ACEs and the Trauma-informed Church and Community

Project Summary: As Christians, we are called to do all that we can to alleviate human suffering. It can be very difficult to know where to begin. Research done in the late 1990s demonstrates that when a child lives through what are broadly defined as “adverse experiences” (abuse, family dysfunction, trauma) their lives are changed. The more adverse experiences they have, the more negative and long lasting the effects. These effects can influence the brain’s development and response to stress, the ability to handle social situations, the chance of success in school, the likelihood that they will suffer from mental illness or abuse their own children, and even the probability that they will meet an early death from heart/lung disease or cancer.

This knowledge, when shared, offers a remarkable leverage point from which to address human suffering. A church, an entire community, can respond by focusing on prevention, providing quick and coordinated response to situations causing trauma, and assistance in the process of healing once the traumatic experiences have ended.

As a participant observer I will create a case study documenting the response of the institutions and individuals in one county in rural Iowa to learning about this research and moving through a community building process by which the participants commit to offer their gifts as they work together to alleviate suffering for their friends, neighbors, and even for themselves.