Whole People Documentary Streaming Weekend & Zoom Discussion with Rev. Paul Abernathy

On behalf of ACEs Connection, the CTIPP (The Campaign for Trauma-Informed Policy & Practice), and the Relentless School Nurse, we want to invite you to the streaming of parts 4 and 5 of the Whole People documentary series on the weekend of March 12th through March 14th, 2021. We will stream both parts on ACEs Connection in the Transforming Trauma with ACEs Sciences Film Festival community.

The documentary viewing weekend will be followed by a discussion with special guest, Father Paul Abernathy from the Neighborhood Resilience Project, who will be sharing about the Trauma Informed Community Development model, on Tuesday, March 16th at 7p.m. EST ( pre-register here).

To watch, simply join the Transform Trauma with ACEs Science community on ACEs Connection.
- Return anytime over the weekend of March 12th, 2021 through March 14th, 2021 to watch the online streaming available all weekend.

Zoom discussion with Father Paul Abernathy on March 16th, 2021, at 7p.m. EST
- Here's where to pre-register

Please find more details below about the Whole People documentary series, Father Paul Abernathy, and the Transform Trauma with ACEs Science Film Festival Community.

More about the Whole People Documentary Film Series

Whole People is a five-part documentary series produced by Twin Cities PBS and CentraCare Health "spotlighting the impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES) through personal and community stories. It explores the long-term costs to personal well-being and our society. While much work needs to be done, there are many innovative developments to prevent and treat ACES. We all play a role in becoming a whole people,” per the website. In addition, this series comes with an excellent and extensive study guide to help with processing and group facilitation for those who watch this film in community settings. The study guide is co-written by Resmaa Menakem MSW, LICSW, S.E.P. of Justice Leadership Solutions, who is the author of My Grandmother's Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies) and Pam Beckering, MS, LPCC, of CentraCare Health. It has questions, summary points, body-based practices and resources.

Rev. Paul Abernathy (Photo Source from YouTube)
Rev. Paul Abernathy is an Orthodox Christian priest and the founding CEO of the Neighborhood Resilience Project. Since 2011, Fr. Paul labored with the community to build this ministry to address Community Trauma with Trauma Informed Community Development (TICD) - A framework that transforms Trauma Affected Communities to Resilient, Healing and Healthy Communities so people can be healthy enough to sustain opportunities and realize their potential. Under Fr. Paul’s leadership, millions of dollars in food, clothing, furniture, transportation assistance, identification, free health care and emergency relief has been distributed to the Greater Pittsburgh Community. The framework of TICD also includes a Trauma Response Team and Micro-Community Interventions. Community groups from all across the nation have worked with Fr. Paul to be trained in the TICD Framework.

He has a B.A. in International Studies from Wheeling Jesuit University, and holds a Master in Public and International Affairs from the University of Pittsburgh as well as a Master of Divinity from St. Tikhon’s Orthodox Theological Seminary. A former Non-Commissioned Officer in the U.S. Army, Father Paul is a combat veteran of the Iraq War.

In addition to his work with the organization, Fr. Paul is and has been a member of multiple community boards and committees to include the Trauma-Informed PA Think Tank, PA State Parole Citizens Advisory Committee, Allegheny County Health Department’s Violence Prevention Community Advisory Board, and is a Foundation of HOPE, Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh and Campaign for Trauma Informed Policy & Practice board member. He has received numerous community awards to include Eagle Scout, the New Pittsburgh Courier’s Fab 40 Award, Larry Richert’s Hometown Hero Award, Pittsburgh Magazine’s 40 under 40, and Wheeling Jesuit University’s Fr. Pedro Arrupe Distinguished Alumni Award.

Fr. Paul is the pastor of St. Moses Orthodox Church, a husband and father of two children.

The Transform Trauma with ACEs Science Film Festival Community & Co-Sponsors

This series is co-hosted by ACEs Connection, CTIPP (the Campaign for Trauma-Informed Policy & Practice), and The Relentless School Nurse. It is supported by generous filmmakers and producers who are making this limited-time access available for free for our members. All the films in this series focus on generational, historical, racial, and secondary trauma as well as individual, community, and systems healing and change. We will focus on how ACEs sciences can prevent and heal ACEs and inspire trauma-informed change supporting all of our families and communities. We have a new interest-based community on ACEs Community, free and open for all to join who are interested in this series.

ACEs Connection
ACEs Connection is the human and digital catalyst that unites the people, organizations, systems and communities in the worldwide ACEs movement. We are its main information exchange and resource. And we are a support for hundreds of local, state and national ACEs initiatives to accelerate the use of ACEs science to solve our most intractable problems. We provide initiatives with a free community site on ACEs Connection, guidelines on how to launch and grow local ACEs initiatives, and powerful online tools that help initiatives measure their progress. For established initiatives, we offer access to more advanced tools, guidelines and services in the ACEs Connection Cooperative of Communities. Our network has 45,000+ members who share best practices while inspiring each other to grow the ACEs movement. We also publish a separate news site, ACEsTooHigh.com, for the general public. The goals of our work are to prevent ACEs, heal trauma, and create resilience.

The Campaign for Trauma-Informed Policy & Practice (CTIPP)
CTIPP has launched a nationwide grassroots campaign to engage congressional offices and other federal leaders in supporting policies, programs, legislation, and appropriations that prevent and respond to trauma as well as build resilience. Visit CTIPP’s National Trauma Campaign webpage (http://www.ctipp.org/nationaltraumacampaign/) to learn more, to access trauma-informed advocacy toolkits and resources, to sign up for Campaign updates, and/or to join in this exciting movement yourself! (Questions? Reach out to info@traumacampaign.org)

Robin Cogan / The Relentless School Nurse
Robin Cogan is a school nurse, blogger, and activist. Robin's blog, The Relentless School Nurse was created to amplify school nursing. She tells stories from her health office in Camden, New Jersey and highlights the work of colleagues across the country. Robin is dedicated to gun violence prevention and sharing the importance of trauma-responsive education in school communities. She also teaches the next generation of school nurses at Rutgers University and grounds her curriculum in “A Pair of ACEs” - both individual and community adversity.

Thank You to All Whole Make This Free Film Festival Possible for Our Members!
This film series would not be possible without the generosity of filmmakers Vic Compher & Rodney Whittenberg of Portraits of Professional Caregivers, Ana Joanes of Wrestling Ghosts, and the public programming of Whole People by PBS. We are grateful to all of them for making this film festival free and available to all of our members.

To watch Whole People, simply join theTransform Trauma with ACEs Science community on ACEs Connection.
- Return anytime over the weekend of March 12th, 2021 through March 14th, 2021 to watch the online streaming available all weekend.