Issue link: http://maconmagazine.uberflip.com/i/1340266
WE CAN BUILD COMMUNITY RESILIENCE BY: Ensuring all children have a medical home Guaranteeing access to good, nutritious food Providing school-based healthcare centers with mental health services Promoting working class job growth Ensuring accessible jobs Providing access to affordable housing Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) % CHILDREN WITH 2+ ACES: NATIONALLY GEORGIA HOUSTON COUNTY BIBB COUNTY 21.7% 37% 24% 22% Adverse Community Environments (ACEs) include: Poor housing quality & affordability Discrimination Violence Lack of opportunity & economic mobility Together, these are the "Pair of ACEs." How do they show up? % CHILDREN 0-17 WHO ... ... LIVED WITH AN ADULT WITH MENTAL ILLNESS 8% 10% 10% ... HAD A PARENT IN JAIL 10% 9% 11% ... HAVE EXPERIENCED ECONOMIC HARDSHIP 23% 19% 22% ... WITNESSED DOMESTIC VIOLENCE 6% 5% 4% ... HAVE A GUARDIAN WHO ABUSES SUBSTANCES 9% 9% 8% and agencies work with families, especially those who are experiencing trauma or adversity. Toward that end, community leaders from other Middle Georgia organizations are participating in trainings so they're better able to go out into the community and help build resilience. "Initially, we worked to bring community champions to our coalition to start the important conversations together, instead of individuals continuing to discuss issues related to our community in their separate agencies," Vanderhoek said. "We feel that by combining together, the coalition can drive the movement to spread awareness about trauma, adversity and resilience." During the last year, the coalition has focused on training members of the community and increasing awareness. "We have provided evidence-based trainings to over 350 community members," Stinson said. ose include representatives from organizations and agencies such as the Georgia Department of Public Health, Georgia Division of Family and Children Services, Bibb County Schools, Bibb County Public Defender, Middle Georgia Regional Library, First Baptist Church, Southern Center for Choice eory, Methodist Home for Children and Youth, Mercer University School of Medicine, Bibb Mt. Zion Baptist Church, ABC Breathe, First Choice Primary Care, Georgia Rural Health Innovation Center, Griffith Family Foundation, Macon Housing Authority, Crescent House Navicent Health, Loaves & Fishes Ministry, School-Justice Partnership, Healthy Communities Navicent Health, Bright from the Start, Central Georgia Technical College and many more. Angela Brown, social services supervisor with the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services, said that thus far, the trainings have focused on adverse childhood experiences and the concepts of resilience. "Many members of the coalition recently became trainers for Connections Matter," Brown said, adding that the Connections Matter trainings teach that positive interactions between kids and their caregivers build the architecture of a developing brain. Caring connections also serve as a primary buffer in the negative effects of trauma. 74 maconmagazine.com | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021