Tagged With "Source of Hope"
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The Absence of Punishment in Our Schools
Where to begin... My heart is full of hope and joy as I watch the trauma-informed schools movement swell across our nation and planet. The science of ACEs is mind-bending to say the least and we are now able to open up a much deeper dialogue about human behavior and health. Ultimately this work is about healing… All. Of. Us. A new consciousness is taking root around ending the “us vs them” construct. The idea is growing that we’re all on this journey together and that no matter where our...
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The Power of Hope to Mitigate Vicarious Trauma and Burnout
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has identified child maltreatment as a major public health concern, and adult survivors of child maltreatment are at significant risk of chronic disease and premature mortality. This constant exposure to child maltreatment makes these health care practitioners uniquely vulnerable to stressors associated with burnout.
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The Power of We
Walking into the recent Oklahoma Department of Education conference It Starts Here: Trauma-Informed Instruction Summit , it was clear that this event would be different than so many symposiums during the corporate school reform era. Ordinarily, the hallway is full of breakfast foods and tables of deep-pocketed education consultants. During this time of austerity, the lack of pastries wasn’t that surprising. But the halls were full of tables of nonprofit social service providers. Even before...
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The Year Without Graduation
This is the week the Governor of California called off the rest of the school year. Many states are following. This is not just the year of COVID. This is the year without graduation. That means 3.7 million high school seniors in the Class of 2020 are not going to wear their caps and gowns in May and June. Let me speak to you seniors if I may. (The rest of you should stay here, too. You need to get what they are losing). You began the year with senior photos. Sports for the last time for...
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TIC Take Five: Navigating through Grief: Supports for Ourselves and Others
Here's another in a little series we're posting over on the Lancaster County (PA) ACES & Resilience Connection site to promote a regular practice to "take five" (minutes) for self-care. Sharing with the wider ACES Connection community in case it's helpful. Peace. Be well, everyone. In an article last week in Harvard Business Review, titled “That Discomfort You’re Feeling is Grief”, grief expert David Kessler names the multiple types of losses we’re experiencing in the midst of the...
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Trauma-Informed is Messy Business…
Words like trauma-informed and resiliency get thrown around a lot these days. And for many, the visions they call up are a bit too glossy. You see resiliency and trauma-informed aren’t always pretty. Resiliency can look like closing the bathroom door and collapsing in tears… but then washing your face and going back into the world, carrying the belief that you can survive and the hope that things will get better. It looks like begrudgingly going on that walk with a friend, when the little...
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Trauma-Informed Social Justice: Q&A with Dr. Bukuloa Ogunkua
Cissy's Note: I work with people who challenge systems and policies, who reform or start non-profits, and who see hope and promise where others see despair or destruction. While some folks shake their heads or shrug indifferently in the face of injustice and suffering, others organize, mobilize, and channel their time and energy towards making a change. Maybe a physician hosts an annual conference bringing trauma-informed approaches to medical practice. Perhaps a woman shares ACEs 101...
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Virtual Screening of Cracked Up for ACEs Connection Members: June 9-10 - Register Now!
We are excited to offer an exclusive virtual screening to all ACEs Connection members of the new, acclaimed film, CRACKED UP . This documentary film is about the long term effects of childhood trauma, told through Saturday Night Live veteran Darrell Hammond’s journey in discovering adverse childhood experiences at the root of his lifelong battle with self-harm, addiction, and misdiagnosis. The film’s director, Michelle Esrick, and other special guests will join us after the screening window...
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"Faces of ACEs: The Lifelong Impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences" Conference 2019
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...
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Fogelman: ACEs test key part of Project AWARE
There is hope for the future. That may seem like a broad statement, but it is true. If the future is our children and our children have potential, the future is in good hands. Let’s start with the bad news first. Toxic stress physically damages a child’s developing brain, according to neuroscientists and pediatricians. The good news - science has proven that through neuroplasticity, the brain has the capacity for resilience. One way to find out the risks for a child or community is through...
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Fogleman: Documentary, panel focuses on trauma, stress
The documentary Resilience: The Biology of Stress and the Science of Hope was shown to community members at High Plains Technology Center on Monday. The one hour video focused on the impact of trauma on children’s health and ways to help them and their families become resilient. After the film, a panel of local community leaders answered questions about how this research can be applied in the community. “This film is about the impact of trauma on development on your health and well being...
