Blog

Charlie Oen’s battle with addiction started when he was 16 and his family moved to Lima, Ohio. It was the last stop in a string of moves his military family made — from Panama to North Carolina, Kentucky, Texas and Germany. “I went toward a bad group because those were the people that accepted me,” he says. Drugs became a substitute for real friendships. He started drinking, popping pills, cooking meth and shooting heroin. He was homeless for a while when his parents kicked him out of the...

During the Civil War , military hospitals considered opioids to be essential medicine. Doctors and nurses used opium and morphine to treat soldiers’ pain, stop internal bleeding and mitigate vomiting and diarrhea caused by infectious diseases. However, this led some soldiers to develop opioid addictions, either during the war or afterward when they sought medical treatment for wartime injuries or illnesses. Opioid use has a long history in the United States. Before the Civil War, doctors...

National Grief Awareness Week "Crying isn't the hurt, it is the process of being unhurt". Althea Solter ------------ The chronic grief of children and youth who are impacted by a parent's substance use can often go unacknowledged or be invalidated. As such, it is important for professionals to understand the chronic loss that can occur in a child's life when a parent struggles with addiction, particularly if both parents struggle. This grief can be compounded by a stigma that prevents...

Please join us for our new series entitled: Trauma-Informed Criminal Justice. This monthly virtual Zoom series will feature conversations facilitated by Dr. Porter Jennings-McGarity, PhD/LCSW, PACEs Connection’s criminal justice consultant, with special guests to discuss the need for trauma-informed criminal justice system reform. Using a PACEs-science lens, this series will examine the relationship between trauma and the criminal justice system, what needs changing, and strategies being...

The right mix of nutrients revitalizes the brain that's been wounded by ACEs. Good nutrition can quickly improve mood and functioning in the present, while improving the potential to rewire disturbing memories imprinted in childhood.

"Forward: A Free guide to support the Wellbeing of Youth and Adults who have been Impacted by the Stigma of a Parent's Drug or Alcohol use." I am proud to share the release of our new guide: Forward. This guide is intended to increase a youth's understanding of their experiences with a parent's drug or alcohol use while empowering them to use their incredible resilience to move forward with hope and healing.

By Travis Lupick, Illustration: Frances Murphy, Yes! Magazine, November 15, 2021 “I’ve always been a rebel,” Gabor Maté says in The Wisdom of Trauma , a new documentary about the acclaimed physician’s groundbreaking work in mental health. “In communist Hungary, in grade six, my teacher wrote in my report card that, ‘You should watch it, because he incites the other students.’” Nearly 70 years later, although far from the playground, Maté is still doing exactly what his teacher warned of. He...

We are thrilled to have two presentations about how health care systems can implement trauma-informed practices into their work to improve outcomes by addressing social determinants of health featured on next Wednesday's CTIPP CAN call, and are also looking forward to the Campaign Office Hour call that comes afterward! Links and more information are below (please be aware of time zones!): CTIPP CAN Call - Trauma-Informed Health Care - November 17th, 2-3:30pm ET/11am-12:30pm PT - Join Zoom...

By Kyle Jaeger, Marijuana Moment, November 9, 2021 In the year since Oregon decriminalized possession of all state-banned drugs , hundreds of millions of tax dollars have been redirected to funding community treatment and harm reduction services. Measure 110 ended arrests and jail time for possession of small amounts, replacing those penalties with a civil fine. The fine is waived if the person attends a substance use disorder assessment. “A year ago, Oregonians voted yes on Measure 110 to...

Dysregulated stress is central to the ACEs/health outcomes link. The healing journey starts with regulating stress arousal that is stuck on too high or too low.

PLEASE SIGN ON TO THIS MEMO TO SUPPORT OUTREACH ALONG THESE LINES TO THE ADMINISTRATION! If the goal is to impact meaningful change, it might prove helpful to view vaccine fear through a trauma informed-lens. There is an intentional shift from the use of the word “hesitancy” and instead using the more specific and appropriate term “fear”. We are more likely to change that which we better define and understand. The following memo has been developed with input from an interdisciplinary team of...

We all have inner strengths and resilience that can help us deal with challenges and stress. To help us manage stress, PACEs Connection and ACEs Aware created a handout based on seven evidence-based stress busters , as described in the Roadmap for Resilience: The California Surgeon General’s Report on Adverse Childhood Experiences, Toxic Stress, and Health . These interventions can help reduce stress, improve health, and build resilience. Please share widely! The handout is available in the...