Tagged With "Tools and Strategies that Work"
Calendar Event
Community Mentor Summit (San Diego, CA)
Calendar Event
Resilience Documentary Screening and Workshop
Calendar Event
Resilience Rising: A Community Celebration - Resilience OC
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12 Myths of the Science of ACEs
The two biggest myths about ACEs science are: MYTH #1 — That it’s just about the 10 ACEs in the ACE Study — the CDC-Kaiser Permanente Adverse Childhood Experiences Study . It’s about sooooo much more than that. MYTH #2 — And that it’s just about ACEs…adverse childhood experiences. These two myths are intertwined. The ACE Study issued the first of its 70+ publications in 1998, and for many people it was the lightning bolt, the grand “aha” moment, the unexpected doorway into a blazing new...
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4th "Healing Orange County From Childhood Trauma" Meeting
Our 4 th “Healing Orange County from Childhood Trauma” meeting was held on Wednesday August 17 th , at Laguna Woods Village Community Center - Elm Room. We are all grateful for Betsy Starkweather graciously reserving our meeting space. We had a total of 7 attendees, see attached for Agenda and Meeting Notes. We were all warmly welcomed by Dana Brown, and we were all given the opportunity to share what we are passionate about. It was very inspiring to hear that we all shared a cohesive...
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4th "Healing Orange County from Childhood Trauma" Meeting on August 17th
Orange County’s “Healing Childhood Trauma!” 4th Meeting: August 17, 2016 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm Location: Laguna Woods Village Elm Room Community Center 24351 El Toro Road Laguna Woods, CA 92630 Attendees : (alphabetical) Mary Brogdon, Kathy Brous, Dana Brown, Connie Hornyak, Joanie Laidley, Elynn Light, Marlene Sanders. Welcome & Introductions We are all grateful for Betsy Starkweather graciously reserving our meeting space. Dana Brown, warmly welcomed attendees and invited them to share...
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6th Orange County ACEs Task Force Meeting Notes
Orange County ACEs Task Force AGENDA October 19, 2016 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm Location: Laguna Woods Village Elm Room - Community Center 24351 El Toro Road Laguna Woods, CA 92630 Attendees: Connie Hornyak, Kathy Brous, Marguerite Bonnet, Marlene Sanders, Mary Brogdon. Welcome & Introductions Mindfulness Minutes/Intention - We didn’t practice meditation; all members present were excited to discuss the Agenda. E ducation Committee Work Group Paper Tigers: Debrief Friday, 10/14/16, Screening at...
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7th Orange County ACEs Task Force Meeting Agenda
Orange County ACEs Task Force AGENDA November 16, 2016 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm Location: Laguna Woods Village Elm Room - Community Center 24351 El Toro Road Laguna Woods, CA 92630 Welcome & Introductions - Share how you’re feeling in your heart presently. E ducation Committee Work Group Resilience: Friday November 18th, 2016 7:00- 9:00 pm Center for Spiritual Living, San Clemente - View Resilience Screening - Update logistics of Friday’s screening (encourage to sit up front rows at Center) -...
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ACEs Connection Network Confab -- Southern California, May 10, 2016
(l to r) Sienna, one of the teens from Youth Voice from City Heights; Dana Brown, ACEs Connection Network regional facilitator and co-founder of Youth Voice; Francisco Mendoza, CEO, Mendoza Consulting; Jessica, Youth Voice; Lizette, Youth Voice; Talitha Thompson, Youth Voice co-facilitator; Joshua Aguirre, RISE Up Industries board of directors; Stephanie Linderman, Youth Voice mentor; Arturo Soriano, Youth Empowerment co-founder; (in front) Adrian, Youth Voice.
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Advance Practice at the ACEs 2016 Project Showcase
From the organizers of the 2016 ACEs Conference , San Francisco, CA, October 19th -21st, 2016. Please consider submitting your project today! We know building connections and learning across fields is the best way to advance practices that support children. That’s why we’re very excited to invite you to submit your work to the 2016 Conference on Adverse Childhood Experiences Project Showcase . We’re looking to highlight research, programs, tools or other initiatives that: Highlight the role...
