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When people feel burned out, stressed out, and left out they are much more likely to seek comfort from artificial, illicit, and pharmaceutical substances. I’ve seen trauma result in too many kids encountering the juvenile justice system; too many women (usually) who are subjected to domestic violence; and too many police officers who see no other option except for suicide. At the heart of most, if not all, of these challenges is trauma that is connected to or exacerbated by narcotics.

by Amanda Merck @AMFitnessHealth For the first time, the Healthy People 2030 guidelines have added four objectives on adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), a step to recognize the systemic impact of childhood trauma on health. ACEs, such as abuse and poverty, are a public health crisis . None of the past Healthy People editions ─ 1990, 2000, 2010, 2020 ─ had an objective to address ACEs as part of its national guidance to promote health and prevent disease. Now there are four objectives!

To help our community better understand anxiety, learn three things to remember when it comes to what’s going on inside an anxious mind.

By Sandee LaMotte, CNN, June 28, 2021 Physical punishment does not appear to improve a child's positive behavior or social competence over time, according to a review of 69 studies from the US, Canada, China, Colombia, Greece, Japan, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom. The review, published Monday in the journal Lancet , found physical punishment such as spanking is "harmful to children's development and well-being," said senior author Elizabeth Gershoff, a professor in human...

LGBTQ+ youth experience trauma at significantly higher rates than their straight and cisgender peers. Some of the most prevalent traumatic events they experience are parental rejection, intimate partner violence, bullying, sexual assault, and physical and emotional abuse. The effects of untreated and unrecognized trauma can extend far into adulthood and can negatively impact their social, emotional, and physical wellbeing. Providers can help LGBTQ+ youth thrive and heal from past trauma by...

From Prevention Institute, June 2021 Summary Sexual harassment, abuse, and assault can have short- and long-term physical, emotional, and psychological effects on a person’s wellbeing and impact an entire community, from the culture and connections between people to the economic toll. Preventing sexual violence means we all must address deep-rooted abuses of power that contribute to inequities in health, safety, and wellbeing. A health equity approach to preventing sexual violence means that...

What should every American know? This question has long been debated, discussed, and deliberated. And while answers need to come from all of us—not just a powerful few—young people have often been excluded from these conversations. A partnership between Chicago Public Schools and the Aspen Institute’s program on Citizenship and American Identity aims to change that. Together they seek to elevate youth perspectives, beliefs, and values as vital to our national conversation of civic purpose.

Restorative Justice in Schools: Trauma-Informed Approaches to Increasing Protective Health Factors for Girls of Color Thursday July 1st 12 p.m. - 1:45 p.m. EST Empowering girls of color and supporting their educational success is not simply an issue of educational equity. It is a matter of health justice. Join us for a conversation about the possibilities for and potential uses of restorative justice practices in schools with Thalia González, a nationally renowned scholar in the field of...

By Umme Hoque, Illustration: Derrick Dent, Prism, June 16, 2021 An open letter from AAPI high school students in Massachusetts begins with a simple statement: “We are high school students from Boston, Malden, and Quincy, members of the Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center (BCNC) Youth Center. We ask educators and superintendents to address the surge of anti-Asian racism that followed the COVID-19 outbreak.” Teens at BCNC Youth Center published the open letter in September 2020 as anti-Asian...

By Kristin Neff, Greater Good Magazine, June 14, 2021 How can we effectively bring about a more just world? Although it may not be obvious at first glance, self-compassion plays a key role in the quest to end sexism, racism, heterosexism, and other forms of oppression. By aiming compassion inward as well as outward, we can better confront the pain of injustice without being overwhelmed, and find the strength and energy to fight for what’s right. Self-compassion helps us cope by accepting our...

By Guest Author, 6/22/21, positiveexperience.org/blog This June, the HOPE team had the honor of meeting with Scarlett Lewis, Founder and CEO of the Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement. Through a mission to live by her son Jesse’s message “ Nurturing, Healing, Love ,” the Choose Love Movement produced a comprehensive program on social and emotional learning for all ages! This program is now being implemented in schools and community organizations nationwide. Check out chooselovemovement.org for...

From Center on the Developing Child, Harvard University, June 2020 How is ongoing, severe stress and adversity in early childhood connected to chronic disease in adults? And, what can we do about it? In this animated video, narrated by Center on the Developing Child Director Jack P. Shonkoff, M.D., learn what the latest science tells us about how early experiences affect not only early learning and school readiness, but also lifelong health. Understand the effects of adversities such as...