Dear Wacco Community,
I have recently made a decision to resurrect my non-profit “The Hannah
Institute for the Study and Prevention of Childhood Trauma”. This comes
after a string of personal hardships that have just about given me another
nervous breakdown.
In the ten years since I first founded this non-profit I have had no funding,
met with continual resistance and denial, and suffered incredible sacrifice
to do this work. If you are interested in knowing more these are my written works pertaining to this issue;
“The Hannah Institute; a ten-year report“. In this report I explain the denial and resistance I have encountered, with a list including two university psychology departments, two prison ministries, public library in Kentucky, National Center for Post Traumatic Stress, newspapers, treatment programs, and the mental health monopoly in Kentucky which is Comprehensive Care.
“Healing the Wound That Won’t Heal; the Reality of Trauma”. Available
at xlibris.com and other on-line sources. This book is both a chronicle to my
work to uncover and heal the trauma I experienced during the first year of my life and also a primer in biological psychology.
10-page paper titled; “The Influence of Traumatic Stress on Brain Plasticity”, (plasticity is the term for how our brains continually adapt to environment).
35-page paper titled; “Anti-Social Personality; Is There a Neural Pathway
for Conscience?” In this paper I examine three case histories of men who
committed murder and trace each case back to trauma in early life.
“Healing Is An Inside Job; Reclaiming Our Right to Suffer and to Heal”,
a work in progress.
“An Open Letter About Cigarette Smoking”. There is an epidemic of
smoking in Kentucky and Sonoma County is now headed that way. Babies,
fetuses, and children have no voice in this. We have to speak for them. I intend to start an initiative to have smoking banned in cars in Kentucky.
Will you please consider making a donation of $20.00 to the Hannah Institute? I have supported my cause with my house painting business and I am now too ill to paint. If you are interested in being on the Board of Directors please let me know.
Sincerely,
Jo Spencer
Executive Director
The Hannah Institute for the Study and Prevention of Childhood Trauma
The mission of The Hannah Institute is to foster awareness, both within
the public and professional sectors, regarding infant and early childhood
trauma, its effect on development, and the implication of this for society.
We are dedicated to continually reviewing the research being done in this
area and to providing education and counseling. We believe that it is only
by addressing root causes, both psychological and biological, that any
significant impact can be made on the cycle of childhood abuse and neglect.