Tagged With "student trauma"
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Webinar Learning Series begins tomorrow: State Policy Approaches to Addressing Childhood Adversity, Wednesday, January 10, 10am PST (1:00 PM EST)
Reminder of tomorrow's ( Wednesday, January 10, 10am PST/1:00 PM EST) webinar on State Policy Approaches to Addressing Childhood Adversity Please join us for a three -part learning series hosted by the California Campaign to Counter Childhood Adversity and ACEs Connection . We'll hear from states that are making great strides towards adopting trauma-informed policies and practices. Three-Part Learning Series: Webinar 1: Overview of State Level Efforts to Address Childhood Adversity and...
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Webinar Learning Series: State Policy Approaches to Addressing Childhood Adversity, January 10, 10am PST (1:00 PM EST)
Please join us for a three -part learning series hosted by the California Campaign to Counter Childhood Adversity and ACEs Connection . We'll hear from states that are making great strides towards adopting trauma-informed policies and practices. Three-Part Learning Series: Webinar 1: Overview of State Level Efforts to Address Childhood Adversity and Highlights from Oregon, Tennessee, and Wisconsin Date: January 10th, 10AM PST (1:00 PM EST) Speakers: Elizabeth Prewitt, Policy Analyst, ACEs...
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What is your ACE score? Countywide school board meeting teaches how adverse childhood experience play into overall health [madisoniannews.com]
SHERIDAN – Sheridan School was this year’s host for the countywide school board meeting on Jan. 24. Trustees and administrators from all four Madison County Schools were present, as well as Madison County Superintendent of Schools Pam Birkeland, Madison County commissioners Ron Nye and Dan Allhands, Sen. Jeff Welborn (R-Dillon), and Rep. Ray Shaw (R-Sheridan). Attendees were treated to a sit-down dinner prepared by the Sheridan life skills class and received tip-top service from Sheridan’s...
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What other ACE surveys have additional questions? We know of seven.
We’ll start to populate the new Resource Center next month. One of the sections lists ACE surveys that have additional questions. The CDC-Kaiser Permanente Adverse Childhood Experiences Study revealed that ACEs contribute to most of our major chronic health, mental health, economic health and social health issues. It measured five types of abuse and neglect: physical, verbal and sexual abuse; physical and emotional neglect. And five types of family dysfunction: a family member with mental...
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Why be "trauma-informed?" - a training for churches by Chaplain Chris Haughee, DMin
As I wrap up my doctoral studies, I am excited to see how the concept of becoming “trauma-informed” in ministry is starting to pick up steam across the country. A large part of the credit for furthering that conversation goes to you--my friends and colleagues here on ACEsConnection! It's been humbling to see how our relatively small ministry in Montana has something to add to the conversation. In fact, far from being behind the curve here in Montana, we are on the cutting edge in terms of...
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Wisconsin state agencies end year one of trauma-informed learning community; goal is to be first trauma-informed state
Here in California, many people think that it’s only liberal Democrats who have a corner on championing the science of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and putting it into practice. That might be because people who use ACEs science don’t expel or suspend students, even if they’re throwing chairs and hurling expletives at the teacher. They ask "What happened to you?" rather than "What's wrong with you?" as a frame when they create juvenile detention centers where kids don’t fight, reduce...
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2019 Starting & Growing Resilient Communities: Online & In Real Life (IRL) Webinar Series
ACEs Connection presents, "Starting & Growing Resilient Communities: Online & In Real Life (IRL)" , an interactive webinar training series focused on developing existing and potential online community managers and IRL ACEs champions. If you are not a current online community manager, please know that ALL are welcome. This series is dedicated to providing insight into creating sustainable and effective online & IRL ACEs intiatives. "Starting & Growing Resilient Communities:...
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911 Alternative for Mental Health Crisis
Coming from a 25-year background in the world of technology and venture capital, I still keep my eye on what new technologies, companies, and people are being funded. I saw this today on TechCrunch... a fascinating trauma-informed approach! While this product is in its infancy and limited to a very small area of San Francisco for now, the implications are exciting! We'll have to see what the results are over time, how it impacts the lives of those that have mental health issues in that area...
