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Home \ Initiatives \ Helping Children |
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Teacher Training on Issues of Psychological Trauma in Children Real Medicine Project Los Angeles
It's the end of the school day, and a young boy begins to cry as his father arrives to retrieve him from school. The boy's teachers learn that he is beaten daily, and that his father covers his face when he cries to muffle the noise and keep him quiet. Another young child waits patiently for his parents to pick him up. However, with a mother addicted to crack cocaine and an alcoholic father, the boy is regularly left at school, waiting with school staff members, often as late as 8:00PM until another appropriate family member can be found. In another terrifying example, a preschooler is witness to a tragic case of domestic violence. Despite efforts of a mother to protect her son from his violent father, her ex-husband manages to shoot the boy's grandmother and uncle to death in front of the child while his mother is at work. These are just some of the examples of the risk, instability and trauma faced by young students in Los Angeles every day. Real Medicine Foundation is working to deliver extensive training to better equip and enable teachers at inner-city schools to identify and address challenging abuse situations before they escalate into violent, tragic endings. Union Rescue Mission Assessment by Jeffrey Weir
October 2007 The training on identifying trauma in children is one of the best trainings we've experienced as an organization. Dr. Andrea Shirley presented us with a world of knowledge, focused on what our kids (urban youth) are struggling with on a daily basis. I was personally shocked to hear about the statistics on homeless families in Los Angeles. It is a dreadful reality to know that families are hurting throughout the United States. I learned that homelessness goes hand-in-hand with violence, rejection, and underdevelopment, unhealthy and unsecured lifestyles. This is a problem that is not being addressed by our local officials and it continues to get worse in downtown Los Angeles. The worse part is that homelessness does not discriminate age, so children and seniors are also affected by it similarly. My staff felt that this training helped us realize how stressors play a role in our reaction to situations and individuals. Now we know why emotional burnout affects our professional and personal lives. Based on this knowledge, we have come to the conclusion that it is important to take time for ourselves and rejuvenate our energies to serve our youth effectively. Also, we are able to identify some of the warning signs of emotional stress and potentially know what is causing such stress. As a result of the staff training we are planning to have a second training on Organizational Responsibility. In order for HOLA to continue operating at its best, we will have several trainings in the future on staff motivation, compassion fatigue, setting your emotional limits at work and building resilience within the organization, as recommended by Dr. Andrea Shirley. I think the most important aspect of the training was the segment on recognizing child abuse and the signs to look for. The training was right on target with addressing and discussing the behavior of children when they are being emotionally or sexually abused. For us, it is a necessity to know why our children misbehave or act out and to have the tools to act appropriately when such situation occurs. Personally, I found fascinating learning about the Role of Attachment for children, mothers and for the family interaction in general. By the same token, it was important to learn what happens when children are traumatized due to lack of attachment and the symptoms involved. Now I realize why some adolescents have such a difficult time trusting and opening up to potential mentors. Similarly, it is disturbing when young people express the need for love and attachment through inappropriate behaviors that often lead to personal disaster. Last, I was so glad to see the inclusion of the 40 developmental assets for middle and high school youth. These assets are the foundation of our new movement towards becoming a youth development program. We have struggled through our existence with our identity as an organization. At first we were a drop-in center (1991 - 1996) where children felt safe and would engage in recreation and arts and craft. We made an effort to grow and we became a youth community center (1996 -2004) and established membership which meant that we began to develop a structure for our programs and a set of expectations from students and parents. After being at HOLA for five years and having commenced my pursuance of a Masters Degree in Youth Development and Community Leadership, I realized that HOLA needed to change its direction and start becoming a youth development center. Consequently we are making significant strides towards educating our staff and developing our youth development vocabulary. The Real Medicine Foundation staff training is a vital component for our growth and development as professionals in this field. Dr. Fuchs, thank you for granting HOLA such wonderful opportunity. We look forward to working with you and your staff in the near future.
