Blog

As we approach the 2020 election in the United States (US), the Gratefulness Team has been reflecting on the gift of the right to vote here and throughout the world. Over the course of history, many have fought for this privilege with their lives, and we can show our gratitude by embracing the opportunity to vote whenever and wherever we can. This includes not only major national elections but all of the democratic decisions with which we’re presented in our local communities and day-to-day...

Are you curious about starting an ACEs Initiative in your community? Are you wanting to learn the fundamentals of organizing an initiative or coalition? Join one of these upcoming webinars to learn how to start and organize an initiative! 1. How To Start an ACEs Initiative in Your Community These webinars will be held monthly on the second Monday of the month by Alison Cebulla, the Community Facilitator (CF) for the Northeast USA, Mid-Atlantic USA, and Canada for ACEs Connection. You are...

Join us on Friday November 6, 2020 from noon to 1:00 PST as we come together and join Satya Chandragiri MD, Bonnie O’Hern RN, Denise Proudfoot RN, & Michael Polacek RN for a discussion around the tender issue of suicide. Together we will discuss ways people and providers can support each other and encourage communities to take action to support one another around suicide prevention, crisis intervention, and the layers of culture and structural barriers to care. A special emphasis will be...

By Charles A. Nelson, Richard David Scott, Zulfiqar A. Bhutta, et al., The BMJ, October 28, 2020 Today’s children face enormous challenges, some unforeseen in previous generations, and the biological and psychological toll is yet to be fully quantified. Climate change, terrorism, and war are associated with displacement and trauma. Economic disparities cleave a chasm between the haves and have nots, and, in the US at least, gun violence has reached epidemic proportions. Children may grow up...

By Elizabeth Hernandez, The Denver Post, October 25, 2020 Sandi Barros once hung dreamcatchers above her cot in a Denver shelter to ward off the nightmares that accompanied years of homelessness and mental health struggles. Now, a picture of Barros’ icon Marilyn Monroe graces the crown of her bed in her own apartment secured with the help of the Delores Project Steps to Stability program. Marilyn Monroe has been a source of inspiration and strength for Barros while she lived out of her truck...

By Mona Shah, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, October 28, 2020 When Harris County voters approved a $2.5 billion bond to pay for more than 500 local flood-control projects, it seemed like a sound response to Hurricane Harvey . In 2017, the storm dropped 50 inches of rain in the Houston region, flooding some 166,000 homes. Based on a traditional return-on-investment analysis, it might also have appeared reasonable to spend that bond money in neighborhoods with the most expensive properties.

By Dennis Wagner and Wyatte Grantham-Philips, USA Today, October 26, 2020 Melvina Musket stared at her dying father through the cellphone screen. His mouth hung open , his eyes were clamped shut and a beard covered his chin. She heard nurses crying in the background. “Jesus is waiting for you,” she told him. Musket, 52, had never seen her father with facial hair. Benjamin Musket, 80, was a former Marine , a retired machinery mechanic, a basketball coach and a board member at their church. He...

Join the staff of ACEs Connection for this post-Election Day live zoom debrief and discussion, led by me, Alison Cebulla, producer of the A Better Normal series, and Jane Stevens, Founder and Publisher at ACEs Connection. We don't know yet what the outcome will be but we are certain there will be lots to process no matter what. This will be a community discussion format. We will start with a body-centering breathing exercise. Topics will include: + Sharing how we feel + Sharing our hopes,...

Del Norte and Ready4K have been working together to create a program specifically designed to support the health and educational goals of this beautiful, remote corner of CA. We're so proud to share the story of what we've created together - a story that continues to unfold. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nestled in the northwestern corner of California along the Oregon border, Del Norte County is one of the most rural communities in the most populous state in the country. It’s a land of towering Redwood...

The Philadelphia ACE Task Force is periodically providing Virtual Café’s which feature exemplary staff wellness or resiliency programs . We invite you to watch two recent interviews with staff from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and from The Support Center for Child Advocates at: https://www.philadelphiaaces.org/projects/virtual-cafes AND we invite you to also let us know about innovative staff wellness programs and / or practices with which you’re involved or that you’ve heard about by...

NARM and the Role of Consent in Trauma-Informed Yoga with Colleen Millen In this episode of Transforming Trauma, our host Sarah Buino welcomes NARM Therapist and Accessible Yoga instructor Colleen Millen to dive into and discuss the theme of consent. Throughout the episode, Colleen shares how her understanding of what consent means has deepened through her relationship with yoga and through her ongoing study of the NeuroAffective Relational Model (NARM). Each episode of Transforming Trauma...

Living with complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD) is very challenging. It affects every aspect of the lives of those who suffer under its symptoms. In this article, we are going to examine together with a brief synopsis of CPTSD and how this disorder creates difficulty in forming and maintaining intimate relationships.