Improving Supports for Youth of Color Traumatized by Violence

Chronic trauma and adversity are key public health issues with major implications for the wellbeing of youth. Barriers to positive youth development  include violence, abuse, and neglect, as well as chronic stressors like unemployment, racism, lack of adequate health care, and social isolation. Chronic trauma and adversity in childhood can interrupt normal brain development; this has long-term consequences for learning, behavior, and physical and mental health.

It is essential that communities to provide promote healthy development and mitigate the impact of trauma on vulnerable youth. This paper, written by Rhonda Bryant, details steps they can take to accomplish that, including:

  • School attendance improvement strategies;
  • Employment-based strategies;
  • Care coordination strategies;
  • Improved implementation of system services.