Reporter Nancy Cambria and photographer Laurie Skrivan spent seven months in Ferguson, Mo., in 2015 reporting on toxic stress experienced by children and families living within blocks of where Michael Brown was shot and killed by a police officer in 2014, sparking months of protests and some violence. The report consisted of four stories focusing on poverty, toxic stress and public health.
“The Crisis” follows Destiny and Akeelah after the shooting death of their 8-year-old friend, Jamyla Bolden, just a year after Brown was killed. It illustrates how nearly unrelenting stress and violence permeate the nearby neighborhoods and households. Destiny established a ritual to help her cope: “If we pray, we won’t get shot,” she tells her playmates. This lead story also presents extensive research on how toxic stress and trauma can trigger “a stress hormone production binge” that hurts childrens’ physical and behavioral development with lifelong implications including altered brain development and increased prevalence of illnesses in adulthood such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer.
“The Cycle” follows a Ferguson mother and her young children and shows how toxic stress and trauma passes down through generations, hurts birth outcomes and hobbles critical early childhood development.
“The Science” presents a graphic of how toxic stress hurts various systems of the body, leading to disease.
“The Solutions” presents research suggesting caring adults and other support systems can boost resilience of children and even heal them. The story provides information on how to protect children in poverty from toxic stress and trauma and solve this public health crisis.