On February 22, 2020, the Fresno County Trauma and Resilience Network partnered with Every Neighborhood Partnership to bring awareness to the impact of childhood trauma in Fresno.

The vision behind these two mini-conferences is to gather community members to discuss and strategize ways to build connections between the health care system and other systems to better serve kids and families struggling with adverse conditions in their lives. 

The first Trauma and Resilience Mini-Conference was held at the Butler Church and approximately 45 people — educators, mentors, parents, and students– were in attendance. 

Keynote speaker, Dr. Kristin Beasley, has educational roots in child development and education and earned her Ph.D. in clinical psychology with an emphasis in neurobiology and pediatrics. 

Dr. Beasley was joined by other presenters led workshops discussing the ways trauma negatively impacts children and how leaders can help these children overcome adversity and build resilience. 

What Attendees Said

Lili Sing, a senior at Fresno State, shares that the Trauma and Resilience Conference opened her eyes to the life-long impact of trauma in the lives of children. Through Dr. Beasley’s workshops, Sing learned how important protective factors are for the healthy brain development of children and how many children in the Fresno community do not have those protective factors. 

“It is important to bring this awareness to the Fresno community about what [the] Trauma and Resilience [Network] is and what it has to offer,” says Sing.

It is important to bring this awareness to the Fresno community about what [the] Trauma and Resilience [Network] is and what it has to offer

– Lili Sing, a senior at Fresno State

Oscar Salvatierra, another Fresno State senior, explained that he was able to attend two workshops over the course of the conference: one focusing on psychology and trauma, and another concentrating on the makeup of a resilient mind. 

“Every Neighborhood Partnership helps professionals from different professions network and discuss problems and resolutions [surrounding the topic of early childhood trauma],” shares Salvatierra.

As a school counselor in the Fresno Unified school district, Anita Hernandez interacts with many students and parents who have trauma in their lives. Hernandez says that this conference helped to equip her with valuable information about resilience and how it manifests itself in people differently.

These Trauma and Resilience Conferences are part of ENP’s ongoing vision of helping Fresno County be “trauma-informed” and “resilience transformed”. If this content is new to you check out our page on Trauma & Resilience here.

Next Mini-Conference

Part two of the Trauma and Resilience Conference will take place on Saturday, March 14th from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Department of Behavioral Health Wellness Center (1925 East Dakota Ave. Fresno, CA 93726). Click here for more information and to register.

Blog written by Fresno State Marketting students Ashley Goldsmith, Lili Singxaydene, Oscar Salvatierra.