Blog

The ACEs Connection Cooperative of Communities launches today. We want to continue to contribute to the ACEs movement for as long as it takes to create a worldwide healing-centered culture based on ACEs science. We want that to take hold in this world in the same way electricity has — we only notice it if it isn’t there. First, a clarification: Nothing on ACEsConnection.com changes! Membership remains free! Everything our current 300+ communities use stays free, and remains free for new ones.

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...

For our second community spotlight interview, I spoke with Dr. Richard Honigman, a pediatrician at Central Nassau Pediatrics in Levittown and infant mental health advocate. We discussed the importance of addressing childhood adversity and the relevant work he is doing both inside and outside his practice. Please note that responses have been adjusted for length and clarity. Dr. Honigman is also the first recipient of the 2019 Ed Tronick Award for Distinguished Contribution to Infant-Parent...

The Drug Endangered Children’s Initiative in Plymouth County, Massachusetts is now accepting referrals to help children impacted by the opioid crisis. Children who live in a home where a parent, sibling or other family member struggles with addiction are likely experiencing trauma. Grandparents increasingly find themselves raising grandchildren, and some children end up in the foster care system. The DEC Initiative seeks to help those families. The Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office...

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. This series is dedicated to providing insight into creating sustainable and effective online & IRL ACEs initiatives. In this fifth session, we’ll talk about why it's so critical to tell your story far and wide. This incudes how to blog and share...

Excerpt from a recent Boston Globe editorial : To read full Boston Globe editorial, go here.

This information brief highlights a community-based approach to supporting families and newborns affected by substance use. MA EfC developed this brief to address the profound intersection between the Massachusetts opioid crisis, Federal mandates for the development of Plans of Safe Care for substance exposed newborns, and, the MA EfC focus on increasing social connectedness as a means to reduce child maltreatment.

Join Director Michelle Esrick and world-renowned trauma expert Dr. Bessel van der Kolk after the film for a powerful and enlightening Q & A. Wednesday May 29 th 7:30pm at the International Trauma Conference, Seaport World Trade Center, Boston, MA. Tickets: https://www.pesi.com/ traumaconference Please visit crackedupmovie.com for more information about the film and to learn how you can host a screening in your community.

By NLC Staff on May 10, 2019 Cities, towns, and villages are places of innovation and solution finding. If you want to improve early childhood wellbeing—local leaders are key partners. The Networks of Opportunity for Child Wellbeing (NOW) Learning Community is a program of Boston Medical Center’s Vital Village. The learning community’s goal is to support local early childhood coalitions and build their capacity to work together with the broader community to improve the wellbeing of our...

Join us for a FREE screening of Resilience. Learn how you can help the young people in your life build resilient futures. This new documentary reveals that toxic stress can have a profound effect on the brains and bodies of children. Resilience also chronicles the dawn of a movement that is determined to fight back. Trailblazers in healthcare, education, and social welfare are using cutting-edge science and therapies to protect children from the effects of toxic stress. These experts...

Beyond Consequences: Helping Families Heal This will be an educational and entertaining event for professionals working with families managing the impact of early trauma in children. Presenter Heather T. Forbes, LCSW, author and trainer, has worked in the field of trauma and healing for 20 years, educating parents and professionals on the impact of trauma on the developing child, its effect on behavior, and the unique needs of adoptive parents. See attached flyer and registration form.

Cissy's note: I am a huge fan of the way @Claudia Gold works with those of us Parenting with ACEs . The first time I read her writing I relaxed. She was speaking with and for parents not about or at us. Unfortunately, her approach is rare. Fortunately, she just launched a new project she's been dreaming of for years. I love the way she supports all families and how she centers the role of all parents in the lives of all children - especially those - not all except those...