Elizabeth Smart, experts speak at childhood trauma event on UofU campus

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — The second biannual Healing Generations in Utah event, focused on reducing the effects of intergenerational trauma, took place on University of Utah campus. The event featured three speakers, including Elizabeth Smart.

The event was organized by GenerationAll, an organization that raises awareness about the generational impacts of sexual abuse and childhood trauma. The event was hosted at Rice Eccles Stadium at the University of Utah, and it featured a discussion on how Utah’s families and communities can come together to heal from childhood trauma.

The event was livestreamed on generationall.org, and there was a variety of nonprofit organizations in attendance that advocate for issues ranging from mental health to sexual abuse prevention.

“Elizabeth Smart is, I kind of call her a hometown hero, a survivor who’s very well known for her resilience and her ability to talk very openly about not only advocating for her personal experience, but raising awareness that sexual abuse and childhood trauma is more common than we think, even in our own backyard in Utah,” executive director of GenerationAll Sage Hancock explained.

Smart discussed the prevalence of childhood trauma, with 65.7% of Utahns experiencing at least one adverse childhood experience, as well as discussing her own unique story.

The other speakers were Dr. Frank Anderson and Dr. Nadine Burke Harris.

Anderson is a psychiatrist who “takes a compassionate and vulnerable approach in addressing, hey, there’s a level of trauma we all have,” Hancock explained. Anderson discussed the impact that childhood trauma has on mental health and that Utah ranks third highest in the nation for serious mental illness.

Burke Harris was the keynote speaker, and she was the first Surgeon General of California. She spoke about the importance of educating yourself on the impact of childhood trauma and toxic stress and understanding the resources available within our communities to deal with these issues.

“She has done a very good job on raising awareness around the not only physical but also mental impacts of childhood trauma and making us a little bit more aware that it happens to everyone,” Hancock said.

Elizabeth Smart is the founder of the Elizabeth Smart Foundation. She was abducted in 2002 and was held captive for nine months, and she now advocates for child welfare and safety.