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DISCONTINUED - get this title as part of the full series The Raising of America
PTSD isn’t only about combat vets and survivors of natural disasters. Too many of our children, especially children of color living in neighborhoods of concentrated poverty, show the effects of unrelenting structural racism, street violence, domestic instability and other adversities. And their symptoms look a lot like post-traumatic stress disorder. Except for many there is no ‘post'.
Wounded Places travels to Philadelphia and Oakland where a long history of disinvestment and racial social exclusion have ravaged entire neighborhoods and exposed children to multiple adverse childhood experiences (or ACEs). We meet families and some remarkable young people who have been traumatized not just by shootings, but fear, uncertainty and a sense of futurelessness.
As Stanford physician Victor Carrion explains, “If we are crossing the street and we see that a truck is coming at us, we can manage that situation, get scared, jump, and move quickly. Unfortunately, many children in our society feel like a truck is coming at them all day long, for more days than not, and this really takes a toll.”
We watch as Caheri Gutéirrez, Antonio Carter, Javier Arango and other young people wrestle with their hyper-vigilance, sudden rages, nightmares, inability to trust and difficulties concentrating in school. Now they themselves are counseling others, helping them to “own” their trauma. Yet, police, teachers, the media, even social service workers too often make things worse, pegging traumatized children and young people not as injured and in need of healing but as bad or impaired.
For instance, in 2012, in Connecticut alone, 2,000 children 6 years and under – overwhelmingly black and Latino – were suspended from kindergarten and preschool, dramatically increasing their risk of dropping out later – and being sent to prison.
We also meet doctors, community organizers and peer counselors blazing a new model of trauma-informed care, including MacArthur Fellow John Rich, MD, emergency room doctor Ted Corbin, MD, Dr. Sandra Bloom, the founder of the Sanctuary Model, and Youth UpRising! director Olis Simmons.
Rather than ask, “What’s wrong with you?” they ask, “What happened to you?” and how can traumatized individuals and neighborhoods heal? The implications of this simple shift can be transformative – for those suffering from trauma, for neighborhoods and even the providers themselves.
RESOURCES
For Toolkits, Discussion Guides, and more information about The Raising of America documentary series and how to become involved in the public engagement campaign, visit the series’ companion website now under development: www.raisingofamerica.org.
Producer/Director: Llew Smith
Associate Producer: Sabrina Aviles
Series Executive Producer: Larry Adelman
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“Thank you, Wounded Places, for uncovering the back story of the violence and trauma in our cities and the cumulative impact it has on our youth, their families, and communities. Now that we’ve seen it, we must mobilize and engage policymakers, community members, funders, and others to take immediate action. Our children deserve nothing less from us!” |
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Angela Glover Blackwell, Founder & CEO, PolicyLink |
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“Wounded Places is a wake-up call. We talk a great deal about the violence in our cities, but not about the aftermath. Wounded Places does. Powerfully and thoughtfully. The film poses the question we must all ask: What happens to a generation of children who come to view the world as hostile and threatening?” |
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Alex Kotlowitz, author, There Are No Children Here |
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“Will we let Wounded Places start the conversations we so desperately need? All children react to the world through their experiences. They have the capacities for trust, friendship, learning and love. Or they can become suspicious, fearful and overly aggressive. Wounded Places shows us that children can flourish and our nation becomes healthier, safer and better educated when we care for and invest in impoverished communities rather than neglect them.” |
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Benjamin Jealous, Partner, Kapor Capital, Former President, NAACP |
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"No one who sees Wounded Places will remain unmoved by the plight of children growing up in our nation's high-poverty communities. These kids face - as one of the many experts interviewed in the film states - an "unrelenting adversity" that no child should have to face. With this film, California Newsreel again challenges us - when will we live up to our nation's creed that all children should have an equal opportunity to thrive?" |
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Brian Smedley, Director, National Collaborative for Health Equity |
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"Wounded Places is a riveting documentary on the severe psychological trauma children suffer living in violent communities. It’s an urgent plea to protect our children and help them heal from endemic victimization.” |
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Alvin F. Poussaint, MD, Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School |
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