UB ITTIC goes to Washington

By Catherine Donnelly

This spring, the UB School of Social Work’s Institute on Trauma and Trauma-Informed Care (ITTIC) cohosted a panel on the current state of the trauma-informed movement with the Campaign for Trauma-Informed Policy and Practice (CTIPP) in Washington, D.C.

During the discussion, Samantha Koury, EdD, MSW ’15, co-director of ITTIC, focused on the importance of macro-level work to impact policies, procedures and support one another so change can become transformative across systems. She was joined by Whitney Marris, MSW ’20, adjunct faculty in the School of Social Work, who provided an overview of the current state of various policies impacting trauma-informed care, and Dr. Sandra Bloom, co-founder of CTIPP, who delivered a history of the movement. 

Several other UB faculty members and recent alumni participated in the event, which was a precursor to a day of lobbying on the Hill for the RISE from Trauma Act (H.R. 6625/S. 3461), the Community Mental Wellness and Resilience Act (H.R. 4744) and the Trauma-Informed Care Caucus.

“CTIPP had been planning to visit with members of Congress. When ITTIC proposed its symposium, it made sense to put the events together,” says Megan Koury, project and office manager at ITTIC. “The bills we lobbied for are focused on being proactive instead of being reactionary to traumatic situations. And we’re not just talking about personal distress; these bills are designed to support community and workforce resilience.”

“The trip to Washington was very inspirational, because for me, I'm front line; I see the here and now. But to hear how much the movement has advanced in the past decade was very motivational,” says Adria C. Swain, MSW ’25, director of permanent supportive housing at Matt Urban Human Services.

Swain, who is also a part of the WNY Trauma Informed Community Initiative, found it exhilarating to enter the Capitol building to talk to staffers. “I felt like I connected with so many others on the trip and came back compelled to start working on proposals and outreach efforts that had stalled. I understand better how the micro-level work needs the macro to truly succeed.”

Raising awareness and improving policy has been the hallmark of ITTIC since its founding. Trauma-informed care awareness can help address the root causes of such challenges as addiction, homelessness, mental health crises and community instability.

“When I was a student, trauma-informed care was not a defined topic. But now, it is part of the conversation. This trip to Washington reminded me how powerful it feels to use our voices for advocacy,” says Robyn Wiktorski-Reynolds, clinical assistant professor in the UB School of Social Work. “We are not alone in our work, and we can be resources for one another.”

One key aspect to the lobbying efforts was to educate lawmakers about the effects of trauma and remove the stigma from the language used in this space. It has been shown that 80% of adolescents report at least one adverse childhood experience (ACE) and this will impact them as adults.

“The fact that national policies supporting the most vulnerable could be disrupted so easily in the past few years suggests that it was an illusion that we were building upon a solid foundation. During the Thursday conversation we talked about states rolling back their trauma-informed initiatives and it is disheartening,” says Tonya Myles-Day, DSW, clinical assistant professor in the School of Social Work. “But they are going about it the wrong way. If we could be proactive, we could cut the cost of healthcare. If people started with an understanding of ACES, and that almost all of us have some trauma in our past, we could understand one another more and come to consensus more quickly.”