Slide 1: Carol West: Hello, this is Carol West from the Child Development Department at Humboldt State University, and this is module six of Early Ripples and this module is focused on community resilience.  This module is certified by ACEs Aware and it is, as I said, on community resilience.

Slide 2:  Carol West: And the learning objectives of this of this module are: That participants will upon completion, be able to define Community resilience; they'll be able to explain the relationship between community resilience and ACEs and toxic stress; They will be able to identify potential resources in Humboldt county;  they will be able to describe unique challenges for rural communities and identify ways to build community resilience.

Slide 3: Carol West: So before we go any further, we need to define resilience, as it applies to individuals.  And it's important to keep in mind that resilience is not just about being okay on the surface, nor just about bouncing back mentally, it's about having overall improved health after adversity: mentally behaviorally and physically. So resilience is the ability to withstand or recover from stressors, and results from a combination of intrinsic factors and extrinsic factors like safe stable and nurturing relationships with family members and others, as well as predisposing biological susceptibility.  Also of note, scientific advances in the understanding of the impact of stress on neuroendocrine, immune, and genetic regulatory health, we must advance our understanding of resilience as also having neuroendocrine, immune, and genetic regulatory domains.  Resilience is a big topic certainly, whether you are looking at it individually or from a community perspective.

Slide 4: Carol West:  So then, what is Community resilience?  Community resilience is a larger context for awareness intervention and prevention of adverse childhood experiences.  Ellis and Dietz define community resilience as the community's capacity to anticipate risk limit effects and recover rapidly through survival adaptability evolution and growth in the face of turbulent change and stress.  ACEs Aware identified some supportive community structures, resources, and environments which can facilitate access to an implementation of the seven evidence-based strategies for mitigating toxic stress.   These are: healthy relationships, high quality sufficient sleep, balanced nutrition, regular physical activity, mindfulness and meditation, access to nature, and behavioral and mental health care. Those of us who have worked with children and families in this community for any length of time are very aware of the impact that adverse childhood experiences have on children and families and the larger community. It is possible that, by taking a larger view and thinking of resilience on a community level, we can work together to promote screening for ACEs, provide appropriate intervention, prevent ACEs and contribute to the overall well-being of our community.

Slide 5: Carol West: So in addition to the previous definitions of community resilience, community resilience includes putting the conditions and resources in place so the Community can heal from past traumas and be protected against the impact of future of adversity.  The successful implementation of strategies for community healing build on existing community assets and are dependent on community engagement that connects young people and adults together in a supportive community.   Beehler at al kind of built on that by saying that building Community resilience does not assume lower resilience to start, but rather asks, in which ways is this community resilient right now, and what are the goals and priorities for enhancing resilience going forward?  And that is, certainly, the intention of this entire training is to build Community professional capacity around the response to adverse childhood experiences, including intervention screening intervention and prevention. 

Slide 6: Carol West:  This is a graphic from the Roadmap for Resilience, which is the California Surgeon General’s report on adverse childhood experiences, toxic stress, and health and it indicates the complex nature of community resilience and the part that we all have to play in in promoting community resilience.  

Slide 7: Carol West: One of the ideas highlighted in the California Surgeon General's report on ACEs, toxic stress, and health identifies community resilience as a response to the public health crisis that is posed by adverse childhood experiences.  Even as intervention, treatment, and public health initiatives are put in place, there have to also be efforts to increase individual and community resilience.  Anyone who is at all aware of families’ experience in Humboldt community knows that access to medical care can be a challenge. Substance misuse is a huge problem. Mental health struggles are common.  Children regularly experience domestic violence, food insecurity, and homelessness.  Our Community is struggling. We need to step up in some new ways and that's why we're here.

Slide 8: Carol West: So one larger purpose of ACEs Aware, is to build Community resilience by creating a network of care, which involves an intersection of disciplines. This multi disciplinary network of care can create an informed and responsive community to both heal the effects of adverse childhood experiences and prevent them.  For too long, professionals have served children and families in the community in parallel, or in silos, often unaware of what other professionals were doing and rarely collaborating with a common goal and view.  We have an opportunity with ACEs Aware to build on the work that has been started by organizations like First Five Humboldt and the Zero to Eight Mental Health Collaborative to work together to make this community healthier and stronger.

Slide 9: Carol West: The network of care is intended to establish a robust and effective system for responding to screenings and mitigating the toxic stress response in the community.  Mitigating toxic stress is a key aspect of community resilience and the promotion of the seven evidence based strategies to mitigate toxic stress, which were identified earlier: supportive relationships quality sleep, balanced nutrition, physical activity, mindfulness practices, access to nature, and mental health care.  Creating a network of care will take time, certainly, and it will also require consistent efforts to educate professionals across disciplines about adverse childhood experiences and toxic stress, as well as to promote screening for ACEs in healthcare settings, not to mention intervention and community wide prevention.

Slide 10: Carol West: Humboldt and Mendocino counties have the highest rates of adverse childhood experiences in the state.  There are a number of agencies in Humboldt county that have long been focused on supporting children and families, including those impacted by ACEs.  A current resource list accompanies the modules for this training and I would encourage you to familiarize yourself with those resources. I’m going to talk about a few of those now.  This community is very fortunate to have a number of agencies and programs that provide an array of services for children and families.  First Five, in addition to play groups, also provides support and professional development opportunities for childcare providers and early childhood educators.  The Nurse Family Partnership  is a public health program intended to support low income mothers who are pregnant with their first child, during the pregnancy and until the child is two years old, providing support and guidance around healthy pregnancy child development and parenting.

