Profile Information
Location
Van Nuys, CA
Country
United States
Postal Code
91405
What is it you do for a living? (Parenting, volunteering, CEO of social service organization, etc.)
Training Program Coordinator
What organization(s) do you volunteer or work for?
Haven Hills, www.havenhills.org
What is your interest in PACEs and resilience science?
The adverse experiences that children face every day often goes overlooked and is minimized by phrases such as "they're too young to remember" or "they're too young to understand" - Adverse Childhood Experiences are real and impact individuals in a way that the general population is often unwilling to understand. Repeated exposure to violence will affect anyone, of any age. Working in the Domestic Violence systems, I see this with survivors every day. Their life experiences impacts the way they socialize, the way they carry themselves, their demeanor, they way they cope with everyday stress. They are judged by people who don't understand them. They are feared by service providers if they cope with substances, if they have mental health problems, if they are chronically homeless, or have difficultly following directions/rules, and so on. Too many people get referred from one place to the other by people who misunderstand their needs, essentially being left in limbo when all they want is healing and safety. If we can begin to see these sets of behaviors as strategies to meet needs, we can open our hearts to each individuals process. It is important to me to help others understand the impact of ACES and to allow for the methods of Trauma Informed Care to be a tool in their professional and social skills sets when helping anyone and everyone they encounter. Everyone has a process, we must honor it as such and be willing to aid them in their journeys when they are ready. No one is a lost cause.