Tagged With "Safe Space Radio"
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ACEs_Toolkit.pdf
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First Things First
Hi everyone, welcome to ACEs Caribbean Community! (Insert sounds of reggae, soca, steelpan, or tassa here) This is a safe space for all who are interested in addressing issues of childhood trauma, adult trauma, resilience, hope, and related threads. Whether you are a Clinician, Parent, Educator, Researcher, Healthcare practitioner, NGO member, or Government employee, your input to address Trauma is valuable to make the Caribbean a safer place. Our lens is a distinctly Caribbean one because,...
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How You Can Participate
Here at ACEs Caribbean Community, we want you to be involved in shaping the content and activities of our shared space. So please introduce yourself , take advantage of the upcoming Calendar Events listed, suggest activities in which we can all engage, and post to the various categories of the blog. We have categorised posts into various Blog Categories (see right panel) to make it easy for members to find the information most relevant to them. Please consider serving as a moderator for any...
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Help Inform and Transform the Caribbean with ACEs Caribbean Community
Hi there. We recently started the ACEs Caribbean Community on the website, Aces Connection, to rally our Caribbean people and those who love the region to work together to bring the knowledge of Aces Science ( Adverse Childhood Experiences ), Resilience, Hope, and Truth to our regional people and government institutions. We are facing an epidemic of crime, violence, addiction, despair, and suicide throughout the region and we believe that a better understanding of the connection between what...
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Young Black Men's Mental Health During Covid-19
Research from the UK suggests that men from racialised backgrounds are reporting higher levels of mental distress during the pandemic compared to white men (Proto et al., 2021). Contributing factors include bereavement, loneliness and worries about coronavirus and misinformation.
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Building a Multi-System Trauma-Informed Collaborative.
Since the effects of childhood trauma do not play out in isolation, an effective response to child trauma should benefit not only children but the communities in which they live. This feeds into what we know from studies about factors that impact a child's growth - they occur within the family, community and also are climate-related. Multiple studies reveal the extremely high percentage of youth in contact with the law and under the care of social services who have been exposed to violence...
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How Trauma-Informed Care Can Prevent Youth Incarceration
Last week we looked at 'Punishing Abuse', a report which showed that the majority of youth offenders in a research done in West Midlands, UK had a history of childhood abuse and trauma. Today's post examines this from a US state perspective, through the audio accounts of former juveniles in conflict with the law. Please take a listen to them as they discuss their childhood adversities and later criminal involvement. Also interviewed is a clinician who shares how Trauma-Informed Care can...
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Saint Vincent and the Grenadines - A Season of Diverse ACEs
Hi everyone. While it is rare that we post on a weekend, we want to highlight that for the people of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, life has been challenging recently. Yesterday, what has been feared became a reality as the La Soufriere volcano began to slowly release ash, smoke and lava and eventually erupted, after months of seismic activity. This comes after a year of dealing with Covid-19 and the economic fallout from lockdowns and loss of employment. Thankfully, the death toll from...
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What Do We Do Once We Realize the Prevalence of Adversities?
When people hear about the mental and physical health risks of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and toxic stress, one of the first questions is, “What do we do about this?” Awareness of the prevalence of adversity and the impact of stress on the brain and body leads to the possibility for prevention and response. Whether you are acting within a family, agency, organization, business or community, the next steps should be taken knowing that we will all work together to bring about change.
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ACEs Infographic - ACC.pdf
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Building a Restorative Restart to School in the Fall
As we look towards the reopening of in-person instruction in the fall, planning and reimagining for a restorative restart to our school systems that emphasizes student and educator mental health is a priority. In addition, there is a windfall of one-time funding coming to districts from federal and local funds for just this purpose. Recently a wise educator said to me, ‘you know, if you want to get to the hearts and minds of school leaders to make changes for the fall you need to do so by...
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Good Bye Elsa!
Hi everyone, We hope the past weekend was a fun one for the folks in the USA celebrating the Fourth of July. In the Caribbean, it was a mixed affair as the season's first Hurricane, named Elsa, tore through the region, doing considerable damage to Barbados - often untouched by these systems - and causing flooding in several other territories. As these small island states continue to grapple with fluctuating Covid-19 infection rates, disrupted economies due to border closures, internal...
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"Machete" Star Talks About His Childhood Experiences
Hello everyone. If you are into corny action-comedy movies, then you know the person whose picture adorns the cover image for this post. None other than Mexican-American actor, Danny Trejo, the star of the "Machete" series. Back in the day, I had read that Trejo was a former gang-banger, former drug addict and was formerly incarcerated. However, I never heard his story until recently. He has written a book detailing some of his highlighted experiences but shares how, after giving the...
