Tagged With "African American"
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Advancing a Plan for Addressing Trauma and Building Resilience within L.A. County Systems (prnewswire.com)
Center for Collective Wisdom Releases Extensive Report Outlining Research and Recommendations First 5 LA, the California Community Foundation, The California Endowment, The Ralph M. Parsons Foundation and the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation along with other local, state and nationally-recognized expert organizations today released a report to advance a comprehensive trauma and resiliency-informed approach in Los Angeles County . "Trauma is a serious health concern affecting many children and...
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Black students and families need more support — and they need it now. An unprecedented coalition dives in with a new LAUSD task force. [laschoolreport.com]
An unprecedented coalition of community members, educators, parents, and students at LA Unified have convened a new task force to urgently address why African-American youth continue to have the lowest test scores and why black students and families continue to feel ignored by the education system. Black students persist in having LA Unified’s highest rates of dropouts and suspensions. They are most likely to be identified as needing special education services, and they are least likely to...
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Blake and Magic Launch Series to Advance Black Males (lasentinal.net)
Bishop Charles E. Blake, pastor of West Angeles Church of God in Christ, and businessman Earvin “Magic” Johnson are partnering to offer advancement services to equip African American men to succeed in life. “This initiative was birthed out of a deep concern about poor academic achievement, financial disenfranchisement, high unemployment, soaring crime levels, the desperate state of the African-American male and the breakdown of the family unit that plagues our cities, small and large, urban...
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California issues update on state residents' ACE scores from 2011 & 2013 surveys
The latest adverse childhood experiences survey from the California Department of Public Health shows that 42% of the population has an ACE score of 3 or higher; 16% have an ACE score of 4 or higher. Those with an ACE score of 4 or higher are: 3x more likely to be current smokers 4x more likely to have a depressive disorder 2x more likely to have asthma 2x more likely to be obese 4x more likely to have COPD 3x more likely to have a stroke Here are a few other highlights from the six-page...
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California Looks To Lead Nation In Unraveling Childhood Trauma [californiahealthline.org]
Imagine identifying a toxin so potent it could rewire a child’s brain and erode his immune system. A substance that, in high doses, tripled the risk of heart disease and lung cancer and reduced life expectancy by 20 years. And then realizing that tens of millions of American children had been exposed. Dr. @Nadine Burke Harris, California’s newly appointed surgeon general, will tell you this is not a hypothetical scenario. She is a leading voice in a movement trying to transform our...
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CYW releases "Children Can Thrive: A Vision for California's Response to ACEs"
The Center for Youth Wellness released a new report “Children Can Thrive: A Vision for California’s Response to ACEs”. This report is a follow up to last November’s Children Can Thrive Summit. ...
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Early childhood educators learn new ways to spot trauma triggers, build resilience in preschoolers
A hug may be comforting to many children, but for a child who has experienced trauma it may not feel safe.
That’s an example used by Julie Kurtz, co-director of trauma informed practices in early childhood education at the WestEd Center for Child & Family Studies (CCFS), as she begins a trauma training session. Her audience, preschool teachers and staff of the San Francisco-based Wu Yee Children’s Services at San Francisco’s Women’s Building, listen attentively.
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Echo Conference 2017 Highlights
When Echo first announced the theme for this year’s conference – Social & Historical Trauma – some were worried about whether we could pull off an event built around such a difficult and sensitive topic. Yet we felt we had to tackle this subject since every year at our childhood trauma conference participants always raise the questions, “What about racism? What about community trauma and poverty? How do these things contribute to Adverse Childhood Experiences?” Kanwarpal Dhaliwal from...
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FATHERHOOD MATTERS: Dr. Jorja Leap Gives Readers a Remarkable Window into the Lives of the Fathers of Jordan Downs [WitnessLA.com]
FATHERS WITHOUT FATHERS Every Wednesday night around two dozen men from the Jordan Downs housing project meet to teach each other, and themselves, how to be fathers. “See, most of the men in the group never had fathers,” Mike...
