Tagged With "Solano Kids Thrive"
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In ACEs Connection webinar, physicians talk trauma, offer tips for helping pediatric immigrant patients
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...
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Kaiser Supports North Bay's VOICES through Youth & Trauma Informed Care Grant
"Kaiser Permanente Northern California Region—Community Benefit Programs (KPCBP)’s Youth and Trauma-informed Care grant program (YTIC), through which 20 community based agencies and school based health centers were funded in 2014, is a critical strategy for addressing community violence by focusing on prevention as well as healing. Experience of trauma in childhood is associated with a range of negative health, social, and educational outcomes. Trauma is frequently undiagnosed or...
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Last Month's Early Childhood Mental Health Summit - Let's Put Our Learning into Practice Now
Just one month ago, on September 28, First 5 and partners pulled together a few hundred community members for an Early Childhood Mental Health Summit called " Building Relationships to Support Families in Times of Stress ." With the local wildfires distressing many families and children, community support is needed now more than ever. The event aimed to ensure participants: 1.) Expanded their understanding of Early Childhood mental Health as the capacity to form close relationships, manage...
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Local Resources for Fire Victims - #Sonoma Proud's Long List of Help Offered by Local Businesses
Here's a list showcasing some of the outpouring of support for those who need loving kindness in the form of food,water, animal care and more. FREE FOOD / WATER: • Better homes and Gardens in Sebastopol will give you a cup of coffee and wifi and you can charge your phone. 186 Main St. Sebastopol. Come on over. • Amy’s Drive Thru in Rohnert Park: offering free meals to those evacuated. If you choose to pay for a evacuees meal, 100% of that money will be donated to help in the aids effort.
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Local Teachers Love Learning about ACES!
Grace Harris MFT, Parent Resources Director for Child Parent Institute reported that she recently presented to staff at several schools on ACES and Trauma Informed Care (TIC). When asked, less than 10% of school staff said they were aware of...
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MARC Booklet 2016: Features Sonoma County
Please find attached the 2016 booklet for the Mobilizing Action for Resilient Communities (MARC) project, including Sonoma County and the other 13 communities that have been selected to participate in this 2 year learning collaborative. This is a great summary of the work happening in all 14 communities across the country. I am looking forward to working with you all as we tell your story to the world!
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MARC Group Postings
Dear Sonoma County ACES Connection members, This morning I was reading the ACES Connection's MARC group postings and when I read the WA state proposal, I had to share. There seem to be many similarities to what we want to accomplish, although we are working on a smaller (local) scale - maybe we might learn from their statewide processes too? Very exciting! I particularly like how they are planning to bring their individual partners together into a more formal group and their shared decision...
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Material from Neurobiology: the Powerful Science Behind your ACEs Work - ACEs & Resiliency Community of Practice Session
Thank you to all who attended our Community of Practice Event Neurobiology: the Powerful Science Behind your ACEs Work! Attached are the materials from our day together. If you would like to register for our June event you can register using this link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/trauma-informed-organizations-community-of-practice-tickets-31518134589
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Middle school tackles everybody's trauma; result is calmer, happier kids, teachers and big drop in suspensions
Sixth grader Cayla White (right) helps lead class meditation with Niroga Institute’s Lauren Banister (photo: Laurie Udesky) ________________________________ During the 2014/2015 school year, things were looking grim at Park Middle School in Antioch, CA. At the time, staff couldn’t corral student disruptions. Teacher morale was plummeting. By the end of February 2015, 192 kids of the 997 students had been suspended -- 19.2 percent of the student population. “I was watching really good people...
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More Sonoma County schools turn to alternative discipline to reduce suspensions (Pressdemocrat.com)
Jamie Dorvilus wiggled in her seat, eagerly waiting her turn to talk about how she was feeling that day. At least once a week, her first-grade class at Rohnert Park’s Evergreen Elementary School moves the desks out of the way for a “circle,” where they discuss their feelings and worries and practice positive behavior and communication skills, like giving and accepting compliments. Dorvilus, 7, said it’s safe to share. No one ever teases. “It’s the only time I get to say something and...