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Racism as an Adverse Community Experience
By Christina Velez, The Relationship Foundation July 15, 2021 Have you ever questioned the ways that racism and trauma intersect? As a person of color, I know I have. Racism is a core determinant of health which often leads to social inequities. From watching PBS’s video on “Mental Fitness for Resilience-The Trauma of Racism” it was interesting to learn how racism and trauma, often converge in inseparable ways. Dr. Terri D. McFadden, a general pediatrician, and professor at Emory University...
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Six Months and Counting!
Happy birthday to us! Happy birthday to us! Well, sort of. This week marks just over 6 months since ACEs Caribbean Community (ACEs) was formed here on the PACEs Connection platform. Actually, the platform name change from ACEs Connection occurred during our first month here. In that time, we have been pleased to see a coming together of like-minded individuals from within and outside of CARICOM (the Caribbean Community), all with a passion for helping people thrive after childhood adversity.
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Gentle Men: The Healing Power of Vulnerability (mindful.org)
Growing up, I was taught that traditional male attributes are things like toughness, emotional reserve, strength, power, and staunch individualism. This image of a “traditional man” feeds into once-clear-cut roles like winner and provider . Edward M. Adams and Ed Frauenheim suggest that this version of masculinity is confined : both limited and limiting. In their 2020 book, Reinventing Masculinity , Adams and Frauenheim write, “Confined masculinity focuses more on a man’s sense of...
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The Launch of Heal Trauma Global: Culturally Attuned Trauma Training
Being Trauma-Informed means that we are Culturally Attuned. Heal Trauma Global is a sister company to Heal Historical Trauma and was cultivated to fill a wide gap in stress science & trauma training. The trauma-informed movement is beautiful! It's wonderful that as a society we are moving in a direction that honors an individual's past as part of the driving force behind current behaviors. Yet, time and time again, I have attended trainings that are labeled as Trauma-Informed only to...
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The Surviving Spirit Newsletter March 2022
Healing the Mind, Body & Spirit Through the Creative Arts, Education & Advocacy Hope, Healing & Help for Trauma, Abuse & Mental Health “ Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars”. Kahlil Gibran The Surviving Spirit Newsletter March 2022 Hi Folks, The latest edition of the Surviving Spirit Newsletter - sharing Hope and Healing Resources for Trauma, Abuse & Mental Health is posted at the website -...
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Progress is Success!
We live in a world that is so fast paced. People are always looking for quick answers and multitasking to achieve more in a shorter time! The past couple of years has been extremely difficult. Many of us were forced to halt, not just pause but stop! That can be a very hard process for our minds, emotions, brain and our body. Having withdrawals from a fast paced life is not something we are taught to be prepared for. So here we are, everyone managing the best way we know how. We are resilient...
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The Mirroring Between Individual and Collective Trauma Healing
Remembering past trauma begins the “re-membering” process of taking our fragmented pieces and putting them back together. This applies to individuals with trauma, as well as the collective traumas we experience in societies and our world. Remembering trauma is a growth process because the memories open the door to putting all the pieces together which leads to our healing. We know that our physiological reactions to trauma are held in our bodies and DNA. As individuals, before we can begin...
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Addressing Chronic Homelessness (NY Times article)
Hi everyone and Happy Monday! 😀 In several Caribbean countries, such as Trinidad and Tobago, there is a crisis of homelessness. With Privy Council and other judicial pronouncements that restrict the government from forcibly removing persons from the public streets, it is important to identify ways to address the needs of persons experiencing homelessness. The article linked to below gives the example of Houston, Texas and how its mayor and public authorities are pulling together a cadre of...
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Looking at ACEs through Trauma Informed Lens
Brains aren’t just formed and its structure for development in early childhood is determined by more than just our genes, they are also built based on our experiences. Early childhood experiences can affect the development and physical architecture of our brain, which provides the foundation for future learning, behavior and health. Think about building something that will last through time. We would usually focus on a strong foundation and connect the rest of the structure from that...
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How to Help Survivors of Extreme Climate Events (psychologytoday.com)
By Elaine Miller-Karas MSW, LCSW Building Resiliency to Trauma Psychology Today, September 30, 2022 Mental health can suffer after extreme climate events. KEY POINTS Mental health conditions exacerbated by natural disasters include post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety. After a disaster, the number of people needing assistance from the mental health systems strains or exceeds community capacity. There are simple strategies helpers can use to help survivors restore...
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International Men's Day - Helping Caribbean Men and Boys
Hi everyone and Happy International Men's Day (IMD) to all the men and boys of the Caribbean. Yes, November 19 is observed as a day to celebrate men and boys, and highlight issues and challenges faced by them. Unlike most dates observed globally, IMD is inextricably linked to the Caribbean in that it's main proponent since 1999 has been a university lecturer at the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine campus. Trinidadian Dr. Jerome Teelucksingh has been advocating for the cause of...