This week I was visiting a retirement center seeing one of my relatives. We were having lunch and one of the staff members sat down at our table and begin to discuss some of the routine matters within that facility. The conversation moved in the direction of my career and what I was involved with. I spoke about Lakeside, our programs for youth and our trauma training for thousands of professionals.
Immediately the discussion turned to her family. She had adopted several children who had traumatic backgrounds and began to discuss the many aspects of raising kids who were trauma-impacted. It was clear that she was a dedicated mom with many concerns for her children. They were now young adults, and she reflected on one of her adopted sons who was not doing well emotionally. It appeared that his trauma was still having significant impact, so that he was struggling with many aspects of his life.
The discussions became quite serious and it was clear she was frustrated with the lack of support she had received as a parent with a troubled child. She knew a bit about trauma, but when she needed it most, she did not have good information that would have helped a great deal as she faced the many trials of a parent of a trauma-impacted child. Foster parents and adoptive parents are often in situations where they are struggling to meet the needs of their children but simply don’t know how.
I affirmed that her plight was a difficult one, and I shared some of the basic trauma information that should have been given to her. In a few moments I was able to normalize what she had been through and provide hope for her son through the right understanding and approach to his trauma. She was openly grateful that there were answers to some of the problems that she was facing and that there was hope for her son.
This is the type of discussion that I regularly encounter when having conversations about families, their legacies and the prevalent trauma that they have experienced. Just the mention of my profession and what I hope is a positive listening response on my part allows the communication door to swing wide open because of the desperation of parents and family members. It is a prevalent reality that most everyone experiences the impact of trauma somewhere in their relationships. So often they do not know where to turn, who to speak with, what to feel and what to do about it.
There needs to be a way to bring trauma information access to individuals who have experienced or are dealing with someone who is living in the struggles of trauma and adversity. I was pleased to share my knowledge with her but also to offer her a basic course in trauma on our lakecloud.ai website where she could download our app and get basic trauma information in a simple-to-understand format that is both educational and hopeful.
I have been posting about this new and free training that is now accessible to anyone on the lakecloud.ai website. Anyone can go to that link, create a free account, and download the app. In just a few minutes there will be informative instructions about how to take the course, followed by valuable information, immersive experiences, stories and ways to apply the information so it will be helpful to anyone who wants to know more about the impact of trauma. Once a user completes the course, they can join our trauma-informed social network where there will be a community of users who will be able to discuss a variety of topics together. This is our way of making this valuable information available to everyone who wishes to have helpful trauma conversations.
Gerry Vassar
President/CEO
