PACEs Connection has been in the throes of a powerful collaboration about trauma-informed awareness, resilience, relationship and community building and mobilization with the Resilient Yolo team. We’re days away from the 2023 Resilient Yolo Summit, a call to action for Yoloans to connect with neighbors, reflect on experiences, and act together for a trauma-informed and resilient Yolo.
Yolo County, which is said to draw its name from a Patwin Native American name Yo-loy, meaning “a place abounding in rushes,” is not just a place on the map. Yolo County has a long history of agriculture, as the first university in California, and has been the home of countless change agents, suffrage and equity champions, social and environmental justice warriors, and civil and human rights advocates throughout its progressive history.
Unlocking Interconnection: Join the Movement at the Yolo County Summit
In a post pandemic era, not a single day passes that most Yoloans aren’t likely aware of the importance interconnection has on mobilization. Notably, Yolo’s own Healthy Davis Together campaign became an award-winning awareness initiative in response to the pandemic that paved the way for health accessibility. The wildly successful mobilization initiative was featured in the New York Times, among other prominent media outlets, for its ability to organize, inspire its residents, and change important outcomes. More recent success includes the praise-worthy work of Tessa Smith, diversity, equity, and inclusion coordinator for the Health and Human Services Agency in Yolo County, who worked alongside PACEs Connection to deliver training to 900 HHSA employees in a DEIB training alongside PACEs Connection.
The 2023 Resilient Yolo Summit was created to inspire audiences to transcend borders and backgrounds. The summit aims to activate a figurative paradigm shift through its galvanizing "connect, reflect, act," tagline, a rally cry that encapsulates Yolo’s commitment to growth, healing, and empowerment as a community with ever changing needs. Youth and family service agencies, school districts, local educators, nonprofit organizations, childcare providers, parents, youth leaders, and community members will attend panels, workshops, and presenters focused on health equity, resilience from trauma, and improved community outcomes.
You Only Live Once: Plan your desired experience. Unique Opportunities Before the Summit
A frequently asked question about the Resilient Yolo Summit is what can we do to prepare. Here are a few ways you can get ready:
- Connect. Join our meetings and listserv to work and grow together. (share knowledge and resources, funding, civic engagement opportunities). Sign up to join Resilient Yolo monthly meetings and learning network here.
- Reflect. Personal reflection. Ask, how am I doing this? How am I incorporating effective collaboration/quality relationships in my work and life? Yolo County voices matter and enrich the collective culture. Create a sense of community by sharing your Yolo story so we can celebrate you and share it with our extended network. What inspired you to connect with your impacted communities, neighbors, schools, and local businesses to make changes in your community? What worked? What did you learn as a result? Did you make a friend? Laughed until you cried, or the other way around? We want to know all about it! Share your Yolo story here.
- Learn more about ACEs Aware, PACEs Science 101, and download trauma informed resources on the Resilient Yolo website. Visit the Resilient Yolo website here.
- Review the Connections Matter booklet by Dr. Linda Chamberlain, based on the Connections Matter curriculum about the brain, relationships, and community.
- Become a member of PACEs Connection for free so you can join the PACEs Growing Resilient Communities trainings, Cooperative Communities Think Tank, and the Resilient Yolo community on PACEs Connection.
Have You Met Keynote Speaker Kahshanna Evans, Director of Creating Resilient Communities at PACEs Connection?
Yolo, I have been immersed in unique cultural discussions about what makes you special. As a native Californian, it’s been a real treat. To tell you a little about myself, I have an affinity for trauma-informed transformation and uniting people through stories as a way to connect, heal, and mobilize. I consider myself a lifetime student of human nature, interconnectivity, and play. Time studying the performing arts in New York City, extensive travel during my early career, and immersion into various modalities of wellbeing ousted me well beyond my comfort zone. As someone who has witnessed and experienced prolonged violence early on, I am deeply moved and especially proud to join the summit to present Is PACEs a Movement. This is our opportunity to trust the spark for change and a better world that we each carry. I look forward to connecting with you soon!
Activate Orientation to Action to Chart the Path to Trauma-Informed Community
The 2023 Resilient Yolo Summit is more a journey to connect Yoloans who have a shared passion for change, than a destination. It activates PACEs-aware, human focused relationship building that is paramount to deeper connections, our ability to learn from one another’s lived experiences, and Yolo’s fierce commitment to humanity, transcending borders and backgrounds, and mobilization at the proud heart of Yolo.
The only way to do that is to act. Beyond attending the summit, join quarterly in person meet ups and action network. Join Resilient Yolo on the collective journey to learn together how to be trauma healing. Let's share resources, reduce duplication, and celebrate Yolo’s progress, and the people and organizations who keep trying and practicing how to make positive changes for a more nurturing, Resilient Yolo.
Learn more and register for The 2023 Resilient Yolo Summit.
About the author: Kahshanna Evans brings her passion for uniting people through stories and trauma-informed awareness to her role as the Director of Creating Resilient Communities at PACEs Connection. Kahshanna has been a leading strategic thinker in various industries, including communications, tech, professional services, and wellness.
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