The following letter went out to the list serve of the Alaska Resilience Initiative on Monday, February 24th. I am sharing it here...because the reflections on lessons learned may be useful to those in the broader ACEs movement... Most important, perhaps: an ethic of self-reflection and of welcoming feedback creates safety, creates a trauma-informed environment. And so, it is both a tool for growth, and a way of walking the walk on trauma-informed, culturally-responsive care.

Last Wednesday, March 13th, I had the opportunity to present a Legislative Lunch and Learn to legislators, legislative staff, administrative staff, and the public in the Alaska State Capitol Building. To a room of ~ 30 - 40 people munching on lunch provided by the Alaska Children's Trust , and broadcast live via Gavel to Gavel (now archived here ), I had the honor to premiere the policymaker version of our History and Hope curriculum. This curriculum, and the policy-maker version, was...

Join me in the Capitol Building of Juneau, Alaska, or via webcast, for a presentation to legislators and legislative staff. The presentation will discuss the impact of ACEs on our communities, workplaces and state. ACEs are a significant contributor to all the issues we struggle with, and cost Alaska an estimated $866 million per year. Learn examples of trauma-informed approaches to policy-making. For those not in Juneau, the Lunch and Learn will be broadcast live and archived at...

In the dark early hours of Mother’s Day, May 13th , before the 2018 Alaska legislative session adjourned, Senate Bill 105 was approved by both the Alaska House and the Senate...making Alaska one of only a handful of states to pass ACEs awareness into statute. This represents years of education, collaboration, and some creative and dogged advocacy this last legislative session. It also represents a promising path forward.

This visually-engaging short film shows what roles the Alaska Resilience Initiative plays in the trauma and resilience field and the ways in which we prioritize equity, a comprehensive understanding of trauma, and indigenous worldviews and resilience practices in our work.

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimates that if the American Health Care Act (AHCA -- the repeal and replace healthcare bill passed by the House) were enacted, there would be a 50% increase in uninsured rates for everyone 18 and younger. Within 9 years, between 2.7 and 3.8 million children would lose insurance! Read the full report here: http://www.cbpp.org/…/d…/files/atoms/files/6-14-17health.pdf and contact your Senators.

Today is International Women's Day, an appropriate day to take note of and honor the decades of feminist-led research and activism that preceded the ACE study and built the foundation for so much of the trauma and resilience field of work. While the high percentage of people experiencing child sexual abuse may have been unfamiliar to the medical field prior to the ACE study, feminist researchers, anti-violence activists, and community leaders had been studying, writing, and b reaking the...

A trauma-informed, resilience-building shipyard based in values of authenticity, wholeness, and love? Yes, it's true, and it's located in a small coastal town in Alaska. Watch this 20-minute video made by consultant Tom Mann, who worked closely with Vigor Shipyards General Manager Mike Pearson in Ketchikan, Alaska which tells the remarkable Vigor story: https://youtu.be/i5Ys2zb5L1w

In May, the Alaska Resilience Initiative partnered w/ First Alaskans Institute & the Native Village of Chickaloon to convene a gathering of Alaska Native and Native American people from every region of Alaska who work on issues of child & intergenerational trauma. The goal was to seek input that would be used to guide the Alaska Resilience Initiative, the training-of-ACEs/Resilience trainers and the curriculum used to present on ACEs, and the overall framing & approach to this work.

Many LGBTQ people are feeling vulnerable in light of the mass shooting in Orlando, ongoing battles for equity in laws and culture, and mental health and other supports that are not always sensitive to their life experience and needs; however, many LGTBQ people, including people of color facing multiple intersecting forms of oppression and toxic stress are also creating and living creative resilience, wellness, and self-care practices to keep going. Here is a series of brief interviews on...

On May 18th, the Alaska Resilience Initiative, First Alaskans Institute's Alaska Native Policy Center, and the Native Village of Chickaloon hosted a gathering of Alaska Native and Native American people from across the state to discuss ACCCEs (adverse childhood, cultural, and community experiences) and resilience.

A Step-by-Step Guide to Using the ANTHC Healthy Youth Relationships Community Toolkit       The Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium has collaborated with rural and urban communities to make locally and culturally-relevant resources...

An engaging, multimedia training series on healthcare and domestic violence eligible for 3.25 free CME/CEs is now available online!   The title of the training series is “Domestic and Sexual Violence (DV/SV), The Impact on Health, and the...

Authors: Laura Avellaneda-Cruz, LMSW & Jaclynne Oyoumick, BA of the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC), Alaska Native Epidemiology Center, in Anchorage, Alaska What are the goals of the card? The wallet-sized, fold-out safety card is an evidence-based tool developed by health and domestic violence professionals for use in health care to promote safety and support for patients experiencing intimate partner violence, sexual violence, and/or reproductive coercion.