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Grimwood: 'Oklahoma kids are suffering the most': Nearly 1 in 3 go through multiple adverse experiences, trauma
Nearly one-third of Oklahoma children have had multiple adverse childhood experiences, an audience of advocates for children was told Thursday evening. The Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy, in conjunction with the Tulsa World and Tulsa Lawyers for Children, showcased the film “ Resilience: The Biology of Stress & The Science of Hope” on Thursday evening at the Circle Cinema. The film was a lead-in to the topic of adverse child experiences, also known as ACEs, and an hour-long...
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Guide - Creating Trauma-Informed Policies: A Practice Guide for School and Mental Health Leadership
Author, Leora Wolf-Prusan, EdD, School Mental Health lead for SAMHSA's Mental Health Technology Center Pacific Southwest http://mhttcnetwork.org/mhttc/mhttc-psw.html Creating compassionate policies is a cornerstone strategy of educational leadership. This guide provides a deep dive into developing, implementing, and evaluating trauma-informed and compassionate school policies. It highlights four "choice points" for education and mental health leadership: Choice Point 1: Names &...
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Hi!
Hello Oklahomans! As your Regional Community Facilitator, I am excited to work together. I have an affinity for homegrown movements. I, myself, am a part of a thriving collective impact in Nashville, TN called ACE Nashville. I have extensive experience creating a local movement and I hope I can be a resource for you, not just on ACEs Connection but also with your efforts within your cities and communities. I have a wealth of knowledge when it comes to collective impact and collective effort.
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Hofmeister: Moving beyond trauma to hope
‘Our future can be brighter than our past.” These words of hope are critical for hundreds of thousands of Oklahoma children impacted by trauma and the public educators who serve them. Science tells us that childhood experiences of abuse and neglect linger in the brains of young people — causing them to relive their most agonizing experiences in an endless feedback loop and propelling them into a subconscious, and recurring, state of fight or flight that disrupts their ability to learn.
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Hope Matters More Than Anything Else by Casey Gwinn, J.D. & Chan Hellman, P.HD.
(Emeka Nnaka was just featured on the Ellen DeGeneres Show. His story of courage begins Chapter 3 of Hope Rising: How the Science of HOPE Can Change Your Life by Casey Gwinn, J.D. & Chan Hellman, P.HD. Emeka Emeka Nnaka watched the ball fly as the kick-off began the game. Emeka zeroed in on the returner as he caught the ball. The returner shed the first tackle, then ran through a block. He headed toward Emeka, coming full speed. Emeka wrapped him up. The sound of the collision...
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Limited Dollars, Significant Influence: How We Advocate, Convene & Catalyze
So Your Grant $ Don’t Go Far? Then be little but loud! Using your voice with people of influence can move others to action. Be they business, foundation or policy makers; you have credibility (earned or not) just by virtue of being a foundation. You can provide a stronger voice for the cause represented by the nonprofits that do the work you care about. That voice can be through social media, through newspaper editorials, through presentations to civic groups, etc. You can involve volunteer...
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Looking at childhood experiences related to stress
April is Stress Awareness Month and Child Abuse Awareness Month. In recognition of both of themes of awareness, I want to raise cognizance of toxic stress and adverse childhood experiences (ACES). Both lifelong physical and mental health problems arise when children experience extreme stress (toxic stress) caused by ACEs. Daily many children in our community experience toxic stress related to adverse childhood experiences (ACE). ...
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Martinez-Keel: 'A source of hope': Oklahoma teachers learn impact of child trauma at state summit
Thousands of educators gathered in the Cox Convention Center on Monday and eagerly stared at a model of a brain. With 86 billion neurons firing, the brain is a “miracle of complexity,” Dr. Bruce Perry said as he showed the image on a screen. The impact of childhood trauma is similarly intricate. The renowned psychiatrist and child trauma expert spoke to an arena full of teachers, school counselors and nonprofit workers for the Oklahoma State Department of Education’s third-annual trauma...
