Tagged With "The Living Well"
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ACEs Connection's Inclusion Tool makes sure nobody's left out
We developed ACEs Connection's Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Tool — called the Inclusion Tool, for short — to ensure that ACEs initiatives across the world focus on being inclusive when forming a steering committee, recruiting leaders, providing education about ACEs science, recruiting members, or providing resources and services within their communities. The more inclusive your ACEs initiative is, the more diverse it will be, giving your initiative a real shot at achieving equity and...
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Art, Drumming, Storytelling, Singing infuse Intergenerational Trauma event in Baltimore
On a beautiful fall day I drove up to Baltimore from my home in Washington, DC for an event I learned about in a post by Donna Jackson Nakazawa on the ACEs Connection group named after the title of her new, must-read book, Childhood...
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County focuses on reducing number of adults traumatized in childhood
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...
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Family and Children’s Services of Central Maryland Partners with Bel Air Police Department to Implement the Drug Abatement Response Team (DART)
(Bel Air, Md) In an attempt to break the cycle of addiction, Family and Children’s Services of Central Maryland has partnered with the Bel Air Police Department, the Harford County Office of Drug Control Policy, and other local agencies to form the Bel Air Drug Abatement Response Team (DART).
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Harford County Child Advocacy Center Donates Books, DVDs to Harford County Public Library
Harford County Child Advocacy Center donated forty-nine (49) books and eight (8) DVDs to Harford County Public Library to help raise community awareness about childhood adversity and its negative effects on lifelong health and social outcomes.
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Hot off the presses! CDC Preventing ACEs: Leveraging the Best Available Evidence
Hot off the presses, here's the link to a publication released today by the CDC Preventing Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs):Leveraging the Best Available Evidence to help states and communities prioritize efforts to prevent ACEs. This resource features six strategies to prevent ACEs drawn from the CDC Technical Packages to Prevent Violence : Strengthen economic supports for families Promote social norms that protect against violence and adversity Ensure a strong start for children...
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Infant & Early Childhood Mental Health Certificate Program Launching in Howard County
This certificate program is directed to front-line service providers and agency administrators who wish to acquire essential knowledge and practical skills to work effectively with their youngest patients and families. This program serves bachelors and masters level (or higher) practitioners in the fields of Counseling, Education, Nursing, Psychology, Social Work or the equivalent. Applicants will be selected on the basis of their work history and commitment to the field. For more...
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Maryland Becomes the 8th State in the Country to Pass ACE-Informed Legislation this year
Just listened to ACEs Connection & 4CAKids Webinar on state legislation addressing legislation. With Governor Hogan's signing of HB 1582 (a State Health Director for Children within Child Welfare), Maryland became the eighth state to pass ACE-Informed legislation in 2018 according to the National Conference of State Legislators (NCSL)! Many thanks to the lead sponsor of the bill Delegate CT Wilson, the Chairs and Members of the Appropriations and Finance Committee, Members of both...
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Maryland Essentials for Childhood Hosts Advocacy Day at the State Capital
Maryland Essentials for Childhood, a statewide initiative educating policy makers and communities on the science of ACEs, developing brains, and how we can build resilience for children, families and communities in Maryland, is poised to meet with Maryland elected officials this coming Thursday, ,February 7th, 9-1 pm. We will educate legislators on the science and policies that reduce or mitigate ACEs and other childhood trauma. Key policies being considered by the General Assembly are:...
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Not All Wounds Are Visible Community Conversations Series CONTINUES!
Donna Jacobs Senior Vice President, Government, Regulatory Affairs and Community Health at the University of Maryland Medical System, one of our ACE Interface Master Presenters is holding this conference at UMMS next week. This is the second large conference Donna has created relating to ACEs! The University of Maryland Medical System invites all Baltimore community members to participate in their Not All Wounds Are Visible Community Conversations series. In the past the conversations have...
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Oakland, CA, trying out model used in Baltimore to reduce trauma, increase resilience
Oakland BSC activity: Photo/ Courtesy of Trauma Transformed/East Bay Agency for Children When a group of community organizations in Baltimore came together in 2015, they already knew trauma figured large in many lives. There was violence in the community, in schools, and in community members’ homes. Police brutality occurred. Many suffered the loss of loved ones to incarceration or death. There were house fires and homelessness. Much of the dysfunction was systemic and rooted in racism,...
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Redefining How We Think About Treatment
As the Thriving Communities Collaborative continues to move toward a more trauma informed Baltimore, we furthered our focus on community healing. At the November 4th meeting we explored healing through the arts led by Nneka Nnamdi of The Living...
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Translating Child Adversity Data into Actionable Information [NACCHO] Sept 2018
The California Essentials for Childhood (EfC) Initiative launched a new set of child adversity and resilience data indicators on Kidsdata.org Furthermore, the initiative created state and local dashboards to bring together sources of data that represent a broader set of life experiences than originally reflected in the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) study, such as living in poverty or dangerous neighborhoods. The goal was to make these data widely available and provide training on how...
