Building Trauma-Informed Communities

Building Trauma-Informed Communities

A graphic guide to grow awareness and action around childhood trauma and the community’s power to stop it.

Introduction to ACEs Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are common and can cause life-long harm in the absence of healthy relationships. They include situations like child sexual abuse, violence, or growing up with a family member suffering from addiction. When children experience multiple ACEs, their bodies can flood with stress hormones, endangering their development and increasing their risk for health and behavioral concerns. ACEs can lead to critical issues including heart disease, diabetes, depression, and a shorter life expectancy. As a result, ACEs impact the health of families, businesses, and society in general.

Conception

Adverse Childhood Experiences

Death

Social, Emotional and Cognitive Impairment

Adoption of Health-risk Behaviors

Disease, Disability, and Social Problems

Early Death

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OUR GOAL: Create trauma-aware adults within our homes, schools, pediatric offices, and community service centers who recognize and stop childhood trauma and abuse in its tracks, are part of the healing process, and ensure children grow healthy in mind and body.

How to Build Trauma-Informed Communities Step 1: Know the Signs UNDERSTANDING how risk factors and exposures to trauma can affect children for life is half the battle in fighting ACEs. When a child is exposed to Adverse Childhood Experiences that cause trauma, like those listed in the inner circle, those untreated traumas can cause negative behaviors like those listed in the outer circle, often with life-long consequences.

KNOW YOUR

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How to Build Trauma-Informed Communities Step 2: Know Your Role PREVENTION is the best weapon against ACEs. Children from ages birth to grade 5 count on the adults in their lives to keep them safe at home and in the community. Children also look to see how adults and others handle problems and stress to learn how to regulate their own behavior. Prevention education for parents and adult caregivers protects and keeps children safe.

EARLY INTERVENTION and identification of a child’s needs ensures they get the support they need and are referred to treatment if necessary.

TREATMENT brings healing, resilience, and strength to avoid long-term damage to mental and physical health.

Promoting ACEs education, awareness, and action builds capacity in parents, other adults, and children to stop trauma in its tracks.

Birth to Grade 5

TraumaIninformed and and Here to Help!

How to Build Trauma-Informed Communities Step 3: Know the Solutions INTEGRATION of highly-trained professionals throughout a child’s community fights ACEs in the places children need them most. Educators, doctors, nurses, faith leaders, police, and the courts change the game when they receive targeted trauma training to become buffers and foster Positive Childhood Experiences (PCEs), the antidote to ACEs.

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Birth to Grade 5

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LOCATION of professional therapists in schools, pediatric offices, child welfare programs, and the court system provides children immediate safety, advocacy, and emotional support.

How to Build Trauma-Informed Communities Step 4: Know the Success THE ACEs BATTLE CAN BE WON. When children grow up in a trauma-informed community, they realize life-changing benefits: an end to generational cycles of abuse, ample buffering relationships, greater racial and cultural equity, and healthier emotions and behaviors.

ACEs are not destiny. Studies show that PCEs can mitigate ACEs.

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This is what success looks like:

EN R ILD

ACEs Prevention Army

a better understanding of child development, behavior, and needs healthy parenting and communication reduced intergenerational ACEs

SC H AND COMMUNIT LS Y OO

increased brain development, social skills, and self-regulation of behavior better functioning, academic performance, and emotional expression

ADUL TS

increased ability to learn greater attachment to others reduced involuntary examination (Florida Baker Act) less classroom disruption reduced healthcare costs

Our vision for community awareness: people are ready to assume their place in a trauma-informed community.

ACEs

aware

ACEs Toolkit: centerforchildcounseling.org/acestoolkit

Get Trained: www.centerforchildcounseling.org/traumainformedcare or www.beKidSafe.org