Dwana Young \u201904 is on a mission. As program support specialist \/ community navigator with the New Jersey Department of Children and Families\u2019 Office of Resilience, Young is implementing an action plan to mitigate trauma and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) throughout New Jersey.Young\u2019s passion for helping children and families in need was sparked at Montclair State. \u201cA friend suggested I take a look at Montclair State and consider playing basketball there,\u201d she recalls. \u201cI fell in love with the campus and the sense of community I felt, especially after I met Coach Gloria Bradley. I saw that students come first here.\u201dYoung, a curious student, set out on a humanities track. It was a minor in human service counseling, however, that began to change her perceptions of the world. Working in the University\u2019s Office of Student Development and Campus Life and as a Resident Assistant brought a heightened sense of clarity to what she was learning in her counseling courses.<\/p>\n
\u201cI saw what some of my fellow students were going through, and how Montclair State\u2019s professionals responded to their needs. Those experiences led me to DCF,\u201d she says, referring to the New Jersey Department of Children and Families. After a brief role as a Graduate Adjunct Professor at Fairleigh Dickinson University, Young joined DCF as a Family Specialist \u2013 Investigator, Case Manager & Adoption Specialist, later becoming Program Manager & Policy Liaison in charge of managing federal and state-funded contracts.<\/p>\n
In her newest DCF role as Program Specialist \/ Community Navigator of the DCF Office of Resilience, Young is at the forefront of making New Jersey a trauma-informed, healing-centered state.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is exciting on so many levels,\u201d Young explains. \u201cIt is unique in that it is a public-private partnership with statewide scope. We have the support of Governor Murphy and the First Lady, and we are already gaining national attention as a model for combating trauma on a large scale.\u201d<\/p>\n
The initiative synthesizes years of work examining best practices and research, and listening to the voices of communities most directly impacted by ACEs. It identifies five areas of opportunity, including: supporting parents and caregivers; training service professionals in trauma-informed\/healing-centered care; promoting community awareness; advancing family supportive policies and practices; and sharing data and research.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are focused on helping children and families in New Jersey reach their full potential by growing and developing in relationships that are safe, healthy, and protective, and on reducing ACE scores in future generations,\u201d Young continues. \u201cWe will be developing resource programs and services based on what works for families. Our solutions will be based on community input and will address root causes rather than symptoms.\u201d
\nYoung brings a deep sense of empathy to her work. \u201cFamilies often have the ability to heal their own trauma,\u201d she says. \u201cThey just need support and mentoring \u2013 something I first learned \u2013 and saw in action \u2013 at Montclair State watching the faculty and staff work with students.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even though the University has grown so much since her graduation, Montclair State still feels like home to Young. \u201cI am excited see how Dr. Koppell will continue Montclair State\u2019s path to becoming a premier university.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I\u2019m glad to see that Montclair State remains grounded, rooted in the work and in the connections between people,\u201d Young adds, noting that she continues to rely on former professors for career guidance.<\/p>\n
She is just as eager to lend a hand to her alma mater whenever she can. This includes helping to develop the Red Hawk Fellows program, a critical safety net for students who have been emancipated from the foster system or who are otherwise homeless or have no immediate parental or extended family guidance. \u201cThere is a generational impact of trauma on people\u2019s social, financial, physical and mental health,\u201d she says. \u201cRelationships, mentoring and support help to mitigate that.\u201d<\/p>\n
In fact, Young encourages every Montclair State student to build supportive connections during their time at the University. \u201cEnjoy yourself and make memories, and really talk to your professors and the staff,\u201d she advises. \u201cTake advantage of the family-oriented experience you can have at Montclair State, and you will have mentors to help you throughout your career.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
On a Mission to make New Jersey a Healing-Centered State<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":233,"featured_media":209962,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-209998","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-77_alumni-spotlight"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209998","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/233"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=209998"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209998\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":210101,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209998\/revisions\/210101"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/209962"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=209998"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=209998"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=209998"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}