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Neal: Trying to Break Cycle
A near-capacity crowd gathered in the lecture hall at Autry Technology Center on Monday morning for the showing of a documentary and public discussion of how childhood trauma is negatively impacting the community. It was one of two showings Monday of “Resilience: The Biology of Stress and the Science of Hope,” which drew educators, mental health professionals, clergy, social workers, nonprofit and civic leaders together to discuss ways to improve social and health outcomes for community...
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Nothing Matters More Than Hope -- Including Resiliency
“In every published study of hope, every single one, hope is the single best predictor of well-being compared to any other measures of trauma recovery. This finding is consistently corroborated with other published studies from top universities showing that hope is the best predictor for a life well-lived."
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OK Trauma-Informed Care Task Force to launch
(l to r) Joe Dorman, CEO, OK Institute for Child Advocacy, OK State Rep. Mark Lepak _______________________________________________________________ Joe Dorman, CEO of Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy (OICA) , and former Oklahoma state representative and challenger to Republican Governor Mary Fallin in 2014, conveyed surprise and satisfaction when he told me that Fallin gave him the pen she used to sign a bill to create a Task Force on Trauma-Informed Care ( SB 1517 ) in April. This...
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Oklahoma First Lady Stitt to provide resilience workshop at Northwestern
Alva and Northwestern Oklahoma State University will host Oklahoma's First Lady Sarah Stitt on Feb. 13 at an event designed to educate community members about Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE). Stitt and her office have joined forces with the Potts Family Foundation, Northwestern and Northwest Family Services to present a film screening and panel discussion on this important topic. The documentary film "Resilience: The Biology of Stress and the Science of Hope" will be shown at 11 a.m. in...
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Positive Childhood Experiences offset ACEs: Q & A with Dr. Robert Sege about HOPE
Tufts University medical professor Dr. Robert Sege directs the Center for Community-Engaged Medicine and is nationally known for his research on effective health systems approaches that address social determinants of health. He is also the principal investigator for the HOPE framework (Healthy Outcomes from Positive Experiences).The HOPE framework is based on research that shows how positive childhood experiences can mitigate the effects of adverse childhood experiences. Sege and colleagues...
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Positive Childhood Experiences offset ACEs: Q & A with Dr. Robert Sege about HOPE
Tufts University medical professor Dr. Robert Sege directs the Center for Community-Engaged Medicine and is nationally known for his research on effective health systems approaches that address social determinants of health. He is also the principal investigator for the HOPE framework (Healthy Outcomes from Positive Experiences).The HOPE framework is based on research that shows how positive childhood experiences can mitigate the effects of adverse childhood experiences. Sege and colleagues...
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Resilience Milestone
Shortly after purchasing the documentary film Resilience: The Biology of Stress and the Science of Hope , the Potts Family Foundation (PFF) strategized how best to share the potential impact this film could have on policy makers and within individual communities across the state of Oklahoma. Discussions related to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and their impact on children’s social, emotional and cognitive development, as well as the resultant poor health outcomes in adults, could be a...
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Resilience Showing & Hope Rising Tour with First Lady Sarah Stitt
Our next stop on the Raising Resilient Oklahomans Hope Rising Tour with First Lady Sarah Stitt will be in Duncan on Thursday, January 16th with two viewing options - 11:00 - 1:00 - https://www.eventbrite.com/e/resilience-the-science-of-hope-tickets-86820489421?aff=ebdssbcitybrowse and 5:30 - 7:30 - https://www.eventbrite.com/e/resilience-the-science-of-hope-evening-showing-tickets-86835109149?aff=ebdssbdestsearch . Each showing will feature a panel of local professionals moderated by...
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Roach: OK25by25 promotes resilience and family positive workplace
What’s the best way to improve the well-being of young children and their families in Oklahoma? The OK25by25 Early Childhood Coalition has focused its efforts on two major programs: Resilience and Family Positive Workplace. Both of these programs support the goal of improving the well-being of children, pre-birth to 5, and their families. The goal of OK25by25, a 10-year initiative managed by the Potts Family Foundation (PFF), is to move Oklahoma to the Top 25 states, by 2025, in selected...
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Saegert: Partners in Education awarded $1,000 grant
A local organization is working to increase awareness of what trauma can do to a child, and by extension, an entire community. Partners in Education was recently awarded a $1,000 grant from the Potts Family Foundation . The foundation is working with organizations across the state to help inform communities about the nature of trauma. PIE Executive Director Cynthia Pickens said because her organization focuses on education, the topic is a relevant one. “The adverse childhood experiences are...
