June 2022

How can we help our children? By shifting the brain. I know, because it worked for me and then it worked with a successful six week pilot program with five second grade classrooms. Almost 20 years ago I stood overlooking the dark green churning waters of the San Diego bay wondering how I survived my childhood. The avalanche of tears wouldn’t stop. I was having flashbacks, nightmares and day terrors. Then the answer came. A small internal voice answered me, “I had a Polka Dot Day!” That small...

Updates from the Campaign for Trauma-Informed Policy and Practice (CTIPP) on White House, Agency, and Congressional action on trauma and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). This edition includes updates on congressional action on gun violence, Senate HELP Committee's mental health legislation, President Biden's steps on mental health, new SAMHSA reports, and more.

With over half of all adults experiencing some trauma in their lifetime and almost 8% of the population experiencing PTSD, it is likely that leaders will encounter the effects of the fight or flight hormone response.

https://www.mtairynews.com/top-stories/110427/sync-seeks-to-reduce-childhood-trauma

Hi Folks, My latest sharing - I read my chapter from the book, " You Can Help - A Guide for Family & Friends of Survivors of Sexual Abuse and Assault " by Rebecca Street. Honored to be a part of this book along with the other 19 survivor/thriver contributors. I also share some words from Rythea Lee's book - " Trauma into Truth - Gutsy Healing and Why It's Worth It " - The healing thoughts and wisdom from both books are applicable to all survivors of trauma and abuse. How You Can Help -...

Every time there’s a mass killing, politicians direct our attention to mental illness as the primary cause. And although mental health issues are more prevalent than ever among our youth and treatment is certainly called for, statements like this ignore the fact that we can prevent young men from reaching the point they are motivated to kill others. Most of these young men have a long history of exposure to trauma. In the case of the shooter in Uvalde, Texas, he was reportedly bullied over...

Building knowledge, strategies and tools for thriving educators, families and children Arizona is in the midst of a trauma crisis. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, childhood trauma has now reached the level of a public health crisis. What’s more, Arizona ranks highest in the nation for victims who have experienced two or more Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). To make matters worse, certain population cohorts are two and three times more likely to have multiple...

By Karen D'Souza, Photo: Alison Yin/EdSource Today, EdSource, June 9, 2022 C alifornia has long been famous for its creativity, the engine driving everything from the entertainment industry to the tech sector. But decades of budget cuts and a laser focus on core subjects have pushed the state’s public schools to cut arts education to the bone over the years. Now, two years of trauma during a pandemic that’s stolen more than a million lives and the fresh horrors of a spate of mass shootings,...

By Geoff Dembicki, Image: Informed Citizens for the Environment, June 8, 2022 I n 1980, a report circulated to a division of one of the biggest coal-burning utilities in the US warned that “fossil fuel combustion” was rapidly warming the atmosphere and could cause a “massive extinction of plant and animal species” along with a “5 to 6-meter rise in sea level” across the world. Several years later an official at the utility co-chaired a conference where scientific researchers fretted that “as...

From Pitchfork Economics, June 7, 2022 When it comes to crafting economic policy, cost-effectiveness, efficiency, choice, and competition have reigned supreme among policymakers for decades. Sociologist Elizabeth Popp Berman says that this style of economic reasoning—prioritizing efficiency above all else—makes good ideas seem like bad policy. She walks us through how that short-sighted style of thinking took hold in DC and explains when policymakers are right to lean on purely economic...

If there's any positive news with regard to the tragic and gut-wrenching series of mass shootings that we've seen in recent decades, it is that our understanding of the factors behind them is growing better. Researchers such as Jillian Peterson and James Densley, co-founders of The Violence Project have done unprecedented and in-depth research on the myriad of factors that have led to mass shootings in the past 30+ years. The factors leading to mass shootings are extraordinarily complex and...

By Allison Stephens, 6/9/22, https://positiveexperience.org/category/blog/ Happy Pride Month! The HOPE National Resource Center is joining the national celebration of LGBTQ+ Pride. HOPE is about meeting the needs of all children and families , including those that identify as LGBTQ+. While we celebrate, we also acknowledge that children and families in the LGBTQ+ community can experience both bias and racism. These Adverse Community Experiences can make it harder for LGBTQ+ families to enjoy...