“There’s no entity that doesn’t have a role to play in keeping kids safe and thriving, and supporting families and community.” — Melissa Merrick 

On June 7th, Pathways to Resilience held the first in an ongoing series of Learning Network Sessions, focused on Trauma-Responsive Approaches to Promoting Resilience Across Sectors. Presenters included Dave Ellis, former Executive Director of the New Jersey Office of Resilience and Pathways Expert Advisory Committee Members Melissa Merrick, PhD, President & CEO of Prevent Child Abuse America; and Ricky Robertson, Educator, Author & Consultant for Teach for Trust.  

The panelists reflected on the importance of working within and across sectors to transform our collective efforts to respond to trauma and to build community-based ecosystems of care. 

Key themes and actionable insights from the discussion included: 

  • Work across sectors and be flexible. Working across sectors is critical to promoting the health and well-being of communities. In working with other sectors, you may find the frameworks and language being used are different than yours. Work with them to find common goals and find ways to work together to support families. For instance, in the Handle with Care Program, a first responder will notify a child’s school if the child has experienced a traumatic episode, allowing the school an opportunity to check in with the child, respond with compassion, and provide additional support if needed.    

  • Listen to the community you serve and work with them to co-create policies and programs. Think about ways to engage with the communities you serve, including people who are typically absent from policy conversations. How can you include the voice of your community and the voice of people with lived experience? Can you schedule meetings at times when working people can participate? Can you compensate people for their time to increase participation among individuals who might not otherwise be available? 

  • Upstream approaches can help prevent adversity. By recognizing the larger systemic issues that negatively impact families and promoting policy changes, you can reduce family stressors that are the root cause of adversity. For example, home visiting programs provide support to parents and their families that promote health and well-being.  

  • Consider whether existing or proposed policies could be a source of trauma. Review existing policies, and in the development of new policies, ask whether each one could be traumatizing or retraumatizing? What change could you make to that policy to prevent trauma and re-traumatization?  

  • Invest in the frontline workforce directly serving families, including educators. These individuals regularly interact with the population you serve and are often from the community. How can you support the workforce who may be dealing with their own trauma? What are ways you can support this workforce to be trauma-informed and responsive? 

Watch the video below for more highlights from the Learning Network Session.

Participate in a future Learning Network Session 

Learning Network Sessions will continue to feature renowned speakers; actionable, concrete strategies for states and communities; and opportunities for dialogue. The audience for Learning Network Sessions is state and local government employees. 

Upcoming sessions include:  

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