A hospital initiative in Los Angeles seeks to provide early intervention for toxic stress.
An innovative program run by Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles is trying to head off mental health issues in older children by improving their home lives when they're babies and toddlers.
Through its "early childhood mental health program," the hospital sends therapists into the homes of hundreds of kids who are showing signs of anxiety, trauma and stress that can pile up causing what experts call "toxic stress."
Similar to nurse home-visiting programs that the White House is trying to expand, counselors in this program teach parents how to diffuse stress in the home and to understand and meet their children’s emotional needs. About 400 families are served every year.
Among them are Shantoya Byrd and her toddler, Anmarie Paz.
When Anmarie was just weeks old, her aunt committed suicide in they home they shared.
“I was so, so, sad,” Byrd said. “And then you feel really bad because you’re like, now I have a baby, and the baby sees you so sad.”
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