Blog

Karen Clemmer, the Northwest community facilitator with ACEs Connection, was already deeply interested in the CDC/Kaiser Permanente Adverse Childhood Experiences Study when she and a colleague from the Child Parent Institute were invited to lunch by ACEs Connection founder and publisher Jane Stevens in 2012. But that lunch meeting changed everything. Karen Clemmer “Jane helped us see a bigger world,” says Clemmer. “She came with a much wider lens. She didn’t look only at Sonoma County, she...

Inspired her work with ACEs, resilience and Walla Walla’s Community Resilience Initiative , documentary-film director Amy L. Erickson created Visceral: transforming trauma though theatre , which has its first screening at the 5 th Annual “Beyond Paper Tigers” conference June 24-25, 2020. The film features a number of Walla Walla residents, including Etiene Vela, a student at Walla Walla Community College (WWCC), whose life is transformed by performing in WWCC productions with Kevin Loomer,...

Regulation Before Education: The Roots and Fruits of a Trauma-Informed School July 29-31st | 12:00 - 3:00pm EDT These times are unsettling in many ways. But the disruptions have widened opportunities for different ways of being, thinking and doing in education. The trauma-informed schools movement has never been more relevant. Schools committed to cultivating trauma-informed change can successfully buffer the adverse effects of the pandemic, economic collapse, and persistent racial...

Your voice matters! Your experiences, thoughts, perspective (and so much more!) matter! Want to see trauma informed practices? Efforts based on ACEs science? Mark your calendar and plan to participate - by phone or by Zoom. See details below. *See attached document for more background info :) Meeting notice: PartnerSHIP meets July 9th via Zoom What : A public meeting of the PartnerSHIP, which is tasked with developing the 2020-2024 State Health Improvement Plan (SHIP), to review and approve...

By Scottie Andrew, July 5, 2020, CNN. In the town of 172,000, they were the first responders for mental health crises, homelessness, substance abuse, threats of suicide -- the problems for which there are no easy fixes. The problems that, in the hands of police, have often turned violent . Today, the program, called CAHOOTS, has three vans, more than double the number of staffers and the attention of a country in crisis. CAHOOTS is already doing what police reform advocates say is necessary...

For the leaders of Sarasota Strong (or "SRQ Strong") Florida, anti-racism work isn’t about inviting people of color to tables long-occupied by white professionals fluent in academic jargon and theories of change. It’s about venturing, with humility and openness, into spaces where Black people worship, work and live. Helen Neal-Ali from SRQ Strong. Photo courtesy of Andrea Blanch. Which is why, before SRQ Strong even had a name or held a formal event, educator/minister Helen Neal-Ali launched...

For the leaders of Sarasota Strong (or "SRQ Strong") Florida, anti-racism work isn’t about inviting people of color to tables long-occupied by white professionals fluent in academic jargon and theories of change. It’s about venturing, with humility and openness, into spaces where Black people worship, work and live. Helen Neal-Ali from SRQ Strong. Photo courtesy of Andrea Blanch. Which is why, before SRQ Strong even had a name or held a formal event, educator/minister Helen Neal-Ali launched...

Whether or not to screen for ACEs in primary care is an important debate—and I hear and respect the passion from both sides of the argument. I fall in the “pro-ACE assessments” camp, but with some important caveats. I think that assessments for ACEs are dramatically different from screening for autism or developmental delays. In my opinion, assessments for ACEs in primary care should be primarily about building relationships.

By The Clackamas Reveiw, Oregon City News, June 16, 2020 Long-term work to mitigate the health, social-emotional and academic impacts of childhood trauma in Gladstone got a $575,000 grant. Another $40,000 from the Heatherington Foundation for Innovation and Education in Health Care will address two immediate needs for the Gladstone School District: nutrition support and technology. "This is the largest grant our district has ever received, and it could not have come at a better time," said...

CRACKED UP THE EVOLVING CONVERSATION Episode 4: Generational Trauma - Breaking the Cycle with Darrell Hammond, Comedian, actor, SNL Legend Michelle Esrick, Filmmaker, activist Bessel van der Kolk, MD, Author of The Body Keeps the Score Jane Stevens, Founder of ACES Connection and special guest Jane Fonda Academy Award-winning actor, producer, author and activist Thursday June 25th at 1pm PDT / 2p MT / 3p CT / 4pm EDT Hosted by ACEs Connection THE PRICE OF THIS LIVE EVENT IS $12.50 We have...

By Anna V. Smith, High Country News, June 11, 2020 As citizens across the country fill the streets to protest police killings of Black people , the violent response from law enforcement has added urgency to a national conversation about police brutality. Pressure is mounting to reform or abolish police departments. City officials in Western urban centers like Los Angeles are reducing police budgets — L.A.’s currently totals $1.8 billion — and reinvesting in underfunded social initiatives.

CRI is proud to announce its 5th annual BPT Conference is going virtual. The theme this year is Resilience through Diversity: The power of trauma-informed DEI practices. BPT is a medium to share and learn from communities around the world. Over two days you will have the option of attending: 6 live presentations, 2 keynotes, 15 pre-recorded on-demand presentations, and on-demand screenings of 'Paper Tigers', 'Resilience' and the premiere of the documentary 'Visceral' with live Q&A...