[ad_1]
Clallam County agencies will be combining their efforts throughout October for Resilience Month, with special efforts focused on children.
The Clallam County Resilience Project was formed in 2018 after a number of listening sessions with the community regarding Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE), said Minnie Whalen, member of the Clallam Resilience Project.
“We were trying to mobilize to have a strategic response to adverse childhood experiences, and people decided to try to understand how we could develop concrete ways to foster trauma-informed care and healing practices in the world. County Clallam, ”Whalen said.
Since then, the Clallam County Resiliency Project has partnered with more than 50 community organizations to host virtual events this month, and has distributed kits that provide comfort items and information for having conversations about resilience. at home.
The first event is a keynote address with guest speaker Dr Kira Mauseth from the Washington State Department of Health at 10 a.m. Tuesday. Mauseth will present the subject of NEAR sciences (neuroscience, epigenetics, adverse childhood experiences and resilience) and their impact on personal resilience.
Those interested in one of the virtual events can register on www.unitedwayclallam.org by clicking on Clallam Resilience Project.
One of the project’s partnerships is with the Port Angeles School District, which encourages its families to attend one of the events while it starts its own program.
The school district is asking families to participate in a training called NEAR is Here for Families.
Port Angeles High School and the Port Angeles Police Department, with help from the Resilience Project, plan to help students who witness traumatic events cope through a program called Handle with Care.
When children are victims or witnesses of traumatic events, the Handle with Care program informs the child’s respective school that the event may have an impact on the child’s mental health and behavior.
“Lots of time with the students, what helps them is having a regular school day with caring people around them,” said Port Angeles High School principal Tanner Zahrt. “We can’t solve all of these students’ problems, but we can provide them with an organized and safe place to overcome their trauma. ”
When a firefighter, police or emergency medical technician comes into contact with a child who has seen or has been the victim of a traumatic event, the child’s name and the code “handle with care” are transmitted to school so that the child can receive the support they need, according to the program.
School districts work with community organizations and first responders and receive ACE training. Most teachers are already trained to work with children who have experienced trauma and do their best to provide them with additional support and accommodation, according to the program.
“One of the most valuable parts of this is the partnership between first responders and schools and community organizations because there is a lot of power in how we respond to children,” said Rachel Summers, administrator of the special services in Port Angeles. School district. “Handle with Care can make a big difference for some of these kids who need us to understand where they are coming from. ”
________
Journalist Ken Park can be contacted by email at [email protected]
[ad_2]
Source link