As we finally, formally emerge from the global pandemic that so strongly shaped our existence over the past three years, our awareness and understanding of trauma and adversity and their impact on our mental and physical health has reached new levels. At Pathways to Resilience, we believe this understanding must go hand in hand with a commitment to leveraging the positive relationships and experiences in our lives to build a culture of resilience and healing.
We launched Pathways to Resilience in May of 2022 – in conjunction with National Trauma Awareness month – because we wanted to create a national initiative dedicated to advancing trauma-responsive policies and programs in states and communities across the nation. We are so proud of the progress we have made together.
Inspired by our experience supporting the California ACEs Aware initiative on behalf of the Office of the California Surgeon General and the Department of Health Care Services, we have spent the last year working with leading experts and policymakers across the nation to promote best and promising practices to prevent and address trauma and toxic stress. We have had candid conversations about the science as well as the policy aspects of creating trauma-responsive policies and programs; and we have built a strong community of national, state and local leaders through our Expert Advisory Committee and our Pathways Learning Network sessions.
We have created a centralized hub of information through our searchable Resource Library, which includes our new resource Charting the Path to Healing and Resilience, a national compendium of policies and programs underway. We launched a Job Board to help agencies and organizations promote opportunities to support their efforts. We have also continued to build a wonderful group of champions in our Steering Committee of Governors’ First Spouses.
We believe that by adopting healing-centered, trauma-responsive principles, state and local agencies – in the health, education, early childhood, social service, housing, justice, and other sectors – can contribute to providing safe, stable, and nurturing systems for children and families across the country.
Changing the Trauma Conversation
Individual trauma results from an event, series of events, or set of circumstances that are experienced by an individual as physically or emotionally harmful or life threatening and has lasting adverse effects on the individual’s functioning and mental, physical, social, emotional, and/or spiritual well-being (Adapted from SAMHSA). It is important for individuals and organizations to have knowledge of the impacts of trauma – to be trauma-informed.
Pathways to Resilience believes that knowledge is more powerful when paired with action. We know that the social drivers of health – income, housing, education, physical environment, public safety, and employment, as well as racism and discrimination – affect a wide range of health and quality-of-life outcomes and risks. We believe states should take active measures to prevent and address trauma and re-traumatization, both for their own staff and for the people they support. This is what it means to be trauma-responsive.
While the field has already been moving from “What’s wrong with you” to “What happened to you?,” we are taking the conversation one step further to ask “What do you need for your health and well-being?
© Pathways to Resilience, 2023
Building Networks of Care Across the Country
Over the last 12 months, Pathways to Resilience has made great strides on the three core tenants of our mission:
Convene national, state, and community leaders
We are breaking down silos, building connections, and identifying and implementing practical solutions across sectors. Pathways to Resilience has built a community of:
- Ten partner organizations at the state & national level
- More than 30 expert speakers leading Pathways Learning Network sessions
- 20 members on the Expert Advisory Committee
- Nine Governors’ First Spouses on the Steering Committee
- 35 leaders from nearly 20 states convened in Colorado to discuss cross-sector approaches for preventing and addressing trauma and identified opportunities for innovation
Raise awareness of strategies that promote equity, health, and well-being
We are raising awareness of the impact of adversity and trauma across a wide audience:
- More than 9,000 visitors to Pathways-US.org with more 26,000 page views;
- 100,000+ impressions across our social media – LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube
- A growing and engaged subscriber audience for our Pathways newsletter
Advance trauma-responsive policies and programs
We recognize the power of collaboration and believe that states and communities are in the best position to create a culture of healing and resilience for our children and families. Over the last year, Pathways to Resilience has:
- Created a National Compendium of Trauma-Responsive Policies and Programs and a set of non-partisan Talking Points for Governors and State Legislators
- Built an ever-growing resource library of nearly 200 trauma-responsive, cross-sector resources for state and community leaders to learn from each other
- Launched a job board to connect qualified professionals to impactful positions across sectors and industries
- Hosted 10 Pathways Learning Network sessions with nearly 1,000 attendees from 48 states
- Produced the Engaging Experts and First Spouse Profiles video series
The Future for Pathways
We have two reflections on the experience of the past year – the level of engagement has clearly demonstrated that there is a need for a national organizational home for this work and we are filled with hope looking to the year ahead. We have exciting plans to continue building upon our successes and continuing to identify promising strategies for addressing trauma and promoting resilience. Stay tuned for more information on national experts who are joining Pathways to Resilience as strategic partners and a new workshop training series that will be available to states, counties, and communities looking to become healing-centered and trauma-responsive.
We are deeply grateful for the partnerships and the progress we have made this year and look forward to the future of the initiative! Stay involved by registering for upcoming Learning Network Sessions, exploring our website and joining our Pathways mailing list. If you would like to become a partner, speak on a Learning Network session, author a blog, or share an impactful story, please reach out to info@pathways-us.org!
The Pathways to Resilience team includes Lauren Block, Tanya Schwartz, Jennifer Ryan, Lizzy Schlichting, Sarah Tocher, Emily Bauska, Nicolette Ricker, and Madison Rasmussen.