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In an interview, the Harvard scholar Joseph Kalt likened the far-reaching devastation caused by shutdowns of tribal businesses around the country this year to the demise of the bison herds in the 19th century and the contentious attempt in the 1950s to disband tribes and relocate Native Americans to cities. “What you’re seeing right now is simply a symptom of a much deeper problem facing tribal nations for over a century,” said Fawn R. Sharp, president of the National Congress of American...

The unbridled spread of COVID-19 has caused all but essential service providers to drop what we were doing and settle in at home. This forced slowdown is very uncomfortable for most. But, this forced slowdown may not necessarily be a bad thing. With many of us at home, now's a good time to let our lives catch up to us and envision a new future.

Did you know how to change your ACEs Connection Notifications? Have you been wanting to receive less emails from us? Or more? Look below for videos & link to blog posts on how to change these settings! Please leave questions or comments below! How-To: Customize Your Email Notifications for ACEs Connection Main Site How-To: Customize Your Email Notifications for ACEs Connection Communities

Even before the global COVID-19 pandemic, scholars, healthcare experts and everyday citizens were already turning their attention to some of the deep flaws in the American healthcare system. It is well-known, and well-documented, that healthcare in America is expensive, broken and riddled with inequality. Anne Case and Angus Deaton, authors of the recent book, Deaths of Despair and the Future of Capitalism , summarize the state of our for-profit, employer-based system: “We believe that the...

FLINT, Mich. — A baby born in Flint, Mich., where I am a pediatrician, is likely to live almost 20 fewer years than a child born elsewhere in the same county. She’s a baby like any other, with wide eyes, a growing brain and a vast, bottomless innocence — too innocent to understand the injustices that without her knowing or choosing have put her at risk. Some of the babies I care for have the bad luck to be born into neighborhoods where life expectancy is just over 64 years. Only a few miles...

By Elizabeth Mee, Ed Source, May 8, 2020. As Californians adjust to a restricted and socially distant life amid the coronavirus pandemic, each of us is forced to refocus on what is most important in our lives. It is no different for Los Angeles educators, who are learning to navigate a new, virtual classroom in the second largest public school district in the United States. While the first inclination may be to return to “business as usual” (except conducted virtually through distance...

In the past month, new communities have joined ACEs Connection . Please find details about each of them below. Community Manager: ACEs Connection Community Facilitators Support You & Your Initiatives For questions about starting or growing an initiative, using our site and tools, please reach out to one of our regional contacts. Communities in: Northeast, Mid-Atlantic states, contact @Alison Cebulla (ACEs Connection Staff) Western states, contact @Gail Kennedy (ACEs Connection Staff)...

After I endured a life-changing personal tragedy -- losing my six-year-old son in the Sandy Hook School tragedy -- I founded the nonprofit Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement to address mental health issues and help others find strength and positivity in life. Through Choose Love, I provide a solution that will take children from whatever level of personal development they are in and provide them with the skills, tools, and awareness they need to advance so they can connect with each other;...

By John Kelly, The Chronicle of Social Change, May 5, 2020. In 2019 , Nebraska announced plans for a pilot project in which foster parents would play a starring role in the reunification process, going beyond the traditional role of a caregiver for kids. These specialized resource families, through a strategy known as shared or co-parenting, support and mentor birth parents in hopes that children can more quickly and safely be returned home. Just before the coronavirus hit, New York City’s...

By B. Garrett and A. Gangopadhyaya, RWJF, May 4, 2020 . The Issue An estimated 160 million people nationwide under the age of 65 had health insurance through their employer just before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Thirty million workers filed for unemployment between March 15 and April 25, according to federal statistics. Rising unemployment is expected to significantly alter the health insurance coverage landscape, as millions who lose their jobs and their dependents enroll in Medicaid,...

By Jane Brody, The NY Times, May 11, 2020. Even if no other good for health care emerges from the coronavirus crisis, one development — the incorporation of telemedicine into routine medical care — promises to be transformative. Using technology that already exists and devices that most people have in their homes, medical practice over the internet can result in faster diagnoses and treatments, increase the efficiency of care and reduce patient stress. Without having to travel to a doctor’s...

Documentary filmmaker Michelle Esrick pinpoints the moment that convinced her that telling the story of severe childhood trauma and the path toward healing of her long-time friend and Saturday Night Live luminary Darrell Hammond could likely make a difference in the lives of many. “Cracked Up: The Darrell Hammond Story” details Hammond’s years-long attempt to deal with his traumatic childhood, during which he had suffered severe physical and emotional abuse. “Behind the scenes, Darrell...