Summary

Trauma refers to a frightening, dangerous, or violent event that threatens a child’s life or bodily integrity (The National Child Traumatic Stress Network, 2020). The children involved in the child welfare system, such as residential child care services for youth-at-risk, require child welfare workers to be sensitive to their traumatic experiences. In this presentation, we will share the innovative experience of a project called “RESTORE” which stands for youth residents’ journey from trauma to empowerment. The project “RESTORE” adopts the Trauma-informed Care (TIC) approach to help the youth residents to grow from trauma. The project was launched by the Mark Memorial Home (MMH) of the Hong Kong Student Aid Society, which provides residential services for children and young persons aged 6 to 21 years of age who cannot be adequately cared for by their families. Most residents experienced trauma such as family violence, parents’ chronic illness, death or imprisonment, and other family crises. The experience of the residents undergoing the transition from victimization to empowerment will be shared through qualitative interviews with them. The findings shed light on the development of TIC in Chinese society. 

Keywords (separate with commas)

Trauma, Trauma-informed Care, Youth-at-risk, Residential services

Summary

Jamaica has the highest crime rate in Latin America and the Caribbean. Violent crimescontinue to increase and are disproportionately carried out by unskilled males, from inner-citycommunities. Local research describes the predominately “punitive” approach guidingJamaica’s correctional system. The approach has been informed by a historical narrative andperception that black people from lower classes are a risk or pathological. These perceptionsare accompanied by a risk-based or treatment-based approach that is neo-liberally driven,state-or professionally centred, and focused only on offender deficits and recidivism. Despitesignificant international research on desistance from crime and reintegration into society,Jamaica’s criminal justice policies have yet to reflect these findings. Furthermore, prisoner re-entry frameworks, developed from international research contexts have not captured how theprisoner re-entry narrative influences and affects each stage of the prisoner re-entry process.Based on international research, a restorative re-entry framework was developed to guide there-entry process. This chapter offers a strength-based, holistic guide and approach to theprisoner re-entry process in Jamaica. It is driven by restorative principles that illuminate theroles of three primary stakeholders: incarcerated and formerly incarcerated adult male, state,and non-state actors, and promote desistance from crime and ultimately reintegration intosociety.

Keywords (separate with commas)

Desistance, Reintegration, Jamaica, Offenders, Crime, Prison.

Summary

Abstract:All of us experience tragedy and distress directly or indirectly as a by-product of living. Though the impact of such can be devastating, life-altering, and traumatic, we are capable of healing that promotes post-traumatic growth and resilience. Our psychological and emotional resilience can be strengthened through unified connection which in essence is induced through the engagement of first responders. Social workers have been elevated for utilization of their expertise within the interdisciplinary response operational structure to disaster missions and diverse crisis response efforts. The themes of culture, diversity, and humility are at the forefront of disaster response and ultimately drivers of strategic planning for interventions and recovery. The scope of culture and diversity as an umbrella is varied and assessed by researchers as complex. The session is dedicated to disaster and emergency response through the lens of cultural humility and psychosocial tenets to equipping social workers, clinicians, healthcare professionals, administrators and researchers with tools to address inequities and health disparities through their service on the frontlines assisting to improve well-being and life for vulnerable populations and all humankind. Dr. Johnson as a uniformed service officer deployed to and serving in multiple disaster response missions including hurricanes, suicide clusters, floodings, and the pandemic will infuse evidence-based perspectives to delineate effective approaches in disaster response and preparedness which promote service excellence and health equity. Participants will leave the session with greater evidence-based insight into 1) the relationship between leadership, diversity, and cultural awareness as a model of effectiveness in achieving health equity for a global society and 2) how disaster preparedness, crisis recovery, and our overall social and health outcomes are interconnected; thus feeling invigorated and inspired to utilize the psychosocial dimensions of cultural humility to reverse the tide of inequity and enhance health services and life for all.\ \ \ 

Keywords (separate with commas)

disaster response framework; cultural awareness and crisis response; cultural humility in emergency response; psychosocial tenets of disaster response; health equity; social work emergency preparedness; interdisciplinary psychosocial operations; leadership in crisis response\ 

Summary

How is the suffering of caregivers considered during a crisis in Quebec? This crisis underscores the need for a thorough reflection on how our government considers the emotional and ethical well-being of healthcare and social services professionals in the face of challenges posed by successive reforms and the Covid-19 pandemic. The suffering of caregivers is a taboo issue that is increasingly emerging due to the working conditions generated by successive reforms within the healthcare and social services system, and to this has been added the Covid-19 crisis. Our communication aims to stimulate a thorough reflection, using a "dialogue approach" in groups (Béland, 2009; Legault, 2007; Patenaude, 2001), concerning how caregivers and managers can address an essential ethical question related to the attention paid to each individual in the care process (Caring). Our intention is to go beyond the simple consideration of caregivers as a means of care, a service to be provided, or an outcome to be achieved (Curing). By sharing the results of our group reflection, we seek to provide useful perspectives and concrete solutions to improve the consideration of caregivers' suffering during a crisis. We will begin by providing an overview of the situation in which a group dialogue aimed at alleviating caregivers' suffering emerged. This in-depth analysis of the situation before and during the global Covid-19 crisis will be beneficial for participants seeking to understand the roots of caregivers' suffering as well as the professional challenges they face.

Keywords (separate with commas)