Report and event materials attached below...
On September 18, 2015, RYSE Youth Center, CA Children's Defense Fund, and ACEs Connection hosted the event for 60 participants from local and state wide direct service and policy programs to come together in the spirit of "beloved community" with "no shame, no blame, no fame," as said best by event MC and RYSE Youth Center Community Health Director, Kanwarpal Dhaliwal.
The event featured the release of CA Children's Defense Fund report, Helping Children Heal: Promising Community Programs and Policy Recommendations, that highlights four successful strategies in the SF Bay Area that address trauma and the role of public policies across the state.
Speakers included CA State Assemply member Tony Thurmond (D-Richmond), CA State Assembly member Rob Bonta (D-Oakland), Mark Cloutier, Center for Youth Wellness, and Joyce Dorado, UCSF HEARTS.
Videos from Destiny Arts Center, Beasts, Rymes and Life, RYSE, Niroga Institute, and Cherokee Point Elementary School were showcased followed by a fishbowl panel with the program founders.
A few words from the panelists:
Youth are "at-promise" not "at-risk." We are a culturally congruent youth-centered pipeline into the helping professions... through rap therapy." -Rob Jackson, Beats Rhymes and Life
We work to end isolation and aggression... through the warrior's code, five fingers of violence prevention, and seven steps to conflict resolution. We create a safe space and hire people from the community. We are a culture of welcome. -Cristy Johnston Limon, Destiny Arts Center
Systems are broken, not kids. It's beyond behavior change. We are fighting and healing at the same time. -Joe Kim, RYSE Youth Center
We will respect our students. It's non-negotiable. -Godwin Higa, Cherokee Point Elementary School
Collective Care- We can't give adults strategies if they are feeling disrespected and isolated in the system. -Jenn Rader, James Morehouse School-Based Health Center, El Cerrito High School
We know 1/3 of us are suffering. We don't need more screening when we know what we need. We need to take away the social elitism of yoga in the US and bring the practice to those who need it most. -BK Bose, Niroga Institute
An afternoon fishbowl panel on policy recommendations included Children Now, Center for Youth Wellness, UCSF HEARTS, Political Solutions, Policy Link Alliance for Boys and Young Men of Color, and Assembly member Tony Thurmond.
Next steps included following up with Thurmond and Bonta to explore drafting trauma informed policy for the state of CA!
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