Perhaps you saw this story, which came out last November on MarionToday.org? 

At a recent Linn-Mar school board meeting, Julie Jensen, Executive Director of Student Services, provided information about the Student Assistance Team and a couple of ways it supports students. 

One of the programs the team uses is called ACT, which stands for "Acknowledge. Care. Tell." Information about ACT was provided to students in a brochure supported by a number of nonprofit organizations devoted to helping people face emotional situations.

And later in the story....

Jensen also shared information from Miriam Van Heukelem, an attorney at Ahlers and Cooney, P.C., about the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study. It is one of the largest studies ever conducted, involving more than 17,000 individuals who shared information about bad things that happened to them during their childhood. 

In an attempt to help students at Linn-Mar High School, the Student Assistance Team has conducted screening and shown a video about ACE, because bad childhood experiences can cause severe problems later in life, both mentally and physically. Each student can calculate his or her ACE score and personal likelihood of having such problems. 

We're planning on starting a group for teens on ACEsConnection. There are teens in Homer, AK; Minneapolis, MN; San Diego, CA; Walla Walla, WA; and San Francisco, CA, that have been introduced to ACEs and are involved in a wide variety of projects that related to ACEs research.

If any of you know Julie Jensen, will you send me her contact info so that I can let her know about this...and invite her to join ACEsConnection?

Thanks!