October 2024

Prevent Child Abuse-NJ is currently offering FREE Connections Matter virtual and in-person trainings! All are welcome to attend! Visit our website for additional information and registration: https://www.preventchildabusenj.org/connections-matter/ . Connections Matter is a healing-centered curriculum that teaches adults how to use the power of connections to help develop healthy brains and supportive relationships, prevent and heal from Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), and strengthen...

Hey, how are you doing? That’s a question I ask or get asked daily. Family, friends or coworkers, the response is typically the same, “I’m fine, everything’s good.” Except that isn’t always accurate, is it? Sometimes we are not fine. Sometimes we know the person on the other end isn’t fine. But we go on asking, shielded by the conventions of social norms and polite conversation; we don’t expect people to give an honest answer. But what if we were honest. In January of this year, Elmo – the...

Youth Voices Rising New York Op-Ed Contest 2024 — Second Place. The women in my family have been experiencing trauma for centuries. We have a long history of domestic, racial, and physical violence without ever having the mental resources to heal. We inherit our families’ behavior, emotions, and environmental responses because of epigenetics. So, the child welfare system should focus on addressing generational trauma with children and families if they want to protect, heal, and serve them.

Dear ONA Stakeholders and Partners, The Welcome Fund has launched its third All of Us grant opportunity. The focus of this grant is to support community-based organizations in small and medium sized cities that are building strong volunteer programs to assist newcomers. By expanding efforts to deeply engage volunteers, they seek to strengthen the fabric of support for newcomers and build an enduring spirit of welcome. Details on the RFP can be accessed HERE . To be eligible, organizations...

Former PACEs Connection employees Dana Brown (L) with Vincent Felitti, MD, co-author of the 1998 Adverse Childhood Experiences study, and Carey Sipp (R) in San Diego in January, 2024. The last few months have been quite challenging, but we pushed, persevered, and didn’t give up hope. The “we” is Carey Sipp and Dana Brown. We were long-time staff members of PACEs Connection determined to reinstate the website and the resources and information we provide to communities after the platform went...