Tagged With "High School"
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MARC Booklet 2016: Features Walla Walla and Whatcom
Please find attached the 2016 booklet for the Mobilizing Action for Resilient Communities (MARC) project, including Walla Walla, Whatcom 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 the WA group as we grow so we can share your story!
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Meet the team--our new Associate Director, Rebecca Cooley
Rebecca joined the team at CRI in September, 2019 What was your "aha" moment that took you into the world of ACEs and Trauma informed care? Before I answer, I would like to say how honored and lucky I feel to have been chosen to work with Teri, Rick and others who are addressing health and wellbeing inequities. I love my job and what we do. It was a build up. Upon moving to Walla Walla, a friend encouraged me to see Paper Tigers at a public screening at Whitman College. Then within a few...
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Mobilizing ACEs, Trauma and Resilience Networks to Support and Strengthen Pandemic Response Efforts
“What are your signs of stress?” asked the leaders of a recent mindfulness webinar hosted by the Philadelphia ACE Task Force (PATF), held during the week that U.S. cases of COVID-19 neared half a million and more than sixty Philadelphians had died of the disease. Participants spilled their responses into the chat box: “headache…teeth grinding…can’t think clearly…nervous stomach…ruminating thoughts…muscle pain…itchiness…bad dreams.” [ At left: #TakeCarePHL during COVID-19 #StayHome #StaySafe.
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New Study Shows Communities Can Reduce the Effects of Adverse Childhood Experiences [Mathematic Policy Research]
[ Ed. note: Following is a media release published yesterday by Mathematica Policy Research. This follows on the heals of the report, "Self-Healing Communities" that Laura Porter, Dr. Robert Anda and WHO wrote for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Both reports and executive summaries are attached to this blog post. Both reports are significant, because they show that community ACEs initiatives -- with "modest investments and limited staff" -- are solving some of our most intractable...
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New trauma-informed book club!
KPJR Films - the creator of the documentaries "Paper Tigers" and "Resilience"- will be leading a new book club in 2019! Our own Teri Barila of CRI was asked to help create a list of trauma-informed books for the Book Club. Read KPJR Film's announcement below: COMING IN 2019: KPJR FILMS BOOK CLUB KPJR Films is pleased to present the selections for the inaugural 2019 KPJR Book Club . Industry experts, Theresa Barila, co-founder and current CEO of the Children’s Resilience Initiative (CRI)...
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NJ medical school program requires all first-year students to learn about ACEs science
In 2015, Dr. Beth Pletcher, a pediatrician and associate professor specializing in genetics, was at the annual conference of the American Academy of Pediatrics in Washington D.C. when she heard two speakers that forever changed her work with medical students. Dr. Beth Pletcher “I went to two talks on adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) that were so mind-boggling to me that I decided on my drive back to New Jersey that I had to do something about it,”says Pletcher, director of the Division...
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October is Resilience Month in our Valley
CRI supported Walla Walla Clinic, Walla Walla Parks and Recreation and Michelle Coleman, LICSW, in the community event for the screening of Screenagers , a film addressing digital screen time and health issues (obesity, social isolation, mental health) in youth. CRI's resource table distributed our Practice a Resilience Strategy Every Day calendar (see it displayed in the attachment), our new Resilience across the Life Span bookmark, and other items for education and awareness. Great fun and...
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Official Proclamation - 4th Annual Resilience Awareness Month in Walla Walla
Mayor Allen Pomraning would like residents of Walla Walla to become informed about ACEs and support the work of the Children’s Resilience Initiative (CRI). CRI works tirelessly to mobilize the community through dialogue and action to radically reduce the number of ACEs while building individual and community resilience. 7 Quick Ways to Get Involved Create a self-care action plan now ! Find ideas in Resources and the Online Resilience Store on our website, http://resiliencetrumpsaces.org/...
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Purple Hearts, Compassion, De-traumatizing
Now is the Time for ALL GOOD to come to the Hearts and Minds of Everyone Everyone has an inherent power to multiply love and graciousness toward others, affect someone’s life and change our world. The audience was amazed how the fourteen partner/presenters at the Walla Walla Partners Showcase explained the simplicity of how they are making a difference. They exemplified how each and every one of us has great potential to make our world a better place for all. Over the next few days and weeks...
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Resource List - Growing Cross-Sector, Community-Based ACEs and Resilience Initiatives
Resources for individuals, organizations, and communities moving along trauma and hope-informed pathways in order to: Prevent and mitigate adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Promote resilience and safe, stable, nurturing relationships and environments. Promote equity and racial justice. Prevent substance abuse and promote mental health. … so that all children, youth, families and communities have equal opportunity for educational success, economic stability, health, and well-being.
