Two-thirds of all children are exposed to at least one adverse childhood experience, or ACE, before they reach adulthood. ACEs take the form of abuse, neglect and/or dysfunction inside the home, and will cause a child to have toxic stress. Toxic stress in children blocks their social-emotional development; in adulthood, lingering toxic stress produces crippling problems like obesity, drug addiction, and depression. The more ACEs experienced, the more likely these negative outcomes become.
At Head Start and Early Head Start throughout counties in central Maine, First4 Americorps members like myself develop children’s resilience against the effects of ACEs. By building strong social-emotional relationships with children and by acting in accordance with the trauma-informed approach of Conscious Discipline, First4 members lay the foundations necessary to thwart the effects of toxic stress on a child’s life.
First4 Americorps is a KVCAP initiative sponsored by Volunteer Maine, and functions under the umbrella of the National Service Corporation. Our First4 members hail from many different backgrounds; some are graduate students, some are from out of state, and some are even first-time parents. Members can serve either three, four, or five days a week for up to a year.
This letter is designed to bring national service to light, and by making First4 Americorps more widely known residents of central Maine will be aware of the kinds of national service conducted in their community. I hope this letter has left you more informed of what First4 Americorps does in central Maine; if you wish for more information, please visit
www.kvcap.org/first4-americorps/.
Edward Frankonis
Alna
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