Commonwealth Medicine’s Audrey Smolkin, MPP, Director, Child and Family Policy, joined Senate President Emerita Harriette L. Chandler to host a statewide conference aimed at making Massachusetts a trauma-informed and responsive state that will be able to support all children who have experienced traumatic events.
The “Building Resilient Communities, Building Resilient Children,” conference brought together nearly 200 representatives including providers at social service agencies, legislators, community leaders and district attorneys from across the Commonwealth. In addition to Senator Chandler, expert speakers included Maria Mossaides, the Child Advocate for the Commonwealth; Senator Michael Moore (2nd Worcester), District Attorneys Joseph Early (Worcester County) and Tim Cruz (DA for Plymouth County), and Ed Jacoubs, director of grants and special projects of the Plymouth County district attorney’s office. The group also heard from a panel of community leaders and then spent the afternoon assessing system gaps and making recommendations for taking the next steps toward a trauma-informed and responsive state. The conference was co-sponsored by United Way of Greater Plymouth County, Office of Victims of Crime grantees, UMass Memorial Healthcare, UMass Medical School, Wayside Youth and Families, and the SAFE Coalition.
The event took a focused look at current efforts to deal with child trauma state-wide and served as a forum to share ideas on closing system gaps and developing strategies for responding to trauma through more coordinated and focused means.
Take a look at this ground-breaking event:
Melina Kneeland/Senate President Emerita Harriette L. Chandler/ Audrey Smolkin/Maria Mossaides
Co-planned by Melina Kneeland, Director of Community Connections & The Family Center, UWGPC
