Our January 2024 CTIPP CAN call focused on a vision for trauma-informed transformation across sectors and systems. Our vision helps to ensure we are working across the lifespan and supporting advocacy efforts to promote policies and practices that make a meaningful difference across the various dimensions of our society that work to support individuals, families, and communities.
ROUGH TRANSCRIPT:
00:00:04Welcome to our first CTIPP CAN home connection point of the year is so fabulous to be back in community with you all. And we're excited to reconnect around a we'll say revitalize vision. Um, for the direction for the important work of this growing and evolving movement. And what that means is that, well, that first bullet point is not accurate, because we actually are just welcoming you here today. And February is going to be brimming with updates and legislative stuff for us all to coalesce around. But today we're just going to be diving right in, um, to share a super zoomed out, high level overview of each dimension of the vision that I just mentioned. Um, simply due to time sake. Certainly we're just going to sort of do a high level overview of each dimension, though you'll have time to dig in further and explore and reflect and connect um in breakout groups, as well as have um part as well participate in a broader group discussion around how you're connecting with what's being presented here, which is really what it's all about, right? How we make meaning of these dimensions, and how you're thinking about your own role in this movement and what kind of advocacy you're feeling called to as we enter a new year together. Um, and we'll pause during that transition, um, before we move to community time, um, after, you know, just sort of presenting information, you're going to have the option to stay and engage in that reflection if you'd like to. It's all completely your choice. Um, we're going to do an optional resilience practice in the in-between time. Um, and then we're just going to share, you know, any sort of stuff that happens in your breakout rooms, anything you're called to bring to the larger group as well? Um, so that's quite a jam packed session for today. Although I do think that probably I know a lot of you sometimes are not able to participate in the connection time because we usually take a full first hour, some time to have, um, presentation of information. And then it's on the half hour that you might have to leave. So I actually think we'll probably be done with the content piece a little earlier than usual. So my best hope, fingers crossed if I stop blabbing here, is that those folks who don't usually have the opportunity to stay till that, um, on the hour to the half hour time because they have to move to something else, might actually have time to be in community for a little bit. And so with that, um, I am going to just go ahead and get started by then for folks who are joining. Um, welcome. We're just going to be diving into our revitalized vision for a comprehensive process of cross-sector, trauma informed transformation vision. Um, and we're going to take a couple of moments upfront to really anchor the more general what and why of this update. Um, for those of you who've been on our website before, we had sort of an earlier iteration of this based on the landscape. I want to say, oh, Jesse, is this right? Maybe like 2019, 2018, it was pretty.
00:03:25Yeah. So yeah. So it's been through multiple iterations winning. But I remember most in 2020 when the lockdown from the pandemic had started, us working on the most recent like 16 dimension iteration of this vision. But yeah, it's been in process for a while.
00:03:43Yeah. Wild. And you know, I remember so I created this based on um, the vision, the way that it ended up being sort of presented in those dimensions. I created this based on, um, the ongoing legislation tracking that I have done for several years. And that's really what informed sort of the comprehensiveness, really taking a look at what was really happening at the time, what was really needed at the time. And man, thank you for giving me the timeline, Jesse, because I absolutely could not remember the last few years have sort of mishmash together. And so it's really striking as I'm taking this moment to pause and reflect on just how much has evolved. Um, and just what we're paying attention to now is so different. And the way that people are coming up, this movement is so different, and that's really exciting to see. Um, and so, yeah, just as sort of like an anchor, um, this work in terms of the way the vision has been framed, stemmed from the work tracking trauma informed policy and the general sociopolitical landscape, as well as our organization's work through this work. And at that time, the National Trauma Campaign's work on being in touch with advocate and activists and partners in change, um, like all of y'all on this call, and we've really worked to stay attuned to these emerging and evolving needs that we're speaking to as we reflect. On where this really began. Um, and we've also really noticed that it rapidly expanding action in this movement. Um, and we've been really trying to draw learning from what's happening at the grassroots in communities. We really try to open up that dialog. And we've learned so much through doing that that this really called us to, like, do a significant update, right, to really integrate the here and now and think about what this means for advocates, activists and partners in change. And that's an important detail that I think I'll probably speak to again, is that the wisdom we collectively continue to accumulate and integrate as we learn more about what work to promote healing and recovery and resilience and prevention make this really an ongoing journey. So this is never in a final form, so to speak, right? This is always evolving, much like we as individuals are always continuing to learn and integrate and continue to grow. This is a lifelong commitment and the anchor for all of our work really remains the six principles of a trauma informed framework, which we think of sort of as the how of operationalizing what, moving toward a more trauma informed world really looks like. And some of the elements of this are that, um, I would say that they're really important to us, um, to uplift is that by anchoring this vision in what I just mentioned, we've worked to really ensure that we're inviting advocacy around topics that are purely anchored again in the trauma informed, near based and allied framework and therefore is nonpartisan. So you see that universality and this nonpartisan chip that's been remained really important to us, right. To be able to really think about the framing and the shared values across Partizan divide and really bringing people to coalesce around a common set of values and priorities and, and the sort of shared commitment that I would say, most of us in this world right now, right, are, are noticing areas that are our best hopes for how the world would look is not in alignment with the reality. And that's something that's probably pretty universal. And so we really want to emphasize that non partizanship and the universality of this framework. And we also want to emphasize that this is all interconnected and intersectional. Right. And each component is equally important. And each of these make up a larger puzzle. Each is a piece of that puzzle its cross system cross-sector action. And yet we recognize certainly the challenge of engaging in every aspect of this work. Right? Not only is advocate burnout very real and legitimate and valid, it also stands to reason that each of us, as individuals, has a limited time and energy to dedicate to this work, and not all of us here are paid to participate in policy change. Right? Um, the reality is that because of that, each of us will likely pick a few particular issues that we care deeply about and really dedicate our resources and capacities there. And it also would be pretty overwhelming to just have a huge bullet list of policy positions without any rhyme or reason or organization. Um, and so we've created something called dimensions, and I would call for that term um, rather