YES! A resounding YES! This is the standard response given from Children's Homes of Cleveland County (CHCC) when asked about opportunities to come together to learn, grow, and develop in a safe, stable environment for children and families. After all, these are the words penned in the mission statement of the organization, but it is worth noting that this organization strives in every way to live this out. As a trauma informed agency, Children’s Homes of Cleveland County has been a leader in...

Benchmark’s 4 th annual Partnering For Excellence (PFE) conference, “Envisioning Resilient Communities” was held September 11 th and 12 th in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. To open the second day of the conference, Andrew Schrag, Regional Director of Community Operations for Partners Behavioral Health Management (Partners BHM) inspired the audience to reflect on “Why PFE” as a model to help children and their families impacted by trauma. To express this, he shared with the audience why...

It’s that time of the year when students, parents and school staff prepare to return to the classroom. Students look for new outfits to wear on the first day of school while parents check off a supply list. Recently at Cleveland County Schools, teacher assistants had an opportunity to prepare for students by learning more about the impact of trauma on the brain. Jasmine Cain, Benchmarks’ PFE Project Manager, explained the different types of trauma and how behaviors exhibited by students are...