We share a great deal of information about The Imperative below, including how you can get involved with this very important work. While we encourage you to read all of the information provided, click any of buttons below and you’ll be taken directly to that section of this page.
Our Black boys in Detroit are in crisis. Their life trajectories are crippled by intergenerational trauma caused by implicit bias and systemic racism.
Our findings demonstrate that Black boys are over diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Oppositional Defiance Disorder (ODD), and Conduct Disorder (CD) and under diagnosed and treated for the trauma they have experienced because of implicit bias and systemic racism. Society and in many cases, systems they depend on for care and development, look at them through a lens focused on what is wrong with you as opposed to what happened to you.
Black boys are disproportionately affected by implicit bias, systemic racism, and a lack of trauma-informed community support systems. They experience trauma at a much higher rate than their white counterparts.
This disparity creates unimaginable challenges and keeps them from living their dreams and becoming the amazing people they were born to be.
Compared to all other males, Black boys are:
Nationally
The life trajectory of Black boys in Detroit is crippled by intergenerational trauma caused by implicit bias and systemic racism. This often undiagnosed and untreated trauma causes unimaginable challenges and negative outcomes for Black boys.
Check out the video to the right to see how The Children’s Center and Crisis to Connection will meet these challenges and help Black boys live their dreams.
Where you live determines your access to opportunities in education, employment, housing and even access to Medical Care (David R. Williams). This Infographic demonstrates the very different neighborhood context that children living in Detroit experience vs children living blocks away in Grosse Pointe.
The Change Champion Kickoff Report polled over 100 community and systems leaders to examine the most significant challenges in systems that service Black boys. Click on image above to see the results.
Christopher Jaco, Client and Crisis to Connection Ambassador at The Children’s Center, has a compelling and inspirational story that’s emblematic of the issues Black boys face as they matriculate through systems Crisis to Connection seeks to reimagine. Click to listen to Chris’ story.
Over the next decade, Crisis to Connection will bring together key systems leaders and community Change Champions to develop a comprehensive plan that identifies and treats intergenerational trauma and addresses implicit bias and systemic racism that impacts the life trajectory of Black boys.
Outcome impact data from organizations and systems (in Detroit and Wayne County) that touch the lives of Black boys will be collected, disaggregated, and analyzed. Data will be used to inform decisions on the work of the Imperative and shared with the community and organizations that service and engage Black boys.
Resources and trainings around trauma, implicit bias and systemic racism will be developed, coordinated, and provided to the community, organizations and systems touching the lives of Black boys.
Transformative changes will be executed at the organizational, systems and legislative levels focused on eliminating racist policies and practices impacting Black boys across their life span and ultimately improving outcomes for Black boys, families and the community.
Short Term:
Intermediate Term:
Long Term:
Over the next decade, Crisis to Connection will bring together key systems leaders and community Change Champions to develop a comprehensive plan that identifies and treats intergenerational trauma and addresses implicit bias and systemic racism that impacts the life trajectory of Black boys.
Crisis to Connection will leverage partnerships with process experts in key systems to guide, inform, plan and move the work of the Imperative forward. Below are a few of our partners:
Click on the following tabs to learn more about the purpose and members of our Advisory Council, Subcommittees and Operations Team.
The Advisory Council is responsible for the strategic direction of the Imperative. The goal of the Advisory Council is to develop a community wide strategy to help Black boys live their dreams. The Advisory Council is comprised of leaders across systems that the Imperative will reimagine. Meet our Advisory Council Members.
Co-Chairs
George Winn, Chief Operations Officer, The Children’s Center
George serves as Chief Operations Officer at The Children’s Center in Detroit, Michigan where he leads human resources, operations, information technology, and child welfare teams for a behavioral health and child welfare organization. Mr. Winn provides support and guidance in all aspects of program innovation and implementation. Mr. Winn takes a visionary approach to carefully assisting the agency in strategic planning, while focusing on community partnerships and improving internal systems. He has passion for, and belief in, the family system and believes our children are our future and we must provide innovative, high quality services to children and families. Mr. Winn also leads and supports The Children’s Center Fatherhood Initiative. He also serves in the role of the Diversity Officer and leads in the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee. Mr. Winn is very active in advocating in addressing racial inequity within the child welfare and community mental health systems.
Kevin Fischer, Executive Director, National Alliance on Mental Illness Michigan (NAMI MI)
Kevin is the Executive Director of NAMI Michigan. NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness,is the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness.A retired businessman, Kevin joined NAMI as a volunteer in 2011 after his oldest son Dominique was diagnosed with a mental illness in late 2007 and was lost to suicide in 2010. After serving on the NAMI Michigan Board of Directors as the NAMI Walks Chairperson for two years, and as Board Vice-President for two years, Kevin accepted the role of Executive Director in 2014. A mental health and suicide prevention advocate, Kevin is also the founder and Director of The Dominique Fischer Memorial Foundation,serves on the Board of Directors of several behavioral health organizations throughout Michigan and is a member of Governor Whitmer’s Suicide Prevention Commission. Quoted as saying “this is his last job; his last fight,” Kevin is dedicated to eliminating the stigma of mental illness, which he considers the leading barrier to early diagnoses, treatment and better outcomes for all.
Advisory Council Members
Work Groups work on objectives that support the Imperative’s Strategic Plan, goals and outcomes. Here’s the current focus of the Work Groups.
Crisis to Connection convened over 100 community and systems leaders across Detroit and Wayne County to provide context and to the Imperative and begin to rally the community around the urgent and critically important work of the “Imperative.” See what happened.
