Community Resilience Model
Adversity and Trauma
Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are difficult things that happen during childhood, in the home or in the community, that can cause trauma. ACEs can increase the risk of negative, lasting effects on a person’s health and well-being. They can lead to toxic stress that wears on our bodies and can disrupt organ, tissue, and brain development impacting physical health, mental health, social outcomes, and health risk behaviors. ACEs are something many of us have experienced.
ACEs do not determine any individual’s future, and the impacts they may have are not inevitable. Below is more information on the concept of resilience as a method of combating these impacts, and training that Durham County Public Health offers on resilience for community members.
Resilience and Positive Childhood Experiences
Resilience is our ability, as an individual, family, organization, or community, to bounce back from the impacts of trauma. We all have resilience, it’s how we continue to manage the stressors and difficult things in our lives.
Figure based on: The North Carolina Partnership for Children (NCPC)’s Building Healthy & Resilient Communities Across North Carolina: One Community at a Time report.
We are not just shaped by the difficult things that happen during childhood, but also the good things. Positive experiences during childhood can help strengthen people’s ability to cope and thrive as they grow and protect against the impacts of trauma.
Resources for Community and Family Resilience
There are many ways we can create positive childhood experiences. For ideas, visit:
Community Resiliency Model Training
The Community Resiliency Model is a skills-based training for community members to learn how to reset the nervous system and guide others in learning skills for wellbeing.
Developed by the Trauma Resource Institute, the goal of the Community Resiliency Model (CRM) “is to help to create “trauma-informed” and “resiliency-focused” communities that share a common understanding of the impact of trauma and chronic stress on the nervous system and how resiliency can be restored or increased using this skills-based approach.”
Trainers are currently available to Durham-based organizations and can be requested here.
Resilient Durham NC
ResilientDurhamNC.org is a resource presented by the Durham Adverse Childhood Experiences and Resilience Taskforce (DART) to support those who are striving to be more trauma-informed in helping our community. More resources can be accessed at ResilientDurhamNC.org.