(Please see the attachment for the version with photos and colors - it is much more visually interesting!)
3/23/16
Dear Sonoma County ACEs Connection Enthusiasts,
Thank you to all that participated in today’s ACES meeting.
Today, we started the meeting with a quiet mindful moment. Susan Barnett-Hampson led us in a short meditation, using her soothing, slow voice to ground us in the present moment. A few deep breaths and positive affirmations can help us refocus whenever needed!
“A Community Coalition is Born!” We dedicated a good portion of our meeting today to review our history and build a solid structure to move our grassroots gathering of passionate folks into an official community coalition. We rewrote our mission into a simple statement we can all recite from memory. Two community leaders stepped forward to be our Pro Tem (or temporary) Chairs. We discussed the possibility of CPI taking us under their wing and serving as our fiscal agent. And most importantly we began to explore how our efforts align under Sonoma County ACEs Connection’s mission. (Those yellow sheets we filled out to show our services will be used in our upcoming retreat!)
Members also requested a future discussion around keeping cultural competency at the top of our minds when working to heal, prevent, or treat ACEs.
Activities across the network of ACEs Connection partners:
- Meredith and Arlene shared Santa Rosa Health Center will soon offer 30 minute ACEs focused talks to community members (including health center patients and ACEs Connection members thanks to a request from County Health Director Stephan Betz) at Vista Health Center. Details about times and dates will appear on the ACEs Connection site soon. Roseland Pediatrics now has a Parent’s Club, with Triple P families participating.
- Maria reported on Humanidad and efforts at Cook Middle School to implement trauma informed efforts. On March 30, Humanidad is working with Via Esperanza to host a parent workshop called “Understanding the Consequences of Trauma From Early Life.” Efforts at Cook are soon to expand to Elsie Allen High School as well. Maria’s been speaking about ACEs on KBBF and encouraging community members to confront unconscious bias and racism as part of the Trauma Informed work. Addressing vicarious trauma is also key to her efforts to work with principals and teachers to change the culture at Cook.
- Grace and Alison announced the annual Blue Ribbon Child Abuse Event featuring Brian F. is sold out! They also shared that CPI is considering serving as a Fiscal Agent for our group. CPI staff will try and coordinate a screening of Resilience on Sunday April 10, when it streams for free. Grace also shared that Amarosa Community School contacted her about an ACEs training – Brian F. and Jenni S., and Kem M. will help, too!
- We thanked Jenni Silverstein for jumping in to present about ACEs and Toxic Stress to the Childcare Planning Council at SCOE in March.
- Carla Denner reported the First 5 Commission was scheduled to vote to give $15,000 in support of the Speaker’s Bureau Development on March 30. Carla also announced that the Petaluma Health Care District and Health Actions Charter in Petaluma will be showing Paper Tigers on May 12.
- Molly and Brian of Hanna Boys Center reported that they’ve held monthly Community Education Series with Dr. Macy, and all Hanna staff are now trained in EMDR and other trauma informed approaches. Hanna is now exploring partnerships with Sonoma Charter School to expand Trauma Informed practices to this school community.
- Alea announced she will soon introduce a Youth Member, who she will orient. She’ll also work on creating an Orientation for other new members. She also shared that DHS is considering expanding her Violence Prevention Role to also include helping DHS become ACEs informed.
- Serena L of the Santa Rosa Violence Prevention Program shared she’ll soon be planning the annual conference with law enforcement and other violence prevention partners. She asked for support in creating a Trauma Informed Approach theme for the conference, and took a list of names to be on the conference planning committee.
- Kathy Carlsen of SCOE reported on her Mental Health Services activities at the State level and mentioned that she thought the Transitional Kindergarten charter on the Cook Campus may also be interested in incorporating Trauma Informed Approaches.
- Kate Jenkins of Friends Outside just finished reading the “Body Keeps Score” which many ACEs Connection members affirmed is a great read for those committed to reducing ACEs.
Please post news of your activities on the ACEs Connection webpage.
As Jane says, this is our community of practice. It is as easy to use as Facebook, but it offers us so much more as it can be a place where we share resources and ideas. The site is newly organized and has a new look. Check it out today:
https://www.pacesconnection.com/...unty-aces-connection
Here are some events and articles you won’t want to miss:
- April 27, 2016: "Violence in the Valley: Where is it? Is it here to stay? What do we do about it?" with guest speaker Dr. Robert D. Macy
- James Redford and Sonoma County Leaders Discuss Resilience at Sonoma Film Festival
- Paper Tigers Screening in Petaluma on May 12
Please mark your calendars for our Strategic Planning Session on June 22, from 9-12 & 12:30 – 2. Location and details TBD.
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