August 2023

Sable Elyse Smith’s “Backbend” (2019) on display at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in New York City. MAURICE CHAMMAH/THE MARSHALL PROJECT By Maurice Chammah, The Marshall Project, August 12, 2023 At first glance, the “Federal Prison Inmate Activity Book” looks like something a child might get at a fast food restaurant. But then you see that the word search puzzle includes terms like “larceny” and “embezzle.” On another page, above drawings of a panda and a one-eyed snake,...

A school nurse’s office in Centre County, Pennsylvania, seen on August 15, 2016. Abby Drey/Centre Daily Times via AP By Chip Brownlee, The Trace, August 15, 2023 Picture a school nurse’s office: walls adorned with cheery posters about handwashing, a first-aid bed for the occasional stomach ache, a neat row of bandages for a scraped knee. Maybe a Kleenex box on a desk next to a stack of coveted hall passes. It’s a scene full of soft, comfortable textures — but for Robin Cogan, a school nurse...

A sign for the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services and the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services building in Austin on Nov. 14, 2019. Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune By Neelam Bohra, The Texas Tribune, August 18, 2023 In early 2019, a small group of foster parents clustered in the governor’s office, hoping months of working with the state would improve things for children like theirs: deaf or hard of hearing and traumatized by a system that struggled to care for...

By Richard Lai, Image: screenshot from article, GameNGuides, August 18, 2023 In today’s world, the concept of family has evolved, and single-parent households have become increasingly common. While raising children alone can be a challenging task, it becomes even more crucial to address their emotional well-being and build resilience. How can we ensure that children growing up in single-parent households develop the strength and adaptability needed to thrive? This is a question that demands...

By Linda Searing, Photo Illustration: Washington Post Illustration/iStock, The Washington Post, August 21, 2023 New research points to eight healthy lifestyle habits that could add years to your life. In a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Nutrition, researchers found that men who had adopted all eight habits by middle age lived 24 years longer than men whose lifestyle included few or none of the habits. Women’s life expectancy increased by 23 years for those...

Photo above is of the PACEs Connection staff as we said goodbye to Jane Stevens, PACEs Connection founder and former CEO and publisher, on her transitioning to her new role as publisher of ACEsTooHigh , which was spun off from PACEs Connection on May 1. The eight staff members left in this photo curate and maintain the website, calendar, enewsletters, podcasts, webinars, maps, schedule of Creating Resilient Communities classes, membership profiles and more! They are, top row, l-r, Kahshanna...

It could be said that part of a faith community leader’s job is to take care of themselves. Time must be incorporated into the schedule to allow for self-care, and subsequently be a role model for the faith community. It is in balance and wholeness that spiritual health can be fully realized.

To read more of Kelly Wendorf's article, please click here. dis·mem·ber·ment noun 1. the action of cutting off a person’s or animal’s limbs. 2. the action of partitioning or dividing up a territory or organization. Most of us grew up learning that our body is a flesh and blood object, made up of organs, bones, veins and arteries, and encased in muscle and skin. We learned it is something to be researched, objectified, judged, used, harmed, exercised, fed, built, and discussed as if it is...

This year SAMHSA released a Practical Guide for Implementing a Trauma-Informed Approach, which cites the Traumatic Stress Institute’s Whole-Systems Change Model to TIC as one of several frameworks used to develop their guide. It focuses specifically on tools and strategies for implementing a trauma-informed approach.

Standing in his composting site at the Filbert Street Garden in Curtis Bay, Marvin Hayes shows off what he calls 'Black Gold' -- the end product derived from turning food scraps and yard trim into compost, which is well documented to protect the environment, sequester carbon and make communities resilient. Credit: Aman Azhar/Inside Climate News By Aman Azhar, Inside Climate News, August 20, 2023 Marvin Hayes pulled up outside a beige brick home in Baltimore’s leafy Mount Washington...

By Robert Goldman, Photo: Unsplash, Psychology Today, August 20, 2023 “I am resilient, I went to medical school, don’t fix me, fix them.” This was recently stated to me at a resilience training for physicians. Similar words have been thought or stated by other employees tired of another wellness program they have been "asked" to attend. Under the great resignation, there has been an increased awareness and investment by companies on employee wellness programs. While well intentioned, they...

Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen Jr. visits a distribution center at Lahaina Crossing. A deadly wildfire destroyed the city of Lahaina, Maui. Deanne Fitzmaurice for NPR By Eric Westervelt, National Public Radio (NPR), August 21, 2023 The scale of the physical damage in the historic center of Lahaina is clear in its apocalyptic landscape of rubble, ash and debris. But the scale of the inner damage can be seen in the 5-year-old girl that Maui's chief mental health administrator John Oliver saw...