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Wichita State University Community Engagement Institute - PACEs Connection (KS)

Kansas PACEs Connection is dedicated to connecting and supporting organizations, systems, and communities who are interested in better understanding the prevalence of ACEs and trauma, recognizing the impact that these have on individual and organizational health, and developing policies and practices that promote resiliency and healing.

Tagged With "Wichita State University CEI"

Blog Post

Unprecedented childhood trauma hearing in U.S. Congress on July 11 to feature data from new state fact sheets on ACEs prevalence, impacts

A hearing of unprecedented scope and depth (this link will take you to a list of witnesses and all of their statements plus an overview memo on the hearing from committee staff) on ACEs science and childhood trauma — " Identifying, Preventing, and Treating Childhood Trauma: A Pervasive Public Health Issue that Needs Greater Federal Attention " — will be held today in the House Committee on Oversight and Reform. You can watch the live stream at 10:00 am ET through this link . Eleven witnesses...
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Using Data to Support your ACEs Work (EFC Goal #2)

Vanessa Lohf ·
Increasing awareness of the need to develop and support safe, stable, nurturing relationships and environments is most effective when the discussing includes factual information about the size and nature of the issue in your organization, neighborhood, or community. Enter the CDC’s Essentials for Childhood Goal #2: Use Data to Inform Action. Using the information that you have available not only helps to build the case for action, but also helps to identify needs and gaps, to direct...
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Welcome to ACEs Connection!

Jane Stevens ·
Welcome to ACEs Connection! ACEs Connection supports communities to accelerate ACEs science. ACEs Connection is a social network that supports communities to accelerate the global ACEs science movement, to recognize the impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in shaping adult behavior and health, and to promote trauma-informed and resilience-building practices and policies in all communities and institutions — from schools to prisons to hospitals and churches — to help heal and to...
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Welcome to Kansas ACEs Connection!

Vanessa Lohf ·
All across the State, communities and organizations are working to build resilience by raising awareness of the impact of toxic stress and transforming their policies and practices to be more trauma-responsive. Kansas ACEs Connection is a place for communities to celebrate their efforts, share ideas, and seek support from others who are working to create safe, stable, nurturing relationships and environments in their own backyards. This community site is curated by the Trauma-Informed...
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What's in your soil? - Communities moving to action

Vanessa Lohf ·
Many of you may be familiar with the “Pair of ACEs” from the George Washington School of Public Health and the natural question that comes from this model – “What’s in your soil?” (If you aren’t familiar, learn more here .) Communities across the State of Kansas are starting conversations around, not only the impact of ACEs, but also the larger issues of Prevention, Health Equity, and Trauma-Informed Systems of Care. In June, the TISC team at WSU CEI had the opportunity to facilitate and...
Calendar Event

CDC Child Abuse Prevention Facebook Q&A

Comment

Re: 3 Realms of ACEs (Tree Infographic)

Laura Gildersleeve ·
I will do that, thank you for your help and quick reply! Laura Gildersleeve Behavior Support Specialist 360.567.2791 ǀ laura.gildersleeve@eocfwa.org <mailto:laura.gildersleeve@eocfwa.org> ǀ www.eocfwa.org < http://www.eocfwa.org > [cid:47119889-2478-41fe-bda0-d8cfd0a86571] educational opportunities for children & families administration 360.896.9912 ǀ fax 360.892.3209 17800 SE Mill Plain Blvd. Suite 150, Vancouver, WA 98683-7588 This e-mail may contain confidential and/or...
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A note of reflection and gratitude

Vanessa Lohf ·
I can’t believe that this month (…year…decade?!) is nearly over. Like many others this week, I’m doing a lot of reflecting about what I’m thankful for. In the month of November, our TISC team has had the privilege of talking to and learning from people across Kansas who care about building resilient residents, organizations, and communities. In a time when the world seems more than a little chaotic, intolerant, and just plain unkind – I’m grateful to be in a position to have witnessed the...
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#AliveandWellfor5

