The Law for Child Witnesses of Domestic Violence is on its seventh year this year and to make services more complete, the Good Shepherd Foundation has been promoting the Youth and Child Guidance and Development Plan this year, allowing each child living in fear and uncertainty, be covered by the system and grow up safely. Communities, network cooperative units, kindergartens, schools and student counseling centers have been invited to join focus groups to understand the needs and difficulties of each party, hoping to have a sturdier safety network in the future and be able to instantly get hold of each child in need.

This year, Tainan Center, Taipei Children Center and New Taipei Children Center under the Good Shepherd Foundation are undertaking the Ministry of Health and Welfare Youth and Child Guidance and Development Plan and hoping that by stepping into the frontline, can meet workers for youth and child witnesses and assist them to help these child witnesses. The Tainan Center indicates that as of now, measures for counseling of youth and child witnesses are as follows: If the child is into schooling, the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Prevention Center will notify the Counseling Room in school and introduce counseling resources to help the child. If the child is still in pre-school (0-6 years old), professional counseling resources like the Good Shepherd Foundation will be linked up to give assistance.

However, kindergarten teachers or community staff members in the front line who get in contact with child witnesses may not necessarily be sensitive and be able to recognize the needs of the child at the first possible instance. Tainan Center shares with us, kindergartens are unlike elementary, or junior or senior high schools having a Counseling Room. The Director of a kindergarten once said that they received a notice about eye witnessing from the Department of Education but felt helpless as they did not know how to help in such situations.

In order to enhance the professional knowledge of frontliners and understand the needs and difficulties of each unit, the Tainan Center Youth and Child Guidance and Development Plan held 5 sessions of focus point group activities starting on June 21, directed at community leaders, network cooperative units, kindergarten directors and teachers in schools and guidance counseling centers. Director Huang Jao-Xin and Supervisor Pan Mei-Chun of the Social Force Development Research Center at the Chang Jung Christian University were invited to gather everyone’s idea through the KJ Brain Storming Method of Tokyo humanist Kawakita Jiro.

The directors of kindergarten schools also divulged that most of them lack counseling expertise on child witnesses and are not aware of how to do counseling or how to talk with the parents. They hope that in the future, the Department of Education – Student Counseling Division and Special and Pre-School Education Division can help provide related resources and assistance. Aside from these, teachers lack sensitivity on this matter and may not be able to identify and overlook danger when dealing with such cases and thus hope to have an experienced social worker present to render assistance.

On the side of community leaders and related network groups, they discussed having a more complete mechanism on transfer procedures within government units and agencies. They also suggested to include other related groups such as religious organizations. Besides providing spiritual support, some religious groups offer extracurricular classes and may encounter cases related to eye witnesses. By gathering strength from different groups in the society, we can work together to weave a closer and complete social safety network. After the activity, Good Shepherd Tainan Center compiled all the ideas to be used as reference for the Tainan Counseling and Support Resource Center Youth and Child Guidance and Development Plan and for further policy discussions with local and central authorities.

The commencement program at the Good Shepherd Learning School for Dropouts (Taipei) was held successfully last June 8. Together with the parents and teachers, the students tried to recall and shared memories of their growing up this semester through graffiti drawn on the wall, performance and a video review. Making learning more difficult was due to the pandemic and also, the number of days of classes every week was increased to three days from the usual two days so the social workers at Good Shepherd had to constantly think of plans for the course, search for a venue, contact the lecturer and others, doing their best to let the children gain the most at the learning school. Good Shepherd Learning School for Dropouts (Taipei) Director Wu Jin-Yun says: “This group of children is very special. I feel so touched to see them exerting effort in their own way to express these precious characteristics.”

To allow the children to encounter more kinds of challenges and to let them be aware that various careers are not built overnight, several new courses were offered this semester like tattoo culture, hairdressing and others not having been offered before. One minute on stage takes ten years of practice off the stage, just like tattooing needs continuous practice on drawing techniques. One of the children learned to play the piano from zero. She played on the piano during classes. She played the piano after classes and when she went home, she wanted to continue to practice on the piano. There as, her mother bought a piano especially for her and thus she continued to practice playing on the piano by herself. During the commencement program, she played 「知足」(Contentment) by MayDay Music Band, starting with single notes slowly till both hands were playing on the piano keys. She did not even need to look at the piano sheet music for the whole song. The mother of the child, the social workers and the teachers were deeply impressed with her improvement and the song especially touched their hearts.