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Adversity Is Not Destiny
Childhood adversity can activate the human stress response system, which is primarily made up of the hormones/chemicals cortisol and adrenaline. In the developing brain of a child, prolonged activation of the stress response system can cause these chemicals to actually become toxic. Think of that – a child’s brain being bathed in toxic chemicals due to abuse, neglect, or chaotic household dysfunction. It’s called toxic stress. It’s real, not imagined, and it’s physiological, potentially...
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Anaheim Mayor Tom Tait proposes jobs for homeless in State of the City (ocregister.com)
Jobs are key to solving the city’s homeless issue, Mayor Tom Tait said, proposing Better Way Anaheim, an initiative for giving people opportunities to work while improving the community. “A good job can transform a life,” said Tait, who is modeling his initiative after Albuquerque’s There’s a Better Way program. “It brings a person dignity and purpose. It focuses them on working with others to get a job done, and done well.” “It would be basic work,” Anaheim spokesman Mike Lyster said.
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Apply now to Showcase your work at the San Francisco National ACEs Conference in October 2018!
Applications due June 18. Application link included in this post
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Apps for Refugees [TheAtlantic.com]
In september 2015, the body of Aylan Kurdi, a 3-year-old Syrian migrant, washed up on a Turkish beach. The boy had fallen off a rubber raft provided by a smuggler who had promised the boy’s father a motorboat. As the startling images of the drowned boy spread, they prompted an outpouring of humanitarian aid—including from the tech sector, which wanted to help prevent the next Aylan from drowning. Knowing that many refugees have access to cellphones, volunteers around the world began...
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Broadening Your Network and Identifying Partners for More Resilient, Healthier Communities
Who should you partner with to create lasting change through resilience in your community? The Building Community Resilience (BCR) initiative aims to address, prevent, and reduce the effects of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and adverse community environments (ACEs) on children’s health and wellbeing ( The “Pair of ACEs” ). An essential element of the successes of BCR’s five test sites around the country has been strategic collaborations. In your work to build resilience, identifying...
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Building Healthy Communi: North Star Goals & Indicators [Calendow.org]
For generations travelers have understood the importance of always knowing the location of the North Star. As the only fixed point in the night sky, the North Star is a constant companion and a sure reference for setting one’s course on a journey. For TCE's Building Healthy Communities Initiative, we too are setting our North Star that will guide our BHC work over the next half of the initiative. Our North Star Goals and Indicators illustrate what success looks like in 2020. Essentially, the...
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California 2018 State Profile
Hi, Everyone: Here’s the state profile for California. To review the entire profile, open the PDF that is attached to this post. If you have corrections or additions, please leave them in the comments section of this post. We’ll be reviewing the comments regularly and doing fact-checks. The information you give us will also help us determine how to organize and expand the information in the state profiles. We will be turning this post into a living profile that, with your help and input,...
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California bishops: The mental health care system is broken (americamagazine.org)
The Catholic bishops of California on May 1 released “ Hope and Healing ,” a pastoral letter on the care of those who struggle with mental illness . “People who suffer from severe and persistent mental illnesses are among the most misunderstood, ignored and unjustly stigmatized members of our society,” the bishops write in the passionate and strongly worded statement. “For them, our communities and parishes should be places of refuge and healing, not places of rejection or judgment.” “There...
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California can curb violence against incarcerated children. Here’s how. (ocregister.com)
When I was 16, I was incarcerated in juvenile hall. Whenever I was moved within the facility, I was shackled. They would chain my ankles and handcuff my wrists to a belly-chain. I was bound like this anytime I went to see the nurse, the psychiatrist and whenever I went outside. Twenty years later, I still have scars where the cuffs carved into my ankles. Policies in California’s youth prisons, including the use of shackles, cause serious harm to our children. The vast majority of...
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California issues update on state residents' ACE scores from 2011 & 2013 surveys
The latest adverse childhood experiences survey from the California Department of Public Health shows that 42% of the population has an ACE score of 3 or higher; 16% have an ACE score of 4 or higher. Those with an ACE score of 4 or higher are: 3x more likely to be current smokers 4x more likely to have a depressive disorder 2x more likely to have asthma 2x more likely to be obese 4x more likely to have COPD 3x more likely to have a stroke Here are a few other highlights from the six-page...
