Blog

By Nick Lippa, WBFO, May 7, 2020 Diverse communities across the globe face many of the same challenges when battling COVID-19. But for refugee and immigrant populations who are adapting to Western New York, a language barrier can make a pandemic that much harder to deal with. WBFO’s Nick Lippa spoke with Ali Kadhum, Chair of the Iraqi American Society, about how he and other community leaders are stepping up to keep everyone informed and safe. Nick Lippa: Our immigrant population includes...

By Andrea Cipriano, The Crime Report, May 7, 2020 On any given day, approximately 43,600 people younger than 18 years of age are held in youth detention facilities across America. Even under normal circumstances, many detention facilities are unable to provide a clean and safe environment for these young individuals, and the coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated the trauma these children experience in detention, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). Incarcerating young people...

By Sonali Kohli, Los Angeles Times, May 7, 2020 Four-year-olds have playdates through closed windows, sliding their toy cars in unison on either side of the glass. A high school student worries about his mother going to work in a food-packing warehouse, at risk for contracting COVID-19. Another teen says “there is nothing to look forward to,” as he tries to avoid sliding into depression. Worried parents are calling school district hotlines seeking help for their troubled children. Experts...

By Dana Lambert, EdSource, May 7, 2020 Chalk art and thank you parades in front of teacher’s homes have taken the place of gift baskets and luncheons in staff break rooms this year to celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week, but the sentiment remains the same. After nearly two months of homeschooling their children because of campus closures due to the coronavirus pandemic, some parents say they appreciate teachers more than ever. “Besides being in class every day, they work at night. They work...

By Hosack, Hecht, & Berman How could he just sit here? Why wasn’t something coming out of his mouth? Larry had sat outside the Abbott’s office for an hour in the afternoon before he could get himself to knock on the door. Now he was sitting across from the Abbott- but saying nothing. The Abbott could see the suffering etched on Larry’s face; what important words were frozen in his mind? The Abbott told Larry not to worry about the words. They would pray silently together until the right...

By Berman, Hosack & Hecht Why am I freaking out? It is just a light bulb… Larry had trouble falling asleep. He kept remembering the words in his head, “your too stupid to deserve God’s help.” Could the words be true? The monks were always saying that no one was beyond redemption … no matter what they did; but what if the monks were wrong? When Larry finally fell asleep, everything looked blank but this bright bulb. In his dream there was nothing, but the bulb and silence yet could feel...

Pre-pandemic, educators said we were facing challenges not experienced by older generations. This pandemic makes that notion truer than ever. This pandemic is a rapidly emerging collective stress that is reshaping the structure and fabric of experience in most every facet of life, but especially in education. It pushes us to adapt creatively and to think outside our typical “box.” And yet, in every crisis opportunity lurks. Three nationally recognized trauma-informed consultants have...

Welcome to the COVID-19 Resources for Healthcare Providers! We have four topic-specific resource lists related to COVID-19 and PACEs Science. All four are updated weekly. They are as follows: ACEs in Education & COVID-19 COVID-19 Resources for Healthcare Providers Parenting with ACEs in a Pandemic Practicing Resilience During Social Distancing We hope these lists, and the resources, practices, and information in them, are helpful and easy to use. Please let us know if you have ideas,...

By Breanna Cooper, Indianapolis Recorder, May 7, 2020 A decline in the number of reports the Indiana Department of Child Services (DCS) takes in a given month isn’t necessarily a positive sign. Especially not now, as many families spend more time alone in their homes with schools and businesses closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. DCS took 18,026 reports in March, the most recent month for which data is available. That includes calls, faxes, emails and mail-ins. [ Please click here to...

By Stacy Steinberg, The New York Times, May 7, 2020 Children may be processing the disruptions in their lives right now in ways the adults around them do not expect: acting out, regressing, retreating or even seeming surprisingly content. Parents need to know that all of this is normal, experts say, and there are some things we can do to help. “Our natural response to scary things is biologically to release stress hormones,” said Dr. Nadine Burke Harris , a pediatrician and surgeon general...

This series on family estrangement may seem to be a strange topic to cover during the holiday season. Yet, being separated from family during Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s is a familiar occurrence for many survivors. The purpose of these articles is to offer support to all who come to this blogsite looking for hope. This article will concentrate on two topics, the positive side of family estrangement and creating a family of choice to spend the holidays with and warm your heart. Is...

By Kevin Sherin, American College of Preventive Medicine, May 7, 2020 There is a growing dialog about COVID-19 and its impacts on childhood adversity (ACEs), chronic stress, and mental health across the lifespan. The fear and social isolation associated with COVID-19 commonly exacerbates existing chronic stresses. Reports are surfacing of increased mental health problems, anxiety, partner violence, depression, suicidality, child abuse, opioid use disorder, other substance abuse, drug...