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This time last year, the top three most misbehaved boys at Equette Jones' elementary school were from the same family. As assistant principal, it fell to Jones to figure out how to solve the problem. Other educators might prescribe detentions, suspensions, extra tutoring help, or even a doctor’s appointment to be evaluated for an attention-deficit issue. But Jones sensed that the problem ran deeper — and she had a solution. That's why Jones' school worked with an organization called First...

http://citybizlist.com/article/452706/the-family-tree-and-maryland-essentials-for-childhood-launch-adverse-childhood-experience-project

Child advocates are launching a statewide initiative Wednesday to educate communities about the impact of trauma on developing brains and its correlation with poor health outcomes. The Family Tree, a nonprofit that works to prevent childhood abuse and neglect, is helping to train professionals across sectors — from child care and the judicial system to churches and law enforcement — on the the effects on the body and brain of physical abuse, neglect, domestic violence and parents who are...

To see the conference agenda, list of all-star speakers, and to register go to: http://www.theresourceinnovationgroup.org/california-2018-conference/

Here in California, many people think that it’s only liberal Democrats who have a corner on championing the science of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and putting it into practice. That might be because people who use ACEs science don’t expel or suspend students, even if they’re throwing chairs and hurling expletives at the teacher. They ask "What happened to you?" rather than "What's wrong with you?" as a frame when they create juvenile detention centers where kids don’t fight, reduce...

One day, when she was 14 and feeling ill, Daylesha Brown’s mother took her to a Baltimore hospital and did not return for her. Child Protective Services (CPS) placed her in a group home and she was forced to move to other homes for the next three years. “My mother, she pushed me away,” Brown, now 23, said softly. “I was always getting in trouble with my mother.” So last year when Brown discovered her daughter, Sa-Maji, had lead poisoning, a lingering problem in Baltimore where the rate of...

We are so excited to host Dr. Robert Anda and Father Gregory Boyle on September 8, 2017, in Hagerstown, MD. Dr. Anda will also lead a panel of regional leaders to explore successes and challenges when responding to community needs. More information at www.besterhope.org

Note: This excellent article by Kate Masters in the daily Frederick, MD newspaper led me to talk to two of the people interviewed in the story and learn just how much is going on right in my neck of the woods in Frederick County (where I live in Washington, DC is in the same Metro Statistical Area). Anne Soule, Director of Family Support Services, Mental Health Association of Frederick County, and Lynn Davis, Director, Child Advocacy Center of Frederick County, have been working together...

Close to 500 attendees packed the Kepler Theater at Hagerstown Community College in Hagerstown, MD, the morning of Friday, March 24 th on the campus for the sold out event “Building Resilience”, an event organized by the San Mar Initiative, Bester Community of Hope. Following two successful events in 2016 focused on trauma informed practices, the training focused on the next steps of a community wide discussion to build greater awareness and implementation of beliefs and strategies bringing...

Last year, we were excited to host Dr. Vincent Felitti, Dr. Jerry Yager and Patsy Sellars to begin building foundations for trauma informed care and practices. This past Fall, we held exclusive screenings of the film "Paper Tigers" with guest speakers. This coming March, we are fortunate to host James Redford as we view his latest film, "Resilience: The Science of Stress and the Biology of Hope" and continue the conversation with Rev. Dr. Darrell L. Armstrong and Dr. Lonise Bias. See image...

The theme of trauma was selected for this year’s annual summer Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) Day because “clergy responses to trauma an have a significant impact on our own healing and in healing our communities,” as described in the planning committee welcome letter. Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore hosted the gathering of over 100 pastoral students from the Maryland, Washington, DC, and Northern Virginia region. Planning Committee Chair Ty Crowe, director of the Hospital’s Spiritual...

When U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp arrived mid-way through the May 25, 2016, congressional briefing on the Science of Trauma, she delivered her remarks (starts at 27:48 through 41:45) with passion, humor, and most of all, a sense of urgency to the room full of Capitol Hill staff and a smattering of advocates. Her message was macro as well as micro—change national policy to incorporate what the science tells us about trauma, and see and respond to the needs of those you encounter in everyday...