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Mother: 11-year-old boy injured in Santa Rosa park shooting is 'not the same kid' [Press Democrat]
By Chris Smith, Aug 12, 2019 for the Press Democrat As we anguish from the plague of mass shootings, a boy who took a stray bullet as he left soccer practice in Santa Rosa two months ago resists the fear that would have him simply hide from the world from now on. “He’s not the same kid,” the sweet-tempered 11-year-old’s distraught mother told me. “He’s afraid something’s going to happen to him, or to us.” I know the names of the boy and his mom but won’t mention them because they’re...
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National Wellness Week is Coming - September 11-17
National Wellness Week is September 11-17 this year. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) offers free resources to support Wellness Week and promote Wellness. Here is a link to a 3-minute video on the 8 Dimensions of Wellness https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDzQdRvLAfM&feature=youtu.be. And a pdf is attached. Enjoy!
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New Sesame Street Tools Help Build Resiliency [rwjf.org]
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Sesame Workshop share a common vision of giving all children—especially the most vulnerable among us—a strong and healthy start in life. We know that childhood experiences lay the foundation for children to grow into productive and successful adults, and promoting healthy behaviors and supporting families from the very beginning can help kids thrive. But it’s equally important to address challenges that can undermine their healthy development. That’s...
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Notes and materials from 11/19 meeting
Here is another set of great notes drafted by Karen Clemmer. Dear Sonoma County ACES Connection members! For all who made came to the meeting – thank you for trudging through the rain to participate in our Nov 19 th meeting! ...
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Notes from 4/22/2015 meeting
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...
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Notes from our 3.27.19 meeting
ACEs Enthusiasts Community Meeting Notes March 27, 2019 from 3:30 to 5:00 Location: Child Parent Institute About this community: We bring the community together to prevent, heal, and treat ACEs while promoting resiliency. New Year - New Focus! Sonoma County ACEs Connection is starting fresh in 2019 with an emphasis on community, while seeking opportunities to leverage and coordinate with others. Welcome & Gather Mindful moment - volunteer to lead? Welcomed several new folks, representing...
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Positive Childhood Experiences offset ACEs: Q & A with Dr. Robert Sege about HOPE
Tufts University medical professor Dr. Robert Sege directs the Center for Community-Engaged Medicine and is nationally known for his research on effective health systems approaches that address social determinants of health. He is also the principal investigator for the HOPE framework (Healthy Outcomes from Positive Experiences).The HOPE framework is based on research that shows how positive childhood experiences can mitigate the effects of adverse childhood experiences. Sege and colleagues...
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Prevent Child Abuse - Sonoma County annual report 2014-2015
In case you missed picking up a copy of the 2014-2015 annual report from Prevent Child Abuse-Sonoma County, here it is. This year, it provides a snapshot of child abuse and neglect data, a two-page overview of the Adverse Childhood Experiences Study,...
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Program offers hundreds of young men, boys safe space to heal from ACEs
Dennis McCollins recounts some of the experiences that caused him to harden against the world as a teenager. “There were times I went to more funerals than birthdays,” says McCollins, who is the clinical director of the School Based Health Center at Greenwood Academy in Richmond, Calif. And it took its toll: “I spent time homeless. I got expelled [from school]. I was so angry and upset and mad,” he says. Dennis McCollins Then a man that he met when he was sent to Job Corps as a teen turned...
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Eleven state-specific profiles feature ACEs-related data and ACEs/trauma-informed/resilience-building initiatives
One of the resources shared with participants in the Sept. 13-14 convening of First Spouses in Milwaukee to address trauma was a series of state information sheets that featured data on ACEs prevalence and ACEs/trauma-informed/resilience-building initiatives. These one-pagers provided a succinct summary of state highlights on trauma that in some instances were well known to the First Spouses but for others, provided new information. In partnership with state trauma leaders, ACEs Connection...
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Former ACEs Intern Asks Press Democrat Not to Sensationalize Trauma
Lesley Field felt moved to action after reading the disturbing and sensationalized headlines in yesterday's paper regarding a young boy's struggle to value his own life. Lesley just recently completed an internship with Sonoma County Department of Health Services, where she focused on developing communication tools around the topic of Adverse Childhood Experiences and Trauma. Today she felt inspired to share some tips on communication with the local journalist who wrote yesterday's article.
