May 2023

By Agatha Agbanobi and T. Viva Asmelash, Photo Illustration: HBR Staff/Westend61/Getty Images, Harvard Business Review, May 22, 2023 Minda Harts felt unseen. Her manager had informed her that her white male colleague had been reporting false information about her work. She sat in shock and disbelief as her manager made excuses for him, because he was going through a rough time in his personal life. Minda had believed that she and her colleague had a good working relationship and mutual...

By Luqman Abdullah, The Philadelphia Citizen, May 22, 2023 Wherever you get your news , you probably see some of the same headlines: Our gun violence prevention programs are failing to meet their goals! People are up in arms over a proposed new Sixers arena! The new mayor should do this or that! We love our sports teams (when we’re not busy loving to hate them)! With all of these ideas swirling in my head, we came up with an idea: What if we Philadelphians approached our gun violence crisis...

Deb McNelis, M.Ed, is an international speaker and author of materials supporting healthy infant and child brain development and the parent-child bond. She leads "The First Sixty Days" movement. Twitter first made Deb McNelis aware of PACEs Connection. When she saw it pop up on her LinkedIn feed, she followed the links and was thrilled to find a community of “almost” like-minded people. “We absolutely share the passion for preventing and healing childhood trauma; for building community,”...

Each year millions of Americans face the reality of living with mental health struggles. The collective trauma of COVID-19 has exasperated our country’s mental health crisis. In honor of May's designation as Mental Health Awareness Month, co-hosts of the History. Culture. Trauma. podcasts Ingrid Cockhren, CEO of PACEs Connection, and Mathew Portell, director of communities, speak with guests about our country's science, support, education, advocacy, and policies focused on mental health.

The Hearst Foundations announced it would award $300,000 to PACEs Connection as a part of the philanthropic organization's effort to support nonprofits working across a range of disciplines. The award reflects the philanthropic interests of William Randolph Hearst and the Foundations’ goal of providing opportunities to people of all backgrounds. “We are thrilled to receive this generous support,” said Ingrid Cockhren, CEO of PACEs Connection (PACEs stands for positive and adverse childhood...

The Surviving Spirit Newsletter May 2023 - Hope, Healing & Help for Trauma, Abuse & Mental Health Hi folks, May is Mental Health Awareness Month and the Surgeon General's Report on Loneliness is quite timely: Loneliness poses risks as deadly as smoking: surgeon general by Amanda Seitz @ AP News The National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors [NASMHP] is presenting these three Town Halls that tie in with the Surgeon General's Report: Cultivating a Culture of...

Inglewood Oil Field in Baldwin Hills, Los Angeles, California. Credit: Citizens of the Planet/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images By Aaron Cantú, Inside Climate News, May 18, 2023 Monic Uriarte was thrilled to get approved for an affordable apartment in Los Angeles’ University Park, close to USC. But soon after she and her family moved there in 2004, they started experiencing headaches and other illnesses. Her mother was diagnosed with asthma at age 70. Her daughter had to sleep...

Youth Voices Rising writer Spring Keosoupha. Courtesy of Keosoupha. By Spring Keosoupha, The Imprint, May 17, 2023 Based on my personal experience, I do not believe that children and youth should be incarcerated or detained. When this happens, it does harm to them that will last throughout their lives. Incarceration impairs their development and limits the life outcomes for adolescents. Resources could be better used to rehabilitate youth by offering them services and support. Many youths...

By Richard Sima, Illustration: George Wylesol/ The Washington Post, The Washington Post, May 18, 2023 Looking to improve your mental health? Pay attention to birds. Two studies published last year in Scientific Reports said that seeing or hearing birds could be good for our mental well-being. So give them a listen as you learn why they may help. contact and interaction with nature are associated with better body and brain health.">Research has consistently shown that more contact and...

By Janice Gassam Asare, Photo Illustration: HBR Staff/Suad Kamardeen/Unsplash, Harvard Business Review, May 10, 2023 Afro-textured hair is stereotyped and stigmatized around the world. Even in places where there are protections against race-based hair discrimination, Black women bear the brunt of the burden when it comes to hair bias. In some areas, legislation is being enacted to counteract the prevalent hair discrimination many people face within workplaces and schools. An important piece...

Childhood photos of Chris Stearns, who was born a Navajo, but was raised by white Evangelical parents in New Jersey. Credit...Kholood Eid for The New York Times. By Gabrielle Glaser, The New York Times, May 16, 2023 Chris Stearns has two distinct memories from his childhood in the late 1960s. The first is somewhat hazy: a crowded New York City picnic for white families who had adopted Native American boys and girls, somewhere at a hilly park. Mr. Stearns had never seen so many people — he...

Credit: Illustration by Alexa Imani Spencer/Photo Courtesy of Quonnetta Johnson By Alexa Spencer, The Observer, August 29, 2023 Long before giving birth to her first child at home, Quonnetta Johnson knew she wanted to breastfeed. For the 23-year-old mom, the health and financial benefits made nursing her number one option. “Since I found out I was pregnant, I just began to do a bunch of research and joined different Facebook groups, like Black breastfeeding groups…to learn more information...