Young & Healthy Initiates Community Coordinated Response to Critical Incidents Program

After a traumatic incident occurs in a community, the emergency response is immediate. But what happens in the subsequent days, weeks, and months? 

This is the question that Pasadena nonprofit Young & Healthy has been asking, according to a statement issued by the group Wednesday.

Now, with the generous support of Kaiser Permanente, the nonprofit has launched its Coordinated Community Response to Critical Incidents initiative to explore what else can be done to lessen the impact of the trauma on local children. 

This community-wide effort identifies Pasadena-area partners to come together to ensure that when an incident occurs, needed services and support are ready. 

There is currently no shortage of agencies and resources available, but there is no central hub for coordinating a response that is tailored to need and available after a critical incident occurs, Young & Healthy said in a Wednesday statement.

The ongoing emotional toll that a traumatic incident takes on the community would need to be handled in a coordinated, trauma-responsive manner, the group said.

Young & Healthy points to its history of training community leaders in Trauma Informed Care. 

By collaborating with the community at large, including representatives from Pasadena Unified School District, local law enforcement, Pasadena Public Health Department, churches, elected officials, and community-based organizations such as Boys & Girls Club, Foothill Family Services and Pacific Clinics, Young & Healthy said it intends to develop a blueprint for responding with what is needed in the aftermath of a critical incident. By building this plan they seek to maximize our community’s resources efficiently. 

“Young & Healthy has the capacity to facilitate critical incident response services and to plan, implement, and manage this extension of services.” said Ellen Kramer, Executive Director of Young & Healthy. “We can provide the knowledge base and framework for applying trauma-informed responses to children who have experienced a critical incident. Whether it’s food, clothing or stuffed bears brought to the scene by the Assistance League, or assistance with health insurance or mental health services, we will make sure that we get the community what it needs.” 

Young & Healthy launched their initiative at their first community meeting in late April. 

Forty-eight representatives of 40  local agencies attended the meeting and participated in a lively discussion about how trauma is impacting the community’s children and what can be done collaboratively to help the children.

After the meeting Kramer said that “Young & Healthy is promoting the principle that cementing strong relationships in advance of an incident is the soundest way to meet the critical needs at the time of the incident. It is not the time to be making introductions and starting to build trust. The trust has to be there already.”

The goal of this initiative is to improve community health through training and coordinating local community responses and resources for the provision of safe, effective, and trauma-responsive care for children and families. 

The first training, “Shifting from Trauma-Informed to Trauma-Responsive” took place Wednesday at Young & Healthy’s office. 

Additional training opportunities are available through October 2023. All training is open to interested community members and local agencies. Please email oalvarez@yhpasadena.org for more information.