Vanessa Lohf ·
May 12-18 is National Prevention Week, an observance dedicated to raising awareness about the importance of substance use prevention and positive mental health. An essential strategy in building individual, organizational, and community well-being is self-care. Alive and Well Communities is hosting #AliveandWellfor5 on May 15 at 10:15 a.m. CDT (and throughout the day), encouraging everyone to take a 5 minute pause wherever you are to practice personal self-care. For more information about...
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Building a Resilient Health Department and Community (Part 2)

Vanessa Lohf ·
As a follow up to last week's post from the Barton County Health Department, Shelly Schneider shares their journey to move the work into the community through RiseUP Barton County. "Barton County is experiencing an exciting opportunity with community members uniting together as a group of unusual voices meeting weekly to develop and launch an effort for not only building but executing a Trauma Informed Community of Resilience. Our efforts started 2 years ago when the Barton County Health...
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Building a Trauma-Informed - and Resilient - Health Department (Part 1)

Vanessa Lohf ·
One of the reasons that our team wanted to create this online community was so that we can share the stories of our amazing partners from across the state who are learning more about how traumatic stress impacts their organizations and the people who they work with and alongside. The team at the Barton County Health Department in Great Bend, KS started their journey back in 2016. Over the next couple of weeks, Health Department Administrator, Shelly Schneider, shares their experiences both...
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Campaign for Trauma-Informed Policy and Practice (CTIPP) launches new grassroots initiative to engage and educate Congress

Vanessa Lohf ·
From Elizabeth Prewitt (ACEs Connection Staff) CTIPP (Campaign for Trauma-Informed Policy and Practice) today announced the launch of the National Trauma Campaign , calling for federal action to prevent and address childhood trauma and build resilience through educating and engaging Congress. Its widely circulated communication invited people from around the country to join the new grassroots initiative. The campaign provides ways for everyone to get involved by joining the effort, becoming...
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Create the Context for Healthy Children and Families through Policies (EfC Goal #4)

Vanessa Lohf ·
We are going to wrap up our series on the Essentials for Childhood Framework with perhaps one of the toughest parts of the work – influencing policy. One of the best ways to assure that all of our great work doesn’t disappear when the winds change is to have it be embedded in our infrastructure, but it isn’t easy. The CDC suggests that there are two steps to inform policies that might support safe, stable, nurturing relationships and environments. Identify and assess which policies may...
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Creating Safe and Supportive Meeting Spaces

Vanessa Lohf ·
Some of you who know me, know that I am a huge fan of seeing movies in the theater. This week, I had the opportunity to see The Best of Enemies - which focused on the question of school integration in 1960s era North Carolina. As interesting as the true story was of the unlikely friendship that developed between community leaders with polarized opinions - I was particularly fascinated with the process that they used to get there. Here at CEI, we have the opportunity to work with a wide...
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Happy Halloween!

Vanessa Lohf ·
October 31 kicks off a three day celebration dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints (hallows), martyrs, and all the faithful departed. Halloween, in particular, can be a challenging time for those who have experienced trauma. To learn more about how to manage triggers this Halloween and be more trauma aware, check out this article from Promise Behavioral Health in Tennessee. Halloween can also be a great time to build positive relationships with your own children and children in...
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Kansas Communities Building ACEs Awareness (EfC Goal 1)

Vanessa Lohf ·
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...
Blog Post

Kansas Prevention Conference

Vanessa Lohf ·
Join us, and share your voice at the Kansas Prevention Conference! Kansas Prevention Conference 2019 Wichita Hyatt Regency 400 W. Waterman St. Wichita, KS 67202 October 1-3, 2019 The Kansas Prevention Collaborative is in full-swing preparation for the 2019 KPC Prevention Conference . Currently, the Call for Presentations and Call for Sponsorships are open. Last year we sold out with over 200 participants from over 50 cities/towns across Kansas, representing more than 80 different...
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Kansas Support Group Services and Resources

Vanessa Lohf ·
We are living and working in a time of change and disruption. Not only disruption of what we do and how we do it, but disruptions in relationships integral to our personal and professional lives. As a result of these circumstances, we may experience anxiety, stress, sadness, loneliness, grief, etc. Connecting with people who share similar experiences during this time can be critical for our physical and emotional health. To help you navigate these changing times, the WSU Community Engagement...
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New resource for Creating a "Mentally Healthy" Workplace

