When the building blocks are missing.

Everything must have a start, a foundation, a set up. For many of us, that began as a young child being held in the arms of a loving parent, making eye contact with a safe caregiver, and being supported by a community. The building blocks of our lives were carefully set in place and protected by the adults around us.

But, have you ever stopped to think about how different your life may have looked if those elements of stability had not been carefully considered and guarded for you? Talk about something to be thankful for this Thanksgiving week!

For many children living in poverty, these basic foundational blocks are not a guarantee, and in fact are more of a luxury. When these children grow up, we see their missteps and watch their stumbles, but we don't consider that they are walking out their lives on an uneven foundation. This can be discussed conceptually, but it can also be measured statistically through different psychological assessments. One of the most well known and highly used assessments, in research studies on trauma, is called the ACE. You may have already heard of it. The ACE measures the number of “Adverse Childhood Experience” that a person has endured. The person is then given a score. An ACE score is a tally of different types of abuse, neglect, and other hallmarks of a rough childhood. According to the Adverse Childhood Experiences studies, the rougher your childhood, the higher your score is likely to be and the higher your risk for poor health, victimization, perpetration, and lack of opportunities. And here lies the problem we are facing with the moms and children who come through our door each day! 

Based on the identified factors of the ACE, we are able to see a baseline of what has been lost, so that we can begin to fill in the gaps of their uniquely uneven foundations. In case you are curious, the factors of a harsh childhood include:

Abuse, Neglect, Household Challenges (i.e. parental substance abuse, domestic violence), Poverty, Discrimination (i.e. race, religion, gender, learning differences), Other Violence (i.e. bullying, exposure to violence in the community), Separation from Family (i.e. foster care), and Adult Responsibilities as a Child.

As you can imagine, the women we serve have many, if not all of these in the profiles of their childhood. And many of their children do as well. Therefore, we work diligently in our program to rebuild Emotional Self Awareness, Self Compassion, Forgiveness, Post Traumatic Growth, Trust, Self Control, Autonomy, Positive Communication Skills, to list a few, in order to facilitate healing.

We cannot erase the past, but we can be the community these children never had and we can support them to thrive in their futures. 

Stay tuned in the weeks to come, as we will talk more about how our program specifically addresses many of these factors and tell stories of healing that many of you have supported this year! 

I ask again, that you will join me, my team, and the many other donors in our community to offer healing and a solution to the pain our women and children have been enduring for far too long! Let today be the day that you now know more about the harsh life experiences of your neighbor and you become part of the solution to their pain. 

Give to The Domino Fund today!! 

And remember to be thankful for where you are today and the community of strong people that helped you get here!