public health framework. We are selecting students who have or are experiencing a medium to high volume of ACEs and trying to mitigate any negative effect that these ACEs will have on their development and success in school. Our program is focused on building on students’ strengths and healing processes to counteract instability of socioeconomic status, adverse events, and promote mentorship and camaraderie.
See the attached document for the full program proposal!
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