ODU’s Constant Center Is Host Site for Trauma-Informed Care Training

January 17, 2013

Old Dominion University's Ted Constant Convocation Center will be the host site on Wednesday, Jan. 30, for a daylong training event for professionals in the field of "trauma-informed" care.

"Where There Is Breath, There Is Hope: Transforming Practices Through Trauma Informed Care" is being hosted by the Up Center, formerly Child and Family Services of Eastern Virginia. The goal of the event is to help create an informed community of peers and providers who can empower and support those affected by trauma, by providing services and care that promote recovery and healing.

The program will feature speakers from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), which provided a grant to help host the event.

The nationally renowned speakers lined up to appear at the event include Joan P. Gillece, director of the SAMHSA National Center for Trauma-Informed Care; Janice L. LeBel, director of program management with the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health; and University of Maryland criminal justice student Marsha Woodland, a trauma survivor and recovering addict who has written a book about her ordeal.

The Up Center, founded as an orphanage for abandoned children, has as its mission helping local families with issues ranging from foster care and adoption services, to mental health, to maximizing independence for those with disabilities.

"Trauma-informed" care is based on the understanding that violent experiences and damaging relationships affect not only the survivor's physical, mental, emotional and economic well-being, but also the spiritual well-being.

For information about the Trauma-Informed Care event contact Kellie Evans, vice president of residential care at the Up Center, at kellie.evans@theupcenter.org or 965-8667.