Center supports families traumatized by child sexual abuse - Michigan

Yes, Loren I have heard about the "one-support person" who "saves" a kid from going down the wrong path. I forget whose work that is. It's highly validated and been around for, I think, a good decade at least.

Also just wanted to validate what you said about cops not being educated. So true! And so sad b/c they (males) perpetuate the cycle of violence against women so much b/c of their ignorant, sexist views of the world. They are a good part of the problem. It's disgraceful.

On second thought Stanford's Dr. Glaseroff's new health care framework might show promise for helping the high-ACEr/non-addict population if it reframes the system:

http://acesconnection.com/profiles/blogs/when-your-symptoms-don-t-tell-the-whole-story-8-min (8 min podcast)

http://acesconnection.com/profiles/blogs/give-the-people-what-they-want-alan-glaseroff-s-radical-approach

One of the things that I found with the siblings of those in prison who did not get involved in the system was that they were "saved" by a support person who stepped into their lives at some time. I kept hoping to dispel this reality by going out of my way to talk to siblings just so one of them would tell me that they made it on their own .. but I have yet to find one that has !!! Teachers, neighbors, parents of friends or coaches had some impact !!! I wish that I had known about this study when I was working because I would have been keeping all the names and numbers. I have started emailing a lot of my former coaseload just to check and see how they are doing and also getting their stories in writing ...  

Right, but like you say getting help for adults w/ addiction & criminal justice issues. There are quite a few high- ACErs who don't go that route though. Here's a timely quote from Dr. Felitti:

"One individual asked Felitti to then explain an obvious confound to the theory that ACEs drive addictive behavior. "What about those who succeed, despite the prevalence of ACEs in their personal histories?"  Felitti replied that although some individuals may have escaped addictive behaviors, high ACE scores also correlated with the incidence of stress-related breakdowns in the human immune system, often leading to premature deaths due to cancer or other chronic diseases."

http://acesconnection.com/profiles/blogs/addiction-the-problem-or-the-solution

So insurance companies and Medicare (and SSDI) are dealing with the non-addict/crime folks.

The fact that NIC posted the tri-acency letter is huge and a great start to getting adults help .. most adults with these issues will end up in the criminal justice system if only for drug or alcohol issues .. and they do not look at the issue near enough .. most law enforcement never can make the connection between addiction and complex trauma .. mainly because they are not educated on the issue .. only how to contain and control !!! 

[I'm being rhetorical here]: And there's this unspoken rule that once someone turns 18 they no longer experience ACEs--WRONG! Adversities occur across the lifespan. The name changes from ACEs to ALEs, adverse life experiences. And ALEs are potent and damaging. We all need to get familiar with the phrase "dose response effect" if we don't know it already. It means the more cumulative exposure to adversities, the worse the outcome, the greater the burden, the least likely to "recover." Sadly, I don't think there will be many programs focusing on helping adults unless they are likely to cost "the system" or government money, e.g., folks in corrections, on welfare, Medicare, etc. The focus goes to the young, usually, in the form of prevention. It's a hard bullet to bite.

Brenda,

I completely agree with you on this. In working in the prison system it blew my mind how many of the individuals of sexual crimes were victims themselves. They used to have to take a polygraph as a part of the treatment process and that meant admitting to also being a victim ... the numbers are mind blowing but no one seems to care .. once you turn 18 you no longer are subjected to any form of compassion or understanding !!!

I know this is fantastic, but why do States & other officials continue to ignore adult survivors of child sexual abuse and their families?  MANY of those survivors AND their families need URGENT help due to decades of denial, shame, trauma.  Hopefully somebody sees that and will act.  Soon.