Tagged With "Bench Project"
Blog Post
Free 2-Day Course on Community Resiliency Model
August 15-16, 2019 , 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Valencia College School of Public Safety 8600 Valencia College Lane, Room 149 Orlando, Fl., 32825 NO COST Registration Link: https://web.spcollege.edu/survey/28951 The Community Resiliency Model® (CRM) introduces participants to six wellness skills to help create “trauma-informed” and “resiliency-informed” individuals and communities that share a common understanding of the impact of trauma and chronic stress on the nervous system. Resiliency can be...
Blog Post
Hope for the Opioid Crisis--Community Meeting
The Central Florida community continues to look for solutions to the ongoing opioid crisis. Join Project Opioid's leadership team as we convene business and faith leaders from across Central Florida to learn how they can make a difference and help stop the opioid crisis. Registration Link: https://hope-for-the-opioid-crisis.eventbrite.com/ With special guests: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis At this free event, you will learn about: The current status of...
Blog Post
How do these pediatricians do ACEs screening? Early adopters tell all.
Last week, three pediatricians — with a combined experience of 15 years integrating ACEs science into their practices — reflected on the urgency they felt several years ago that prompted them to begin screening patients for childhood adversity and resilience when there was practically no guidance at all. Along their journey , they accumulated a list of lessons learned for other pediatricians and family clinics to use. The three pediatricians participated in the ACEs Connection webinar,...
Blog Post
Latino Students in North Philadelphia Photograph Barriers to Healthy Living [philly.com]
Photo: Philadelphia Collaborative for Health Equity Mounds of trash on the sidewalk. Used hypodermic needles strewn around parks. Memorials to kids who died from gun violence posted on streets. That’s what Latino high school students in North Philadelphia walk past in their neighborhoods every day. So when researchers asked them to take pictures of what prevents them from being healthy, the answers seemed obvious to many. “I don’t feel safe when my community is dirty,” one student wrote in a...
Blog Post
NEMOURS CEO LARRY MOSS: LET'S INVEST MORE IN KIDS' HEALTH [HealthLeaders]
Medical care represents only a fraction of what we should consider when we think about health, Moss said. The rest includes things like social determinants of health, in their various forms, including education, literacy, housing, safety, freedom from adverse childhood experiences, and other social factors.
Blog Post
Peace Day in the Park: September 21st, 2019
Peace Day in the Park September 21st, 2019 When: Sept. 21, 2019 Time: 9 a.m. – noon Location: Central Park 150 W Morse Blvd Winter Park, FL 32789 The Peace and Justice Institute at Valencia College will partner with the City of Winter Park to celebrate the United Nations International Day of Peace on Saturday, Sept. 21, in the city’s Central Park. Each year, Valencia College celebrates the Day of Peace on its campuses, but this year, the college’s Peace and Justice Institute is inviting the...
Blog Post
Recording and slides now available for webinar on Florida’s Early Childhood Courts: Transforming Child Welfare
Information (recording, slides, and resources) on the June 6 webinar "Florida’s Early Childhood Courts: Transforming Child Welfare" is now available (and soon to posted in the ACEs Connection webinar section on the homepage). This well-attended and received webinar was sponsored by the National Center on Domestic Violence, Trauma & Mental Health and co-sponsored ACEs Connection and the Campaign for Trauma-Informed Policy and Practice ( CTIPP ) Webinar Summary Every six minutes in the...
Blog Post
Something to Celebrate!
Valencia’s Peace and Justice Institute is excited to announce that we received a grant from the Khatoon Foundation to continue momentum around the work of ACEs and resilience in Central Florida. With this grant, we are able to bring on a Project Coordinator (Kelsey Visser) for 10 hrs/week for 4 months. Since our “sector” as Valencia College is education, our focus will be on contributing the following to the educational goals of the ACEs work: Film Screenings: Coordinating and marketing 2...
Blog Post
Substance Use Disorder and Brain Development
The inputs a brain experiences during its developmental stages have a profound impact on whether that person will develop a substance use disorder (if they choose to drink or use other drugs). In turn, developing a substance use disorder (SUD) as a tween, teen, or young adult dramatically influences that person's brain development. And why is understanding this causality important? The risk factors for developing a substance use disorder are the result of inputs the brain experiences (or...
