Tagged With "collective trauma"
File
ACEs_Toolkit.pdf
Blog Post
In the Return to "Normalcy" in 2021
Okay, so we all are hearing of the end of life as we have come to know it for the past 14 months. The social isolation, physical distancing, mask-wearing, business shutdowns, country lockdowns, and travel bans are what we in the region have endured since March 2020. The disruption of life from Covid-19 is expected to come to a close as more than one vaccine has been approved and is being used in the Caribbean. As we adults relish in the return to school of our children, our return to gainful...
Blog Post
When Acknowledgeing Our Family's Failures Is Not Betrayal.
As a child to Caribbean parents, growing up in the 1970s and 1980s, it was rare to see families which did not raise their children with physical and verbal abuse on a regular basis. The conversations we children engaged in with our "best friends" often revealed the dark secrets lurking behind the facades of our picture-perfect family lives. Even in the seeming "best" families, the children faced private, if not public shaming. Some lived in fear of parental outbursts to their childish...
Blog Post
Linking ACEs to Psychopathy
The issue of Justice is dear to my heart for several reasons. So, in light of the over-use of imprisonment in our region, amidst overburdened or slothful criminal justice systems, I question whether we are "doing justice" when we incarcerate people for what may only be their Trauma Responses. What do I mean? Well, often a criminal investigation does not delve further than the identification of the perpetrator of an alleged and reported crime. Once that is done, if the accused has no or...
Blog Post
Education Related Resources
With the Covid-19 fallout having its toll on school attendance around the world, many persons of all ages and stages of life have been adversely affected. But it has not only been children who have been impacted. Trauma has arisen through separation from playmates and colleagues, loss of access to food from school feeding programmes, loss of safety from abuse within the household, loss of familiarity with the school environment, loss of employment for non-academic staff, loss of income for...
Blog Post
Childhood Trauma Clips on PBS
Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) has been known as a source of wholesome, relevant information for decades. (Remember Sesame Street? ) Well, PBS also has videos on childhood trauma that you can access at no cost, even from the Caribbean. Some of the content is designed as a series so you can arrange to view the segments when you have the time. So get the popcorn ready and check out PBS for your free Childhood Trauma-related content. [Clips related to Childhood Trauma on PBS] If you would...
Blog Post
Find Resources
Hi everyone, one function of this Community is to provide members with helpful and easily accessible resources on various aspects of preventing and addressing childhood and adult trauma. Towards that end, we invite you to peruse and add to the Resources posted here for members. You can access Resources here or from the Top Menu bar. If you would like information about the ACEs Caribbean Community or wish to join this Community, please reach out to me via email at acescaribbean@yahoo.com . I...
Blog Post
ACEs Clips on PBS
As we established last week, Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) has free content on the topic of childhood trauma that you can access even from the Caribbean. Well, what would happen if you search for "adverse childhood experiences" on PBS? You would receive a wider range of content, that's what! Some of the content is designed as a series so you can arrange to view the segments when you have the time. So get another bowl of popcorn ready and check out PBS for your free ACEs-related content.
Blog Post
"Did You Know?" - Start of a Series
Hey Community! We are planning a series titled, "Did You Know" to highlight some not-too-well-known facts about ACEs science. Along the way, we will bust some myths and educate you, our members, about childhood trauma, resilience, and hope. So if you would like to take part, please comment below and let us know what areas you would like us to cover. Are you in?
Blog Post
ACEs and Human Trafficking Research
Ten years ago today the Trafficking In Persons Bill of Trinidad and Tobago was laid in the country's Parliament. It was eventually passed, assented to, and became law as the Trafficking In Persons Act, Chapter 12:10. (The Act itself took effect in January 2013.) So to commemorate the anniversary of the introduction of the Bill, we will share one of the first of what we hope will be many resources on the link between childhood trauma and human trafficking. The report, titled " Domestic Sex...
Blog Post
Question of the Month - Is Child Adversity Linked to Ethnicity?
Hi Community! Here in Trinidad and Tobago, we are probably more diverse in terms of ethnicity than many of our Caribbean neighbours - a callaloo of sorts (Remember the national anthem proclaims: "...Here every creed and race find an equal place..." ) Well, research overseas shows that there is a difference in how children experience adversity based on their ethnicity. In the USA in particular, there are neighbourhoods that are predominantly white and others where the majority of persons are...
Blog Post
Recording Available: Trauma-Responsive Practices During Distance Learning
Hi Community! Did any of you register for the interactive workshop on Advocating for Trauma-Informed Care for Teachers and Caregivers being hosted by Rise to Resilience on March 17? If so then we have a treat for you. Please watch a recording of their previous online workshop titled, Trauma-Responsive Practices During Distance Learning . Learn relationship-building strategies to be trauma-responsive during distance learning as an educator, parent, or other caregiver.
Blog Post
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,...
Blog Post
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...
Blog Post
Can ACEs Training Help Doctors and Patients During Covid-19?
For more than a year the world has been gripped in the throes of combating the Novel Coronavirus 2019 and over 1 million lives have been lost globally to the disease. In the face of the fear, anxiety, despair and grief which has arisen, a question for those familiar with ACEs science is whether this body of knowledge can help alleviate the prevailing stressors. Here is where Hope steps in. Last month, panelists in an Aces Aware webinar discussed the secondary health effects associated with...