“Freestyle basketball” was also one of the highlights of the commencement program. Xiao Niu and Xiao Chi spent a lot of time cultivating the feelings for basketball and combined music, dancing and skills on playing ball. Watching the players’ physical bodies move to the tempo of the music earned a lot of uproar from the audience. This was the first time the children performed, yet exuding lots of confidence and giving the best interpretation of performing arts.

After the children learned hairdressing, they helped to braid the hair of the teachers joining the commencement program. Although the course was just a few months, but you can see that the children were serious, not only studying hard while in school but daring enough to add in their own creative ideas. What could not be presented onsite were compiled into a colorful video where you can see the children concentrated in learning catering, preparing drinks, coffee and dessert. There also was the exciting Rubik’s cube, boxing and various ball games where you can see the students sweating it out and showing their youthful explosiveness.

The awards presented on that day represented the special trait of each student: “Consistency Award”, “Forever Sweet Award”, “Quiet but Impressive Award”, “The Best Daughter Award”, “Sisterly Award”, “Happy Award”, “Cordiality Award”, “Shining Award”. Some children wanted to make others happy, some were always helping to clean up quietly and throw the trash. Some were helping new members to be part of the happy Good Shepherd Learning School for Dropouts (Taipei) … and just like what the video says: “May be sad, may be reluctant but please cheer up anyway, memories of the past will always be there as long as you do not forget them.”

At the end of the commencement program, Good Shepherd Learning School for Dropouts (Taipei) wants to tell the children: “Be your own sun bringing warmth to your own self. Your story shall go on. Wishing you all good luck on this journey ahead. Enjoy your life and thank you to all parents and teachers who have participated in the activity. These are the best encouragement giving confidence to the children.”

“Have you ever felt that change isn’t easy?” Good Shepherd Teh-Mung Home Director Chen Yu Jie talks about children adapting to the home’s surroundings, including rules and regulations, would need to take a lot of effort. Though the surroundings and environment here are safe and secure, feeling uncomfortable would also be another form of trauma. Director Chen Yu Jie shares her own experience: “After the first time I went shopping at RT-Mart in Taitung, I cried.” At that time, RT-Mart looked more like today’s PX Mart. Previously staying in Kaohsiung in a very convenient location and adjacent to Carrefour, she had always enjoyed shopping at the supermarket. After moving to another city where the supermarket is not the same as she expected, would thus bring a feeling of discomfort. Her experience of moving to another place enables her to understand the feelings of the children at Teh-Mung Home. “It is not easy for children suffering from trauma and when in an extremely unstable physical and mental condition, to live and stay in a place with people and surroundings not familiar to them.”

To help the children settle more quickly, recover from family trauma, Teh-Mung aside from using the traditional method of child counseling, uses the “trauma-informed” concept to trace the child’s life history, search for the source of trauma, slowly heal the pain from the very beginning, diminish various situations possibly caused by the trauma. Trauma-informed concept compares trauma experienced in the past to a toxin. It will be engraved into the memory in the brain and body, and affects the behavior of the child.

For the social worker, trauma-informed concept provides a new point of view for looking at the children. On one hand, the social workers interacting with the child search for the cause of trauma and on the other hand, observe the words, actions, reactions and feelings of the child towards behavioral treatment during this period of time and also deduce if such behavior is caused by trauma experienced in the past. Teh-Mung Home Social Worker Huang Phei Ying shares her experience: “This is to increase the sensitivity of workers at work, to give more attention to the children’s reactions. Am I supposed to make an assessment and conclusion quickly? Should I alter my opinion? Go back to awareness of your own work, get rid of your sense of values in the past.”

Trauma-informed care integrates conventional techniques and strategies in social work, allowing “empathy”, “tolerance”, “listening” to become skills. Communicate and understand what the child is doing. When the child behaves inappropriately, correct his behavior but it is still needed to talk and tell him that this behavior is improper. Chen Yu Jie reiterates, trauma-informed care is not throwing away conventional techniques and strategies in social work. In the past, it was one way to correct the behavior of a child. Now, one more way is added, to work from the root cause of trauma.

In the past, the Home starts from cognitive therapy, changes behavior by changing belief, helps functioning of the child’s brain. Now with the body added, heal the wounds of the child by starting from the body’s memory. This year, Teh-Mung introduces yoga, aromatherapy and breathing to help awaken the memories of the child.  Chen Yu Jie explains with anticipation: “Hopefully through reviving the memories of the body, some things may be fixed. I can foresee, after fixing the source of trauma, he does not have to struggle like this, just like stealing things or say I am sick, to earn satisfaction or attention. The things that need to be corrected will gradually become less.”