Tagged With "Caribbean"
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What Events would you like to see in this Community?
As we build the ACEs Caribbean Community and seek to provide you with relevant ACEs information, we also desire to create community events for our members. Until regional travel and in-person community events are allowed to occur again, we propose to host a virtual Quarterly Meet and Greet to get to know each other better. In addition, we would like to host monthly virtual Events to equip members for the very important work you do. Some thoughts include Podcasts (interviews of our members to...
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How Caribbean Parents Can Hurt Their Children
Growing up in the Caribbean (Trinidad and Tobago) in the 1970s - before the age of enlightened parenting - meant that I was raised in a strict culture. Whenever there was an infraction by us children, there would be verbal and often physical "retribution". This culture did not only exist in the immediate home but also extended to our visits to our grandparents. (It was easy to understand where my mother had received her parenting style when I witnessed my grandmother disciplining me and my...
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First Things First
Hi everyone, welcome to ACEs Caribbean Community! (Insert sounds of reggae, soca, steelpan, or tassa here) This is a safe space for all who are interested in addressing issues of childhood trauma, adult trauma, resilience, hope, and related threads. Whether you are a Clinician, Parent, Educator, Researcher, Healthcare practitioner, NGO member, or Government employee, your input to address Trauma is valuable to make the Caribbean a safer place. Our lens is a distinctly Caribbean one because,...
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How You Can Participate
Here at ACEs Caribbean Community, we want you to be involved in shaping the content and activities of our shared space. So please introduce yourself , take advantage of the upcoming Calendar Events listed, suggest activities in which we can all engage, and post to the various categories of the blog. We have categorised posts into various Blog Categories (see right panel) to make it easy for members to find the information most relevant to them. Please consider serving as a moderator for any...
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Help Inform and Transform the Caribbean with ACEs Caribbean Community
Hi there. We recently started the ACEs Caribbean Community on the website, Aces Connection, to rally our Caribbean people and those who love the region to work together to bring the knowledge of Aces Science ( Adverse Childhood Experiences ), Resilience, Hope, and Truth to our regional people and government institutions. We are facing an epidemic of crime, violence, addiction, despair, and suicide throughout the region and we believe that a better understanding of the connection between what...
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Happy International Women's Day!
International Women's Day (IWD) is a global day observed on March 8 celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating women's equality. IWD has occurred for well over a century, with the first IWD gathering in 1911 supported by over a million people. Today, IWD belongs to all groups collectively everywhere. IWD is not country, group or organization specific. In 2021 the theme is #ChooseToChallenge . Men and...
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Young Black Men's Mental Health During Covid-19
Research from the UK suggests that men from racialised backgrounds are reporting higher levels of mental distress during the pandemic compared to white men (Proto et al., 2021). Contributing factors include bereavement, loneliness and worries about coronavirus and misinformation.
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Calendar Event on Caribbean Women's Mental Health
Hi Caribbean Community! I hope everyone is doing well. Our newest member on ACEs Caribbean Community is Dr. Joanne Spence from 🇹🇹. On Friday 19th March 2021, she and other female mental health professionals from the Caribbean (Guyana 🇬🇾 and Jamaica 🇯🇲) will be speaking at an online workshop on Caribbean Women's Mental Health. The event is part of International Women's Day celebrations. #IWD2021 #ChooseToChallenge More info on the event is available at the Calendar entry at the link...
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Reminder - Caribbean Women's Mental Health
Hi everyone, a gentle reminder that Friday at 12pm you can tune in to view this discussion live on the YouTube channel of A Healing Paradigm. (See link below) https://youtube.com/channel/UCNW5524VD38t55KAKoNITbg
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Is There A Link between ACEs and Human Trafficking?
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...
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First Weekly Update from ACEs Caribbean Community
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. 😆
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Interesting Weekend Tweet.
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...
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The Power of a Hug
The past year has taken a heavy toll on millions of us around the Caribbean. In order to stem the spread of covid-19 we were asked by our regional governments to essentially change who we are. We forsook the beach and river limes, bar scene and house parties in an effort to play our part to keep everyone safe. Even with our relatives and in our Faith practices, we had to abide by strict protocols and refrain from hugging, kissing and showing affection in the way we as Caribbean people...
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A Nation in Trauma [A newsday.co.tt article]
Mr. Benjamin asked, "Does the cycle of death, trauma, outrage, and dismissal deal with the root causes of the violence which affects each person in T&T?"
"...the nation is full of people whose traumatic childhood experiences have set them on a path that would lead them down violent roads with a fatal end. He said unless T&T puts preventative measures in place to handle childhood trauma, the cycle will continue and T&T will remain a nation in trauma."
