Editor’s note: This commentary is by state Rep. Mike Mrowicki, a Democrat who represents Windham-4 (Putney, Dummerston and Westminster) in the Vermont House of Representatives.
[K]en Burns’ latest historical video narrative, “The Vietnam War,” reminds many of us of that historical era, the French and U.S. actions, and the proof of philosopher and essayist George Santayana’s words, “Those without a sense of history are doomed to repeat it.”
The documentary also reminds us of the systemic and righteous mendacity of U.S. leadership, oblivious to the huge ripples of suffering it was inflicting on peoples across the world. Suffering that continues today.
And, for what?
Even today, as a culture, we seem oblivious to the ravages of war’s effects, and also oblivious to how trauma keeps on ravaging those afflicted.
The fact that we ignore trauma as a root cause to many of the societal ills we face in our world, despite a growing body of research, also proves Santayana’s words. We continue to see rises in generational poverty, children with special education needs, addiction, mental health care needs, incarceration, chronic health challenges, and homelessness. And, in all too many cases, untreated trauma is at the root.
Twenty years ago, when the first research paper on the topic was published, it affirmed what many who worked in the field knew: that childhood trauma was prevalent and had real effects.
Now, mindful of a growing body of research that has taken place in the meantime, Vermont legislators and policymakers in Montpelier are seeking to better inform their fellow legislators and the general public as to the prevalence and effects of childhood trauma.
Trauma effects spin like a snowball rolling downhill, keeping people trapped in poverty. The behaviors that result from that trauma lead to chronic psycho-social and health problems and, often, to early death. This cycle is accompanied by huge human suffering and astronomical monetary costs.
Pretty bleak stuff, on one hand. On the other hand? The hope that anything we shine light on starts the process of change for the better.
Despite the good work that is helping, the societal problems we face now need societal solutions — and that means a cultural shift.
The Vermont Agency of Human Services has started formulating a plan to look at adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) as a public-health problem in the same comprehensive way that smoking was addressed 50 years ago.
At the time, 52 percent of people in the United States smoked, but an effort across the board emerged to challenge the status quo and, in turn, led to the measures to cut smoking rates. Currently, about 18 percent of people in this country smoke, and those numbers continue to decline.
The Act 43/ACEs Childhood Trauma Legislative Working Group — convened around the legislation (“An act relating to building resilience for individuals experiencing adverse childhood experiences”) that went into effect on July 1 — has been holding hearings to pull together a picture defining the problem.
We’re looking at best practices in addressing childhood trauma and, mostly, better informing legislators and the general public as to the prevalence and widespread, long-lasting manifestations of childhood trauma.
Alongside that though, we are asking the tough questions about evaluation and outcomes: What works, or doesn’t?
Obviously, if all the services we offered were as effective as we’d hope, the populations of the homeless, special ed, addiction/mental health, chronic health care, etc. would not still be rising.
We need to make sure monies we’re spending are being used wisely, and identify the holes in a system that need filling, if we want to stem the flow of those needing such a wide array of services because of what happened to them as a child.
We hope the testimony being heard will contribute to the body of work, help us build support for more comprehensively addressing this root cause of so many societal ills, and help put Santayana’s prophecy to rest.
We can learn from our history. We can stop the cycle of trauma that feeds those other negative behavior cycles.
We hope to add another way of looking at our world today: that things are not getting worse, but more is being revealed.
And that we would do well to hold on to one another and instead of being in denial of harsh realities, continue pulling back the veil together, and shining the light of hope.
