July 2020

As Americans, we have grown accustomed to calling 911 when we are in trouble. We pick up the phone, talk to an operator, and fully expect first responders to appear as if by magic and save us. However, there is a darker side to this privilege. The hidden problem of what happens to the mental health of first responders when they answer calls for accidents involving kids or, god forbid, a school shooting.

6/29/20, positiveexperience.org Today’s post is based on an interview with Victor Sims, an active advocate for children in foster care. Victor works as a case manager supervisor at SailFuture , won a 2020 Casey Excellence for Children Award , and is an American Bar Association Reunification Hero . Please introduce yourself and your work for our blog readers. My name is Victor Sims. I’ve lived in Florida my whole life, primarily in Polk County. I have been a child welfare advocate since I was...

Is this a good time to contribute your skills and wisdom to an interdisciplinary Community of Practice for adults who are important in the lives of young children? Early Childhood Learning & Wellness 6 Month Pilot, Community of Practice (online) Please invite others! Anyone who is important in the lives of young children, has access to a computer and the internet is welcome to join. Due date to commit: July 15th @Gail Kennedy (PACEs Connection Staff) @Christine Cissy White @Carey S. Sipp...

Elementary school nurse, Anne Young, created a series of videos for her students and parents to help reduce the stress and disruption of COVID-19. Nurse Young's Corner is a delightful collection of informative videos that translate the ever-evolving pandemic information families are grappling to understand. Look for Nurse Young's "magic box," something that all school nurses need in our health offices! Explaining COVID-19 to Children And Helping Them Overcome the Fear of Face Masks Photo by...

Have you ever seen something that was a bit comical and sad at the same time? That was the video opener for an orientation I participated in recently. In the clip, an African American male is out and about and runs into a friend, who happens to be a Caucasian female. They are attempting to have a conversation but are finding that at every turn they have broached a topic that they “ probably shouldn’t talk about .” After the clip is over, the people participating in the orientation were given...

Click here for Evite info for The Shape of Stories, Tuesdays in July These programs are part of a series of Coping Cafe, which provides artistic tools to help people manage life changes and sparks meaningful dialogue about truth, fiction, and transformation. It is "essential" that we consume uplifting content now. Behind the racism and trauma are inadequate stories. Time to take a look... On July 7th at 4:00pm EDT - We will explore narratives, their impact, and how stories influence societal...

The first time I ever heard the words trauma-informed care and the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) study was in the summer of 2014. At the time, I was working for the local Police Department as the Director of a grant-funded Crime Reduction Project aimed at reducing drug-related and violent crime. Of the many program goals, one was to develop a rehabilitative corrections program for felony offenders with addictions in order to reduce recidivism. Though I’ve lived in this region for...

When the world around you becomes unstable, there are two basic energies you can adopt. For those who went through trauma as a child, it’s hard to avoid getting stuck in one of them: Self-protection. As much as we need safety, inside and out -- we also need growth. If you have Childhood PTSD and you always favor self-protection, then times of crisis like we’re going through right now are likely to make your symptoms worse and worse. So what can you do to stop this? As I’m writing this, we’re...

One of Dr. Nisha Manek's proudest moments was moderating HH the 14th Dalai Lama during a Mind-Life Institute conference at the Mayo clinic. With storytelling as a core skill, she has authored a one-of-a-kind book: Bridging Science and Spirit, closing the gap between two seemingly separate areas of knowledge.

At this point, COVID-19 has been a part of our lives for nearly six months now. While the most recent current events are not unfamiliar social problems, this pandemic has provided us with a stronger lens with which to see many of the underlying inequities within our communities. This article, “The Moral Determinants of Health,” explores these inequities by illustrating the systemic imbalances within the field of medicine and the amount of resources we allocate to solving problems as opposed...

Fact Sheet from the Urban Indian Health Institute shares ways to support communities experiencing multiple trauma during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. How can organizations... Be more transparent about COVID-19? Emotionally support the people they serve through telehealth services? Support staff in caring for themselves and their communities? Support communities in handling their emotions? Work together to heal their communities? To download the fact sheet and/or view other COVID-19...

Dr. Ken Ginsburg was overwhelmingly well-received as the keynote speaker at the recent Creating a Resilient Community: From Trauma to Healing Conference back in April of this year. The Peace and Justice Institute (PJI) at Valencia College is excited to share that we are bringing him back to deliver 3 additional virtual workshops in a Community Resilience Series. The first workshop in this FREE series will be specifically for parents: Parenting in an Age of Uncertainty , July 7th from 5:30 -...