January 2018

Before Deanna Beck had ever heard of the 1998 ACE study, before she became principal of Northwood ABC Elementary School in Anchorage, she was a special education teacher who saw the ways trauma scrawled through her students’ lives. On the one-minute reading tests Beck administered, she would notice steady progress—40 words a minute, then 50—followed by dramatic drops; a child would suddenly be stumbling along at three or four words a minute. Pictured: Deanna Beck at Northwood ABC Elementary...

When we talk about trauma, we are usually referring to the things done TO us -- childhood abuse and neglect, growing up poor, violence by a partner, exposure to war... But the more we were exposed to these traumas from an outside source, the more likely we are to adopt what I call "inside traumas" -- the things we believe and do today that can actually make the effects of old traumas worse . They start as an innocent flight away from pain, but if they persist, they actually create more...

Algorithms are behind pretty much everything these days, from music and movie recommendations to GPS navigation to forensic technology . Ever the early adopter of new technologies, the criminal justice system has been using predictive algorithms for decades to guess everything from where crimes might occur to which criminals will appear at court hearings or re-offend. The data-driven tools were supposed to take human error out of the equation in a system plagued by racism and discrimination...

According to a report released this week by the Prison Policy Initiative, since 2009, a movement toward justice reform, along with the high cost of over-incarceration to cash strapped states, has slowly reduced state prison populations around the nation. Yet, according to the new report, in the majority of states, the decrease in numbers has been among male inmates, not women in jails and prisons. Some state, California among them, were successful in also bringing the women’s numbers down.

Too many Americans are overweight and eat unhealthy food, a problem that falls disproportionately on poor and low-income people. For many urbanists, the main culprit has long been “food deserts”—disadvantaged neighborhoods that are underserved by quality grocery stores, and where people’s nutritional options are limited to cheaper, high-calorie, and less nutritious food. But a new study by economists at New York University, Stanford University, and the University of Chicago adds more...

People who have experienced abuse, neglect and other adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) such as living with domestic violence during their childhood are at much greater risk of mental illness throughout life. Findings from a new national study across Wales found adults who had suffered four or more types of ACE were almost 10 times more likely to have felt suicidal or self-harmed than those who had experienced none. The study by Public Health Wales and Bangor University also found that...

Nothing can be duller than listening to an economist or other policy expert pontificate endlessly on such metrics as gross domestic product, stock market prices, employment, and consumer confidence. Most of all they talk about GDP: Rising GDP is good; falling GDP is bad. But as a measure of economic activity, GDP is what it says it is: a gross number. It doesn’t measure how money and wealth circulates through a system, what use it is put to, how the rewards of its use are distributed. It...

The underground history galleries of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture are separated by two transitional years: 1877, the year Reconstruction ended, and 1968, a year that was, as the museum's website notes, "a turning point in the African-American freedom movement." This was the year that Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, and it was the year that the first elected African-American mayors of major cities in the United States took office: Carl...

For most people, a single doctor’s visit can be a financial obstacle course. Many patients throughout the year pay hundreds or thousands of dollars in premiums, most often through workplace contributions. Then, at the doctor’s office, they are faced with a deductible, and they may need to pay coinsurance or make a copayment. If they have prescriptions, they’ll likely fork over cash for those, too. And that’s just for basic primary care for one person. Repeat that process for an entire...

Sesame Street for Military Families Sesame Street for Military Families has released new content! Visit the link to find interactive games, videos, and printable activities for military families to do with their preschool children. Topics include staying healthy together, creating fun and meaningful birthday traditions, encouraging children’s self-expression, making changes more comfortable, and so much more! NCTSN Child Traumatic Grief Series Supporting Military Children with Traumatic...

Join me for a 6 week digital discussion group about Dr. Brené Brown's newest book, Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone . If you're like me, you've been inspired by Brené Brown's work. As I read Brené's work I often find myself wanting to share what I'm learning with others, dive deeper into my own understandings, and process what I'm thinking and feeling. I hope this discussion group can provide that space for you! Each week we will cover...

ORIGINAL POST 1/20/18 Right after the New Year, Jocelyn Goldblatt, Cissy White, and I discussed Jocelyn's capstone project for her Master's Thesis. The screening and panel discussion of the documentary Resilience was her brain child and the cornerstone of her project. But it would also doubly duty as the launch event for the new ACES Connection chapter in Keene, NH (Monadnock Thrives). During the discussion, I boldly announced that we would be lucky to get 30 people in the audience. And I...