After 9/11, Dr. Pamela Cantor was asked to assist in a study on the psychological effects of the attack on New York City’s elementary school students. According to Dr. Cantor, who had spent nearly two decades working as a child psychologist, the study had profound implications. The results, she says, suggested that growing up in poverty had a greater impact on a child’s psyche than the events of 9/11 had. Dr. Cantor felt compelled to look more closely at the relationship between poverty and a child’s psychology, and her research ultimately inspired her to found Turnaround for Children, a nonprofit that works within schools to make them a healthier learning environment for their impoverished students.
Since the original publication of this story, Dr. Pamela Cantor has become a NationSwell Council member.
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