Blog

This picture tells part of my story. I didn't have an easy childhood (from an emotional and psychological perspective). Even though the things I've lived may have been common for that time, it was not by any means traditional, and it was certainly very hard for me to go through. And that led me to adopt with my first child a lot of the behaviors I was inflicted on by my mom. While I was concerned with protecting her from many of the situations that I was put through, I was repeating others...

https://missionlocal.org/2018/11/the-high-health-toll-of-sfs-relentless-rent-increases/?fbclid=IwAR2zD4M9xb7532rhLKKdcmoaLWJLaGWI9DlvNpP5s-xJQtF38wQ4DkuxTaU

During the last three weeks, I have had discussions with Jennifer Travieso of Peace4the Big Bend and Florida ACEs Connection, and Carey Sipp, ACEs Connection community facilitator for the Southeast U.S., about the situation in Florida post-hurricane. I feel drawn into further action as I have not heard about the degree of suffering on our news channels. It was shared with me there were 100,000 people homeless.

Gails Comments: See below a CDC study from Kenya. It is great to see CDC focusing on this need internationally. I would love to see CDC use the WHO international ACEs questionnaire to better understand links between childhood ACEs and many of the issues the CDC is trying to address internationally (ie., HIV/AIDs). A new CDC study shows that female victims of childhood violence are more likely to experience physical intimate partner violence as a young adult. Background While there is...

National Crittenton invites proposals for a national gathering focused on healing, opportunity, and justice for girls and gender nonconforming young people. The event will bring together young leaders, advocates, social service professionals, community-based organizations, and policymakers to strategize, share solutions, imagine new futures, and make connections between our spaces, issues, and approaches. We invite proposals for one-hour Innovation in Motion sessions. Sessions can be...

Self-directed free play is vital for the healthy development of children. Here we see 43 science-backed benefits it brings.

Many people do not understand flashbacks and can be very scared and disoriented when they happen. Flashbacks can be visual (seeing), auditory (hearing), touch (feeling like someone is touching you when no one is there or something else that involves touch), tasting (you might have a bad taste in your mouth that was there when the trauma happened), or olfactory (smell). There are also somatic or body memories flashbacks. You can have a panic attack or be nauseous and this can be a flashback.

I didn’t feel grateful. I felt lots of things about my parents, but aside from fleeting moments of acknowledgment--mostly about the substantial amount they were currently doing to help me, as a single mom, to raise my daughter--I didn’t really feel grateful to them for what they did back then when I was a tender little person in their care. No, about that, I mostly felt angry. And filled with grief.

The challenges of becoming an effective trauma-informed organization are considerable for sure. Taken as an opportunity, and not a burden, they present a unique platform for organizational learning, healing, and growth. Among so many other things, the efforts inure to the benefit of a milieu that becomes a sanctuary for healing and where little boys are not subject to blame for unintended treatment outcomes.

From a young age, I was rebellious and stubborn. I come from a household where everything had to be perfect. I needed to make good grades, go to college, get married, and be successful. It’s not that I didn’t want all of this for myself, but I was more interested in escaping my emotions and having fun than I was in being responsible and successful. Drinking and using drugs was fun for me in the beginning, but at the end of my senior year of high school my drug addiction took a dark turn. I...

The voice of nursing in the public health emergency of gun violence must be amplified. There are approximately 3 million nurses in the US, yet, we still grapple with using our collective voice. We are a powerful force but do we maximize our strength and influence to its potential? Imagine a world where we did, the change we could generate would be transformational. I recently spoke at a large gathering of school nurses about this exact issue. When I read the evaluations, one stood out above...

I would like to share a few thoughts. Not everyone loves or looks forward to the holidays. Unfortunately, this can be a very triggering time to many people. A lot of people have had losses and other negative things happen during this time of year. Too many people feel isolated and alone. It can be helpful to be as compassionate to others as possible because everyone has a story. So many wounds are invisible and are then discounted by the general public. The holiday season is supposed to be...