ACEs Connection envisions a resilient world where ALL people thrive. We are an anti-racist organization committed to the pursuit of social justice. In our work to promote resilience and prevent and mitigate ACEs, we intentionally embrace and uplift people who have historically not had a seat at the table. ACEs Connection celebrates the voices and tells the stories of people who have been barred from decision-making and who have shouldered the burden of systemic and economic oppression as the...

We developed ACEs Connection's Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Tool — called the Inclusion Tool, for short — to ensure that ACEs initiatives across the world focus on being inclusive when forming a steering committee, recruiting leaders, providing education about ACEs science, recruiting members, or providing resources and services within their communities. The more inclusive your ACEs initiative is, the more diverse it will be, giving your initiative a real shot at achieving equity and...

Millions of lives have been affected in unprecedented ways by the Coronavirus (COVID-19). We are all grappling with uncertainty—our daily routines interrupted, not knowing what is to come. For those of us who have Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), these times can be particularly distressing. At the Center for Youth Wellness (CYW), we know that childhood trauma can have a significant impact on an individual’s health and well-being – both physiologically and psychologically. Since the...

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...

While we know that adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) can cause risk behaviors, research has told us that the presence of protective factors can help mitigate the effects of ACEs. Common risk behaviors such as smoking tobacco and alcohol misuse can be a result from the trauma of childhood disadvantage. In responding to ACEs, public health research proposes that protective factors such as safe, stable, nurturing relationships (SSNRs) with a caring adult can mitigate the long-term effects of...

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,...

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...

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...

ACEs Connection , the CTIPP (The Campaign for Trauma -Informed Policy & Practice), and the Relentless School Nurse , are co-hosing the Transform Trauma with ACEs Sciences Film Festival and Zoom discussion series. These are our next two events and we hope you will join us: 1. Weekend Streaming of Whole People from March 12th - March 14th, 2021): We will be streaming of parts 4 and 5 of the Whole People documentary series on the weekend of M arch 12th through March 14th, 2021 in the...

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...

“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...

Participate in the summer PJI Teachers Academy! The PJI Teachers Academy is a week-long intensive program designed for educators by educators. This immersive cohort-based program supports teachers in reflecting on their lives and current practices and with an eye to deepening equity in their hearts, minds, and classrooms. Based on the latest neuroscience and teaching literature, participants will explore topics such as privilege, race, gender, trauma informed classrooms, ACEs, resilience,...

The nearly $2 trillion American Rescue Plan Act has several buckets of funding that can be used to promote trauma-informed and healing-centered projects. PACEs Connection communities can apply for this funding, according to leaders of the Campaign for Trauma-informed Policy and Practice (CTIPP), the National Trauma Campaign, and PACEs Connection. The “Better Normal” webinar on Friday, May 14 at 3 p.m. EST; Noon PST, Dan Press, Jesse Kohler and Marlo Nash of CTIPP will begin by describing...

PACEs Connection's Race & Equity Workgroup will be examining historical trauma in the United States of America and its impact on American society in a series of virtual discussions. This series will highlight each unique region within the United States and outline how unresolved historical trauma has impacted every aspect of American life and directly shapes the socio-political landscape of today as well as the overall well-being of Americans. Discussions will make connections between...

In 2019 and 2020, dozens of states enacted nearly 60 laws and resolutions that reference adverse childhood experiences or trauma. In this post, there's an interactive map that shows them all.

From The Annie E. Casey Foundation, June 21, 2021 SUMMARY The 32nd edition of the Annie E. Casey Foundation's KIDS COUNT ® Data Book describes how children across the United States were faring before — and during — the coronavirus pandemic. This year’s publication continues to deliver the Foundation’s annual state rankings and the latest available data on child well-being. It identifies multiyear trends — comparing statistics from 2010 to 2019. In addition, the report shares data on how...

Please make a commitment to personal use ONLY! NOW Playbook Transformative Community Capacity to Advance Equity We are excited to share the Vital Village Networks of Opportunity for Child Wellbeing (NOW) Playbook . The NOW Playbook is a resource guide designed to provide tools for local leaders, community coalitions and networks, educators, practitioners, and policymakers working to promote the wellbeing of children and families, advance equity, and align systems of care and education in...

While natural disasters can strike at any time with very little warning, families and communities can take steps to prepare in the event that a disaster does occur. With the devastation caused by ongoing events (hurricanes, flooding, wildfires, COVID-19) across the nation, this reaffirms the need for disaster preparedness. Our thoughts are with the families, children, and communities who have been affected by these disasters. The National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) has resources...

Our version of a “Path to a Just Society” is our first attempt at creating a common language and identifying points along the path to a just society. The Race and Equity workgroup of PACEs Connection started the project in early 2021, following a staff meeting where we realized that we, our organization and the movement needed this. We think it can help all of us gauge where we are, where we want to be, and what’s needed to get to the next level of integrating practices and policies based on...

Please sign onto and share this memo supporting using a trauma-informed approach to decreasing vaccine hesitancy! Many of the challenges we are facing with vaccine hesitancy can be better understood by looking at the issue through a trauma-informed lens. The following memo has been developed with input from many of the clinical and academic thought leaders from the trauma healing field to offer supportive guidance to the Administration. To successfully address this challenge, we need to...

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...

This handout is based on the work of Donna Jackson Nakazawa , who worked with us and generously allowed us to paraphrase content from her book, Childhood Disrupted: How Your Biography Becomes Your Biology & How You Can Heal . Donna's book specifically addresses those of us parenting with ACEs (which she also does brilliantly in the powerful documentary, Wrestling Ghosts , which is about parenting and healing from ACEs). This handout can be downloaded, distributed, and used freely. It is...

Please join us for a new series entitled: Trauma-Informed Criminal Justice. This monthly virtual Zoom series will feature conversations facilitated by Porter Jennings-McGarity, 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 used in this area...

Monday, November 15 th , 2021 marks the launch of Charlotte County’s ACEs awareness week to raise awareness about Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and to highlight the importance of fostering Positive Childhood Experiences (PCEs) in the lives of our children and youth. Last year, the Charlotte County Board of County Commissioners granted an ACEs awareness county proclamation; however, still in the throws of COVID-19 precautions and response, our community was unable to celebrate the...

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...

Chart is sample page from county-by-county funding allocated as part of ARPA. Information is available by clicking here. This is the first of several articles on the importance of any resilience-focused entity, including your PACEs Connection community, seeking out the people in your area allocating ARPA funding and asking for money. Organizations do not necessarily have to be 501 C-3 nonprofits to receive funding. Thanks to federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to states in April...

Please register now at this link to reserve your spot. You’re invited to participate in Building the Movement with Coalitions, the first of eight remarkable workshops featured in the series, “ Building a National Movement to Prevent Trauma and Foster Resilience ”. The first half-day workshop will occur virtually on January 7th from 1-5pm ET/10am-2pm PT. It focuses on the history and future of the movement and building community-owned, trauma-informed, prevention-focused, and healing-centered...

By Elaine Miller-Karas MSW, LCSW Building Resiliency to Trauma Psychology Today, September 30, 2022 Mental health can suffer after extreme climate events. KEY POINTS Mental health conditions exacerbated by natural disasters include post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety. After a disaster, the number of people needing assistance from the mental health systems strains or exceeds community capacity. There are simple strategies helpers can use to help survivors restore...