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Settling In While Feeling Unsettled
How quickly the outside world has influenced our inner world and changed our thoughts, patterns, and triggers. Life is definitely coming in waves. We feel a sense of safety if we can be in a healthy home, fear and worry if we have to venture out for food, calm returns after we practice something that soothes and regulates us, and anxiety builds when we hear news and the impact the virus has on the whole world. We are beginning to expect and accept many unpredictable and unknown...
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Simmons: Mental health scientists offer hope after sobering report on state's infants and toddlers
Data is being collected to support the theory that where a child grows up can have a large impact on the developing brain. Friday at the Stillwater Public Library, childhood development experts weighed in on the 2019 State of Babies report (stateofbabies.org) that graded each state, and showed a lot of room to grow for Oklahoma’s rural communities. Room to grow was a euphemism the program used to mean that things could be a lot better for infants and toddlers in Oklahoma. Resilient Payne...
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Slipke: Oklahoma City police, school district team up to help children exposed to trauma
Oklahoma City school officials and police have teamed up to help students who are exposed to trauma through a new initiative called Handle with Care. It's a simple idea, but one that they hope will have a big impact on the lives of local students. When police officers encounter a child who has experienced a traumatic situation, such as domestic violence, a car wreck or the arrest of a parent, they send an email to the school district with the child's name and age or school so school...
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'A Source of Hope': Oklahoma Teachers Learn Impact of Childhood Trauma at State Summit [oklahoman.com]
By Nuria Martinez-Keel, The Oklahoman, February 17, 2020 Thousands of educators gathered in the Cox Convention Center on Monday and eagerly stared at a model of a brain. With 86 billion neurons firing, the brain is a “miracle of complexity,” Dr. Bruce Perry said as he showed the image on a screen. The impact of childhood trauma is similarly intricate. The renowned psychiatrist and child trauma expert spoke to an arena full of teachers, school counselors and nonprofit workers for the Oklahoma...
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Balancing Gravity and Grace
Since we are all caught in the unpredictable, uncontrollable environment of Covid 19 right now, we are all experiencing trauma at one level or another. Some are experiencing much more fear, grief, anxiety, helplessness and overwhelming sense of vulnerability and loss of control. Others are just experiencing the creation of a work space at home, meeting co-workers virtually, and remaining at home as much as possible from obligation more than fear. Regardless of what level of stress you are...
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Belew: Oklahoma First Lady stops in Duncan, focuses on preventing adverse childhood experiences through tour and film screening
“The child may not remember but the body remembers.” That was the key saying behind the “Resilience: The Biology of Stress and the Science of Hope” film screening Thursday, Jan. 16 when First Lady Sarah Stitt brought the Hope Rising Tour to Duncan in an effort to educate and help prevent Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) plaguing youth in the state. “Resilience” focuses on the concept of ACEs, which is now understood to be a leading cause of “everything from heart disease and cancer to...
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Better ACEs research, terms lead to better solutions by John Thompson
T here is a consistent pattern in the conferences sponsored by the Potts Family Foundation , such as its Raising Resilient Oklahomans! summit March 7 in Edmond. First, they update the cutting-edge scientific research on early education and on cognitive concerns, like the effects of adverse childhood experiences ( ACEs ). Then, national and local experts pioneer new ways of articulating these challenges in ways that advance a constructive search for solutions. The summit used new research and...
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Building Resilient, Self-Healing Communities
An exciting and somewhat logical outgrowth that has followed the Resilience documentary screenings sponsored by the Potts Family Foundation has been the creation of multidisciplinary teams formed to think about and take next steps within their communities. Led by Resilient Payne County, formed over two years ago, other communities are following a similar path in bringing key leaders together to assess their community’s strengths and define community needs around mitigating and preventing the...
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Compassion Fatigue: Resiliency and Self Care
Compassion Fatigue: Resiliency and Self-Care Every day we read about people all over the world who experience and endure traumatic life events such as natural and man-made disasters, violence, abuse, and other overwhelming adverse life situations. These occurrences are all too common. Research indicates that up to 60 percent of the U.S. population will experience a traumatic event during their lifetime and some experience multiple traumas first-hand. Traumatic exposure has been implicated as...
