Blog

By Pearce Godwin, USA TODAY, May 18, 2021 America needs to talk. And will as never before during America Talks and the National Week of Conversation (June 14-20 ). Abraham Lincoln, quoting Jesus, said, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” They weren’t playing. More than half of us (54%) now say our fellow Americans pose the biggest threat to the country. Described as a “singularly virulent and dangerous phenomenon” and “our greatest national security vulnerability,” toxic...

The Essentials for Childhood Initiative would like to share a new resources titled, “Creating Safe, Stable, Nurturing Relationships and Environments for Children.” This new resource is intended to elevate primary prevention strategies that support creating Safe, Stable, Nurturing Relationships and Environments (SSNR&Es) for children and highlight 2019 data from the Awareness, Commitment, and Norms Survey provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This document was...

Medical Advocacy in the Face of Discrimination presented by Sharon Cooper, MD, FAAP Thursday, May 27, 2021 | 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm (PT) There is a significant impact on the body, mind, and spirit when racism is a part of a child and adolescent’s life experiences. The historical impact of systemic racism affects how families of color will parent their children, and at times intentionally overlook discriminatory treatment for fear of retaliation against their child. This realization has not been...

Join us for the next A Better Normal community discussion series where we envision and create a trauma-informed society together. Wed, May 26, 2021, 12pm PDT >>Register Here<< We will be learning from Sarah Marikos and Joy Thomas of the ACE Resource Network about the wide impact their Number Story campaign is having through the use of strategic partnerships. This intervention helps individuals understand their ACE numbers and connects them with the resources and tools to heal.

Wrestling Ghosts is the fourth and final film in the Transform Trauma with ACEs Science Film Festival series. The film can be watched, free of charge, on PACEs Connection from Friday, June 11th through Sunday, June 13th where it will be streamed all weekend. The streaming will be followed by a Zoom discussion with Wrestling Ghosts Director, Ana Joanes, and the co-sponsors of the Transform Trauma with ACEs Science Film Festival (CTIPP, PACEs Connection, & the Relentless School Nurse) on...

On May 14, Governor Gavin Newsom announced the May Revision of his State Fiscal Year 2021-2022 budget proposal. The May Revision supports vital services that reinforce the state’s commitment to preserve and improve the overall health and well-being of all Californians, while operating within a responsible budgetary structure. The May Revision includes a number of proposals designed to advance and augment the impact of ACEs Aware , as well as proposals relevant to supporting the goals and...

We recently sat down with Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, California’s first surgeon general, and Dave Ellis, the first executive director of the Office of Resilience at the New Jersey Department of Children and Families. A pioneering voice on prevention, early identification, and treatment of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), Dr. Burke Harris gained national prominence with her viral 2015 TED talk on this topic. Dave Ellis made his name as a national leader in providing trainings and...

By Rose Ibarra, Seattle Children's, May 24, 2021 For many of us, the past year has been uniquely stressful. Have you felt especially exhausted, struggled to focus or been more irritable than usual? Maybe you’ve found yourself wondering why you can’t cope with the stress better. “There are very real, biological reasons why we’re finding it harder than usual to perform,” said Dr. Shannon Simmons , a psychiatrist at Seattle Children’s and medical director of the Psychiatry and Behavioral...

By Laura Newberry, Los Angeles Times, May 22, 2021 The high school editors kept hearing the same murmurings from their classmates. The yearbook would be depressing. It would be thin, if published at all. What was there to look back on, anyway? No prom, no football games , no grad night. Just day after day of Zoom and sweatpants. At the same time, the seniors lamented how their final year of high school, in all its monotony, was passing them by. They feared that they wouldn’t remember it. “I...

By Jay Beckwith, Sonoma County Gazette, May 24, 2021 The isolation required by COVID-19 has been a mixed bag. It has allowed me to come to terms with trends that have emerged over the last few years. Having spent my life as an avid environmentalist and a play systems creator, the trends that concern me are those that consider how the environmental crisis impacts children. I found the National Intelligence Council's recent release: Global Trends 2040: A More Contested World, particularly...

How has the death of George Floyd impacted the state of police reform in the United States. Americans are still wrestling with ways to reform police agencies, one year later. Below you can find three different perspectives on the state of police reform in the United States as we approach the one year anniversary of this tragedy. A Year After George Floyd: Pressure to Add Police Amid Rising Crime [nytimes.com] “I don’t care how bad it gets — no one wants more cops,” Ms. Jones, 56, said last...

What Happened to You? Oprah Winfrey and renowned brain development and trauma expert, Dr. Bruce Perry, discuss the impact of trauma and adverse experiences and how healing must begin with a shift to asking, 'what happened to you?' rather than 'what’s wrong with you?' Through wide-ranging, and often deeply personal conversation, Oprah Winfrey and Dr. Perry explore how what happens to us in early childhood – both good and bad - influences the people we become. They challenge us to shift from...