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Saint Vincent and the Grenadines - A Season of Diverse ACEs
Hi everyone. While it is rare that we post on a weekend, we want to highlight that for the people of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, life has been challenging recently. Yesterday, what has been feared became a reality as the La Soufriere volcano began to slowly release ash, smoke and lava and eventually erupted, after months of seismic activity. This comes after a year of dealing with Covid-19 and the economic fallout from lockdowns and loss of employment. Thankfully, the death toll from...
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Rebounding from La Soufriere - Looking Back as We Look Forward.
Good morning Caribbean peoples! As events continue to unfold in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, we want to take a look back to 1979 when the La Soufriere volcano last erupted. At present, volcanic ash covers the islands, electricity has been cut and water supplies have been affected while tens of thousands are being evacuated to safer parts of the main island and to other territories. Life remains unsettled and the experts suggest the volcanic activity may continue for weeks or months.
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Parents, Choose How You Will Respond
Good morning everyone. Last month was Child Abuse Awareness and Prevention Month in several countries. With all the webinars, symposia and other informational sessions, one message came across loud and clear: The days of ignorance need to remain behind us as we seek to undo the trauma of harmful parenting practices. Some Caribbean parents used to adopt the perspective that "no mistake will go unpunished". Their children would literally tremble if they made a mess or did anything which might...
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Happy Mother's Day!
Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful mothers, nurturers, biological or surrogates throughout the Caribbean and the world! Empirical data shows that 42% of our Caribbean families are single-parent in nature. From my observations in Trinidad and Tobago, many such homes are led by a lone woman caring for more than 1 child. With all that you have experienced - your own adverse childhood trauma, the trauma of adulthood, and the challenges of Covid-19 - we salute you! We cheer you on, admire...
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Upcoming "YouTube Live" - ACEs & The Boy Child (May 16 @ 2pm EST).
In observance of Mental Health Awareness Month and World Day of the Boy Child (WDBC) on May 16, 2021, ACEs Caribbean Community will be hosting its first "Live" online chat on the impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences in the Caribbean. In a virtual discussion titled " ACEs & The Boy Child ", we will speak with the founder of World Day of the Boy Child, Dr. Jerome Teelucksingh, and explore Mental Health and the effect of Adverse Childhood Experiences on boys with consulting psychologist,...
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Profiles and behavioral consequences of child abuse among adolescent girls and boys from Barbados and Grenada
Hi everyone. Can you believe that we are at the end of July this weekend? Time is flying! For this Food for Thought Friday we have a study titled " Profiles and behavioral consequences of child abuse among adolescent girls and boys from Barbados and Grenada " by Agata Debowska, Daniel Boduszek, Nicole Sherretts, Dominic Willmott, and Adele D. Jones of the University of Sheffield and University of Huddersfield. It is published in Child Abuse & Neglect, (Volume 79, May 2018, Pages 245-258)...
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ADHD in first- and second-generation immigrant children: A nationwide cohort study in Sweden
Hi everyone, it's Food For Thought Friday again and we are excited to bring to you this study from Europe on ADHD prevalence in children and adolescents. The reason is that some of the respondents in this study are of Caribbean heritage! With the paucity of Caribbean research in this area, we are always on the hunt for global research that includes respondents from or in the Caribbean. Ahem, in case you missed it, that was a subtle ask for you to share whatever research you may come across...
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Mental health of jail inmates within the prison of Ducos, Martinique – a cross-sectional descriptive study
Happy Food for Thought Friday, everyone! As we approach the weekend, we want to share with you some research from the Caribbean island of Martinique. Martinique is a French overseas administrative district in the Caribbean, with a population of about 400,000 inhabitants. Its only prison is located in the city of Ducos. The study was done by R. Arnal et al and published in Revue d'Épidémiologie et de Santé Publique (Volume 66, Issue 3, May 2018, Pages 201-207)...
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How Does Historic Trauma Impact Blacks Swimmers?
Good Monday morning everybody! It's warm weather time in the global North and the "wet season" here in the Caribbean. In times before 2020, this would have signalled a lot of beach and river bathing in Trinidad and loads of people headed to Tobago to enjoy the more attractive beaches there. Now, beach-going and sea-bathing are restricted as part of the current national State of Emergency. With those thoughts in mind, that may explain why this recent article from an African American mother...
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When Cyclones Party In Your Backyard
Happy "Fri-yay" to everyone! Over the past week ago, the world was shocked out of its focus on evolving virus strains when the media launched an all-out assault on our sensibilities with headlines that screamed " Code RED for humanity !" What they were referring to was not an alien invasion or zombie apocalypse but the report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC ) that the climate crisis was propelling us to a point where, even with our best efforts, we would not be able...
