This is the era of the survivor. The people who think that we can go back to business as usual have not understood that we have become emboldened to speak our truth and to demand that we are treated better.
Dear AcesConnection community: Below is a note of invitation to trauma informed providers in the Bay Area from Ana Joanes, the creator of the documentary, Wrestling Ghosts. This is a film about a young mother healing from childhood trauma as she raises her young sons: it is heartwarming, inspiring, and serves to break the isolation around the struggles so many of us face when we parent with ACEs...
Bringing Back the Humanity Anger plays no small role in current conflicts such as those in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, the North-South problem, and so forth. These conflicts arise from a failure to understand one another’s humanness. The answer is not the development and use of greater military force, nor an arms race. Nor is it purely political or purely technological. Basically it is spiritual, in the sense that what is required is a sensitive understanding of our common human...
Trauma-Informed care represents a major shift in paradigm and practice. It has been defined as a system that realizes the widespread impact of trauma and adverse events, and seeks to actively resist re-traumatization of our clients by changing procedures and practices. Despite the recent calls for trauma-informed care across service sectors, providers continue to ask "What does it look like?" In my recent book, Through a Trauma Lens: Transforming Health and Behavioral Health Systems, I share...
If you have experienced a single traumatic event, multiple or prolonged trauma, or exposure to toxic stress, and are experiencing these or other frightening symptoms, please reach out for guidance - talk to your doctor, a therapist, anxiety coach, or expert in the field of trauma recovery and resilience. Healing is possible and you are so very worthy of that gift!
Cissy's note: One of the best blogs I've read recently and describes why I am passionate about sharing information about ACEs/Pair of ACEs personally and professionally but don't support universal #ACEs screening of adults or children, particularly parents and survivors of ACEs. I still worry that ACE scores will be used to further marginalize, shame, and other individuals and families. We know, thankfully, that #ACEs happen to all people, regardless of class, race, gender, etc. which is...
The horse herd is a 40-million-year-old system that not only succeeds, it thrives. This endurance defies the conventional definition of ‘sustainability’ and invites us to learn something from these powerful, wise and sensitive animals. Allegorical use of horses as a window into the management of our own social organizations may seem at best romantic, and at worst a cheap stretch. We are not animals, we tell ourselves, and our brains function differently, and besides, horses can’t balance a...
"Trauma is everywhere. Support needs to be everywhere too." Dan Drew, the mayor of Middletown, Connecticut. Mayor Dan Drew helped open the Leadership Roundtable on Trauma & Resilience hosted by the Community Resilience Collaborative (CRC) of Middlesex County. In fact, Mayor Drew was a little late to come to the podium because he was out in the hall filling out his ACE and Resilience surveys as all attendants were asked (anonymously) to do. He noted how many people are impacted by the...
To my colleagues working on, for and with trauma survivors — I've posted a guest post in the blog area of my professional website because I wanted to be able to share a piece of writing by a friend that I hope will have value to others as we grapple with our feelings around what Dr. Christine Blasey Ford is experiencing - what it means, and what we are called to do. As you'll see, my friend chooses to write under a pen name - I trust you will understand that the current climate and realities...
To create conditions for community wellbeing we must look back – at continuing, historic influences – and forward – to the major forces that shape current and future priorities. The Visualizing Wellbeing series explores the state of wellbeing in the United States through a collection of data visualizations. Each week we will explore one vital condition that comprise our framework for community wellbeing , developed in partnership through the Well Being Legacy Initiative . Humane Housing The...
We are just beginning the clean up and recovery from Florence. The effects of the storm will be with us for the foreseeable future. But our resilience is showing. Neighbors checking on one another, organizations delivering emergency supplies, and people sharing hot meals prepared and donated by volunteers. We will get through this. https://www.citylab.com/amp/article/570193/?__twitter_impression=true
DeVonte Jones began to show signs of schizophrenia as a teenager. His first public episode was nine years ago at a ballgame at Wavering Park, in Quincy, Ill. "He snapped out and just went around and started kicking people," says Jones' mother, Linda Colon, who now lives in a Chicago suburb. The police were called. Jones was arrested, charged with aggravated battery and placed in Adams County Jail. Colon says Jones had no recollection of what happened. [For more on this story by CHRISTINE...
The Arkansas Department of Education announced Wednesday that it has been awarded a $9 million grant from the Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration to develop and support school-based mental health programs in the state. ADE will receive approximately $1.8 million each year for five years to fund the Advancing Wellness & Resilience in Education program, which will: Develop comprehensive school mental health programs in three pilot locations: Texarkana School...
Please forgive the snarky title. I want to address something pervasive that I see in the business and personal growth community and I have strong feelings about it. I was on Facebook the other day reading a piece by yet another business leader telling me to just simply let go of my fear of being visible. I’ve seen hundreds of versions of this created by well-meaning leaders, coaches and healers of all kinds. Sound familiar?
For Emily Griffey, policy director of Voices for Virginia’s Children , some small print in the bipartisan budget act passed by Congress last February was cause for celebration. The legislation, known as the Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA), was the first significant reform of child welfare financing in a generation. And unlike previous federal funding, which helped maintain the foster care system through subsidies for room, board and other services, the new law pays for...