How childhood trauma affects health across a lifetime

Two experts in the emerging field of Adverse Child Experiences – the episodes of childhood trauma and stress that can have debilitating lifelong effects – are coming to the Sonoma Valley to share their findings.

The knowledge comes at a critical time, according to Mary Kelly Persyn, Director of Hanna Institute, a leading provider of trauma-informed care training. “We know many of our kids face stress and trauma related to the October fires,” she said. “Others suffer with fear that their parents and other family members could be detained and deported without warning.”

The beginnings of an answer may be hiding in plain sight, Persyn believes. Locally, there are many of the building blocks for healing, including strong kinship and friendship ties, strong faith communities, and strong cultural affinity. “Those strengths, supported and leveraged by Sonoma Valley leaders, agencies, clergy, and others, hold the promise and power of healing.”

Hanna Institute will present Laura Porter, co-founder of ACE Interface, will facilitate a series of five community forums on February 26-27. The free events are organized in partnership with La Luz Center, Sonoma Valley High School, and other local organizations.

Armed with research on Adverse Child Experiences (ACE) showing the dramatic public health benefits of the Self-Healing Communities Model (SHCM), Porter will guide a broad coalition of community leaders, nonprofits and agencies in galvanizing resources to address toxic stressin Sonoma Valley.

Find details about the community forums are available here.

Communities using the model have documented reductions in the rates of seven major social problems and Adverse Childhood Experience scores among young adults.

“ACEs give community leaders the opportunity to find those really high-leverage solutions to problems that will have staying power over time,” she said. A groundbreaking effort in Washington state was one successful example; Over a 17-year period, the program created a “virtuous cycle. The young people who are aging into adulthood less ACEs and less difficulty from ACEs.”

The research reveals a profound impact on the next generation. “The process generates new cultural norms that mirror the values and aspirations that community members have for their children,” Porter said.

On Thursday, March 8, Hanna will host a breakfast with Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, author of “The Deepest Well: Healing the Long-Term Effects of Childhood Adversity.”

“The science around toxic stress is telling us that for many people it starts in childhood,” said Dr. Harris, founder and chief executive officer of the Center for Youth Wellness in San Francisco. Her research indicates that ACEs deeply impact the human body, not just mentally, but physically as well.

“In order to effectively prevent and treat serious health conditions like heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and asthma, we need to understand what is causing them.” Harris explains that the repeated stress of abuse, neglect and parents struggling with mental health or substance abuse issues has real, tangible effects on the development of the brain.

Watch her TED talk

Brian Farragher, CEO of Hanna Boys Center, said the expert’s visits “could not come at a better time for our community and our nation as we continue to deal with both private challenges and high profile events that will have lasting impacts on our children.”

Additional details about the breakfast here.