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Trauma-Informed Community Program (Maryland State Department of Human Services)
Charles County Department of Social Services (CCDSS) and community partners are seeking an evidence-informed, structured training series to develop a trauma informed child welfare model of service provision. The selected trauma informed series will give public agency staff and local community partners a mutual understanding of trauma and how to meet the needs of our clientele in a more collaborative and comprehensive way. This series will also result in the development of policies and...
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Trauma-Informed Community Program (Maryland State Department of Human Services)
Charles County Department of Social Services (CCDSS) and community partners are seeking an evidence-informed, structured training series to develop a trauma informed child welfare model of service provision. The selected trauma informed series will give public agency staff and local community partners a mutual understanding of trauma and how to meet the needs of our clientele in a more collaborative and comprehensive way. This series will also result in the development of policies and...
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Trauma-informed groups rev up to address race, inclusion
Eighteen-year-old Kia Hanson has always enjoyed her time as a youth leader at the East Oakland Youth Development Center (EOYDC). She’s worked mostly with five- and six-year-olds since she began in 2016. Recently, she tapped into new skills, especially if the kids were having a meltdown. Kia Hanson “If they’re off, we ask them, ‘What’s wrong?’ ‘Do you want to talk about anything?’,” she explains. “Basically asking before assuming they’re mad at the world for no reason.” What made the...
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Two studies shed light on state legislators’ views on ACEs science and trauma policy
New and returning lawmakers take the oath of office on day one of Washington state's 2017 legislative session. — Jeanie Lindsay/Northwest News Network As advocates prepare to see how ACEs (adverse childhood experiences) science, trauma, and resilience play out in the 2020 state legislative sessions — many beginning in January — they are undoubtedly asking: “What does a legislator want?" It may be a stretch to play on Freud’s question: “What does a women want?", but the query captures how...
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U.S. Sen. Heitkamp headlines May 25 briefing—trauma is “key”
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...
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U.S. Senate champion on trauma, Heidi Heitkamp, provides inspired and hope-filled leadership
Last evening I posted a video of a June 5 congressional briefing that I attended on trauma and the opioid crisis with a plan to write a post about the event today. In the comfort of my living room, I played the beginning of the video, hoping to find a good screen shot to use with the article, but instead was surprisingly moved by the second listening of the words of U.S. Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) about why the issue of trauma is so important her: She says it gives her hope.
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Unconditional Care
Join us in Hagerstown, MD, for the next training in our series focused on trauma informed strategies for the community! Unconditional Care features three dynamic speakers focused on how addressing issues of self- care and self-awareness lead to the outcomes we all are striving for children, families and neighborhoods. Group rates are available for organizations registering ten or more attendees, contact Kerry Fair at 240-513-6370 or kfair@besterhope.org to arrange. Our last several trainings...
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Unconditional care begins with good self care
I'm pleased to share information on our next training in our series on trauma informed strategies for the community! In April, we will focus on how addressing issues of self-care and self-awareness lead to the outcomes we all ar e striving for children, families and neighborhoods. In the same way dirt gets under the gardener's nail, trauma work has an impact. Join us as we focus on finding balance and understanding the importance of self-awareness so that we can best provide unconditional...
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Understanding the Consequences of Abuse [nationalchildrensalliance.org]
I want to turn your attention to the special issue of Child Maltreatment that was just released, on Understanding Neurobiological Implications of Maltreatment: From Preschool to Emerging Adulthood. Not so long ago, we began to understand the connections between child abuse and psychological and behavioral outcomes. Now, as the authors note, we are beginning to “unravel the neurobiological process that underlies the effect of adverse rearing environments on human development across the life span.
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[WEBINAR] Starting & Growing Resilient Communities: How to Tell Your Community Story GRC 2.0 Celebrate
ACEs Connection presents, "Starting & Growing Resilient Communities: Online & In Real Life (IRL)", an interactive webinar training series focused on developing existing and potential online community managers and IRL ACEs champions. This series is dedicated to providing insight into creating sustainable and effective online & IRL ACEs initiatives. In this fifth session, we’ll talk about why it's so critical to tell your story far and wide. This incudes how to blog and share...
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Wisconsin state agencies end year one of trauma-informed learning community; goal is to be first trauma-informed state
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...
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Re: The TCC: Focusing on Community Healing & Engagement
Rosalyn, Thank you SO much for posting about your TCC group! I had no idea we had such an active community in Baltimore (good to see leadership really determined to bring help and healing to the urban communities who desperately need direction, connection, and information. I live in North Potomac, MD - in Montgomery County - and I can see where something like this would be so useful here as well. Perhaps sometime I can join you and get some hands-on background on how you formed and what...
