Resilience Documentary Discussion Panel

Featuring Melissa Merrick, PhD, President and CEO, Prevent Child Abuse America, Liz Linehan, Connecticut State Representative, Krystal Rich, Director, CT Children’s Alliance, Sarah Eagan, CT Office of the Child Advocate, Beth Hamilton, Executive Director, Connecticut Alliance to End Sexual Violence.

Researchers have recently discovered a dangerous biological syndrome caused by abuse and neglect during childhood. As the documentary Resilience reveals, toxic stress can trigger hormones that wreak havoc on the brains and bodies of children, putting them at a greater risk for disease, homelessness, prison time, and early death. While the broader impacts of poverty worsen the risk, no segment of society is immune. Resilience, however, also chronicles the dawn of a movement that is determined to fight back. Trailblazers in pediatrics, education, and social welfare are using cutting-edge science and field-tested therapies to protect children from the insidious effects of toxic stress—and the dark legacy of a childhood that no child would choose.