Calm at Heart

“The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members.” – Coretta Scott King

Child Abuse Listening Mediation (CALM) is partnering to build resilient communities throughout Santa Barbara County. For their 7th annual luncheon, the theme was “CALM at Heart: Building Community.” As CEO Alana Walczak said, “We begin when the children are very young to prevent child abuse.”

After a reception by the sea at the Biltmore Coral Casino, we went into the ballroom for lunch. Master of Ceremonies Geoff Green from SBCC Foundation kicked off the program. He introduced all the sponsors, the CALM staff, and the event committee: Sherri Ball, Sydney Casler, Pati Clark, Bobbi Didier, Jeannette Hahn, Susan Henry, Adele Laufer, Ashlyn McCague, Michelle Reiter, and Sara Wilcox. Board president is Bridget Foreman.

Jennifer Mundy and Frann Wageneck explained to the over 200 at the luncheon that CALM works with the schools to address mental health by having trained therapists in the schools to help not only the children but also the teachers. They believe that 20% of the students live with a mental condition. Suicide rates are astounding with the most seen in girls 10 to 14. It is not just a crisis here, but in the nation. Locally, Storytellers was the first school to participate. Now CALM is in all the preschool and elementary schools in Santa Barbara. Girls Inc has joined in and other schools, too.

Geoff encouraged everyone to fill out the pledge cards so CALM’s mission can be achieved. That is to prevent childhood trauma, heal children and families, and build resilient communities throughout Santa Barbara County.

To inquire, log on to calm4kids.org. or call (805) 965-2376.