As we begin another school year disrupted by the pandemic, more than 214,000 American children — most younger than 13 — have lost a parent or caregiver to COVID-19, with potentially devastating consequences. Even for children and families spared the deadly costs of the virus, research has begun to measure its impact, including the spiraling effects of the personal and collective stress we have all experienced. Combined with an ongoing and terrifying series of school shootings, our nation is facing a complex back-to-school season.
As first spouses, we believe that our shared adversity has created an opportunity for more candid conversations and broader collaboration — a chance to listen to each other and to work together to foster the conditions that allow children, families, and communities to thrive.
We work within our states toward that ultimate goal, championing initiatives from fighting childhood hunger to building trauma-responsive systems to eliminating human trafficking. What we have learned from that work has brought us together in support of a new national effort, “Pathways to Resilience,”which seeks to draw upon the wisdom of American families and communities, as well as practitioner and research expertise from across the country, to help prevent and interrupt cycles of adversity.
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This work is not new, but we believe we can accelerate progress by breaking out of silos of sector and geography to work toward truly systemic change. As members of the Steering Committee for the “Pathways to Resilience” initiative, we ask state and local governments, foundations and organizations, business leaders and neighbors to work together to:
We believe that by listening to each other and working together, we can develop practical tools that all of us can use, in and out of government. Our everyday encounters at work, school, youth sports, faith gatherings and at the bus stop, barber shop, nail salon, doctor’s office, library, farm stand and kitchen table provide unlimited opportunities to be part of positive experiences for each other and for our children.
We applaud the recent federal efforts to acknowledge the critical state of affairs and the actions to address the current youth mental health crisis — including a commitment for nearly $300 million in grants to expand access to mental health services in schools and a letter to governors co-signed by the secretaries of health and human services and education announcing forthcoming guidance to help states better leverage Medicaid funding to support school-based health and mental health services.
As the U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murthy, said, “If we seize this moment, step up for our children and their families in their moment of need, and lead with inclusion, kindness, and respect, we can lay the foundation for a healthier, more resilient, and more fulfilled nation.”
We are confident that work of Pathways to Resilience, paired with these investments in schools to support our children’s mental and physical health with trauma-responsive approaches, can help to promote resilience.
Please join us as we work to build Pathways to Resilience for all of our nation’s children, families, and communities. Learn more at www.PathwaysUS.org.
Tracey Quillen Carney is the First Lady of Delaware and serves as the chair of the Pathways to Resilience Steering Committee. She convenes the First Chance Delaware initiative and helped to build a coalition of first spouses committed to trauma-informed prevention strategies that promote child well-being.
Dawn Amano-Ige is the First Lady of Hawaii. Lauren Baker is the First Lady of Massachusetts. Abby Cox is the First Lady of Utah. Donna Edwards is the First Lady of Louisiana. Susanne Shore is the First Lady of Nebraska. Frances Wolf is the First Lady of Pennsylvania.
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