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Talking ACEs and building resilience in prison
At Washington State Penitentiary, Tony McGuire talks to the inmates in his construction trades apprenticeship preparation (CTAP) class about ACEs, trauma and resilience every single day. Not only is he teaching the guys a trade, but he also teaches them how to be a healthy, happy and well-adjusted employee. Note: Becoming a healthy, happy, well-adjusted employee is way harder than basic carpentry, plumbing, electrical and HVAC (heating, ventilation, air conditioning).
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Tapping a Troubled Neighborhood’s Inner Strength [NYTimes.com]
[First of three articles] Ten years ago, Patsy Hite, 70, rarely left her home at night. “I heard a lot of sirens so I always kept to myself,” she said. Hite lives in the Highlands, a 40-block section in Longview, a city in Cowlitz County in southwestern Washington. The Highlands is home to about 5,000 residents. The neighborhood is adjacent to an industrial district, and was hit hard by the loss of jobs in the timber and manufacturing industries. Long-term unemployment has brought blight,...
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Thank you Whitman College for Continuation of Resilience as Art
The Resilience Art Festival marks another successful initiative that was kicked off 4 years ago by the Children’s Resilience Initiative (CRI). The festival originated when Teri Barila responded to the question “what does resilience mean to you”? This year, Whitman College stepped in and augmented the festival with a fund raiser. The art was displayed at two locations. First, a booth was set up at the Farmers Market for the resilience art display. When the market closed at 1 pm the students...
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The Journey From Me to We: The Walla Walla Way
“We’re all humans and we’re all going through the same things,” Kelsey Sisavath explains. “It’s important for everyone to know. It can change your perspective on how you see yourself, how you see others, and how you see the world.” The “it” Kelsey is talking about is trauma-informed and resilience-building practices based on the science of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) . She has a unique perspective on the topic given her range of experiences throughout her 19 years of life. The story...
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The Peace Bus
Times in our community have been challenging and traumatic recently. Shining a light on how we can come together and support one another is vital during this time, and is just what Kwabi Amoah-Forson is doing with The Peace Bus. This is incredible work and reflects the importance of connectivity at this time. Please consider supporting the work Kwabi is doing, and share with others to spread the word! Per his recent Facebook post: "Fear, division, and safety have been the reoccuring themes...
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Toxic Stress, Toxic Streets (4 minute video)
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
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Upgrading the Medical Profession
Pediatrician Lisa Ponce expresses her concerns about the needs of her patients at last year’s Beyond Paper Tigers Conference. She says 5 minutes per patient simply does not give enough time to get to the heart of any matter where true healing can take place. “Seeing 30 kids a day to measure head circumferences and fix ear infections was not enough”. She asked herself important questions that began a change in her practice. She asked how can I provide optimal care and help these children...
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Walla Walla selected to end youth and young adult homelessness
As part of A Way Home Washington initiative to end homelessness among youth, Walla Walla was selected to be one of only four Anchor Sites! We were recognized in part for our trauma-informed work. In 2005, CRI began researching accompanied teens in Walla Walla as part of the County Homeless task force. CRI, partnered with then-Whitman Student Shae Healey took on the youth component of the force. This research ultimately led to the opening of several initiatives, such as the HUB on Third- a...
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Webinar Oct. 17 — Integrating ACEs science in pediatrics: Early adopters share lessons from the field
An ACEs Connection webinar co-sponsored with 4 CA In 2017, California became the first state in the country to pass a law supporting universal screening for adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in the 5.3 million children in the state’s Medicaid program. As clinicians around California await the state’s announcement of what this new policy will entail, many are wondering what it takes to integrate ACEs science in a pediatric practice. Meet Drs. Deirdre Bernard-Pearl, R.J. Gillespie and...
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Welcome new members!
Welcome to the Children's Resilience Initiative group! Our team's goal is to share material and generate conversation as we strive to learn from each other in our collective efforts to "grow" the Resilience movement! Many of you took the time to travel to Walla Walla to participate in our June 28-29 conference, Beyond Paper Tigers Conference . We were humbled by the response to our first ever conference! We hope you left with new strategies, ideas and energy for this work; we certainly...
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What does FUN have to do with brain function?
Now I know why Rick Griffin is so well loved by the Walla Walla community. I joined a group of 40 people last night and engaged in an entertaining evening of fun and learning. We played games and laughed while Rick directed the fun and informed us about the importance of community care. One of the games we played gave us the direct experience of caring for others. I was amazed how good I felt after an hour of learning and games. Then today as I sat in a critical thinking class at WWCC I...
