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As Houston ’s school district of more than 200,000 students scrambles to repair damaged schools before classes begin next week, they must also plan for traumatized students to enter the classroom. The Houston Independent School District is in the process of working with counsellors, nurses and social workers to develop a “mental health recovery plan” for the district’s hardest hit schools, according to a statement from HISD. In the meantime, Mental Health America of Greater Houston and...

What supports exist to "uplift" fathers who have survived abandonment, abuse or torture as children? Where can men go to discuss the joys, struggles and issues of being a father with ACEs? Where are the men who face hard, heavy and complicated realities to make life easier and lighter for all who come after? We found two of them and they will be the featured guests in the next Parenting with ACEs chat . Meet Charles Clayton Daniels, Jr. of Father's Uplift and "Trauma Dad" Byron Hamel. Both...

My dear friends, I just survived one of the most intense ordeals of my life. A series of traumas - one after the other over the past two years - have threatened to level me in a way that is reminiscent of the Perfect Storm that led me to leave medicine ten years ago. That Perfect Storm fundamentally transformed my life, resulting in a quantum leap in my consciousness, my career, my relationships, my spiritual journey, and how I live my life. I can only assume this one will as well. But damn...

From Kali Joy's Facebook page... September is National Suicide Prevention Month. This song I wrote is about suicide. But it is a song about hope. I believe that together we can raise awareness and help prevent suicide. Please share this video and encourage others to share it. If this subject has affected you in your life in any way, whether through a family member, friend, or something you have experienced, this is a chance to talk about it. And we need to talk about it. We all need to be...

Today’s college students desperately want to change the world, but too many think that living a meaningful life requires doing something extraordinary and attention-grabbing like becoming an Instagram celebrity, starting a wildly successful company or ending a humanitarian crisis. Having idealistic aspirations is, of course, part of being young. But thanks to social media, purpose and meaning have become conflated with glamour: Extraordinary lives look like the norm on the internet. Yet the...

In a year of big stories, the opioid crisis has become one of the biggest, though it’s been a problem since the early 2000s. Around then, people in Kentucky, West Virginia, and southeast Ohio started referring to Percocet, OxyContin, and Vicodin as “hillbilly heroin.” The pills were easy to get and easy to abuse. Between those, and heroin and synthetics like fentanyl—which many have since moved on to—West Virginia in 2015 had the highest overdose mortality rate in the nation, with 41.5...

When high school student Kia Reid’s brother was arrested, she withdrew emotionally, missing more than a week of school. But in her absence, Reid didn’t fall through the cracks. Her teachers texted and called to check on her. “They told me [they were] not here to pressure me, but they wanted me to keep on track with my schoolwork.,” Reid said. “They were really patient, and even came over to my house and brought me my work and went over all [of it] with me.” Reid graduated in the spring with...

When consultant Stephanie Pollack was brought in to work with the state chapter of a national nonprofit, morale was low. The organization was in the middle of a transformation that brought in new leadership, a new culture, new rules—and lots of tension and uncertainty. Her task? To teach appreciation and gratitude. [For more of this story, written by Kira M. Newman, go to https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_gratitude_can_transform_your_workplace]

The future wasn’t always bright for Justin Sarna of Vallejo. A self-proclaimed drug addict of 13 years with a first-degree burglary conviction in 2015 to boot, the 25-year-old was staring at a life in and out of the criminal justice system, impeded by a debilitating and unshakable drug addiction. On Monday, Sarna, who precisely boasted seven months and eight days of sobriety, was celebrated as the first-ever graduate of the Solano County Parole Reentry Court’s program — a recently developed...

Anxiety is a disease that bites many. Anxiety doesn’t discriminate against age, sex, religion, race, or any other related demographics. It affects people differently and manifests in different ways. It can affect our thoughts, emotions, and even physical health if we let it get out of control. Everyone might deal with fright or worry from time to time, but take it up another notch and anxiety will override any of those milder forms. Anxiety is nothing to be afraid of because it can be...

With so much going on around the world right now , it’s not unusual that the news are rattling up emotions for everyone at home. We as adults, have (hopefully) found a series of mechanisms to help us calm down and self-regulate. But, for many children, the story is different. Whether it’s the global politics climate or actual climate changes that may cause your child to feel anxious. It’s important that parents empathize and recognize these feelings. But, even more crucial, is that parents...

Sonoma County, CA, is home to a fabulous local media source — KRCB North Bay Public Media. Journalists and cinematographers from this small, but nimble, nonprofit are dedicating to documenting life as it happens in Sonoma County. A few months ago, the team at KRCB noticed that "ACEs" was popping up in conference titles, doctor's offices, and schools across the county. They trailed around our local experts for several months, and crafted an excellent 30-minute video explaining adverse...