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FREE Evening at CPI Making a Difference During Disaster
Please join the Child Parent Institute for an evening supporting our children and families affected by the fires in our community. FREE! Friday October 20, 2017 from 4 to 7PM 3650 Standish Ave Santa Rosa, CA 95407 This a drop-in event, completely free of charge, please come visit us any time between the hours of 4pm - 7pm. Children and adults can participate in art projects to thank all the agencies that helped fight the firestorm throughout Sonoma County. Our counselors will be onsite and...
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FREE TRAINING: Charlie Appelstein- No Such Thing As A Bad Kid
FREE TRAINING! March 7, 2018 8:30 AM- 3:00 PM PST North Coast Builders Exchange 1030 Apollo Way, Santa Rosa, CA TO REGISTER: https://t.e2ma.net/click/waunn/05g51o/guq58e Join Prevent Child Abuse Sonoma County (PCASC) and Charlie Appelstein for an informative and motivational training on March 7, 2018! Charlie Appelstein, M.S.W. is an internationally prominent youth care training specialist, author and motivational speaker whose primary focus is on teaching positive, strength-based theories...
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FREE: Whole Child Model workshop; English & Spanish speaking families encouraged to attend!
It's free, plus gift cards for families! Families and providers - sign up now for The Whole Child Model workshop! The workshop is FREE and a light meal will be provided to all. To register , contact Molly Keithly mollyk@lakefrc.org | 707-279-0563 *See attached for details in English & Spanish This workshop is for: Professionals who work with CCS families, Families who have a child in both CCS and Medi-Cal 14 counties: Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, Lassen, Mendocino, Marin, Modoc, Napa,...
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Got time for a little brainstorming with ACEsConnection?
On Friday, March 20, 2020, you're invited to join me to talk about how we, as a community, can continue to guide and educate ourselves about to deal with the effects of the spread of Covid-19, and how to continue those efforts with people who don't yet know about ACEs science. And, given this last week, how we can provide more support to stay in the front of our brains instead of feeding our amygdala.
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Hanna Center takes ‘trauma care’ on the road
For 72 years, Hanna Boys Center has been a place of refuge for disadvantaged boys – boys who, largely by circumstance, were in trouble. Dysfunctional homes, neighborhood violence, feral upbringings, drug abuse: Hanna Boys Center has sheltered all kinds. Over those decades Hanna Boys Center has established itself as a leader in transformational protocols, a vanguard on the fractious front advocating for at-risk youth. ..... ..... Trauma-informed care argues that children who’ve experienced...
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How collaboration helps clinic in San Mateo County, CA, tackle ACEs in children
Dr. Elizabeth Grady is a pediatrician at the South San Francisco Clinic, a community clinic of San Mateo Medical Center. She and Susana Flores , a senior public health nurse with San Mateo County Health, spoke with me about how the clinic and other health agencies in San Mateo have been able to craft ways to work together to prevent and heal toxic stress in children. Grady also talked about how she and Flores have been working with the Resilient Beginnings Collaborative (RBC), a group of...
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How does a regional healthcare organization integrate trauma-informed care?
Slowly, but at warp speed. That’s what it feels like to take on educating 16,000 staff member in 21 hospitals that serve 29 counties, says Becky Haas, trauma informed administrator for Ballad Health. Turning around a culture, especially a health culture that’s more familiar with doing things the “traditional” way rather than embracing change, will take time and lots of repetition.
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Right Start Town Hall: Preventing Toxic Stress in Early Childhood for Health, Social-Emotional Wellness and Resilience
Parents and community members are encouraged to come together for this important community conversation around our children: Right Start Town Hall: Preventing Toxic Stress in Early Childhood for Health, Social-Emotional Wellness and Resilience When and Where: Thursday, Oct 5, 6-8 pm at The Glaser Center, 547 Mendocino Ave, Santa Rosa Refreshments and childcare available (please register ahead for childcare.) Translation to Spanish provided on headsets. Link to Register: ...
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Right Start Town Hall - See You There?
So...who joins me in wanting to give our children the best start possible in life? It turns out, there is a long list of passionate supporters in our County. We urge you to come to the upcoming Town Hall and connect with folks like you who are committed to preventing childhood adversity and supporting resilience. Thursday, October 5, 2017 ∙ 6 - 8 PM The Glaser Center, 547 Mendocino Ave, Santa Rosa Information fair, refreshments, onsite free childcare (limited by appt.) available at the event...