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Conley: Month of May ushers in final weeks
As promised, I have diligently worked on putting kids and families first. I have worked with the Potts Family Foundation to move the conversation of children in trauma forward in House District 20. The Potts Family Foundation has a powerful video called, Resilience: The Biology of Stress and the Science of Hope. Together we brought this video to two of our school districts in HD20 and are working to bring it to the others for teachers’ professional development in August. Through House Bill...
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Creating hope from adverse childhood experiences
There is no doubt that the landmark Adverse Childhood Experiences study by Anda and Felitti has shifted the landscape of how we think about childhood. The ACEs study established the link between early adverse experiences and later negative outcomes. A brief overview of the key areas of early adversity included in the ACEs study are: (1) physical abuse, (2) sexual abuse, (4) physical neglect, (5) emotional neglect, (6) having a parent with a mental illness, (7) having a parent with substance...
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D. D. Kirkland School features innovation, partnerships
A t the invitation of an early education expert with the Potts Family Foundation , I attended the Aug. 14 D.D. Kirkland Early Childhood Center Screening Day and Meet the Teacher event. I should add that this retired high school teacher did not grasp the importance of high-quality pre-K until I was schooled by Ray Potts (as well as John Rex) during MAPS for Kids. Back then, there were still some doubts as to the benefits of pre-K and full-service community schools like D.D. Kirkland. I should...
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Denwalt: Oklahoma trying to overcome top rank for emotional, physical childhood trauma
Oklahoma children are more likely to experience toxic, adverse conditions at home than children in other states, but there is hope for a better future, Senate lawmakers were told Thursday. State health officials said recent studies show Oklahoma ranks as the worst in the nation when it comes to the number of adverse childhood experiences. Such experiences include neglect and abuse, drug use in the home, exposure to domestic violence, living with someone who is mentally ill, having an...
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Dulaney: 'We had to discuss those things and go deep': Play aims to help Oklahoma children of inmates
NORMAN — The story of a convict and his dog unfolded on a Norman stage Tuesday as playwright and producer Peter Zhmutski directed actors, moved props and rewrote lines for “Marvin’s Shining Star,” a teleplay aimed at helping children of incarcerated parents. Filming of the play wraps up this week and once production is finished, creators hope to distribute it throughout Oklahoma schools, along with the script, set design instructions, and follow-up questions for students so they can produce...
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Re: Nothing Matters More Than Hope -- Including Resiliency
Hope is the key ingredient to truly integrate trauma and become resilient. How wonderful to have scientific data to prove the impact of hope!
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Re: The Power of Hope to Mitigate Vicarious Trauma and Burnout
Thank you for posting this Casey! We have several groups now in Oklahoma working with Chan and many more in line! We love the Science of Hope and are incorporating it into our Resilience documentary showings and our work with the 20 Self-Healing Community teams.
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Re: Limited Dollars, Significant Influence: How We Advocate, Convene & Catalyze
Dear Ms. Pat Potts: I hope you will also be able to secure a position on the State's Adverse Childhood Experiences Task Force. You would be a mighty voice for action with on that team! I think everything you are doing is life-changing and life-saving work. You are making an impact and generational shift in our State that is launching us into a new direction of hope-centeredness with overall improved health, wellness and nurturing outcomes as we all partner to overcome trauma in Oklahoma.
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COVID-19 - Even More Reason To
Covid-19 – Even more reason to. We know the most important thing we can do is be connected to ourselves and others, and out of that connection do the best we can to care for ourselves and each other. And with so many needs in our world, maybe even our personal one, that internal and external connection is more necessary than ever. With Covid-19, we have seen an increase in both intensity and need across the spectrum. Those that needed us to be connected and involved before, need us even more...
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100% Community - Let’s Do It!
I have been following the work of Katherine Ortega Courtney and Dominic Cappello since they wrote the book Anna, Age Eight in late 2017. They are honest in their assessment of the systemic problems in most of our state agency networks and too frequent failures to protect children and families as a result of those breakdowns. What I love most is they are solution oriented and offer fairly simple solutions. The caveat to that is these solutions require a huge paradigm shift - bigger for some...