Blog Post
ACEs Connection Overview
ACES CONNECTION NETWORK OVERVIEW ACEs = Adverse Childhood Experiences 2 SITES ACEsTooHigh.com A solutions-oriented news site for the general public that covers stories on ACEs, trauma, and resilience. ACEsConnection.com An action-based...
Blog Post
Happy International Women's Day!
International Women's Day (IWD) is a global day observed on March 8 celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating women's equality. IWD has occurred for well over a century, with the first IWD gathering in 1911 supported by over a million people. Today, IWD belongs to all groups collectively everywhere. IWD is not country, group or organization specific. In 2021 the theme is #ChooseToChallenge . Men and...
Comment
Re: #ChooseToChallenge - What leads to a man assaulting a woman or a child?
Yes, this phrasing, versions of which are used in Jamaica too, assumes/suggests that the woman is always 'the victim’. And when we speak of GBV here, in the region, we rarely talk about emotional/verbal abuse. Put that into the equation and we’ll have a much clearer picture of the scale of women’s violence against men and boys in the Caribbean. In many ways, emotional verbal/abuse is just as egregious and harmful as physical abuse by men. In some cases, it is worse. I had a conversation...
Blog Post
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.
Blog Post
How will Covid-19 and Trauma Shape the Lives of Young People?
The New York Times published an article today which features Dr. Nadine Burke-Harris, the Surgeon General for California, USA and podcaster Ezra Klein of The Ezra Klein Show where they discuss Covid-19 and the growing evidence that childhood adversities including things like Covid-19 impact us into adulthood. It is an interesting transcript but, if you prefer to use your ears rather than your eyes, the link below has an option to listen to the original podcast.😀 Here are some excerpts...
Blog Post
FREE Virtual Screening of the Resilience Documentary - 14th to 18th March 2021
Hi everyone! Well, it is Friday afternoon and I am sure as Caribbean people you are as excited as I am for the weekend. If you are missing the movie theatres being open in your country, do not despair because --- we've got you covered for the next few days! So this is BIG news for those who have been looking forward to seeing " Resilience: The Biology of Stress and the Science of Hope ". There will be a FREE virtual screening over a four-day period from Sunday 14th to Thursday 18th March...
Blog Post
Free Webinar on Trauma and Justice
"Understanding the Role of Trauma in Truth, Reconciliation & Peacebuilding" is the name of a Free webinar from the Mary Hoch Center for Reconciliation, affiliated with George Mason University in the USA. The webinar will focus on how trauma hinders efforts to heal social divides. It will be held on March 17, 2021 from 4:00pm to 5:30pm via the Zoom platform. Registration is available online at the following Eventbrite link: ...
Blog Post
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...
Blog Post
UK 'Punishing Abuse' Report Finds Many Justice-Involved Youth have Trauma Histories.
A published study from West Midlands in the United Kingdom, titled "Punishing Abuse", has confirmed what many have long suspected - many youth are being punished in the criminal justice system for acting out in the aftermath of childhood trauma. It looked at 80 youth, 67 of whom were male, and many of whom were of Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic (BAME) heritage. They included White and Black Caribbean youth, some of whome were born in and others whose parents came from the Caribbean island...
Blog Post
How do we do #SmartJustice?
What is social justice? What is smart justice? How do these terms intersect with adversity in childhood, trauma, and resilience? All interesting questions which are answered in one stunning webinar conducted over 90 minutes and done by Community Justice Scotland . The webinar brings forth insights of credible and experienced people like Fr. Gregory Boyle, who founded Homeboy Industries in the USA over 30 years ago, and Sir Harry Burns, former Professor of Global Public Health. The link to...
Blog Post
How Trauma Affects the Body.
In a post on the website, Aces Aware, California paediatrician, Dr. Eric Bell shares how he and his family experienced Trauma after the death of a pet, which was a close member of their family. As a doctor, he was aware of his physical, emotional and other symptoms and is able to clearly articulate these as well as the benefits he and his family derived from implementing protective factors, stress-busting strategies and using other resilience building tools. We love how he is able to use his...
Blog Post
Is There A Link between ACEs and Human Trafficking?
Today is March 25th and - just in case you have no clue why that date is significant to us in the Caribbean - it marks the anniversary of the Slave Trade Act of 1807 by which the British Parliament abolished the trade in slaves in the British Empire. (If you are not a student of history, you can read the Wikipedia version here .) True, the abolition of the institution of slavery itself occurred nearly 30 years later but this 1807 legislation was a proverbial "nail in the coffin" for slavery...
Blog Post
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...
Blog Post
Kids Need More Time with Grandparents
In the article linked to below, there is an evidence-based solution being out forward to raise emotionally healthy children. In a 2011 Brigham Young University study, children in both two-parent and single-parent homes who felt close to at least one grandparent exhibited "higher pro-social behavior." (Pro-social behaviors tend to benefit others: helping, sharing, donating, volunteering, cooperating, etc.) "The bottom line," the researchers say, "is that grandparents have a positive influence...