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Introductions: Teri Barila, Children's Resilience Initiative, Walla Walla, WA

Teri and her colleague, Mark Brown, have been working on a community campaign called the Children's Resilience Initiative.  After meeting Dr. Rob Anda through the Washington State Family Policy Council and Community Network system, and hosting him in Walla Walla in 2008, she felt their community HAD to know about ACEs and more importantly, figure out what they could do to reduce the transmission of ACEs inter-generationally. 

Subsequently, they began CRI, with the goal of "a community conversant in ACEs and Resilience."  Through Rob, they met Gladys and Burtt Richardson (members of the ACEs Too High Network), who detoured through Walla Walla on one of their trips to meet with the CRI team. 

This team comprises a range of community members -- parents, and representatives of school districts, businesses, law enforcement agencies, social services providers, non-profits and the foundation/philanthropic world. 

Last July, Teri and Mark decided to consult with Dr. Vincent Felitti in San Diego for a review of their work and to discuss their efforts to broaden their focus to include physicians and the medical community. 

Vincent will be visiting Walla Walla in March, when he will meet with staff from both community hospitals. He's also the keynote speaker at the second annual Walla Walla Violence Prevention Conference. 

CRI tries to reach as many parents as possible through multiple routes. On their web site (www.resiliencetrumpsaces.org), they gathered materials, resources and tools for parents and providers. They created a deck of cards and accompanying handbook for parents to help them understand the basics of the brain research on ACEs, and to familiarize them with the research on resilience, and to provide concrete strategies for building resilience into daily life. 

They are in their third and final year of funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and also receive support from the Blue Mountain Community Foundation and its program First Fruits.  Teri is with the Community Network system, and part of the Family Planning Council system.  Mark is the executive director of a  local mentoring organization called Friends of Children of Walla Walla.

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