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RUMFORD — The Oxford County Wellness Collaborative will host a screening of the documentary “Paper Tigers” — a film capturing the pain, danger, beauty and hopes of struggling teens and their teachers — at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 11, at Mountain Valley High School’s auditorium, 799 Hancock St.
The screening is open to the public; refreshments and child care will be provided.
“Paper Tigers” follows a year in the life of an alternative high school in Walla Walla, Wash., that has radically changed its approach to disciplining its students, and in the process has become a promising model for how to break the cycles of poverty, violence and disease affecting families. The subtitle of the film is “One high school’s unlikely success story.”
A short facilitated discussion will take place after the movie to allow audience members the opportunity to reflect on the film and what it means for the community.
A recent showing of the movie in Rumford sparked moving and insightful comments from a crowd of 60 people, organizers said.
“We are very excited to be able to bring “Paper Tigers” to the River Valley area,” says Brendan Schauffler of the Oxford County Wellness Collaborative. “We know from our members that adverse childhood experiences is a very important topic and deserving more attention so we can create the sort of informed and resilient communities that will allow our kids to become successful adults.”
The Wellness Collaborative’s Community Safety Workgroup is striving to hold showings of the film across the county in an effort to build awareness of some of the key ideas underlying the documentary — adverse childhood experiences (stressful or traumatic events, including abuse and neglect), toxic stress, trauma-informed care and non-punitive approaches to education. The screenings will be followed by an educational opportunity held in the spring to deepen the understanding around ACEs and resiliency — the idea that a safe environment with caring, health relationships can help us to heal from trauma.
“Paper Tigers” is an intimate look into the lives of selected students at Lincoln High School, an alternative school specializing in educating traumatized youth. Set amidst the struggling rural community of Walla Walla, the film intimately examines the inspiring promise of Trauma-Informed Communities — a movement showing great promise in healing youth struggling with the dark legacy of ACEs.
Following six students over the course of a school year, Lincoln’s staff — armed with new science and fresh approaches that are changing lives for the better –try a new approach to discipline based on understanding and treatment rather than judgment and suspension. Using a combination of documentary and revealing diary cam footage, “Paper Tigers” is a testament to what the latest developmental science is showing — that just one caring adult can help break the cycle of adversity in a young person’s life. Although the movie takes place in a school setting, it holds relevance for every community member. The film contains harsh language and some graphic footage and may not be suitable for young children.
The Oxford County Wellness Collaborative is a network of individuals and organizations committed to making Oxford County a healthier place to live, work, play and raise a family. The collaborative formed in 2011 as a result of the county-wide community reflecting on Community Health Needs Assessment data. This data, combined with troubling results from the annual County Health Rankings, prompted many to respond by forming the collaborative to address priority health areas in a more coordinated, cohesive manner. The network is arranged around several workgroups — healthy food, active living, community safety (focused on interpersonal violence and abuse, such as child abuse, domestic violence, elder abuse, etc.) behavioral health (substance abuse and mental health) and community engagement.
The Oxford County Wellness Collaborative is currently administered by Healthy Oxford Hills, a Healthy Maine Partnership and a project of Stephens Memorial Hospital.For more information on “Paper Tigers” and to view the trailer, visit www.PaperTigersMovie.com.
