ITTIC helps Niagara Falls students learn how to address trauma

Local and national media reported on the partnership between the School of Social Work's Institute on Trauma and Trauma-Informed Care (ITTIC) and the Niagara Falls City Schools. For the past three years, ITTIC has been educating teachers, administrators, staff and students on trauma-informed practices — and building Champion Teams of students who take the program to another level. The district recently received a $10,000 grant from the Buffalo Bills Foundation to support the partnership. 

WKBW-TV interviewed Megan Koury, project manager and trainer at ITTIC, along with Superintendent Mark Laurrie and Niagara Falls students about the program's impact. “We do go into depth about different types of trauma,” Koury said. “Complex trauma, historical, racial, institutional trauma.”

The Buffalo News also covered the partnership and Champion Teams, which are the first of their kind in the nation, according to Koury's research. Students learn the prevalence of trauma and how to respond when a student or co-worker becomes activated. “They learn to not further the trigger or flare-up by responding in a way that doesn’t make it worse for somebody,” Koury said.