President Philomena V. Mantella said, “Omni is built to
bring skill training and education to people where they are, and
this new partnership will allow individuals who work with children
to better serve Michigan’s kids and help them thrive."
Starr Commonwealth, founded in 1913, has a long history
of developing and delivering trauma-informed and resilience-focused
programs, according to its president, Elizabeth Carey.
"We are honored to join forces with GVSU’s Omni
network to extend our reach and impact," Carey said.
"Together, we can equip more adults and systems of care with
the tools to foster resilience and healing in children who have
experienced trauma. This initiative aligns with our theory of
change, which has a growing evidence base to support that when
trauma-informed and resilience-focused adults work within
trauma-informed and resilience-focused systems, the health and
well-being of children will improve."
Kara Van Dam, chief executive for Omni, said she was
inspired to partner with Starr Commonwealth because its instructors
and clinicians "help children have a good start by helping them
heal from a traumatic one."
"We're so pleased to partner with Starr
Commonwealth on relevant programming that will help social workers
and professionals who work with youth advance their careers,"
Van Dam said. "We also support Starr because they see that the
entire ecosystem of children — parents, caregivers, teachers, first
responders and more — has to be engaged in trauma-informed practice
to ensure these positive outcomes."
