Tagged With "WSU TISC Team"
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Welcome to Kansas ACEs Connection!
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
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...
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Equipping Resilience Coaches for Trauma-Responsive Success
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A note of reflection and gratitude
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
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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Article of the Year, Spanking is an ACE
Child Abuse & Neglect Article of the Year 2017 Child Abuse & Neglect, The International Journal, is pleased to announce the winner of its ‘Article of the Year’. The papers shortlisted for this title have demonstrated outstanding contribution to research on child welfare and we wish to recognise these scholars and research topics within the community. The papers selected for this title were voted on by the editorial team and editorial board (33 votes) of Child Abuse & Neglect. For...
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Building a Resilient Health Department and Community (Part 2)
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)
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
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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Creating Safe and Supportive Meeting Spaces
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!
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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ICYMI: The 12 Myths of the Science of ACEs
Just in case you missed it, Jane Stevens has posted a great new article and infographic explaining the 12 Myths of the Science of ACEs . Reading it, I felt like Jane has been following our team around lately (in a good way!). We have these discussions on a regular basis within the communities and organizations we visit - and we are betting that you do too! For us, Jane's article reinforces (and validates!) what we try to share with others and gives us additional language to do that in a...
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Kansas Communities Building ACEs Awareness (EfC Goal 1)
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...
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National Council for Behavioral Health Conference #NatCon19
Last month, I had the pleasure of attending the annual National Council for Behavioral Health Conference. I have been to my fair share of conferences but #NatCon19 was one of the best. First, I'm biased. It took place in my city, Nashville, TN . And the venue was the world renowned Opryland Hotel's Gaylord Convention Center . And, I love, love, love the Opryland Hotel ! As any seasoned conference goer, I had a strategy when it came to which sessions and events I wanted to attend. My game...
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New Resource: Measuring the Impact of TI Primary Care
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
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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Positive Childhood Experiences offset ACEs: Q & A with Dr. Robert Sege about HOPE
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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Supporting Schools in Becoming Models for Trauma-Informed Practice
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
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
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...
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Resources for Assessing Staff and Client Readiness to Resume Services
The past few months have been a challenging time for everyone. New "norms" at home and at work continue to evolve while people balance all of the issues that relate to keeping our families, workplaces, and communities safe and healthy and attempting to address the many system inequities related to poverty and race that the pandemic has shone a light on. As things move forward, I hope that our team can share some of the resources that we see along the way. By themselves, these tools won't...
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WSU CEI Free Webinar Series: Rising to the Challenge
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.
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
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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Are you getting enough "rest"?
Anyone else feel exhausted lately? Sure, we are in the middle of a global pandemic, waves of civil and social uprisings, and we just survived the dreaded holiday season…but besides that, most of us are just plain TIRED. Our TISC Initiatives team has spent much of the past year talking to folks about things they can do – like adjusting expectations and setting boundaries – to increase their ability to manage all that life has to throw at us. However, the one thing that we all seem to struggle...
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Laura Gildersleeve
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Ellen Walker
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Me & My Emotions: A New, Free Resource for Teens
The pandemic has had a lasting effect on youth mental health. Moved by a desire to reduce youth’s toxic stress and increase their resilience, The Dibble Institute, in partnership with a team of students and alumni from ArtCenter College of Design and author Carolyn Curtis, PhD, is releasing Me & My Emotions —a new, free adaptation of our beloved Mind Matters Curriculum. The mobile-friendly Me & My Emotions website features engaging graphics and bite-sized lessons teens can access and...
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New National Resources to Support Social Connection and Community
Today, the U.S. Surgeon General, Vivek Murthy, has issued an 81-page advisory on the epidemic of loneliness and isolation. In the report, Dr. Murthy outlines the public health concerns related to loneliness and isolation and how supporting social connection can reduce the risk of premature mortality, predict better physical and mental health outcomes and ease stress. In response, the U.S. Surgeon General’s office has issued a new website announcing a National Strategy for addressing the...