June 2021

Our society has a myriad of social issues that need strong leadership, selflessness, and solidarity. Most importantly, though, our society needs hope. Specifically, we need an understanding of the science and power of hope and its framework for empowering people, communities, and societies.

On June 15th, 2021 we recorded the last discussion of the Transform Trauma with ACEs Science Film Festival series. Our special guest was the Wrestling Ghosts documentary producer and director, Ana Joanes, who spoke about the film and parenting with ACEs. Here is our Zoom discussion which was recorded and uploaded to YouTube. Resources Shared via Chat: CTIPP (The Campaign for Trauma-Informed Policy & Practice) First-Person Narratives PACEs Connection Parenting with ACEs Community on PACEs...

Preventing Foster Care Placement -- The Missing Link Is Finding Your Hidden Door I have successfully linked mothers and fathers with their kids and helped new mothers keep their kids when they are born ... and even helped grandparents return to being big parts of their grandkids' lives. The impact of drug use and untreated mental illness span generations and, unfortunately, contribute to the need for many children to be placed in foster care. So, it only stands to reason, that parents who...

By David A. Asch, Nazmul Islam, Natalie E. Sheils, et al., JAMA Network Open, June 17, 2021 Key Points Question Do Black patients hospitalized with COVID-19 have worse outcomes than White patients and, if so, what is the association between worse outcomes and comorbidities vs the hospitals to which they are admitted? Findings In this cohort study of 44 217 adult Medicare beneficiaries admitted with COVID-19 to 1188 US hospitals, odds of 30-day inpatient mortality or discharge to hospice were...

By Eric Russell, The Portland Press Herald, June 14, 2021 In a narrow vote Monday, the Maine Senate approved legislation that would direct the state to close Long Creek Youth Development Center, Maine’s only youth prison, within two years. The bill was approved by a 19-15 vote, with three Senate Democrats voting with Republicans against the measure. The Maine House of Representatives had approved the bill last week in an 81-57, mostly party-line vote. The biggest question mark, though,...

By Nigel Duara, Cal Matters, June 18, 2021 Eleven mayors, including two in California, announced today their commitment to support federal reparations legislation and establish pilot programs for Black residents in their cities as part of a new nationwide coalition. The mayors of Los Angeles and Sacramento will join nine other mayors, from cities as populous as Denver to tiny Tullahassee, Okla., one of the oldest surviving Black towns in the West, on the Mayors Organized for Reparations...

By Leonardo Castañeda, The Mercury News, June 19, 2021 Aggie Yellow Horse’s son had just turned 1 when she saw the news in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic about an Asian American family, including a 2-year-old, being attacked and stabbed at Sam’s Club in Midland, Texas. The suspect had targeted the family because he believed they were Chinese and spreading COVID-19, the FBI said, an early case in a growing wave of hate initially set off in part by racist conspiracies about the...

nner children are parts of all our psyche that remains full of innocence, awe, and wonder. When our inner child is healthy, and we are connected with them, we tend to be invigorated, inspired, and excited. However, what happens when our inner child is wounded from past trauma, and we are disconnected from them? When we ignore the inner child in our psyche, as adults, we feel disconnected from life, tired, empty, and unhappy. This article will further explore the topic of the wounded inner...

Have you ever suffered from the shame of addiction or at a complete loss about how to help someone you love who is struggling with addiction? More than 200 people are dying every day from drug overdose, according to the CDC — 81,000 each year, most due to opioids. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism says that 23 million adults ARE struggling with substance abuse. Join us on June 23 for a real and honest conversation that will enlighten, inspire and leave us feeling...

Are you ready? It's almost time! Yes, we are 2 hours away from the start of our Father's Day Livestream titled, "ACEs & The Father Wound - A Cross Cultural Discussion" . Join us for the discussion via this link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgeVx3-3EFo With us today will be Mr. Mark Nicoll, Dr. Kenneth Niles, Queen Mother Dianne Sears and Dr. Joanne Spence. Dr. Spence will do double-duty as moderator for this afternoon's discussion. Their bios are below so you will have some context...

Its the 3rd Sunday of June and its Father's Day! Happy Father's Day to all "dads"! Around the world, fathers and father figures (hopefully) are being celebrated for their hard work, love, care and support given to the family, especially throughout the past year of the global ACE known as Covid19. On that topic, we wish to extend very special greetings to all NEW fathers whose babies have been born into this new normal. So if you did not read our previous post, we were trying to spare the...

If you missed the recent world premiere of The Wisdom of Trauma Movie with Dr. Gabor Maté, this weekend you can watch the encore of the movie plus get full access to the Talks on Trauma series including my talk with Dr. Gabor Maté and Nneka Jones Tapia on "A Vision for Compassionate Prison." The link is here (all donations will go to Compassion Prison Project by using this link!): https://fritzihorstman--sand.thrivecart.com/supporter/6080622415b14/ Opening Kick Off Introduction with Gabor...