What is a peaceful community? Five hundred Hillside direct care staff members explored that question at a Peaceful Communities Conference and educational In-Service in May. The events were an informal launch of the Peaceful Communities initiative, which will contribute to the successful treatment of youth and families in Hillside’s care. Creating peaceful communities is a cultural change in the way Hillside approaches youth with aggressive behaviors. According to Hillside Children’s Center Developmental Disabilities Services Leader Dan Lesinski, "When a youth was acting aggressively and was a danger to himself or others, we have traditionally used safety holds to protect everyone involved. We don’t believe that safety holds are therapeutic anymore. In fact, for some kids, holding them even for safety reasons can retraumatize them from prior violence or abuse."
"We’re looking at aggression in a new way," says Hillside Family of Agencies Chief Operating Officer Clyde Comstock. "Kids don’t want to fail. When they become aggressive, it’s an indicator that they’re not getting what they need. We need to provide what’s missing so they can make effective life choices. Sometimes it’s a big thing, like helping them to reconnect with family members through Hillside Family Finding services. Sometimes it’s small things, like how we talk to them. Anger is an indicator that we need to pay attention and figure out what’s really going on."
A step in changing the culture is providing new tools for Hillside’s direct care staff members so they can help youth and families learn to cope with challenges. The two-day Peaceful Communities Conference offered a variety of workshops on topics such as how to handle crises, trauma, bullying, and Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports.
"We also need to involve kids and families in deciding what kind of environment they want," Clyde says. Youth at all Hillside residential locations were asked to write poetry or create artwork depicting their concept of a peaceful community. Their works were compiled into a video that was shown during the conference. "We want to create an environment where kids know they’re safe and violence is not part of that environment," Dan says. "The goal is to do really good skill building in non-crisis times so we can help kids self-regulate during a crisis. We’re also modeling how we want them to behave when they leave Hillside."
The Peaceful Communities initiative is a two-year effort that will significantly reduce the use of safety holds throughout Hillside. "What works in one area may not work in another," Dan says, "so we’re developing plans to eliminate violence and aggression program by program. We know it can be done and there’s a high-level commitment to it. We’ll do whatever is necessary to achieve it."