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What is "Beyond Paper Tigers"?
Information is the most powerful and effective tool we have because it has the power to touch hearts, change lives and transform communities. Teri Barila has been reaching out with impact in the community of Walla Walla and the transformation is real. I attended the last few minutes of a monthly CRI meeting today where our community gathers together to share stories about the monumental strides that are being made in Walla Walla. The feelings of those in the room overtook me as I stood...
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Who is Responsible?
Everyone wants to flourish in their own uniqueness because the ability to express our individuality is the point of origin to live a self-sufficient and fulfilling life. Our individual ability to feel safe to unplug from cultural norms is the beginning of our ability to thrive in a healthy environment. And no environment can be healthy for everyone until everyone feels safe to express their truth. And if one person lives in an unhealthy environment, everyone lives in an unhealthy...
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Who is Tod Sullivan? And why is he in Walla Walla?
Apart from being dressed in Winston Churchill attire, Tod Sullivan has another connection to the figure- he was one of 150 people prestigiously selected for a Churchill Fellowship out of 1000 applicants. A resident of Lowestoft, England, Tod applied for his fellowship out of a curiosity to learn more about systematic and holistic approaches to mental health. Thus he embarked on a six-week trip to the United States, to research first-hand how American schools are incorporating trauma-informed...
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A New Drug Prevention Program - Sure Beats ACEs
PREVENTION/EDUCATION -- I was recently asked to comment on developing a new drug prevention program. A format was given and these are the questions I was asked to address: What would be your goals for the program? What current model, from a Drugs and Society text book, would you use and why? What components would you include? Explain how your program components would be designed and what they would include. Would you make any changes if you worked with elementary students? Try as I might, I...
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A photographer captured a track star's powerful MMIW statement. We all need to know what it means. (upworthy.com)
A red hand over her mouth. The letters MMIW painted down her leg. What message was this high school track star sending? When photographer Alex Flett attended the WIAA 1B State Track and Field Championships at Eastern Washington University , he didn't expect that to capture an iconic image of a high schooler with a powerful message. Rosalie Fish, from Muckleshoot Tribal School in Auburn, WA, showed up on the track with a statement painted on her body—a red hand covering her mouth and the...
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ACEs Connection's Inclusion Tool makes sure nobody's left out
We developed ACEs Connection's Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Tool — called the Inclusion Tool, for short — to ensure that ACEs initiatives across the world focus on being inclusive when forming a steering committee, recruiting leaders, providing education about ACEs science, recruiting members, or providing resources and services within their communities. The more inclusive your ACEs initiative is, the more diverse it will be, giving your initiative a real shot at achieving equity and...
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‘Ambassadors of Hope’ Trauma-sensitive schools understand the whole child [DerbyInformer.com]
Kindergarten teacher Erica Nunemaker ripped down the clip chart she used for behavior management in her classroom. Children moved their clip up for good behavior and down for bad behavior. Nunemaker realized the same students were moving down every day. The clip was a public display of the student’s failure, and children weren’t learning how to fix their behavior. “I’ve noticed that a lot of times we discipline them and tell them that’s not right ... but then we don’t give them a solution to...
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Announcing Building Resilience Across the Life Span 2'x6' Vinyl Banner & 2'x3' Poster!
Announcing Building Resilience Across the Life Span 2'x6' Vinyl Banner & 2'x3' Poster! CRI is celebrating October is Resilience Month in Walla Walla, WA! As part of the October celebration we are announcing two NEW resilience capacity building products. The prototype Building Resilience Across the Life Span banner debuted at our Beyond Paper Tigers Trauma-Informed Care Conference this past June, and since then has been a much requested product! Looking for a creative way to engage...
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Art Extravaganza of October 18th!
Play, especially free time for play and playing together, is an essential piece of child development. Art provides an open space for creativity, engaging the right and left hemispheres of the brain. As part of October is Resilience Month, CRI partnered with Brigette Phillips of Mindful Art and hosted a night of de-stressing with art for parents and children. About 20 people attended for pizza, painting, and family time together. Read our previous showcase of Mindful Art here. To Brigette,...
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Artists in the ACE and Resilience Movement: Creative Avenues to Change
They began with a song and ended with a poem. In-between, there were photographs and giant graphic renderings, movement exercises and a “human pulse” formed when 90 people stood in a circle and squeezed each other’s hands. At a June summit in Whatcom County, Washington, titled “Our Resilient Community: A Community Conversation on Resilience and Equity,” the arts played a starring role. Kristi Slette, executive director of the Whatcom Family and Community Network, one of two Washington sites...