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Upcoming Presentation on the Causes/Impacts of ACEs in the Caribbean
On Friday, August 27, 2021, at noon, I will be the guest speaker at Port of Spain Adult Library’s monthly International Men's Day Trinidad and Tobago (IMDTT) discussion. The title of my talk is The Causes and Impacts of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) in the Caribbean. ACEs pose huge challenges across the globe. Unfortunately, not much has been done in the Caribbean to uncover the links between ACEs and many of the developmental challenges we face. My presentation will highlight some of...
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Six Months and Counting!
Happy birthday to us! Happy birthday to us! Well, sort of. This week marks just over 6 months since ACEs Caribbean Community (ACEs) was formed here on the PACEs Connection platform. Actually, the platform name change from ACEs Connection occurred during our first month here. In that time, we have been pleased to see a coming together of like-minded individuals from within and outside of CARICOM (the Caribbean Community), all with a passion for helping people thrive after childhood adversity.
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Re: Six Months and Counting!
Thanks so much for celebrating your success with this summary! ACEs Caribbean Community is an inspiration! I noticed that CA Surgeon General Nadine Burke Harris is following your account on Instagram—that's so cool!
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ACEs in the Caribbean
Hello everyone, I'm excited about this post as it serves to highlight the special edition of PREE magazine that explores P/ACEs in the Caribbean (and elsewhere). One of the authors and editors is our very own, Juleus Ghunta, a community manager here at ACEs Caribbean! Other members of our ACEs Caribbean Community and persons with whom we have collaborated also contribute to the special edition, including Drs. Richard Honigan and Stephanie Guthman, and Jerome Teelucksingh, PhD. Please visit...
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We Need Time to Rehabilitate from the Trauma of the Pandemic - Harvard Business Review article
Hi everyone, we trust that you are all enjoying optimal physical and emotional health. As various sectors reopen in countries across the Caribbean, including physical return to school and business activities, this article from David Rock in the Harvard Business Review sends a signal to decision makers to ensure the students and or employees are truly ready for the return. It identifies the possible consequences of a return without adequate physical and mental preparation of students and...
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New Podcast Episode! Get to know the Leaders of the Caribbean ACEs Movement
Latchkey Urchins are kids who grew up unsupervised or without attentive emotional care. Latchkey Urchins & Friends Podcast delves into trauma and childhood emotional neglect topics weekly through survivor and expert interviews. We bring a touch of humor to these normally heavy topics—laughing about life's never-ending struggles, even as we quest to create a future free from violence. In this week's episode, cohosts Anne and Alison (me!) interview @Adrian Alexander and @Juleus Ghunta ,...
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Being Emotionally Intelligent as Parents - Trinidad Guardian article
Hi everyone! As we come to the end of the first half of 2022 and the COVID impact appears to be waning in some Caribbean countries, the focus shifts to the need for parents to build personal capacity in order to support their children through the most traumatic period of their young lives. The article linked to below speaks to the need for parents to cultivate emotional intelligence as lockdowns cease and children navigate the return to in-person learning and interaction with their peers.
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Addressing Chronic Homelessness (NY Times article)
Hi everyone and Happy Monday! 😀 In several Caribbean countries, such as Trinidad and Tobago, there is a crisis of homelessness. With Privy Council and other judicial pronouncements that restrict the government from forcibly removing persons from the public streets, it is important to identify ways to address the needs of persons experiencing homelessness. The article linked to below gives the example of Houston, Texas and how its mayor and public authorities are pulling together a cadre of...
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Psychology Today article - How to Help Survivors of Extreme Climate Events
Hi everyone, with the recent devastation faced in the Caribbean and parts of the USA from Hurricane Ian, it's timely for us to highlight that extreme climate events can negatively impact the mental health of survivors. The article linked to below was written by Elaine Miller-Karas MSW, LCSW and published in Psychology Today on 30 September 2022. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/building-resiliency-trauma/202209/how-help-survivors-extreme-climate-events For us in the Caribbean, in...
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International Men's Day - Helping Caribbean Men and Boys
Hi everyone and Happy International Men's Day (IMD) to all the men and boys of the Caribbean. Yes, November 19 is observed as a day to celebrate men and boys, and highlight issues and challenges faced by them. Unlike most dates observed globally, IMD is inextricably linked to the Caribbean in that it's main proponent since 1999 has been a university lecturer at the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine campus. Trinidadian Dr. Jerome Teelucksingh has been advocating for the cause of...
Ask the Community
Seeking connections and collaborations for upcoming Caribbean travel
Hello ACEs Caribbean Community, I have recently graduated as an international psychologist and specialize in maternal and infant mental health well-being and resilience. I am also a certified full circle doula (trained from a traditional African midwife) and have a passion for supporting families during pregnancy, birth and the first year after birth. I would love an opportunity to connect with others with similar interests. I am traveling to the Caribbean in October beginning with Aruba,...