YOUTH LEADERS LEARN ROLE OF TRAUMA
Sixty-five Youth Development Staff from your Y’s afterschool, early learning and playcare programs recently attended a professional development training focused on trauma-informed care for youth, led by Elaine Walters from the Trauma Healing Project.
Together they spent the day learning about how childhood trauma can affect brain development and their relationships and connections with other people. The group focused on what the Y community can do to provide a safe and healing space for youth who have lived or are living with adverse childhood experiences.
Studies have shown that 60 percent of all people have had at least one adverse childhood experience. The more adverse childhood experiences an individual experiences before the age of 18, the higher the chances that they will experience lasting negative impacts such as addiction, illness or isolation.
One of the most influential protective factors against these adverse experiences is whether or not the person feels liked; and here at your Y we are committed to creating a community where everyone feels seen, safe, and appreciated for who they are.
