Blog

Body, Mind, and Spirit. An indivisible combination that is the cornerstone for holistic wellness for Native Americans. It is also the slogan that appears beneath the medicine wheel on the sign for the San Diego American Indian Health Center . “Da'anzho,” said Ruben Leyva, standing at the corner in Bankers Hill where the clinic is located. “That means ‘hello’ in the Apache language. I am a Chiricahua Chíhénde Apache. I stand here honored and humbled to speak to you on Kumeyaay land.” In order...

The Flying Leatherneck Historical Foundation is now accepting online entries from all San Diego County students in grades 6-8 and 9-12 for its Annual Essay Contest. There are cash awards for both the winning students and their teachers. The prompt for the contest this year is "Who is Your Hero and Why?" WHO IS YOUR HERO? WHY? Tips for Teachers (and Students) We suggest you guide your students in finding their voice and the purpose of the essay; along with writing an effective introduction,...

The pandemic has created a lot of heartbreak, fear and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among the workforce. On top of our personal woes, many employees have grappled with fears of loved ones and themselves contracting Covid-19, not to mention the isolation and burnout of remote working and helping children with schoolwork. Although many of us have endured a lot of stress and mental health challenges, there’s good news on the horizon, known as post-traumatic growth (PTG)—the benefits...

By Kristen Taketa, The San Diego Union-Tribune, February 7, 2021 Pediatricians across San Diego County say they are deeply troubled by what they see school closures doing to children. Dr. Janet Crow, a pediatrician at UC San Diego, talks every day with middle and high school kids who are heading toward depression or are flat-out depressed, she said. One of her high school patients can’t bring himself to do Zoom school, she said. His mom isn’t there to help him because she is an essential...

In a recent article titled, " Adverse Childhood Experiences: Breaking the Cycle in a Time of COVID-19 ," the Medical Board of California newsletter highlighted the work being done by the American Academy of Pediatrics, California Chapter 3 , Dr. Wendy Pavlovich and Dr. Pradeep Gidwani.

The struggle to maintain mental health is a universal experience in the American workplace. Before the pandemic, one in four American workers had been diagnosed with depression[1] and one in three reported having experienced some form of depression[2]. This is even more relevant in this current crisis. As February comes to a close, we are approaching 12 months of the battle against COVID-19 and the upending of what work, safety or even community looks like. We are bombarded daily with stats...

Sara Schairer is the founder and executive director of Compassion It® , a nonprofit organization and global social movement whose mission is to inspire daily compassionate actions and attitudes. A facilitator of the Compassion Cultivation Training® (CCT) course developed at Stanford University, Sara leads trainings for audiences of all walks of life, from corporate executives to inmates at a maximum security prison. She led compassion trainings in Africa sponsored by the Botswana Ministries...

When children encounter police because they were a witness to violence or a traumatic event, they can sometimes show up to school the next few days feeling upset, setting off a cycle of poor school performance or acting out, whether in school in person or virtually. Unless a teacher knows the student experienced recent trauma, the child could end up in trouble instead of receiving support. The District Attorney's Office, the San Diego County Office of Education, local law enforcement, and...

Adolfo Gonzales began work Monday as Los Angeles County’s chief probation officer, overseeing a system that supervises more than 40,000 juveniles and adults and managing an annual budget of over $1 billion. A former San Diego County probation chief, Gonzales brings 43 years of law enforcement experience to his new position, including being chief of the National City Police Department and assistant chief with the San Diego Police Department. Gonzales was appointed to the position last month...

Please see information below regarding the Prevention Institute’s upcoming peer learning forum on trauma-informed approaches during catastrophic events taking place on Wednesday, February 17 th from 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM . Registration link below. Join Feb. 17 peer learning forum on trauma-informed approaches during catastrophic events What does it mean for a city or other local government to be trauma-informed and what might this look like during the COVID-19 pandemic? Agencies and...

We had wonderful presentations from our mini-grant awardees at our January meeting, including the voice of lived-experience in solving Urban Domestic Human Sex Trafficking from Armand King and Jaimee Johnson and dealing with Workplace Trauma from Cambria Rose Walsh . Please see the attached handout and minutes, which include links to presentations and other valuable information.

President-Elect Joe Biden announced Monday he has nominated San Diego Unified School District Superintendent Cindy Marten to the post of deputy secretary in the federal Department of Education . Marten has been SDUSD superintendent since 2013. She got her start as a teacher and school-wide literacy specialist in the Poway Unified School District and has worked as an educator for 32 years, including 17 years as a teacher and stretches as principal and vice principal. She worked for 10 years...