Virginia HEALS:
Helping Everyone Access Linked Systems
Virginia HEALS is a program from the Office of Trauma and Resilience Policy at the Virginia Department of Social Services. It helps people and groups give caring and respectful support to children and families who have been through trauma. The program shares tools and ideas to support healing, connection, and understanding. Learn More!
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Learn More About Virginia HEALS
Virginia HEALS started as part of a national demonstration project called Linking Systems of Care for Children and Youth. It was supported by the United States Department of Justice, Office for Victims of Crime.
Many people go through trauma. But the people and groups that help—like teachers, child serving groups, courts, and other community groups—often work by themselves. This can make it confusing and hard for families to get all the help they need.
Virginia HEALS provides information, tools, and training to help bring these groups together, so families can get the right support faster and with less stress.
- Find and support children and teens who have been hurt.
- Provide care that helps prevent and heal trauma.
- Give tools and training to communities so they can better help children and families.
With help from people who have been through trauma and advice from many local and state groups, the Virginia HEALS team created a Trauma-Informed Model of Service Delivery and a Toolkit to guide this work.
Even after the national funding ended in March 2021, the Virginia Department of Social Services kept the program going to help spread healing care across the state.