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County Approves Homeless Shelter, Armory Shelter Operator (voiceofoc.org)
(Santa Ana, CA) — The Orange County Board of Supervisors has selected Mercy House Living Centers Inc. to operate a new 200-bed year-round emergency shelter and multi-service center in Anaheim to serve those without permanent housing, as well as operate seasonal cold-weather shelters at National Guard armories in Fullerton and Santa Ana. Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to select Mercy House, which for years has partnered with the County to provide emergency shelter and housing services.
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Cultivating Leaderful Ecosystems (nonprofitquarterly.org)
The Management Assistance Group (MAG) is one of NPQ ’s go-to sources of information about social justice movements. MAG works with a number of the networks that are moving some of this nation’s most difficult issues. MAG has come to believe there are five elements that are critical to advancing a thriving justice ecosystem. This is the second in a special five-part series, in which MAG and NPQ invite you to contribute to the evolution of what these elements mean in practice. A critical shift...
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Early childhood educators learn new ways to spot trauma triggers, build resilience in preschoolers
A hug may be comforting to many children, but for a child who has experienced trauma it may not feel safe.
That’s an example used by Julie Kurtz, co-director of trauma informed practices in early childhood education at the WestEd Center for Child & Family Studies (CCFS), as she begins a trauma training session. Her audience, preschool teachers and staff of the San Francisco-based Wu Yee Children’s Services at San Francisco’s Women’s Building, listen attentively.
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How an Orange County organization uses discarded food to help solve hunger (ocregister.com)
A food recovery model now being eyed by neighboring counties was refined through the work of a lifelong Orange resident – whose experience as a restaurateur opened the door to turning millions of pounds of excess food into meals for the hungry. This year, nearly 11.5 million pounds of excess food in Orange County, normally headed toward the garbage bin, went instead to help those struggling with food insecurity, thanks to a model developed by the Waste Not OC Coalition and refined by its...
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How One Connection at CYW’s ACEs Conference Sparked Awareness into Action
Origins offers a number of training and consulting services. We developed The Basics as a half-day session to provide the foundation to support trauma-informed and resilience practices across sectors and industries. The session includes an overview of the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study, the neurobiology of toxic stress, the impact of social and historical trauma, and the science of resilience. We have tested The Basics with two cross-sector audiences, in Los Angeles and Phoenix.
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Hundreds gathered in City Heights last month for the San Diego premier of Resilience -The Biology of Stress and Science of Hope.
The crowd arrived to the aroma of freshly popped popcorn that wafted through the Cherokee Point Elementary School auditorium. With bags of popcorn and plates filled with fresh-cut fruits and vegetables from trays on tables lining the wall, the service providers, policy makers, community advocates, graduate students, teachers and parents settled in for a movie and a panel discussion that brought many to tears. Dr. Dawn Griffin, a professor in Alliant International University departments of...
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'I'm looking for a fresh start,' say ex-cons attending job, resource fair in Anaheim (ocregister.com)
Austin Barry stood outside of the Honda Center on Tuesday looking for a little redemption and a job. Just eight days out of prison for a robbery conviction, the 24-year-old Mission Viejo resident was among 200 former offenders who attended the Orange County Re-entry Resource Fair, which connected felons with employment opportunities, legal advice and drug-treatment programs. “I’m looking for a fresh start, which is kind of hard for any person with a record,” said Barry, who served a 2...
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In One of the Nation’s Most Conservative Places, A Sanctuary City (yesmagazine.org)
Protection, shelter, fear, and displacement: I found them all in Santa Ana, California, a self-proclaimed sanctuary city. This was my first home in the U.S. after my mom brought me here as a child. I remember a vibrant Fourth Street, a hub for all Mexican-related things, from homemade tortillas to traditional music. Though much has changed in the 18 years since I lived there, Santa Ana remains the epicenter for social justice activism in Orange County, one of the most conservative places in...
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Orange County hiring 'homeless czar' in its focus to help those in need [OCRegister.com]
Efforts to help and house Orange County’s homeless may become more fruitful under a soon-to-be hired “homeless czar” and the formation of a faith-based coalition focused on Santa Ana’s Civic Center, site of the county’s highest concentration of people living on the streets. County officials confirmed that Susan Price, who has been the point person on homeless issues for the city of Long Beach, is expected to start work May 27 as Orange County’s social care coordinator, a job that entails...
