August 2021

By Beth Rose, for BBC Ouch, August 19th, 2021 A global campaign described as a "game-changer" has been launched to improve the lives of more than one billion disabled people by 2030. WeThe15 wants to improve inclusion, raise awareness and end discrimination of disabled people around the world. It brings together a coalition of organisations from the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) to Unesco. The launch comes ahead of the delayed Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games which begin on 24 August.

By Quincy Walters, NPR, August 24th, 2021 The American summer camp wasn't originally intended for Black children. But in the center of Massachusetts, on the shore of Lake Lashaway, there have been generations of Black kids frolicking in the bliss of the season at Camp Atwater. On a Thursday in July, Olivia Auston, 16, and Alaysia Mondon, 14, were having a friendly competition of basketball. When the camp was founded in 1921 by the Reverend Dr. William DeBerry, scholars believe it might have...

Stress, Teen Suicide, ACEs and This HELP is FREE Join me and a group of wonderful, compassionate and wise healers on August 29 and 30 — this coming Sunday and Monday. https://www.thesuicidepreventionshow.com I’ll be presenting on ACE’s (Adverse Childhood Experiences) and how i learned to help people help themselves during the decades of collaborations with Vincent J..Felitti MD, the Co-Principal Investigator of the ACE Study. Our objectives have always been and still are to help people adapt...

Hear about my inspiration for making the documentary "Visceral: transforming trauma through theatre."

This month's research includes addressing ACEs and screen time, childhood obesity, sleep disruption, early use of opioids, compassion, and taking medical histories...and so much more!

Improving the lives of children is a personal calling for Louisiana first lady Donna Edwards. Before her husband, Gov. John Bel Edwards, took office in 2016, Donna Edwards spent eight years as a music teacher for her local public elementary school. She knew that many children in her classroom faced unknown hardships at home, but she didn’t realize how deeply trauma impacts children in different ways until 2017. That was the year that Dr. Charles Zeanah, a leading authority on adverse...

Offering free downloadable Prayer for the Healing of ACEs--please pray and share.

By Sami Grover, Treehugger, July 20, 2021 When fellow Treehugger Lloyd wrote about so-called "forever chemicals"—or perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) —and their widespread use in architecture , several commenters zeroed in on how hard it is for individuals to avoid these substances. After all, they are everywhere : PFAS are a class of 9,000 compounds that are found in fracking wells , food packaging, cookware, cosmetics , dental floss, and even stain protectors. And, as the name suggests,...

By Aallyah Wright, Pew Research Center, August 18, 2021 Over the past three years, Melisa Ingram, a 50-year-old Detroit resident, has had her 2017 Ford Fusion seized twice by the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office. The officers claimed that Ingram’s ex-boyfriend, who had her car at the time of the seizures, was involved in illegal activity. Under Michigan’s civil asset forfeiture law, the police could seize and sell the car if they suspected it was involved in a crime—even though Ingram hadn’t...

By Shirley Dor, The Lily, August 18, 2021 It’s Aug. 14, 2021, and I wake up to the familiar tone of numerous notifications. WhatsApp notifications are beaming every second. I do my typical routine: ignore the notifications, so I can practice mindfulness. To my dismay, mindfulness goes out the window the moment I pick up my phone and see the first message: “Shirley! Haiti was struck by an earthquake.” In shock and unprepared to see what I know will traumatize my entire day, I do what my...

By Aneri Pattani, National Public Radio, August 21, 2021 For years, Kayla West watched the opioid epidemic tear through her eastern Tennessee community. As a psychiatric nurse practitioner, she treated people with mental illness but felt she needed to do more to address addiction. So in 2020, when the state created a position to help hospitals improve addiction care in the emergency room, West jumped at the opportunity. She knew that many people with substance use disorders land in the ER,...

Seasonal affective disorder is a form of major depression that affects an estimated 10 million Americans with another 10-20% having a milder form. SAD is four times more common in women than men. SAD doesn’t only occur in winter as it can also form in the summertime, but that is much rarer.