Help Youth At Risk for ACEs
Youth-serving and faith-based organizations, coaches, and caregivers can help prevent adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Raising awareness of ACEs in communities about how to prevent these experiences can help children grow up and thrive in a safe and stable environment.
What are ACEs?
Traumatic experiences in childhood and the teenage years may put children at risk for violence, chronic health problems, mental illness, and substance abuse in adulthood. These traumatic experiences are known as Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). These experiences can affect children for years and impact their potential in life.
ACEs may take many forms, including:
- Experiencing violence, abuse, or neglect
- Witnessing violence in the home or community
- Having a family member attempt or die by suicide
Also included are aspects of the child’s environment that can undermine their sense of safety, stability, and bonding such as growing up in a household with:
- Substance abuse
- Mental health problems
- Instability due to parental separation
- Instability due to incarceration of a parent, sibling, or other member of the household
Raising Awareness of ACEs
The first step in helping young people at risk for ACEs is for everyone in our communities to gain a better understanding of these experiences. ACEs are far more common than many people realize. About 6 in 10 adults surveyed reported experiencing at least one ACE, and nearly 1 in 6 of them reported experiencing 4 or more different types of ACEs.
It is also important for people to understand the many long-term consequences of ACEs. ACEs put individuals at risk for chronic health problems, mental illness, and substance misuse in adulthood. For example, there is evidence that these childhood stresses can put people at risk for heart disease and depression later in life. ACEs can also negatively impact education and job opportunities.
Fortunately, educating youth-serving and faith-based organizations, coaches, and caregivers and raising awareness of ACEs in communities about how to prevent these experiences can help children grow up and thrive in a safe and stable environment.
How to Help Prevent ACEs
The good news is that ACEs are preventable. There are a number of strategies that involve people from all sectors of society that can prevent ACEs from happening in the first place and lessen the harmful effects of ACEs that have already occurred. The harmful effects of ACEs can affect everyone in our communities, and everyone can be helpful in preventing them. By keeping ACEs from occurring in the first place and taking quick action when an ACE happens, communities can help all children reach their full potential.
Here are some ways to help prevent ACEs:
Community organizations such as faith-based and youth-serving organizations can promote policies that support families facing financial problems or that help parents balance work and family responsibilities can reduce stress and make it easier for parents to meet children’s basic needs. Examples include those:
- Policies that support employers offering paid time off to care for a newborn or family member
- Policies that provide families assistance with childcare costs and healthy nutrition
- Providing income or child tax credits for working families
- Offering flexible and consistent work schedules
Teach communities that violence is not a way to solve problems. Instead encourage community organizations such as youth-serving and faith-based organizations, coaches, and caregivers to promote non-violent behavior. Examples include:
- Supporting parents and positive parenting practices
- Encouraging people to speak up when they see violence
- Involving men and boys in prevention efforts
- Educating parents and caregivers that it’s okay to ask for help
Involved parents, strong preschool programs, and good quality childcare get children off on the right foot and help them succeed later in life. Youth-serving and faith-based organizations can contribute to this as well. Examples include:
- Getting caregivers involved in early learning programs
- Making sure that childcare facilities at the faith-based or youth-serving organization are licensed and accredited
- Providing affordable preschool and childcare programs
- Offering in-home support and training in child health and development
Children and caregivers alike can learn about how to create healthy relationships and manage their emotions. Teens while participating in faith-based organizations or youth-based organizations can learn about safe dating. Examples of ways to help include:
- Teaching children how to handle conflict(s), negative feelings, and pressures from peers
- Offering programs that teach skills for developing healthy, non-violent dating relationships
- Teaching healthy childrearing skills to parents
- Helping parents or caregivers learn ways to support their children and set a good example with their behaviors
Community organizations play a critical role in connecting young people with positive role models and providing activities to for young people to learn leadership and other new skills. Communities can help young people grow and succeed at school and in life. Examples of ways organizations can connect youth to caring adults and activities include:
- Enrolling them in school or community mentoring programs
- Getting them involved in after-school activities
- Giving them opportunities to build confidence and practice leadership skills
- Offering a training opportunity in the arts, media, sports, science, or technology
When ACEs occur, community organizations, can offer services and support to reduce the harms of ACEs and help break the cycle of adversity. Examples include:
- Learning more about ACEs and what kinds of support is available for kids, teens, and adults
- Offering medical, legal, housing and other crisis intervention services as needed
- Providing therapy to reduce symptoms of depression, fear or anxiety, and behavior problems.
- Using family-centered treatment for substance misuse
Creating safe, stable, nurturing relationships and environments while youth are participating in faith-based organizations or youth-serving organizations can prevent ACEs and help all children reach their full health and life potential. Some of the many benefits of preventing ACEs include:
- Healthier relationships
- Better performance in school
- Higher graduation rates
- Less depression and substance abuse
- Fewer behavior problems and less violence
- Fewer arrests for violent crimes
- Less burden and cost from violence for everyone
Everyone can play an important role in supporting a better future for kids, teens, and their families.