WELCOME
You are here because you looking for something more. What you have been doing has not worked. You want things to be better. You are not satisfied and will keep looking until you find the answers you are looking for… That right there is great news!
Don’t get me wrong, your struggle is real. People might or might not understand what you are going through. If you are here, you need something more and something better. You must be struggling with a crisis where you can not find the answers to make things better. We get that. We are advocates, and have been through some struggles, and now are giving back to help others have better options.
Thus, this website is set up to walk through some of the complications of the problem and build a bridge to some solutions. No one answer will resolve everyone’s concerns. You need the right answer for your specific concern. Thus, someone has to listen to you and look at all that is going on.
This page walks through your rights, responsibilities and the problems that we face individually, and as a country.
Then, we will walk through some possible Solutions. We want to develop a roadmap for people to go from crisis back to empowered living!
GLOBAL FAMILY ALLIANCE
THE GOAL of the GFA website is to develop a comprehensive pilot program, we hope will transform how communities help families.
We believe that Crisis is part of life. A strong, healthy community can help their families face crisis and come through securing a good life. We believe everyone has a role, and working together the best solutions can be found.
Over 50 million families have now suffered massive losses. Government sees the numbers increase and keeps spending tremendous funds to address issues, yet many solutions have not worked. The current programs are not helping families. There are good programs and good people, but the results paint the picture of failure, not success. More money is not the answer. Better solutions are.
The truth is crisis happens to families in all forms. The government can not fix family problems or social concerns. Laws and forced procedures done work for fixing these issues.
The effective way to help is in understanding the unique circumstance of the crisis, and find resources to provide a specialized path to recovery. This is done through support, resources and tools to navigate the crisis. A bottom up approach started in communities to support families.
The goal is to teach the skills necessary to have a healthy life and good relationships. The community must become the safety net to identify and provide direction to the resources that support intervention and recovery. The solution is not maintaining dependence, but independence and personal empowerment for families to live successfully.
Global Family Alliance and the Family Alliance Networks are here to build a path, and put people together to find real solutions. We do not have the answers, but we can be the conduit to put the solutions together for the people to find success.
Thus, GFA website is a comprehensive overview. The FAN websites are the community networks with all the resources for each area.
FREEDOMS, RIGHTS & RESPONSIBILITIES
In general, people everywhere want love, good relationships and happiness. No one starts out wanting or asking to suffer, be confused, be isolated, alone and trapped in painful suffering.
Throughout time people have struggles with the abilities to live free. Many things in society in which we are born are out of our control: government, environment, gender, status, race, financial security, family circumstance, community stability and cultural beliefs, to name a few.
Through our travels around the world, all people want to live their lives where they feel loved, supported in their community and build a meaningful life. They want to be happy. The biggest concern around the world is dystopia. What is that which causes the belief there is great suffering and injustice?
We live in America, and are Americans. We support the people of the world to embrace the principles of America and the protections set up for lives.
America is based on the freedoms of the people to enjoy their God given rights, the Constitution protects those freedoms, and the government through its balance of power and checks and balances may not to infringe on those rights. The government is set up to support the people. When the government does not, then its up to the people to change the people in power.
The Constitution was written as a living document by our Founding Fathers to address any and all circumstances. The powers of our government are to work to uphold the wellbeing of the people and the protections of their freedoms. The people are the follow the Constitutional laws that follow those freedoms and protections. These are the rights and responsibilities of Americans.
PARENTAL RIGHTS
The freedoms, rights and responsibilities bestowed on us as people, are from god. The protections are from the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. The government is to provide for the people and protect the rights spelled out in these documents.
One thing is that all people are innocent of wrongdoing or against the laws of our government, Federally or by State. Thus, parents are to be supported unless they are convicted of a crime.
Sadly, in today’s world infringements have been made against the people stating the greater good. Parents are to be free to live their lives and raise their children under their believes. The government is to assume all parents are acting in the children’s best interests, unless as protected by the Constitution proven not to be.
“The U.S. Supreme Court has consistently protected parental rights, including it among those rights deemed fundamental. As a fundamental right, parental liberty is to be protected by the highest standard of review: the compelling interest test. As can be seen from the cases described above [see link below], parental rights have reached their highest level of protection in over 75 years. The Court decisively confirmed these rights in the recent case of Troxel v. Granville, which should serve to maintain and protect parental rights for many years to come.”
Resource regarding Parental Rights at HSLDA.org
Sadly, in the last 30 years laws have changed, and organizations life ParentalRights.org are fighting to support the infringements of the government on Families. The nonprofit is fighting to make a Parental Rights Amendment to stop the overreach. As of 2017, this is their statement:
“Solution: The Parental Rights Amendment – A proposed Parental Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (PRA) would provide that “the liberty of parents to direct the upbringing, education, and care of their children is a fundamental right.” By setting a firm constitutional standard to protect these rights, the Amendment would provide clear direction for courts, doctors, child welfare workers, and other government officials.“
THE PROBLEM
The problem is the ONE SIZE FITS ALL approach is not helping. A standard of care that is evidence based does not produce the results. Doing an intake and putting people in a box labelled “addiction”, “abuse” or “mental health” and following the best practice based on limited information fails to meet the individual, their experience and what they need to get better. There are better practices based on research, yet they are not the current standard.