Blog Post
Systems Are Not People-Shaped
A few weeks ago I was at a big kickoff event for a new county-wide project to address what our communities feel are the biggest concerns we face. It definitely had its moments and I was all eyes and ears ready to absorb new info and be inspired by the power of coming together for a purpose. One of the last things that I heard that morning was to show the promise of next steps – the speaker said that basically in order to do anything meaningful – you, of course, need a building which – good...
Blog Post
This is Us - Meet Peace4Tarpon - Connie McDonald!
Connie has lived in Tarpon Springs for over forty years. During that time, she has served as Interim Director of the Chamber of Commerce and “cut the ribbon” for many new businesses. It was here that she came to know and love the people of Tarpon Springs and developed a heart for both the youth and elderly. As one of the founders of “Wellness Ministries”, Connie works with folks experiencing homelessness by providing food, clothing, medical and spiritual support. She volunteered for over...
Blog Post
Tools and how to use them is focus of second webinar on Community Resiliency Model, May 14, 2020
The second of two free Community Resiliency (CRM) webinars with Elaine Miller-Karas , key creator of the CRM, will be held Thursday, May 14, from 11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. ET, (10 a.m. CT; 9 a.m. MT, and 8 a.m. PT) and will include the practical application of tools of the model. CRM is an ACEs science-based biological model for helping individuals become emotionally regulated during natural disasters and other dysregulating times. Miller-Karas will be joined by CRM trainers from Wilmington, NC:...
Blog Post
Trauma is Messy
I will always remember the day that, as a student teacher, I watched as a student entered my second-grade room covered in blood. After quickly establishing that he was not injured, we learned that the blood was that of his brother who had been shot the night before. No parents were around that night, so this second grader became the sole caregiver of his bleeding brother. My student would never be the same. We didn’t care about grades or test scores. We just knew that this moment would...
Blog Post
Webinar: Cultivating Our Best Selves in Response to COVID-19 | Tuesday, March 17 at Noon PDT
How to use the skills of the Community Resiliency Model (CRM) for self and others to be the calm in the storm as we face the unknown. Free Webinar Tuesday, March 17 at Noon PDT Speakers: Elaine Miller-Karas, LCSW Linda Grabbe, PhD, FNP-BC, PMHNP-BC Zoom Webinar Registration Link: https://zoom.us/j/715837300 Additional ways to join are listed at the bottom of this post. About the webinar leaders: Elaine Miller-Karas is the Executive Director and co-founder of the Trauma Resource Institute and...
Blog Post
Webinar—Florida's Early Childhood Courts: Transforming Child Welfare on June 6 (3:00-4:30 ET)
Please join this June 6 webinar on Florida’s early childhood courts (aka “safe babies courts”) hosted by the National Center on Domestic Violence, Trauma & Mental Health and co-sponsored by the Campaign for Trauma-Informed Policy and Practice and ACEs Connection. Background: Every six minutes in the U.S., an infant, toddler or child under the age of 3 is removed from their homes for alleged abuse and neglect and placed in state custody through the child welfare system (Zero to Three).
Blog Post
71 ACEs Initiatives Join ACEs Connection in 2019
We are proud to celebrate the 71 community initiatives that joined the ACEs Connection network in 2019. They are listed below, and can be found along with all existing ACEs Connection communities via the ACEs Connection map. Communities in the United States: Midwest ACEs Indiana Coalition Ardmore (OK) Behavioral Health Collaborative: Chisago County (MN) ACEs Initiative Franciscan Health ACEs Connection FH–Jasper & Newton Counties (IN ) FH–LaPorte County (IN) FH–Lake County (IN)...
Blog Post
A Florida ACEs Tour
RADICAL GRACE – WHAT I LET GOD SEE AND ACCEPT IN ME ALSO BECOMES WHAT I CAN SEE AND ACCEPT IN MYSELF. AND EVEN MORE, IT BECOMES THAT WHEREBY I SEE EVERYTHING ELSE. ~ RICHARD ROHR For the past three months, I’ve been driving through various parts of Florida witnessing events and gatherings of communities committed to creating safe, loving, trauma informed, and trauma healing spaces. On Friday February 22nd, I was in Tarpon Springs, attending the monthly gathering of Robin Saeger’s...
