March 2021

There is an interesting course on Coursera on "Resilience in Children Exposed to Trauma, Disaster and War". It is quite broad in scope and has a lot of helpful information for us in this field. One of the many things I found to be of value is to learn that across the decades of research, there is a consistent group of factors proved to help children from various cultures. Below is a link to a video from the course which outlines a short list of what makes a difference in helping children who...

Odd title. What's the deal with that? How is crime connected to grief? I've spent a few decades serving (in one form or other) people who were incarcerated or had a history of incarceration. A few years ago, I was privileged to do a program on the topic of "Grief and Hope" at a local penal facility with a group of amazing men. During the course of our time together, both I and they were surprised to find out that most of them had experienced grief in childhood prior to them becoming involved...

Tomorrow is going to be amazing as there is an upcoming webinar on A Better Normal which will focus on becoming Trauma-Informed. Please attend this webinar to learn about the groundbreaking research of Positive Childhood Experiences and how this is going to transform the work PACEs Connection is doing. Learn more about the upcoming webinar by reading the post on the Home Page of PACEs Connection -...

Today is March 25th and - just in case you have no clue why that date is significant to us in the Caribbean - it marks the anniversary of the Slave Trade Act of 1807 by which the British Parliament abolished the trade in slaves in the British Empire. (If you are not a student of history, you can read the Wikipedia version here .) True, the abolition of the institution of slavery itself occurred nearly 30 years later but this 1807 legislation was a proverbial "nail in the coffin" for slavery...

Big Shout-Out to @Real_Toons on Instagram who creates these amazing cartoons and sparks a series of interesting discussions. While the cartoon is framed with a Black man and a Black woman from America, the question I want to raise here is "Do we see this in our discussions around ACEs?" The outcry against racial injustice in 2020 has triggered multiple events which reminded some and gave a platform for many to highlight the generational trauma inherent in slavery. However atrocious that...

Last week we looked at 'Punishing Abuse', a report which showed that the majority of youth offenders in a research done in West Midlands, UK had a history of childhood abuse and trauma. Today's post examines this from a US state perspective, through the audio accounts of former juveniles in conflict with the law. Please take a listen to them as they discuss their childhood adversities and later criminal involvement. Also interviewed is a clinician who shares how Trauma-Informed Care can...

In the article linked to below, there is an evidence-based solution being out forward to raise emotionally healthy children. In a 2011 Brigham Young University study, children in both two-parent and single-parent homes who felt close to at least one grandparent exhibited "higher pro-social behavior." (Pro-social behaviors tend to benefit others: helping, sharing, donating, volunteering, cooperating, etc.) "The bottom line," the researchers say, "is that grandparents have a positive influence...

For us in the Caribbean, there is a tendency to cover up sex crimes committed against children by their relatives. When the offence is made known, the first call is seldom to the police but to other relatives. This is often done to strategize how to preserve the family's reputation (albeit at the expense of the child's mental and physical health), may be motivated by a false sense of protection to spare the child the shame of the offence being made public, or to confer some benefits upon the...

Good morning everyone. 🙋 I hope you are able to get some rest this weekend after what may have been a busy work week. Question - Have you completed the Introduction and Community Event Surveys? If not, please remember to set a few minutes aside to complete the 2 surveys. The information will help us get to know you and to plan events which can bring us together (virtually at least) to strategize for informing and transforming the Caribbean. Have a lovely weekend!

Hi everyone! Hoping you're all staying safe. 😷 We just posted a weekly update to our new YouTube channel on how things are going for us as a brand new ACEs Community. https://youtu.be/y4hllID0Fcg Thanks to all the ACEsAllies around the world for all your support and encouragement! Shout-Out to the ACEs Allies in the USA, Canada, Scotland and across the African continent, who were so kind and embraced us on Twitter!🙋 Don't be strangers. Connect with us on IG, Twitter and YouTube. 😆

Caribbean Women Mental Health discussion on YouTube happening now. https://youtu.be/Xn5AbTZU9is