than, you know, the sectors and the systems because we're trying to get away from that, while also understanding the way that people will be operating within this vision in terms of advocacy efforts. And, you know, it's really intended, intended to present information in a more accessible way and to deepen the understanding of some of the connections of these proposals to trauma informed approaches. When we highlight, um, the general intention or themes of these dimensions, I do think that becomes clearer where these all sort of fit together. And we're going to speak a little bit to that today. So it doesn't feel like we're encouraging silos. Right. That's in fact something we're looking to fly flying silos and so CTIPP’s vision really advocate, advocate advocate for this holistic and coordinated effort at both local and broader level. And so there's sort of this micro mezzo macro perspective that you'll notice. And it anchors itself in what I would say is a both and philosophy over this either or mindset when it comes to thinking about priorities and what to address. And that's a little bit of what that image there is intended to convey in sort of an abstract way that interconnected circles, um, are symbolizing these different dimensions that are functioning together to create this cohesive whole of transformative change. And then the last bullet here that again, we really want to keep emphasizing is that this vision is evolving just like all of us. And this is our, again, our second, I would say formal iteration in terms of, um, what this really has in terms of presenting something really concrete, um, in putting this together. And our best hope is really to support anyone with an interest in finding an advocacy avenue aligned with the trauma informed approach that they can focus on engaging with. And so each dimension is premised on this idea of collective action and coming together, and how absolutely and utterly and unequivocally necessary each and every one of us is in this work. And it's our belief that together we can. And here's where we're going to get into the dimension. First, build a just and equitable legal system for all. And our focus on this dimension is grounded in the recognition that trauma is more common than not for all adults. We know that, right? Yet within this specific dimension, it's nearly universal as an experience among anybody who enters the legal system. And of course, the experience of being involved with this system itself. Um, regardless of what brought someone to this system, um, in interfacing with the related institutions of this system can itself be traumatizing and indeed retraumatizing. And that includes encounters with law enforcement and court proceedings, incarceration, um, reintegration processes into the community, all of that. And so thinking about the trauma informed principle of safety, it's clear that the current operation of the legal system and everything that sort of connects in this dimension often does contradict the foundational purposes of ensuring safety and justice for all. And that's back. Right? So pathways for change explored here are those that are connected to honoring the full humanity of people who interface with this dimension and system more fully, and also to reducing incarceration rates and enhancing public trust and feelings of safety and, um, breaking intergenerational cycle of inequity and disproportionality and pain and hurt, um, improving holistic health outcomes, because we know that health outcomes are inextricable from these experiences when people interface with the legal system and also providing fairer and more restorative access to justice for all. And so when we're talking about this dimension, that's really what you'll notice when you move through what you'll see, um, and might have even been dropped into the chat, I don't know, because I can't multitask that way. Um, but when you see there's a PDF of the vision, um, and it's also on our website and on those, um, each dimension, you'll notice that there's again, sort of like this high level overview of the what and the why and the reasons that this is something we're called to uplift as an area for transformation, and then also a list of policy proposals that are rooted in those sort of 6 or 7 bullets that I talked about on the first slide. And so that's the consistent format that you'll notice in the actual vision when you go through it. And you'll have time to explore that later. But for now, we're just doing this sort of high level overview to get you acclimated to the way that pieces fit together, meaning that the next dimension is that together we can advance climate and environmental justice. And in this dimension, we seek to address the link between environmental issues and climate issues and traumatic stress. We know that climate and environmental trauma do include diverse experiences across a lot of different spectrum, like natural disaster. There's food and water scarcity, there's pollution and displacement and ecological disruptions and, um, extreme weather events that we've been seeing. I say this as I'm in Virginia, pretty, pretty buried in snow after the the city has shut down, or the whole state of this area has really shut down, um, and some freak symptoms that we're having. And I know that that brush across the whole country. Um, and so just, you know, noticing that things are shifting in a way that calls us to really pay attention to, um, our human reactions to that stress challenge and change to what we might have, um, become used to. And so we're seeing in that regard increased vulnerability to, uh, environmental and climate events, and therefore also noticing that that is instilling ongoing fear and grief and feelings of powerlessness in communities, often marginalized communities, which are disproportionately impacted. Right. It's really important to note that our systems and our institutions do make certain groups more vulnerable than others who bear the brunt of these burdens, which can compound, can and does, um, compound with other vulnerabilities that we know that these groups are disproportionately represented. In experiencing that things like economic hardship, social inequality, inadequate community infrastructure, experiences of the reduction of their humanity, just so many different compounding factors that can really exacerbate not just exposure to, but also the impacts of climate and environmental. Um, but I guess the landscape of this dimension and in this context, advocate for, um, the unlocking of the inherent resilience that each individual and community has. We all have resilience. Um, and we want to conceptualize that as a right, not a privilege in terms of communities accessing and mobilizing that resilience. And it really when you take a step back and notice some of these policy proposals, the need for trauma informed and equitable and just approaches in this dimension to address climate and environmental challenges is so crystal clear. Um, and this is one of those things, right, where there are factors that to some extent are outside of our control. And we know that, uh, trauma also inherently often involves a lot of control. But just thinking about these trauma themes and the way that they layer and demand attention, and, you know, the policies here that we propose really do seek to bring us all together in action to build as sustainable of a future, um, through an equity lens as we can, where resilience and well-being are accessible to everybody so that fewer folks are left behind. As the state of our world continues to shift in what a really uncertain and often unsettling ways. Together, we can partner in action toward recovery and resilience. And what this convention is really about, you'll notice if you were familiar with the old dimension, I shifted some of the titles around again to sort of encompass what we're noticing in these broader themes and in the action that we've seen. And so we're thinking here, I think that might have been something about collaboration before. And so when we're thinking about this again, anchored in those six principles of a trauma informed approach, this is collaboration and mutuality across all