March 2018

Parenting can be stressful - and this stress may be influencing the DNA methylation of African American mothers, finds a new study led by NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing published in the Journal of Clinical and Translational Science. Stress can contribute to a range of health problems, including high blood pressure and heart disease - health issues that are particularly pervasive among African American women. The stress that parents feel in their roles adds to overall maternal stress...

Conversations about the juvenile justice system and the way it devastates Black and Brown children too often omit the perspectives of those most impacted. WNYC Studios provided space for several of these kids to speak their truth in “ Caught: The Lives of Juvenile Justice ,” a new podcast that debuted today (March 12). Journalist and podcast host Kai Wright * told Colorlines that the podcast grew out of the Radio Rookies program, which teaches New York teenagers to produce stories about...

Laura Porter and dozens of other friends sent a flurry of emails this week with Oprah in the subject line. This national figurehead carrying our message to a national audience ensures childhood adversity, trauma and resiliency are topics of conversation in households across our country. Talking about ACEs is just one step before taking action on ACEs! Laura Porter writes "This is in advance of the airing of a 60 Minutes airing of a story she successfully pitched for the show. I will be...

Kudos for Oprah, but if the focus doesn't shift from healing, treatment, and recovery to prevention...abandon hope for the future.

Laura Dennis wrote about why so many adoptive parents, as well as teachers, survivors, and advocates, were glued to the TV last night. Here's an excerpt:

A behind the scenes photo of Alisha Fox (far right), Oprah Winfrey, and members of Alisha’s family, courtesy of SaintA __________________________________________________________________ One immediate impact of the Oprah Winfrey’s 60 Minutes segment on childhood trauma is that the website of SaintA, an agency featured in the program, crashed almost immediately. It is still down (but keep checking). A common response to the program is that it is powerful in its storytelling and presentation of...

Oprah does a great job emphasizing the change required to the perspective of adults in the way we try to understand — from the old, judgmental “What’s wrong with you?” to the more appropriate, insightful and caring question “What happened to you?”

District attorneys can play a major role in reducing (or amplifying) race-based incarceration in America’s largest cities. Black Lives Matter activist Shaun King announced in February that he is launching a political action committee to help elect reform-minded DA candidates and draw national attention to the issue. “No position in America, no single individual has a bigger impact on the criminal justice system—including police brutality, but the whole crisis of mass incarceration in...

Leaders with the Potts Family Foundation hope Oklahoma can increase its collaborative focus on preventing and healing early childhood trauma. A crowd of more than 500 this week at a summit on the topic indicates growing interest. "We need to help people see that they are not alone, they are more than the shame they feel, and they can create new patterns," said Doctor Robert Anda, speaking at Wednesday's Raising Resilient Oklahomans! Summit in Edmond, which was hosted by the Potts Family...

A conference this week aims to bring people together across generations. The Association for Education of Young Children (AEYC) and the Juneau Suicide Prevention Coalition are joining forces to set up their Resiliency Symposium, which runs from Thursday, March 15 to Saturday, March 17 at Centennial Hall. The conference is called “ARRR!” which stands for Attachment, Responsive Relationships, Resilience. The aim of the conference is to educate people young and old about how to become closer as...

“We were in special measures. We had low staff morale, parents not happy with the school, results were poor and nobody wanted to come here, we had budget issues. It’s a downward spiral when you’re there.” This is what Feversham headteacher, Naveed Idrees, told The Guardian . He continued: “We could have gone down the route where we said we need to get results up, we’re going to do more English, more maths, more booster classes, but we didn’t. You might hit the results but your staff morale...

Watch Oprah's report on 60 Minutes: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/oprah-winfrey-treating-childhood-trauma/