Lakeside has had the privilege of providing the training for trauma summits in several counties across the state of Pa. As I have stated in previous posts these trauma summits have been funded by the PA Hurricane Supplemental Emergency Response Grant (SERG). We feel extremely fortunate to have had this resource in order to help hundreds of professionals enhance their knowledge of trauma information and expand their skills to help trauma-impacted individuals.
In this next week we will be conducting the final trauma summit provided by this specific grant in Dauphin County. It will be held at the State Museum, 300 North Street, Harrisburg, Pa. 17120 on Wednesday, October 16th and Thursday, October 17th. This will be a single auditorium event so all participants will be offered the following courses.
• Trauma 102: Basic Skills of Trauma-Informed Care
• Trauma 107: Trauma-Informed Cultural Sensitivity
• PRESENCE: An organizational trauma responsive and informed certification program
• Law Enforcement Wellness
The experience of providing trauma training to several counties and getting to know so many caring professionals who are working with trauma-impacted individuals in each of these regions has been extremely enjoyable. The feedback we have received has been very encouraging. Clearly there is a great deal of support and energy for trauma-informed professional development in our counties. I know many other counties could benefit greatly through training and support by these types of trauma summits.
If we are going to set standards for trauma-informed care in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania these are the types of events that we will need to provide for our professionals in each of our counties. A common approach, language and core beliefs about trauma are so important to a state-wide initiative in trauma-informed care. I sincerely hope that we can continue to provide regional conferences where we can bring our professional community together and help change our systems of care to be more equipped and capable to deal with the very core of some of our most significant social problems.
Gerry Vassar
President/CEO
