50 / 124
pacts the way their brain devel-
ops and it makes them more
likely to become depressed and
anxious, to develop PTSD, and
to have learning and behaviour
problems,” Lorry explains.
“Since we know these ACEs cre-
ate that risk, we have become
expert in the data and the lit-
erature around ACEs, and we
are getting that information out
there to anyone who will listen.”
“We’re offering specific solu-
tions on how to recognize early
signs of mental health condi-
tions in kids, and also how to
build resilience,” she contin-
ues. “Boys and Girls Clubs and
teachers are seeing more and
more distressed kids, so we’re
out there giving them tools
and information about how not
only to be trauma informed,
but trauma competent. We let
them know exactly what to do
when they see a child that is in
emotional distress.”
“And they don’t have to be a
mental health professional to
do it,” she concludes. “They can
just have an empathetic, com-
passionate interaction with that
child and it can make all the dif-
ference in the world.”
At the same time as they dis-
seminate that information, WYS
will continue striving to be the
premier mental health services
provider for children, youth and
families with intense mental
health needs – the ones already
in the river, so to speak. WYS
recognizes how tremendously
important their service to that
demographic is, and how much
of a need for it there remains.
“One in five kids has a diagnos-
able mental health condition,”
Lorry says. “That’s 20 percent.
That’s an egregious number. If
20 percent of the population
had any other kind of condition
we’d be calling it an epidemic.
Yet only about a third of those
one in five kids has access to
the treatment they need. That’s
why what we do is so import-
ant, and why we need to invest
in children.”
MAY 2019