Locations across Minnesota's southern region are diligent and focused on strengthening their communities. Olmsted County is determined to make significant changes to further support area families and children, improve and strengthen resilience, and create a community of healing.

On Monday, February 6, the Olmsted County BRIDGE Collaborative hosted an Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) community summit, Understanding ACEs: Building Self-Healing Communities, at the Woodlake Meeting Center. Attendance was inspiring with the 140 participants representing a wide variety of families, agencies, services, schools, and community members.

ACE Interface Trainers Becky Dale, MCCC's Chief Operating Officer, and Dave Ellis, President/CEO of Dave Ellis Consulting, LLC, provided information and facilitated a conversation about the ACE study, along with neurobiology that explains why ACEs impact people's lives, and what we all can do to dramatically improve health and resilience for this and future generations.

The ACE study findings represent a paradigm shift in human understanding of the origins of physical, social, mental, and societal health and well-being. We now know that the leading causes of disease and disability, learning and productivity problems, and even early death have their roots in the cumulative neurodevelopmental impacts of ACEs.

Next steps for the Olmsted County BRIDGE Collaborative include compiling summit results, comments and recommendations, ongoing community-based planning, shared learning, and developing community action plans to promote significant positive change and protective factors for area families.

MN Dept. of Health Services and MN Communities Caring for Children have collaborated efforts to provide these trainings and coaching to Children's Mental Health and Family Services Collaboratives across the state. The next Understanding ACEs training in the southern region will be hosted by Faribault/Martin Communities Partnering to Provide Services to Children and Their Families collaborative in Blue Earth on Wednesday, March 29.