Supporting the Journey of Military Families,

About the event

This is the 18th Annual Loss and Trauma Conference. This year's conference will focus on the loss and trauma experienced by veterans and military families.

For the men and women who serve our country in the military – and their families – the impact of trauma and loss experienced in deployment and combat situations can be substantial. From post-traumatic stress disorder, to long family separations and traumatic injuries, discharge from service is only the beginning of their long road home.

This year’s conference features expert speakers covering topics including trauma-focused PTSD treatment, relaxation/stress inoculation techniques, Emotionally Focused Therapy, the most common mental and physical health issues reported by women veterans, and the unique needs of children in military families.

This year's conference has a roster of world renowned speakers who will bring their expertise and knowledge to over 400 mental health professionals from throughout New England. 

Why should you sponsor?

YOU Inc. (Youth Opportunities Upheld, Inc.) is one of the leading behavioral health and education nonprofit agencies in Central Massachusetts. Here, children and families display courage every day to overcome trauma, to improve their mental and behavioral health, and to ensure productive and
bright futures.

After the 1999 Worcester Cold Storage Fire that claimed the lives of six firefighters, the Worcester community lacked a system and comprehensive way to help those who had suffered both directly and indirectly from the loss and trauma that resulted from this event. In December 1999, Dr. Marjorie Cahn worked tirelessly with the leadership of Youth Opportunities Upheld (YOU, Inc.) and the University of Massachusetts Medical School, Department of Psychiatry to develop the purpose and structure of the Worcester Institute on Loss and Trauma. Conferences have been held annually since 2000.

Every year, the conference focuses on a different aspect of loss and trauma prevalent in the communities served by mental health workers. The conference boasts a roster of speakers over the last 18 years who are nationally and internationally recognized experts in their field along with poignant and meaningful personal story speakers who open up about their experiences. This year’s conference is no different as the speakers will come from across the United States to speak to the conference’s very pertinent topic, military involved families. The title of this year’s conference is “The Road Back Home: Supporting the Journey of Military Families” and will take place on Wednesday, September 13, 2017 at Holy Cross College in Worcester, MA.

The conference sees an average attendance of approximately 400 attendees from all across New England and has become the standard for large conferences in the mental health field in the area. Attendees are typically mental health workers, clinicians, school counselors, teachers, etc.

We hope you will step up for kids and families with us and sponsor this conference. The benefits at various levels are numerous, including being listed and linked to from social media, exposure at the event or in the brochure. While there may “only” be 400 attendees at the conference that day, we expect at least 6000 people to see marketing material sent out about the conference. The funds raised, including your sponsorship dollars, will help us continue to serve the community by offering great future Loss and Trauma Conferences to help those in the mental health field develop and learn the skills to needed to give great treatment to kids and families.

This conference has many costs to put on and every dollar we raise will offset some of those costs to allow us to continue holding high level training for the mental health professionals in the area.

Andrew Mahoney

My name is Andrew Mahoney and I am the Director of Training at YOU, Inc. and the event organizer. I have a deep passion for training, teaching and professional development. It is my belief that the mental health field needs high-level training in order for professionals to complete the very hard jobs they do on an every day basis. 

This approach is best for kids, families and communities. I believe with support from sponsors we can grow our mission and expand our reach to more communities and professionals. 

Contact the Organizer Contact the Organizer