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About this series: One year ago, more than a dozen fires shot to life in the North Bay. One of them, the Tubbs Fire, would become the most destructive wildfire in California history. In the year since, The Chronicle’s Lizzie Johnson has spent hundreds of hours with two couples to report this series, witnessing some of the most intimate, heartbreaking and joyous moments as they rebuilt their lives California was on fire again. Through this past summer, blazes raged across the state. They...

Another year has flown by, leaving me wondering where the time went. As I think about my family’s milestones and memories over the past year, I’m reminded of how often I get consumed by work, my family’s hectic schedule, and the never-ending list of household chores. It’s easy for my family to go through the motions of our daily routines – get up, go to school or work, come home, eat, do homework or work, go to bed, repeat, repeat, repeat – and even be in the same room without really...

Manuel Santiago, a 52-year-old Pomo Indian, has been homeless for many years. He’s lived in tents, RVs, motels — anywhere but a shelter. In and out of state prison since 1979, Santiago said his many years behind bars include several stints in solitary confinement. That’s left him with an aversion to crowded places like the Sam Jones Hall homeless shelter in Santa Rosa. “I can’t be around people,” he said Friday, crouched in front of a tent he shares with another person in the city’s...

Make a difference in the lives of vulnerable children in California. Use your voice to change the child welfare system in California! Convened by the Office of Child Abuse Prevention (OCAP), they are seeking citizen (YOUR) input at their quarterly meetings. Now is your chance to make recommendations to the State! Apply now t o become a member of the California Child-welfare Citizen Review Panels (CRPs). Meetings are held 4 times a year. Participation can be by phone, computer, or in-person.

Dr. Nadine Burke Harris presented today at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center during Pediatric Grand Rounds to a full room (standing room only) of pediatricians, nurse practitioners, physicians assistants, public health professionals and allied medical staff. With the show of hands, many of us in the room were familiar with ACEs science and the health impacts of toxic stress. With ease, Dr. Burke Harris dove into great detail of our bodies response to toxic stress and the multitude of...

Dr. Raul Gutierrez, a pediatrician in the San Francisco Bay Area, said he and his fellow clinicians see constant fear and its health consequences every single day among the largely immigrant and Latino population they serve. It’s all the result of anti-immigrant policies and the news cycle that feeds the fear. Dr. Raul Gutierrez “It is almost inescapable with the repercussions of immigration policy on the radio, television, social media and from friends and family,” Gutierrez told the 69...

Building the Occupy Bench This handsome circular bench, created by Jim Wheaton, Steve Pierce and Peter Santulli was installed on the downtown plaza in Sebastopol on Thursday, Nov. 29. The city of Sebastopol initiated the building of the circular Occupy Bench of Sebastopol to commemorate the Occupy Movement (2011-2013) and provide a place for community discussion in the downtown plaza. Wheaton, Santulli and Pierce, along with many others, have spent three years working to build the bench.

West Sonoma County Union High School District has won a $760,438 grant from the California Department of Justice’s Tobacco Grant Program, a program funded by the California Healthcare, Research and Prevention Tax Act of 2016 (Proposition 56). Approved by voters in 2016, Proposition 56 increased taxes on cigarettes and other tobacco products by $2 starting in April 2017. The funds generated by this tax go to support tobacco education and suppression programs, particularly those aimed at young...

SANTA ROSA – On Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors approved the Recovery and Resiliency Framework which serves as a vision and approach for how Sonoma County will recover and emerge more resilient from the October 2017 wildfires. The Framework was prepared by the County’s Office of Recovery and Resiliency in collaboration with other County departments and agencies, cities and other jurisdictions, nonprofits, and other community stakeholders. “In 2017, a catastrophic wind storm created a...

When we experience a disaster, people react with increased anxiety, worry and anger. With community and family support, most of us bounce back. Some of us, however, may need extra assistance to cope with unfolding events and uncertainties. Everyone, even the people that others look up to for guidance and assistance, is entitled to their feelings and deserves support throughout the recovery process. If you or someone in your care needs additional assistance recovering emotionally from the...

What does measuring resilience tell us about pregnant women who have experienced ACEs? For one thing, it affirms that understanding how a mom-to-be weathers difficult experiences gives greater meaning to her ACE score and what it might mean for her children. That was one of the takeaways from a recent study in the Journal of Women’s Health entitled “ Adverse Childhood Experiences and Mental and Behavioral Health Conditions During Pregnancy: The Role of Resilience ,” says Dr. Carey Watson,...

How useful and necessary are biomarkers in telling the story of how toxic stress from adverse childhood experiences and resilience can impact a child’s long-term health? In the introduction to an article in the journal BioEssays , Dr. Kathryn Ridout, a Kaiser Permanente San Jose psychiatrist, and her co-authors examine what is known about two biomarkers and quote data on child maltreatment and its economic burden over time that says it all. “When totaling the costs of health care, child...