Is there ever a perfect time? My parents, loved ones, and mentors would tell me no. There will never be a perfect time. No matter how hard we try to “control”, “manage”, and “optimize” our time, we will still be left with the feeling that we need more or didn’t accomplish what we wanted to do or needed to do. How many times has
“If I could turn back time or had more time” echoed across our minds at some point in our day, month or year?
What would we do if we could turn back time or had more time?
That acknowledgment that there will never be a perfect time and the need to take action is what drove the creation and formation of Care Compass Network’s Regional Trauma-Informed Care Network (RTIC) in April 2019. Our team has been together for over two years and
all of us believe that the time is NOW to push the Trauma-Informed Care movement forward.
We are proud to fund and support a total of four- TIC pilots in their journey towards trauma-informed and building resiliency for their staff and community that they serve. Our pilot timeframe April 2021-March 2022.
- Northeast Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine
- Whitney Point Central School District
- The Children’s Home of Wyoming Conference
- Mothers & Babies Perinatal Network of SCNY
Each pilot partner will be supported by a CCN project manager who will work in tandem with the Core Implementation Team (CIT) and champions to implement and spearhead the TIC pilot framework, 4 key priorities, and milestones achievement.
RTIC Pilot’s 4 priorities:
- To train all staff on Trauma-Informed Care, ACEs, Trauma and its impact on the health and wellbeing of individuals.
- To develop an effective and sensitive trauma screening and follow up care process to initiate the healing process.
- To build a strong referral system from the initial universal screening, assessments and follow up care.
- To implement a Trauma-informed Care approaches across the care continuum, advancing the importance of health, resilience, and wellness to help promote healing and engagement in the community.
As I am sharing this with you, our pilot teams are in month 2 (Whitney Point and Children’s Home) and Month 1 (Northeast & Mothers & Babies) of their implementation. I can honestly report back that I am so humbled and proud to work with all of the of the CIT (Core Implementation Team). They are an inspiration to us all. TIC transformation requires commitment and dedication especially at the ground level and these champions are the key to improving health and quality of life for those in their care.
Our hope is that the pilot work will ultimately lead to the evolution of a fully integrated model of care where awareness, screening and addressing of traumas will help all to heal and thrive. Our mission is to implement evidenced based Trauma-Informed Care by supporting the development of resilient and strong partnerships, individuals, families, and communities through advocacy, education, and empowerment. This summer, we are proud to launch the 3 – part DBT Level 2 workshop series to further strengthen and support our community and region’s workforce development.
Why I believe in TIC and the POWER of One?
As a young refugee immigrant who has personally experienced the horrors of escaping one’s country in a canoe in the bleakest and darkest of the night to surviving concentration camps to not knowing a word of English, I am not one to shy away from the fact that these traumatic events or what scientists and researchers term ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences) have shaped who I am today. These experiences can either cripple you, hold you hostage and/or motivate you.
ACEs & Toxic Stress Science | Center for Youth Wellness. I know what it feels like to not have enough to eat or to be told to “go back to my country” or to be call names that I care not to repeat or to get rocks thrown at you while walking to elementary school just because you look different. We all carry with us some level of baggage, grief, loss, traumas, or ACEs to a certain degree. Some more than others. Know this. We are not alone. We are more resilient than we know it.
The power of one. I was blessed with the power of one who took the time to believe in me during my high school, college years, and adulthood.
These trusted relationships and buffers come in all shapes
and sizes, and can have such a profound impact that they do not even know it. All you need is
ONE positive buffer. A “buffer” buddy that so many individuals (preschoolers, youths, adolescents and adults) are so in need of today and every day of their lives. I can positively and unequivocally state that this person’s minimal time and compassion helped me to overcome the huddles growing up in a foreign country and trying to navigate the unknowns of the American culture. Most importantly, this person provided me with the encouragement and hope to believe in my young self, to continue to fight and persevere for what I wanted even when I was knocked down countless times.
This is why I believe in the work that I do
and now I am joined by twenty-two passionate individuals who believe in this same possibility. We believe TIC should be the minimal standard of care to afford the children, families, communities, educators, clinicians, professionals, caregivers, and the most vulnerable in our community to achieve and maintain a higher quality of care and of life, as well as the opportunity to thrive.
Be the power of one. It is up to each one of us to show up for each other.
That is why our RTIC team envisions a resilient community built upon strong partnerships, trust, and compassion.