Resilience Film Screening/Panel on April 5

resilienceOn April 5th in the Clair Auditorium (in the Winter Visual and Performing Arts Center), the English Department and the Center for Public Scholarship and Social Change will sponsor a screening of the film Resilience: The Biology of Stress and the Science of Hope.

Doors open at 5:30pm, the panel will start at 6pm, and the film will begin at 6:45pm.  Meant to make the science of Toxic Stress accessible to everyone, Resilience showcases some of the brave and creative individuals who put that science into action for social change.

The panel members will include members of the Millersville University faculty, including:

  • Dr. Andrew Bland – Psychology Department
  • Dr. Marc Felizzi – School of Social Work
  • Dr. Alex Redcay – School of Social Work
  • Dr. Carrie Smith – Sociology Department

The effects and solutions for Toxic Stress and Adverse Childhood Events (ACE’s) are the main focus of this hour-long documentary. Director James Redford explains,

Director James Redford
Director James Redford

“In the United States, we spend trillions of dollars every year treating preventable diseases, rather than intervening before a patient is sick and suffering. We have a zero-tolerance, ‘suck it up’ culture that judges and punishes bad behavior, rather than trying to understand and treat the root cause of that behavior. But now, with this new body of scientific knowledge available, we are learning there are better ways of dealing with these seemingly intractable problems.”

The original research was controversial, but the analysis of that research revealed this generation’s most important public health findings. Toxic Stress and ACEs are now linked to chronic diseases such as heart disease and cancer, along with other ailments such as substance abuse and depression. Stressful childhood experiences can alter brain development and have lifelong effects on health and behavior.

According to the experts profiled in Resilience, however, what’s predictable is preventable. These educators, physicians, social workers and communities are talking about the effects of divorce, abuse, and neglect so the next generation can break the cycles of adversity and disease.

Free tickets for this event can be found at the SMC Ticket Window of in the Winter VPAC Ticket Window before the event.