Topic: Trauma-informed approaches to families and justice in the United States – Sam Hart, Sussex Prisoners’ Families
Resources: You can download Sam’s slides and you can read our Blog.
Summary: Toxic stress caused by early childhood trauma can have a devastating effect on brain development causing problems with health, learning and well-being in later life. In the States, ‘trauma-informed’ approaches to mitigating these effects are becoming increasingly common. Sam Hart, Director of Sussex Prisoners’ Families reports on a recent Winston Churchill Memorial Trust research trip to the States, in which she investigated what it means to be ‘trauma-informed.’ She hopes to show how a ‘trauma-informed’ approach can complement a resilience-building approach when working with children, young people and families who have experienced adversity, using examples from families involved with the criminal justice system.
Biography: Sam Hart is co-founder and director of Sussex Prisoners’ Families which provides local support to those affected by the imprisonment of a loved-one. She also a lecturer in education and teaches adult literacy. She has worked in criminal justice and education for the last 12 years, following a career as a journalist.
Who might be most interested: Academics, practitioners, researchers, parents/carers, community workers, volunteers, public sector workers, young people.
This session took place on Tuesday 14 June 2016.
The Resilience Forum is for ANYBODY (with a pulse!) involved with or interested in resilience research!