What is Mental Illness in the Household

Community college presidencies provide a multitude of complex and nuanced challenges. These honored positions also present incredible opportunities to effect positive change in the communities we serve. This chapter chronicles those opportunities fueled by a spirit of learning, hope for the unforeseen future and a commitment to social justice, equity, and belonging. The journey is illustrated through stories of growth, commitment, and courage to make decisions for the betterment of historically underrepresented groups in higher education to steward success for marginalized groups including people of color and second chance citizens and populations experiencing generational poverty, in short, changing lives. Through the utilization of trauma-informed/resilience-focused theory and practices, committed and representative leaders, we built a transformational program centered on cultural competence and the reregulation of the effects of trauma while infusing the universal human needs of belonging, independence, mastery, and generosity into participants' lives.