sectors and systems to overcome complex challenges that often are intersectional and interconnected. And that's a really necessary aspect of operationalizing a broad and sweeping transformation plan, like the vision hole. And that shift was important because really thinking about partnership and how they enable the merging of diverse perspectives and expertise and how that helps us pool resources and tap into a diverse array of unique wisdom and gifts that folks come to the table with. That partner sort of actionable word feels really important when we're thinking about engaging in coordinated, inclusive action that really, truly represents, um, the and the views of a community or a system or a group that is seeking change. And the more brains in this work, I will always say the better, right? The more brains the better, because the best hope is to really deepen our understanding of these intricate issues and create more effective and accessible and equitable and indeed sustainable. We're always thinking about sustainability, um, because it can also be promising. When change begins to occur, we begin to see these cycles start to emerge, and then funding is pulled or priorities of the state shift. Um, that can be really harmful in and of itself. And so this is about creating sustainability and building capacity, um, among our interconnected systems to create the context and condition for empowerment and resiliency to emerge and be sustained, to meet the moment, uh, whatever the heck that continues to look like over time across various communities. Right? Because that's not something we can predict. And so this is equipping, not reacting and fixing. Um, and the change proposals here seek to really extend the reach of trauma informed transformation and to amplify the positive impact of implementation. And it's through our belief, at least, is that it's through united and collective anchor efforts that are anchored in our shared interest in creating a healthier world. Speaking again to that sort of nonpartisan shift. Right. We all have an interest in creating a beautiful planet for us to live on, that we can co-create a future together where healing and thriving and flourishing are possible for everybody. And we cannot do that without collaboration and partnership and true partnership. Right. Shared power, the leveling of power differential. We know that that's a piece of being trauma informed as well. Together we can champion veterans, service members and their families. And this dimension acknowledges that the sacrifices, the sacrifices that are made both on and off the battlefield, and what we're doing here is we really seek to close the gaps in the current systems and institutions that do fall short, and sometimes can even exacerbate the challenges faced by veterans and service members and their families. And to that point, the policy proposals that you'll notice in this section, if you take a deeper look, really seek to overcome obstacles like inadequate funding, um, fragmented care systems that can be really challenging to navigate or that hinder full recovery, and also to support holistic well-being for, uh, and, and healing practices, um, that are trauma specific and trauma responsive, um, for the visible and invisible wounds that are carried by these folks. Um, and that also means supporting their care for ones and navigating challenges associated with things like the cycles of deployments and grief and loss and other factors that can contribute to trauma, symptomology and responses emerging for anybody who interfaces with people who associate with this dimension. Together, we can fortify resilient aging and end of life experiences. And this dimension is about seeking to confront the reality that our society is under a underprepared, woefully, to really meet the needs of an increasing aging population. And we're proposing policy changes that support more folks in achieving dignified and resilient experiences among older adults. I think it's important to mention that we also recognize that the growing demands of an aging population and the need for stronger caregiver support are all contributing to really amplifying the urgency of being thoughtful about, um, re-envisioning how our society addresses and promote discussion around death and dying in general. Um, and it's our best hope. But the exploration of change, ideas that are posed in this dimension help people give consideration to just the inherent complexity, the joy, the sorrow, the everything in between that's associated with aging and bereavement and end of life stages. And that includes big changes and challenges, right? Grief, loss, um, identity theft, um, physical and mental health changes, um, increased dependance, potentially vulnerability to neglect and abuse and re traumatization, uh, real issues like loneliness and isolation that especially after the pandemic, we just as a human are starting to really understand on a different level. Remember, we're hardwired for connection and. Especially for older adults who have trauma histories, right? We know that when there is relational trauma, especially, healing must happen in the context of healthy relationship. And so that loneliness and isolation can really be a challenge. Um, that compounds with sort of our negligence of addressing this part of our society, our fear of death and dying and sort of the social norms that are and taboos that are constructed around this area. And so radical honesty is almost always a part of these dimensions, right? Not toxic positivity and pretending that some of these things don't exist because they're hard to talk about. Um, and only talking about the stuff that we know is possible, but also just acknowledging the here and now. Um, it's really important, uh, to, to, to ensure that we are being honest about those experiences rather than invalidating or discounting or making people feel like they're wrong for experiencing them because we're not talking about it. Right. The kind of that idea, like violence is tantamount to violence in a lot of ways. And so the life course perspective in general is also an important anchor for CTIPP. This is really about ensuring that we integrate considerations for this group that are often left out of the discussion. Because the fact of the matter is this is something each of us will face, right? And if we're lucky and, you know, facing significant stressors and challenges and changes during these life stages is important to us. And we also seek to highlight in this dimension that there are ways to support post-traumatic growth in our older years. So there's also that piece of really not just addressing the challenge, but making sure that the society that we live in is equipped with meaning, making opportunities and other activities that older adults can be, um, to support their well-being and to engage in behaviors that will help them self-actualize and move toward a dignified and resilient death. Um, that feels more peaceful and balanced. And we know that those are not being tapped into. And so we we really want to emphasize this because we know that a lot of times the conversation does not always, um, include these challenges. And so it's just really important to uplift that these are real parts of the puzzle that we need to be paying attention to in our multi-generational preventive approaches. Together we can drive collective wellbeing with a public health approach. And so what's proposed in this dimension is really about recognizing how crucial the way our systems and institutions engage in trauma prevention. Um, and, uh, coming together to engage in proactive resilience building efforts in shaping personal and collective wellbeing and just the overall health of our society. And so investing in our long term individual and collective well-being through a public health lens is deeply important and involves leveraging positive protective factors to enhance those intergenerational, um, holistic health factors that we know can help with recovery and promote collective and individual flourishing. And we do explore that pretty deeply in the change proposals in this dimension. So what else do I want to say? I think we also would want to