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By DeAsia Paige, St. Louis Public Radio, December 12, 2020 Three days before Thanksgiving, an 8-year-old boy was accidentally shot in the stomach by his younger brother. In July, a 4-year-old boy died from child abuse. In June, a 14-year-old boy died after he was shot minutes away from his home. Deadly violence is part of reality for children in this city, but East St. Louis District 189 is working to ensure that students and families have the opportunity to heal from the trauma. The school...

By Leonie Segal, Jason M. Armfield, Emmanuel S. Gnanamanickam, et al., Pediatrics, December 2020 BACKGROUND: Child maltreatment (CM) is a global public health issue, with reported impacts on health and social outcomes. Evidence on mortality is lacking. In this study, we aimed to estimate the impact of CM on death rates in persons 16 to 33 years. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study of all persons born in South Australia 1986 to 2003 using linked administrative data. CM exposure was based on...

By Jane E. Brody, The New York Times, December 7, 2020 Show me a family that has not been fractured — temporarily or permanently — by a fury-filled rift between two or more members and I might believe in miracles. Just about everyone I know seems to have experienced such a distressing event, often with painful psychological and sometimes physical effects that carried over to relatives who had nothing to do with the precipitating dispute. Rifts can begin with financial, religious, political,...

By Richard Carranza, Austin Beutner, and Janice Jackson, The Washington Post, December 13, 2020 President-elect Joe Biden has described the crisis in public schools caused by the pandemic as a “ national emergency .” As the superintendents of the nation’s three largest public school districts — New York, Los Angeles and Chicago — every day we grapple with the challenges that worry not just the president-elect but also the students and families we serve. Our schools, like thousands more...

By Joaquin Palomino, Sara Tiano, and Cynthia Dizikes, The Imprint, December 11, 2020 A private plane with dozens of shell-shocked teenagers aboard touched down in California’s Central Valley. They were home now, evacuated from the chaos at Lakeside Academy. Run by Sequel Youth & Family Services — a for-profit, $500 million company backed by Bay Area investors — Lakeside had promised to put the boys “on a pathway to lead healthy and successful lives.” Instead, the teens, sent to the...

[Editor's note: Dr. Harise Stein at Stanford University edits a web site -- abuseresearch.info -- that focuses on the health effects of abuse, and includes research articles on ACEs. Every month, she posts the summaries of the abstracts and links to research articles that address only ACEs. Thank you, Harise!! -- Jane Stevens] Strathearn L, Giannotti M, Mills R, et. al. Long-term Cognitive, Psychological, and Health Outcomes Associated With Child Abuse and Neglect. Pediatrics. 2020...

It wasn’t until his fifth prison term in a North Carolina county jail — his fourth conviction for driving under the influence — that Michael Hayes volunteered to take an ACE survey that changed his life. The 48-year-old father of six sons and one daughter had spent a number of years in and out of prison. During his last term, to get some time out of the cell where he spent 16 hours a day, he volunteered to attend a class offered by RHA Health Services, a nonprofit that incorporates the...

"We are grateful for your support," said members of the ACEs Connection staff on a recent "all staff Zoom call". L-R (top row) Laurie Udesky, Carey Sipp, Gail Kennedy, Lara Kain (second row) Cissy White, Rafael Maravilla, Donielle Prince, Jenna Quinn (third row) Ingrid Cockhren, (off camera) Alison Cebulla, Jane Stevens. Out that day, and grateful all the same, were Karen Clemmer, Dana Brown, Elizabeth Prewitt, Marianne Avari, and Samantha Sangenito ‘Tis the giving season, and as of...

Kathy Szafran knew that some of her adolescent clients kept falling through the cracks. She just didn’t understand why. For 10 years, as director of the residential program for Crittenton Services in West Virginia, the state’s only residential program for teenaged girls who are pregnant or parenting, Szafran puzzled over why the usual approaches—cognitive behavioral therapy, talk therapy, medication, color-coded systems for behavioral change—didn’t work for everyone. “We always knew we lost...

Father Paul Abernathy speaking to SRQ Strong in Sarasota County, FL in February 2020 “There's been too much that's too unjust for too long—this vaccine gives us an opportunity to begin to have those conversations on a more serious level,” said Father Paul Abernathy in an interview for NPR 's On the Media. As the first COVID vaccine is administered in the U.S. on December 15, questions remain who will be vaccinated after healthcare workers and the elderly in living in congregate settings.

From Grantmakers in Health, December 2020 Health funders have identified trauma as an emerging issue of significant interest for continued learning and networking. To better understand how philanthropic organizations are supporting work related to trauma and resilience, GIH surveyed its Funding Partners in February 2020. The survey results have been compiled into a summary infographic that details primary focus areas, key strategies, and challenges and opportunities in the field. *Original...

I had the opportunity to watch this video that featured Nadine Burke Harris. Check it out by clicking the link below. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/childhood-trauma-impacts-millions-of-americans-and-its-having-devastating-consequences