Baltimore Youth Leader Hosts Injury Training for Enoch Pratt Free Library Staff – CBS Baltimore

BALTIMORE (WJZ) – Baltimore’s youth leaders held a virtual training session Friday to help Enoch Pratt Free Library staff learn how to help young people who are experiencing trauma.

“We are just here to give all of you some things that you can do to help young people in their healing process,” said Healin.g Youth Union Ambassador Jima Chester said.

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Members of the Youth Healing Coalition organized this session to help the 450 members of the library system understand what trauma looks like and how they should respond to it.

“So they will be working with our librarians today to achieve conflict resolution, de-escalation, how to actually work with a young person experiencing trauma when they enter your branch. ,” said Councilman Zeke Cohen.

Cohen sponsored the Elijah Cummings Healing Cities Act, under which training is required.

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The session is one of six parts of the monthly curriculum for librarians. Members of every city agency will have to undergo training.

“The adults in all of our city agencies have a lot of power in determining how our children grow up,” says Cohen. “That’s why we’re so proud to be the first city in the country to have legalized trauma care.”

City leaders and youth say the training is an important step in helping youth heal and avoid re-injury.

“Me and Jima are juniors. We gwill grow next year but that doesn’t mean I don’t worry about the kids after us,” said Sydney Johnson, who is also a youth ambassador for the Healing Youth Alliance. “This is why We are doing the job now. We need to work together now to figure out how we can change this.”

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The The Department of Recreation and Parks will be City’s next facility to receive training in trauma care. Cohen told WJZ their training should begin within the next six months.