A behind the scenes photo of Alisha Fox (far right), Oprah Winfrey, and members of Alisha’s family, courtesy of SaintA
__________________________________________________________________
One immediate impact of the Oprah Winfrey’s 60 Minutes segment on childhood trauma is that the website of SaintA, an agency featured in the program, crashed almost immediately. It is still down (but keep checking). A common response to the program is that it is powerful in its storytelling and presentation of the science but it leaves you wanting to know much, much more…that’s a good thing. Even if you were able to view the 14-minute segment when it aired Sunday night, don’t miss the 5-minute 60 Minutes Overtime, both available by clicking here.
The impact of Oprah Winfrey’s involvement in promoting trauma-informed practice could be enormous. Mike O’Bryan, a director at The Village of Arts and Humanities in Philadelphia and a member of the Board of the Campaign for Trauma-Informed Policy and Practice, said “The cause now has an iconic "champion of champions.”
Winfrey says this knowledge is “life changing” and nothing will ever be the same for her…not the way she runs her school in South Africa or how she responds to an employees who is being a jerk. She will now ask the question “What happened to you?” rather than “What is wrong with you?”
Oprah Winfrey’s newly discovered passion will add momentum to and amplify the ever-expanding ACEs/trauma-informed/resilience movement—efforts that grind along, unstoppable. ACEs Connection, along with other organizations, encourages the growth of the movement at the community level. A new resource that is available for communities to use to get started or spread the work they are currently doing is a new series of 50-state profiles. The Prevention Institute also just sent out a communication outlining the resources the organization has developed to address community trauma.
Let us know your reactions to the 60 Minutes Oprah program are and how you think having Winfrey as a champion could make a difference in the movement. What were the most meaningful parts of the program for you? Where are we going next?
Comments (1)