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The roots of mental health start younger than you think

caption: Vay, 5, rides a bicycle outside of the apartment complex where she lives on Friday, July 15, 2022.
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Vay, 5, rides a bicycle outside of the apartment complex where she lives on Friday, July 15, 2022.
KUOW Photo/Megan Farmer

When you throw a rock in a pond, it creates ripples. It spreads, disrupting the water further and further away from the point of entry.

The experience of trauma or adversity — especially in early childhood — can also have a lasting ripple effect on a person’s life.

As those effects spread, they touch other parts of you — your relationships with your family and friends, your ability to focus, or find a job.

A Washington state program is working to prevent those ripples from spreading.

In a three-part series, KUOW editor Liz Jones examines the program, and the story of one family trying to move from crisis to stability.

Soundside host Libby Denkmann sat down with Jones to learn about her work, as well as how it connects to her own family history.


Read the full series: KUOW's Swimming Upstream

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