Blog Post
A Lesson in Resilience [The Grove - Valencia College]
Left to right: Director of the Peace and Justice Institute Rachel Allen, Administrative Manager of the PJI Community Will Jefferson, Keynote Speaker Kenneth Ginsburg and Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer To View the Entire Conference Video, Click Here --- Tuesday, May 12, 2020 By Rachel Allen , Director, Peace and Justice Institute The second annual Creating a Resilient Community: From Trauma to Healing conference scheduled for Tuesday, April 21, 2020, was certain to be a success. Our first...
Blog Post
ACEs Connection Central Florida Launches at First Annual Conference
Photo by James Encinas Raising yellow “Visions & Commitments” cards, 550 attendees at yesterday’s Creating a Resilient Community: From Trauma to Healing Conference pledged their enthusiastic support to create a more resilient Central Florida. The standing-room-only crowd heard Dr. Vincent Felitti deliver a morning keynote address detailing the findings of the CDC-Kaiser Permanente Adverse Childhood Experiences Study (ACE Study) . He also shared moving testimonials of people who are...
Blog Post
ACES Strategic Planning Meeting Notes (6-18-2019)
Hi everyone! After the success of the Creating a Resilient Community: From Trauma to Healing conference in April, there has been enormous interest in keeping the momentum going. With this in mind, strategic planning meetings have been held since the conference and the most recent one happened on 6/18/19 at Valencia College. You can read the notes from our most recent meeting here (attached) and see what amazing things people are working on in our community. For example, ACEs tracking...
Blog Post
All Over the Map: A Baseline Analysis of the incidence of Childhood Trauma and the Implementation of Trauma-Informed Care in Florida [UF Lastinger Center for Learning]
All Over the Map "... In summary, the State of Florida is at an inflection point. “All over the map” is a phrase that comes to mind in describing the disparate picture across counties both in the incidence of adverse childhood events as well as the implementation of trauma-informed care programming. The analysis and recommendations within this report were developed to inform discussions on effective policy and practice considerations that will ultimately reduce the incidence of these...
Blog Post
"Before Pulse, there was Ocoee"
Right now, Florida legislators, Senator Randolph Bracy and Representative Kamia Brown are advancing bills about reparations for the Ocoee Massacre and “want to see a reconciliation, including a state study of what happened on Nov. 2, 1920, for the state record, and compensation for the descendants of victims.” (FLAPOL) In the Spring of 2018, the Peace and Justice Institute led film forums in partnership with the local Truth and Justice Project. Earlier this year, the City of Orlando and...
Blog Post
Community Resilience Model - Orlando, FL - May 16-17, 2019
The Community Resiliency Model ® (CRM) introduces participants to six wellness skills to help create “trauma-informed” and “resiliency-informed” individuals and communities that share a common understanding of the impact of trauma and chronic stress on the nervous system. Resiliency can be restored or increased using this skills-based approach. CRM ® is an effective tool to be used for self-care and is especially helpful for those community members who are the front-line workers, responding...
Blog Post
Creating a "hospitable and accountable community" in my home
I have a confession to make. I am totally insecure about being my children’s “teacher” during this new COVID-19, stay at home, reality. That is hard for me to admit since I am a teacher and a peace practitioner by profession. Technically I have been training for this my whole life! Why do I feel so unprepared? When I told my 6 year old daughter she and her brother would be doing school from home with mommy and daddy she lit up with excitement and I could see the expectation in her eyes of...
Blog Post
Creating a Resilient Community: From Trauma to Healing
Welcome to ACEs Connection Central Florida! For a copy of the program for our conference, Creating a Resilient Community: From Trauma to Healing, please check the resources below.
Blog Post
Creating a Resilient Community: From Trauma to Healing Conference (April 21, 2020 - Orlando, FL)
Raising yellow “Visions & Commitments” cards, 550 attendees representing 176 organizations at the 2019 Creating a Resilient Community: From Trauma to Healing Conference in Orlando, Florida pledged their enthusiastic support to create a more resilient Central Florida. One year later, we are convening again for our 2020 conference to learn from experts in the field, continue community conversations and collaboration, and focus the tremendous momentum around this work. 2020 Creating a...