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Re: Redefining How We Think About Treatment
Ros, your recent reports on what is going on in Baltimore are wonderful. Just last Friday I attended an event sponsored by The New Day Campaign that included storytelling, poetry, an art exhibit and so much more. The story is on ACEs Connection now. Elizabeth
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Re: Sharing ACE Awareness with the Fatherhood Community
I'm sorry I didn't see this sooner. I'm going to share it in Parenting with ACEs. If you ever have something you think would be useful to the wider ACEs Connection community (of 27,000 plus members, please let me know and we can share a post like this on the main home site as well). It's so great to see this topic being discussed! I can't wait to listen. Cissy
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Re: Ning Comment Wall
Good questions Brenda, I'm relatively new to the area and not affiliated with any human service agencies. So Jane and Chris, others in the maryland group, do you know anyone who is affiliated witha human service agency who might know what the state reporting policy is on ACEs? Is there such a policy? I suggest we shake our networks a bit and see. For instance, was anyone in from Maryland in a position to answer the questionnaire circulated by the ACEs Pioneer folks (see the reference in the...
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Re: Ning Comment Wall
Brenda, Yes, I believe Alexis was a victim. We cannot know all of his victimizations but being a black, male in this country IS one. Life for black males is really hard. He felt an injustice w/ not being paid enough on a job & how the govt was not treating him well as a vet. This article makes these statements. It states he was sick of this country (a warning sign, b/c he hated "the group," "his group"). The U.S. culture is filled w/ constant betrayals that most of us are acculturated to...
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Re: Why We Should Call Recent Baltimore Events an Uprising [Baltimore Sun]
Good point, Ros. I see the ACEs/trauma-informed/resilience-building movement as the final piece of the human rights movement. Since the ACEs research (writ large...ACE surveys, toxic stress effects on brain, body, etc.) shows clearly that adversity -- including racism, punishment, and ostracism -- does long-term damage to people's bodies and brains (as well as communities and systems), and that trauma-informed and resilience-building practices build healthy people, communities and systems,...
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Re: A More Urgent Call to "Be the One" Caring Adult in the Face of the COVID-19 Crisis
Well said, Frank. Thank you
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Re: A More Urgent Call to "Be the One" Caring Adult in the Face of the COVID-19 Crisis
Really well done, Frank! Thank you for highlighting this issue!
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Re: Article In The Atlantic: Being Black in America Can Be Hazardous to Your Health
Thanks for sharing Alexandra! It's so important to discuss what is happening in our urban settings where many children have well beyond 4 ACEs.
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Greater Richmond Trauma Informed Community Network, first to join ACEs Cooperative of Communities, shows what it means to ROCK!
In 2012, Greater Richmond SCAN and five other community partners hatched a one-year plan to educate the Richmond, Virginia, community about ACEs science and to embed trauma-informed practices. Eight years later, the original group has evolved into the Greater Richmond Trauma-Informed Community Network (GRTICN) with 495 people and 170 organizations. And they're just scratching the surface.
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Prevention is Essential: Collective Impact Coalition Promotes Safe, Stable, Nurturing Relationships and Environments for All Maryland’s Children
When members of Maryland’s State Council on Child Abuse and Neglect (SCCAN) began in 2006 to examine what their state was doing in the realm of prevention, they discovered a gaping hole. Many participants in the 23-member Council—people working in child welfare, mental health, law enforcement and advocacy groups—knew about ACEs and about the corrosive effects of early childhood maltreatment. But they discovered, through informational interviews across different sectors and an environmental...
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'A Better Normal:' Can universal ACEs screening be equitable? -- Concerns and solutions
Can universal ACEs screening be equitable? A conversation about concerns and solutions. When: Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2-3:30 pm PDT/5-6:30 pm EDT This webinar explores what it takes to ensure that equity is built into the process of screening and providing support for families who have experienced trauma and want help. REGISTER HERE Background At the beginning of this year, California, through the ACEs Aware initiative began rolling out universal screening for adverse childhood experiences (ACEs),...
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"A Better Normal" Community Discussion Series- Our Reckoning with Race and Equity at ACEs Connection
Register for A Better Normal- Our reckoning with race and equity at ACEs Connection
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Scott Krugman
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Nana Ama Adom-Boakye
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New Weaver Awards Will Help Build a Stronger Baltimore [aspeninstitute.org]
A short application and a few neighbor recommendations is all it takes to apply for one of Baltimore’s Weaver awards. We could use your advice. How would you find and support the folks who are quietly showing up for neighbors, building connections and solving problems in their communities? Here’s one approach we are piloting. In partnership with M&T Bank, we are offering Weaver Awards in Baltimore City. These are $7000 grants to support everyday people and community groups who are...
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Danielle Haskin
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Danielle Hickman
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Darla Sinclair
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Dawn Loughborough
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denise dougherty
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