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Gentrification pushes up against Boyle Heights — and vice versa (latimes.com)
For years, Boyle Heights seemed a neighborhood cooped up in the still embryonic stage of gentrification, or "gentefication," a term coined to reflect change driven substantially by Latinos with roots in the Eastside neighborhood. Boyle Heights hasn't seen close to as much gentrification as Silver Lake and Highland Park, or even neighboring Lincoln Heights, with a mostly Mexican American community but more ethnic, racial and socioeconomic diversity and a bigger stock of wood-framed 19th and...
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How a Group of Female Inmates Won the Right to Live with Their Children [Vice.com]
The springtime sun blazes over East Arrow Highway in Pomona, California, and the glare off the whitish-gray concrete walkways forces everyone to squint. Regina Dotson moves busily in and out of her office on the second floor of a residential...
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How Social Workers Improve Relationships Between Police and Communities
by MSW@USC Staff In 1955 , the Los Angeles Police Department adopted the motto “To Protect and Serve,” and over the last seven decades, many other American law enforcement departments followed suit. But in the Black Lives Matter era, those words may not resonate with some members of the communities police are tasked with protecting and serving. Community members may feel law enforcement officials exercise more authority than necessary. How can both sides work to create a more positive...
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How to talk to your kids about the violence in Charlottesville (latimes.com)
As violence erupted in Charlottesville, Va., Saturday, with three killed and dozens injured at one of the largest white nationalist rallies in a decade, TV screens and newsfeeds across America were filled with images of chaos and terror. While politicians including Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Senator Dianne Feinstein reacted by condemning the attacks, calling for "hope and prayers for peace" and reminders that "violent acts of hate and bigotry have no place in America", parents...
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Immigrants fueled LA economy to tune of $232.9 billion in 2014 (dailynews.com)
A new report finds that immigrants in Los Angeles County contributed $232.9 billion to the region’s economy, nearly 35.7 percent of the area’s economic output. The report, “New Americans in Los Angeles,” breaks down immigrant contributions to the city of L.A. and to the county, providing a “snapshot” on a range of demographic factors, from education and labor participation levels. Backed by the city of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, New American Economy – a bipartisan...
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ITRC 2018 California Conference: Preparing People for Climate Change in California
To See the Conference Agenda, List of All-Star Speakers, and To Register Click Here Why Should Californians Attend This Unique Conference ? From high levels of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), to job and financial struggles, racism and other forms of inequity and injustice, traumatic stress is epidemic today. Climate change will aggravate all of these existing adversities, and add many new ones as well. Yet, California is leading the U.S. in finding innovative new ways to address...
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L.A. County steps up efforts to eradicate homelessness (lasentinel.net)
Ethnically diverse advocates detailed their efforts to eradicate homelessness during New America Media’s forum at Skid Row Housing Trust’s Apartments on Feb. 3. Panelists hailed from African-American, Chinese, Latino and Korean backgrounds. The briefing focused on how L.A. County is working to raise awareness among our audiences about the diversity of its homeless population and how all ethnic groups have a stake in working to end it. “Who we hire is important, and how they’re trained is...
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Working at the intersection of violence and land use (preventioninstitute.org)
This past September, the Healthy, Equitable, Active Land Use (HEALU) Network convened a summit in Los Angeles to explore the nexus of land use and community safety, drawing nearly 100 community members, policymakers, and representatives of community-based organizations. Our new report shares key learnings from this summit and invites people working in land use, transportation, food policy, education, housing, and other areas to consider the ways their own work can support safe communities.
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San Francisco Trauma Informed Systems Initiative 2014 Year In Review
The Department made the commitment to train all of its 9,000 staff to become trauma-informed. From the report: The Trauma Informed Systems Initiative Workgroup is led by Dr. Ken Epstein and currently staffed by a full time Coordinator, a team of 4...
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School meals: a reflection of growing poverty in LA (calmatters.org)
The numbers of Los Angeles children who need the meals have been rising sharply in recent years. In 2015-2016, 72.4% or 405,338 LAUSD students qualified for the free or reduced price meals, according to a 2017 Food Research Action Center report. “We have the highest participation of students who are served breakfast in the classroom,” said Monica Garcia, a member of the LAUSD School Board. “Also, most of our schools (75%) are in the Community Eligibility Program, where all students get all...
