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Healing the Heart Through the Creative Arts, Education & Advocacy Hope, Healing & Help for Trauma, Abuse & Mental Health “ Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars”. Kahlil Gibran The Surviving Spirit Newsletter August 2021 Hi Folks, Welcome to the month of August...from my part of the country here in New Hampshire-land it is a time of summer and heat...but the whole month of July and coming into August has been more...

By Philip Sim, British Broadcasting Corporation, August 17, 2021 What is it? A Minimum Income Guarantee (MIG) would aim to provide everyone in Scotland with a minimum acceptable standard of living - so that everyone has enough money for housing, food and essentials as well as covering individual circumstances like disability or caring requirements. Studies were actually run during the previous Holyrood term of a Universal Basic Income (UBI) - a sweeping scheme which would see cash paid out...

By Carley Stern, The New York Times, August 24, 2021 When Jackie Lynn’s niece gave birth after using heroin during her pregnancy, Ms. Lynn sprang into action. She thought she had turned the page on parenting, after raising two children and living alone for 14 years. But while her niece pursued treatment, Ms. Lynn moved to Oregon, from Washington State, in 2009 to care for the baby and his four siblings. Her job as a manager became untenable, so she took a pay cut — even as her expenses...

Through deeply personal conversations, Prevent Child Abuse America board member and renowned brain and trauma expert Dr. Bruce Perry and Oprah Winfrey offer a groundbreaking and profound shift from asking "What's wrong with you?" to "What happened to you?" in their new book "What Happened to You? Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing". Focusing on understanding people, behavior, and ourselves, this new book opens the door to resilience and healing in a proven, powerful way. Please...

Rental Assistance Is Now Available for Renters and Landlords Many families are having trouble making rent payments. The COVID-19 pandemic has made it difficult for renters and landlords to cover housing costs. Fortunately, new housing financial assistance is now available. This letter from Aysha E. Schomburg, Associate Commissioner of the Children's Bureau, calls on the child welfare field to spread the word on these emergency rental assistance resources . The Consumer Financial Protection...

As schools across the US start the new school year and welcome students back, whether online or in-person, many continue to adapt to the challenges and uncertainty created by COVID-19. Many students going back to in-person learning are adapting to the difficulties that come with entering a classroom for the first time in over a year, and many students continuing distance learning are adapting to being away from their sources of support and resiliency (e.g. classmates, activities, adult...

We're so proud to share the story of the work that the Montana Migrant Education Program (MEP) is doing to support their students. I invite you to read the story of our work together. While many elements of a migrant student’s life are unpredictable, family can often be the most consistent. This means that family engagement is a central focus for Montana MEP. And for program manager Pat Lowthian, building strong relationships with migrant families starts with listening to their needs and...

T ransforming Trauma Episode 050: Safety and Presence in the Therapeutic Space with Bonnie Badenoch In this episode of Transforming Trauma, we are joined by Bonnie Badenoch, MA, LMFT. Bonnie is a therapist, mentor, teacher, author, and has spent the last fifteen years integrating the discoveries of relational neuroscience into her therapy practice. She's the co-founder of the nonprofit agency Nurturing the Heart with the Brain in Mind. For twenty-five years, she has worked with trauma...

By The HOPE Team, 8/25/21, positiveexperience.org/blog On the week of August 9th, the HOPE team was honored to be a part of the Transforming Our Tomorrow: 2021 Prevent Child Abuse America Virtual Conference (PCAA). This conference focused on the need for ongoing growth in ourselves, organizations and communities, and explored what we can do now to impact our future growth. The HOPE team presented the HOPE framework to 140 direct service providers, managers and policymakers. Project Director,...

By Tracy Jan , Jena McGregor and Meghan Hoyer , for the Washington Post, August 23rd, 2021 After the murder of George Floyd ignited nationwide protests, corporate America acknowledged it could no longer stay silent and promised to take an active role in confronting systemic racism . From Silicon Valley to Wall Street, companies proclaimed “ Black lives matter .” JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon adopted the posture of former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s protests against police brutality...

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...