Blog

By Laura Testino, Memphis Commercial Appeal, March 10, 2021 At the end of 2020, Memphis' ACE Awareness Foundation , a five-year-old organization that has provided free counseling and community resources to parents and families across the city, announced that it would fold at the end of March. The foundation won't be returning, but one trademark free mental health resource will. Called Universal Parenting Places, or UPPs , the five Mid-South locations provide mental health resources and...

From American Psychological Association, March 2021 As growing vaccine demand signals a potential turning point in the global COVID-19 pandemic, the nation’s health crisis is far from over. One year after the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic , many adults report undesired changes to their weight, increased drinking and other negative behavior changes that may be related to an inability to cope with prolonged stress, according to the American Psychological...

There’s a NEW and DIFFERENT way for your clients to naturally and permanently heal from trauma in as little as four minutes a day.... Without them having to directly revisit past traumas… Which can often lead to overwhelming emotion and retraumatization. It’s called Ventral Vagal Integration. And it’s based on the breakthrough research from a world renowned traumatologist who has trained over 100,000 mental health professionals in the healing of traumatic stress. It’s very different from the...

By Jacey Fortin, The New York Times, March 13, 2021 For nearly three decades, teaching yoga in Alabama’s public schools has been forbidden by the state’s school board. One lawmaker, Jeremy Gray, has been trying to change that since 2019. He made progress on Thursday, when the state’s House of Representatives passed a bill that would override the ban. The bill, which was approved by a vote of 73 to 25, will soon be taken up by the Senate. Mr. Gray, a Democrat representing Opelika, has taught...

By Eva Lopez and Leila Rafei, American Civil Liberties Union, March 15, 2021 Like other essential workers, domestic workers are bearing the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic without the luxury of being able to telework, social distance, or even take a sick day. They also face unique and challenging circumstances due to the nature of their work, which is undervalued and under-regulated by the U.S. government. As a result, domestic workers often endure horrific abuses that go unchecked. Many are...

The Stories We Tell Ourselves - Emotional Regulation My first grade year was the first time in my life I felt understood. I loved everything about school. The snacks, the smell of mimeographed worksheets, learning how to read and write, the playground, and most of all, I loved my teacher Mrs. King. She was the first adult I ever met who loved me back. As the school year drew to a close, I overheard my parents talking in the den. “I can’t stand the other second-grade teachers,” my mother...

By Kiersten Stewart, Futures Without Violence, March 15, 2021 The reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act is scheduled for a vote this week in the House of Representatives. We need your help! Members of Congress need to hear from you that you want them to support VAWA. Increase prevention; Invest in communities of color End impunity for violence against Native women by non-Native perpetrators on tribal lands; Improve access to housing for victims and survivors; Protect victims of...

A fierce Indigenous woman is now the caretaker of the nation’s public lands and waters for the first time in U.S. history. Deb Haaland was confirmed as the nation’s 54th Secretary of the Interior in a 51-40 vote Monday, making her the first Native American to lead a Cabinet agency. Republican Sens. Susan Collins, Lindsey Graham, Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan broke from party lines to vote to confirm Haaland, a notable choice given other Republican senators publicly saying she was not the...

If you read the following seventeen excerpts from the brief they give the impression that child abuse only happens in low income and marginalized communities. I don't think this is helpful. Doesn't unsupportive and harmful parenting happen at all income levels? Consider Dr. Gregory Williams' book, Shattered by the Darkness, and Marilyn Van Derbur's book, Miss America by Day, and Mary Trump's book about the former president.

Understanding the need for fresh, powerful framing strategies, Prevent Child Abuse America (PCA America) and the newly merged Alliance for Strong Families and Communities and Council on Accreditation asked the FrameWorks Institute to update framing recommendations that have served our field well since 2004. The result is a new strategic brief, Reframing Childhood Adversity: Promoting Upstream Approaches . This actionable guide takes recent science and current communications contexts into...

Coping with family estrangement, especially during the holidays, is tough for survivors to face alone. This is why it is vital to find and form a family of choice (FOC). A family of choice offers welcome support to help from people who have your wellbeing at heart.

By Dr. Bob Sege, 3/15/21, positiveexperience.org/blog Our first annual summit is just a month away, and we are thrilled to announce that our afternoon breakout sessions are now open to the public! Please register at this link , which you can also find on the Summit landing page . Our virtual summit seeks to inspire a group of leaders who will, together, champion a movement to shift how we support children and families, creating systems of care based on understanding, equity, and trust. The...