The ACEs Task Force for Healthy Charlotte held a workshop on March 5th to develop their elevator speech and additional key messaging.

The group started the workshop with a viewing of Resilience, which facilitated the need to add "Tissues" to the next meeting materials list.  Key messages from the film that resonated with the group were:

• ACEs are common.
• The body does not differentiate between mental health and physical health.
• You can’t just suck it up / pull yourself up by your bootstraps.
• Resilience is BUILT over time.
• A lot of the problems we are trying to fix are related to untreated adverse childhood experiences (e.g. substance abuse, criminal activity).
• There is always a reason why we do what we do.
• Kids experience stress, too.
• Why are we waiting? (These kids will be future mental health clients.)
• A lot of kids think that what they are going through is normal.
• ACEs are not an EXCUSE for poor choices, but the ACEs need to be dealt with.
• The cure for toxic stress is strong parental buffering.
• It’s not what wrong with you, it’s what happened to you.

The group then reviewed a variety of presentation materials that have been created to educate communities on ACEs science, and identified some additional key messaging from those sources.

The workshop concluded with the decision to use the following as a local elevator speech, to be included on business cards for distribution throughout Charlotte County:

Children who grow up feeling safe and nurtured have a resiliency and success for life’s journey. Sadly, that is not every childhood. Through identifying ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences) and acknowledging their impact, Charlotte County can offer children and families opportunities to heal.

We look forward to posting images of our elevator speech cards once they have been printed.