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Safe & Sound: Integrating protective factors and ACEs science to end child abuse in San Francisco in 50 years
It was almost a ritual, but one that regularly disrupted the parenting class at a San Francisco-based child abuse prevention organization. Every time a siren blared in the streets below, a female participant bolted out of the room to seek safety in the windowless interior rooms of the multilevel labyrinthine white Victorian that houses Safe & Sound . Molly Jardiniano And it didn’t just happen in the parenting class. “When she heard the fire trucks, she said she would become paralyzed,...
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Sharing two ACEs-related references
Karen Clemmer sent the following as an email yesterday: Dear Sonoma County ACES Connection members, Since our last meeting, a couple items that might be of interest have come across my desk and both frame ACES around a Life Course perspective! ...
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Simple Resilience Tips
(This is a written version of a presentation I gave at our January Meeting.) For the past year, Sonoma County ACEs Connection worked to make more people aware of Adverse Childhood Experiences. But especially after the big fires, it feels important to also talk about resilience. I want to start a discussion about simple resilience techniques that anyone could apply in their work, social and/or personal life. This is not new information, because the best resilience methods have been used by...
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Solano County launches its ACEs and resilience initiative inviting all to take action
Elizabeth Huntley recalls the day when her family’s life was turned upside down. “One day my mom woke up and she packed up all of our clothes, all five of us…and she took me and my younger sister who had the same father… down to my paternal grandmother’s house…and she left us there. She took my middle sister to a town near Birmingham, Ala., and left her there. She took my only brother and an older sister back to Huntsville and left them at a sister’s house. Then she went back to that housing...
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Solano County's (CA) ACEs initiative, a robust community effort, makes room for input from all
In a house called “Johanna’s House” on a tree-lined side street in Vallejo, Calif., four women are filling out the adverse childhood experiences (ACE) survey given to them by Maria Guevara, the founder of Vallejo Together, an organization that serves homeless residents in Vallejo. The house was named for Johanna Dilag, a homeless woman who was found dead along with her dog.
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Sonoma County ACEs Activity Timeline
Hello, I just wanted to share with everyone this activity timeline that I put together! This timeline looks at all the action and awareness we have spread around Adverse Childhood Experiences and Resiliency throughout our community over the past few years. Thank you all for the wonderful work you do in our community!
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2017 Kids Count Data Book [aecf.org]
Wednesday June 14th the Annie E. Casey Foundation released the 2017 Kids Count Data Book - State Trends in Child Well-Being. This comprehensive report is " a premier source of data on children and families." You can download the report from this post, as well as on the Kids Count website , where you can also access an interactive data map in their Data Center . This is an invaluable amount of data available to the public, relevant to anyone working with children and families - with the...
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4 years after integrating ACEs science, Pueblo, CO clinic improves services for families; cuts ER costs, doctor stress
Four years ago, Dr. Leslie Dempsey would never have talked about ACEs — adverse childhood experiences — with her patients. Now ACEs is a common topic. “Just as I don’t feel awkward asking someone if they smoke or do intravenous drugs, I don’t really feel awkward talking about their childhood traumas in a way that it relates to their health. It’s just integrated into obtaining background and social history,” she says. Dr. Leslie Dempsey Dempsey is a physician in obstetrics who oversees a team...
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A National Agenda to Address Adverse Childhood Experiences
What are ACEs and Why Do They Matter? In 2016 1 , nearly half of U.S. children – 34 million kids – had at least one Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) and more than 20 percent experienced two or more. The new brain sciences and science of human development explain how ACEs can have devastating, long-lasting effects on children’s health and wellbeing. These events resonate well beyond the individual child to have far-reaching consequences for families, neighborhoods, and communities. ACEs...
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A Wonderful New Movie -- 3 Free Showings in Santa Rosa
Over one million children are being exposed to a toxicity that dooms them to become obese, drug and sex addicts, risk-takers and criminals. This toxin is very real and very damaging. You can’t hold it, see it or smell it, but it can kill just...
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ACEs, Race, and Health Equity: Understanding and addressing the role of race and racism in ACEs exposure and healing
Attend this free event to hear from renowned ACEs and health disparity expert Dr. Flojaune Cofer about the relationship between ACEs, race and health disparities, and the role of resilience. Immediately preceding the talk, you can also view the inspiring movie Resilience. This talk is one in a series presented by Resilient Napa on the issue of community adverse experiences, ACEs and resilience. For more information about future talks, contact info@resilientnapa.org. When: Wednesday, February...