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Study: Community Trauma from Gun Violence Results in Negative Health and Behavioral Outcomes (Violence Policy Center)
Research on trauma is frequently featured in mainstream news outlets, pointing to its connection to a range of behavioral and health outcomes. While trauma can have multiple interpretations, for the purposes of this report, it is the result of experiencing or witnessing chronic and sustained violence, or specific events that can have lasting effects on individuals. Researchers have identified 13 distinct types of trauma, including community violence. Community violence is an umbrella term...
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The Campaign to Heal Childhood Trauma is coming!
Maybe you have heard about this initiative on one of the social networks or you followed the tour last year. If not, The Campaign to Heal Childhood Trauma is a grassroots partnership between Calo Programs and three leading, national attachment, trauma and adoption nonprofits; The Attachment and Trauma Network (ATN), The American Adoption Congress (AAC) and Association for Training on Trauma and Attachment in Children (ATTACh). The purpose of this collaboration is to increase compassion and...
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The Effects of Educational Disengagement
Introduction The need for a caring school culture that promotes a sense of connectedness and belonging is essential and must begin the day a child begins their educational experience. Yet, for those of us who work in alternative education environment, we often hear the all too common story of a school experience that didn't meet the students needs. Meeting the needs of a student is a broad connotation that can vary considerably depending on the school setting and the student describing the...
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They're sick, traumatized, malnourished and transient — what child poverty looks like in Los Angeles (latimes.com)
Many of the children who visit the St. John’s Well Child and Family Center at 58th and Hoover in South Los Angeles are anything but well. The dentists treat children who suffer excruciating pain from swollen gums and rotting teeth. The doctors routinely see chronic preventable diseases common in third-world countries, and developmental delays are standard. Dr. David Bolour said he sees children daily who suffer from trauma they’ve experienced in their high-crime neighborhoods or in the...
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UCLA Created A New Job Specifically To Recruit More Native American Students [laist.com]
It may not seem like a lot compared with centuries of genocide, displacement from their land and separation of their families, but some Southern California Native Americans say they appreciate how local public universities are moving to recruit more American Indian students and faculty and generally improve relations. UCLA is the most recent campus to reach out to Native Americans. Last fall, Chancellor Gene Block created the position of Special Advisor to the Chancellor on Native American...
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UCLA Study Reveals Educational and Social Challenges Affecting Black Youth in Los Angeles County[Los Angeles Sentinel]
By Alysha Conner, Contributing Writer, Los Angeles Sentinel Published October 31, 2019 African-American students in Los Angeles County are currently facing a dual-threat of inadequate educational opportunities and support. It has been proven that social and environmental factors have also placed their educational and social development at significant risk. A recent study published by UCLA graduates exhibits Black students in LA County disproportionately attending schools that the state...
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University of La Verne Professor to Deliver Keynote Address at Upcoming Pasadena Mayor's Prayer Breakfast (pasadenanow.com)
More students are arriving at college with mental health challenges that can hinder learning and even lead to dropping out. But Dr. Niki Elliott teaches an evidenced-based practice that may help reverse the problem: mindfulness. “We should wrap our hearts around all youth, not just the ones we raise in our own family, but around other people’s children, too,” Elliott said. “We have to raise these children as a community.” Elliott, the co-director of the University of La Verne’s Center for...
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Why mentoring matters, and what you can do for Los Angeles-area youth: Guest commentary (svgtribune.com)
The failure to engage the needs of inner-city boys is an ongoing American tragedy. Inner-city violence is causing death and injury that resonates with all it touches while burdening entire communities with the dread of daily insecurity. One third of those murdered in Los Angeles County are African American, who comprise only 8 percent of the population. This violence kills and scars the bodies and psyche of the men and women who are subjected to it. It is a tragedy that drains billions of...
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Los Angeles County Trauma and Resilience Network One Pager
Attached find a 2018 version of Los Angeles County community profile detailing information about your community ACEs initiative. This will be shared with CA legislators at the Trauma-Informed Policymaker Awareness Day on May 22nd in Sacramento. I attach it here as a PDF ready to print and share! I also have uploaded into 'Resources for Downloading' the same PDF, and an editable Word document so that you can update or otherwise improve it. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to reach...
