Engaging webinars that will equip you with new tools to empower kids. Learn how to use creative expression to help kids develop important social-emotional learning skills and build resilience.
There has been a dramatic rise in the number of migrants seeking asylum at the southwest border, according to new statistics released by the Department of Homeland of Security on Monday (December 10). According to the findings , announced by U.S. Customs and Border Protection and reported by CNN , “92,959 claims of credible fear” were made by migrants at the southern border in 2018, “compared to 55,584 claims made in fiscal year 2017.” That represents a 67 percent jump in the number of...
This year has been one of the most transformative years in history for New York’s juvenile justice system. Just a month after one of New York’s most groundbreaking juvenile justice reforms, Raise the Age, became a reality, New York City took a wrecking ball to the decades-old Spofford Juvenile Detention Centers in the Bronx. For too long, Spofford served as a symbol of misguided approaches to juvenile delinquency. The demolition of Spofford along with the implementation of Raise the Age...
The Trump administration is resuming its efforts to deport certain protected Vietnamese immigrants who have lived in the United States for decades—many of them having fled the country during the Vietnam War. This is the latest move in the president’s long record of prioritizing harsh immigration and asylum restrictions, and one that’s sure to raise eyebrows—the White House had hesitantly backed off the plan in August before reversing course. In essence, the administration has now decided...
One of those ah-ha moments in my life came when I realized that it was not up to anyone else to "save" me. Instead, I started to look to myself for empowerment. I experienced what I call "a shift" in 2013. Think of it as a change in philosophy, a willingness to open myself up to healing and answers.
Addiction - an ACE that often times will have multiple co-existing ACEs - continues to be a national health epidemic. Overdose rates are still on the rise. Children of addiction (COAs) are vulnerable to pain, isolation and fear every single day. BUT IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE THAT WAY! COA Awareness Week recognizes the challenges for kids and teenagers impacted by a parent's struggle with addiction. With the right support, children can begin to heal. With appropriate services, children can learn...
KPJR Films - the creator of the documentaries "Paper Tigers" and "Resilience"- will be leading a new book club in 2019! Our own Teri Barila of CRI was asked to help create a list of trauma-informed books for the Book Club. Read KPJR Film's announcement below: COMING IN 2019: KPJR FILMS BOOK CLUB KPJR Films is pleased to present the selections for the inaugural 2019 KPJR Book Club . Industry experts, Theresa Barila, co-founder and current CEO of the Children’s Resilience Initiative (CRI)...
Ulf Sandstrom and Gunilla Hamne of Peaceful Heart Network have spent years in Africa and now in Europe teaching survivors of civil wars and other traumas the Trauma Tapping Technique (TTT), which uses a simplified version of EFT tapping to relieve stress and trauma from the body without using words. They recently released a free app (available in multiple languages) with easy-to-follow video instructions. This would be a great way to introduce children to tapping. Here's what they had to...
We know that many of you on ACEs Connection are doing (or know about) innovative behavioral health work in your communities and we'd love to hear about it! Please help us get the word out about the 2019 Scattergood Innovation Award! We will be accepting applications until Monday, January 7th, 2019 at 5pm EST. Applications will then be reviewed by a panel of expert judges and narrowed to five finalists who will have the opportunity to present their innovative programs at NatCon19 in...
I enjoyed this beautiful conversation with ACEs Connection member, Jessie Graham, on her work with clients, teachers, and students utilizing her co-creating change philosophies and techniques.
For the past two decades, scientists have been exploring the genetics of schizophrenia, autism and other brain disorders, looking for a path toward causation. If the biological roots of such ailments could be identified, treatments might follow, or at least tests that could reveal a person’s risk level. In the 1990s, researchers focused on genes that might possibly be responsible for mental distress, but then hit a wall. Choosing so-called candidate genes up front proved to be fruitless. In...
ATLANTA—On a 4-acre farm a few miles south of the Fulton County Jail, Abiodun Henderson swung a pickax into the soil at her feet. She kept at it until she was winded and sweating on this brisk October morning. Around her, 10 young men and women tentatively swung their own tools at the ground, loosening the soil for a set of raised beds where turmeric and ginger plants would grow inside a hoop house through the mild Georgia winter. “This is how deep we’re going!” Henderson shouted over to...
A traumatic event is characterized as an incident that causes harm to an individual, resulting in an individual feeling anxious, frightened and unsafe. For a child, the traumatic experience can have a lasting impact. As the child’s brain continues to develop they require additional love and support to deal with a traumatic episode. But what if that child doesn’t have that support? During this segment of Diagnosed , a yearlong healthcare series, UPR’s Dani Hayes tells us about a community...
Dear Children Seeking Asylum in the U.S., These past few days, I have drafted several letters to you, children and youth, who have walked thousands of miles north from your countries of origin to ask for asylum in the United States. I can only imagine the difficult, very difficult, circumstances that your families must have sustained to decide to leave behind everyone they loved, everything they knew and owned and walk into the unknown. In these unfinished letters, I tell you that I think...
On the east side of Indianapolis in late March, a barrage of bullets sprayed through a home, killing 1-year-old Malaysia Robson as she slept on the couch. It was a drive-by shooting in the middle of the night by two men in their late 20s. It’s the kind of violence that can shake a community, leaving its distraught members wondering how much more they can take. Community violence — and other forms of trauma — are especially harmful for children. They’re called adverse childhood experiences...