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Please express interest for this interdisciplinary, online Community of Practice by July 15th: https://wertknowing.com/online-community The presence, connection, and trust born of authentic relationship are necessary for integral Early Childhood Learning & Wellness. Please consider joining this interdisciplinary Community of Practice (online) to build relationships with others who are committed to justice and equity for all children, families, and communities. Connected, we can! Let’s...

@Gail Kennedy (ACEs Connection Staff) let me know about these weekly meditations because she knows I'm a fan of Rick Hanson. If you'd like to try some free meditations followed by Q&A discussion you can find out more below (or here). The copy is from the Rick Hanson e-newsletter.

The ACEs Connection Speakers & Trainers Bureau allows you to search for ACEs & Trauma-informed speakers & trainers! You can locate speakers & trainers in your local area on the Map tab and access their speaker/trainer profile pages, allowing you to message them directly. Speakers & trainers are organized into 15+ different sectors(such as faith based, education, youth organizations, ect.), with many more subsections to also sort by. So far, we have speakers & trainers...

By Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, Moyers on Democracy, June 24, 2020 Here is an incomplete list of things I left unfinished last week because America’s boiling racism and militarization are deadly for Black people: a policy memo to members of Congress on accelerating offshore wind energy development in US waters; the introduction to my book on climate solutions; a presentation for a powerful corporation on how technology can advance ocean-climate solutions; a grant proposal to fund a network of...

By Alexis Okeowo, The New Yorker, June 26, 2020 On June 11th, near twilight, Camara Jackson was in Marcus Garvey Village, a sprawling low-income housing complex in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Brownsville, checking in with residents and handing out hand sanitizer, masks, and gloves. Jackson is the executive director of Elite Learners, a community anti-violence organization that tries to mediate conflict on the street without the involvement of the police. Jackson was with her team of...

By Darren Walker, The New York Times, June 25, 2020 I have lived on both sides of American inequality. I began life in the bottom 1 percent but found my way to the top. And I know, all too personally, that the distance between the two never has been greater. Last winter, at a black-tie gala — the kind of event where guests pay $100,000 for a table — I joined some of New York’s wealthiest philanthropists in an opulently decorated ballroom. I had the ominous sense that we were eating lobster...

By Christopher Edley, JR. and Maria Echaveste, EdSource, June 25, 2020 Weeks of racial justice protests and the coronavirus pandemic have together drawn much-needed attention to the race-based disparities embedded in our institutions, from policing to health care. These disparities are also deeply rooted in our communities and schools. During these prolonged school disruptions, Black, Latinx and low-income students have been disproportionately affected. As we learned in real-time, these...

Building Resilience with Children During Racial Discrimination & Violence: This attached Resilience Brief for Children has been the hardest one I have written yet. I have been an active advocate for the equal treatment of people from all backgrounds, religions, ethnic heritages, orientations, and families my entire life. It is hard to see the pain present today, not only due to COVID19 but also due to the harm and anger we see daily in the news. I want to share a story about the person...

Unbecoming an Armadillo By: Victoria F. Burns, PhD, LSW Victoriafrances49@gmail.com Instagram: @betesandbites “When you are traumatized, you are basically in a permanent defensive mode” — Gabor Mate I’m sitting across from Meg on her charcoal grey love seat. My forearms are resting on a velvety mustard-yellow throw cushion and I’m holding crescent shaped pulsers in each hand. Meg’s my psychologist; a rare gem who specializes in chronic illness and trauma. Every two weeks, we spend an hour...

COVID 19 has done much more than inconvenience people, it has a much darker and dangerous side. A disturbing consequence of the isolation and loneliness sparked by stay-at-home policies, that problem is the rising current of depression.

Adverse Community Experiences and Resilience: A Framework for Addressing and Preventing Community Trauma , from the Prevention Institute, outlines specific strategies to address and prevent community trauma—and foster resilience—using techniques from those living in affected areas. Surviving Oppression/Healing Oppression describes trauma responses from those who are targets and agents of oppression and the need for trauma-responsive strategies. Everyday Democracy created an interactive slide...

By Ghaith Aljayyoussi, The Lancet, June 26, 2020 The lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) among health-care workers in the UK has been an integral part of the debate on the UK Government's failure in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. Similar to the close contact that is expected between patients and health-care staff, which could put both at risk of transmissible disease in the absence of appropriate measures, members of the public can also come in close contact with police staff...