Blog Post
Darrell Hammond, Subject of Cracked Up, Will Be Joining Twitter Chat!!
Saturday Night Live veteran Darrell Hammond will be joining the live Twitter Town Hall i mmediately following the virtual screening of Cracked Up! T he documentary film details the long term effects of childhood trauma, told through Darrell’s personal journey in discovering adverse childhood experiences at the root of his lifelong battle with self-harm, addiction, and misdiagnosis. Please join us for this unique chance to hear directly from Darrell Hammond, joined by the film’s director,...
Blog Post
Emotional Well-Being and Coping During COVID-19 [psychiatry.ucsf.edu]
From Weill Institute for Neurosciences, UCSF, May 2020 These are unprecedented times. We need to work extra hard to manage our emotions well. Expect to have a lot of mixed feelings. Naturally we feel anxiety, and maybe waves of panic, particularly when seeing new headlines. A recent article by stress scientist and Vice Chair of Adult Psychology Elissa Epel, PhD, outlines the psychology behind the COVID-19 panic response and how we can try to make the best of this situation. Our anxiety is...
Blog Post
Florida State launches professional certification in trauma and resilience [FSU News]
Florida State University has launched a new online curriculum for a professional certification in trauma and resilience. The curriculum was developed by the Clearinghouse on Trauma and Resilience within the Institute for Family Violence Studies at the FSU College of Social Work in conjunction with the FSU Center for Academic and Professional Development. “This training addresses a gap in the knowledge base of human services professionals,” said Clearinghouse Director Karen Oehme. “Many...
Blog Post
The Traumatic Impact of Racism on Young People and How to Talk About It [Dr. Kenneth Ginsburg]
Dr. Kenneth Ginsburg (Keynote speaker from the recent Creating a Resilient Community Conference) shared the excerpt from his book Reaching Teens titled The Traumatic Impact of Racism on Young People and How to Talk About It. This is a valuable resource for anyone interacting with youth and we are providing the excerpt as an attachment here for you to read and share. Also, Dr. Ginsburg will be coming back to our community (virtually) and you’ll be invited to his workshop. Look out for the...
Blog Post
Last Week to Register and Apply for Scholarship for PJI Academy for Teachers - Session 1 [Peace and Justice Institute]
As we navigate through our current global crisis, the PJI Academy for Teachers extends an invitation to all educators who are leading the way for our students and teachers to become resilient, lifelong learners. We realize that many of us have added the role of a teacher to our diverse set of responsibilities. With that understanding we open the PJI Academy for Teachers to all educators from Pre-K through higher education who wish to create more inclusive, respectful, compassionate and...
Blog Post
Support our efforts to secure a CDC ACEs grant to advance FL as a trauma-informed state!
Dear Trauma Friends & Colleagues: We are applying for CDC ACES grant to further our efforts toward a trauma informed state. It’s a collaborative effort across state agencies to improve ACES data collection and utilizes to target prevention strategies. Details in the attached overview. It’s a long shot with only 4 awards but our statewide collaborative efforts are a big strength and it might help push us to the top if we had many letters of support. Attached is a draft letter that you...
Blog Post
Help Navigating the Road to Community Resiliency
The first time I ever heard the words trauma-informed care and the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) study was in the summer of 2014. At the time, I was working for the local Police Department as the Director of a grant-funded Crime Reduction Project aimed at reducing drug-related and violent crime. Of the many program goals, one was to develop a rehabilitative corrections program for felony offenders with addictions in order to reduce recidivism. Though I’ve lived in this region for...
Blog Post
Virtual K-Ready Community Rally (July 22nd) & Screening of No Small Matter Documentary [K-Ready Community]
If you haven't already, REGISTER for the Virtual K-Ready Community Rally (July 22nd 9:00 - 10:30 am EST) & Screening of No Small Matter ! Seats are limited. Early Childhood Care and Education – the best investment we could make for a more skilled workforce, a stronger economy, and a more just society! You are invited to join Rachel Allen, Director of the Peace and Justice Institute at Valencia College; Glen Gilzean, CEO of the CF Urban League; and Dr. Joel Hunter, Founder and Chairman of...