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Orange County Trauma and Resilience Network One Pager
Attached find a 2018 version of Orange County community profile detailing information about your community ACEs initiative. This will be shared with CA legislators at the Trauma-Informed Policymaker Awareness Day on May 22nd in Sacramento. I attach it here as a PDF ready to print and share! I also have uploaded into 'Resources for Downloading' the same PDF, and an editable Word document so that you can update or otherwise improve it. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to reach out to...
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Portraits of Professional CAREgivers: Their Passion. Their Pain - FREE Screening for ACEs Connection Network!
I am excited to announce that ACEs Connection Network has partnered with the producers of the film, Portraits of Professional CAREgivers: Their Passion. Their Pain . to host a FREE SCREENING of the film for our members. If you have been t hinking of hosting a screening of CAREgivers in your community or are interested in learning more about secondary traumatic stress and what to do about it, join our ACEs Connection Network for a FREE screening of this film and a virtual chat with the...
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Putting the Power of Self-Knowledge to Work [NY Times]
Thirty years ago, the Nobel Prize-winning novelist Doris Lessing gave a series of lectures, later published in a book, “ Prisons We Choose to Live Inside ,” in which she reflected on the brutality in the world and asked how individuals and societies could evolve into something better. It’s a sobering book, but Lessing is hopeful — and her main source of hope stems from the capacity of human beings to study themselves and learn from their own behavior. “I think when people look back at our...
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Save the Date: July 11, 4CA Policymaker Education Day in Sacramento
Save the Date: Tuesday, July 11 4CA Policymaker Education Day on Childhood Adversity, Sacramento The California Campaign to Counter Childhood Adversity (4CA) invites you to Sacramento for Policymaker Education Day. Our lawmakers need to hear from you about how adverse childhood experiences and childhood trauma affect your community and what they can do to help. Join with allies from across California to engage your elected officials on this important issue. Who: 4CA Policymaker Education Day...
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Self Care Webinar on 11/16/16 Hosted by Futures Without Violence
Compassion Fatigue & Self-Care for Individuals and Organizations Brought to you by Futures Without Violence’s Supporting Organizational Sustainability Institute (SOS Institute) in partnership with the Office on Violence Against Women. Date: Wednesday, November 16, 2016 Time : 9:30 a.m. PT, 10:30 a.m. MT, 11:30 p.m. CT, 12:30 p.m. ET (1 Hr. 30 Min.) ***Closed caption will be provided. Registration Link:...
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So you know about ACEs...Turn your AHA! into Action!
Spring is the time for rebirth and new beginnings! As we look around, we can observe nature around us awakening after a long winter sleep. A true sign of resilience. At Origins , we have been lucky enough to create a space for growth and learning for both groups and individuals who work towards creating environments of healing and resilience over the winter months. After completing the first round of The Resilience Champion Certificate of 2018, we have 23 graduates putting their action plans...
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Stigma of mental illness rooted in Korean culture (ocregister.com)
(Image: Mikyong Kim-Goh, professor at Department of Social Work at Calstate Fullerton) The stigma of mental illness in the Korean American community – a stigma that only now is starting to change – is deeply rooted in culture and history. Mikyong Kim-Goh, professor of social work at Cal State Fullerton, explained the dynamic, saying it remains difficult for many people of Korean descent to seek help for ailments that are not physical. Q: Why is mental illness so stigmatized in the Korean...
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Strengthening Community Trust Sypmposium - Family & Youth Support Partner Initiative
The Diversity Development Center invites you to attend the first in a series of Strengthening Community Trust Symposiums to take place at Marina Village Conference Center Building A, 1936 Quivira Way, San Diego, CA 92109 on July 18th and 19th, 2018. FAMILY & YOUTH SUPPORT PARTNER MODEL A Family and Youth Support Partner is an individual, with lived experiences in the respective system(s), who is trained and hired to help other families as a paraprofessional. We believe trust is the...
