Blog

A decade of work with children damaged by horrific experiences has shown a Duke researcher that the first step forward is ensuring the child knows that trauma is not destiny. “It’s saying something bad happened to you, not that you’re a bad kid,” says Katie Rosanbalm , research scientist at the Center for Child and Family Policy . For the past 10 years, Rosanbalm has been working with local school systems and child services agencies in North Carolina to better identify and treat children who...

Benchmarks will be hosting the Partnering for Excellence Conference for the third time this year. The conference is instrumental in bringing together professionals and those with lived experience. Through a combination of experiential activities, panels, and keynote speakers, the audience learns about the impact the Partnering for Excellence initiative can have as well as being encouraged to go out and be changemakers. This year promises to be even better than those in the past as the...

Approximately a month ago, I had the pleasure of presenting at the Partners Behavioral Health Summit (PBHM), Teens in Toxic Times . The goal of the summit was to generate conversations about topics impacting today's adolescent youth. Participating in these conversations were individuals from of various systems who interact, advocate, and provide services to adolescent populations. During my presentation, Understanding the Impact of Childhood Traumatic Stress on Adolescents, I presented what...

Post by Carla Whaley- Partnering for Excellence Project Assistant This was my first ACEs conference. I did not know what to expect. Two days were ahead of me, full of Keynote speakers and breakout sessions, set in the beautiful backdrop of western North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains. The breakout sessions I chose were all very different, ranging from Exploring ACEs among Mothers and Daughters , to Creating Compassionate Schools Using Trauma Informed Strategies , to Yoga for Resiliency and...

Authored by Keesha Corbin, Partnering for Excellence Project Coordinator Walking through the doors of the Renaissance Hotel in Asheville, North Carolina, there was a bustle of excitement. Everyone came to life during the first presentation by Mary Lynn Barrett as we sung together as an audience. Next came the presentation that everyone had been waiting for, Dr. Felitti, the researcher that gave a new meaning to the work of so many in the audience. Looking around the audience, I saw many...

Without coffee and yoga, I'm kind of a jerk. These are my personal "puppy uppers and doggie downers" and prevent me from being cranky, quick to cry, and ready for conflict. Coffee and calming make life more manageable. Humans seem tolerable. Without helpers I might veer into hating humans for being so needy which is not a great trait for a parent, partner or a professional. Or a self. My partner says coffee and exercise are acts of kindness, services he does to promote public safety. In...

Tonier Cain spoke at the Benchmarks' Partnering for Excellence conference last month in North Carolina. If you don't know her name you might recognize her as the woman featured in the Healing Neen documentary ( which is must see). I am just starting to recover from her speech. Seriously. It was hard to stand after she spoke. When I did, I went right to a yoga mat in the self-care calm room for a while. I took off my high heels and curled up in a ball for a bit. I'm still digesting her words.

This is saved as a blog post and there's an attachment. Sharing resources as a blog post is easier to make visual.

It's time again for the Benchmarks Partnering for Excellence (PFE) Conference, and ACEs are on the agenda! The conference will be on August 17th & 18th in Statesville, North Carolina. There will be keynote speakers, two breakout sessions, and a screening of the film, Resilience . Two of the keynote speakers are Tonier Cain and Dawn O'Malley! I'll be speaking as well about how ACEs science fuels personal and social change. Topics to be covered in the break-out sessions are as follows:...

Partnering For Excellence is excited to join ACEs Connection! Benchmarks' Partnering for Excellence (PFE) is an initiative in North Carolina which aims to align the Mental/Behavioral Health System and Child Welfare System to create better outcomes for children and families whom have experienced trauma and are now involved with the Department of Social Services. The Partnering for Excellence Model is able to assists these systems and others in collaborating to form trauma-informed...

This was produced by KPJR Films, and edited by Jen Bradwell.

Hi all- With the beautiful new changes to our site, please take a moment to review the updated "How-Tos" below . If you can't find what you need or are having issues with the site please let me know. ( Gail ) JOIN How-To: Join ACEs Connection How-To: Join ACEs Connection Groups INVITE How-To: Invite Others to Join ACEs Connection How-To: Invite Others to Join an ACEs Connection Group SIGN IN & UPDATE PROFILE How-To: Sign In to ACEs Connection How-To: Update Your...