Blog

In the aftermath of recent hurricanes and wildfires, the Sesame Street in Communities team wanted to reach out to provide information on our available resources to help families cope in the aftermath of natural disasters, and other traumatic experiences. Bilingual videos, articles, printables and more, are all available for free on our website at www.sesamestreetincommunities.org . Here are the links to a few topic pages that may be most useful to you as you work with families in the...

Photo by Douglas Harding, The Parthenon. Marshall University students and community members watched the documentary “Resilience” and discussed the science of toxic stress and its impacts, Tuesday, Nov. 2, in the Memorial Student Center. “Resilience,” a documentary based on recent medical studies linking heart disease to adverse childhood experiences, was released in 2016 and directed by James Redford, who also directed the 2015 documentary “Paper Tigers.” To read the rest of this post by...

In a webinar offered this morning by Elaine Miller Karas , executive director of the Trauma Resource Institute in Claremont, CA, leaders from several North Carolina ACEs Connection communities affected by flooding and other damage by Hurricane Florence learned more about trauma response and how to better help their communities find resilience. Karas, who was delivering her Community Resiliency Model (CRM) training at Duke University in Durham, NC, offered the free training and provided...

We are just beginning the clean up and recovery from Florence. The effects of the storm will be with us for the foreseeable future. But our resilience is showing. Neighbors checking on one another, organizations delivering emergency supplies, and people sharing hot meals prepared and donated by volunteers. We will get through this. https://www.citylab.com/amp/article/570193/?__twitter_impression=true

Here are four great YouTube videos highlighting some of the work happening on the ground in Shasta County. They are motivated and mobilized. According to one of the providers speaking towards the end of one video - patients/clients had positively "profound" responses to learning about their ACEs - and they felt empowered to do what they could do to not have their children have the same experience. More videos available here .

Tennessee First Lady Crissy Haslam this week released a report highlighting eight years of progress by the state to improve the lives of children and families. Prioritizing Tennessee’s Children: Our Promise to Future Generations reflects an early commitment by Governor Bill Haslam’s administration to make the health and success of all Tennessee children a state priority. In conjunction with Governor Haslam’s Children’s Cabinet and Deputy Governor Jim Henry, First Lady Haslam set out to...

Speakers and guests at the SAMSHA Forum included (l-r) Mary Rolando of the Department of Children's Services; Chrissy Haslam, First Lady of Tennessee; Dr. Joan Gillece, SAMSHA Center for Trauma Informed Care; Dr. Andi Clements, East Tennessee State University; Becky Haas, Johnson City Police Department; Carey Sipp, ACEs Connection, and Robin Crumley, Boys & Girls Club of Johnson City/Washington County. It was easy to be both inspired and a bit overwhelmed at the Substance Abuse and...

Hello - I am excited to tell my fellow West Virginians about the Health Starts at Home initiative FamilyCare Health Centers has undertaken. We are now screening pre-natal and pediatric patients at three of our health centers and will be adding two school-based health clinics to that number in November. Patients or caregivers who score a four or higher are offered a referral to our community resource specialist who provides additional education about toxic stress and protective factors and...

We tend to idealize childhood as a carefree time, but youth alone offers no shield against the emotional hurts and traumas many children face. Students can be asked to deal with problems ranging from adapting to a new classroom to bullying by classmates or even abuse at home. Add to that the uncertainties that are part of growing up, and childhood can be anything but carefree. The ability to thrive despite these challenges arises from the skills of resilience. Secondary teachers must play a...

When most people think of foundations, they think of deep pockets. That’s understandable, since the popular public perception of philanthropy has been shaped by the creation of multimillion-dollar foundations by titans of old, and enforced by the glamour of new foundations launched to much fanfare by today’s billionaires. In rural communities, the creation of big-dollar health conversion foundations garners media attention and sparks public awareness. But as with their mammoth cousins, these...

Hello members of the ACEs Coalition of West Virginia! We are very excited about this new online community as part of ACEs Connection. We are just getting started and will be editing things and moving them around a bit, but we are super glad that you are here. Please leave a comment if there's something you'd like to see added to this page and feel free to post your own blog post or questions. As we are getting started, please check out the following link to visit...

We are very pleased that the Joint Committee on Health heard from representatives of WV Department of Health & Human Resources about the prevalence of ACEs in West Virginia and their impact on our communities and families. Thank you very much to Director of the Office of Maternal Child and Family Health, Christina Mullins and Deputy Secretary Jeremiah Samples for highlighting not just the negative consequences of ACEs but the importance of safe, stable, nurturing relationships and...