Tag: Children and Trauma

Trauma and its Effects on Appalachia's Youth

On this West Virginia Morning, youths experience trauma across Appalachia at a higher rate than the national average. This trauma can range from parents divorcing, to exposure to violence — and when kids don’t get help, there can be disastrous consequences for them and the people around them. Kyeland Jackson, of WFPL in Louisville, Kentucky, brings us this report.

Also on today’s show, February is Black History Month — a time to recognize contributions from African-American men and women, many who have been overlooked. Reporter Sydney Boles brings us the story of Garrett Morgan. The Ohio Valley native might not be a household name, but his many inventions are.

West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting which is solely responsible for its content.

Support for our news bureaus comes from West Virginia University, Concord University, and Shepherd University.

Windows Into Health Care, Part 1: Trauma and Poverty

In part one of this occasional series, Windows Into Health Care, health reporter Kara Lofton talks with Crittenton Services CEO and President Kathy Szafran on the issue of Trauma and Poverty.

Szafran outlines work Crittenton is doing to provide trauma-informed elementary schools – exploring ways to break the cycle of trauma by working with both kids and their families and provide insight into the effect trauma can have on the developing brain. 

Windows Into Health Care, hosted by Kara Lofton, is an occasional series featuring health professionals around the state who work in important, but little known aspects of health care.

If you’d like to share your own idea for a topic or interviewee, please email Kara at klofton@wvpublic.org or send her a Tweet @KaraLofton.

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, with support from the Benedum Foundation, Charleston Area Medical Center and WVU Medicine.

Children Still Coping with Emotional Trauma After Floods

Children are still coping with the emotional aftermath of the June 2016 floods that devastated most of the central and southern parts of West Virginia, according to the nonprofit Save the Children. 

In the weeks following the floods, Save the Children provided support to more than 44,000 children and caregivers, according to a press release. Starting in December, the nonprofit will launch its Journey of Hope program in the state’s five most heavily affected counties Clay, Greenbrier, Kanawha, Nicholas and Roane.

The program was developed after Hurricane Katrina and uses a series of team activities, including play, discussion and art to help children identify and manage emotions. These activities also help children develop healthy coping skills for stress and trauma.

So far, Save the Children has trained 10 master trainers who in turn will be training an additional 100 facilitators over the next six months. These facilitators will work with small groups of children and caregivers through June 2017, potentially impacting more than 800 children in 18 schools. 

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, with support from the Benedum Foundation.

After Disaster: When to Worry About Children Post Trauma

Natural disasters such as the historic floods West Virginia experienced in late June can be particularly frightening for children.

“They are witnessing their caregiver, many times who is their person of trust, their person of security, experience panic, experience fear, things that that child may never have witnessed their caregiver experience and that can be as offsetting for a child as the flood itself,” said Emily Chittenden-Laird, executive director of the West Virginia Child Advocacy Center in a conversation with Appalachia Health News reporter Kara Lofton earlier this month.

Chittenden-Laird said the range of what children experience during natural disaster is really not just based on the fact that children survived a flood, but on what everyone in their community, in their sphere, is experiencing as well.

A few tips about how to support your child?

  • Listen.
  • Seek outside help when needed.
  • Give more time to complete school assignments.
  • Be present.
  • Create a new rhythm or structure to help build security.

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, with support from the Benedum Foundation.

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