ACE Interface Trainer Spotlight: Ruth Charles

I teach at Winona State in the social work department and coordinate the IV-E Child Welfare Scholar program which integrates social work students into the public foster care system.  I am always looking for new information to bring to my classes.  When I learned about the ACE research, it made perfect sense!  The evidence based research confirmed much of what I had seen and experienced in the community. The more I learned about the ACES research, the more I had to keep learning!  It is fascinating work and applies to so much of both my personal and work life.

 

Learning about ACEs has kept me busy, because as soon as I gain new information I need to share it.  Luckily my work in teaching allows me to do this.  Also, living in a relatively small community I have been able to reach out to others and share this information. 

 

I really identify with the research on resilience.  I had a traumatic medical experience that impacted my brain.  I had a stroke 15 years ago and I could not talk.  If you heard me present, you would know- I can talk.  It was not easy but I was able to retrain my brain so that I can talk.  This is critical when talking to people who know of themselves or others who would have a high ACE score.  They can see the hope of healing standing in front of them!  It was not easy but it can be done.

 

 I was trained as an ACE Interface Trainer in September 2014.  Since then, I have presented over 50 times in my local community to whoever will want to hear it.  This has included service organizations like Rotary, Kiwanas or the Lions, as well as the local school district, parochial, charter and education districts.  I have also presented to numerous human service and mental health agencies, as well as foster care parents and home child care providers. Members from the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council and our County Attorney's office have participated and helped us move forward.  I also presented to Winona, Wabasha and Houston counties to engage their staff.  Presentations have ranged from 20 minutes to 3 hours.  I will talk to whoever will listen, in whatever time they can give me. 

 

I was also able to purchase the movie "Paper Tigers" and this has been shown 10 times in the community.  I preface the movie with a short discussion on ACES to help explain the research behind the actions in the movie.  "Paper Tigers" as well as the movie "Resilience" were both chosen and shown at the Frozen River Film Festival in Winona to large groups.  "Resilience" will now be available to our community to help in our education process.

 

When the Midwest ACEs Summit was to be held in Eagan in November 2016, I sent out an email to people who had contacted me about presentations to see if there was an interest in attending this as a team.  We had 15 people from the Winona community attend.  While there we met and discussed how we could make this move forward.  When we returned, we arranged for an ACEs Initiative group to convene and discuss how we can make this happen in our community.  These are open meetings where anyone can attend and at each meeting there is someone new.  Our email list has around 40 names and we are discussing what we can do together to create trauma informed services and opportunities in our community. 

 

People have been excited and have found the information fascinating. They have identified with the research and want more. 

 

 I love this research and how it can change people's lives.  I saw a gentleman the other day who had a rough life.  Someone sent him to me and we talked.  I introduced him to the ACE research which seemed to cut to the chase of what had happened in his life.  He could see that he was not a bad person, but bad things had happened to him.   I saw him again recently and he is now able to move forward, letting go of the past and in the process of healing. There is no manual.  There are no lists of things to do.  Yet person by person through education and reflection we can all have a better understanding of our lives.