The Operations Team exists to help expedite logistics, finances, and management of the Advisory Council, to support the work of the Sub-Committees and to engage, organize and support the community. The Operations Team is comprised of the following members:
The Crisis to Connection Quarterly Change Champions Meetings are designed to bring together the Change Champions involved in the work of Crisis to Connection to report on the progress of their work, share information and resources, and provide a space for learning and training.
Education around Trauma, Implicit Bias and how Systemic Racism impacts the outcomes of Black boys is key to the work of Crisis to Connection. Please review the resources below:
The Impact of Racial Trauma
Newsy. (2020, June 22). Understanding Racial Trauma [Video]. YouTube.
How childhood trauma affects health across a lifetime by Dr. Nadine Burke Harris
“The repeated stress of abuse, neglect and parents struggling with mental health or substance abuse issues has real, tangible effects on the development of the brain. This unfolds across a lifetime, to the point where those who’ve experienced high levels of trauma are at triple the risk for heart disease and lung cancer. An impassioned plea for pediatric medicine to confront the prevention and treatment of trauma, head-on.” (Burke Harris, N., 2015; Ted Conferences)
Burke Harris, N. (2015, February). How childhood trauma affects health across a lifetime [Video]. Ted Conferences.
Complex Trauma: In Urban African-American Children, Youth, and Families
Complex Trauma Treatment Network of the National Child Traumatic Stress Network. (2016). Complex trauma: In Urban African-American Children, Youth, and Families. Los Angeles, CA, & Durham, NC: National Center for Child Traumatic Stress.
There is No “Post”: How Trauma and Violence Affect the Lives of Young Males of Color
Rich, MD, MPH, J., Marks, MPP, A., Corbin, MD, MPP, T., & Ashley, MPH, L. (2018, January). Healing in Color Action Brief One. Youthalive.org
Sounding the Alarm on Black Youth Suicide By Zara Adrams
Quick read that shows how suicide among black youth has skyrocketed within the last 2 decades. Lays out what is being done to help this population.
Abrams, Z. (2020, January 28). Sounding the alarm on black youth suicide. Psychologists are mobilizing to address a growing crisis. American Psychological Association.
“Them and Me — The Care and Treatment of Black Boys in America”
Simon, M.D., K. M., (2020, November 12). Them and Me — The Care and Treatment of Black Boys in America. N Engl J Med 2020; 383:1904-1905 DOI: 10.1056/NEJMp2022606
How Racism Makes Us Sick by David R. Williams
Williams, D. R. (2016, November). How Racism Makes Us Sick [Video]. Ted Conferences.
Parker, C. S. (2012, November 1). Undoing Racism-By Design. Interaction Institute for Social Change.
Imperative of Addressing Childhood Trauma in Detroit by George Winn
Charlton, C. (2021, April 5). Imperative of Addressing Childhood Trauma in Detroit. Metro Parent.
Crisis to Connection: An Imperative for our Black boys
Listen to @TCC_Laura talk with Carlynn Nichols, Chief Clinical Officer at The Children’s Center about why we created “Crisis to Connection: An Imperative for Our Black Boys.”
The Children’s Center Real Talk About Children’s Mental Health Podcast. (2020, August 17). E4: Crisis to Connection: An Imperative for Our Boys.
The Children’s Center, in partnership with the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (MOCAD), is hosting the 8th annual Faces of Trauma event on May 25, 2022.
This year’s theme is Faces of Trauma: The Art of Healing. Artists, including The MOSAIC Youth Theatre of Detroit and AleshaNicole, will demonstrate how art and music can be used as a tool to facilitate healing from traumatic life experiences. A keynote speaker will share their story of resilience and healing, and artwork created by The Children’s Center clients will be on display.
The first step is to attend a 60-minute Informational Session via Zoom to learn about the Imperative and how you can get involved.
Join a Work Group!
The Strategic Planning Subcommittee is currently building the Community Wide Strategic Plan. Work Groups will convene after the completion of the Community-Wide Strategic Plan (slated for January 2023).
Refer a person or organization to the Imperative. Refer a person or organization interested in social justice and social change to the Imperative to get involved. Provide them with our media guide to get the conversation started.
Make a gift. We’re confident we can defeat racism, poverty and childhood trauma. But we cannot do it alone. We need your help. Please give.
Without effective, trauma-informed interventions, Black boys in Detroit are more likely receive in-school suspensions, out-of-school suspensions, and expulsions. More likely to not graduate high school. More likely to be incarcerated. These aren’t bad boys. They’re traumatized boys. The Children’s Center is dedicated to changing this all-too-common narrative for our Black boys. Connecting them and their families to trauma-informed community supports, so they can live their dreams and become the person they were born to be. Please give.
Join the Conversation
The Children’s Center frequently engages with the community through virtual Crisis to Connection listening and informational meetings. The community is encouraged to attend upcoming Crisis to Connection meetings to participate in the discussion and provide feedback and ideas on how together we can improve outcomes for our Black boys.
Submit questions or share ideas via CrisisToConnection@thechildrenscenter.com.
To join the conversation on social media, follow The Children’s Center on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube.
Use #CrisisToConnection in your social media posts to contribute your voice to the Crisis to Connection conversation and help us raise awareness online.
To stay informed on upcoming Crisis to Connection meetings and other important updates, signup to our email list.
To learn more about Crisis to Connection: An Imperative for our Black boys, please contact us at CrisisToConnection@thechildrenscenter.com or call 313.379.0998.