On Monday, April 22nd, 2019, Earth Day, Affirming YOUth Foundation, Inc and Liberty City Elementary School will fulfill our goal of engaging hundreds of elementary school students will plant “seeds of change” to encourage children to love the Earth, and all will bloom in a world as it should be.
Children and Families exposed to trauma will plant SEEDS of Change to establish a better environment and contribute to biodiversity that leads to healthier communities and enriched live. There will be a special presentation by the Worm Whisperer.
Our initiative aims to educate members of the public by raising environmental and adverse childhood experiences through literacy. Adverse childhood experiences include events such as witnessing or being a victim of violence, being in a natural or human-made disaster, being in an accident or house fire, or being physically abused/injured, and who are suffering from moderate to severe levels of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms.
By leveraging citizen science, we will drive meaningful action, empowering youth and families through education about reactions to trauma, relaxation training, Cognitive therapy, real-life exposure, stress or trauma exposure and social problem-solving, to make better choices.
On Earth Day, we celebrate what the earth gives us—the air we breathe, the food we eat, the water we drink, the trees we use for timber, paper, furniture, and to build our homes. We think about the plants and animals with whom we share the earth. Today, with the inclusion of skills-based group interventions aimed at relieving symptoms of PTSD, depression, and general anxiety among children exposed to trauma, youth and families can measure and make decisions about their environment — preserving all that we love because children learn from what we do.