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ACEs Science Champion Series: Dr. Angela Bymaster: This Faith-Based Physician Integrates ACEs Science with Healing Arts
Dr. Angela Bymaster, a family physician at Washington Elementary School in San Jose, CA, operates her clinic in a portable unit on the school property.
Because the unit faces students as they are dropped off by their families, she gets to “pick up the kids” before they are sent to the clinic, practicing “upstream medicine.”
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ACEs screening in CA — a Q and A with Dr. Dayna Long
Last year, the California Department of Health Care Services rolled out its plans for universal screening for trauma among its pediatric and adult Medicaid population. Beginning January 1, 2020, California physicians were able to receive an incentive payment of $29 for each pediatric patient screened for ACEs using the PEARLs ( Pediatrics Adverse Childhood and Resilience Study) tool. Dr. Dayna Long talked with ACEs Connection staff reporter Laurie Udesky about ACEs science, what led to the...
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ACEs Champions Science Series: Allen Nishikawa: ACEs Storyteller Helps People Develop Their Resilience
Sonoma County ACEs Connection members Allen Nishikawa and Lena Hoffman at California Policymaker Education Day, 2018 Allen Nishikawa, a sansei, or third-generation Japanese American, majored in political science and American history at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where he participated in antiwar (Vietnam) marches. But it was his experience as a military brat — moving from school to school across the U.S. and even to Japan as a child — that shaped his own childhood experiences and...
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ANNOUNCING: $700,000 GRANT TO SONOMA LAND TRUST TO PROTECT CRITICAL OPEN SPACE LAND AT SONOMA DEVELOPMENTAL CENTER [CFSC]
By Caitlin Childs, June 26, 2019, Community Foundation Sonoma County We are so pleased to announce this wonderful news: Thanks to the vision of a family that cared deeply about the future of Sonoma County, the Sonoma Land Trust has received a $700,000 grant from Community Foundation Sonoma County and our regional affiliate the Sonoma Valley Fund to protect more than 700 acres of open space, trails and natural resources at the site of the former Sonoma Developmental Center (SDC). This grant...
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Berkeley City College group screens Resilience, looks at ACEs through a social justice lens
As far back as she can remember, Berkeley City College Mental Health Specialist Janine Greer understood that there was a connection between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and health. She had a sense early on that racism figures large in that equation. “Looking around in my community – I’m African American, I noticed that even people who had healthy habits got funky diseases,” she said. “And I’m thinking there must be some sort of health trouble that happens if you’re always stressed.”...
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Brain Development Training in Santa Rosa
Explore the neurobiology of resilience as it develops through attuned primary relationships. See how brain structure and function, and how the social environment mediates changes in the brain. Learn techniques to support...
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California Child Welfare Policy and Progress, Winter Issue
The California Child Welfare Co-Investment Partnership Report This issue of in sights provides an overview of the latest legislative developments in California, including data and perspectives on the policy and practice transformation taking place with the Continuum of Care Reform (CCR). Beyond a comprehensive summary of child welfare state legislation, this issue also includes a discussion on the key provisions of the Family First Prevention Services Act. The issue concludes with...
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California issues update on state residents' ACE scores from 2011 & 2013 surveys
The latest adverse childhood experiences survey from the California Department of Public Health shows that 42% of the population has an ACE score of 3 or higher; 16% have an ACE score of 4 or higher. Those with an ACE score of 4 or higher are: 3x more likely to be current smokers 4x more likely to have a depressive disorder 2x more likely to have asthma 2x more likely to be obese 4x more likely to have COPD 3x more likely to have a stroke Here are a few other highlights from the six-page...
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Children Now May Revise Budget Update [childrennow.org]
May Revise Budget Update Below are some of the key issues impacting children’s wellbeing in the 2020-21 May Revision budget proposal released on May 14. The overall Children Now statement on the May Revise can be found here , and a letter from over 760 organizations with Pro-Kid budget asks sent before the May Revise can be found here . Prop 56 funding would be moved away from prioritizing children. There are a number of changes that pull back on the Governor’s January proposals that would...