Blog

The shift to a Healing-Centered Engagement Model releases culture as a root cause of trauma, to instead celebrate the intrinsic resilience and the capacity to promote PCEs that ethnic history, racial and other social identities afford. This is particularly important for white, privileged communities to embrace, given their historical diminishment of non-white cultures.

Norwescap Child and Family Resource Services will be hosting a virtual Connections Matter training on August 7 th , 2023, at 12:00 -2:00 pm. Connections Matter is a program funded by NJ Department of Children and Families and led by Prevent Child Abuse New Jersey. This training is designed to engage community members in building caring connections to improve resiliency. Please share this flyer and the link below with anyone who might be interested. We hope you can join us! Questions: Molly...

The First Round of RAC projects, funded by DCF’s Office of Resilience, is now five months into the grant period and we have seen some outstanding results. While three of our projects in the Central RAC are preparing to launch, five others are up and running. We are seeing creative project activities and curriculums, participants experiencing success, and programs evolving. Projects are currently serving Hunterdon, Union, Mercer, and Middlesex counties. One of the most exciting, inspiring...

Everything starts with a vision! The vision of one organization was curated with passion, dedication, persistence, and drive. NWON Opportunities, has been in business for years. Staff there are creating opportunities for young people, people of color, and women who have building construction skills and are between 18–25-years-old. In 2022, the Office of Resilience within the NJ Department of Children and Families created a microgrant program for communities to design programs that help to...

Dear PACEs Community Members, In 2020, during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, DCF launched the Office of Resilience to lead our work in responding to and raising awareness around Positive and Adverse Childhood Experiences (PACEs). Since then, the office has continued to make progress supporting healing-engaged communities through local partnerships with law enforcement, educators, public officials, and non-profit organizations, with the intention to build up the capacity for...

July is a time to celebrate all summer has to offer by building bridges and innovating with community to get to the heart of trauma-informed awareness and resilience building. This month, we’ve added new July dates to the summer 2023 *CRC* curriculum—but that’s only half of the good news. Last year, the CRC began as a pilot program. Now that it's evolved, what better time to bring accelerator participants together in a PACEs Connection CRC community than the summer? We are proud to announce...

But the good news is that when we add Positive Childhood Experiences into the conversation, the emotional demand is lessened; hope enters the room.

It was a Thursday evening around 6pm, and the youth center at UrbanPromise Ministries in Camden, NJ was a hive of activity. Kids buzzed with energy as parents signed in at the greeter table, while down the hall a line of eager possibly people were being served a hot meal before finding seats in the main room. Further down the hall was the childcare room bright with colors and activities awaiting little hands to use them. Welcome to the Be Inc. Collective Family Café! Brainchild of Siomara...

(Washington, NJ) Tracey Wilson Heisler, MA is known for many things in our community: child advocate, trauma educator, and protector of farmland from warehouse development. She now has a new identity: local author. Her inaugural book, The Shadow in Our Lives : One family’s recovery from child sexual abuse , was recently released. “It’s never been a secret,” says Heisler, “but my first husband molested one of our children. She disclosed the abuse to me 20 years ago, and we have worked hard...

All NJ Educators, Register here for this 2-day FREE seminar that is designed for classroom teachers and school administrators. This will enhance teachers’ abilities to create trauma responsive classroom environments that are brain aligned, trauma informed and good for ALL kids. During these 2 days, you will learn how to build a classroom leadership and management system from the ground up to create positive outcomes for your students. It is highly recommended that administrators of teachers...

Together with the CJFHC, Prevent Child Abuse-NJ will be co-sponsoring a mini-conference entitled “It Takes a Village: Supporting Early Parenting” for anyone working with families in the early days of parenting. The early days of parenting can be filled will joy, excitement and also overwhelming stress as new parents adapt to all the changes a baby brings. Come learn about how to support new families to get off to a strong start! The event is free and will include breakfast. Register here: ...

Hello NJ Residency Coalition Members, Join Crescent Avenue Presbyterian Church as they leverage community partnership with stakeholders' initiatives new beginning 2023. This is a great opportunity to connect with a variety of community partners and learn about the great work they are doing. RSVP by June 16, 2023, to Eric Graham via email egraham865@gmail.com or 973-255-9776. See attachment for more details.