Big Brothers Big Sisters of Haines is joining a statewide initiative to prevent childhood trauma and support .

BBBS Haines, with the help of the Alaska Children’s Trust, will show a one-hour film called “Resilience” at the Haines Borough Public Library Thursday, Sept. 14 at 5:30 p.m.

“Resilience” is a documentary about a national movement to understand and prevent childhood trauma, and to support individuals with a history of “adverse childhood experiences,” known as ACES, said BBBS Haines director Rosalie Loewen.

The state Department of Health and Social Services recognizes ACES as “stressful or traumatic experiences, including abuse, neglect, witnessing domestic violence, or growing up with substance abuse, mental illness, or a parent in jail.”

According to the documentary’s website, researchers have discovered that toxic stress caused by abuse as a child can trigger hormones that put children at a greater risk for disease, homelessness, prison time and early death.

“I think that our community, like many across America and particularly in Alaska, has the opportunity to take a more effective approach to helping our children overcome whatever hurdles they face to be successful in life,” Loewen said.

The Alaska Children’s Trust is heading up the Alaska Resilience Initiative to create a network of nonprofit, tribal and state government organizations, schools, businesses and community coalitions to prevent child abuse and neglect.

Laura Norton-Cruz, Alaska Resilience Initiative program director, said child trauma is high in Alaska compared to other states.

“Adverse childhood experiences effect people everywhere, but Alaska on average has more,” Norton-Cruz said. She said child abuse is often linked to other social or behavioral problems like domestic violence and substance abuse, which for a variety of reasons are also common in Alaska. “Those problems tend to cluster together,” Norton-Cruz said. “But in some ways, we’re at the forefront of doing something about it.”

The initiative has four parts: creating a network, communicating about ACES and brain science, “trauma informed systems change” – education and professional development to transform schools and health care, and policy work.

Norton-Cruz said Alaska Children’s Trust works to connect people by sharing positive stories through a blog and social media. Staff is also working to strengthen its outreach and education curriculum to teach groups about the basics of trauma and resilience, Norton-Cruz said.

For more information, visit akresilience.org or Alaska Children’s Trust on Facebook.