Advocates, experts, medical professionals, and service providers are collaborating on the best ways to prevent and respond to childhood trauma.
The Center for Prevention of Abuse (CFPA) hosted its “Light 2024” educational conference last week at the Par-A-Dice Hotel in East Peoria. The two-day event featured lectures, exhibitions, and breakout sessions on topics such as child development, abuse and exploitation, and therapeutic intervention.
“Really, it’s a networking opportunity. Relationships are very important, and we’re all better together when we’re working towards a common goal,” said Carol Merna, CFPA’s Chief Executive Officer.
“Childhood trauma is very prevalent, not just in Peoria and central Illinois, but across the country and even around the globe. We know that childhood trauma casts a very long shadow, and many times when childhood trauma's unresolved, it can be violence that results and it can be mental health issues that result.”
Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, one of the conference’s keynote speakers, is the former Surgeon General of California and the founder of the Center for Youth Wellness. She says it’s critically important to build partnerships in assisting families in need.
“One of the things we recognize is that childhood trauma is a public health crisis,” said Burke Harris. “So when we look at that, we want to be focused on prevention, early detection, and early and effective intervention. And when we do that, we see that we can transform outcomes.”
Approximately 200 people attended the two-day conference in person with many more participating virtually.
“What we see happening at this conference is bringing together from folks across sectors – educators, clinicians, advocates – to be able to form the partnerships, to share information and education,” said Burke Harris. “But really it’s to take strength from each other and learn from each other, so that we can ease the suffering and provide care for so many families in need.”
Burke Harris says childhood adversity increases the risk for nine of the top 10 leading causes of death in the U.S. That places a greater emphasis on the need for detection and prevention of adverse childhood experiences, or “ACEs.”
“Adverse childhood experiences include abuse, neglect, growing up in a household where a parent is struggling with substance dependence or a mental health disorder, or if there’s intimate partner violence, violence in the home,” she said.
“I think one of the things that we’ve seen is that many of those things increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. So, now we are really at a point where putting in place systemic solutions is absolutely critical.”
Author, activist, and child sexual abuse survivor Erin Merryn served as the keynote speaker on the second day. Merryn is a driving force behind “Erin’s Law,” a personal body safety education measure that has been passed in 38 states, including Illinois.
Merna says the law is a key piece in addressing childhood trauma.
“What Erin’s Law does, it mandates that each school provide a lesson every year to school-aged kids, up to high school, on body safety,” said Merna. “So, that’s child sex abuse prevention, and the lessons we teach are centered around the message of: ‘tell someone to stop, run away, tell someone you trust, and be believed.’”
Merna says the CFPA often deals with many different types of childhood trauma.
“We see a lot of sexual abuse and sexual assault, but that’s with purpose – that’s one of our core responsibilities,” said Merna. “We see children that are victims of human trafficking; one in four victims of human trafficking are children.
“We see domestic violence, we see young people who – 26% of all young people experience or witness a traumatic event by the age of 4. So this just reaches across every sector of our community, and abuse doesn’t discriminate. It’s not based on poverty. It’s not based on race or religion. It’s everyone.”
Burke Harris says one of the biggest challenges they face is a belief that the problem of childhood trauma is too large to solve.
“But I believe that it can be solved with a public health approach, so bringing folks together to share resources, develop strategies, and really set a clear agenda for our way forward is critically important,” she said.
“I think that view – that it is too big of a mountain to climb – is the biggest hurdle that we need to overcome, and recognizing that we can do this. We’ve made investments; in California, we’ve taken a public health approach and we are seeing that it is improving care and improving outcomes. It is time for that work to be replicated all across the country.”
Burke Harris said a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed that the consequences and implications of adverse childhood experiences cost Illinois $650 billion per year.
“Nationally, it’s costing the U.S. $14.1 trillion per year. So we can’t afford not to be investing in systems to cut adverse childhood experiences,” she said.
“I think there are a lot of folks who feel like we need some new pill or some new intervention, or something new and fancy to be able to begin responding to this – and we absolutely don’t. We have the resources to do screening for 'ACEs,' early detection, and multidisciplinary intervention. There are many people on the ground who are doing excellent work right now. We need to support them, we need to bring them together, and we need to increase their capacity.”