Families do not feel understood. Issues are not fixed. They pull back from labeling, interventions, medication and programs. They cannot recover alone, but the current options in place are not working.
Things escalate until it is urgent. They end up facing law enforcement, courts, emergency rooms or mental health intakes with nowhere to turn. Then, they deal with forced “Standard of Care” intervention. That is not a model that has produced good outcomes.
When people believe no one understands, no one can help, there are no solutions and things are getting worse, the situations get worse. Thus, the numbers continue to grow. Most significantly, suicide. The end of all suffering, since nothing else worked.
The ACE Study revealed how adverse experiences affects a children through out their lives. What they face put them at GREATER RISK to achieve the goals of love, relationship, happiness and success. Without intervention and support to recover, they are trapped in the victimized cycle of repeated suffering on different levels all the way through their lives. Trauma is an injury where a person becomes stuck, unable to move beyond the trauma, and they can escalate into many different concerns if intervention is not given.
Most people have suffered trauma and do not have a language to heal from the trauma. That traumatic injury can be harming your life and future. By becoming aware, we can build a safety net and our communities can recover. Then the communities can help families in crisis, avoid or recover as needed. Education and intervention is key.
“Positive parenting and protecting our children from harm prevents the harmful effects of ACEs. Children who are nurtured and supported throughout childhood are more likely to thrive and develop into happy, healthy, and productive adults.” American SPCC
“Fortunately, brains and lives are somewhat plastic. Resilience research shows that the appropriate integration of resilience factors — such as asking for help, developing trusting relationships, forming a positive attitude, listening to feelings — can help people improve their lives. For more information about ACEs science and how it’s being used, go to: ACEs Science 101.“
NEXT STEPS
THE GOAL is prevention, and for those that have been or are in crisis, to provide Trauma Informed interventions.
The good news is now we know that Trauma and treating early Trauma will make a huge impact on families and the future of this country.
Years ago, Emotional Intelligence showed how important it is for people to be able to deal with their environment and make positive choices in their lives.
“Emotional intelligence is generally said to include at least three skills: emotional awareness, or the ability to identify and name one’s own emotions; the ability to harness those emotions and apply them to tasks like thinking and problem solving; and the ability to manage emotions, which includes both regulating one’s own emotions when necessary and helping others to do the same.”
Quote from PsychologyToday.com
“Emotional Intelligence, Daniel Goleman cites the Harvard Business School research that determined that EQ counts for twice as much as IQ and technical skills combined in determining who will be successful.”
“It’s a scientific fact that emotions precede thought. When emotions run high, they change the way our brains function… diminishing our cognitive abilities, decision-making powers, and even interpersonal skills.”
We know too that everyone is different. They think different, they believe different and they learn different. Therefore, we need to have interventions that work with different kinds of people with different Multiple Intelligences (Howard Gardner). Thus one size fits all only works part of the time?
Now we know that with the Trauma of adverse experiences we can not longer deal with our environment and the choices made cause problems. Further, this allows for victimization by those that want to use people for personal gain. Identifying the the steps forward are important to start regaining personal power.
THE SOLUTION
The ACE Study changed the way we looked at things. Adverse experiences as a child shape who we are and how we think. The ability to navigate life stems from this. The research shows that without help, life will get worse. Not the same worse. Worse in different ways.
CDC Guide to help understand the ACE Study
CDC prevention of violence.
CDC Guide to prevent violence & associated risk behaviors.
Therefore, look at the situation and identify the undercurrents at the deepest level. This can help shape a personalized intervention. Without that help, escalation can occur. Crisis across the board continue to increase.
Since the ACE Study, there are some profound considerations available for interventions that are effective and changing lives. The standard concept of evidence based practices is too limiting, thus not effective. The data point are fewer and it considers an average of the studies for the best option, a standard average of the research.
The best practices consider many more points of reference, broader scope of research based interventions and focuses on the individual, the situation and what will work best.
“The science of child development and the core capabilities of adults point to a set of “design principles” that policymakers and practitioners in many different sectors can use to improve outcomes for children and families. That is, to be maximally effective, policies and services should:
- Support responsive relationships for children and adults.
- Strengthen core life skills.
- Reduce sources of stress in the lives of children and families.
Resource Harvard Child Development
“Fundamental to adverse childhood experience prevention is the creation of safe, stable, nurturing relationships and environments for all children and families. CDC’s comprehensive approach to preventing adverse childhood experiences uses multiple strategies derived from the best available evidence (14).“
“CDC’s Preventing Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs): Leveraging the Best Available Evidence (14) to better understand adverse childhood experiences in their locales, prioritize adverse childhood experience prevention, and improve the mental, physical, and social well-being of their populations over the lifespan (14).”
“CDC is committed to identifying the best evidence and continuing to partner with other Federal, state, and local agencies as well as external organizations to help address these complex issues, and ultimately, to save lives.”
Global Family Alliance is working to inspire new avenues to build strong communities that support families through crisis, preventing the long term effects of adverse experiences resulting in traumatic injury. This trauma without intervention has profound life long concerns.
When communities are able to provide the network, support, services, the education, and skills to implement Trauma Informed interventions as soon as possible, the cycle of trauma, abuse and victimization is broken. Communities become stronger and families heal.
We are looking for partners in families, communities, government, agencies and professionals along with all the supportive services. This network will make a difference.