Building a Better Connection Summit – Baton Rouge

Healthy family and community bonds are key to preventing and healing from trauma, and enable youth and adults to be resilient when going through difficult situations. Join STAR for a special summit focused on building stronger connections between parents and their teens. Through a series of interactive workshops and activities, participants will learn about Adverse Childhood Experiences, discuss what healthy dating and consent looks like, and learn methods to heal from past harm through family connection and self-care.

This summit is open to youth in grades 9th through 12th and their parents/guardians. It is required that adults participate in the summit along with their teen. Parents are invited to register themselves, their partner and up to 3 teens. Spots are limited and pre-registration is required. Please use the link below to register now.

Requirements for Participation

1. Teens must be accompanied by an adult/legal guardian. Teens must be entering/enrolled in 9th – 12th grade for the 2019-2020 school year.
2. Parents and teens must attend all sessions as designated and stay for entire event to receive entry into the Door Prize drawing.
3. Parents cannot “drop teens off” and “pick them up” at a later time.
4. By participating in the Building a Better Connection Summit, you consent to interview(s), photography, audio recording, video recording and its/their release, publication, exhibition, or reproduction of you and your child’s likeness to be used for news, web casts, promotional purposes, telecasts, advertising, inclusion on websites, social media, or any other purpose by ReCAST, STAR and its affiliates and representatives. Images, photos and/or videos may be used to promote similar ReCAST and STAR events in the future, highlight the event and exhibit the capabilities of ReCAST and STAR.

Summit Agenda

9:00 – 9:30 a.m.        Check-in
9:30 – 10:00 a.m.      Welcome
10:00 – 11:00 a.m.     Breakout sessions #1 for parents and teens
11:00 – 11:10 a.m.     Break
11:10 – 12:10 a.m.     Breakout sessions #2 for parents and teens
12:10 – 1:00 p.m.       Lunch (provided by STAR)
1:00 – 2:00 p.m.         Whole Group Session with Parents and Teens
2:00 – 3:00 p.m.         Closing, evaluations, door prize drawings

Session Descriptions               

Parents Breakout Session # 1
Understanding ACEs
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) is the term given to describe all types of abuse, neglect, and other traumatic childhood experiences. In this session, parents will participate in an in-depth, lecture-style presentation introducing the neuroscience of early adversity, the ACE Study and community response to addressing ACEs.

Teens Breakout Session # 1
Dating 101
Each person has a unique understanding of what a relationship is supposed to look like; however, everyone can agree that healthy relationships involve key components to be successful. In this session, teens will discuss dating violence, learn to recognize red flags and have a greater understanding of what it means to have a healthy relationship.

Parents Breakout Session # 2
Brain Architecture Game
Toxic stress can affect brain interaction with body systems leading to disease, disability and social/relational problems throughout life. However, the developing brain is sensitive to all kinds of experience, so childhood is also a window of opportunity for building resilience. In this session, parents will participate in an interactive discussion and work together to build “brains” out of everyday materials, using the principles discussed in Session 1.

Teens Breakout Session # 2
Consent 101
Consent is a component of healthy relationships and having basic knowledge of consent can help to reduce instances of sexual harassment and assault. In this session, teens will learn the definition and age of consent in Louisiana, discuss the impacts of sexual assault, and explore solutions to this issue.

Whole Group Session – Parents and Teens
Family Connection and Self-Care: You Can’t Pour from an Empty Cup
Family bonds are important to our health and happiness. At the same time, in order to show up for others we need to take care of ourselves, too. In this session, participants will discuss ways to incorporate self-care into their lives as individuals and identify ways family members can support each other in taking care of themselves.