Before we can make progress on any issue that affects the health and well-being of those who live in our communities, people must be aware that an issue exists. In this installment, of our series dedicated to the CDC’s Essentials for Childhood Framework, we are going to highlight ways that some communities in Kansas are working toward achieving Goal #1: Raise awareness and commitment to promote safe, stable, nurturing relationships and environments and prevent child abuse and neglect.

 In 2017, Live Well Finney County partnered with the TISC Team here at WSU CEI to develop a training of trainers curriculum that would provide members of their community with the tools and resources they needed to customize presentations for a variety of community settings.  Since that time, coalitions in Harvey, Barton, and Reno Counties have also hosted similar training for their communities. (For more on what is happening in Barton County, visit their ACEs Connection community site or read their blog here. You can also learn more about Reno County efforts here.) Other communities across the state have hosted community-wide training and planning events to help people learn more about ACEs and Resilience science, consider what they are doing currently to promote resilience in their communities and begin to identify ways they can do more.

 In the Kansas City area, Alive and Well Communities is leading efforts to build a grassroots movement to “disrupt persistent disparities and cycles of trauma”. In their model, communities are trained as “Ambassadors” who host community presentations that lead to community conversations.

 At the state level, the Kansas Department of Health & Environment and the Kansas Chapter of Prevent Child Abuse America have been leading Kansas Power of the Positive (KPoP). KPoP includes a variety of organizations and advocates who are committed to improving the well-being of all Kansans by creating safe, stable, nurturing relationships and environments thereby addressing the consequences of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and reducing the number of children exposed to 3+ ACEs to under 10% by 2020. To learn more about KPoP or to access Kansas data related to ACEs, visit kansaspowerofthepositive.org.

Earlier this year, the Kansas Prevention Collaborative produced a podcast for coalitions across the state focused on the prevention of substance use, suicide and problem-gambling.  For more info on where to find the podcast, visit our blog.

Whether it is through a training of trainers, hosted film screenings, or community coalitions, communities across Kansas are working to increase awareness about the impacts of ACEs and ways to promote safe, stable, nurturing environments. Please feel free to comment below about other efforts in your communities – we would love to hear your stories!

See you on the road!

Vanessa

TISC Team Facilitator – WSU CEI