Our mission is to provide education and promote awareness of how Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) affect our Montcalm County community, and to help connect people to local resources that can encourage growth and resilience.
Dr. Esther Combs, LPC
“The Trauma Champions collaborative, established in 2017 for the purpose of informing the community of the long-lasting impact of adverse childhood experiences. This collaborative brings together multiple organizations and community members invested in community healing and hope. Science informs our work together as we weave education, healing, and resilience leading to community health and wellness. As a life member of the Trauma Champions, it has been my pleasure to participate and observe the community influence this group has enacted. This is our heart work!”
Julianna Kozara, LMSW
“Trauma Champions of Montcalm County is a transformational initiative for our community and I am pleased to be a founding member. I have witnessed a growing conversation in Montcalm County that starts with “what has happened to this person” rather than “what is wrong with him/her.” As the Clinical Director of Montcalm Care Network, I see the impact of trauma on the health and wellbeing of persons struggling with mental illness. Too often the systems designed to support individuals have lacked an understanding of how exposure to trauma impacts persons, sometimes leading to re-traumatization rather than healing. Our community is making a shift. Efforts are apparent in the ways we communicate and partner together, listen to the voices of individuals and families in our community, and are changing practices to promote resiliency and recovery. Our community is reaching awareness that trauma is not about someone else or seen just at the local community mental health agency, but is commonplace and impacts our own families, friends, and neighbors. When a concern that has historically been off limits to public discussion because one we are not afraid to voice, our community has an opportunity to make powerful changes. If I had to choose one concrete example of change inspired by the trauma-informed movement, it would be the embedding of mental health professionals into all seven of our local school districts. We are able as a community to address mental wellbeing in a universal manner while taking action to identify at risk kids earlier and to mitigate the impact of trauma.”
Jessica Higley, MDHHS
“There is a significant amount of trauma seen in children involved with MDHHS. It is very important to have educated community structures in place to support kids and families during challenging times. Trauma Champions have been a major support to our children and families in the Montcalm County community and valuable partners to MDHHS in fulfilling our commitment to providing services to Michigan children and families”
Kire Wierda, MCC
In 2017 after teaching a mindfulness lesson to a 3rd grade class, I made it to a meeting which included a presentation on ACE’s and being Trauma Informed by Esther Combs. I was overwhelmed with the knowing, that I was in the right place at the right time. After the meeting, I reached out to Esther who invited me to the next meeting of Trauma Champions.
Being a part of the Trauma Champions of Montcalm County has provided me with another way to help my community, especially children, whom I believe are our most precious resource and deserve everyone’s nurturing and care. The data from the ACE’s Study and subsequent data and research captured from other disciplines and parts of the country, provide the foundation for our work and what I share with just about anyone who happens to give me an opening. Little by little the Trauma Champions group has made gains in our community to help people relate to themselves and those around them better and with a deeper understanding. I see a future where true healing occurs for individuals, families and our community as we continue with the important work of building trauma informed, policy driven organizations and businesses throughout Montcalm County.
Trauma Champions is a group of West Michigan organizations and individuals dedicated to informing our community about the importance of understanding the impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), providing local ACEs data, and linking people to resilience resources.