Blog

TRIGGER ALERT - CONTENT REFERENCING SEXUAL ASSAULT, CHILD SEX TRAFFICKING, PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL ABUSE. April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. I don’t think it matters which month it is—when you feel called to share a portion of your story the calendar is irrelevant. In my case, the calendar serendipitously lined up with a surgery that occurred the same month. I had a full hysterectomy because of a large fibroid tumor in the wall of my uterus and multiple tumors in and on my ovaries. The...

Remembering past trauma begins the “re-membering” process of taking our fragmented pieces and putting them back together. This applies to individuals with trauma, as well as the collective traumas we experience in societies and our world. Remembering trauma is a growth process because the memories open the door to putting all the pieces together which leads to our healing. We know that our physiological reactions to trauma are held in our bodies and DNA. As individuals, before we can begin...

By Joseph Stiglitz, Photo: Unsplash, Roosevelt Institute, April 7, 2022 Like previous disruptions to the global economy, Russia’s war in Ukraine has highlighted the fallacy of relying on markets alone to mitigate risks and strengthen countries’ resilience. Neoliberalism has failed yet another test and must finally be replaced by a new economic vision based on new values. The fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has reminded us of the unforeseeable disruptions constantly confronting the...

By Michael Warren, Photo: Andrew Harnik/AP Photo, Associated Press, April 12, 2022 The National Urban League released its annual report on the State of Black America on Tuesday, and its findings are grim. This year’s Equality Index shows Black people still get only 73.9% of the American pie white people enjoy. While Black people have made economic and health gains, they’ve slipped further behind white people in education, social justice and civic engagement since this index was launched in...

By Phillip Reese, Image: Screenshot from article, California Healthline, April 11, 2022 The stunning climb in homicide rates in recent years in California and big cities across the nation obscures a remarkably good-news trend involving young children: The number of child homicide victims fell dramatically in California over the past decade, the latest death certificate data shows, a pattern mirrored to a lesser extent nationwide. In 1991, California’s coroners officially classified 133...

By Noah Weiland, Photo: Elaine Cromie/The New York Times, The New York Times, April 9, 2022 In an underserved neighborhood of Michigan’s capital city, a health clinic is being built with nearly $900,000 in federal pandemic relief funds, a project that could transform the community’s access to care. Wedged among new affordable apartments and a community center, the clinic is a symbol of the rapid effect the funds have had on many local public health programs. In Michigan and some other...

By Margaret Sullivan, Photo: Brian Snyder/Reuters, The Washington Post, April 10, 2022 The unemployment rate is at an encouragingly low point. Less than 4 percent of the labor force is actively seeking work. And the latest monthly Labor Department report showed another healthy spike in the number of new jobs — they’ve been steadily on the rise for many months in a row. But if you ask regular Americans about the jobs climate, a surprising number of them seem to think the opposite is true.

In this episode of Transforming Trauma we hear from Jacqueline Russell and Dexter Ellis. Jacqueline is the Co-Founder and Artistic Director of Chicago Children’s Theatre, and founded The Chicago Children’s theatre seventeen years ago with the goal of creating the best quality children’s theatre. She also started the Red Kite Project in order to support children on the Autism Spectrum, providing them and their families with theatrical and educational programs. Dexter has been with the Chicago...

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a traumatic experience for our youth, and the isolation, toxic stress, loss, and instability it has caused have led to persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, an increase in suicidality, and overall poor mental health. It is imperative that schools support students’ mental health as it is the one place that nearly all youth in our country are served regularly. The Campaign for Trauma-Informed Policy and Practice (CTIPP) is encouraging individuals,...

Hello PACES community, My first biobehavioral manuscript was just published in the Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association. Its findings correlate history of physical abuse with worsened chronic pain experiences in a group of people receiving MAT/MOUD treatment for Opioid Use Disorder. Here is the abstract link: Comorbidity of Lifetime History of Abuse and Trauma With Opioid Use Disorder: Implications for Nursing Assessment and Care . I hope you enjoy it! As a nurse, I am...

The two prevention strategies focus on promoting social norms that protect against violence and adversity, and ensuring a strong start for children.

From AmeriCorps, April 6, 2022 AmeriCorps, the federal agency for national service and volunteerism, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced more than 80 grant awards to state and local organizations for Public Health AmeriCorps , a partnership to support the recruitment, training, and development of a new generation of public health leaders. The first-year grants , totaling more than $60 million, will allow Public Health AmeriCorps programs to recruit nearly 3,000...