The 2018 Building Strong Brains Tennessee ACEs Summit took place last week in Nashville, TN. The theme of this year’s summit was “Celebrating Successes and Imagining Possibilities” and there is plenty to celebrate. Tennessee is one of the most innovative states when it comes to ACEs awareness. Tennessee understands that childhood trauma is the root cause of its poor health outcomes, high rates of addiction and other ailments. And Tennessee is doing something about it. Tennessee’s leadership...

No, we don’t need the president nor congress. We do need the following people in your county to stop business as usual and focus on preventing adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). City mayors City counselors County commissioners School board members These local elected leaders—many of them your neighbors and colleagues—have the capacity to collectively understand the emotional and financial costs of ACEs and trauma. We can’t have family-friendly cities and counties while we live in an...

One of the first sessions of the 2018 ACEs Conference: Action to Access discussed the barriers and opportunities for increasing access in the field of education. The main question was: "How can one achieve systematic changes within the field of education?" The session was moderated by Michelle Flowers, a passionate advocate, and the principal of Kinney High in Rancho Cordova, CA, which is part of the Folsom Cordova Unified School District. It included a dynamic and diverse panel of education...

Friday, April 12, 2019 marked an exciting, auspicious, and perhaps pivotal day in the history of Monroe County, Indiana. That’s a lot of adjectives—and pressure—to pile onto just another glorious spring day in Bloomington. But I think many folks who virtually congregate on a site that supports communities implementing trauma-informed and resilience-building practices grounded in ACEs science would agree that a county’s first-ever ACEs conference deserves a little ballyhoo. But this ACEs...

This was just posted by Harvard. I thought all of us could use access to it, for use in our schools and the settings we work in. The full image is on the attached PDF.

My name is Jeff Putthoff, SJ. I will be moving to St. Louis in July to become a president of a Catholic high school in North County St. Louis. Before this, I spent 18 years in Camden, NJ working with youth 14-23 who were not in school. While there, our organization became Sanctuary certified. I am interested in connecting with folks in the St. Louis area who are working on issues of ACES and also finding people who would be interested in working in a trauma-informed educational school!!!!

Patients would carry soda into Dr. Gerard Clancy’s office, with cigarettes tucked away for after therapy. Often victims of abuse or violent crime, they would seek soothing but risky behaviors to cope. Overweight. Chronic pain. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Type II diabetes. His former patients will die younger than they should, he said. Clancy conducted therapy sessions until he became president of the University of Tulsa in 2016. At his psychiatry clinic, he saw firsthand how a...

Life expectancy is highly correlated with ACE scores and complex childhood trauma. Enter your address or zip code to know what the health outcomes are in your neighborhoods and communities. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Life Expectancy Calculator

Last month, I had the pleasure of attending the annual National Council for Behavioral Health Conference. I have been to my fair share of conferences but #NatCon19 was one of the best. First, I'm biased. It took place in my city, Nashville, TN . And the venue was the world renowned Opryland Hotel's Gaylord Convention Center . And, I love, love, love the Opryland Hotel ! As any seasoned conference goer, I had a strategy when it came to which sessions and events I wanted to attend. My game...

I'm excited to announce the newest ACEs Connection geographic community for my region, the Midwest & TN: Ardmore OK Behavioral Health Collaborative . This community is a partnership of local organizations taking a trauma-informed stance on behavioral health in Carter County, OK. Their goal is to build a healthy, connected and resilient community. The community manager is Ashley Godwin . Ashley Godwin joined Ardmore Behavioral Health Collaborative in March 2017 as the Director where she...

The first session of the Starting & Growing Resilient Communities: Online & IRL (In Real Life) was a success. Over 100 ACEs Connection members tuned in despite some issues with registration. I have embedded the video in this post. You have also find the video on the ACEs Connection site here . If you have any questions about the series, please contact Ingrid Cockhren , TN & Midwest Community Facilitator.

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...

Jeff, Best wishes on your move. Missouri is very active in developing "trauma informed care" across systems. Alive and Well in St. Louis is a nonprofit actively working with the St. Louis community and schools there. Additionally, Dr. Patsy Carter is the lead on Trauma Informed Care in Missouri with the Department of Mental Health and would also be an excellent resource. Both Dr. Carter and Alive and Well do training and working with training collaboratives across the state on becoming...

Welcome to St. Louis Jeff! Alive and Well STL is leading the trauma-informed school efforts in the region. Take a look at their Facebook here . One of the first trauma-informed school teams I helped create was in North St. Louis. I use a design-thinking process that can be seen here . I will be excited to follow how your Sandra Bloom's Sanctuary Model will impact the Archdiocese of St. Louis schools. My first suggestion for you is arrive wearing a St. Louis Cardinal baseball hat. You will...

Thanks Jim. Sorry, but I am a loyal Royals fan from KC! I still remember fondly 1985! :-) . Loving the responses from the St. Louis group. I have previously been in touch what ALive and Well STL--a couple of years ago and look forward to seeing what has happened since. I want to check out your design for the group in North St. Louis. Perhaps we will have a chance to meet?

Jeff, Feel free to checkout my website where you will find contact information and more videos. After you get settled, I'm always open to meet to discuss what my team has done at the high school level. Our work really became solidified during Ferguson and responding to the communities that we served in North City. As you probably are aware, the educational landscape is being flooded by trauma-informed programs and practices. The key is helping schools and educators put these practices into...