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Presented by

Loralei Rose Bingamon, MA, OTR/L

Dr. Jenny Martinez, MA, OTD, OTR/L

USC Division of Occupational Science & Occupational Therapy

Af3irm School of Youth Activism: A Trauma Informed Program Targeting

Adolescent Girls in South and East Los Angeles

Acknowledgements

Deepest appreciation to Dr. Jenny Martinez, insight and guidance which was integral to the development and success of SOYA. 

Thank you to Skylar Perez‐Grogan, Traci Ishigo, RYT, and the women of Af3irm Los Angeles who dedicated their time and energy to the girls and communities served. 

The Flow

Program Overview

Administrative Process

Curriculum Design 

OutcomesInterwoven Activities

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Grounding Exercise

“Then and When are in your head. 

They are not here Now are they?”

‐ Eckhart Tolle & Robert Friedman, 

in Milton’s Secret (2008)

Inspiration

SOYA Overview Insert Quote or photo

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The Problem

Trauma Exposure& 

Toxic Stress

The Program: SOYA

• Af3irm, Los Angeles

• Pilot Program

• 8 weeks, 1x/ week, 3 hours

• South Los Angeles: Mercado la Paloma

• Trauma informed yoga

• Self‐regulation strategies

• Youth organizing| Feminist leadership trainings

Target Population Eligibility Criteria

• High school aged youth (9th‐12th grade) 

• South or East Los Angeles

• Can commit 

• At‐risk for toxic stress

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Goals• Build resilience

• Increase self‐efficacy

•   Raise consciousness 

• Develop praxis skills for  community action

• Increase social supports

Administrative Processes

The Team

Skylar Perez, Youth Organizing Coordinator

Ivy Quicho, National Executive Chairperson

Tracy Ishigo, RYT

Loralei Bingamon, SOYA Coordinator

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Marketing + Recruitment

• Facebook and Instagram

• Organizational contacts

• Personal contacts

• Community   Outreach

Fundraising

• Albert Schweitzer Fellowship

• Go Fund Me

• Donated Props

• Other Fundraisers

Curriculum Design

“…there is a real need to disrupt and challenge the simple acts of privilege, and one of the ways to begin this process is by listening to and acknowledging those for whom such acts are not simple…”

- Ron Scapp, Teaching Values: Critical Perspective on Education, Politics and Culture in Teaching Community (2003) by bell hooks

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Collaborative Program Design

Diverse team

Frameworks• Trauma Informed Care

• Feminist Theory• Occupational Justice

Program Schedule

10am - 10:45am

Trauma Informed Yoga

1

10:45 - 11:15am

Self-Regulation Strategies

2

11:15 - 11:40am

Lunch

3

11:45 - 1pm

Feminist Leadership

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Trauma Informed Yoga

“Trauma informed yoga is people informed yoga.” 

– Hala Khouri, MFT, E‐RYT, SEP

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Trauma Informed Yoga

“…err on the side of 

caution to not create shame, 

pressure, or pain unnecessarily…” 

(Khouri, 2016)

“Yoga” means union or link.

TIY vs non‐TIY

Guided Breathing

“Peace is every breath.” 

‐ Thich Nhat Hahn

Self-Regulation

Topics

● Deep Breathing

●Mantras for self‐regulation

● Identifying Triggers

● Identifying Social Supports

● Creating a Sensory Tool Box www.sensoryconnectionprogram.com

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Sensory Activity

Calming

o Soft, familiar, rhythmic, undemanding, soothing

Alerting

o Strong, fast, complex, non‐rhythmic, unpredictable

Feminist Leadership/ Advocacy

TOPICS

● Self‐care +  Collective Care● Systems of Oppression● LGBT Inclusive Feminism● Healthy Relationships●Women’s Activism + Leadership● Direct Action Campaigns

Activity

“I cannot sit and care for my body without being concerned with what happens to the bodies of my sisters. We are connected… it is our responsibility not as individuals, but as communities to create structures in which self‐care changes to community care. In which we are cared‐for and able to care for others.”‐Yashna Padamsee

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Outcomes

Demographics

Student Population

• 14 participated

• 8/14 attend school in East or South LA

• 16 or  17 yrs. old = 

11/ 14 (80 %): 

• Latina = 13/ 14 (87 %)

OPHI-II

Student role as major

role

Student role as major

role

ExtraCurricular Activities

ExtraCurricular Activities

Family life Family life

Free timeFree time RelaxRelax

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Outcomes: Quantitative

• Attendance: 9 / session

• ACE : 2 / student

• Perceived Stress: “ Sometimes ”

• Health and Well‐Being Survey 

• Stress Moderate “Negative Effect on Daily Activities”

• Discomfort: Slight vs. None, ‐1 pre ‐ post Stress:  Slight vs. None, ‐1.5 pre ‐ post

Outcomes

Youth Reflections 

• Trauma Informed Yoga

• “I feel more connected and calmer and in control of my body.”

• “Since practicing yoga I have felt more at peace with not only my body, but about myself in general.”

• “Since practicing yoga…I feel less stressed out and peaceful.”

Outcomes

• Self Regulation/ Sensory Strategies

• “I now use breathing [techniques] lot when I get mad and will continue in the future.”

• “…I am more aware of how my body responds to stress. I know now that when I am stressed out I just need some time to myself. Out of all the sensory strategies …I enjoy taking three big breaths the most, although I love them all.”

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Outcomes

• Feminist Leadership 

• “When talked about body shaming, I realized what we need to be doing is loving ourselves because no one has the power to take our confidence away.”

• “I think this topic (oppression) made me understand more about the world and myself because it made me realize what us girls go through in our lives. We girls need to defend one another…we shouldn’t let guys hit us.”

