Tagged With "Rohnert Park"
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January 24, 2018 ACEs Connection Meeting: How should we proceed?
At the January 24, 2018 meeting of the Sonoma County ACEs Connection, the Steering Committee organized work group sessions among members to answer our most important question: How should our group proceed moving forward? All over the room at Child Parent Institute there were large "Post-It" notes on the wall that the groups brainstormed answers to four questions about the direction of our group: (1) What do you enjoy about the General Meetings? (2) What could we use more of/doesn't serve us?
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January 24, 2018 ACEs Connection Meeting: Reflections & Visions for the Future
At the General Meeting for the Sonoma County ACEs Connection that took place on January 24, 2018, people came together to reflect on their experience in the coalition and to brainstorm about the future of the group. The questions included: What do you enjoy about the General Meetings? What could we use more of/what doesn't serve us? In a post-fire Sonoma County, where and how could we better serve our community? Does our name truly reflect what we are and where we are going? Who are some...
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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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Library offers mental health classes for teens [Sonoma West Times & News]
By Laura Hagar Rush, Sonoma West Times & News, June 12, 2019. This summer the Sebastopol library will offer a series of free mental health classes for teenagers, thanks to an innovative partnership between the Sonoma County Library system and Social Advocates for Youth (SAY), a nonprofit offering mental health and housing services for youth. The first group will be held on Tuesday, June 18, from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. at Sebastopol Regional Library, 7140 Bodega Ave., Sebastopol. Sebastopol is...
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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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A Santa Rosa neighborhood’s love wipes out hate [PressDemocrat.com]
One man late Thursday night sprayed three hateful words on the garage door of a northwest Santa Rosa family. Sunday afternoon, a clean-up crew of more than 50 people appalled by the display of racism, showed up to wipe away the graffiti and show Fijian immigrants Di and Bentley Chong Wan that one guy with a spray can doesn't speak for them. Residents of the older subdivision near Coffey Park streamed into the cul-de-sac where the Wans have rented a home for the last year bearing covered...
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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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SONOMA COUNTY MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES ACT (MHSA)2017-2020 Three-Year Integrated Plan & Annual Update for 2015-2016
To read the full report, click here : Mental Health Services Act Integrated Report 2017 - 2020 Or see attached for a printable version of the report.
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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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Mindful-Based Practices, Therapeutic Activities, & Ways to Relax: For Teachers, Parents, & Children
Yoga is a great activity for children and adults and is easy to do just about anywhere! Children need to have multiple healthy ways to express their feelings and have opportunities for mind and body awareness. Yoga is beneficial because it is... Non-competitive Gender neutral Enhances motor skills and balance Improves listening skills in a fun approach Children can focus on what is happening in the moment A healthy way to express feelings Supports social and emotional learning and...
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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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‘None of us will ever be the same’: Survivors of 2017 Tubbs Fire face long-term trauma [Sacramento Bee]
By Panchalay Chalermkraivuth, August 2, 2019, Sacramento Bee Robert “Priest” Morgan hasn’t slept without a cocktail of pills since the night he says God kicked him in the head to wake him up – the night he opened the front door of his Santa Rosa mobile home to see a fire engine, a few people running up and down Sahara Street and screaming. “The sky looked like the Fourth of July,” he said. “The entire park except for my street was an inferno.” It wasn’t Independence Day – it was Oct. 9,...
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‘None of us will ever be the same’: Survivors of 2017 Tubbs Fire face long-term trauma [Sacramento Bee]
BY PANCHALAY CHALERMKRAIVUTH pchalermkraivuth@sacbee.com August 3, 2019 Robert “Priest” Morgan hasn’t slept without a cocktail of pills since the night he says God kicked him in the head to wake him up – the night he opened the front door of his Santa Rosa mobile home to see a fire engine, a few people running up and down Sahara Street and screaming. “The sky looked like the Fourth of July,” he said. “The entire park except for my street was an inferno.” It wasn’t Independence Day – it was...
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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 1-23-19 meeting - Check these out!
ACEs Enthusiasts Community Meeting NOTES! Date: January 23, 2019 About this community: We bring the community together to prevent, heal, and treat ACEs while promoting resiliency. Embedded GREEN text= hyper link just click for more information New Year - New Focus! With start of new year, Sonoma County ACEs Connection will re-start fresh with a community focus, while seeking opportunities to leverage and coordinate with others. Welcome & Gather - thanks to Nancy for bringing (lots of!)...
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Notes from our 9/23/15 meeting
Twenty of us attended the meeting. We were warmly greeted by Allen Nishikawa with a warms towel ceremony that allowed us to truly arrive and be present. The topics we discussed were the Paper Tigers viewings, Dr. Anda’s presentation at Hanna...
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OCAP needs you! Apply now to become a member of their 2019 Citizen Review Panels
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.
