January 2019

The readers of my blog have been following the path of how an idea moves from thought into action and becomes a reality through the #NoMoreEmptyDesks initiative. This past week, Melanie Burney, a reporter with the Philadelphia Inquirer came to Brimm Medical Arts High School to interview Lisa Wallenberg, the art teacher and her students working on the project. Here is the article: ...

At nine months old, Autumn started banging her head. Victoria and Nathaniel had installed swings for their twin girls in the doorway of the living room, and Autumn would lean out of the swing in order to whack herself on the posts. They would carefully snuggle her back in, secure her, and pad the posts with pillows, but she continued to bang. Sometimes she banged with such vigor that she scarred herself and shook the house. She also started to rock, vigorously pulsating back and forth. She...

Walla Walla’s Community Resilience Initiative (CRI) has been awarded a Social Impact Grant in 2019 through Premera Blue Cross. Premera’s award will provide funding to translate the CRI materials into Spanish, thus providing access to Spanish-speaking members of our community and elsewhere. Ultimately, the award will help support CRI’s community work in addressing adverse childhood experiences (ACEs)- by expanding understanding of the impact of ACEs on parenting and health, and more...

Part 3. Claire’s Story: She’s scared to death By A. Hosack, P. Berman, & K. Hecht These kids are a burden. No matter how hard we work, we can’t get ahead. We hate this life. Gail and Bill had their five children in quick succession. After their third child, they couldn’t stand living in their two-room apartment anymore; they could escape the sight of their children anywhere. It took a lot of searching, but they finally found a small house to rent that they could afford. All of Claire’s...

It made my heart happy to sit down with my friend Krissie Myers to discuss her program director roles with Milestones, Inc. – an equestrian achievement program – and Kentucky Intensive Family Services foster care agency.

The truth is, spoken word artists Tina Nixon and Kwabena Antoine Nixon have helped people enveloped in trauma open up about their innermost fears. They've done it by voicing their own truths and creating safe environments for youth and adults alike to let down their guard. Their tools: spoken word, art and writing exercises. The Nixons are neither counselors nor therapists, but their credibility is rooted in the trauma each experienced growing up, and the resiliency they have shown in not...

A new plan is being formed to help address the racial wealth gap in Minnesota. Last month, the National NAACP announced the creation of an Economic Inclusion Plan (EIP) for the Twin Cities. The forthcoming plan aims to address the myriad racial disparities and issues affecting Black communities in the Twin Cities — from mass incarceration and economic injustice to entrepreneurship and rising education costs. The national organization previously released plans for three cities in February...

In Wisconsin, high rates of probation and parole are contributing to its growing, racially disparate prison population, according to a new report from Columbia University's Justice Lab. Wisconsin has the highest rate of parole supervision among its neighboring states, and the lengths of parole are nearly twice the national average. "Probation and parole, collectively called corrections or community supervision, has been a bit of an invisible arm of correctional control in the United States,"...

The Iowa ACEs Advocacy Coalition is poised to meet with Iowa elected officials next week to advocate for our 2019 legislative priorities. Key focus areas are: 1st Five Healthy Mental Development Initiative Children's Mental Health Prenatal Home-Visitation Trauma-Informed Child Welfare System Medicaid and Children's Health Click here for an overview of our priorities. Visit www.iowaaces360.org/advocacy for more information on our collaborative policy efforts.

LONDON — Prince William, who has long spoken publicly about his emotional struggles, has taken his campaign for mental health awareness to Davos, Switzerland, urging global leaders to help break the stigma. Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, who is second in line to the British throne, spoke candidly on Wednesday about the difficulty he faced in trying to get celebrities to sign on to his cause, revealing — without naming names — that not one had initially offered to join the mental...

A new study led by FIU researchers at the Center for Children and Families found that traumatic childhood experiences like domestic violence, abuse and parental incarceration impact brain functioning and increase the risk of substance use during adolescence. The study was led by social work professor Nicole Fava, from the Robert Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work, and psychology professor Elisa Trucco, from the College of Arts, Sciences & Education, in collaboration with...

There’s a familiar correlation in social science: more education is associated with increased health in society. Now a WSU researcher will use a new grant from the Evidence for Action Program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to examine whether more education can actually contribute to better health later in life. Ben Cowan, an associate professor in the School of Economic Sciences, leads the study with colleague Nathan Tefft at Bates College in Maine. Cowan said the dramatic increase in...