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A Healthier Bottom Line: Panelists Assert ACEs Science Is Good for Business
Somer Gauthier knew the ACE training had worked when one of her general managers told her about an irate customer. Gauthier, owner of two McDonald’s franchises in Helena, Montana , experienced her own “aha” moment during a community meeting hosted by Elevate Montana. “I had never heard of ACEs,” she told attendees at the 2017 Mobilizing Action for Resilient Communities (MARC) National Summit. “All I could think about was: My employees need this information.” Gauthier connected with Tina...
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ACES conference focuses on consequences of child abuse, neglect [RivalliRepublic.com]
The Bitterroot Cares for Kids Network is presenting “ACES in the Bitterroot,’’ a day-long conference on identifying, preventing and alleviating the consequences of childhood abuse and neglect. Todd Garrison, director of the ChildWise Institute, will be the guest speaker at the Aug. 17 event, which also will feature the film “Paper Tiger.’’ The focus will be on the Adverse Childhood Experiences Study, which has identified childhood trauma as a major public health issue. According to the...
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ACEs Connection Info -- How-tos, ACEs 101, welcome, overview
ACEs Connection Welcome Tour What you get What you can do ACEs Connection How-Tos Directory How-To post a blog How-To add a picture How-To change your email settings And more ACEs Connection Network Overview ACEsConnection.com and ACEsTooHigh.com ACEs, trauma-informed, and resilience-building Collective impact community of practice And more ACEs 101 FAQ ACEs, toxic stress, and epigenetics...
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ACEs Connection, our Cooperative of Communities, and....Pando!
Last month, we officially launched the ACEs Connection Cooperative of Communities. We are SO excited about this! And the communities that are part of the handful of ACEs initiatives that are piloting the Cooperative are, too! Before describing the Cooperative, I want to reassure our 40,000+ members and 277 ACEs initiatives (plus another 100 in development) that have communities on ACEs Connection that nothing on ACEsConnection.com changes! Membership is and remains free ! And it will remain...
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Adversity Is Not Destiny
Childhood adversity can activate the human stress response system, which is primarily made up of the hormones/chemicals cortisol and adrenaline. In the developing brain of a child, prolonged activation of the stress response system can cause these chemicals to actually become toxic. Think of that – a child’s brain being bathed in toxic chemicals due to abuse, neglect, or chaotic household dysfunction. It’s called toxic stress. It’s real, not imagined, and it’s physiological, potentially...
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Alive and Well: Moving Missouri Toward Grass-Roots and System-Wide Change
On the eastern edge of Missouri, leaders of the Alive and Well network had generated a robust media campaign to help people understand the impact of trauma and toxic stress on health and well-being. There was a monthly column in an African-American newspaper, spots about toxic stress and resilience on urban radio stations and weekly public service features on the NBC affiliate, with physicians, clergy and teachers advocating ways to “be alive and well.” Two hundred and fifty miles to the...
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Artists in the ACE and Resilience Movement: Creative Avenues to Change
They began with a song and ended with a poem. In-between, there were photographs and giant graphic renderings, movement exercises and a “human pulse” formed when 90 people stood in a circle and squeezed each other’s hands. At a June summit in Whatcom County, Washington, titled “Our Resilient Community: A Community Conversation on Resilience and Equity,” the arts played a starring role. Kristi Slette, executive director of the Whatcom Family and Community Network, one of two Washington sites...
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Building Resilience for Better Lives - from HelenaIR.com
Life is hard. “In this world you WILL have trouble,” Jesus said. The ability to successfully face the hardships that will inevitably come to us will determine our level of satisfaction, joy, and peace. Resilience isn’t just a desirable trait, it’s absolutely essential. And, it turns out that scripture has a lot to say about this essential quality for successful living. There are many passages we could examine to illustrate the point, but the letter from James is one of my favorites. Eugene...
