A long term St Margarets resident has decided to give back to her community by discussing childhood experiences in a documentary, titled 'Resilience'.

Daphne Cotton, who has lived in the area for 30 years, is a local ambassador for the Wave Trust 70/30 campaign. They are working towards achieving a 70 per cent reduction in child maltreatment by 2030.

Daphne said: "Toxic Stress us now understood to be one of the leading causes of everything from heart disease and cancer, to substance abuse and depression. Extremely stressful experiences in childhood can alter brain development and have lifelong effects on health and behaviour.

"The empowering force of the film is that it demonstrates the possibility to breaking the intergenerational cycle of damage by showing a way forward. It exposes the impact of childhood adversity as a public health issue which requires a whole community response. The screening is an attempt to get multi-sector engagement of the Richmond community to learn about Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs).

Wave Trust 70/30 Campaign is working towards achieving a 70 per cent reduction in child maltreatment by 2030. Child maltreatment covers all forms of harm to children -including abuse, neglect and witnessing violence in the home.

Daphne added: "These things happen, not because there are bad parents out there who are intent on harming their children, but usually because of what has happened to the parents themselves when they were young. It is this intergenerational cycle of violence, addiction and disease that we, and many others, are trying to stop."

The documentary is about solutions and about a way forward. Daphne hopes it will inspire the powers that be in Richmond and surrounding boroughs to implement “trauma-informed” policies and practices throughout our community.

MP Sir Vince Cable, will be part of a Q & A panel after the screening at The Exchange on September 19. Tickets start from £6 and can be bought on The Exchange website http://exchangetwickenham.co.uk/event/resilience-the-biology-of-stress-the-science-of-hope/