Seventeen Sonoma County ACEs Connection members attended our monthly, in-person meeting on April 22. Once again, Allen Nishikawa greeted us with a warm, steamy hand towel so that we could truly “arrive” and be mindful. We agreed that, for upcoming meetings, we would take turns choosing and leading the mindful welcoming ceremony that starts our meetings, and Grace Harris volunteered for the next meeting on May 27.
We talked about setting up a speakers bureau with the goal of making 500 presentations within four years. Shelley Caviness reported that several organizations expressed interest at last month’s Triple P Summit for receiving a presentation on ACEs. Next steps include setting up a slide deck that could be tailored to the particular group’s needs and interests. We stressed how important it is to provide some relevant, real life stories and examples. Jane Stevens has posted her slides to slideshare.net and will give us the link. She updates the slides on an ongoing basis, so the most current data and examples will always be available. Our next meeting on May 27 will be devoted to setting up the Sonoma County ACEs Connection Speakers Bureau.
Meredith Kieschnick updated us on the Learning Collaborative/Healthy Tomorrows program being carried out at the clinic at Elsie Allen High School. This project is in a pilot phase for screening parents and students for trauma. Medical Assistants administer the questionnaire in English or Spanish in an exam room in the clinic. By March 2016 or sooner (if staff feels ready), they will expand to 100% screening. They also are designing a resiliency questionnaire. The program also is redesigning their behavioral health services. A major piece is having shared visits with the behavioral health and medical staff. The behavioral health providers are being trained in an evidence-based, four-session trauma intervention developed at Yale. In addition to a lot of other good work, the program is creating a parent peer coaching/wellness group for Elsie Allen families with training and access on site.
The Yolo County ACEs Connection has been developing into a very strong and active group, as Jane Stevens reported. They have developed a structure that could be a good model for our group:
- Steering Committee of 5-6 people, who come up with the mission, strategic goals, and assets/opportunities map.
- General Membership, in which about 60 organizations are represented, including the Board of Supervisors and City Council.
- Subcommittees to take on focused work: Education, Health, and Criminal Justice.
Brian Farragher reported on activities in Sonoma Valley:
- The Sonoma Valley Health Action Chapter has an ACEs subcommittee.
- Hanna Boys Center has screened its students for ACEs – and 45% of these young men have four or more ACEs.
- Robert Macy will be providing a workshop on workforce protection and will be in the area June 8-10.
- Robert Anda will be speaking at Hanna Boys Center on September 22.
Watch for upcoming posts on other topics we discussed -- your feedback and input will be needed:
- The ACEs Connection survey for organizations
- Allen Nishikawa’s “elevator speech” video/slide show
Check out the materials attached to this blog and the clips Karen Clemmer has posted recently.
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