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Building trauma-informed communities [GreatFallsTribune.com]
Many children and families in Cascade County are not safe from trauma, but community members are stepping up to help mitigate the emotional and behavioral issues brought on by traumatic events. “One in four kids are exposed to trauma,” said Amy Foster Wolferman, assistant director for the University of Montana’s Institute for Educational Research and Service. “But kids are resilient. Two out of three will grow up and beat the odds.” Wolferman stood before 20 local social services...
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Childhood trauma harms kids. Can schools help fix the damage? [BillingsGazette.com]
Domestic violence. Sexual abuse. An incarcerated parent. Some students bring these experiences to school each day, lodged in their brain like textbooks in a backpack. Research shows that these childhood experiences negatively affect physical, social, emotional and academic health into adulthood. It’s time for schools to embrace that, a former principal told a group of Yellowstone County educators, and to build it into the foundation of their schools. Jim Sporleder advocates for a...
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Connecting the Dots, Finding the Do-ers: Montana MARC Update
When Tina Eblen and Todd Garrison led an ACE training at the Fort Peck Reservation, home to the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes, they heard stories of “gut-wrenching” trauma so pervasive it seemed commonplace. “Some people told us, when they were taking the ACE questionnaire, ‘Gosh, I thought these things were just normal,’” says Eblen, MARC coordinator for Elevate Montana , an ACE-informed statewide initiative launched in 2013 by the ChildWise Institute , a non-profit that focuses on child...
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Early childhood programs can reduce the effects of trauma [Missoulian.com]
Did you know the infant brain forms 2.5 million neural connections every hour? That's a whopping 60 million connections every day. Under ideal situations of a loving, nurturing environment, these synapses flourish. On the other hand, it is thought that severe or chronic stress and trauma impacts the way these connections develop. Under-development in certain areas of the brain can affect basic functions such as trust or empathy. Unused synapses are pruned out in favor of those that are...
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Everything is NOT fine...
Everything is NOT fine… Has your church heard about ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences)? If not, I am sure you have seen the effects in your communities and your worshipping communities. Those in our congregations, as well as those in our neighborhoods, are struggling under the weight of unresolved trauma, persistent toxic stress, and the dysfunction that results from broken relationships. No matter what we might want to tell one another, “Everything is NOT fine.” In our home state—where...
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Failed by Montana’s foster care, man succeeds despite long odds [BozemanDailyChronicle.com]
Schylar Canfield Baber remembers everything about the moment he was taken away from his family. “I can remember the police raid on our trailer,” Schylar said. “I can remember my footie pajamas, the feel of my feet along the ground as I walked to the police car. I can remember my mother being placed over another police car and being handcuffed, and she got smaller as the car pulled away.” He was 6 years old. One of his few photos from that period, showing him and his little brother smiling...
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From Awareness to Action, with Voices of Lived Experience: Wisconsin’s Collective Impact Initiative
Perhaps it wasn’t the optimum time to update the network’s vision and values statements: a virtual meeting held in the midst of a global pandemic. But a record number of people—51, compared to the typical 30—tuned in for the May 1 Wisconsin Office of Children’s Mental Health (OCMH) Collective Impact Council, and they gave the new values statement, which highlights inclusivity and collaboration, an enthusiastic thumbs-up. At the virtual table were members from key state departments—Children...
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Grassroots resilience: Rural communities tackle ACEs
Rt to left—Adrienne Coopey, DO, Billings Clinic, MT, Lorenzo Lewis, The Confess Project, Little Rock, Ark, and Mendy Spohn, MPH, public health administrator in several counties in Oklahoma ________________________________________________ The three presenters for the “Grassroots Resilience: Rural Communities Tackle ACEs” workshop brought to life the unique challenges of addressing ACEs and trauma in rural communities and shared some valuable lessons for communities of any size. Mendy Spohn, a...
