We'll see you in the New Year!

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The Women's Initiative will be closed from December 25-January 1 and will reopen Tuesday, January 2.

Our next available walk-in clinic will be Tuesday, January 2, 9 am-noon at the Jefferson School City Center. Click here for our full walk-in schedule. 

Additionally, see what other offerings are available at The Women's Initiative in January by checking out our January Offerings Flyer.

We wish you a happy and healthy New Year!

 

Trauma-informed care discussion draws 700 attendees

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The Greater Charlottesville community came together Tuesday morning to commit to addressing trauma as a major public-health issue. 

Theresa Caldwell, left, and Dr. Allison Sampson-Jackson.

Theresa Caldwell, left, and Dr. Allison Sampson-Jackson.

Dr. Allison Sampson-Jackson and Theresa Caldwell lead a conversation entitled “Trauma: How it affects you and every member of our community” at the Paramount. More than 700 people were in attendance.  

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The Women’s Initiative was a co-host of the event in partnership with Adiuvans, the Greater Charlottesville Trauma-Informed Community Network, ReadyKids, Piedmont CASA, the Community Mental Health and Wellness Coalition and the Early Education Task Force.

Toxic trauma is the result of prolonged or multiple exposures to adverse childhood experiences, abbreviated ACEs, such as physical, sexual and emotional abuse. A landmark study in the 1990s established that these experiences are common and can impact many aspects of physical and mental health, even leading to early death. Additional research is also connecting multigenerational trauma and historical oppression of minority communities to negative health outcomes.

Theresa Caldwell, left, and TWI Board Member Beverly Adams, PhD.

Theresa Caldwell, left, and TWI Board Member Beverly Adams, PhD.

A recent study, for example, found that 61% of mental health conditions that caused a disruption in work or other activities for 14 days or more were related to ACES.

“People are dying, going to jail, suffering...we have to be able to talk about it,” Sampson-Jackson said.

Sampson-Jackson and Caldwell also stressed that resilience—the ability to bounce back from difficult experiences—can be built and nurtured in individuals, families and communities.

The Women’s Initiative is committed to being a leader in trauma-informed care in Central Virginia. TWI Executive Director Elizabeth Irvin, LCSW, is on the steering committee of the Greater Charlottesville Trauma-Informed Community Network and is co-chair of the Community Mental Health and Wellness Coalition. And, as a part of our 2016-2020 Strategic Plan, The Women’s Initiative is creating a comprehensive trauma program to bring greater awareness of all the ways to heal trauma—including therapy, movement, groups and education.

To learn more or become involved in the Greater Charlottesville Trauma-Informed Community Network, email Trauma@PCASA.org and include your name in the body of the email.

Community education on cultural humility

Working toward enhancing our cultural humility approach throughout our organization and the community, The Women's Initiative is co-sponsoring a community education session on cultural humility and implicit bias this December.

Eboni Bugg, LCSW, RYT will be presenting the talk on implicit bias and cultural humility on Monday, December 4, 5:30-7:30 pm, at the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center. 

"We feel as health care providers that we want to make sure we are doing our part to cultivate a community that is culturally humble and is aware of biases," Jackie Martin, the director of community benefit at Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital, told CBS19 News. Sentara, UVA Health System and the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center are also co-sponsors.

The presentation is free, but space is limited. RSVP by Monday, November 27 by calling 1-800-SENTARA.

New artworks up in our halls

We are so fortunate to have the keen eye of volunteer art curator Terry Coffey selecting and hanging artwork for the walls of our offices. This fall and winter, Terry has brought to our main office the works of seven BozART Fine Art Collective artists. We are celebrating this exhibition with a First Fridays reception from 5:30-7:30 pm on November 3. All are welcome.

The paintings and mixed media works brighten our hallways, providing a warm, calm, healing environment for our clients.

The BozART show will be on display at our main office, 1101 East High Street, through the end of December.

Learn more about the BozART show here.