Marine Credit Union Partners with Statewide Initiative to Help Build A Resilient and Trauma-Informed Organization, Community

LA CROSSE, Wis., Oct. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Marine Credit Union is taking action and partnering with Resilient Wisconsin, a state wide initiative bringing together the latest evidence-based tools and trauma-informed practices.

Resilient Wisconsin works with community partners to introduce the Resilient and Trauma-Informed Community (RTIC), a framework adopted by community partners to collaboratively respond to what we have learned from the science of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) to build resilient organizations, effective partnerships and efficient systems.

"It takes an entire community to work on this issue of ACEs," said Bethany Thier, Project Coordinator for Better Together, a mental health grant funded by the Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin Endowment at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Better Together helps coordinate the RTIC initiative in La Crosse County. "Developing a coordinated response through a network of RTIC champion organizations is where dynamic changes can happen."

In November 2019, Marine formed an internal team to work with Beth and Resilient Wisconsin, taking action and providing team members with the proper training to respond to community members with ACEs. That team has grown into a cross-functional network representing departments from across the organization.

"The first step for us was to build our foundation and learn as much as we could about ACEs and the building blocks of resilience," said Jen Schlegel, Training Manager at Marine. "From there, our wheels started turning on ways we could implement these ideas."

Marine has already introduced Motivational Interviewing training to all new employees. This training provides the skills needed to fully understand someone's story, without any judgement or assumption.  The first step in helping someone build a strong future for themselves is helping them understand why they have made certain choices in the past.  

Additional resiliency-building initiatives Marine has launched or plans to launch:

1. "Road to Resilience"
2. Emotional Awareness
3. Anti-Bias Training
4. Leadership Training

"It's important to equip our team with the tools and training they need to help themselves, which in turn helps them better serve all individuals in our communities," said Shawn Hanson, CEO at Marine. "With an awareness of trauma and resilience, we can better help our members build a successful financial future for themselves and their families. This makes our communities stronger. We're just doing our part."

SOURCE Marine Credit Union