Tagged With "alternative mental health"
Blog Post
ACE Offers Training for Mid Shore Educators [dorchesterbanner.com]
By Amy Steward, Dorchester Banner, December 25, 2019 Along with Maryland’s ACE Interface Cohort, For All Seasons and CASA of the Mid-Shore are partnering to train residents on the Mid Shore about Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) in hopes of helping communities to understand how trauma in young children may affect their physical, emotional, and mental health later in life. The trainings also bring awareness to how to build resiliency in children to help mitigate the trauma that they may...
Blog Post
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...
Blog Post
Aligning Systems for Health: 2019 Call for Proposals [rwjf.org]
By Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, November 1, 2019 Required Components Aligning Systems for Health will explore the degree to which health equity is impacted or results from current models of collaboration incorporating health care, public health, and social services. Gaps in health are large, persistent and increasing, and RWJF is committed to a system that meets people’s goals and needs and addresses these gaps that many populations face. Studies should include a focus on health equity by...
Blog Post
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...
Blog Post
Article In The Atlantic: Being Black in America Can Be Hazardous to Your Health
In depth article focusing on people living in Baltimore: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/07/being-black-in-america-can-be-hazardous-to-your-health/561740/ "Many facets of Kiarra’s youth—the fact that her parents weren’t together, her father’s incarceration, the guns on the corners—are what researchers consider “adverse childhood experiences,” stressful events early in life that can cause health problems in adulthood. An abnormally large proportion of the children in...
Blog Post
Bel Air (MD) police claim new program is helping reduce opioid overdose numbers | WMAR-2 News Baltimore
By connecting overdose victims to therapy, behavioral health, and case management, the Bel Air Police Department and Family & Children's Services of Central Maryland are hoping to impact the cycle of addiction in Harford County.
Blog Post
CDC's 'Connecting the Dots' Tool
Great new Resource from CDC shared with me from Dr. Kevin Sherin, Health Officer & Director of Florida Department of Health in Orange County, Florida. Welcome to the Connections Selector! This tool makes it easier for you to connect the dots and explore the relationships between multiple types of violence and the risk and protective factors they share at each level of the social-ecological model (SEM). A clear understanding of these connections can help you plan strategies to prevent...
Blog Post
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...
Blog Post
Dr. Vincent Felitti speaks in Hagerstown, MD
On Monday, March 21, 2016, over 400 social workers, educators and more filled the gymnasium of Bester Elementary School in Hagerstown, MD, as leading trauma experts from across the nation linked findings from the ACE Study (Adverse Childhood Experiences) with staggering proof of health, social, and economic problems resulting later in life.
Blog Post
Education, inspiration, and action—Maryland lawmakers take deeper dive into ACEs science and how it informs policy
While members of the Maryland General Assembly did not dominate the Dec. 13th “MGA ACEs Roundtable” in numbers, they commanded the room and enlivened a focus on how ACEs science can inform current and future policies considered by elected officials.
Blog Post
Extending Mental Health Help to Vulnerable Kids (health.usnews.com)
Open-ended discussions with children and teens can uncover traumatic causes of behavioral and emotional problems. "It's not necessarily asking, 'Would you like access to mental health services?'" explains La Toya Mobley, a pediatric clinical social worker at the Harriet Lane Clinic. Rather, it's posing questions like, "What is your experience at home?" to get at the heart of the matter. "Trauma and ADHD mirror each other," Mobley says. "So we're asking more questions about trauma, especially...
Blog Post
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).
Blog Post
Governor’s Office of Crime Control & Prevention Hosts Handle With Care Training to Support Children After Trauma: 300 Attendees Begin Statewide Program Expansion
ANNAPOLIS, MD – More than 300 law enforcement personnel, school administrators, staff, and mental health practitioners from across the state gathered yesterday for Handle with Care training, funded by the Governor’s Office of Crime Control & Prevention. This initiative seeks to mitigate adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) by providing trauma-informed services inside Maryland schools that help prevent future victimization and/or delinquency. Already underway in Washington County, Handle...