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OneJustice Free Immigration Workshop March 27
This workshop includes DACA Renewals and Citizenship Applications. Appointments are required. Please call (415) 534-5878 to set up an appointment. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, 2019 FROM 3:00 PM - 7:00 PM ROHNERT PARK (*LOCATION WILL BE GIVEN WHEN APPOINTMENT IS MADE) To learn more, click HERE Or visit sonomacountysecurefamilies.org/ See attached for printable flyers in English and Spanish.
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Paper Tigers Viewing with Filmmaker James Redford
Child Parent Institute (CPI) is hosting a free viewing of the film, Paper Tigers on Thursday, November 12. This free event includes refreshments and Q&A with the Filmmaker, James Redford. RSVP by Friday, November 6. Paper Tigers at Sally Tomoatoes 1100 Valley House Drive Rohnert Park 4:30 Refreshments and Hors d'Oeuvres 5:30 Screening 7:15 Q&A with Director James Redford Please RSVP to anneb@calparents.org by November 6th .
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Peer Voices Now! Spring 2018 Newsletter
Kalia Mussetter of Living Bridges " Bringing people together for transformative community service," invites you to read the attached Peer Voices Now! newsletter. Kalia writes: "Please enjoy this beautiful newsletter. It is rich with fine, heartfelt writing by many local mental health Peer Providers; talented individuals who serve our mental health stakeholder community every day. There is a focus on experience of both loss and healing from the recent fires, as well as moving accounts of peer...
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Federal funds awarded to Santa Rosa’s Catholic Charities to boost naturalization program (The Press Democrat)
By Nashelly Chavez, for The Press Democrat, October 1, 2019 Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Santa Rosa will ramp up its services for legal permanent residents who need help becoming citizens this month after the organization was awarded more than $237,000 in federal grant money, the nonprofit said. The Santa Rosa- based charity was one of 41 organizations across 24 states selected for the Citizenship and Assimilation Grants Program , which gives money to immigrant-serving organizations...
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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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Four Windsor Middle School students arrested after back-to-back fights [PressDemocrat.com]
Ed. note: These kids are 13 years old! It sounds as if this school administration and staff is in dire need of learning about trauma-informed schools, and of taking measures to institute trauma-informed practices! Has the Sonoma County ACEs Connection group had any luck in reaching out to them? ___________________ Back-to-back fights this week injured two Windsor Middle School students and led police to arrest four others on suspicion of assault or weapons possession. One boy...
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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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Rohnert Park commits $325,000 to address growing homelessness in city
Rohnert Park Public Safety Officer David Wattson checks the welfare of a homeless woman at a bus stop in Rohnert Park on Thursday, February 1, 2018. (Christopher Chung/ The Press Democrat)
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Santa Rosa students designing home for teacher who lost hers in wildfire (pressdemocrat.com)
Roseland University Prep teacher Anna Solano said she had just three minutes to escape her home in the early morning of Oct. 9 when the Tubbs fire roared through her Coffey Park neighborhood in Santa Rosa. In all, eight teachers and 25 families in the Roseland School District lost homes in October’s wildfires, part of the wider toll that claimed hundreds of homes of Santa Rosa students and teachers and more than 5,100 homes altogether across Sonoma County. Solano teaches the Roseland Prep...
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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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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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3 to 5 FREE Counseling Sessions for Those Affected by the NorCal Fires
The Redwood Empire California Association of Marriage and Family Therapist have come together to offer 3-5 FREE counseling sessions for anyone affected by the NorCal fires. See attached or click here for the list of 97 counselors who have offered their services List of RECAMFT Counselors The attached Disaster Survivor Handout is very helpful too. Click here to learn more about RECAMT and to find additional resources Redwood Empire CAMFT
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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 place called home: A year after the Tubbs Fire, displaced families can finally look ahead [SF Chronicle]
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...
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Addiction: A shift in perspective
In today's society were are facing a crisis of disconnection. This video illustrates the scientific studies conducted on drug addiction and offers a shift in perspective on why drugs don't actually cause addiction. To address this issue we need to improve social environments like the scientists did with rat park! The opposite of addiction is connection. We as a society need to work towards finding these connections our society once had.
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Addressing Trauma and Building Resiliency as Comprehensive Disaster Planning and Response
The attached memo is intended to make observations about communities affected by disaster-related trauma, and to offer recommendations for trauma-informed recovery. Community examples provide case studies or models for other communities grappling with similar issues. Suggested resources and tools provide communities with support for accelerated action. Memo authors represent active cross sector networks that contribute to resilient community infrastructure development, awareness building,...
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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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Building Resilience - Mind Body Medicine Hike
Mind Body Medicine workshops and hikes in Santa Rosa and Glen Ellen
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CYW releases "Children Can Thrive: A Vision for California's Response to ACEs"
The Center for Youth Wellness released a new report “Children Can Thrive: A Vision for California’s Response to ACEs”. This report is a follow up to last November’s Children Can Thrive Summit. ...