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Be the Spark: Igniting trauma-informed change within our communities
Authors note: This piece is co-authored by @Lara Kain and @Christine Cissy White. Though we had never worked together or met, we were asked to co-present on creating t rauma-informed changes in communities by the Attachment Trauma Network for the first national (now annual) Creating Trauma-Sensitive Schools Summit in Washington, DC. This article is an expanded essay version of that presentation). Be the Spark Oprah Winfrey helped mainstream discussion about...
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Beyond Paper Tigers
By now, many of us in the ACEs movement have seen, or at least heard of, the documentary film, Paper Tigers . The film captures the lives of students, teachers, and administrators at Lincoln High School, and ultimately the entire community of Walla Walla, WA. I saw the movie for the second time this week, and was reminded of the spirit of collaboration and unconditional love that is ever present throughout the film. The entire school community -- administrators, teachers, health...
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Beyond Paper Tigers Presenter Showcase! Lincoln High School’s Trauma-Informed Strategies: Jim Sporleder Reflects on Lessons Learned
“We had no clue whatsoever what it would turn out to be” Jim Sporleder, former Principal, remarks as he looks back on Lincoln Alternative High School, the growing movement of CRI’s trauma-informed community initiative, and the production of the documentary Paper Tigers. Jim’s story is an iconic one. In fact, many have inevitably heard of Jim’s work if they have seen the documentary Paper Tigers; it chronicles the profound impact on Lincoln Alternative High School as Jim, the staff, and the...
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Beyond Paper Tigers: The Heart of the Matter
Graphic artist Anne Nelson created this visual roadmap during the partner showcase, capturing the "heart of the matter" for each community member Teri Barila, co-founder and CEO of the Children’s Resilience Initiative and the igniting force that brought change to a quiet corner of southeast Washington, kicked off last month’s Beyond Paper Tigers Conference by sharing one of her “aha” moments. In 2007, she attended a conference in Winthrop, WA, where Dr. Robert Anda spoke about the CDC-Kaiser...
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Bringing ACEs, Resilience, and Hope to preschool families
This school year, an endeavor of the Franklin Pierce Hewins Early Learning Center (ELC) was to bring Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and Resilience to the preschool families. What began as a broad idea soon turned into an exciting project: “Rise to Resilience & Hope”. Our ELC has had a Kids at Hope culture for many years – believing that all children are capable of success, with no exceptions. With Kids at Hope, the adults are Treasure Hunters, seeking out and recognizing the...
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Broken Places- A 2019 BPT Film Screening
"The world breaks and afterward many are strong in the broken places" - Ernest Hemingway, A Farewell to Arms During the BPT Pre-Conference on June 25th, CRI will be screening Broken Places - a documentary that posits why some children are severely damaged by early adversity while others are able to thrive. Filmmakers explored 40 years of film archives following children who experienced immense childhood stress, watching with curiosity as some overcame hardship and thrived in their adult...
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Campaign for Trauma-Informed Policy and Practice (CTIPP) launches new grassroots initiative to engage and educate Congress
CTIPP (Campaign for Trauma-Informed Policy and Practice) today announced the launch of the National Trauma Campaign , calling for federal action to prevent and address childhood trauma and build resilience through educating and engaging Congress. Its widely circulated communication invited people from around the country to join the new grassroots initiative. The campaign provides ways for everyone to get involved by joining the effort, becoming a Local Liaison to take the lead in every state...
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Community Leaders Tell Their ACEs Success Stories at 2016 ACEs Conference in California
(l to r) Teri Barila, director of the Children's Resilience Initiative; Dr. Ariane Marie-Mitchell, assistant professor in Loma Linda University Preventive Medicine and Pediatric Depts. (Photo: Jennifer Hossler) _________________________________ Sauntering on stage to the beat of Everyday People by Sly and the Family Stone, four “heroes” of the ACEs movement took their seats for a panel on trauma-informed and resilience-building communities on October 21, the last day of the 2016 Adverse...
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Compassion - Play it Forward
Partner Showcase #3 - Michelle Higgins If compassionate police officers deserve purple hearts – what do trauma informed teachers deserve? A few weeks ago I posted an article titled Purple Hearts, Compassion and De-traumatizing. That article acknowledged Sergeant Braman for his heroic courage to exercise compassion in an often brutal world of law enforcement. There is no substitute for educating professionals who yield the power to transform our world into a safe place through compassion.
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CRI honored three National Resilience Champions at the 2019 Beyond Paper Tigers Conference!
