Join us in experiencing the inspiring promise of trauma-informed communities through a free screening of the documentary film, The Bridge: Pathways to a Trauma-Informed Community, presented by The Guidance Center, on Wednesday, April 26 at 6 p.m.

Free parking will be available on a first-come, first-served basis at the Burbank Elementary School parking lot located at 501 Junipero Ave, Long Beach CA 90814. PLEASE NOTE: Parking lot will open at 5:30 p.m. and close promptly at 8:30 p.m. Guests MUST exit the lot before 8:30 p.m. as the lot will be gated and locked with absolutely no entry or exit until the following morning.

This past year, The Guidance Center, along with several community partners, has embarked on an exciting project – film and produce a documentary on how trauma-informed communities can help fight poverty.

Through interviews with local Long Beach experts and The Guidance Center clients caught in the intergenerational cycle of poverty, “The Bridge: Pathways to a Trauma-Informed Community” shows the overwhelming and devastating impact poverty can have, but also the powerful force a trauma-informed community can be in positively changing the course of people’s lives for generations to come.

Poverty is devastating for so many children and their families in our communities, impacting generation after generation as the cycle persists. Facts and figures abound on this topic. The goal of this documentary is to humanize those facts, turn numbers into the faces they represent, and empower community members with a trauma-informed lens in which to see and help those affected.

Immediately following the documentary screening, there will be a panel discussion/Q&A regarding the documentary with some of the film's spokespeople.

Documentary Production Staff

Executive Producer: Patricia Costales, LCSW

Producer/Director: Matthew Murray

Cinematographer: Evan Barthelman

Spokespeople Featured in Documentary

Honorable Robert Garcia, EdD, Mayor of the City of Long Beach
Robert Luna, Police Chief for City of Long Beach
Kelly Colopy, MA, Director of Department of Health & Human Services
Tiffany Brown, EdD, Assistant Superintendent of Long Beach Unified School District
Elisa Nicholas, MD, MSPH, CEO of The Children's Clinic
Giovanna Ferraro, Community Activist and Commissioner of City of Long Beach Human Relations Commission
Patricia Costales, LCSW, CEO of The Guidance Center
Nathan Swaringen, LCSW, Clinician at The Guidance Center
Wayne Herbst, retired Dean of Students of Avalon School
Santa Dominguez, RN, MPH, Nurse at Catalina Island Medical Center
Enrique Dominguez, Pastor of Singing Waters Christian Center