February 2022

Healing from trauma requires a multi-faceted process. Bessel van der Kolk, Dan Siegel, Bruce Perry, Stephen Porges, Laura Porter and The Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University all incorporate the felt sense of safety and belonging and strengthening capabilities in their protocol or frameworks for healing from trauma. All three concepts, when interconnected, create a synergy for personal and community growth and healing. Creating safety and belonging are important first steps in...

By Hallie Golden, Photo: Ted S. Warren/AP, The Guardian, February 3, 2022 F irst came the heavy snow in late December that blanketed Seattle and the surrounding area. Then the torrential rain and flooding hit in early January. One by one, four of the region’s main mountain passes were deemed impassable, and a 20-mile stretch of Interstate 5 south of Seattle was closed. It was the first time all five had been closed in more than a decade, leaving the Seattle area virtually cut off from...

By Brandon Tensley, Image: CNN, CNN US, February 5, 2022 Whoopi Goldberg's claim earlier this week that the Holocaust wasn't about race was baffling and shocking. An apology followed, along with a two-week suspension -- but the controversy has forced deeper questions about the history and evolution of race and identity in the US. Goldberg made her comments during a conversation about a Tennessee school board that removed Art Spiegelman's Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel series "Maus,"...

By Emma Sarappo, Image: The Atlantic, The Atlantic, February 3, 2022 Book banning is back. Texas State Representative Matt Krause recently put more than 800 books on a watch list, many of them dealing with race and LGBTQ issues. Then an Oklahoma state senator filed a bill to ban books that address “sexual perversion,” among other things, from school libraries. The school board of McMinn County, Tennessee, just banned Maus , Art Spiegelman’s Pulitzer Prize–winning graphic memoir about the...

By Aditi Tandon, The Tribune, February 3, 2022 India-born Devika Bhushan was on Thursday appointed California’s top doctor after incumbent surgeon general Nadine Burke Harris resigned on Wednesday, following three years in the role. Bhushan, the newly-appointed California surgeon general, is Agra born. She’s the daughter of Indu Bhushan, who set up and steered India’s flagship Ayushman Bharat Mission for annual cashless hospitalisation cover of Rs 5 lakh for over 10 crore vulnerable...

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/04/nyregion/nypd-gun-violence-prevention.html

In December, I had the privilege of connecting with Herbie Mack. He is a multi-times suicide survivor, and along with being a suicide prevention speaker and life coach, hosts the "Just Believe Podcast". The podcast aims to normalize conversations about mental health challenges, especially for black males and other males of color. He had me on as a guest to talk about the Connect All self-care framework - so wanted to share. Youtube link: https://youtu.be/JgIHjqJphgc Goodpods:...

A New Path Forward: A Report on How Stigma Harms Youth exposed to Parental Substance Use Disorder and Recommendations for a New Path Forward NEW REPORT: On February 3rd, Starlings Community released a FIRST of its kind report on how stigma impacts youth exposed to parental substance use disorder. Approximately 1 in 6 youth are exposed to the stress and stigma of a parent's substance use disorder. These children/youth are at double the risk for depression, triple the risk for addiction, and...

Happy #ListenFirst Friday! This week our message comes from Zenora Watford. In August of 2020, Pearce Godwin, founder and chief executive officer of the Listen First Project, sat down with Zenora Watford outside a Bojangles in North Carolina to discuss how she navigates conversations across differences. Her amazing perspective, garnered from over 80 years of living, is filled with grace, kindness, and experiences that can challenge us all to think and act differently, especially toward...

I've attached the PDF version, and you can also download the hardcopy from the website, https://www.connectall.online/ under the "Materials" tab.

By DeNeen L. Brown, Photo: AP, The Washington Post, February 1, 2022 In his red-brick rowhouse in the heart of D.C., the man who would become known as the “father of Black history” wrote furiously. From a second-floor “home office” at 1538 Ninth Street NW, Carter G. Woodson led and orchestrated a movement to document Black history, dictating dozens of books, letters, speeches, articles and essays promoting Black people and their place in American history. At 12:15 p.m. on most days, Woodson,...

By Terry Gross, Photo: Mary Altaffer/AP, National Public Radio, February 3, 2022 Across the U.S., educators are being censored for broaching controversial topics. Since January 2021, researcher Jeffrey Sachs says, 35 states have introduced 137 bills limiting what schools can teach with regard to race, American history, politics, sexual orientation and gender identity. Sachs has been tracking this legislation for PEN America , a writers organization dedicated to free speech. He says the...