mention that we really strive to present these changes through a framework that also incorporates the social, environmental, and political determinants of health and mental health based on the literature. And again, this is something we're continuously learning about. Right. And so expanding this to really make sure we're paying attention to the conditions and context of the here and now and understanding what it will take, not just to address and react, but also to prevent and eliminate the opportunity for trauma. And re traumatization to happen. And you'll see a pretty broad away array rather of proposal in this dimension that try to encompass that. Together we can expand the trauma informed, healing centered workforce. And I would say we lift up some workforce considerations like training topics and in almost all other dimensions as well. So you'll see, I guess this is a good opportunity to mention, because workforce is such an inextricable concept from any dimension, um, that sometimes there are repetitive things, right, that are in multiple dimensions in some sort of way. Um, and that really because the interconnectedness of the many dimensions that we've been talking about, um, the language that we want to present across more than one dimension, um, expands beyond, uh, just sort of those silos. Right. And so we really want to emphasize that. But what makes this dimension, um, important in and of itself, beyond sort of those commonalities, you see, is that this is a much more comprehensive exploration of workforce considerations, including implementing what we know to will reduce the presence of factors that can contribute to negative impacts of the work, like compassion fatigue and vicarious trauma and moral injury and burnout. And if you know me, that's an area that's very near and dear to my heart. And there's also something that I felt really called to make sure that we brought attention to in this dimension, in terms of also integrating what we know can help unlock more positive impact of the work, right? Things like compassion, satisfaction, things like vicarious resilience. Um, moral courage. At a time when we've really seen the impact of moral injury and moral distress, thinking back, especially to the peak pandemic and frontline workers and medical professionals, but perceived and actual scarcity of resources, having to make decisions that contravene are deeply held values. And so making sure we're paying attention not just to mitigating those constructs, but actively promoting things like vicarious post-traumatic growth. We know the factors of this. We know what help. And so really being intentional about the whole scope of possibility within this dimension and this cascade, right. Again, uh, because providing meaningful structural support in our systems and organizations and institutions really means that we have a much better chance to create a sustainable workforce that's equipped to navigate the challenges of trauma informed practice while also simultaneously protecting their own wellness, not as just individuals who have been told to do one more thing, but who are systematically and meaningfully supported, and for whom there have been wellness practices institutionalized to make them more accessible. And the ripple effect of taking action to support the workforce certainly extends beyond individuals, right? This fosters lasting, positive changes within our communities and our systems and our institutions. When we care for the workforce and so, again, I think the most important part of this to me is really not getting too caught up in the oh, it increases productivity. Oh, it means that people take fewer sick days and therefore you're reduced. Your health care costs are reduced. Yes. And also this is really, really about treating humans as human right rather than cogs in a machine. And so just ways to honor that and to support some of the other aspect that I just spoke to through policy change, our explore, and hopefully pretty holistically, you find in this dimension. Together, we can grow the evidence base for trauma informed, trauma responsive and trauma specific practices. And this is important because we know that while experiences of trauma are a long standing human experience, um, you know, the field of study confirming concerning trauma is, in the grand scheme of things, relatively young. Right? And so we're continually expanding our understanding to further inform policy and social change efforts. And that's a great thing, because the more we know, the more comprehensive our solutions will be. And also remember that, uh, research practices tend to be pretty colonized. Right. Who are we studying and why are we studying that? Are we listening to voices, have lived experiences. Whose agenda for change are we looking at? Is it academia or the community? You know, are we utilizing, uh, methods like empowerment evaluation and participatory research practices, or are we sort of continuing that colonized perspective and not getting, um, the information we need to understand how to adapt for cultural context when we're thinking about implementing trauma informed, trauma responsive and trauma specific, um, intervention. And so one of the important things about that dimension in addition to that is that, again, it's not just about academic research, right? It's about more robustly integrating the different ways of knowing and being and doing and thinking and relating into our policies and practices and not, um, privileging one type of knowledge above the other and not thinking that, oh, because this is from quote unquote experts in the field, that this is more legitimate than what people are sharing. They really need and want it to be happen in their communities. So there's a decolonizing lens to this, um, grounded in really making sure we're tapping into the wisdom and expertise embedded in lived experience of trauma and adversity to shape future iterations of trauma informed policy change moving forward. And certainly those of us who do work in advocacy and and go and speak and, and and try to create this systems change with our representatives know that it's important to have the right kind of evidence to be convincing. It's about engaging both the head and the heart, and it's a really delicate balance. And so really wanting to increase the ways that we are tapping into all that we know to be able to continue to, um, expand into our vision of a preferred future that we are continuing to present. Together we can build community capacity and resilience. And so this dimension is about fostering a vibrant and engaged and connected community life everywhere, which is only truly possible when we recognize the interplay between individual wellbeing, um, community level health, and then also sort of these macro concepts of social justice. And we explore expanding access to community based support that reflect the needs and preferences and values of priorities. Speaking to what I mentioned in terms of research. Um, of the communities in which they're established. And we really strive to anchor in the trauma informed principle here a voice, choice and empowerment by ensuring that proposals leave space for, um, flexibly accommodating unique community contexts and constellations of needs. Right. There might be some sort of things that a legislator might be able to sort of copy and paste from one to the other. Um, but the fact of the matter is, community context matters, and there needs to be some sort of flexibility built in so that community voice can inform the direction of the work. Um, even if some of the parameters might need to be the same for administrative reasons or for, you know, some sort of regulatory aspect or a funding piece. Um, and so this dimension is one, if you've been connected to that for a while, that you'll know is an really important priority for our work, and it's becoming even more so. We're finding new ways to realize this, um, and to mobilize folks around this. And, you know, we've done a pretty deep dive into the research on what helps communities build capacity to self-heal and flourish in a different toolkit that we've created. And so I'm just feeling called to uplift that. Now, if