Dixwell | Film | Arts & Culture
The following citizen contribution was submitted by Josiah Brown, executive director of Connecticut Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA). Connecticut CASA “empowers a statewide network of caring, consistent volunteer Court Appointed Special Advocates to advance the best interests of children who have experienced abuse or neglect—so every child can find a safe, permanent home to thrive,” according to its mission statement. The first photo shows Josiah Brown, Enna Garcia of 'r Kids Family Center, and Dr. Ijeoma Opara.
On September 12—amid Kinship Care Month & Recovery Month—two New Haven-based nonprofits collaborated to hold a free community screening of the documentary film Silence on the Streets. The film, by Sharece Sellem-Hannah, grew out of an earlier play that aimed to raise awareness about the opioid epidemic and its effects on Connecticut communities and families.
The nonprofit partners that organized the screening were 'r Kids Family Center, which hosted the event at its expanded new facility at 45 Dixwell Ave., and Connecticut Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), which prepares and supervises volunteer advocates to inform decisions about children's best interests.
In addition to reporting regularly to the court, CASA volunteers connect children and families with resources, build relationships through monthly visits, and promote resilience for these young people who have experienced abuse or neglect. (These—reporting, resources, relationships and resilience—are known within the organization as the “Four Rs.”)
Silence on the Streets explores the toll that opioids take not just on the people who use them, but also on families and communities impacted by their presence. A theatermaker and playwright, Sellem-Hannah peels back several layers of trauma to get to the core of the opioid crisis, talking to experts in public health and substance use disorder as well as people affected firsthand by opioid use and overdose.
Guest speaker Dr. Ijeoma Opara spoke after the screening. The founding director of the Substance Abuse and Sexual Health (SASH) Lab at Yale School of Public Health, she was among those interviewed in the film, with others ranging from trauma survivor and consultant Kyisha Velazquez to U.S. Attorney Vanessa R. Avery.
As Dr. Opara emphasized, untreated mental health issues contribute significantly to "self-medicating" through addictive substances. Poverty and racism can be major factors, too, although drug use, intimate partner violence, child abuse and neglect of course occur across all socio-economic and ethno-racial categories. Breaking intergenerational cycles of trauma and abuse, of various kinds, is a collective effort, requiring government and community action.
That knowledge is central to the work that both organizations do. Both 'r Kids Family Center and Connecticut CASA attempt—with DCF social workers, attorneys, judges and a range of other professionals—to support family preservation whenever possible. Family visits, at sites such as 'r Kids, and various services aim to help children remain with their parents whenever safely possible, or to be with extended kin and caring non-relative foster parents before family reunification might be advisable. If necessary, transfer of guardianship or adoption may be considered.
Supporting children and their best interests is the priority of organizations such as 'r Kids and Connecticut CASA, which is a growing statewide affiliate of the national CASA movement that strives for every child to have a safe, permanent home with an opportunity to thrive. Read more about that here.