Tagged With "ACEs Science"

Today we get to know Allyn Griffin, one of CRI's trauma-informed trainers out in the field based in Prescott, WA. What was your "aha" moment that took you into the world of ACEs and Trauma informed care? Just over five years ago, I was asked to speak at a friend’s retirement celebration. A close friend of mine and retired NASA astronaut, Leland Melvin, arranged a meeting with a group of NASA educators who were very influential at the time in creating national curriculum. That meeting and a...

Today we have the chance to get to know Rick Griffin, CRI's Director of Training and Curriculum. Rick continues to speak to thousands of groups from all over the country and is widely recognized for his work with trauma-informed practices. What was your "aha" moment that took you into the world of ACEs and Trauma informed care? My "aha" moment came from two decades of working with struggling teens. I saw young men become frustrated far more easily and more often and communicate their...

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...

Tony McGuire- a member of Community Resilience Initiative, and an instructor for Walla Walla Community College at the Washington State Penitentiary- had divided his Building Maintenance class into random groups where white supremacists may be working on the same team as Native Americans. This choice was intentional; “there’s no affiliation on a job site, so you don’t get that here,” Tony told his students. Yet not long after the start of such teamwork, tools began flying. One student was...

What can organizations do to be successful in growing their ACEs initiatives and trauma-informed communities? This is the question that Jane Stevens, founder of the social network ACEsConnection.com and news site ACEsTooHigh.com , helps to answer. For the last several years, Jane and her team at ACEs Connection have been collecting information from communities as they start and grow their ACEs initiatives. ACEs Connection staff watched and reported on communities like Walla Walla as they lay...

This week, Teri Barila of CRI kicked off October is Resilience Month with two proclamations- one with the city of Walla Walla, and the other with the county. Teri, accompanied by Tod Sullivan, met on Monday with the Walla Walla County Board of Commissioners to discuss efforts in increasing community-wide resilience, including raising awareness about trauma and ACEs and strengthening community partners. Teri and Tod spoke to the important role of community- above individual resilience- in...

No brief intervention or short-term infusion of services is a silver bullet that will overcome the long-term harm caused by structural racism, poverty, and multi-generational trauma.

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...

In Japan, there is a form of art called Kintsugi, the process of repairing a broken piece of ceramic with gold, filling in its cracks. Such a technique renders the piece more beautiful in the eyes of the artist; it celebrates the object’s history, its unique story, and emphasizes the beauty of damage instead of disguising it. To feel this truth about ourselves, however, requires an accepting space and practice. When upcoming Beyond Paper Tigers conference presenter, Brigette Phillips, began...

In Japan, there is a form of art called Kintsugi, the process of repairing a broken piece of ceramic with gold, filling in its cracks. Such a technique renders the piece more beautiful in the eyes of the artist; it celebrates the object’s history, its unique story, and emphasizes the beauty of damage instead of disguising it. To feel this truth about ourselves, however, requires an accepting space and practice. When upcoming Beyond Paper Tigers conference presenter, Brigette Phillips, began...

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...

All 350 puzzles had been packaged, labeled, and were ready to be given away as gifts and an activity for conference goers. Teri Barila of CRI and her daughter Whitney had spent hours putting everything together when they noticed- the dog. And a puzzle piece in his mouth. Half-chewed. Discouraged, they looked over at the pile of boxes as Whitney muttered, “are we going to have to open every one of those?” Without knowing which puzzle was missing a piece, Teri had to get creative. Another...

Tony has the right heart and he shows it to all! I saw him at Beyond Paper Tigers last summer and I'm excited the Tony and Teri will be in Lewiston, ID at Lewis Clark State College on April 20th! Register for his presentation!

Maybe consider taking the image a step further than inclusion, to equity?

Thank you for being leaders in the ACEs movement! Leveraging local political and key leader support is a powerful way to build momentum and deepen understanding about ACEs science! Karen " A Proclamation gives formal recognition to a cause, and we are excited to receive the support of both the county and city of Walla Walla. "

By Jerry Davich, Chicago Tribune, September 7, 2020 “Be loving. Be caring. Be there.” These three simple child-rearing reminders can do so much to curtail the barrage of adverse childhood experiences in what can be an abusive, neglectful society. “Adverse childhood experiences,” or ACEs, are defined as emotionally traumatic events that can occur any time before a child turns 18. These situations include divorce, domestic violence, sexual abuse, emotional neglect, parental mental illness and...

Until I read “The Deepest Well” by Dr. Nadien Burke Harris, I had never heard of Adverse Childhood Experience, toxic stress, or epigenetics. Yes, I was aware that trauma can be transferred genetically, but my knowledge stopped and ended at trauma’s impact on the body due to major world and life events. In essence, I knew of trauma’s impact of the body only in terms of contexts like slavery, 9/11, and the holocaust. I did not know that the shortening of telomeres, stunted amygdala growth, and...

Thank you to Aidan Phillips from the WAVE Trust for his excellent and engaging presentation for attendees of our monthly Campaign for Trauma-Informed Policy and Practice (CTIPP) call for March. The information he shared is invaluable as we continue our work to influence change at the national level through the National Trauma Campaign . If you were unable to join, would like to watch again, or want to share with others, you can find the call recording here . Additionally, if you would like...