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Los Angeles Tests the Power of ‘Play Streets’ [nytimes.com]
LOS ANGELES — The temporary transformation of Fickett Street in Boyle Heights began with yellow shades resembling huge kites suspended over the sun-scorched asphalt. Soon, a thoroughfare known for its speeding vehicles and gang activity became something else entirely — a “play street” in which women gathered for Lotería, or Mexican bingo, and kids fashioned seesaws out of giant snap-together plastic shapes in colors inspired by local Mexican-American murals. There are roughly 7,500 miles of...
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Report Rates Child Well-Being in California Counties [ChronicleOfSocialChange.org]
A new report from Children Now details wide disparities in children’s well-being across California’s 58 counties. The 2016–2017 California County Scorecard of Children’s Well-Being looks at a series of indicators organized around the three domains of child welfare and economic well-being; health; and education. The report provides a comparison over time for each of 28 indicators, as well as a breakdown by ethnicity on each data point for every county in the state. Children Now, an advocacy...
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SAMHSA's Concept of Trauma and Guidance for a Trauma-Informed Approach
Years in the making, this important piece of the trauma-informed pie is on the table! Check it out.
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A half-million U.S. kids attend school in Mexico. Educators are working together across the border to help them learn (laschoolreport.com)
In recent years, an increasing number of U.S.-born students have enrolled in Mexican schools. About half a million now attend classes south of the border, and educators on both sides are pushing for greater collaboration to help meet those students’ unique needs — among them, gaining language skills, adjusting to different education levels, and adapting to new school cultures and structures. American schools have long focused on accommodating English language learners, said Patricia Gándara,...
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Re: Welcome to the TIC Education Workgroup
I'm a pediatrician who is interested in provider education around ACEs and resilience as well as assessment of ACEs in clinical settings in combination with screening for social needs. I recently came across a great set of education modules provided by the American Academy of Pediatrics, from the Early Brain and Child Development Section, which can be found here: https://www.aap.org/en-us/advo...ducationModules.aspx Looking forward to working with you all!
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Virtual Trauma-Informed Schools: Mission Academy
Heartache is a universal experience, yet we often feel alone. Things happen; choices are made, and before we know it, we wake up longing for change. No one grows up dreaming that they will not “fit in” to the “traditional” path, but when they find themselves on the detour route, it feels like a moving treadmill, going nowhere fast down an isolated road. “Traditional” opportunities may not have worked out, but there are alternative routes to success, now more than ever! Mission Academy is a...
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Trauma-informed policing: Learn how three highly experienced community leaders strengthen ties between police and community
ACEs initiative participants in communities where there is tension between the community and law enforcement will want to join Becky Haas in a compelling conversation on law enforcement, ACEs science, COVID-19 and the Black Lives Matter movement and protests. Haas is a nationally recognized adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) science initiative builder and trainer. She and colleagues Renee Wilson-Simmons, the head of the ACE Awareness Foundation of Memphis, Tennessee, and Maggi Duncan,...
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CALIFORNIA ACES ACADEMY: Parental ACEs and Pediatrics: Transforming Well Care [avahealth.org]
CALIFORNIA ACES ACADEMY (CAA) , funded by ACEs Aware, is providing free online training to Medi-Cal providers and others featuring: Practical strategies for integrating trauma-informed health care into your team’s practice that improves patients’ well being and the productivity of your practice. Meet colleagues with experience and success providing trauma-informed health care in their practices. Learn from national and local experts. Talk to other professionals from your region in small...
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An innovative storytelling project reveals the dirty secrets of LA policing [centerforhealthjournalism.org]
By Mary Lou Fulton, Center for Health Journalism, October 8, 2020 Kelly Lytle Hernandez is a UCLA scholar-activist with the instincts of a journalist. Her work sheds new light on this moment in which the nation is confronting racism embedded in policing, mass incarceration, health and other systems. Through Million Dollar Hoods , an innovative data and storytelling project based on police booking reports, Hernandez and her team revealed that Los Angeles residents were most often arrested for...