Krosoczka is the award-winning author and illustrator of Hey Kiddo: How I Lost My Mother, Found My Father and Dealth with Family Addiction.

Balance4Kids helps to engage and challenge children, teaching focus and relaxation to help them find their own personal strengths and help them develop confidence. The main goal of the workshop is to empower children and give participants an opportunity to express themselves through yoga and meditation.

The 2-hour Balance workshops meet over 8 weeks and include a story, craft and yoga practice. An important part of the program is a brief lesson for parents at the end of each workshop. By sharing what the children are learning in class, the Balance workshop helps parents use the concepts covered in class at home.

“After we attended the first meeting I felt this spark of light that we weren't doing this alone anymore,” Beth said, “everyone was warm, friendly, and openly shared their story. It made it feel very comfortable.”

“Children can often feel alone and isolated and when they can relate to characters in a book, it helps them feel less alone,” Sarah Cloud, Director of Social Work at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center said.

Three sessions of free online training for summer camp counselors and staff are available next week.

The suggestions: 1. Be caring and consistent (and don't pry). 2. Remember: children love their parents (even if they've said or done terrible things). 3. Remind them (repeatedly) it's not their fault. 4. Look beyond a child's behavior (instead ask 'why') 5. Help kids learn to deal with their emotions (in a healthy way). 6. Let kids be kids. (Encourage silliness!)

This YouTube video of a 2016 webinar is a great overview of trauma informed care, including an introduction to ACEs. Introduction to Trauma Informed Care for the Children, Caregivers and Ourselves Check out this book recommendation: The Cultural Nature of Human Development

There’s denial, which we say a lot of early on: This virus won’t affect us. There’s anger: You’re making me stay home and taking away my activities. There’s bargaining: Okay, if I social distance for two weeks everything will be better, right? There’s sadness: I don’t know when this will end. And finally there’s Acceptance. This is happening; I have to figure out how to proceed. Acceptance, as you might imagine, is where the power lies. We find control in acceptance. I can wash my hands. I can

State Senator Harriette Chandler: “You are in the trenches, in the weeds and in the field, this is your issue,” emphasizing that all the parties that came to the table in that room had a role in helping Massachusetts become a more trauma informed and responsive state.

On Monday, March 2, 2020 from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM in the Hogan Campus Center at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester Massachusetts state legislators will gather with community partners, families and professionals to learn how gateway cities can lead Massachusetts to becoming a trauma-informed state. To register for this free event, complete the brief form at this link: https://form.jotform.com/DCStraining/building-resilient-communities-

Team members contributed toward the purchase of sneakers, sports equipment and a grocery gift card for a grandmother raising two grandsons.

The Drug Endangered Children’s Initiative is grateful to our community partners who shared their favorite book titles with us, especially Joanne Peterson from Learn to Cope and Gina Williams from East Bridgewater Public Schools for these suggestions. We look forward to discovering and sharing more resources in the new year, please comment with your favorites.

Edward Jacoubs, MSW, Director of Grants and Sponsored Projects with the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office and Melinda Kneeland, Director of the United Way of Greater Plymouth County’s Community Connections, Family Center and Drug Endangered Children’s Initiative were asked to present on the skill-building topic of “Successful Partnerships + Strong Collaborations = Safe and Healthy Children”

“The children may not be fully focused on every pose (they are still kids) but they are still learning them. I think when the children are then feeling stressed or scared, the poses and breathing techniques that they learn during class gives them something to focus on and a way to calm and center themselves,” Sarah Piper, in intern for the Drug Endangered Children’s Initiative said.

This opportunity is for schools and districts to receive training to develop an awareness of the prevalence of traumatic experience, its impact on academic behavior and relations and the need for a whole school approach. For the 2019-2020 school year, Carver, Marshfield, Rockland, Scituate and Silver Lake qualified to receive free training from TLPI.

The National Alliance for Drug Endangered Children training was presented as part of the Drug Endangered Children’s Initiative, a collaboration between the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office, Plymouth County Outreach and the United Way of Greater Plymouth County’s Family Center which is funded by a federal grant from the Office for Victims of Crime.

"If substance use disorder or an overdose is thought of as a pebble dropped in water, the ripple effect after an overdose can spread wide, with those closest to the overdose victim—children and families—being the first and hardest hit"

“What good are we as humans if we can’t help each other,” Colella, an independent artist whose piece is now on display at the Fuller Craft Museum, said.

The Drug Endangered Children’s Initiative in Plymouth County, Massachusetts is now accepting referrals to help children impacted by the opioid crisis. Children who live in a home where a parent, sibling or other family member struggles with addiction are likely experiencing trauma. Grandparents increasingly find themselves raising grandchildren, and some children end up in the foster care system. The DEC Initiative seeks to help those families. The Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office...