this is something that's interesting to you when you look at the policy proposal, um, some of the on the ground implementation thoughts and guidelines are found in that guide. Uh, that, that toolkit, um, in terms of the exploration of this dimension in our comprehensive vision, um, what we include support the paradigm shift to trauma informed approaches to promote shared understanding and mutual meaning making and cultivating a culture of collective care. And these are things that we've found are all essential for thriving communities, um, where we can live and work and play and grow and connect in healthy ways. Together, we can increase positive experiences in early years. And so this dimension emphasizes what we know and continue to learn about how absolutely, utterly critical the earliest days, weeks, months and even years of our lives are for cultivating lifelong well-being. And, you know, we know that beginning early in our lives, we begin to form these neural pathways and social emotional skills, and that how that that happens or doesn't happen can significantly influence our trajectories. We also know how important positive and protective and compensatory experiences are in these formative years, when terms of promoting healthy development and resiliency and unlocking our inherent resiliency. And we try to look pretty comprehensively in this dimension at the micro and meso and macro level in terms of shifts in the policy landscape that could provide a more compassionate and connected and secure base for exploration and growth and well-being among our world, babies and children and younger people. And that really means integrating a multigenerational approach. I know I mentioned that before. Um, and also employing the ecological lens or the bio psychosocial spiritual lens, bronze and bread or whatever you want to call it. Uh, that's a really important piece of, um, looking at this dimension, really thinking not just about the individual, but the systemic and, and institutional context in which that person is nested. And so that's really important. You'll find, I think that might be, um, I think that might be the longest one. And that makes sense. Right. Because that's one of the places where we do have, uh, a pretty robust research base. Um, and a lot of information on what we know works and helps and what hurts. Together we can heal wounds to achieve collective intergenerational wellbeing. This dimension is about acknowledging the critical moment that we're facing and addressing the legacies of racial and historical and cultural and intergenerational trauma. Um, sometimes you'll hear a soul wounds. Um, the soul wound that these traumas have left, um, include a legacy of pain and really, really understandable, this trust and disconnection from our systems. Um, in a lot and often from ourselves and the broader world, in our communities and people who could have been near and dear to us at one point in our lives. Right. That makes sense when we look at this through a trauma informed lens. And so by embracing the principles of a trauma informed approach and by heeding the voices, um, of people who have been affected by these legacies and by valuing cultural recovery and ancestral wisdom and strength in culture, and by nurturing our resilient lineages and people and groups and communities that have been impacted by these forms of collective trauma, so that all can journey more readily toward recovery. And joy and peace and flourishing is something that we absolutely must pay attention to. And so it's interesting because this is one that, of course, it's integrated into every dimension as well to what I was speaking to earlier. And yet, because of the absolutely critical and real critical nature of this work and really creating genuine transformation and also, um, really heavily informing this by A, B, D, e, j framework, meaning we've intentionally seeks to integrate principles of accessibility and belonging and diversity and equity, inclusion and justice. Um, and it's changed proposal. Uh, it's something that became really important for us to sort of pull out and not just include as sort of an ancillary part of each dimension, but in and of itself as a priority. Um, and we're hoping to model the model of really paying attention to that, um, gender, cultural and historical issues of value, a principle of a trauma informed approach. Together, we can foster accountable trauma responsive local, state and federal governments. And this dimension. I'm getting emotional thinking about it because this is one that Dan Press really stressed. I remember sort of drafting the first version of this vision and bringing it to our working group. And Dan noticed immediately that sort of the government itself as a structure was something that my brain hadn't thought of, including in that draft. And so this has become really important for us to uplift. And, you know, the idea is that we're continuing to expand on, um, related to this, have informed, I would say, like 90% of our early work, right, like the mission of CSF, as well as sort of the entire purpose of our previous, previous initiative, the National Trauma Campaign, when we really think about what we were looking at. And so in the face of an increasing lack of confidence and, uh, a felt sense of a lack of accountability in the government, this dimension becomes even more and more important. And it's really about promoting a transformational shift in our public institutions through the integration of those trauma informed principles in all decision making processes and procedures. And how did they all of us on this call, again, have come together based on a knowing, a deep knowing in our bone that our governments at all level have the power to either perpetuate trauma through their policies, or break cycles and foster healing and resiliency. And we are collectively choosing to encourage the latter, right, rather than sitting complacently while, um, the the former perpetuating trauma happen. And you'll see more in the policy proposals. But trauma responsive governance really at its core demands new framework that prioritize psychological safety, community collaboration and restoring dignity to the disempowered. Um, and we also explore how a commitment to a trauma informed approach can be reflected in governmental bodies themselves through resource allocation, um, through, you know, codifying that funding to initiative, for instance, is contingent upon the program or setting, upholding trauma informed principles and enhancing resilience, embedding, um, trauma informed tenants in public service, we believe, is vital for creating and maintaining responsive practices at all levels. This is a really important component of making sure these are considered in every sort of facet of this work, um, and network of advocates and activists and partners in change play a crucial role in urging governments and our representatives to align with the necessary intent and action and accountability measures that are going to support more policies that do further address concerns, um, in other dimensions. So this is another one where it's really important to pull out. And also, this is something that when governments are held to account on considering trauma informed principles and all of the work they do themselves, there will naturally be more alignment with other dimensions as well, because it's something that's conscious and intentional, um, in the enactment and creation of policy. Together we can cultivate wellbeing and resilience in schools. And so this dimension acknowledges that school settings and systems have immense potential as allies in nurturing young learners well-being and resilience in lasting ways. So the change here really shines a spotlight on the mental and emotional health needs of students and of staff and administrators. And we believe that schools have the potential to become sanctuaries of healing and learning and connectedness and growth, and to provide students with opportunities to thrive and to practice engaged citizenship, um, to prepare them to emerge into engage citizen adult, to be and feel themselves contributing positively, to hone a vast array of life