Blog Post
Greater Richmond Trauma Informed Community Network, first to join ACEs Cooperative of Communities, shows what it means to ROCK!
In 2012, Greater Richmond SCAN and five other community partners hatched a one-year plan to educate the Richmond, Virginia, community about ACEs science and to embed trauma-informed practices. Eight years later, the original group has evolved into the Greater Richmond Trauma-Informed Community Network (GRTICN) with 495 people and 170 organizations. And they're just scratching the surface.
Blog Post
Trauma-informed policing: Learn how three highly experienced community leaders strengthen ties between police and community
ACEs initiative participants in communities where there is tension between the community and law enforcement will want to join Becky Haas in a compelling conversation on law enforcement, ACEs science, COVID-19 and the Black Lives Matter movement and protests. Haas is a nationally recognized adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) science initiative builder and trainer. She and colleagues Renee Wilson-Simmons, the head of the ACE Awareness Foundation of Memphis, Tennessee, and Maggi Duncan,...
Blog Post
Does VP Candidate Kamala Harris know about ACEs? You bet!
Nadine Burke Harris, California’s Surgeon General, has a lot in common with the vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris—Jamaican heritage, surname, home state—and a commitment to addressing ACEs and toxic stress. As reported in the New Yorker article by Paul Tough, “The Poverty Clinic,” Dr. Harris told Kamala Harris, then San Francisco district attorney, about ACEs in 2008 and in response, she offered to help. District Attorney Harris then introduced her to professor of child and...
Blog Post
Does VP Candidate Kamala Harris know about ACEs? You bet!
[Ed. note: Elizabeth Prewitt wrote this article in August 2020. On this day, it's worth re-posting, to note that Kamala Harris is not only the first woman, the first Black woman, and the first South Asian woman elected Vice President, but also someone who's well versed in ACEs science.] Nadine Burke Harris, California’s Surgeon General, has a lot in common with the vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris—Jamaican heritage, surname, home state—and a commitment to addressing ACEs and toxic...
Blog Post
ACEs Connection/CTIPP Southeastern Leaders’ call: State updates, funding information, and “mind-blowing” information about helping people out of poverty
Southeastern ACEs Connection and national CTIPP leaders on the quarterly leader call welcomed guest speaker Rebecca Lewis-Pankratz (top left) for their quarterly call. Also among those present were (top row l-r) Carey Sipp, Jesse Kohler, Jesse Hardin, (second row, l-r) Patti Tiberi, Mebane Boyd, Jen Drake-Croft, Dan Press, (third row, l-r) Mimi Graham, Christopher Freeze, Margaret Stagmeier, (fourth row, l-r) Emily Marsh, Liz Peterson, Alyssa Koziarski and Janet Pozmantier. Also present was...
Blog Post
Blooming hope: Community Tree project in Jacksonville lets people share messages of love, loss (First Coast News)
By Tom Szaroleta, December 25, 2020, Florida Times-Union. JACKSONVILLE, Fla — While most trees are losing their foliage for the winter, a live oak in Riverside is blooming with messages of hope, grief and love. The Community Tree is in the front yard of the Yellow House art gallery at 577 King St. in Jacksonville. For the next few months, people are invited to stop by, jot a message on one of the 3-inch-by-4-foot ribbons and hang it in the tree. The idea for the project came from cultures...
Blog Post
Why California needs to ban preschool suspensions and expulsions, experts say [EdSource]
JANUARY 5, 2021 Throwing a tantrum, crying inconsolably, hitting or biting, and refusing to follow the rules are challenging behaviors that many preschoolers experience on the playground and in the classroom. For many children, these tear-stained incidents are quickly forgiven and forgotten, dismissed by caregivers as yet another tumultuous developmental stage to be weathered. But for some youngsters, the incidents have repercussions that resonate throughout their childhood and beyond.
Blog Post
Childhood Trauma – The Dark Secret 64% of Us Share: Compassion Prison Project with Dr. Vincent Felitti [Florida newswire]
Jan 12, 2021 LOS ANGELES, Calif., Jan 12, 2021 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Two years ago this month, film producer Fritzi Horstman, and Compassion Prison Project founder, walked into a California maximum-security prison and sat down with the men who were serving time, hoping to bring them compassion and trauma-awareness. One of the first things she said was, “I was traumatized when I was a child – my mother emotionally and physically abused me. I was neglected and my father was an alcoholic.”...
