Tagged With "ACEs"

As children grow and develop, engaging with the larger community around them provides a sense of “mattering” — a sense that their participation in the community really does matter. The emergency conditions now in effect provide numerous opportunities to children and teens to pitch in. Here are a few ideas . . .

Melissa Merrick PhD and Robert Sege MD, PhD wrote this timely and interesting article for CNN online. We encourage you to check it out! Also, please visit and join our Balancing ACES with HOPE community . Just as prior generations were deeply affected by the Great Depression, the assassinations of Martin Luther King and the Kennedys and the horrors of 9/11, the COVID -19 pandemic may well be the defining moment in the lives of today's children. That's why we owe it to our children to focus...

State Senator Harriette Chandler: “You are in the trenches, in the weeds and in the field, this is your issue,” emphasizing that all the parties that came to the table in that room had a role in helping Massachusetts become a more trauma informed and responsive state.

How can we reduce ACEs and toxic stress during the COVID-19 pandemic? Many of us are concerned that increased stress might increase the risk for ACEs. For example, most child abuse happens when adults reach their breaking point. However, we are not powerless in the face of these challenges. Using HOPE ( Healthy Outcomes from Positive Experiences ) as a guide, here are 10 suggestions to reduce ACEs now: Think about social connection and physical distance , not social distance. Continuing to...

HOPE is a natural fit for ACES Connection. To further embrace the members of ACES Connection we have created a Balancing ACES with HOPE community and encourage all to visit and join. Please read our blogs and post your comments. Let us know how you think HOPE could impact your work and personal life. Being in nurturing, supportive relationships are critical for children to develop into healthy, resilient adults. This concept forms the first of the 4 Building Blocks of HOPE . What types of...

We have been so encouraged to hear how HOPE (Healthy Outcomes from Positive Experiences) is a natural fit for ACES Connection. Children who grow up in safe, stable and equitable environments are less likely to experience poor mental and physical health as adults. It is crucial to ask caregivers about the types of environments their children are experiencing. Celebrate the positive and work with families to help ensure their child has the opportunity to live, learn and play in safe and...

We have been so encouraged to hear how HOPE (Healthy Outcomes from Positive Experiences) is resonating with the ACES Connection community. Here we present the third mini-blog in our series on the Building Blocks of HOPE. Children need ample opportunities for productive social engagement. Developing a connection to and sense of belonging in a community, as well as a sense that you matter to your community, describes the essence of the third of the 4 Building Blocks of HOPE . What are some...

We have been so encouraged to hear how HOPE (Healthy Outcomes from Positive Experiences) is resonating with the ACES Connection community and are thrilled to see our community continue to grow. Here we present the fourth mini-blog in our series on the Building Blocks of HOPE. Children need ample opportunities for productive social and emotional development. Developing social and emotional competencies describes the fourth of the 4 Building Blocks of HOPE . What do we mean by social and...

You are extraordinary. Writing this post feels like I have come full circle. In April of 2019, Alfred White reached out to me on ACEs Connection. Shortly after, we spoke at length about the plans he had to create a place of healing and hope in Federal Way and King County, Washington, specifically for individuals with a history of trauma and who were now impacted with symptoms such as addiction and homelessness. I recall sharing with Alfred that there was such a need for this in that...

Working with families of preschool children, it has been especially difficult to connect with them via electronic means; many are also busy with older siblings' school assignments. I am encouraging families when I reach out to them that "academics" do not need to be their priority unless they choose it - I let them know if all they are doing is talking, playing, singing, reading, and loving their children, that it is more important they foster that sense of safety and connection with their ...

Thank you so much for your comment Melissa. That is great advice. By doing those things they are helping to create positive experiences for their children, which is more important than ever right now.

Dr. Chan Hellman, leading researcher in the power of hope to improve lives of impoverished children and families who have experienced abuse and neglect, Justice Dawn Beam, and Christopher Freeze, co-chair of Mississippi ACEs Connection , on day three of presentations by Hellman to judges and staff members of Mississippi's Youth Courts. “Hope is a better predictor of college success than the ACT or the SAT score” was one of the startling comments made by Chan Hellman, Ph.D., in the first of...

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...