Gateway to College

In October 2017 the Northern California wildfires, or otherwise known as the Northern California firestorm, broke out in series of over 250 wildfires. The fires spanned over 250,000 acres and took the lives of at least 44 civilians. This firestorm was the most costly and deadly of any fire series in the state of California. 

In August 2017 Gateway to College (GtC), a program that supports students who are in need of high school credit recovery (ages 16-21), made a campus wide goal to be Trauma-Informed. Many of the programs students come from homes where they have experienced a wide array of trauma. 

The fires were yet another blow to these young people. Multiple students experienced the devastating loss of homes and family members. The staff acted swiftly and began ID’ing students and welcoming them back to campus three days prior to the opening of the larger community college campus.

The staff and students of GtC worked together to create sensory kits that included stress balls, chewing gum, art, and lip balm to help students process the recent traumatic events. The centerpiece of the kits were dōTERRA Aromatherapy Touch kits, which were all donated by the Healing Hands Foundation.