skills and to realize their full potential. And we see in a lot of ways that that's not necessarily being tapped into as fully, even though we've also seen a lot of progress to celebrate. So this dimension had quite a lot of updating to do in terms of what we've learned even in the last few years, because, again, this endemic, um, really brought to the surface some of what is really neat, some some new knowledge about what's really needed to create healing, um, and really trauma responsive environments for our younger people who spend a significant portion of their lives in this setting. Together we can strengthen the foundation for whole person, whole community health. And this dimension recognizes that holistic health and well-being, uh, has dynamic and multifaceted elements that go far beyond what I would say, quote unquote, just the absence of illness. And that was really important to think that sort of holistic lens, because we know that human health and well-being rely on the interconnected factors like physical resilience and emotional stability and intellectual engagement, um, things like social connection and spiritual fulfillment. And we know that these domains of well-being are shaped by our environment and our occupational demand, um, the societal norms of where we're connected and what we interact with, the financial realities that we and our communities are grappling with and other, uh, different factors that do connect to the policy landscape that are explored here. So this dimension proposals, uh, consider the full ecosystem of care that can really maximize health, um, for all across the many domains of holistic well-being. I think before it was something about behavioral and physical health. And so we really worked to sort of zoom out and expand what well-being really looks like and mean. Together, we can harness neuroscience for developmental resilience. And this is about all we know in relation to the fields of neuroscience, epigenetics, aces and paces, and resilient science. And we seek to emphasize the dynamic relationship between biological, environmental and social factors in shaping individual and collective experiences over a lifetime and to really encourage these frames to be considered in policy change. The goal here in this dimension, is to create environments and system that not only identify and respond to trauma impact, but also actively foster recovery and resilience pathways in an intergenerational context. And so this is another one that's really zoomed out and, and, and calls us to uplift it individually. And yet also is deeply interconnected. And indeed in a a vital part of each dimension in and of itself. And finally, together we can nurture healthy, connected, resilient and thriving families. And up front, we want to mention that we at Cfpb do recognize and honor the diverse nature of families. So we strive to really be inclusive in our conceptualization of family when it comes to proposals in this dimension. And we it's our best hope that you see that reflected in what's included here. Um, I maybe I should clarify that I so to by that I mean we extend our understanding of family beyond traditional nuclear models, right, to really encompass, um, any group of humans that is bonded by deep connections and shared history and a commitment to each other's future so that can span blood relatives, extended families, chosen families, people who you would say are in kinship with or who are in, um, community and tribal networks and any other possible connections, uh, that that one would define as family. And so a trauma informed, healing centered, resilience building, community led I think I got all of them. Approach focuses on creating care systems that recognize the varied dynamics within families. Um, at that point that I just made, right, that there were so many different ways that family can look. And we need to honor that, um, and understanding that each member's experiences do influence the overall well-being and functioning of the family itself and all of the individual members within it, and often the community and systems and, and, uh, institutions with which they interface. And in practical terms, this really means advocating for policies that equip families with essential resources and supports, um, things like quality health care and mental health services and educational opportunities. Economic stability. Um, this means applying trauma informed principles to ensure safety and well-being and permanency. When we think about, um, uh, child and family strengthening and supporting systems and their purpose, um, but we do this instead of through punitive and harsh practices, through creating resilient building environments that enable families to grow and flourish together, and by equipping folks with the knowledge they need to expand into their vision of what a healthy, functioning family looks like. And in this dimension, we also seek to emphasize the importance of holding child and family strengthening systems accountable. Um, really trying to demonstrate a commitment to a world where every family, regardless of its structure, can experience well-being and connectedness and resilience without oppressive paradigms of our current institutions, um, being forced, uh, on, on people and family systems. And this is all in service, by the way, of prevention and building multi-generational and intergenerational resilience and well-being. And so that's our vision. Um, and I'm sure Laura, Jesse and Karen, someone has posted the link in the chat. Um, they're always on it. And in addition to the vision page on our website with clickable buttons to toggle between dimensions, um, if you didn't see it yet, there's also a blog post with a PDF that includes, um, again, like a little blurb about each dimension that basically covers the context, the what and the why for each dimension. Um, and then with potential avenues for advocacy based on all we've shared today. And that's sort of like how, um, and you'll have an opportunity to look more deeply and discuss this if you'd like. Um, but before we transition to that, I wanted to uplift that our registration system for these calls that you're on right now has been updated, and Laura has created a landing page, um, website for you to register. So that's there on the slide for you. Um, if you're in our email list, you'll also usually get a dental reminder to register if you haven't already. Um, and finally, we invite your feedback on our work and also on not just on this call. I should also mention on our vision. Right? So this again is only possible because of the wisdom we're tapping into in communities and people telling us this is what we see and this is what we need, and here's the gap and here's how we think it should be filled. And so we invite your feedback. We invite you to scan through, let us know what you want to see there. If there's something that we already touched on, but it doesn't quite encompass what you think is necessary, let us know. Let's work together. Let's co-create. Let's shape this movement together. Um, and so that for the vision, this one for the creative can call feedback form. So for this meeting and future meetings, this is one where we invite you to let us know how you're making meaning of these, uh, sessions, what you want, more of what you want less of, etc.. Um, and it's an ongoing process as well. We're always trying to tap into what you really need and what you really want, and trying to our best do our best to accommodate that. And so if you're. Looking around. You're invited to join me in a brief resilience practice to transition into the next phase of our meeting, which will be independent reflection and community time, as I mentioned before. But before I dive into that, I'm just going to invite Jesse, Angela and Laura, anybody. Does anyone have anything that you want to add? Um, to what I just sort of put out there.
00:51:47I don't want to take away from the time for folks to connect, because I know that that's so important to them. Um, just so proud to be a part of this team with you, and to watch the continued generation around this vision and the ongoing growth that I know will take place in the future.