Blog Post
Graduations, non-linear paths, & the importance of getting started
With graduation season upon us, I have been thinking a lot about one of my favorite graduation speeches. It’s the speech that Shonda Rhimes, creator of Grey’s Anatomy, gave in 2014 at Dartmouth College. She references the typical expected advice from a graduation speech: “Follow your dreams. Listen to your spirit. Change the world. Make your mark. Find your inner voice and make it sing. Embrace failure. Dream. Dream and dream big..." And then she says, “I think that’s crap.”
Blog Post
Roadmap to Resilience Infographic: Guide
The steps indicated by the numbers are grouped by color on the Roadmap to Resilience infographic . The group wisdom from the people who have embarked on this journey (i.e., the case studies in the Community Resilience Cookbook ) was: You don't have...
Blog Post
Handle With Care Program Expands Throughout Maryland
Additional Counties to Join, New Website Provides Resources for Trauma-Informed Support for Maryland Children ANNAPOLIS, MD – The Governor’s Office of Crime Control and Prevention (GOCCP) today announced the expansion of Handle With Care Maryland, a program designed to help children who are exposed to violence through seamless and careful communication and collaboration between law enforcement and schools. Under the model, if a student has witnessed or had a traumatic experience the night...
Blog Post
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.
Blog Post
Healing Communities
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
Blog Post
His Brother's Keeper [www.theatlantic.com] - When Baltimore's Murder Rate Hits Home
"As for Smith, his failed struggle to lead Dionay off the streets exposed for him the boundaries of any individual’s influence against the awesome power of poverty and social dysfunction." Luke Mullins, The Atlantic
There are too many of us who wonder how we could have saved our family members who fell prey to the pervasive violence that surrounds us here in Baltimore.
Blog Post
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...
Blog Post
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...
Blog Post
Initiative underway to educate communities on impact of adverse childhood experiences on developing brains [baltimoresun.com]
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...
Blog Post
It's Time for Paid Family Leave
We all need time to care — for new babies, for aging parents, for loved ones with health needs or disabilities, or for helping ourselves. Help make Time to Care a Reality in Maryland. Sign up for coalition updates and get information about making a Maryland where every family has the time to care.
Blog Post
Join Feb. 18th webinar on addressing ACEs in public policy
Please join this ACEs Connection co-sponsored webinar "Making Meaningful Change: Addressing ACEs through Public Policy" on Feb. 18 (11:30 am-1:00 pm ET) presented by the Health Federation of Philadelphia and MARC (Mobilizing Action for Resilient Communities). In this webinar, three nationally recognized experts will discuss policy and advocacy strategies on a local, state, and national level using evidence from studies they have conducted with legislators and the general public. Speakers...
Blog Post
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...
Blog Post
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:...
Blog Post
Maryland Wins $3.6M to Address Opioid Abuse During Pregnancy [washingtonpost.com]
By Associated Press, The Washington Post, January 7, 2020 Maryland’s Health Department has received $3.6 million in federal funding to address opioid use among pregnant and new mothers. The department launched the initiative, called the “Maternal Opioid Model,” this month, according to a statement released by the agency on Monday. The initiative focuses on improving substance abuse treatment for pregnant and postpartum mothers on Medicaid by providing them with additional resources during...
Blog Post
More MD Moves: Promoting resilience & Partnering with Pratt
Resilience... an interesting word with many meanings for many people from many different walks of life. But that's the point... isn't it? In order to truly promote and support the resilience movement, we must ensure that everyone has a seat at the table. In that spirit, Enoch Pratt Library has officially joined the movement!! Libraries across Baltimore will be hosting Resilience film screenings and discussion panels for community members and stakeholders. This is a wonderful opportunity for...
Blog Post
More Moves in MD: Promoting Resilience & Partnering with Pratt library
Resilience... An interesting word with many meanings for many people from many different walks of life. But that's the point... isn't it? In order to truly promote & support the resilience movement we must ensure that everyone has a set at the table. Enoch Pratt library has officially joined the movement!! Libraries across Baltimore, MD, will be hosting screenings of Resilience and discussion panels for community members and stakeholders. This is a wonderful opportunity for us to come...
Blog Post
Nature Nurtures Symposium
You are invited to attend the Nature Nurtures Symposium designed for formal and informal educators, childcare providers, and health professionals. Our hope is to foster cross-sector communication and share the wealth of information that educators, childcare providers, and health experts each bring to the table in helping Baltimore's children thrive. Attendees will: Receive trauma-informed care training Choose from hands-on sessions led by environmental educators, outdoor recreation experts,...
