Article by Scott Iwasaki for the Park Record (April 30, 2024)

Park City Film and the Friends of the Children’s Justice Center of Summit County invites the public to look at “Broken Trust.”

Jill Yesko’s documentary short film, which examines sexual and emotional abuse that Olympic and world-class athletes experience, will screen for free at 7 p.m., Thursday, May 2, at Park City Library‘s Jim Santy Auditorium, 1255 Park Ave.

The evening will also feature a post-screening panel discussion, moderated by Summit County Councilman Roger Armstrong, featuring Wendy Crossland, Summit Count Attorney’s office victim advocate, Prevent Child Abuse Utah Executive Director Laurieann Thorpe and the film’s Olympian, Parkite and the film’s associate producer Carrie Sheinberg.

The discussion will in turn be followed by small, group conversations facilitated by Mountain Mediation, said Park City Film Executive Director Katharine Wang.

“Not everyone is comfortable talking about this topic in the large-scale setting,” she said. “So, these groups help us take things down to more in-depth conversations and help people get involved in more actionable items like how people can get involved — how they can find support if they need it, and how they can become allies.”

Wang first became familiar with “Broken Trust” through Sheinberg, whose mother, Jill Sheinberg, sits on Park City Film’s board of directors.

“Carrie brought the film to me when it first came out during COVID-19 in 2020,” Wang said. “While we were so taken by it, we felt it would be better to show the film in person. So, we had been looking for an opportunity to bring the film to our community because sports is such a big part of our conversation here in Park City.”

That chance came a few months ago after Wang was approached by the Friends of the Children’s Justice Center, a nonprofit that is committed to supporting the Children’s Justice Center Summit County House.

The Children’s Justice Center Summit County House, located at 5870 Silver Summit Prkwy., provides a neutral and comfortable environment, where investigators can speak with children and families of children who have been abused. (See accompanying story).

“When the Friends of the Children’s Justice Center approached me about screening a film in the spring, ‘Broken Trust’ immediately came to mind,” Wang said.

The Friends of the CJC journey to partnering with Park City Film was a long journey, said Tracy Walton, board secretary.

“The Friends of the Children’s Justice Center was founded in 2016, and (we) knew there were a lot of blanks out there in how we could make the community aware of what we did,” said Walton, who is also the organization’s former board president. “A former board member, Vanessa Brown Laurella, went out and did some training in the medical community in the Summit County, and other board member Vanessa Conabee suggested maybe we should look to creating book clubs because the subject is, a lot of times, hidden away and hard to talk about.”

The book club idea appealed to the Friends of the CJC because it seemed easier to talk about child abuse in small groups, according to Walton.

So, she and the board reached out to Kate Mapp, Park City Library’s adult services librarian.

Mapp told Walton that book clubs can be effective, but reading the book and holding discussions can take time to raise awareness.

“That’s when Vanessa Conabee and another board member Beth Armstrong (suggested) we talk with Katy at Park City Film,” Walton said. “We told Katy that we wanted to do, and she suggested ‘Broken Trust.’”

The film fits well with Park City Film’s Raising Voices Series, which showcases and brings to the forefront underrepresented communities and issues, Wang said.

“Abuse is a challenging topic, and while everyone agrees these conversations are important, to find something like ‘Broken Trust,’ which is a short film, kind of lends itself to be easier for some people to see,” she said. “The film also bridges the gap that talks specifically about sports and the interest of protecting our children and the athletes in our community. And by looking through that angle, it may appeal to a broader audience and (put into focus) the systemic and social forces that contribute to abuse, not just in sports but throughout communities.”

Still, Wang knows that athlete abuse doesn’t happen everywhere.

“There are great coaches, but there are certainly abuses that happen within the coaching systems that need to be addressed,” she said.

Walton believes screening “Broken Trust” comes at an important time, especially because the United States Justice Department and more than 100 victims of former USA Gymnastics physician Larry Nassar — including Olympians Simone Biles, Aly Raisman and McKayla Maroney — recently reached a civil settlement over allegations that FBI agents failed to properly investigate the gymnasts’ claims of abuse against the now-convicted doctor.

“These ladies stood up to talk about this, and they had the power for being famous, which is great,” she said. “But as a friends organization like us, it’s hard to get people to understand that the CJC House is such a good resource. So, we hope that the screening will help people who have gone through abuse understand that they are not alone.”

—

Click here to read the article on the Park Record website

The post Short documentary examines the ‘Broken Trust’ between athletes and abusive coaches appeared first on Mountain Mediation Center.

Article by Carolyn Webber Alder, for the Park Record (September 27, 2018)

Over the last couple decades, the Mountain Mediation Center worked with people in Summit and Wasatch counties to prevent and resolve disputes. Rarely did it hold community-wide events to educate the public — until now.

The Park City nonprofit is scheduled to host an event titled “Communicating After Trauma” on Oct. 3 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Blair Education Center in the Park City Hospital. Kathy Franchek, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Utah School of Medicine who specializes in trauma-informed care, is expected to speak about common causes of trauma and the physiological effects trauma can have on a person. The center plans to host more speaker events in the future.

Gretchen Lee, the interim executive director of the Mountain Mediation Center, said the nonprofit has slowly moved into the event arena after helping put on various functions with Communities that Care this past year. During that time, Lee said she learned more about the work of other nonprofits in the area and decided she wanted to partner with them to host the center’s own events.

“There’s so much good material out there that we want to share it with the community, especially in the current environment,” she said.

While considering who to invite to speak, one of the center’s board members heard Franchek present in Salt Lake City. Immediately, she thought that Park City could benefit from the message and scheduled Franchek. From there, Lee reached out to the Peace House and the Park City School District, who agreed to participate in a panel.

Lee said the topic seemed timely, given the increased emphasis on mental health and substance abuse in the Park City area, which can both result from or be a catalyst for trauma in individuals.

Franchek will speak about how trauma can affect health, well-being and behavior, as well as how to communicate with people after they have experienced trauma. She said in a press release that trauma can greatly impact the health of people “across their lifespan.”

The event is expected to close with a panel including Kendra Wyckoff, executive director of the Peace House; Sam Walsh, intervention counselor at Park City High School; and Evie Brinkerhoff, a child welfare mediator and board member of Mountain Mediation Center. They will answer questions about how they handle trauma in their work.

Lee said she hopes people walk away from the event more aware of how they interact with people who have been affected by a trauma, and with confidence to know how to help them.

She said the Mountain Mediation Center intends to keep holding events throughout the year, as well as to continue to develop its community education through classes about conflict resolution and parent-teen communication in Park City and Heber City.

—

Click here to read this article on the Park Record website

The post MMC Hosts Event About Trauma appeared first on Mountain Mediation Center.