00:52:07What a beautiful comment. I thought I thought thumbs up from Andron. Okay, well thank you. And I mean, man, the construction that has happened in this movement and sorry, I don't want to take up too much time either. But like, this is such a incredible group of people, like the humans that have coalesced around this cause constantly. Just I am in all, um, and thank you to everybody because this is not, um, this is not any individual person. This is all of us coming together and then synthesizing it and and evolving together. And that's a really special process. Um, and we hope that, you know, as you continue to move through the if you've given us feedback that you'll notice that we've done our best to include that here. Okay. So if you're sticking around, um, you're invited to join me in this very brief, resilient practice to transition into the next phase of our meeting. Um, so certainly if you want to use this, like maybe 2 or 3 minute break to scratch or grab a glass of water, use the restroom or whatever else you need to do before diving into the activity. That is A-okay as well. This one is brought to y'all by friend of Pip, uh, Roxanne Pendleton. Jesse and I did a podcast episode with the the group that she was a part of. My goodness. I think about a year ago while. Um. And she called this lengthen and smile. And so for some neuroscience based context, there are no direct connection from the limbic center system deep in our middle brain to the centers of reasoning and awareness that are in our prefrontal cortex, which sits here. Right. And our midbrain sends messages about what we're feeling down into the body first, and then from the body, the messages are sent back up into our consciousness. So in other words, our bodies are wired to experience emotion before we're consciously aware of it. Often. And this resilient practice provides an opportunity for your body to, um, provide your more rational thinking brain with a message that's intended to help bring feelings of joy and calm into your life. And so the lengthen part is about making ourselves a little bit bigger and lengthening. And we can accomplish this through a deep inhale like. And we're able to activate testosterone through that, which is a hormone that all of us humans have. And it helps give us courage. It helps us to zoom out, as we did today together and see the bigger picture. It helps us take calculated risk. And all of those things can be really helpful when we're feeling intimidated or afraid or out of control or overwhelmed. Oxytocin, on the other hand, you may have heard this called the cuddle hormone. This is a different hormone and it's released when we, among other things, smile. And this hormone helps us to feel connected and receptive and open to new ideas, rather than defensive things that we might perceive as critical or threatening. And so that's sort of the different sensation that we're exploring in this lengthen and smile practice. And I'm actually going to um, oh my goodness, zoom. You changed. I'm going to stop sharing my screen at this point actually. Um, and I see a few of us are on camera and I'd love to be able to see each other, uh, as many of us as possible in this practice and the way that we do this together, if you'd like to join me in this act of collective care is to take a deep, synchronized breath, lengthening and making ourselves big on the inhale and on our synchronize exhale. Oh my goodness. High exhale through the nose. We gently smile at one another. Oh it's so good to see you. Oh my goodness my heart I'm getting emotional. So you're invited to practice. That's right. Now let's inhale and lengthen. And act healthier, I noted with a smile. In my lengthen. Back. Smile. Inhale, lengthen. Yes I know. In one more on the smile really looking at each other in lengthen. In fact. Now big smiles. Oh, I'm just taking a moment to sit with that warmth and notice what's coming up for you. What's shifted for you as we're sharing this space and this moment of collective care together? That's nice. Thanks so much for sharing this moment and engaging in this resilient practice with us. This is so special to be in community. I know I craved it while we were away from one another. Um, and actually to that point, I'm going to go ahead. I'm going to share my screen again, and we're going to be moving into our. Uh, independent activity first. Um, and I believe there's a link in the chat to this. Is that right, Jesse? Fabulous. Um, so the link to the Google doc is what you'll find. And by the way, that's what you will be prompted to do when you get that link bit that Ellie hyphen Jan 24 slide. And I'm sure that's in the chat again. Um, or you can use the QR code when you pull up the file, you will not be able to edit the master doc. It will not be editable. Um, so we would invite you to go to the file and then download it, save yourself a copy and you can edit it with your notes if you so desire that way. And essentially we're going to give you around, let's do ten minutes of independent, uh, reflection time. Um, and actually let's do eight minutes of independent reflection time. And we are going to then give you some time in breakout group. And I am going to there's a link to our comprehensive vision at the top of that. Um, here is the I'm going to go ahead and actually share that document. So you can sort of see what we're looking at here. We have so many things. There we go. Um and after independent reflection time, there's for that reflection. There's like four guiding prompts to help you begin sort of noodling. Um, you're certainly invited to just explore whatever feels alive for you. If the prompts aren't doing it for you, that's fine. This is your time to explore and sort of dig into the vision and hopefully draw some inspiration. Um, and after that independent time, we're going to break it out into small groups, maybe four, uh, to discuss what you're noticing and or thinking about or working on, related to what you've explored and whatever dimensions of the comprehensive, comprehensive vision you're taking a look at. Um, and there are ten different guiding prompts on that page to help you engage in a rich discussion if they're useful to you. So you certainly don't have to follow them if you're being called to chat about something else related to the vision or broader movement in general, and they'll give you maybe like 12 minutes for that. Uh, between 12 and 15 minutes, uh, in breakouts for that to discuss it, to discuss. And then we're going to bring you back into the big group. We'll process we'll debrief whatever you want to put out there. Um, sharing anything particularly profound that emerges during your discussion is great. And so I'm going to go ahead. I'm going to queue up some music in a moment. So we aren't weirdly sitting in silence together for a while. Um, and so before we dive into independent reflection time, I want to open it up. Any wonderment, curiosities, points of clarification that you need.
00:59:54We'd need just before we do. If I can say two things real quick, I know, I know, it's 3:00 and a lot of people have to jump off at the hour. So if that's you, we appreciate your being here. For those who are going to stay on for the next half hour, appreciate that. And I know that some folks, um, struggle with Google Docs. And so if you scroll up in the chat and I'll do this again, I also posted the word doc in the PDF directly into the chat, in case that's easier for anybody. And you're struggling with the Google Doc.
01:00:21How do you look. So thank you, Jesse. Appreciate that. Yeah I know that. Especially if you have like a provisioned computer for work, it could be real persnickety. So thanks for doing that. All right. So let's do 309 about eight minutes. Go ahead. Peruse independently. Um, and then we'll put you in breakout groups and we'll get you chatting. I was in Colorado this past week and it was -11 before windchill, so I was just lamenting, what the heck is that? Hey y'all, I hope you all had, you know, enriching, beautiful conversations. I'm going to mute myself and just invite anybody who wishes to share whoever feels called to let us know anything in particular that was profound, or that you're wondering about, or that you're noticing, um, based on your community connection that you'd like to put out there. Um, just going to let y'all sort of self facilitate. Please share.
