Social worker Darryl Webster has a conversation with Nickolas Armstrong during a town hall at Houston Elementary School in Washington, DC, in June 2016. Houston Elementary has worked to become a trauma-informed school. (Bonnie Jo Mount/Washington Post) In the District, 47 percent of children and teens have experienced a traumatic event, such as the death or incarceration of a parent, witnessing or being a victim of violence, or living with someone who has been suicidal or who has a drug or...

“Calo Programs partners with three non-profits, on a five-city, childhood trauma awareness bus tour, ending on Capitol Hill in Washington DC. Calo Programs , innovators in healing the effects of early life trauma in young people, is partnering with three of the nation's leading authorities on attachment, trauma and adoption: the American Adoption Congress (AAC), the Attachment & Trauma Network (ATN) and the Association for Training on Trauma and Attachment in Children (ATTACh). Together...

One day, when she was 14 and feeling ill, Daylesha Brown’s mother took her to a Baltimore hospital and did not return for her. Child Protective Services (CPS) placed her in a group home and she was forced to move to other homes for the next three years. “My mother, she pushed me away,” Brown, now 23, said softly. “I was always getting in trouble with my mother.” So last year when Brown discovered her daughter, Sa-Maji, had lead poisoning, a lingering problem in Baltimore where the rate of...

In-depth article on at-risk mothers, adverse childhood experiences, and trauma research! This article was published in the Washington Post on Monday, August 21, 2017: https://www.google.com/search?q=washington+post+Trauma+research+aids+at-risk+mothers+by+Mark+Beckford&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

Rep. Danny Davis (D-IL), Wendy Ellis, Olga Acosta Price (obscured), Monica Battle, Kathryn Larin, and Whitney Gilliard ______________________________________________________ The first comprehensive trauma briefing in the U.S. House of Representatives was held on July 26 to an audience of Hill staff, interns, and advocates. The briefing included substantive content from a variety of perspectives—academia, government, education—and unexpected moments of moving personal testimony. Rep. Danny...

Last night, under a full autumn moon and with a light mist in the air, several hundred activists came together for a White House-sponsored evening, “Youth, Trauma and Resilience: Discussion and Film Screening of RESILIENCE.” Resilience: The Biology of Stress and the Science of Hope is a one-hour documentary that chronicles the adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) movement in the U.S. With the election outcome undoubtedly on the minds of everyone, Tina Tchen -- assistant to the President,...

Legislation called cutting edge by national experts on juvenile justice reform has been unanimously passed by the Council of the District of Columbia. “We looked at best practices from across the country and really pulled together what we think is going to transform our juvenile justice system,” said Democratic councilmember Kenyan McDuffie , who sponsored the bill along with seven other councilmembers. “More importantly, it’s going to modernize the juvenile justice system to hold young...

I was raised by Jewish grandparents who grew up during the Great Depression. (I guess this makes me an honorary Baby Boomer, even though I’m technically Generation X.) My grandmother loved to tell me stories told to her by her father, my great-grandfather Max Schumacher, who emigrated to the US from Poland in 1914, and died before I was born. “Your great-grandfather was sitting on the stoop with this little girl, and a Cossack rides by on his horse and pop! shoots the little girl in the...

One morning before math, the fourth-graders took a little vacation. To soft music, they walked through woods, climbed a mountain and lifted off with imaginary wings, flying over an ocean, a gentle breeze on their faces. One student saw a school of fish; another spotted a rainbow. “I see it!” the others piped in, their eyes squeezed tight. “I see it, too!” With the sound of a chime, they were back in their yellow-and-blue school uniforms in a classroom overlooking a blighted neighborhood that...

Children living in poverty often are exposed to high levels of constant stress that can be debilitating, not only in terms of their physical health but also their ability to learn. So what are schools to do? Below, two writers argue — in their own voices, first, and then together with one voice — that schools and health providers must join forces to make sure children are getting the help they need. Sheila Ohlsson Walker, who studies the intersection between stress and educational outcomes,...

The following interview is part of a “future of mental health ” interview series that will be running for 100+ days. This series presents different points of view about what helps a person in distress. I’ve aimed to be ecumenical and included many points of view different from my own. I hope you enjoy it. As with every service and resource in the mental health field, please do your due diligence. If you’d like to learn more about these philosophies, services, and organizations mentioned,...

Notes from April TiCong Meeting April 28, 2016 2:30-4:00PM ET (next meeting May 26, 2016 2:00 – 4:30 PM EDT Please register : https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6551284277068720388 ) Discussion of the PowerPoint Presentation on “Building Resilient Communities through Trauma-Informed Communities – We discussed this draft presentation: meant to be shared after participants have been introduced to ACES 101 and the Physiology/Neurophysiology of Toxic Stress and Trauma. This is the first...