By Anya Kamenetz, National Public Radio, February 25, 2021 When you think of the history of Black education in the United States, you might think of Brown vs. Board of Education and the fight to integrate public schools. But there's a parallel history too, of Black people pooling their resources to educate and empower themselves independently. Enslaved people learned to read and write whenever and wherever they could, often in secret and against the law. "In accomplishing this, I was...

By Tara O'Neill Hayes, American Action Forum, February 16, 2021 Executive Summary The Biden Administration’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan , currently making its way through Congress, would provide significant financial assistance through a wide array of government programs. In addition to the myriad provisions t he American Action Forum re views here , the package provides funding for child care , child abuse and prevention, nutrition assistance, and health care in rural areas . This...

By CVS Health, February 8, 2021 Aetna Better Health, the Medicaid managed care business of Aetna, a CVS Health company, today announced the launch of the Trauma Informed Care Center of Excellence (Center). Aetna will stand up Centers in California and Oklahoma to address secondary trauma – the emotional duress that results when an individual is exposed to the firsthand trauma experience of another – in the workforce. Aetna plans to extend the model to Ohio and Nevada in the coming months.

On a rainy thursday afternoon in November, I stepped inside the National Museum of African American History and Culture , in Washington, D.C. On past visits, I’d always encountered crowds of tourists and school groups, a space bursting with movement and sound. But on this day, the museum was nearly empty. It seemed to echo with all the people who had been there but were no longer. For the few of us inside, social distancing was dictated by blue circles scattered on the floor. ... Read &...

Author Heather McGhee draws on a wealth of economic data to make the case that discriminatory laws and practices that target African Americans also negatively impact society at large. Read & Listen Story Here

By Abby Ellin, The New York Times, January 26, 2021 Dr. Michelle Thompson knows a lot about self-care. A family medicine physician in Vienna, Ohio, she specializes in lifestyle and integrative care, using both conventional and alternative therapies to help her patients heal. She also teaches medical personnel how to prevent and treat burnout. But despite what she recommends to others, taking care of her own emotional well-being hasn’t been easy during the pandemic. When the pandemic hit in...

Photo credit: Andrew Harnik/AP Two of the most compelling reports of how members of Congress experienced the trauma of the January 6 insurrection and its aftermath are found in the reports in the Washington Post “Ocasio-Cortez recounts ‘trauma’ of Capitol riot” by Jaclyn Peiser and in Slate “ After the Attack: Jan. 6 was a terrifying day for members of Congress. Weeks later, they are dealing with the trauma” by Christina Cauterucci . The Post story includes a clip from a live Instagram...

ACEs science is waking the world up to the role of adversity - big and small, overt and covert, from acts of commission as well as acts of omission - as one of the most important non-genetic risk factors for chronic illness and other conditions that keep people from reaching their full potential. It is also paving the way for recognizing the role of other categories of adversity that shape health. Here are 7 additional categories of adversity that shape and influence health and more

If you are finding it hard to keep track of all the Executive Orders, presidential directives, and release of plans by the Biden-Harris Administration and you’re interested in the key elements that hold promise for strengthening families and improving the lives of children, you might find the succinct 19-page document on the American Rescue Plan (the $1.9 trillion relief plan) valuable in an ever more complicated policy and political landscape. The recommendations in this document (also...

By Mary Chris Jaklevic, JAMA, December 16, 2020 As coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) surged last spring, pediatric surgeon Ala Stanford, MD, heard from Black residents in her hometown of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, who had symptoms but were hitting roadblocks in getting tested. Some lacked a physician’s referral. Others were turned away because they didn’t arrive in a car or didn’t meet criteria for testing. Testing sites were clustered in affluent White areas. Black residents, who were...

Hi. I’m Audravette Jackson , the Hampton Rhodes Trauma Informed Community Network Program Coordinator. I am excited to share why ACEs Connection is a valuable website for other program coordinators and community managers like myself. First, the ACEs Connection website has allowed us to increase our capacity by including another web presence online, as well [learning] the governance structure of the growing resilience communities that we follow for Hampton Rhodes Trauma Informed Community...

By David Treleaven, Shambhala Mountain Center, January 7, 2021 A few months ago, I was approached with a problem by a colleague who taught meditation in a classroom setting. Here was the issue: a student of hers had lost her father to COVID-19, and was struggling with symptoms of traumatic stress. When she’d meditate, images and sensations would flood her field of consciousness, leaving her more rattled than before. “Should I keep meditating?” she’d asked my colleague. “I want to work with...