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Helena conference focuses on childhood trauma [Helenair.com]
Toxic stress in children is a topic Montanans are beginning to hear more about. Researchers have been discovering that children raised with certain traumas -- known as Adverse Childhood Experiences -- can suffer lifelong impacts. Traumatic experiences such as neglect or emotional, physical or sexual abuse cause the child’s brain to flood with cortisol, a chemical the body releases as part of its fight-or-flight response when threatened. When the brain floods with cortisol, it affects the...
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Imagine living inside a box buried inside a box buried inside a box...
That's how Dr. Kent Hoffman, Co-Originator of Circle of Security International began his comments about this incredible new resource for parents! See his full statement below. A short six years ago, ChildWise Institute was founded by Intermountain , a nationally-recognized organization specializing in helping and healing children from emotional and mental health disorders. Intermountain are also experts in helping families of distressed children create a nurturing environment of stability...
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Intermountain Video Podcast: How Kids Navigate a Pandemic
Meegan Bryce, MSW, began her work at Intermountain with children and families as a Direct Care Counselor in 2004. She has since been a Cottage Supervisor, Child and Family Therapist, the Residential Manager and now serves as the Residential Director. Meegan is a Montana native and enjoys all the outdoor activities that Montana has to offer, especially river rafting. In this video podcast, she speaks with Development Officer Tyler Zimmer about how the Covid-19 pandemic is affecting the...
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ITRC calls for Universal Resilience Education and Skills Training for Climate Trauma
Sneak Preview for ITRC ACEs Connection Members! Next Tuesday, Jan. 8, the ITRC will release a major report Preparing People on the West Coast for Climate Change. The media release about the report is below (and attached). It includes a link to the webpage for the report, where people can download the full report, and find a link to the webpage with examples of resilience programs across the west coast. You can connect with the ITRC CA and PNW Facebook page:...
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Jim Sporleder coming back to Montana!
ChildWise Institute is really excited to announce Jim Sporleder as our featured expert at our May conference! You all know Jim as the former principal of Lincoln High School, which the documentary film, Paper Tiger's, is all about. ChildWise works closely with Jim, and he will be presenting and teaching his new guidebook, The Trauma-Informed School: A Step-by-Step Implementation Guide for Administrators and School Personnel . Unlike a typical ChildWise educational event, conference or...
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Mobilizing Action for Resilient Communities (MARC) Represented at California ACEs Conference
(L to R) Teri Barila from Children's Resilience Initiative in Walla Walla, WA along with Dr. Ariane Marie-Mitchell from San Bernardino County, CA ACEs Task Force share their ACEs journey in their communities Representatives from several MARC communities were among the 450 people who attended the 2016 Adverse Childhood Experiences Conference in San Francisco, CA on October 19th and 20th. This is the third CA ACEs conference sponsored by the Center for Youth Wellness (CYW), and it was also the...
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Montana prison program that helps women recover from trauma, change lives is expanding [HelenAir.com]
In a campus near the river here, a program that focuses on helping women who have suffered trauma is seeing success a year and a half after its inception. Riverside Recovery and Reentry Program, operated by the state Department of Corrections along with private contractors, aims to provide a safe, secure and trauma-informed program for women who have been sentenced to time with the department. [For more of this story, witten by Holly K. Michels, go to ...
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Moving toward the ACEs tipping point: Communities, their ACEs initiatives and ACEs billboards
David Bornstein, a columnist for the New York Times , posted the third of a three-part series ( Putting the power of self-knowledge to work ) about communities that are integrating trauma-informed and resilience-building practices based on ACEs science. (Part one — Tapping a troubled neighborhood’s inner strength , and part two — How community networks stem childhood traumas .) It’s a terrific series, with information that we can all use, and I highly recommend reading them all. Some members...
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Opinion: Butte CARES supports partnerships to fight drug abuse [MTStandard.com]
On Friday, August 11, a headline in The Montana Standard read "Drugs, Obesity Top Concerns.” The article was prompted by the reveal of the recent Community Needs Assessment conducted by St. James Healthcare and the Butte-Silver Bow Health Department. In examining these two issues of most concern, both have a definite impact on the health and wellbeing of our community. Studies have shown that both drug use and obesity can shorten the average life span of an individual. There is also...