Slide 11: Carol West: First Five Humboldt, as I mentioned earlier, provides many programs to support families with young children, including playgroups around the county, which provide opportunities for children and caregivers to interact with other children and caregivers in a child friendly environment that includes support for all participants, including mental health consultants when children or families may need extra support or referrals.  Two Feathers Native American Family Services offers an expanding array of services for children, youth and families, including a domestic violence program, parent education, cultural education, mental health support, as well as a variety of programs that support wellness.   Paso a Paso is a program of St joseph's Hospital and Redwood Memorial Hospital that offers bilingual health education and support to the Latinx community. Childbirth education, breastfeeding support, parenting support, referrals to resources, and community wellness events are just a few examples of what they provide.

Slide 12: Carol West: The Zero to Eight Mental Health Collaborative is a multi disciplinary organization that has, over the years, provided numerous training opportunities to professionals from multiple disciplines around infant, family, and early childhood mental health in order to increase the capacity of this community around trauma responsive care and practice.  Changing Tides, a resource and referral agency, provides services to families and child care providers, parent education, and mental health services for young children, including play therapy, to name a few.  Changing Tides has been particularly active in supporting families and childcare providers during the pandemic.  In the interest of full disclosure, I have worked as an early childhood consultant for First Five Humboldt, providing support for early childhood teachers in addressing children experiencing the effects of adverse childhood experiences.  I'm also a member of the leadership team of the Zero to Eight Mental Health Collaborative and a member of their speaker's bureau.  These brief descriptions do not do justice to the full scope of services provided by all of these organizations.

Slide 13: Carol West: All of the aforementioned services promote aspects of community resilience. This includes promotion and support for physical well-being and mental health, for healthy relationships, mindfulness practices, physical activity, quality sleep, and balanced nutrition, as well as nature based experiences for children and families which are listed in the ACEs Aware network of care roadmap.  The services mentioned are just a few local resources that promote community resilience. Some of the programs and services offered by the organizations mentioned are grant funded, so it is important for professionals to routinely update their resource list, since programs and services may cease to exist. The website that houses this module includes a current resource list for Humboldt County.

Slide 14: Carol West:  There are some challenges that are faced by rural communities that sometimes aren't acknowledged.  In addition to the considerable resources that are already in place in this community, there are some formidable difficult difficulties in rural communities that are less problematic in more urban settings.  Access to resources that seem to be a given in other places: healthcare, consistent internet, reliable transportation, social isolation which has very likely increased over the past year or so due to COVID-19, widespread substance misuse and limited rehabilitation resources.  Clearly there are more issues in our community than these.  This just provided some examples of specific challenges encountered by local families and children who are impacted by ACEs and toxic stress.

Slide 15: Carol West: Humboldt county has resources in Eureka, McKinleyville, Arcata, and Fortuna that may be out of reach for families in the eastern or southern parts of the county.  For families who do not have regular access to a car, making the approximately two hour trip one way to Eureka can be impossible.  In home services when one lives an hour’s drive up a dirt road and an hour on the highway are also unlikely. Internet service in the eastern and southern parts of the county is, in many areas, inconsistent or nonexistent, further limiting access to healthcare and mental health care.  The pandemic has exacerbated some of the unique challenges residents of rural counties face.  While Humboldt county and some local agencies are actively working on some of these access issues, it remains essential that professionals are aware of families experiences and work with families to access resources that may seem out of reach.

Slide 16: Carol West: In considering the challenges faced by families, it is essential to keep in mind overarching societal issues that many communities face whether urban or rural.  Things like systemic racism, discrimination, violence and economic disparity are pervasive social issues that impact families and their children in both urban and rural communities and resulting experiences can produce toxic stress and contribute to ACEs.

Slide 17: Carol West: We all have a part to play in building community resilience and overcoming challenges. Self-efficacy, according to Bandura, refers to a person's belief in their own capacity to do what is needed in specific circumstances. Bandura expanded on his work regarding self-efficacy to look at collective efficacy, pointing out the connection between individuals who have a strong sense of their own ability to contribute to society and to create positive social change and their willingness to participate in group efforts towards social change. Community resilience builds from relationships and collaboration in the community.  Interdisciplinary communication networking and collaborative efforts build community resilience by increasing awareness of both needs and resources in the community as well as strengthening community capacity for identifying, addressing, healing and, ultimately, preventing adverse childhood experiences.

Slide 18: Carol West: Building a network of care, reducing and preventing aces will not happen overnight.  However, it will happen over time.  If we can work together to weave a supportive fabric of committed professionals who are prepared to respond to trauma-impacted children and families and who are willing to join forces to prevent ACEs and to promote the well-being of children and families in our community.  “At the community level, awareness of ACEs’ impact on young children and the link to later outcomes for individuals and the community is necessary for both the public and private sectors.  The reduction of ACEs benefits everyone.”

Slide 19: Carol West: So as a summary some key ideas to take away.  Multi-disciplinary supportive networks that exist within the Community can act as a safety net for children and families affected by adverse childhood experiences or toxic stress. They can limit the effects of ACEs or help to prevent them. Humboldt county has many resources available to children and families. However, challenges exist within rural communities like Humboldt county that can have an impact on access to resources and community resilience. Though building Community resilience takes time, the contribution of everybody within the community, including professionals can prevent and limit the effects of ACEs. Thanks for your participation in this module.

English (United States)