Blog Post
Resilience: Virtual Film Screening & Discussion
Facilitated Virtual Screening and Discussion of the the film "Resilience: The Biology of Stress & The Science of Hope" Date And Time Thursday, February 11, 2021 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM EST Register Here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/resilience-the-biology-of-stress-the-science-of-hope-tickets-135569527105 About this Event Delve into the science of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and a new movement to treat and prevent toxic stress through a facilitated virtual film screening and dialogue...
Blog Post
Join Special Guest Father Paul Abernathy for a Zoom Discussion on March 16th, at 7p.m. EST to discuss the Whole People Documentary Series and Trauma-Informed Community Development
On behalf of ACEs Connection , the CTIPP (The Campaign for Trauma -Informed Policy & Practice), and the Relentless School Nurse , we want to invite you to the streaming of parts 4 and 5 of the Whole People documentary series on the weekend o f M arch 12th through March 14th, 2021. We will stream both parts on ACEs Connection in the Transforming Trauma with ACEs Sciences Film Festival community. The documentary viewing will be followed by a discussion with special guest, Father Paul...
Blog Post
We’ve changed our name to PACEs Connection!
We have some very exciting news! As of today, ACEs Connection is now PACEs Connection. PACEs stands for Positive and Adverse Childhood Experiences.
Blog Post
A Better Normal Friday, March 26, 2021: PACEs and HOPE with Dr. Christina Bethell
Please join us for our next installment of A Better Normal, our live webinar series in which we imagine and create our society as trauma-informed! You may have seen we changed our name recently from ACEs Connection to PACEs Connection. Please join us to learn all about the groundbreaking research of Positive Childhood Experiences and how this is going to transform the work we are all doing. >>Click here to register<< PACEs and HOPE Live Event Friday, March 26, 2021 Noon PT / 1pm...
Blog Post
Register now! Best-Selling Author, Best Trauma-Informed Practices -- Including Handle With Care, Safe Baby Courts -- Highlight Packed Third Annual "Creating A Resilient Community" Conference!
“The agenda for the third annual “Creating a Resilient Community Conference (Virtual Event)” reads like an all-star cast of trauma-informed experts coming together to share the best of what they know, and offers myriad opportunities for communities at all stages of becoming trauma-informed to learn about best practices, in many instances, by people who created landmark trauma-informed programs,” said Rachel C. Allen, PJI Director. The two-day conference, which starts April 20th, features...
Blog Post
California Surgeon General highlights link between systemic racism & ACEs [PACEs Connection]
Whether it’s racial profiling at traffic stops or microaggressions at work, racism by any measure can cause toxic stress. That causal relationship and how it leads to a greater burden of ACEs (adverse childhood experiences) among communities of color was the subject of a webinar on April 28 entitled “ Racism and Discrimination as Risk Factors for Toxic Stress ,” sponsored by the California Surgeon General’s Office and the ACEs Aware Initiative. “I can't think of a more important conversation...
Blog Post
The Wisdom of Trauma - Encore Event - This Weekend until Midnight PST Sunday
If you missed the recent world premiere of The Wisdom of Trauma Movie with Dr. Gabor Maté, this weekend you can watch the encore of the movie plus get full access to the Talks on Trauma series including my talk with Dr. Gabor Maté and Nneka Jones Tapia on "A Vision for Compassionate Prison." The link is here (all donations will go to Compassion Prison Project by using this link!): https://fritzihorstman--sand.thrivecart.com/supporter/6080622415b14/ Opening Kick Off Introduction with Gabor...
Blog Post
The Check-In Project - A Mental Health Initiative of Wraparound Osceola
About the Check-In Project The Check-In Project is a mental health initiative of Wraparound Osceola. We help families, schools, and employers break the stigma surrounding mental health by providing the tools and resources needed to check-in with one another, start conversations, and provide support. When we are empowered to reach out to those who are struggling, we can improve lives and cultivate a thriving community. Expert Chat: Developing Self Awareness and Building a Community of Support...