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Portraits of Professional CAREgivers: Their Passion. Their Pain - FREE Screening for ACEs Connection Network!
I am excited to announce that ACEs Connection Network has partnered with the producers of the film, Portraits of Professional CAREgivers: Their Passion. Their Pain . to host a FREE SCREENING of the film for our members. If you have been t hinking of hosting a screening of CAREgivers in your community or are interested in learning more about secondary traumatic stress and what to do about it, join our ACEs Connection Network for a FREE screening of this film and a virtual chat with the...
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Sharing the Word: ACE Knowledge is “Secular Gospel” for Montana Pastor
When Reverend Tyler Amundson first read the 1998 ACE study, he realized that this landmark science could become a common language: a way to talk about adversity and healing with clinicians and government officials, devout churchgoers and people who would never step inside a place of worship. “I call this the secular gospel,” he says. “It was easy to describe the ACE study to people. It opened a door for us to name how people face trauma and adversity and how positive relationships can help...
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States Produce a Bumper Crop of ACEs bills in 2017—nearly 40 bills in 18 states
A scan done in March by the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) through StateNet of bills introduced in 2017 that specifically include adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in the text produced a surprising volume of bills (close of 40) in a large number of states (18). A scan done a year ago produced less than a handful. NCSL is a bipartisan organization that serves both state legislators and their staffs. The shear volume of bills in so many states represents a promising...
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Three non-profits are hosting “Spring-Back” ACEs Resiliency seminar, April 20 [RivalliRepublic.com]
Spring-Back' is a celebration of well-being, resilience from adversity and less daily stress. It is hosted by The Bitterroot Cares for Kids Network, Emma’s House and Tobacco Free Ravalli, on April 20, in the Bedford Building. "Spring-Back 2017 is designed to uplift professionals working with kids and parents or caregivers by understanding ways to take care of themselves in order to care for others effectively,” said Kierstin Schmitt, prevention coordinator at Emma's House. “We will offer a...
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TIC: News and Notes for March 2020
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,...
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Toxic Stress, Toxic Streets (4 minute video)
This video is about 2 years old, but I just came across it last week and wanted to share with you all. It is a powerful statement by the students at Leadership High School in San Francisco, CA. They speak about the ongoing adversity and toxic stress in their daily lives and in their community, all through the power of music. The youth voice is so important as we work to bring trauma-informed and resilience building practices to communities. Link to video: Toxic Stress, Toxic Streets
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Trauma & Resiliency Summit in the Columbia River Gorge
Hello all! The Columbia River Gorge is hosting a Trauma & Resiliency Summit on October 20th & 21st, 2016 in The Dalles, OR. Registration is made free to attendees through MARC Grant funding. If you are in the area please join us! And please note that registration is only available prior to the event as we have a limited amount of space. Claire
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'Trauma-informed' communities focus of movement [MTStandard.com]
Dillon folks are hard at work creating a healthier community. The Beaverhead County ACEs Task Force — going gangbusters since February 2016 — has coalesced into a driving force for the wider trauma-informed community movement taking hold across the state. “We have been moving and working like mad,” said Melainya Ryan, task force chairwoman. “Our community is ripe.” ACEs stands for Adverse Childhood Experiences that affect health and wellness across the life span, as Helena-based expert Katie...
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Understanding ACEs promotes healing [ValleyJournal.net]
There’s a problem and we all have the solution. According to The Center for the Developing Child at Harvard University, “When adults have opportunities to build the core skills that are needed to be productive participants in the workforce and to provide stable, responsive environments for the children in their care, our economy will be stronger, and the next generation of citizens, workers, and parents will thrive.” Individuals, communities and the nation have within their grasp information...
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Virtual Screening of Broken Places on March 21st & Registration for ACEs Connection Members!
