Igniting the Spirit of Hope, Healing and Discovery in our Youth

Format

Individual Presentation

First Presenter's Institution

University of West Georgia

First Presenter’s Email Address

tpeters@westga.edu

First Presenter's Brief Biography

Dr. Peterson arrived here 33 years ago as a professor in the college of Education at the University of West Georgia. He teaches courses including philosophy, cultural studies, critical issues in education and history of education. His interests include encouraging future teachers to examine their inner life, think critically, and learn how to grow relationships and heal students from their unnecessary suffering due to traumas. Son of a preacher, he lived his formative years in Singapore. Prior to his appointment at UWG, he was an elementary/middle school principal in NC, high school teacher in California and Maryland, World Masters gold medal winner in badminton, flight instructor, and father to 3 sons and 5 grandchildren.

Second Presenter's Institution

University of West Georgia

Second Presenter’s Email Address

spark@my.westga.edu

Second Presenter's Brief Biography

Born in Korea, Sung moved with his parents to Cambodia at a young age. He is majoring in Psychology here at UWG

Third Presenter's Institution

University of West Georgia

Third Presenter’s Email Address

mjoseph5@my.westga.edu

Third Presenter's Brief Biography

From the Atlanta area, Makalia is an Education undergraduate that is majoring in Special Education.

Fourth Presenter's Institution

Department of Juvenile Justice

Fourth Presenter’s Email Address

StephanieLove@djj.state.ga.us

Fourth Presenter's Brief Biography

I began with the Department of Juvenile Justice in 2009 as a JPPS I. I was promoted to Case Expeditor for the NW region in October 2022. I have previous experience with the Carroll County Department of Family and Children Services; Morning Star Counseling Services; Georgia Department of Corrections; and Inner Harbor Hospital. DJJ has a mission we strive to accomplish when working with our youth. We are given the task to protect and serve the citizens of Georgia by holding youthful offenders accountable for their actions through the delivery of treatment services and sanctions in appropriate settings and by establishing youth in their communities as productive and law-abiding citizens. DJJ staff is expected to be creative, efficient and responsible for the work that we do with our youth. We constantly seek to refine existing programs and cultivate new innovative and effective programs that encourage youthful offenders to become successful members of society.

Submitter

I am submitting this proposal as one of the presenter(s)

Location

Scarbrough 1

Strand #1

Heart: Social & Emotional Skills

Strand #2

Health: Mental & Physical Health

Relevance

“Heart” Social and Emotional Skills. There is a need for revisioning practical ways to bring hope, healing and discovery to at-risk youth who have experienced trauma and are not faring well at home, school, and in our communities. It is past time to address issues that are contributing to our youths' unnecessary suffering.

Brief Program Description

Trauma in our at-risk youth community is a growing concern and needs revisioning if we are to expect positive transformations. Our mentoring program is specifically designed to ignite hope and healing which is transforming youth that are on probation with the justice system. The outcomes are humbling and transforming, with youth better able to love themselves, connect with others, and find hope for their futures.

Summary

Trauma in our at-risk youth community is a growing concern and needs revisioning if we are to expect positive transformations. Our mentoring program is specifically designed to ignite hope and healing which is transforming youth that are on probation with the justice system. The outcomes are humbling and transforming, with youth better able to love themselves, connect with others, and find hope for their futures.

Summary: Before we can work with at-risk youth to help them heal and grow, we must understand the gravity and depth of trans-generational trauma and how they are transferred to youth. A juvenile judge described the youth who came to his court as having “dead eyes” due in large to their home environments. Too often we see patterns of destructive behaviors played out in their homes, classrooms, and in their communities with few resources to address this serious and often life-threatening mental illness. We are far behind in recognizing this issue as is noted by Rodney Walker in his 2020 book, Wounds You Can Not See, and Van Der Kolk's 2015 book, The Body Keeps the Score, in providing the necessary and specific healing that addresses traumas.

Too often, teachers are at a loss as to how to reconcile with these youth who have experienced severe trauma, so 16 years ago I started a mentoring program at the University of West Georgia in partnership with the Juvenile Justice System to address the traumas that plagues our at-risk youth. Over the years, we have invited hundreds of youths who are on probation and transport them to the university where they are introduced to pre-service teachers who will mentor them one evening a week for ten weeks.

It should be noted that when administering the Harvard University’s ACE Test to our youth, they all scored between 5 and 10 which places them at high-risk of health and mental issues including alcoholism, anxiety, and depression to name a few. This unique program is designed to ignite the spirit of healing, hope and discovery in youth who have all experienced trauma. We have tailored the latest research that brings healing to many of the youth in our program.

Evidence

The qualitative research over the past 16years shows remarkable change in the youth’s ability to form intimate relationships, focus on school, and improve their outlook on life. We have interviewed mentors and youth, probation officers that have been in the program in a past to better understand the how and why this program is so effective. They all express leaving the program with more optimism and resilience.

Learning Objective 1

Participants will better understand the gravity of trauma in our youth.

Learning Objective 2

Participants will take away an array of easy to replicate ideas for classrooms or mentoring programs, ideas that can bring hope, healing and discovery to hurting youth.

Learning Objective 3

Participants will take away a new way of bringing hope and discovery to at-risk youth

Keyword Descriptors

Trans-generational trauma, resilience, healing, mental health, physical health, mentoring, social skills, heart

Presentation Year

2025

Start Date

3-3-2025 2:45 PM

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Mar 3rd, 2:45 PM

Igniting the Spirit of Hope, Healing and Discovery in our Youth

Scarbrough 1

Trauma in our at-risk youth community is a growing concern and needs revisioning if we are to expect positive transformations. Our mentoring program is specifically designed to ignite hope and healing which is transforming youth that are on probation with the justice system. The outcomes are humbling and transforming, with youth better able to love themselves, connect with others, and find hope for their futures.