Blog

Angel Benavides, a lanky 14-year-old, dribbles down the basketball court of his school gym in Manvel, N.D. It looks like he's going for a layup, but when he realizes he's unguarded, he stops in his tracks and takes a three-pointer. It's a nice arching shot, but the ball bounces tenuously on the rim and doesn't go in. It's late June and Angel is already thinking about playing for his high school basketball team in Texas, 1,700 miles away. But he doesn't know if he'll get there in time for...

Louise Vincent received a frantic email late one night in July: “Any progress on Adam? They’re trying to get him on a murder charge for his friend’s overdose death.” Adam is a young man in West Virginia who purchased heroin for himself and a friend. They used together. Adam woke up. His friend didn’t. Now authorities hold Adam responsible for his friend’s death. Vincent receives emails like this one with increasing frequency from families and friends of drug users who police claim are drug...

This Labor Day, with President Trump in office, it’s time to realize that the task of creating good jobs for more Americans rests with its cities. Just as cities have led on climate change and minimum wage, they should lead on creating secure, well-paying jobs. The stock market continues its boom and unemployment is at a record low (3.9 percent), but far too many Americans still toil in insecure jobs that do not pay enough to support a family. Almost 70 million American workers—amounting to...

All of us condemned inmates were hurt when Chaplain Chestnut left the prison to pursue other opportunities and, he said, to save his marriage. “Guys,” he told us one day, “I spend more time on death row than with my wife. She gave me a choice: her, or my work. I love her, so I’ve got to go. I’m sorry.” Chestnut’s departure was devastating because he’d always treated us fairly, even favorably, going out of his way to treat us as equals and as parishioners. Before and after executions, he...

Ricardo Rodriguez is a 26-year-old San Diego resident and former foster youth who balances a job in tech with volunteer work and entrepreneurial pursuits. Thanks to his relentless drive and support from key sources, his life has turned out far different from previous expectations. During his childhood, medical professionals said Rodriguez would never be able to walk, talk or understand words. Despite many obstacles, Rodriguez has made his lifelong dream of working in the tech industry a...

The story of Sally Hemings—the enslaved woman who bore six of Thomas Jefferson’s children—is told from the basement of Jefferson’s mansion at his Monticello plantation in Charlottesville, Virginia. The third American president’s legacy barely touches the brick floors and plastered walls of Hemings’s windowless room, their two lives more unconnected at Monticello today than they were in 1791. At George Washington’s Mount Vernon estate, slavery is similarly separated from the nation’s founding...

Trauma is everywhere in art. In movies, songs, stories and novels, writers and performers create characters who go through terrible, difficult things and who then respond to the world and other people in it in all the challenging ways we know. Past trauma is a convenient shorthand to explain a character's anger, depression, addiction or bad behavior. In 2013, I was frustrated by the lack of trauma healing shown in art. Where are the songs, stories and films that show the real story, that...

When I recommend the need for self-care to trauma survivors, they say it can feel like a chore. Some of them even roll their eyes and tell me, “You mean you want me to take care of myself? Ugh. Who has time for that?!” It’s tempting for any person to undervalue self-care. But for trauma survivors, resistance to self-care has much deeper roots. Healing takes a focused, gentle approach. Self-Care as a Practice of Welcoming Your Needs Many trauma survivors learned to do without self-care...

Franklin County Cares is busy around the community this Fall! The Trauma Informed Schools Program began at South Point Elementary School in Washington and Lonedell School in Lonedell this August. Trauma Care Coordinator, Emily Thoenen, will be working with both schools to provide trauma education for staff, children, and parents; and staff consultations and group therapy for students who have experienced trauma. The goal of this program is to assist children, staff, and families to develop...

Colleges can play a vital role in ending the epidemic of childhood trauma. We are piloting our two ACEs prevention programs (one in Las, Cruces, New Mexico and one in Owensboro, Kentucky) in partnership with Eastern New Mexico University-Program of Social Work. We are often asked what a college community partnership brings to the implementation of a citywide ACEs prevention project. We would like to offer ten reasons why colleges are poised to be effective centers for the data-driven...

Hi ACEs community! The Wrestling Ghosts team is building a list of trauma-informed resources for those looking for anything from therapy, to parenting classes, to groups with like-minded people. If you are a therapist or counselor, or you know of an organization or other resource that may fit the bill, please fill out this form on the Wrestling Ghosts website. We are looking to create an extensive document that can be of help to anyone who doesn’t know where to start! This list will be...

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