A Cocoon of Support in the Community is What We Need

“That sense of being embedded in a community… a cocoon of loving, joyful, protection, and safety… begins to create the relational health promotion effort.” Dr. David Willis, Senior Fellow at the Center for the Study of Social Policy. 

I gave birth to twins when my first born was 2 years old. For more than a year, I had three kids in diapers and zero kids who slept through the night. As a new mom, I was fortunate that my basic needs were met (access to healthcare, housing, food, water). At the same time, the first year or two after my twins were born was a challenging and isolating time. I would have given anything to sleep through the night one time, or take a long afternoon nap. Sleep deprivation, among the other demands of three young children, took a toll on my mental health. I kept my struggles to myself; our mainstream culture relies on the myth that the nuclear family stands apart from, or is primary to, the larger community.

Dr. David Willis, Senior Fellow at the Center for the Study of Social Policy, is a national expert in pediatrics and early relational health. I had the pleasure of interviewing him and during our conversation we explored the power of strong community support networks and how that can shape early relational health. Dr. Willis affirmed those challenges that I lived in the early years with three young children; as an expert he cites the need to have four adults to every one infant in order to have optimal wellbeing for all involved! 

For thousands of years, indigenous wisdom and cultures knew that the nuclear family was only as strong as its ties to the extended family, community environment, and natural world. More modern or “Western” ways of knowing upholds this ancient knowledge. We can all agree: creating connected local systems, both formal and informal, that support pregnant persons and families with young children, is the antidote to isolation, disconnection and trauma.

This is especially salient for those who do not have access to reliable transportation, secure housing, safe streets, nutritious food, culturally-appropriate childcare, and social-emotional support. The chronic stress of living with poverty, or in a system that relies on and promotes racist policies and ideologies, makes it even more difficult to experience the cocoon of loving, joyful protection and safety. 

That is why OHEC’s First 1000 Days Upstream Initiative is designed to make local change toward a more networked and resilient community. Watch the video above and if you are moved to donate to the Upstream Initiative, you can give here. 

In Community, 

Chelsea King

Executive Director