Restoring traumatized kids’ trust and connections

Kaela Precourt serves as the Social and Emotional Care Coordinator for Kids Alive Dominican Republic. She moved to Constanza to join Kids Alive in 2012 and has been in this new role blessing many since 2017. She comes with exceptional credentials – an undergraduate degree in education, a master’s in educational psychology, and has served as a math and science teacher as well as an academic coordinator. Kaela is trained in Trust Based Relational Interventions (TBRI®) and is a certified trainer in Trauma Competent Care (TCC).

Kaela is at the forefront of Kids Alive’s significant new initiative to bolster our trauma-informed care for at-risk children. Over the last three years, she has equipped all Kids Alive house parents, teachers, and workers – over 300 in all – with techniques to deepen connection and trust with children, and she has helped train counselors in interventions to help children suffering from chronic trauma.

‍Kaela reflects on her role and its significance in ministering to the children in our care:‍

Jesus came to restore the broken. As his followers, we have the privilege of walking with Jesus in this calling. I love our work because we get to watch this calling lived out daily, in the middle of our messy lives and brokenness.

The children and families that we serve in Kids Alive are often captive to their fear, complicated past, and trauma. Trauma-informed care involves demonstrating love when children feel unlovable due to their aggressive behavior rooted in their history. It consists of listening when a child feels unheard, and her or his voice feels submerged under years of abuse.

It involves seeking out that child hiding in the corner and making her/him feel seen when family’s neglect has rendered them invisible. It means living as Jesus lived, to proclaim the Good News of forgiveness and restoration into God’s family. It involves walking with each other in healing, proclaiming our freedom in Christ to those captive to sin, and showing the way to the lost.

I recall one child who behaved aggressively every day. It got to the point where his behavior posed a safety hazard to the other kids and even the staff, which led us to consider his expulsion from our program. We brought all our team together to vote on this decision – should the child be expelled or given another chance?

The staff unanimously voted to continue working with him, confident that he could be reached, loved, and freed from his brokenness. Understanding that he acted this way because of a history of aggression in his family, we put him under observation. We realized that he always tried to run away from difficult situations. When he could not hide, he turned aggressive.

We changed our tactics; instead of holding him accountable for his behaviors, we gave him a “hiding place,” where he could go whenever he felt unsafe. He began to feel loved and understood by our team. After a few weeks of this approach, he no longer needed to hide. Our staff met him at his point of need, and he learned his self-worth and value, he realized that he is loved, and most importantly, he learned about the forgiveness and restoration that Jesus brings to all of us.”

‍Please pray for:

• An enjoyable spring break for all Casa Monte Plata kids as they travel to a rustic camp for a week of renewal and relaxation.
• Students to finish their school year strong; to date, all their education is from inside Casa Monte Plata (schools may reopen in April).
• The provision of new house parents and the successful integration of our new missionary Anne Peyton Baker as she begins leading counseling and special projects.
• Funding to add a kitchen next to the multi-purpose building, allowing cooking in one place for special occasions.