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Strengthening Community Trust Sypmposium - Family & Youth Support Partner Initiative
The Diversity Development Center invites you to attend the first in a series of Strengthening Community Trust Symposiums to take place at Marina Village Conference Center Building A, 1936 Quivira Way, San Diego, CA 92109 on July 18th and 19th, 2018. FAMILY & YOUTH SUPPORT PARTNER MODEL A Family and Youth Support Partner is an individual, with lived experiences in the respective system(s), who is trained and hired to help other families as a paraprofessional. We believe trust is the...
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Syrian Children in a state of Toxic Stress
An article posted by BBC News captures what the children of Syria are experiencing and how many of these children don't know anything but war. This is a huge public health concern that could lead to irreversible damage to an entire generation of children. Save the Children shares, "Millions of Syrian Children could be living in a state of "Toxic Stress" due to prolonged exposure to the horrors of war." I have attached the Report, Invisible Wounds produced by Save the Children if you're...
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Taking Military Sexual Trauma Seriously [TheAtlantic.com]
Eileen Moore agreed to volunteer as a mentor to veterans in the Orange County Community Court because of her deep commitment to military men and women and her experience as a combat nurse during the Vietnam War. She’s also an associate justice for the state’s 4th District Court of Appeal, so her knowledge of the law likely came in handy from time to time. “Over the years, I’ve mentored most of the women, but sometimes men as well,” she said. In 2015, vets in the OCCC Veterans Treatment Court...
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Temporary homeless shelter approved in Santa Ana while county, city point fingers (ocregister.com)
Orange County plans to open a temporary homeless shelter in a former Santa Ana bus terminal within 30 days in an effort to address mounting pressure to reduce a large homeless encampment that has engulfed nearby government offices, causing health and safety problems. The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to convert the terminal and directed County CEO Frank Kim to meet with Santa Ana City Manager David Cavazos to find a suitable Santa Ana location for a permanent homeless...
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Toxic Stress, Toxic Streets (4 minute video)
This video is about 2 years old, but I just came across it last week and wanted to share with you all. It is a powerful statement by the students at Leadership High School in San Francisco, CA. They speak about the ongoing adversity and toxic stress in their daily lives and in their community, all through the power of music. The youth voice is so important as we work to bring trauma-informed and resilience building practices to communities. Link to video: Toxic Stress, Toxic Streets
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Trauma-Responsive Schools Conference in Southern California
HERE this NOW is proud to bring its Trauma-Responsive Schools Conference to California, October 23 – 25, 2019, at the stunning Temecula Creek Inn in Temecula, CA (2 hours north of San Diego; 3-hours south of Los Angeles). This is not a typical conference. Participants will be actively engaged in an immersive experience, rendering more growth - personal and professional. Five diversely skilled and experienced pioneers of trauma-informed schools change are coming together for first time, to...
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Workplace protections for farmworkers a historic achievement (ocregister.com)
For more than 75 years, farmworkers have been subject to a different set of laws and workplace protections than the rest of us. While most Californians receive overtime pay when they work more than eight hours in a day or 40 hours in a week, a loophole in the law blocked workers who pick our fruits and vegetables from being paid overtime until they worked 10 hours a day or 60 hours a week. Why? Because corporate farmers convinced politicians their profits were more important than fairness.
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Young riders saddle up on the sensory trail (ocregister.com)
It’s easy to drive right past the bucolic pasture tucked between houses on a winding road in Anaheim Hills. But once you locate the unassuming entrance to Canyon Acres Ranch, suburbia suddenly becomes backcountry. With its barn, stables, four horses and 10 chickens, Canyon Acres Ranch acts as a salve to the children who visit. There, Tustin-based Seneca Orange County offers Guided Animal Intervention Therapy, or GAIT. GAIT, the only equine-assisted program of its kind in Orange County,...
Ask the Community
Seeking trauma-informed medical care
On the chance that someone here can offer a referral or advice, I'm looking for a trauma-informed medical doctor who can be my wife's Primary Care Physician. She is 39 years old and has gone without medical care for over 27 years as a result of her childhood trauma which involved severe neglect and long-term social isolation. I need to find a physician who is willing to communicate with me before her first appointment so I can fully explain her condition and what kind of approach will best...
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Kris Perry to speak at the 4CA Policymaker Education Day (May 1) - Still time to register!
Kris Perry to speak at Policymaker Education Day- Still time to register!