April 12, noon-1:30: Trauma-Informed Approaches in Minnesota Schools Dr. Mark Sander, Hennepin County; Stacy Bender-Fayette and Sharleen Zeman-Sperle, Peacemaker Resources Many Minnesota schools are trying innovative approaches to promote social emotional learning and to make the classroom a safe learning environment for children who have experienced trauma. This webinar is a chance to hear from three such innovators: Dr. Mark Sander, a psychologist working in the Minneapolis Public Schools...

Minnesota Communities Caring for Children (MCCC) is the only nonprofit in Minnesota to focus on the prevention of child abuse and neglect before it starts. One way we do this is by educating communities about how our early experiences shape lifelong health and well-being. A lot of our work is influenced by the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study, which showed that certain experiences in childhood can cause toxic stress and result in physical changes in brain development. Using a...

Linsey McMurrin, an SEL and Prevention Specialist with Peacemaker Resources, is an enrolled member of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe. She is program manager of Girls Lead on the Go!, a leadership program for young women, and is an organizer of the Bemidji Area Truth and Reconciliation Initiative, a grassroots effort to promote truth-seeking, healing and change through increasing understanding and building relationships among area indigenous and non-indigenous communities. Linsey is certified...

ACE Interface Presenter Ruth Charles, MSW, PhD, LCSW Professor, Social Work Dept Winona State University What led you to want to become a certified ACE Interface presenter? I teach at Winona State in the social work department and coordinate the IV-E Child Welfare Scholar program which integrates social work students into the public foster care system. I am always looking for new information to bring to my classes. When I learned about the ACE research, it made perfect sense! The evidence...

YOU ARE INVITED TO JOIN IN ACTION PLANNING TO SUSTAIN ADVERSE CHILD EXPEREINCES (ACE) WORK IN THE COMMUNITY and SCHOOLS On September 22 nd , a group of community members and organization leaders attended a presentation of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE). The September presentation was the just beginning of a journey to raise awareness about ACEs, support the development of resilience and ultimately engage individuals in community transformation in the northwest suburbs of Hennepin...

To join this webinar, register here . Trauma-informed schools: a conversation with Jim Sporleder, former principal of Lincoln High School, featured in the documentary Paper Tigers Date: Monday, November 19, 2018 Time: 3:00-4:00 pm PDT /6:00-7:00 pm EDT Jim will answer some prepared questions followed by an open question and answer period with participants. Topics that Jim will discuss include: How do you increase staff and community buy in for a trauma-informed school? How do you determine...

What if I told you that I was a victim of child sex abuse? As a survivor of child sexual abuse , I have a clear understanding of the importance of addressing stigma and shame as it pertains to sexual abuse, sexual assault and rape. Victims, especially young children, often do not disclose sexual abuse. Those who are witnesses of child sexual abuse, or who are trusted by survivors enough that they confide in them, are often ill-equipped to handle the responsibility. And, many times, parents...

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...

16th Annual Minnesota Pinwheels for Prevention Awards April is Child Abuse Prevention Month! Each year, we spotlight tribes and communities statewide that have consistently worked to create safe and healthy environments for children. The Pinwheels for Prevention Award recognizes their commitment to prevent child abuse and neglect through collaborative efforts. Work at the community level is crucial for ensuring that Minnesota families and children are able to thrive. Please submit...

Thank you to those who attended the 2016 Midwest ACE Summit! At the event nearly 300 people came together to learn about how communities are addressing ACEs and promoting healing in Minnesota and across the Midwest. We hope that participants were energized by the stories they heard and inspired about what can be done to foster resilience and healing in their own communities. Attached to this post are the Summit agenda and breakout session descriptions for your reference. Resources shared at...

Over the past three years, Minnesota Communities Caring for Children (MCCC) has worked to raise awareness about brain development, ACEs, and resilience statewide using the national ACE Interface curriculum. To date the organization has trained more than 130 Minnesotans from diverse communities to present this curriculum and help foster community responses. This summer, Maxine Freedman of Macalester College interviewed 29 members of MCCC's network to assess the impact of this work on...

On this episode of Lakeland Currents, we spotlight a Bemidji-based nonprofit that has been working to build peace skills throughout the region. From social and emotional learning skills to mindfulness training to presentations on cultural responsiveness, Peacemaker Resources aims to foster communication, compassion, and connection to build respectful relationships and healthier communities. The organization has a range of programs and services available, each with its own targeted audience...

With Lowell Johnson, ACEs Resiliency Coalition; Emily Clary, Minnesota Communities Caring for Children Learn about significant progress being made in reducing the impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), and early childhood trauma, through examples of some of the successes that three communities experienced in Washington State, and sharing conversations with people doing this work in Washington State. Watch the full webinar here

Great work! I'm an ACE Interface trainer in Winona, MN working on similar issues. Awesome to see the work that you do. Keep it up!--Ruth

Let me know if you would like more information. I also do presentations about how we combat ACEs through programs like REACH.

Great to see this in Minnesota! So much good stuff going on there. Congrats, Barb!

ACEs Connection is proud to announce we have reached 200 Speakers & Trainers participants in the ACEs Connection Speakers & Trainers Bureau! What is the ACEs Connection Speakers & Trainers Bureau? The ACEs Connection Speakers & Trainers Bureau is a service that provides subscribers of ACEsConnection a Database of ACEs speakers and trainers for hire. The development of the Speakers & Trainers Bureau was in response to a great need expressed by our communities. ACEs...

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota shines a spotlight on innovation around the state with its Trailblazer Tour– sharing stories of people and companies making a healthy difference in the communities where we live, work, and play. We are excited to announce that Blue Cross and Blue Shield is recognizing Minnesota Communities Caring for Children and the Understanding NEAR Science: Building Self-Healing Communities work so many of you are doing across the state, with a Trailblazer...

Join us in three weeks for our free, virtual Annual Growing Resilient Communities Gathering! This event develops and implements community-wide approaches to Building Self-Healing Communities. Participants are encouraged to attend who are involved, or want to be involved in, addressing the root causes of childhood adversity: this can include Collaborative, tribal, and other community partners, such as health, law enforcement, education, social services, parents, businesses, and nonprofit...

Join us NEXT WEEK for our free, virtual Annual Growing Resilient Communities Gathering! This event develops and implements community-wide approaches to Building Self-Healing Communities. Participants are encouraged to attend who are involved, or want to be involved in, addressing the root causes of childhood adversity: this can include Collaborative, tribal, and other community partners, such as health, law enforcement, education, social services, parents, businesses, and nonprofit service...