Wendy Lucero

SOYA Participant, 2016

Strengths and Weaknesses

Admin/Logistics

• Volunteers

Curriculum

Data collection

Timing/ Schedule

Parent Reflections

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Loralei Bingamon

SOYA Coordinator

Moving Forward

The Present • Affirm Youth: 2x a month 

• Continued leadership training + wellness check‐in

• Women’s Day March + March on Washington

• Presented at conferences• Parent participation

The Future• Second Round in 2018• Fundraising• Submit for grants

Closing Thoughts

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Closing Breathing

Activity

o Breathing in, I know I am breathing in. Breathing out, I know I am breathing out.

o Breathing in I feel my body. Breathig out, I know I am breathing out.

o Smiling to my body I breathe in. Releasing tension in my body I breathe out.

Thank you

“Caring for myself is not self‐indulgence, it is self‐preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.”

‐Audre Lorde

Questions

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Resources

Batliwala, S. (2010). Feminist leadership for social transformation. CREA. Retrieved from www.uc.edu/content/dam/uc/ucwc/docs/CREA.pdf

Berastaín, P. R. (2013, November 18). Contextualizing domestic violence. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/pierre‐r‐berastain/contextualizingdomesticviolence_b_4260793.html

Burke Harris, N. (2014, September). How childhood trauma affects health across a lifetime.  Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/nadine_burke_harris_how_childhood_traumaaffects_health_across_a_lifetime?language=en

Community and County Health Empowerment Los Angeles. (2015, September 19). 2nd Page of Notes for 9/19/15 For CCHE meeting on PTSD/MENTALHEALTH/Alternatives for Trauma. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=996800430340228&set=a.392973860722891.90469.100000308418146&type=3&theater

Center for Youth Wellness. (2014, November 6). A health crisis: findings on adverse childhood experiences in California. Retrieved from https://app.box.com/s/nf7lw36bjjr5kdfx4ct9

Data Resource Center for Child & Adolescent Health. (2014). Adverse childhood experiences  among Los Angeles and California children. Retrieved from http://www.acesconnection.com/fileSendAction/fcType/5/fcOid/405780286637097067/fodoid/405780286637097066/ACES%20Los%20AngelesProfile_102414.pdf

East Los Angeles Women’s Center. (2013). Building healthy communities‐ Boyle Heights: improving health by preventing violence against women and girls. Retrieved from http://elawc.org/docs/ELAWC_Policy_Report_FINAL_3_11_14.pdf

Flores‐Ortiz, Y. (2002). Re/membering the body: Latina testimonies of social and family violence. In A.J. Aldama (Ed.), Violence and the body: Race, gender, and the state (pp.347‐359). Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press. 

Resources

Janofksy, M. (2016, https://edsource.org/2016/la‐unified‐cites‐rising‐rate‐of‐suicidal‐behavior‐and‐devise‐more‐tools‐to‐address‐it/572539November 13). LA Unified cites rising suicidal behavior and devises tools to address it. Ed Source, Retrieved from

Kidsdata.org. (2016). Los Angeles County: Child Population. Retrieved from http://www.kidsdata.org/region/364/los‐angeles‐county/summary#6/demographics

Lopez‐Zeron, G. & Parra‐Cardona, J.R. (2015). Elements of change across community‐based trauma interventions. Journal of Systemic Therapies, 34(3), 60‐76. 

Los Angeles Times. (n.d.a). Mapping LA: East Los Angeles. Retrieved March 12, 2017, from http://maps.latimes.com/neighborhoods/neighborhood/east‐los‐angeles/

Los Angeles Times. (n.d.b). Mapping LA: South Los Angeles. Retrieved March 12, 2017, from http://maps.latimes.com/neighborhoods/region/south‐la/

Development of a composite trauma exposure risk index. Psychological Assessment, 27(3), 965‐974. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pas0000069

Moser, A., Stuck, A. E., Silliman, R. A., Ganz, P. A., & Clough‐Gorr, K. M. (2012). The eight‐item modified Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Survey: Psychometric evaluation showed excellent performance. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 65(10), 1107‐1116. doi:10.1016/j.jclinepi.2012.04.007

Myers, H. F., Wyatt, G. E., Ullman, J. B., Loeb, T. B., Chin, D., Prause, N., . . . Liu, H. (2015). Cumulative burden of lifetime adversities: trauma and mental health in low‐SES African Americans and Latino/as. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 7(3), 243–251. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0039077 of the life stories of women. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 55(2), 223‐246. doi:10.1177/0022167814546693

Resources

Salinas, B. (2013, July 11). 'East Los High': Not just another teen soap. Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2013/07/11/200730330/East‐Los‐High‐Not‐Just‐Another‐Teen‐Soap

SAMHSA. (2014). SAMHSA’s Concept of Trauma and Guidance for a Trauma Informed Approach. Retrieved from http://store.samhsa.gov/shin/content/SMA14‐4884/SMA14‐4884.pdf

Samuel‐Davis, J.A., Ford‐Gilboe, M., Wilk, P., Avison, W. R., & Ray, S. (2010). Cumulative trauma, personal and social resources,  and post‐traumatic stress symptoms among income‐assisted single mothers. Journal of Family Violence, 25, 603–617. doi:10.1007/s10896‐010‐9323‐7

Schilling, E., Aseltine Jr., R..H., & Gore, S. (2007). Adverse childhood experiences and mental health in young adults: a longitudinal survey. BioMedCentral, 7(30), 1‐10. Retrieved from doi:10.1186/1471‐2458‐7‐30

Whiteford, G. (2000). Occupational deprivation: Global challenge in the new millennium. British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 63(5), 200‐204.