Please join us on Thursday, March 21st for a special virtual screening of Broken Places , the latest U.S. documentary on early childhood trauma and resilience. The film will be offered via a private Vimeo link with passcode to all registered members of ACEs Connection, for free, accessible in the United States and internationally. REGISTER TODAY: To register, please visit : https://goo.gl/forms/apdoINwgtQmydEXK2 The viewing portal for the film will open on Vimeo at 6am EST and close at 11pm...
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Virtual Screening of Cracked Up for ACEs Connection Members: June 9-10 - Register Now!
We are excited to offer an exclusive virtual screening to all ACEs Connection members of the new, acclaimed film, CRACKED UP . This documentary film is about the long term effects of childhood trauma, told through Saturday Night Live veteran Darrell Hammond’s journey in discovering adverse childhood experiences at the root of his lifelong battle with self-harm, addiction, and misdiagnosis. The film’s director, Michelle Esrick, and other special guests will join us after the screening window...
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Webinar featuring Laura Porter on Self-Healing Communities Model to be held Feb. 28
Please join ACEs Connection and the Campaign for Trauma-Informed Policy and Practice (CTIPP) for a free 60-minute webinar on Thursday, Feb. 28 starting noon PT/3:00 pm ET that features the Self-Healing Communities Model (SHCM) presented by Interface, Inc. co-founder, Laura Porter. The webinar is the second in a series on state-to-state best practices; the first webinar was on Alaska’s new statute directing state policy to incorporate principles of brain development. Self-Healing Community...
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Local Affiliates Accelerate ACEs-and-Resilience Movement in Montana
In Toole County, Montana, deputy sheriffs call a school counselor, from their patrol cars, after responding to a traumatic incident—a domestic abuse call, an overdose, an arrest—that involves a child. “Handle with care,” they tell the counselor, and they give the child’s name. The counselor passes that information to teachers: a quiet heads-up that the student might be hungry or sleepy, tearful, angry or distracted by whatever happened at home. “My teachers love it,” says Mary Miller, chair...
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Cracked Up, The Evolving Conversation: Generational Trauma - Breaking the Cycle [crackedupmovie.com]
CRACKED UP THE EVOLVING CONVERSATION Episode 4: Generational Trauma - Breaking the Cycle with Darrell Hammond, Comedian, actor, SNL Legend Michelle Esrick, Filmmaker, activist Bessel van der Kolk, MD, Author of The Body Keeps the Score Jane Stevens, Founder of ACES Connection and special guest Jane Fonda Academy Award-winning actor, producer, author and activist Thursday June 25th at 1pm PDT / 2p MT / 3p CT / 4pm EDT Hosted by ACEs Connection THE PRICE OF THIS LIVE EVENT IS $12.50 We have...
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Regulation Before Education: Trauma-Informed Schools
Regulation Before Education: The Roots and Fruits of a Trauma-Informed School July 29-31st | 12:00 - 3:00pm EDT These times are unsettling in many ways. But the disruptions have widened opportunities for different ways of being, thinking and doing in education. The trauma-informed schools movement has never been more relevant. Schools committed to cultivating trauma-informed change can successfully buffer the adverse effects of the pandemic, economic collapse, and persistent racial...
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California reaches milestone with ACEs initiatives pulsing in all 58 counties. Next: All CA cities.
Karen Clemmer, the Northwest community facilitator with ACEs Connection, was already deeply interested in the CDC/Kaiser Permanente Adverse Childhood Experiences Study when she and a colleague from the Child Parent Institute were invited to lunch by ACEs Connection founder and publisher Jane Stevens in 2012. But that lunch meeting changed everything. Karen Clemmer “Jane helped us see a bigger world,” says Clemmer. “She came with a much wider lens. She didn’t look only at Sonoma County, she...
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Finding Footing on Shifting Sand
I’m struggling to write this blog entry- I’m too preoccupied with thinking about school starting. Instead of focusing on writing, my brain won’t stop running through scenarios given limited and changing facts and circumstances. School starts on August 17, but due to covid 19, Boise School District is delaying the start of “in-person” school and opting for children to attend virtually instead. I’m sure this was a smart move- I’m just as concerned about the health of our community’s children...