Blog

RFQ ANNOUCEMENT: Celebrating Families! California Expansion Project – Cohort 2 Invitation to Expand Celebrating Families! Statewide The California State Office of Child Abuse Prevention (OCAP) recognizing the effectiveness of Celebrating Families! (CF!), has awarded Prevention Partnership International (PPI) a $158,333, 3- year challenge grant to (1) Identify, train and support agencies in California to provide CF! to children and families at high risk for abuse and neglect and (2) Establish...

Becoming ACEs Aware in a Challenging Year Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and toxic stress represent a public health crisis that has been, until recently, largely unrecognized by our health care systems and society, but there is hope. On January 1, 2020, eligible Medi-Cal providers began to receive a $29 payment for conducting qualifying ACEs screenings for children and adults up to age 65 with full-scope Medi-Cal. As many of you know, this is part of the ACEs Aware initiative , a...

If you are tired of hearing how bad 2020 was, I completely understand. I think it's ok if we start thinking about how good 2021 can be. I began the new year by doing something I haven't done in a long time - visiting a drive-thru safari! Ok, so maybe the "safari" in small town Mississippi isn't the same as a safari in Africa or even a big city would be, but it was still lots of fun and we saw lots of cool animals. Many of them came up to the car and ate from our hands. I can assure you that...

By Valeria Fernandez, Center for Health Journalism, December 22, 2020 Like many therapists, Lu Rocha uses breathing techniques, meditation and yoga in her practice, but she also asks clients about their personal beliefs: “What stories have you heard about in your own family, your own community, what did they do for healing?” Some tell her that they pray with a rosary. Others, from parts of Latin America, say their grandmothers used to rub an egg on their bodies to ease headaches. They...

By Christie Renick, The Imprint, December 31, 2020 “I’ve never seen so many foster kids in one place smiling. What are you doing?” asked Arizona Department of Child Safety Director Mike Faust. He was speaking to Michael Shapiro, skater, former teacher and executive director of the +swappow PLUS Foundation, which uses skateboarding to teach life skills to kids in foster care. Nearby, a group of youth wearing shiny new helmets balanced with varying levels of certainty on varnished boards...

(Pictured here are LCC International University students who serve as core leaders of Lithuanian non-profit Gausus Gyvenimas) In a year when the world has weathered trauma surrounding the global pandemic of COVID-19, quite surprisingly, new doors opened for me to share about the science of resilience in Lithuania. In 2017, a faith-based organization served as a means of introduction to a young minister from Pakistan named Robin Mubarik. Since our initial meeting we have only remained...

Dr. Alison J. Kay is an Award Winning, #1 International Best Selling Author and the Founder of the Vibrational UPgrade™ System. She is an experienced subtle energies practitioner and natural healer with a holistic approach towards helping others thrive in mind, body and spirit. She spent ten years in Asia studying subtle energies & ancient wisdom.

Child maltreatment is well recognized as one of the most significant contributors to pediatric morbidity and mortality throughout the world. 1 , 2 The effect of child maltreatment on morbidity and mortality in older adults has been documented for >20 years as demonstrated by the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) study. 3 The impact of maltreatment on teenage suicide and other mental health diagnoses is also well known. 4 , 5 To date, however, a direct relationship between maltreatment...

The PACEs Connection Cooperative of Communities (Coop) is a program of PACEs Connection that provides special tools and services for PACEs initiatives in neighborhoods, towns, cities, counties, regions, states and countries. The Coop is an addition to PACEsConnection.com. It’s for PACEs initiatives that have progressed to the point where they’re ready for more advanced tools and services. The Coop is affiliate-driven, which means that PACEs initiatives steer the course of the cooperative.

Ask yourself these five questions when setting 2021 goals. With the vaccines and a new administration coming, many are optimistic. But we are not at the end. We are in what Harvard Business School’s Rosabeth Moss Kanter famously calls the “messy middle,” where everything is hardest. When everything went sideways this year, we were collectively freaked out—and also energized. We bought groceries for our neighbors and protested peacefully. We bravely adjusted to massive changes in the way we...

( Recently I was interviewed by Samantha Gray for the Attachment Parenting International Organization about my pioneering work to advance Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) science in rural Appalachia. Samantha serves as the Executive Director of API and has been very active in our Northeast Tennessee ACEs Connection . Here is part 1 of 3 of her interview. ) "I’m the mother of two sons who are married and grown now. When I was preparing to have our first child, I remember thinking to...

From Dec 31st, 2015. I've never posted this here before. My life is very different today but this was a pivotal moment in my healing journey because for the first time I didn't have to carry all the pain of trauma and abuse alone. I hope that if you are reading this that you can find strength in knowing that you are not alone. -M I am literally terrified right now. This is hands down the scariest thing I have ever done. I have spent my life being prideful and never asking for help. I have...