Untold numbers of students go to school each day distracted, angry, or highly anxious as a result of adverse experiences in their lives. Resilience Re-Set is a campaign to help communities understand why many of these students misbehave or disengage and to give adults resources to support students who live with toxic stress.
Resilience Re-Set launched in November and is led by KPJR Films in partnership with Childhood Abuse America, American Academy of Pediatrics, and others. Paper Tigers, a 90-minute documentary about the inspiring outcomes of trauma-informed education at a high school in Walla Walla, WA, and Resilience, an engaging new one-hour film on the science behind toxic stress, were both produced by KPJR Films.
“These films show us, through science and the stories of our young people, how adults are stepping up to help children who are exposed to adverse experiences,” said Jamie Redford, director, KPJR Films. “We hope the stories of children, educators and scientists grappling with the results of trauma help raise awareness, foster conversation and inspire action.”
“Resilience Re-Set is about moving from talk to taking action,” said Karen Pritzker, executive producer, KPJR Films. “We are grateful to Somerset Public Health and our other partners who are hosting resilience-building activities to promote cultures of hopefulness and understanding in their communities.”
“We see the film Resilience as an advocacy tool that we want to use across all sectors of our communities to help explain toxic stress, its impact on all those living in the crisis of the moment, and how students experiencing this function in schools,” said Danielle Denis, RN, community health educator at Somerset Public Health.
The first showing of Resilience was held Jan. 18 at the Skowhegan Area High School, drawing in 62 community members representing parents, healthcare, local government, educators, youth, social service agencies, youth, and youth-serving agencies. “This is a problem we can solve, but we must act together and invest human capital in coordinated efforts. It will take expertise and support from educators, school counselors, community psychologists, law enforcement, health experts, and elected officials.”
This dialogue will continue in an ongoing effort to reduce the dose of toxic stress that children are facing so that their stories can be refined to turn their adversity into assets. If you, your organization, or school would like to host a facilitated viewing of Resilience or Paper Tigers in Somerset County, send an email to ddenis@rfgh.net or call Danielle Denis at 207-858-8463.
Other national Resilience Re-Set partners include ACES Connections, California Youth Endowment, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
On social media, please participate in Resilience Re-Set at facebook.com/ResilienceImpactDoc or twitter.com/DocResilience.