Buried beneath the weight of our nation’s progress lies a silent epidemic: the profound and lasting impact of childhood trauma, a force that shatters lives and our society … a force greater than gravity. Now is the time to raise awareness and piece back together these broken shards to enhance the well-being of our communities … Michael Menard

PUBLISHER’S NOTE: In early 2026, Michael Menard appeared (click here) as featured guest on my In The Dugout with Mike Stenhouse podcast. Compelled to find our more about the urgent crisis Menard articulated, I and the Ocean State Current has since held extensive conversations and meetings with Menard … concluding that the issue of childhood is indeed a vital issue that America must address; it’s impact on society is massive and devasting … but those afflicted can be healed!! The following is a summary our findings and analysis.

Urgent Call to Action: The crisis of childhood trauma is not just another social issue; it is a silent, systemic catastrophe that dwarfs the health costs, death toll, and economic devastation of tobacco, the HIV/AIDS epidemic, the opioid crisis, and childhood lead poisoning … combined.

New research clearly shows that childhood trauma is shortening more lives, overstressing more public and private budgets, and crippling the futures of more people than any public health emergency our nation has ever faced.

Just as those crises demanded an all-hands, all-of-society mobilization, this long-standing (but under the radar threat) now demands the same response … only bigger, faster, and more relentless.

Indeed, a coordinated and high-profile public-private assault on childhood trauma, and building proven pathways towards healing, will deliver the single greatest return on investment … across multiple areas of public interest … of any policy priority that America has undertaken in recent decades.

The Problem. Amid a declared national youth mental health crisis, it has only recently come to light that childhood trauma is a hidden but massive public-health emergency that drives many outcomes often treated as separate problems: addiction, suicide, chronic disease, incarceration, lost productivity, and premature death. The consequences cost America roughly $14 trillion a year in healthcare costs and lost productivity.

Michael J. Menard’s exhaustive investigations connected the dots of existing peer-reviewed research into a frightening and indisputable narrative: up to 50 million children and 180 million U.S. adults carry childhood-trauma burdens that often shorten lives by decades. This discovery led to his formation of UACT.

The data and science clearly show that childhood trauma can cause an unhealthy and persistent release of cortisol, which biologically re-wires the brain, destroys mitochondria, and weakens the immune system … usually leading to any number of deadly future medical and emotional conditions.

The problem is exacerbated as society is often focused on affirming harmful lifestyles and treating the “smoke” – related symptoms such as addiction, depression, illness, and violence – while failing to address the “fire” … unresolved childhood trauma.

Menard’s mission for UACT (United Against Childhood Trauma) is to create a world where childhood trauma can be largely eliminated by helping children, families, communities, and organizations identify, heal, and prevent trauma.

The vision is a society that recognizes the importance of early intervention, healing, and prevention so children and adults can thrive. Michael Menard has authored multiple books on this crisis – including Greater Than Gravity – drawing upon his decades of experience as an inventor, former global engineering executive in a Fortune-500 company, business leader, and childhood-trauma advocate whose personal and tragic family-history background informs his mission.

The solution is achievable! It emphasizes a faith-based and related professional counseling approach. Menard’s work and proposed healing programs have drawn endorsements from some of the most credible experts in the field and are already being considered or adopted by many government agencies. His past corporate success as a complex-problem solver supports his systems-thinking approach to public health.

Dr. Glenn R. Schiraldi, the leading expert in trauma recovery, agrees that childhood trauma is one of humanity’s largest threats to well-being and said: “God heals, and uses helpers. Healing the brain damaged by trauma allows divine grace to flow unimpeded.” Schiraldi will lead the mental health board for UACT, along with other experts and organizations, intended to strengthen the organization’s educational and healing work.

Adolescents and adults suffering from childhood trauma can be clinically treated and healed. Public awareness, public policy, and societal action must be reformed to confront this crisis. An emphasis on Healing From the Start can prevent childhood trauma in the first place. Early awareness, identification, responsiveness, and the proper treatment path can heal the afflicted … and will save lives!

The UACT awareness and treatment program proposes four inter-connected “pathways” to success:

• Universal awareness & education among the public and via UACT certified coaches already in place in their societal jobs and roles
• Faith-based response through aligned places of worship that provide the emotional/spiritual foundation for healing
• Professional and clinical treatment by mental health counselors and clinicians appropriately certified in the UACT healing process
• Community leadership to build UACT healing networks among places of faith, schools, corporations, advocacy organizations, and childhood protection and foster-home services.

Significant public benefits are achievable and measurable. When we end the darkness in children’s and adults’ lives, we don’t just heal them, we reforge them; putting back together the broken shards of their lives to make them more beautiful and stronger than they were before, such that the broken become the next-generation healers who will stop the breaking for others.

More healed people today, leads to fewer health problems tomorrow. Along with enormous budgetary savings in public and private healthcare spending; families will be transformed and united; more people will remain in their church or synagogue; we will see higher student achievement and less spending on special-needs programs; communities will be strengthened and unified as more people serve and heal others; and society will realize increased overall productivity by the trillions.