Blog

By The Chronicle of Social Change Staff, March 18, 2020 For the past two days , The Chronicle of Social Change has been adding to a list of issues that child welfare agencies should pay attention to. We have locked that article, which you can access here . Going forward, we will continue to publish separate news pieces about the virus and its impact on youth services, and we will also aggregate our coverage on this running thread. Check here for regular news briefs, links to our stories and...

By Kriston Capps and Laura Bliss, CityLab, March 17, 2020 Back in October 2009, when fears about the H1N1 “swine flu” pandemic were at a crisis point in the U.S., Congress passed emergency legislation to boost the reach of the safety net. The law authorized federal food aid benefits to replace free or reduced-price school lunches for eligible children whose schools were closed for more than five consecutive days. More than 700 schools closed across the U.S. during the course of that crisis,...

Transforming Trauma Podcast: The Blind Spots of Privilege and Complex Trauma in Marginalized Communities Claude Cayemitte, a clinical social worker and NARM Therapist, joins the Transforming Trauma podcast to examine how complex trauma impacts individuals from marginalized communities and how unrecognized cultural trauma can lead to misattunement in the therapeutic relationship. Using the NeuroAffective Relational Model as a foundation, and his own background as a Haitian-American male...

Editor's Note: This excellent letter was widely circulated today across Oregon to detail the response of Trauma Informed Oregon to COVID-19 and ask the grassroots to provide feedback on needs and experience during this challenging time. Dear colleagues, partners, and neighbors across Oregon, Trauma Informed Oregon (TIO) is OPEN —don’t worry, not physically open. We are absolutely following physical distancing to flatten the curve, to protect others, and to respect the great sacrifices that...

In appreciation of and support for the tremendous work you are doing under challenging circumstances, Dibble will be hosting a free, 12-week Mind Matters online series with Dr. Carolyn Curtis and Dixie Zittlow. Unprecedented times, such as these, are stressful and call for everyone to think about ways to help others and themselves. Thus, we see this as an opportunity to offer free, professional development and help you and your staff practice self-care. Join us as we teach the Mind Matters...

By Laura Bliss and Sarah Holder, CityLab, March 18, 2020 Earlier this month, as coronavirus infections surged in Seattle, the downtown office building where Lilliana works started to empty out. Employees were heeding the call to work from home to limit the transmission of the disease. But Lilliana had to keep showing up: A day porter for a local property services contractor, she vacuums the floors, empties the trash, and wipes down surfaces at a multi-tenant commercial property. (She asked...

By Jessica Dym Bartlett, Jessica Griffin, Dana Thomson, Child Trends, March 19, 2020 The following guidance, recommendations, and resources are provided by child trauma experts at Child Trends and the Child Trauma Training Center at the University of Massachusetts. The Center is housed at the University of Massachusetts with Child Trends as the lead evaluating agency, with funding from SAMHSA and the National Child Traumatic Stress Network and additional support from HRSA. While the Centers...

We at Alive and Well Communities wanted to take a moment to present some considerations for how our community responds to COVID-19, through the trauma lens. These suggestions assume that additional core institutions will close and/or must limit the ways they typically engage with community members. It is also assumed that a number of community members will have to self-quarantine and “shelter in place.” These suggestions are guided by the principles of trauma informed care: trustworthiness,...

By Jacqueline Simon Gunn, Psychotherapy.net, March 19, 2020 I walked into the grocery store Sunday morning after a relaxing run. As soon as I came in the doors, I saw the headline of the newspaper in bold letters reporting that New York was in a state of emergency. Anxiety coursed through me. Earlier that same morning, I’d had a phone session with a patient who was becoming increasingly anxious due to news of the spread of COVID-19. She was starting to feel like she couldn’t leave the house.

ACEs, Adversity's Impact Lessons learned integrating ACEs science into health clinics: Staff first, THEN patients Launching a revolution Stress is a key to understanding many social determinants of health Is trauma driving some eating disorders? Adverse childhood experiences: What we know, what we don't know, and what should happen next Childhood maltreatment initiates a developmental cascade that leads to relationship dysfunction in emerging adulthood Report reveals link between poverty,...

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...

By Kenneth Bailey and Lori Lobenstine, Design Studio for Social Intervention, March 2020 The advised precautions for dealing with the coronavirus ask us to focus on ourselves. Wash your hands. Cover your mouth. Don’t host or attend large gatherings. The precautions make us turn inward to focus on the virus’s impact on our individual health and the interruption of our daily lives. As much as we have to take these precautions, we must also understand that they are doing something to us. They...