Blog Post
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...
Blog Post
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,...
Blog Post
Over 100 pastoral education students trained in trauma at regional meeting in Baltimore
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...
Blog Post
Positive Childhood Experiences May Buffer Against Health Effects Of Adverse Ones
Dr. Christina Bethell, one of our ACE Interface Master Trainers here in Maryland, was interviewed on NPR recently about her latest research - Positive Childhood Experiences and Adult Mental and Relational Health in a Statewide Sample: Associations Across Adverse Childhood Experiences Levels ( link to full study ). Below is an excerpt from the NPR interview: You can listen to the 4 minute interview and read the full article here: https://www. npr...
Blog Post
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...
Blog Post
Take Action on Delegate CT Wilson's Trauma-Informed Legislation to Reform the Statute of Limitations for Child Sexual Abuse
Dear Maryland ACEs Action Colleagues, I am writing to alert you to a trauma informed bill sponsored by Delegate C.T. Wilson to reform the statute of limitations of child sexual abuse to conform to what we now know about the impact of trauma on delayed disclosure of child sexual abuse: The average age for adults to disclose childhood sexual abuse is 52. Research shows that children who experience an Adverse Childhood Experience (ACEs) can have poor long-term mental and physical health,...
Blog Post
The counseling Genogram tool: a perfect place to introduce ACEs?
I've spent the past three-plus years back in school, earning my Master's degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Johns Hopkins. During those years, I've learned about many techniques that can be used to promote clients' healing. One that caught my eye and made me stand up and cheer is the Genogram. For those who are not familiar with the Genogram, it is a family system graphic, showing three generations of family relationships (think of the family tree you learned in school, with...
Blog Post
The Future of Healing: Shifting From Trauma Informed Care to Healing Centered Engagement [Medium.com]
I wanted to share some points to ponder from the article below. For the full article, click here . The Future of Healing: Shifting From Trauma Informed Care to Healing Centered Engagement Shawn Ginwright Ph.D. From time to time, researchers, policy makers, philanthropy and practitioners all join together in a coordinated response to the most pressing issues facing America’s youth. I’ve been involved with this process for long enough to have participated in each of these roles. I recall...
Blog Post
The TCC: Focusing on Community Healing & Engagement
I was about to post information about the last meeting of the Thriving Communities Collaborative (TCC) when I realized that I hadn’t taken the time to introduce the collaborative to the Maryland ACES Group. We are a coalition of advocates,...
Blog Post
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...
Blog Post
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...
Blog Post
Trauma-Informed Lens Podcast: Interview with Dr. Eric Rossen
In this episode, Matt discusses trauma-sensitive education with Dr. Eric Rossen. Eric Rossen, PhD, NCSP, is a Nationally Certified School Psychologist, a licensed psychologist in Maryland, and a credentialed National Register Health Service psychologist. He currently serves as the director of professional development and standards for the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP). Dr. Rossen has worked in public schools and in independent practice and has served as a college...
Blog Post
Trying to bite the 'elephant' of addiction [somdnews.com]
“How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.” That was the advice Dr. Jerome Adams, U.S. surgeon general, gave to public health and law enforcement officials Monday during his first visit to Southern Maryland as the nation’s top health official. The elephant in the room of Building B on the campus of College of Southern Maryland in Prince Frederick was the escalating opioid epidemic penetrating communities across the region, the state and the nation. [For more on this story by DANDAN...
Blog Post
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...
Blog Post
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...
Blog Post
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.
Blog Post
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...
Blog Post
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...
Blog Post
Understanding the Role Between ACEs and the Opioid Epidemic
Tuesday, June 19th, 1 p.m . Webinar: Adverse Childhood Experiences – A Driver of the Opioid Epidemic The North Central Regional Center for Rural Development (NCRCRD) will host a free webinar titled, "Adverse Childhood Experiences: A Driver of the Opioid Epidemic" as part of the Rural Health and Safety Education Webinar Series. This webinar will review a landmark study featuring data showing a strong association between ACEs and our understanding of the opioid epidemic and other addictions.