Vanessa Lohf ·
In our work across the state, we frequently connect with partners who want to share information about ACEs/Resilience with local business leaders but aren't sure how to respond to the inevitable question, "So now what?" A new resource released in January from Policy Research Associates may be able to support these conversations. Best Practices for Creating a Mentally Healthy Workplace includes a framework and tools that businesses can use to improve their organizational culture to promote...
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New Resource: Measuring the Impact of TI Primary Care

Vanessa Lohf ·
As more and more organizations work toward trauma-informed, many struggle with how to measure the impact they are having on those they serve. In a new brief from the Center for Healthcare Strategies, leaders from the Montefiore Medical Group shares a proposed model to help organizations consider the critical question, “Is what we are doing working?” If you are an organization in Kansas, our Trauma-Informed Systems of Care team may be able to assist you in developing an infrastructure to...
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New SAMHSA resource for School Administrators

Vanessa Lohf ·
As our team works with communities across the state, we have had the privilege of meeting a significant number of educators who are working to respond to the growing number of behavioral health needs their students are presenting. To support those efforts , the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has just released Student Assistance: A Guide for School Administrators . The purpose of this guide is to provide school leaders and administrators with key...
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New website hosts resources for Kansas farmers who feel stressed or considering suicide

Vanessa Lohf ·
From the Lawrence Journal-World : In response to high suicide rates among America’s farmers, a new website developed by the Kansas Department of Agriculture provides resources and support to those dealing with stress. Kelsey Olson, KDA’s assistant secretary of agriculture, led the effort in creating the website: kansasagstress.org . “I just thought that there was a need for a consolidated location of resources for our farmers and ranchers,” she said. Olson said that, to her knowledge, Kansas...
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Positive Childhood Experiences offset ACEs: Q & A with Dr. Robert Sege about HOPE

Laurie Udesky ·
Tufts University medical professor Dr. Robert Sege directs the Center for Community-Engaged Medicine and is nationally known for his research on effective health systems approaches that address social determinants of health. He is also the principal investigator for the HOPE framework (Healthy Outcomes from Positive Experiences).The HOPE framework is based on research that shows how positive childhood experiences can mitigate the effects of adverse childhood experiences. Sege and colleagues...
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Promoting Positive Community Norms (EfC Goal #3)

Vanessa Lohf ·
Safe, stable, nurturing relationships are key to a child’s cognitive, emotional, physical and social development. Their first exposure to these are through parents and caregivers, but these relationships don’t happen in a vacuum. The physical and social environment surrounding families have a significant impact – both positively and negatively – on the context in which relationships develop. One way to think about this context is through community norms. Norms are defined as a those values,...
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Supporting Schools in Becoming Models for Trauma-Informed Practice

Vanessa Lohf ·
School districts across the state (and country) are working to find ways to become more trauma-aware, trauma-sensitive, and trauma-responsive. Many have started the process by implementing a variety of programs and practices school-wide from Restorative Justice to Capturing Kids' Hearts . Others are making small changes, one classroom at a time. All of it is good work – and the best way to make it sustainable is to have a written plan developed by leaders at all levels within the school or...
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Trauma-Informed Customer Service

Vanessa Lohf ·
Last week, our state hosted its annual Governor's Conference on Public Health in Manhattan, KS where trauma-informed practices are increasingly coming to the forefront of efforts to support healthier people and communities. Along with our valued partner, Shelly Schneider, Administrator of the Barton County Health Department, I had the opportunity to discuss with public health practitioners ways that they can make their organization the "go to" place to receive care in their communities...
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Trauma-Informed Systems of Care Initiatives at Wichita State University

Vanessa Lohf ·
In our travels across this beautiful state, we often talk to folks who say they've heard of "ACEs" or "Trauma-Informed Care" but don't know where to begin to learn more or to initiate change in their organizations and communities. Here at the WSU Community Engagement Institute, we have a team of professionals from a variety of backgrounds who can provide education, facilitation, and technical support to organizations, coalitions, or communities who are interested in starting a conversation...
Comment

Re: Creating Safe and Supportive Meeting Spaces

Rick Kraus ·
This is excellent. Looking forward to you posting more information on how organizations can better meet the needs of employees who have a traumatized past.
Comment

