Teachers Learn about Trauma-Informed Care

Real estate law firm Codilis & Associates gives back to the communities its serves by supporting multiple charitable organizations. Among the groups Codilis and Associates supports is the Mercy Home for Boys and Girls, a Catholic organization whose mission is to assist children and families in need.

As part of its work, Mercy Home for Boys and Girls provided a workshop in 2018 for Chicago teachers on how to educate children who have experienced trauma and adversity. The event was part of the organization’s Mercy Model School initiative.

Teachers who participated learned from Mercy Home workers strategies for helping students become resilient. One section of this workshop focused on a landmark study that revealed that the more adverse childhood experiences a person has, the more susceptible they are to substance abuse, life-threatening diseases, lower life expectancy, and other issues.

While childhood trauma has long been proven to affect student attitudes toward school and learning, the effort focused on helping educators develop skills that would facilitate learning, even when the child is dealing with adverse situations at home. The session also addressed other issues, such as teacher burnout due to compassion fatigue.