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Documentary follows Santa Rosa woman’s quest to know her prison inmate father [Press Democrat]
Shortly after Jessica Stillman celebrated her ninth birthday in the mid-’90s, her father went to prison. She has spent much of her life after that just trying to get close to him. Her story is at the center of “Invisible Bars,” a new documentary by Benicia filmmaker John Beck about the children of incarcerated parents, airing Tuesday through Thursda y on KQED-TV in San Francisco and April 15 on KRCB-TV in Rohnert Park. The film follows Jessica behind bars for a rare sit-down interview with...
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Dozens of stakeholders representing thousands of practitioners send public comments on Calif. ACEs-screening plan
Update: We posted this story on Tuesday evening and received a response from the Department of Health Care Services Wednesday that clarifies additional information. DHCS information Officer Katharine Weir said that subject to budget approval by the legislature and the governor: The reimbursement rate will be $29. Federally Qualified Health Centers will also be reimbursed for screening pediatric patients for trauma through Prop 56 funds and federal matching funds. In response to a question...
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DRAFT notes from our October 2019 meeting
Draft notes from our October 23, 2019 meeting Welcome: For all who could join our meeting on October 23rd, thank you for your participation! Together we can broaden our understanding of how ACEs impact our communities and what folks are doing to address ACEs. In October we welcomed David Beck MD a local Psychiatrist, Lynn Burke from Drug Abuse Alternatives Center (DAAC) Perinatal Program and we welcomed the return of Carla Denner LCSW who is now with DHS - BH- Alcohol and Other Drug...
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The silence of school leaders on climate change (hechingerreport.org)
By the time wildfires tore through his home county of Sonoma, California, Park Guthrie was already convinced that the clock on the climate catastrophe was running out. In 2015, Guthrie, a sixth-grade teacher and father of three, had approached the superintendent of the school district where he worked, hopeful she would sign a resolution endorsing action on climate change. He says he got nowhere. But after attending an advocacy event in Washington two years later, and hearing that the U.S.
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These Black Lives Matters protesters planned a march. The police threw them a cookout instead.
Colby Itkowitz of the Washington Post just posted an inspiring story with a message of hope for communities struggling with tension between police and community members: Activist A.J. Bohannon had organized more than 1,000 Black Lives Matters protesters to march the streets of Wichita on Sunday. But then, days before, he received a call from the new police chief with a different idea. Instead of having an event that drew a hard line between protester and police, why not bring them all...
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Trauma-informed groups rev up to address race, inclusion
Eighteen-year-old Kia Hanson has always enjoyed her time as a youth leader at the East Oakland Youth Development Center (EOYDC). She’s worked mostly with five- and six-year-olds since she began in 2016. Recently, she tapped into new skills, especially if the kids were having a meltdown. Kia Hanson “If they’re off, we ask them, ‘What’s wrong?’ ‘Do you want to talk about anything?’,” she explains. “Basically asking before assuming they’re mad at the world for no reason.” What made the...
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"What Happened To You? A Journey From Childhood Adversity to Resiliency" Explained by a Compelling Pamphlet
I found a manila envelope on my desk this morning. Inside was a heartfelt letter wrapped around a small stack of pamphlets. I can't remember the last time I held a paper resource guide in my hand, and there is something quite satisfying in this small, tangible resource. As I thumb through the pages, I feel myself drawn into a simple, relate-able story. I'm eager to keep turning pages and to discover how those of us with similar stories can find resources and support. "The pamphlet is...
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What Wildfires Do to Our Minds
A Northern California community offers mental health first-aid to survivors of devastating fires. Yes Magazine-- posted Aug 07, 2018 https://www.yesmagazine.org/ issues/mental-health/what- wildfires-do-to-our-minds- 20180807/ It’s late spring, and I’m hiking Sugarloaf Ridge State Park in Sonoma County with therapist, ecopsychologist, and California naturalist Mary Good. A mist is drifting down, and we have the park mostly to ourselves. In October 2017, 80 percent of Sugarloaf’s 3,900 acres...
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Sonoma County ACES Connection Meeting 9-28-16
Dear Friends, I believe we are at the tipping point of an incredible community transformation! Please join us next Wednesday from 12:30 – 2:00 for our next Sonoma County ACEs Connection Meeting to review our momentum as we close our first year of the Mobilizing Action for Resilient Communities grant. Your voice is needed at the table to share your accomplishments and make plans for next steps. Our engaging agenda is attached. Minutes from July’s meeting will be circulated at the meeting.
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Sonoma County ACEs Connection Meeting Minutes September 2018
Monthly meeting minutes for September 2018.
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Sonoma County ACEs Connection Meeting Minutes September 26, 2018
Here are the meeting minutes for the General Assembly meeting that took place on September 26, 2018.