“Kids can feel physical pain when they are having a lot of emotions like anxiety or fear or worry,” says Tasha Murphy, a senior research scientist who studies pain at the University of Washington.
Tasha’s interest in improving children’s quality of life is one of the reasons she wanted to serve on ELAP’s Board of Directors.
“The breadth and scope of the work ELAP does is so important,” Tasha says. “And all of the work that ELAP does is for people who are in vulnerable situations.”
Her research on kids and adults shows that whenever someone is vulnerable, their quality of life is impacted.
“If you’re getting evicted from your home, that’s going to create a lot of fear, anxiety, worry, anger,” she says. “When you’re faced with losing your home, especially when you’re a child, that can be disorienting and upsetting. For families in domestic violence situations, that’s extremely emotionally and physically traumatic.”
Many people in our community can’t afford a lawyer. Tasha says ELAP’s role in providing legal help to vulnerable families can be incredibly impactful.
“Having legal aid available for people who can really use it… it literally can change their life.”
