Salud America! is a program led by Dr. Amelie Ramirez that focuses on addressing adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) through health communication and advocacy. The document provides examples of programs and initiatives that help children who have experienced trauma, such as a school-based intervention providing mental health services, a district-wide trauma-informed task force, and the "Handle with Care" program which notifies schools when a student has experienced trauma. Salud America! has created action packs and advocacy efforts to help expand these types of trauma-sensitive programs and policies.

1. Salud America!
Amelie G. Ramirez, DrPH
Director, Salud America!
Director, Institute for Health Promotion Research
Chair, Population Health Sciences
UT Health San Antonio
Salud America! Program Team:
Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez (Director), Cliff Despres (Communications Manager), Rosalie Aguilar (Project Coordinator), Curators:
Amanda Merck, Stacy Cantu, Pramod Sukumaran, Josh McCormack
Using Health Communication and
Advocacy to Address ACEs
salud-america.org | @SaludAmerica

2. We focus on childhood trauma
www.salud-america.org

3. We know trauma happens a lot
Learn more: Salud America! Research Review, 2017, salud.to/latinochild

4. We know trauma’s impact
Learn more: Salud America! Research Review, 2017, salud.to/latinochild

5. But what happens next?
The day after trauma, kids
have to go to school.
Are they…
• Hungry?
• Falling asleep in class?
• Doing homework?
• Failing a test?
• Staring off into space?
• Having an outburst?

6. Trauma turns off a
kid’s learning switch!
A traumatized kid
sees the world as a
dangerous place,
including school.
But what happens next?

7. We know the early care/school setting
plays an important role

8. Example: Heyman Oo
Dr. Oo is a California
pediatrician who encounters
lots of traumatized immigrant
children in clinics
Here’s what she did:
• Joined a task force charged to
address rise of unaccompanied
minors apprehended at state border
• They started a school-based intervention to provide mental health
services to students who may otherwise fall through the cracks.
• They use art therapy, mindfulness, trauma narrative therapy, and
psychoeducation to help students process their journeys
salud.to/FUERTESF

9. Example: John Hernandez
John is the student support
leader at EC ISD in San Antonio
Here’s what he did:
• Start a district-wide trauma-
informed task force with reps from
each campus and department
(athletics, nutrition, etc.)
• Task force built a vision, action plan
• Created a system, using school software they already had, to
identify, track/monitor, and help kids who face trauma
• System uses chain of command, community resource guide,
tracking system, professional development, district awareness
salud.to/ECCares

10. Example: John + Salud
We worked with John to
create an Action Pack with
FAQs, model emails, templates
to help school leader make
their school trauma-sensitive!
1. Start the Conversation with Leadership
2. Create a Task Force and Develop Vision
3. Take Immediate Action: Trauma-
Informed Care System
4. Take More Comprehensive Actions
5. Raise Community Awareness
640+ downloads!
salud.to/traumakit

11. Example: Handle With Care
How the “Handle With Care” program works
Pilot test of HWC in West Virginia yielded 508 notifications
involving 1,056 kids; those kids would have otherwise
received no trauma-sensitive support

12. Example: Handle With Care + Salud
Today 65+ cities have
HWC … we want more!
So we worked with San Antonio
HWC leaders and HWC
originators in West Virginia to
create a “How to Start Handle
With Care” Action Pack with
FAQs, model emails, templates,
flyers, so any school or district
could start the program
salud.to/handlewithcaresalud.to/handlewithcare425+ downloads!

13. Our members
sent 2,214 emails
to U.S. HHS to
add trauma
objectives to
Healthy People
2030
(results still
pending)
We also advocate nationally

14. Homework…

15. We need the notoriously
collaborative public health
field to work across sectors
to come up with policies and
practices to PREVENT and
manage childhood adversity!
Homework…

16. Homework…
Join Us! salud-america.org/join