01:01:23I had a question that I didn't get answered because we came back to the group. I'm currently on the reservation here in Arizona serving preschoolers, kindergartners, and middle school middle school students. And I posed the question, did anybody out there and I've heard this from other counselors, the level of disassociation that is occurring, uh, with some of our teens, um, sort of a vacuous look on some of their faces where it's. It's scary. And I'm and people are telling me here in Arizona, it's across populations with some of the teens. So I was just wondering if, uh, other folks are seeing that I'm not trying to pathologize mental illness amongst their teens, but as a former middle school teacher of six years, I've never seen anything quite like this. I'm just wondering if anybody other has thoughts when we talk about mental health and near science.
01:02:27Uh, this this is John and Thomas. I'm here in Raleigh, North Carolina, and me and Don was talking. Had a great conversation. Um, and what you're saying, I've. We've got a program now working with teams. Um, I believe we need to work with our younger generation because they're our future. But one of the problems is a lot of times when they address that, they are addressed by older people so they don't see themselves and is even even with me because I'm a person with lived experience. I'm a peer. I've had substance abuse, mental illness and a criminal history and was homeless for 30 years. So when I look at companies that work with this population, I have to see somebody who's representative of me. I give people. I understand having a PhD or Masters and all of that. That's okay. And I even thought about getting the associate's. But like what I was saying with Don, at the end of the day, I felt that's not what God wanted me. I felt that he wanted me to be in a place where I was most comfortable, and that is being me. So when we work with teens now, we try to bring other teens in high schoolers. You have to be careful with the age thing. You really don't want to go too young, but you want to bring somebody in that's going to help another teenager. You have to bring somebody in to that teenager that can look and say, this is like me. And and for us here in North Carolina, that's the approach that we are looking at is how do we get teen peers, especially.
01:04:06Peer to peer support. Peer to peer support. I, I understand thank you.
01:04:12Um. Can I ask you? Trauma. And trauma is especially when you've been homeless and you see kids living on the streets like I did when I lived in New York, and women with babies living on the street like I did in New York. You know, that's a very traumatic experience for them. But it's also from the person that's viewing it. I once again, a lot of agencies that went out, you have to have a lot of empathy. And sometimes it's not what we say, but is how we saying it and presenting it. That is why, like we're having this big thing now and on direct support professionals, and then you have peers and then you have counselors and then you have social workers. People get so mixed up into being put into a clinical place that they lose their personal identity and don't feel that they're respected for who they are. We're not looking at them for where they at or from their perspective. We're looking at them and judging them from our perspective. And that is one major change that has to happen if we're going to help people survive and recover from traumas. Thank you.
01:05:29Can I add here for a second? Um, I want to, if that's okay. Um, I hope you all are drinking water and taking care of yourself. I'm Fatima. Uh, so in terms of what I've seen with this population is they've gone through a pandemic and they've been at home with their parents experiencing trauma that we don't know. And that really hasn't been addressed within the system of the schools. Right. So like when we came back from the pandemic, we kind of just got back into it. But the schools haven't set into place. Um, conversations, um, healing circles, spaces for teenagers to really, um, have and unpack what happened to them during Covid. Like, we know one is centering the fact that children had to be at home with their parents for two, almost two years, and we have no idea the capacity their parents had or the traumas that they've experienced. So they're coming back into the world more disassociated than the adults that came back into the world after Covid. And so what systems failed to do was they failed to honor the humans. The teachers don't have, um, collective healing circles to decompress what happened during Covid and the stresses they went through. They're the, uh, the people in, um, schools they're experiencing having shootings and things like that. So what we have been offering us and saying to people is, where's the collective healing spaces for these groups, um, that are sustainable and community centered and allow the different resources in the community to show up, um, in ways that are culturally mindful and human centered for that community because they come from it. And, and and having someone help guide that process because that process hasn't happened. We shot back in from Covid, and we forgot to think about the mental wellness of the little humans who had to be with their unwell parents because parents are humans, too. That didn't sign up to be teachers. Right? And so what did that mean in terms of how they're, um, emotionally learning and associating and what skills and tools have we as adults try to give them coming back into the world after Covid systemically and sustainably? Where have we created policies and practices that allow this? The processing of emotions of of a pandemic within the schools or with communities. And so allowing and then also allowing therapists, social workers, body workers, um, if you're on a reservation, even indigenous and native healers to help curate collective healing spaces to honor what everybody knows has been true. But no one is actually putting programs in place to address because we know it's true. Uh, that would be, uh, how I would. Congestion. Thank you for listening.
01:08:25Thank you.
01:08:30You know, just just off of that. Fatima, you couldn't be more correct. We're doing some disconnected youth analysis in my region as well. And, um, I think what's interesting about this conversation is that at the healing that all of us need to be a part of, and just because we're seeing these outcomes that we're frightened about from disconnected youth, doesn't mean it isn't work that we need to be doing for ourselves. And I would say that the best way that we show any younger generation or anyone other than ourselves, um, that this process of healing is important is by by making intentional practice of it in ourselves, in our organizations, and then also in coalition with, um, disconnected youth or whoever we can, we can get to sit next to us and listen to us. The Covid response of, um, when these young people were stepping into their young adulthood, adults all around them had no sense of themselves, right? We couldn't we couldn't we couldn't show them up or down because we didn't know what was going on. And so now here they are in a post-Covid or the endemic Covid world. And, you know, they're trying to figure out their own way because they learned that they can't count on us to show them.
01:09:43Are.
01:09:48Thank you.
01:09:58Such a rich discussion and just noticing the time. So appreciative of everybody's shares. And yeah. Thanks, Melissa. Thanks for being here. Thanks for showing up. Certainly, if anyone has anything else that they'd like to say, they're free to. And also full permission to leave this space. Go about your day, hopefully carrying forward some of the messages that we talked about today. Be well, y'all. And if you have something else to say, feel free to unmute. It. Yeah. Me and Marisol. So glad you're here.
01:10:49Thank you everybody. Thank you for your for being conscious of the need for change and healing and learning in education. Grateful to know that I'm not alone. And thank you for organizing Jesse and Whitney. All the work you put into this is phenomenal. But no place like CTIPP.