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Dear ACEs Connection Members & Visitors: Lots of us are planning our meals and evenings around watching Oprah's 60 Minutes episode tonight. She'll be interviewing Dr. Bruce Perry (7 p.m. EST). Some of us will be live tweeting during the show. Come visit ACEs Connection on Twitter . Twitter handle is #ACEsConnection Or, come back after and leave make a comment or observation. Remember, we're an open network and all members can: Publish a blog post Join our communities Share articles and...

By Jennifer Jones, director of the Alliance’s Change in Mind Institute Brain science research will come to prime time during a 60 Minutes segment this Sunday at 6 p.m. CT. Reported by Oprah Winfrey, the story will discuss the prevalence and impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and efforts to build resilience through trauma-informed care. Focusing on Milwaukee, Oprah’s hometown, the episode will feature Alliance for Strong Families and Communities member SaintA. Those of us who have...

For years...decades actually... I have been trained to be quiet. Don't talk about it. I tried to go to the adult. I tried to tell someone. I was a little kid that tried...and was hushed. Now I'm a 50 year old adult just trying to survive and most days I do that by hiding. Hiding myself. Hiding the pain. Surrounding myself with children...because they are safer to me than adults. My health has suffered in incredible ways and now I'm just looking to heal....and teach others to do the same. I...

Inspired by a series of stories last year in the Journal Sentinel, the CBS show "60 Minutes" will broadcast an Oprah Winfrey report Sunday night on the epidemic of childhood trauma. Reporting for the segment was largely done in Milwaukee. "The story was life-changing for me," Winfrey said in a separate CBS interview ahead of the Sunday night broadcast. "Of all the stories I’ve ever done in my life, and all the experiences I’ve ever had, and the people I’ve interviewed, this story has had...

I was eight years old when I was coerced into acts that haunt me to this day. The boy was older, bigger, enjoyed his status as my senior, and took advantage of being given the responsibility of looking after me to satisfy his sexual curiosity at my expense. Only it wasn’t just sexual curiosity between two minors; I was confused, horrified, transfixed by disgust, and made to feel complicit because I accepted my reward of soda. The first time. The following occasions, he didn't need to reward...

Lower wages, shorter education, lower grades, and a weaker association with the labour market. Living just one year in poverty during childhood may have long-term negative consequences for adult life.

Please join me in Overland Park, Kansas for two powerful days of discovery, April 25-26, 2018 and learn what is means to build bridges to resilience. I am excited to be a keynote speaker for the Bridging to Resilience National Conference put on by ESSDACK. Attendees will learn powerful strategies for resilience that go beyond just being trauma informed. ESSDACK does good work to solve the problems of poverty and trauma. In all my years of research and travel, I believe that ESSDACK has what...

Some months ago I was privileged to attend a conference that focused on our veterans, the issues they faced after discharge from service, their expectations, their feelings of social isolation, and how, together, we could provide resources and opportunities to improve their quality of life. I came to a conclusion after just the first speaker at the event: The discussion presented described not only to the experience faced by our veterans, but could be applied to every member of our society,...

McLoughlin Middle School eighth-grader Brynn Allen sees it simply: If students feel welcomed at her school, they’ll want to come to it. “Sometimes people have rough lives and school is their escape,” she says, recalling a phase in seventh grade where she was struggling personally. “It kind of felt like everyone was there. It was like a welcoming center.” School culture may be harder to quantify than academic achievements, but McLoughlin leaders say thought, heart and data spurred their...

Job Level: Full-Time Staff Position The incumbent will serve as a member of the Trauma-Informed Services Team. Job Location: Washington, DC and eligible for telework Read the Job Description

This month It’s Not Always Depression was launched by Random House. I’m sharing it with you because it is full of important information on how to understand emotions, work with the scars left from adverse childhood experiences, and move towards calmer and authentic living. Recently, I was interviewed by Jill Karson, a member of this wonderful community. Here's a quote from our interview: "It is my pet peeve that our society provides us no formal education in emotions and how adversity and...

Wildfires, floods, mudslides, earthquakes, tsunamis—the list of natural disasters that haunt Los Angeles reads like the 10 Plagues of Egypt. What’s more, the city’s size and diversity mean that different neighborhoods are vulnerable to different events, and because of the city’s level of inequality, some residents are much better equipped to handle disaster than others. In response to these challenges, last week the City of Los Angeles, in coordination with the Rockefeller Foundation’s 100...