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Science is consistently proving how important mindset is in achieving overall well-being. Our thoughts and words subconsciously influence our behaviors, they often become a self-fulfilling prophecy. We receive verbal and non-verbal feedback from the outside world on a daily basis. Our own “inner critic” also provides continual feedback to us. This feedback, whether it be verbal or non-verbal, in itself means nothing. Where we get into trouble is when we perceive it to mean something about...

The opioid epidemic has cost the U.S. more than a trillion dollars since 2001, according to a new study, and may exceed another $500 billion over the next three years. The report by Altarum, a nonprofit group that studies the health economy, examined CDC mortality data through June of last year. The greatest financial cost of the opioid epidemic, according to the report, is in lost earnings and productivity losses to employers. Early deaths and substance abuse disorders also take a toll on...

Indianapolis — In Indiana, a 17-year-old can deliver a baby and then give a doctor permission to circumcise him. But during her delivery, she can’t give the doctors permission to give her an epidural. She needs her parents to consent to that, and they can refuse. The 17-year-old can consent to her infant’s hearing testing, vaccines and anything else the baby might need. But she cannot consent to a long-acting, reversible contraceptive — such as an IUD or an arm implant — to prevent her from...

In Boston’s Beacon Hill neighborhood, as NPR recently reported, a group of older people gathers weekly for political discussions over breakfast . The get-together, along with regular outings to museums, plays, and even to other cities, is offered through the neighborhood’s “village”—a nonprofit membership organization formed in 2002 designed to assist residents who wish to remain in their homes as they age. Members pay several hundred dollars a year in dues, which cover an office and small...

Editor's Note: The photography credits have been corrected to Calvin Megginson. WILMINGTON, N.C. — Until the opioid epidemic began seeping into nearly every city and town in the country, the idea of a Main Street storefront offering free needles, alcohol wipes and small metal cookers for heroin users was unthinkable in a conservative Southern city like this one. But these days, most of the roughly 100,000 residents of this historic port on the Cape Fear River are painfully aware that their...

In the year since President Donald Trump vowed to put a stop to an epidemic of "American carnage," his administration has made sweeping changes to the Department of Justice's policies. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has chipped away at President Barack Obama's justice reform efforts, cutting back on federal oversight of police departments and reversing course on mandatory minimums , marijuana policy , and private prisons . The changes could send federal prison populations climbing again. And...

A growing body of research has made it increasingly apparent that adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are a critical public health issue. ACEs are potentially traumatic experiences and events, ranging from abuse and neglect to living with an adult with a mental illness. They can have negative, lasting effects on health and well-being in childhood or later in life. 1 However, more important than exposure to any specific event of this type is the accumulation of multiple adversities during...

Having a child changes you into a parent, and as we all know, that is not a simple change; there’s nothing one-and-done about it. And having a seriously ill child changes you forever as a family; it’s important for everyone who tries to help families to understand that when one child in a family is seriously ill, or lives with a chronic disability, the siblings are also profoundly shaped by the experience. “It’s always a challenge to make sure that each child feels valued and loved equally,”...

A year after graduating from North Hollywood High School in 2013, family disputes pushed Michael Jaramillo to living on the streets. Sometimes he’d find relief, like when his friend invited him to stay with his parents for two weeks. Odd jobs in construction, moving services and retail netted him just shy of $800 a month and enough to swing hot meals and the occasional night at a hotel. During several episodes of homelessness totaling nine months he slept in laundromats, hospital waiting...

Seward is a thriving and warm community, full of people who care and want to nurture one another. Even so, the fact remains that we don’t all start with the same opportunities and that early childhood trauma can have a lasting impact on people’s lives. This is the concept that has broken into the field of child development over the last few years. The new way of talking about this concept of unequal starts is known as ACES. According to the national Prevention Institute “Adverse Childhood...

Members of the business panel at the MARC National Summit (L to R): Scott Hall, Somer Gauthier, Melissa Merrick, Anne Jesko. ____________________________ Somer Gauthier knew the ACE training had worked when one of her general managers told her about an irate customer. Gauthier, owner of two McDonald’s franchises in Helena, Montana , experienced her own “aha” moment during a community meeting hosted by Elevate Montana. “I had never heard of ACEs,” she told attendees at the 2017 Mobilizing...

Accomplishing systems change is anything but simple or linear. It's emergent, defies predictability, requires strategic thinking and adaptive leadership. In this workshop, participants will learn about systems theory, systems phenomena, key considerations in initiating change in a system, adaptive challenges, adaptive leadership, social network theory and social network design. Participants will review the “Self-Healing Communities” framework that revolutionized a county in Washington State.