Re: Creating Safe and Supportive Meeting Spaces

Vanessa Lohf ·
Thanks, Rick! I'll start thinking about this and share our thoughts!
Blog Post

A Better Normal, Tuesday, June 2nd at Noon PDT: Higher Education and Trauma During COVID-19

Alison Cebulla ·
Please join us for the ongoing community discussion of A Better Normal, our ongoing series in which we envision the future as trauma-informed. College graduates across the world have been celebrating their big day virtually this month, missing out on the right of passage that marks their stepping into new realms of adult and professional life. Many students and recent graduates are feeling the negative impact of the current pandemic: being housing displaced, adjusting to virtual classrooms,...
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WSU CEI Free Webinar Series: Rising to the Challenge

Vanessa Lohf ·
WSU Community Engagement Institute is excited to announce the Rising to the Challenge Virtual Workshop Series! This series includes six interactive, FREE workshops centered on navigating challenges with resilience and intention. Our 60-minute sessions are open to anyone. See our ACEs Connection Calendar for information on how to register for one, several, or all of these events! Topics include: July 14 - Navigating Conflict & Difficult Conversations July 21 - Leading through Uncertainty,...
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California reaches milestone with ACEs initiatives pulsing in all 58 counties. Next: All CA cities.

Laurie Udesky ·
Karen Clemmer, the Northwest community facilitator with ACEs Connection, was already deeply interested in the CDC/Kaiser Permanente Adverse Childhood Experiences Study when she and a colleague from the Child Parent Institute were invited to lunch by ACEs Connection founder and publisher Jane Stevens in 2012. But that lunch meeting changed everything. Karen Clemmer “Jane helped us see a bigger world,” says Clemmer. “She came with a much wider lens. She didn’t look only at Sonoma County, she...
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Vanessa Lohf integrates ACEs science throughout Kansas communities, organizations and systems

Sylvia Paull ·
A Kansas-licensed social worker, Vanessa Lohf was born and raised in Wichita, Kansas, where she still lives and works in public health by facilitating the Trauma-Informed Systems of Care Initiatives (TISC) team at the Wichita State University Community Engagement Institute. She also manages the Kansas ACEsConnection network , where she regularly posts about news and resources for communities and organizations throughout the state. Lohf says that Wichita is known as the “Aircraft Capital of...
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#WorldKindnessDay

Vanessa Lohf ·
Today is World Kindness Day. A global day that promotes the importance of being kind to each other, to yourself, and to the world. Goodness knows, it seems like we don't see or hear much kindness right now. Our world seems to be full of fear, anxiety, and doubt (also read as "survival" or "self-protection"). I've spent most of the last 6 months talking to partners across the state about ways to practice more compassion with ourselves and in our organizations and one thing that I hear pretty...
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The Kansas Prevention Collaborative invites you to participate in 12 Days of Prevention

Vanessa Lohf ·
For 12 days in a row starting Dec. 20, we will post videos on our social media to encourage Kansans to stay safe, take care of their mental health, and reach out if they need help. You are not alone during this COVID-19 season. At the Kansas Prevention Collaborative, we are feeling what everyone is feeling and want to express our hope for the new year by encouraging our fellow Kansans to celebrate the lessons learned as we adapted in 2020 and to look forward to 2021. Help us expand our reach...
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Mindfulness in the Virtual Classroom

Vanessa Lohf ·
In the past year, many of you may have been hearing more and more about “mindfulness” and instantly think of someone sitting cross-legged on the floor in flowing white clothes, with long hair and peace signs around their neck. Even the Oxford Dictionary describes mindfulness as “a mental state achieved by focusing one's awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one's feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations…” Pretty “new agey”, right? Well, maybe, but it...
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Kansas Suicide Prevention Art Contest

Vanessa Lohf ·
Every young person deserves to be safe from suicide, and the Kansas Partners in Empowering Youth for Suicide Prevention believes that the best way to reach every youth in Kansas is to provide opportunities for youth to talk to other youth. This is your opportunity to help state agencies shape suicide prevention messages that will go out to youth across the state! The goal is to raise awareness of the possibility of hope and healing while working to provide enough support to Kansas youth so...
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