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In Boston’s Beacon Hill neighborhood, as NPR recently reported, a group of older people gathers weekly for political discussions over breakfast . The get-together, along with regular outings to museums, plays, and even to other cities, is offered through the neighborhood’s “village”—a nonprofit membership organization formed in 2002 designed to assist residents who wish to remain in their homes as they age. Members pay several hundred dollars a year in dues, which cover an office and small...

Editor's Note: The photography credits have been corrected to Calvin Megginson. WILMINGTON, N.C. — Until the opioid epidemic began seeping into nearly every city and town in the country, the idea of a Main Street storefront offering free needles, alcohol wipes and small metal cookers for heroin users was unthinkable in a conservative Southern city like this one. But these days, most of the roughly 100,000 residents of this historic port on the Cape Fear River are painfully aware that their...

In the year since President Donald Trump vowed to put a stop to an epidemic of "American carnage," his administration has made sweeping changes to the Department of Justice's policies. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has chipped away at President Barack Obama's justice reform efforts, cutting back on federal oversight of police departments and reversing course on mandatory minimums , marijuana policy , and private prisons . The changes could send federal prison populations climbing again. And...

A growing body of research has made it increasingly apparent that adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are a critical public health issue. ACEs are potentially traumatic experiences and events, ranging from abuse and neglect to living with an adult with a mental illness. They can have negative, lasting effects on health and well-being in childhood or later in life. 1 However, more important than exposure to any specific event of this type is the accumulation of multiple adversities during...

Having a child changes you into a parent, and as we all know, that is not a simple change; there’s nothing one-and-done about it. And having a seriously ill child changes you forever as a family; it’s important for everyone who tries to help families to understand that when one child in a family is seriously ill, or lives with a chronic disability, the siblings are also profoundly shaped by the experience. “It’s always a challenge to make sure that each child feels valued and loved equally,”...

A year after graduating from North Hollywood High School in 2013, family disputes pushed Michael Jaramillo to living on the streets. Sometimes he’d find relief, like when his friend invited him to stay with his parents for two weeks. Odd jobs in construction, moving services and retail netted him just shy of $800 a month and enough to swing hot meals and the occasional night at a hotel. During several episodes of homelessness totaling nine months he slept in laundromats, hospital waiting...

Seward is a thriving and warm community, full of people who care and want to nurture one another. Even so, the fact remains that we don’t all start with the same opportunities and that early childhood trauma can have a lasting impact on people’s lives. This is the concept that has broken into the field of child development over the last few years. The new way of talking about this concept of unequal starts is known as ACES. According to the national Prevention Institute “Adverse Childhood...

Members of the business panel at the MARC National Summit (L to R): Scott Hall, Somer Gauthier, Melissa Merrick, Anne Jesko. ____________________________ Somer Gauthier knew the ACE training had worked when one of her general managers told her about an irate customer. Gauthier, owner of two McDonald’s franchises in Helena, Montana , experienced her own “aha” moment during a community meeting hosted by Elevate Montana. “I had never heard of ACEs,” she told attendees at the 2017 Mobilizing...

Accomplishing systems change is anything but simple or linear. It's emergent, defies predictability, requires strategic thinking and adaptive leadership. In this workshop, participants will learn about systems theory, systems phenomena, key considerations in initiating change in a system, adaptive challenges, adaptive leadership, social network theory and social network design. Participants will review the “Self-Healing Communities” framework that revolutionized a county in Washington State.

Lynn Black’s mother-in-law, who had lupus and lung cancer, was rushed into a hospital intensive care unit last summer with shortness of breath. As she lay in bed, intubated and unresponsive, a parade of doctors told the family “all good news.” A cardiologist reported the patient’s heart was fine. An oncologist announced that the substance infiltrating her lungs was not cancer. An infectious-disease doctor assured the family, “We’ve got her on the right antibiotic.” With each doctor’s report,...

As a teenager in foster care , Zack Zibrosky was detained eight times, five for running away from the same group home where some of the other kids had a history of aggressive behavior. Running away is considered a status offense, an activity that is prohibited only if you are a minor. In between trips to detention, Zibrosky spent time on the streets. School fell by the wayside amidst all that upheaval. “Kids who are going through this obviously have some type of turmoil or something in their...

People who were bullied by siblings during childhood are up to three times more likely to develop psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia in early adulthood, according to new research by the University of Warwick. Led by Professor Dieter Wolke (senior author) at Warwick's Department of Psychology, this is the first study to explore the relationship between sibling bullying and the development of psychotic disorders. Almost 3,600 children from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and...