CRI is grateful to have honored three National Resilience Champions- Karen Pritzker, Jane Stevens, and Laura Porter- at the 2019 Beyond Paper Tigers Conference. Each has inspired the development of critical mass, and have been energetic catalysts of new ideas. The three women have represented tipping points in the national movement. They have worked tirelessly to shift culture and mindsets around how human restoration occurs and have provided brilliant insights to reframe beliefs about the...
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CRI's Third "Beyond Paper Tigers" Conference
Community Resilience Initiative's third Beyond Paper Tigers Conference is now open for registration! A social/network event kicks off the conference on June 26, with two full days of keynotes and breakout session June 27 and 28 at the Red Lion Hotel Conference Center in Pasco, WA. Our conference theme is the power of relationship--“the mutual and interdependent respect that results when people feel safe, believe that everyone has something to offer, and are confident that each person is...
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Early Childhood Emotional and Social Development Skills - according to our No. 4 showcase partner Yolanda Esquivel, THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE!!
Mental health costs have been a constantly increasing burden on our society, until recently. As the Director of the Inspired Development Center Yolanda Esquivel promotes early childhood social and emotional education as a key solution to curb the high costs of mental health care that has grown out of proportion over the past several decades. Yolanda claims the adult skill building capacity of her staff was recently transformed after she completed the Head Start Trauma Smart Training...
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Experts reveal stress, trauma impacts kids’ development; urge adults to foster resilience [KEPRtv.com]
by Elise Haas WALLA WALLA, Wash. – Now more than ever, both parents and professionals struggle to understand the complex and continued impacts of chronic stress and trauma on a child's brain development. The documentary, Paper Tigers , based in Walla Walla, sparked renewed interest in the effects of chronic, overwhelming stress and trauma on children’s development. That's why hundreds of parents, educators, mental health workers, and others gathered at Whitman College in Walla Walla for the...
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Friends organization pairs mentors with area kids [Union-Bulletin.com]
Friends of Children of Walla Walla focuses on the well-being of children in the area, by providing school- and community-based programs that help youths socially and academically through one-on-one relationships. “We are purveyors of hope and resilience for kids,” said Jim Byrnes, executive director. Many children have adverse childhood experiences, called ACES, including verbal and physical violence, poverty, neglect, bullying and more. And many parents have their own set of emotional ACES...
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~ Great Visuals ~ Inform everyone you know about “the Heart of the Matter”
Walla Walla ignited “the Heart of the Matter” at the Trauma-Informed Care Conference, Beyond Paper Tigers , June 28-29. The conference was filled with so many good insights and ideas on how to work with ACEs in our young, vulnerable population. The final session included some best practices that were captured in a lively graphic by Anne Nelson of Drawn2Solutions (see attached). I’ve heard that a picture is worth a thousand words and Anne effectively captured the highlights so we would have a...
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Honoring a humble champion, in front of a packed ballroom!
The Walla Walla Valley Chamber of Commerce hosted their 137th Annual Community Awards last week, and one of Community Resilience Initiative's trainers-- Tony McGuire-- was recognized for his service to our community. As an instructor of basic carpentry at the local Washington State Penitentiary, Tony is so much more than that- he is a mentor, champion, communicator and lifelong learner of what makes us human together. His gift to the world is his ability to share the insights of the...
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How Community Networks Stem Childhood Traumas [NYTimes.com]
[Ed. note: This is the second of a three-part series that David Bornstein is doing on how communities are integrating trauma-informed and resilience-building practices based on ACEs science.] Liberals and conservatives often disagree about the causes of poverty and other social ills. Broadly speaking, liberals point the finger at structural factors and advocate for policy changes, while conservatives look to individuals and families and favor behavior changes. Clearly, both points of view...
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How to blog about what's happening related to ACEs Science in your community
NOTE: Have you posted a 'Resilience' screening or ACEs Science conference? Attended a great trauma-informed training? Participated in a community discussion related to ACEs science? Presented about ACEs science? If so, WE WANT YOU - to write about it in a Blog Post. When you share your accomplishments, big and small with your community it documents your successes, inspires others to get involved and do more and ignites ideas in other communities! See below for tips on how to blog and a guide...
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Introducing Lincoln Staff and a Former Student, Hosts of 2019 BPT Conference Screenings of Paper Tigers and Resilience
On June 26th during the Beyond Paper Tigers 2019 Conference, CRI will be screening two documentary films by KPJR and directed by Jamie Redford- Paper Tigers, and Resilience: Biology of Stress and the Science of Hope. We are excited and fortunate to be joined by Dianna Cardenas, Shelly Phipps, Jayne Eacker, and Erica (Riki) Wauchek- a former student of Lincoln High School and current staff. Shelly Phipps, Intervention Specialist, and Dianna Cardenas, Lincoln graduate of 2014 will open the...