Best wishes always,
September 30, 2006 By Lauren Brenner-Katz Overview: 1. The daily stress of hunger, financial need, and an unsafe social environment puts thousands of children in the Skid Row area at increased risk for life-long physical and emotional illness. Many are physically and sexually abused, and all are exposed to violence, crime, and drug abuse on the streets where they live. 2. The teachers in their schools are mandated by law to report any cases of abuse or other emotional trauma. This reporting would result in the children receiving care or treatment from outside agencies and professionals, and is often the only hope they have for a safer, healthier life. 3. However, teachers and school staff receive no training in how to identify psycho-trauma in children, how to encourage children to open up and share their experiences, and how to offer supportive assistance and guidance. This huge gap in teacher training means thousands of children continue to live in a state of daily trauma, when in fact assistance is available that can literally save their lives. 4. The Real Medicine Project L.A. was developed to fill this gap and provide teachers with the professional psycho-trauma training they need to support the emotional health of their students and themselves.
The Real Medicine Foundation is a Los Angeles-based, international organization with a cutting-edge approach to humanitarian relief. As the name suggests, “real medicine” aims for real and long-term solutions rather than quick fixes. Our “whole person” approach addresses physical, emotional, economic, and social needs in order to heal, give hope, and rebuild lives affected by disaster, war, or poverty. Real Medicine is now applying its global expertise to a very local tragedy: The relentless, daily trauma experienced by vast numbers of children living in poverty and homelessness – right here in one of the most affluent cities in the world. At any given time, Los Angeles has an estimated 16,000 homeless children and 8,200 homeless families, led mostly by single mothers. Unlike victims of a one-time natural disaster, children living on the streets and in conditions of poverty have no safe, emotional refuge. Exposure to violence, hunger, illness, drug abuse, and crime puts children at an increased risk of costly physical and emotional illness throughout their entire lives. A joint CDC/Kaiser-Permanente study of Adverse Childhood Events (ACE Study) clearly outlined the increased lifelong physical and emotional effects for these children, including higher rates of diabetes, heart disease, stroke, alcoholism, suicide and other major killers. Hope is in the hands of educators and caregivers. For most of these children, school is their only safe haven. Their teachers are among the only consistent, reliable adults they know, and the only adults with the potential to protect and guide them to a better way of life. In fact, teachers in California are required by law to report suspected cases of trauma, including domestic violence, sexual abuse, and other crimes, so the children can receive appropriate support from local agencies. However, there is currently no mandated training to support teachers in their efforts with these children. With no training or support, educators are left on their own to identify and help victimized children. This tragic gap in training leaves teachers feeling overwhelmed and helpless, and children who might be helped continue to suffer, physically, emotionally, and academically. A study at the University of California at Los Angeles concludes: “The vast majority (78%) of homeless children suffer from either depression, a behavioral problem, or severe academic delay. Among children having a problem, only one third of the parents were aware of any problem, and few of those children (15%) had ever received mental health care or special education. Programs targeted at sheltered homeless school-age children are needed to close this gap.” Real Medicine Project L.A. Under the direction of Dr. Kevin Becker of Harvard University, Real Medicine has provided trauma training and interventions around the world following such devastating tragedies as the South Asian tsunami, September 11th, and the Pakistan earthquake. After hurricane Katrina, Real Medicine provided training to educators in the Memphis Catholic school system working with displaced children evacuated from New Orleans and surrounding areas. The Real Medicine program was received with great excitement, and follow-up surveys indicate an ongoing change in teachers’ confidence and skill helping at-risk children in need. Now Real Medicine is introducing a program to give local educators the same life-changing yet simple psycho-trauma tools previously used in global disaster relief. Real Medicine Project L.A. will train teachers and child care workers to recognize the signs and symptoms of children in need, so the children can receive the services they need to lead healthier and safer lives. Teachers and staff will spend two days with trainers from The Real Medicine Foundation Psycho-Trauma Team, learning the principles and techniques that will help them support some of Los Angeles’ most troubled children. Several programs have been chosen to receive the specialized training, beginning with the Para Los Ninos Charter School in the Skid Row area of downtown Los Angeles. In keeping with the highly-personal approach of Real Medicine, every school served will be individually accessed, to provide a customized program. Real Medicine believes it is important to understand the needs, culture, and resources of the communities being served, and does not employ an “off the shelf” program. Goals:
Training Topics
Real Medicine Foundation and Para Los Ninos join together to support children September 10, 2006 In our most recent project, the Real Medicine Foundation has joined in a collaboration with Para Los Ninos (www.paralosninos.org), the largest and most respected child services agency in Los Angeles, to support traumatized and at-risk children. Para Los Ninos has 20 locations throughout Los Angeles County where they serve children of all ages with a wide variety of programs and services. Over the course of the next several months Real Medicine's Psycho-trauma team will provide training on the impact of trauma in children to Para Los Ninos staff. Several programs have been chosen to receive the specialized training, including the Early Childhood Development Program and the Para Los Ninos Charter School. Teachers and Staff will spend two days with trainers from the Real Medicine Foundation Psycho-trauma team learning the principles and techniques that will help them support some of Los Angeles' most troubled children. Para Los Ninos is one of only two agencies in the United States that provides services to children living in a 'Skid Row' neighborhood. The Real Medicine training program will help teachers and child care workers understand the impact of adverse childhood events and exposure to trauma in their young students. Research shows that individuals who are exposed to experiences such as child abuse, alcoholism and other serious negative events in childhood are far more likely to develop serious health and psychological conditions in adulthood. Helping teachers and child care workers recognize the signs and symptoms of children who are in need of support will help assure they get the services they need and subsequently lead a healthier and safer life. As this program unfolds, we will provide regular updates here on the Real Medicine Foundation website. Please check back to see how the program develops. July 2006 Recent FEMA statistics account for nearly 17,000 hurricane Katrina evacuees registered in California seeking federal assistance. Because only a single family member in a household can apply for FEMA aid, the actual number is likely to be significantly higher. In many cases evacuee households contain at least 3-4 family members. In addition not all evacuees have registered with FEMA thereby raising the true count even higher. Many of the evacuees living in California are children. Data collection inconsistencies make it difficult to know exactly how many evacuees are children. However, estimates suggest that between 40 and 70 percent of the total evacuee population are children. The psychological trauma experienced by these children places them at significantly higher risks for developing dangerous and costly physical and emotional health impacts throughout their entire life. A joint CDC/Kaiser-Permanente study of Adverse Childhood Events (ACE Study) in 1998 clearly outlined the increased lifelong physical and emotional effects for children who experience such events. Significantly increased occurrences of diabetes, heart disease, stroke, alcoholism, suicide and other major killers have been well-documented in adults who experienced these adverse emotional situations as children. Early identification and intervention of these impacts will save lives, improve the physical and mental health of our residents and save countless dollars in the years ahead. The Real Medicine Foundation is currently developing a training module for teachers in Los Angeles to address this need. The purpose of this proposal is to increase early recognition of the impacts of adverse childhood events in order to prevent and minimize long-term negative health outcomes among children in Los Angeles. Real Medicine Foundation has piloted training in Memphis, Tennessee with positive results. Following hurricane Katrina we provided training on the psychological impact to teachers and guidance counselors in the Memphis Archdiocese school system. At that time Memphis had one of the country's largest populations of evacuated children from New Orleans and surrounding areas. Our program was received with great excitement and our follow-up surveys indicate that participants noticeably improved their knowledge base and their ability to help children who needed it. In keeping with the model the Real Medicine Foundation utilized in Memphis, the course and manual will be produced in collaboration with the Harvard Institute for Trauma & Crisis. Dr. Kevin Becker, director of the Institute will oversee the project. Dr. Becker has specialized in psychological trauma for nearly 20 years and has conducted projects following some of the world's worst tragedies including the 2004 tsunami, Sept. 11 attacks, Hurricane Katrina and the 2005 Pakistan earthquake. We intend to work with partners in the school system to develop and deliver a culturally appropriate and useful training program. |
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