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The main trade group representing Sonoma County vineyard owners and managers announced Thursday a campaign to improve the social plight of their workforce in the midst of a tight labor market. The Sonoma County Winegrowers organization, which represents more than 1,800 county grape growers, will revive its nonprofit foundation to help fund the initiative, which will be rolled out with a few pilot projects by year’s end, President Karissa Kruse said. The foundation, launched in 2002,...

After a long, intensive meeting in Philadelphia to discuss plans for "Mobilizing Action for Resilient Communities" across the nation, team members came together for dinner.  Exchanging personal histories, passionate ideas, laughter and food helps to build relationships between the folks who will spearhead community level change.   These photos capture Sonoma County's Karen Clemmer and Ulla Mast sharing inspiring conversations with staff representing the California Endowment and...

Imagine if we could address the issues raised by  JON KAMP and ARIAN CAMPO-FLORES in this  Jan. 12, 2016 article posted via the online Wall Street Journal:   "The national data don’t specifically measure how many children land in foster care as a result of their parents’ drug use, but some state and local officials say opioid addiction is likely contributing to the increase. The epidemic is being fueled by the overprescribing of pain pills...

Sonoma County is mentioned in this article as a community that's addressing ACEs. The lowest of 31 grades issued in the  2016 California Children's Report Card  released on Wednesday was for dealing with the effects of childhood trauma. In Children Now's biennial assessment of the status of California kids, researchers gave the state a "D-" for how it deals with childhood trauma. The report contends that children who experience traumatic problems such as abuse, neglect and...

Here’s the problem. Since you are reading this on ACES Connections, you are likely not the type of person who questions ACES. Like me, when you first heard about ACES, you shouted “Eureka!” or felt the heavens open up or maybe simply thought “Well, that makes sense.” Writing this blog, I’m preaching to the choir.  After all, there is so much scientific evidence to support ACES, doesn’t everyone believe it? Well, working in Public Health...

Sonoma County is inching closer to erecting a micro-community of tiny houses for homeless people — a model that if successful, could be replicated on vacant lots and unused county land inside and outside city limits. The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday is set to consider whether to use a county-owned parking lot at its sprawling administration complex in Santa Rosa to house up to 12 small structures for two years. County officials have proposed locating the houses — which could...

You know the typical holiday storyline: Depression and suicide rates peak during the holidays. Actually, though, people suffering from depression tend to be fine during the holidays. Their struggles come later, after the festivities are over. In Sonoma County, the influx of calls begins just as the holidays end and continues through March, according to sources at the North Bay Suicide Prevention Hotline and Sonoma County’s National Alliance on Mental Illness office. Telephone...

Valley of the Moon Childrens Home is looking for a consultant to helpstaff transition to a 10-day stay shelter by 2017. Valley of the Moon wants to incorporate the latest research on trauma informed care intotheir program design and staff training. See attached documents for further details or contact: Briana Downey Program Planning & Evaluation Analyst Valley of the Moon Children's Center 112 Children's Circle Santa Rosa, CA 95409 (707) 565-4348 bdowney@schsd.org...

At the start of the year, Sonoma County readers learned that, despite a rebounding economy, the number of people going hungry in the region continued to be disturbingly high. According to officials at Hunger Index Forum in February, Sonoma County residents missed an estimated 35 million meals in 2014, down from a peak of 47 million the previous year. Now, at year’s end, the county is getting a clear and sobering picture of just who is most often going without food — and other...

Hanna Boys Center Executive Director Brian Farragher wrote this for the Sonoma Index-Tribune:  Since I arrived at Hanna in June of 2014, we have been focused a great deal on the impact of trauma and adversity on the boys and families we serve. Over the course of the last 20 years, research has been conducted on the negative impact “childhood trauma and adversity” has on the developing brain, how these early experiences disrupt neurodevelopment and set children on a...

AnneJan é  has a story of great strife and incredible resilience.  Bravely and with vulnerability she shares it with us on video here:   She deepens the story and expresses a sincere statement of gratitude to the Nurse Family Partnership for helping her create a different future for her child in a later speech at the 2015 Tipping Point Awards breakfast:   Prepare to be inspired!