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Mobilizing action can be intimidating. Creating a movement even more so. John Hagel provides the following definition of a movement: “an organized effort mobilizing a large number of independent participants in a grassroots effort to pursue a broad agenda for change.” He indicates that there are two key ingredients in movement making: 1) compelling narratives and 2) fostering creation spaces. In Buncombe County, we are experimenting with both of these notions. Opportunity-based Narrative A...

I get daily updates Nutrition.org in which Dr. M Greger reports on the science of the benefits of plant based diets. Here he covers telemores and what science is showing related to meditation, exercise and diet for lengthening telemores. I found these videos very interesting but I won't be eating processed meats anytime soon! Research Into Reversing Aging Does Meditation Affect Cellular Aging? Telomeres: Cap It All Off with Diet

This video is about 2 years old, but I just came across it last week and wanted to share with you all. It is a powerful statement by the students at Leadership High School in San Francisco, CA. They speak about the ongoing adversity and toxic stress in their daily lives and in their community, all through the power of music. The youth voice is so important as we work to bring trauma-informed and resilience building practices to communities. Link to video: Toxic Stress, Toxic Streets

Ventura County government has quietly joined a brave new world of government financing. The county has signed off on a program that will use private money to pay for a program to reduce recidivism. If the program succeeds, the private investors will get their money back (plus interest), and taxpayers will pay the bill. This is the Pay for Success financing model that was launched in the United Kingdom six years ago and has moved to the United States, mostly under the umbrella of the...

As they struggle to move homeless people into housing, social service officials are focusing on a little-known ally — landlords and property managers. They're recruiting, cajoling and honoring them to free up rentals in the sizzling market in Ventura County. It's become a necessity because the odds have worsened as rents have soared, vacancies have dropped and demand has risen, officials in the Ventura County Human Services Agency said. "It is an absolute crisis," said Amy Luoma, a...

(A version of this post was emailed to all ACEsConnection.com members yesterday.) Join us on Sunday, April 10th, for a free sneak peek of Resilience , the critically acclaimed documentary by KPJR Films that chronicles a new movement among pediatricians, therapists, educators and communities who are using cutting-edge brain science to disrupt cycles of violence, addiction and disease. The streaming event will begin at 6 p.m. PT (3 p.m. HAST, 5 p.m. AKDT, 7 p.m. MT, 8 p.m. CT, 9 p.m. ET). For...

This was produced by KPJR Films, and edited by Jen Bradwell.

Resilience , a documentary that looks at the birth of the CDC-Kaiser Permanente Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study and how it spawned a movement across the world, will be coming to your personal screen in April, says Lynn Waymer, KPJR Film’s community engagement strategist. The production team is working out the details to make the documentary, which premiered at Sundance Film Festival to sold-out houses, available to ACEsConnection.com members on Sunday, April 10, at 6 pm PT/ 9 pm...

From Tugg.com, March 17, 2016 Tugg Edu is proud to present the highly anticipated ACEs documentary PAPER TIGERS to the educational marketplace. Directed by James Redford ( THE BIG PICTURE: RETHINKING DYSLEXIA, RESILIENCE ), PAPER TIGERS follows a year in the life of an alternative high school that has radically changed its approach to disciplining its students, becoming a promising model for how to break the cycles of poverty, violence and disease that affect families. With over 450...

This article, written by Wendy Smith, addresses the challenges created by trauma, and why it's important to address these issues as early as possible. While the article focuses more on the role of social workers, parents, and foster care systems, this same information applies to anyone who works with children, regardless of where we have the opportunity to provide support. ~ Leisa Irwin, ACEs in Education group manager. What Children’s Brains Tell Us About Trauma: Invest Early, by Wendy...

Rosa Ana Lozada grew up on a two-block-long street in a San Francisco neighborhood pocked with trauma: domestic violence, child abuse, the frequent wail of police sirens. “It was unsafe to walk the two blocks to the bus stop,” she recalled. “In my community, we learned that police officers were not our friends because they were only seen when bad things happened.” For Lozada, now CEO of Harmonium, Inc., and a member of the San Diego Trauma Informed Guide Team, home and family were the...

Image: Thank you to Los Angeles County Group member Olivia Piacenza for sharing the Collective Impact Forum link which guides the reader through the steps of Collective Impact succinctly. Another great tool available to you on your trauma informed, resilience building journey as we collaborate and ignite collective momentum. Please click on the link; http://collectiveimpactforum.org/what-collective-impact