Adverse Childhood Experience (ACES) is arguably the greatest single health crisis facing America today, and yet this topic is largely unknown to the public and policymakers alike. Born With a Chance delivers an in-depth investigation into links between youth experiencing homelessness and ACES; how it relates to mental and physical illness, drug addiction, poverty and homelessness. The film presents the staggering human and $655 billion economic toll of what Doctor Robert Block, former President of the American Academy of Pediatrics, described as “the single greatest unaddressed public health threat facing our nation today.”

 

Through the stories of abused youth experiencing homelessness, we learn their daily challenges of survival and the myriad barriers they must navigate as they attempt to find their way. Adult survivors share their emotional and life struggles years and decades after their traumatic ordeals.

 

Through interviews with mental health professionals, cognitive psychologists and pediatricians, we learn the effects of Adverse Childhood Experiences and how early childhood trauma and toxic stress can affect brain development and health across a lifetime.

 

Youth social workers share their experiences, successes and losses of working with ‘Trauma Outcasts.’

We learn about a pediatric care model that recognizes the impact of adverse experiences on health and effectively treats toxic stress in children.

 

Through early intervention, hope abounds.

 

“Adversity is not destiny. The science is clear: early intervention improves outcomes.”                                                                                   Dr. Burke Harris