Congressional Briefing on Implementing Trauma-Informed Programs and Practices

The video begins at 17:13 minutes with the presentation by Andrea Blanch (sound improves at 23:11 minutes when Sen. Heitkamp speaks.)

As a trauma survivor, and recipient of healing, I despise the amount of energy stating what we should already know.  Trauma is in all of us, in fact trauma survivors can be more equipped to deal with trauma and find solutions to traumatic sutuations, but making another label that everyone can say aha about is a corrupt agenda.  Go out and love your community be a hand up not a hand out. Offer more community outreach.  Restore a once thriving community, invest in schools and early education.  Restore mental health and medical services to quality not quantity. Reduce government, and give money to providing support in the areas of our towns where priveledge is suffering.  Stop building in a recession/depression time, and strengthen what we already have.  Truth is if I had a billion dollars and wanted to use it to fix our communities that have been left to ruin I would not give it to the blind culture of decision makers in our local, state, and federal government, because non of your educations have prepared us for how to work with suffering people, but us trauma survivors have a gift called empathy.  Look up the word.  The punitive punishment we give to less priveledged, addicts, and criminals, trickles down to their families.  Pouring gas on a fire is how America is trying to do business with hurting people.  If all we do is keep having bigger conversations, but aren't willing to shift resources, how do we think things will change.  The American dream has become the American illusion. All of the upper middle class in system decision making should be required to volunteer on the ground level with hurting families, 1. Because we need more volunteers, and all of us should be leading the way by example.  2. Because when we see our efforts on the ground we can make a more informed decision about what the real needs are, and it is our responsibility to be part of a healing community.  If you really care,.........Volunteer in your community!

Hopefully, Congress will avail this briefing video, to all relevant federal agencies, and other municipal and statewide programs funded with federal dollars. I hope we can look forward to supplementary reports from Congressional Research Service.