Tagged With "Kujenga Wellness Project"
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Resource on Multisystemic Resilience
Hi everyone! Last week, Starlings Community in Canada tagged us in a post on Instagram about the resource we are sharing today. Kudos to Agnes Chen , the founder of Starlings Community, for sharing about this amazing resource, "Multisystemic Resilience" on the PACEs Connection Blog . Here is an extract from her post: "With contributions from psychologists, epigeneticists, ecologists, architects, disaster specialists, engineers, sociologists, social workers, and public health researchers...
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Did You Remember?
Happy Monday, everyone! We hope the weekend was relaxing and refreshing. So about the image we chose for this blog post. Legend has it that elephants have fantastic memories. They represent the animal with the ability for the longest recall. What were you supposed to remember? Well, the upcoming free webinar from Justice Clearinghouse on "The Empathetic Workplace: Five Steps to a Compassionate, Calm, and Confident Response to Trauma on the Job". It is scheduled for April 21 which is only 2...
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Wondering Wednesday - Could Your Children Study Here?
Hello everyone! Welcome to "Wondering Wednesday" where we share insights and experiments from across the globe and inquire how they might work in the Caribbean. For many of our territories, there have been waves of the Coronavirus and those have led to periodic imposition and relaxation of various public health restrictions. At present, Trinidad and Tobago is under a 3-week period of restrictions where beaches and rivers are off-limits following the Easter holiday weekend and a spike in...
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Florida Study Reveals Link Between ACEs and Sex Trafficking of Minors
Hi everyone! We trust you are doing well and enjoying the Community and benefiting from the resources being shared by our members. It is the 25th day of the month and you know what that means - we are looking at the issue of ACEs in the context of human trafficking. Today we have another resource to show the link between childhood adversity and the vulnerability of persons with high ACE scores to human trafficking. In this 2016 study, " Human Trafficking of Minors and Childhood Adversity in...
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Can We Talk About George Floyd? [Al Jazeera article]
Hi everyone. As everyone knows, the year 2020 was defined by a series of events, many of which linger to this day. Covid-19, as devastating as it and government efforts to curb it have been, may have been eclipsed for a time by the reporting and riots which ensued after the horrific death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers in the USA. Last week, the tension of a 3-week trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd ended with a guilty...
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'A lot of grief and anxiety' for kids, youth after living with COVID for 1 year, says psychotherapist. [CBC article]
Around the world, the 1 year anniversary of Covid-19 interrupting our lives was observed in different ways. For many, the concern is for the children and young people who are experiencing Covid-19 as an adverse childhood experience. The clinical observations of a Canadian psychotherapist may well be true for the Caribbean region as it relates to how children are coping one year on. Alyssa Strachan, based at the Delton Glebe Counselling Centre in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada has been helping...
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Regulate, Relate and Reason
Hi everyone. As many of you know by now, Dr. Bruce D. Perry has been making the headlines with Oprah Winfrey with their new book, "What Happened To You". Here is some information to help understand his well known steps to address Trauma. #regulate #relate #reason #trauma#WhatHappenedToYou
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May 3 to 7 - The Treating Trauma Master Series: A 5-Module Series on the Treatment of Trauma
Hi everyone. Sorry to interrupt your Sunday. However, we think that this info is important and requires a timely response. The US based National Institute for the Clinical Application of Behavioral Medicine (NICABM) is offering a series of 5 modules on the treatment of trauma featuring some well-known experts in the field. They include Bessel van der Kolk, MD (featured in the cover image of this blog post), Pat Ogden, PhD, Ruth Lanius, MD, PhD, Dan Siegel, MD and Stephen Porges, PhD. The 5...
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Resources - Racism and Discrimination as Risk Factors for Toxic Stress
Hi everyone, we hope you are all doing well and keeping safe and healthy. On April 28, 2021 there was a very informative online discussion hosted by Aces Aware of California, USA on the topic of Racism and Discrimination as Risk Factors for Toxic Stress. "Featuring opening remarks by California Surgeon General Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, this is the first in a series of webinars that will explore research demonstrating how racism and other forms of discrimination can serve as risk factors to...
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May 6-7: Canadian Sexual Exploitation Summit: Disrupt Demand
Hello everyone! Are you interested in Trauma and ACEs as they relate to child sexual exploitation and human trafficking? Well, there is an upcoming Summit which you should enjoy. It will take place this week so be ready to take action. This year's edition of the Canadian Sexual Exploitation Summit will be held virtually on May 6 and 7 with the theme: "Disrupt Demand". With over 50 Canadian, American and international speakers and presenters, the Agenda of the Summit will cover a wide cross...
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Action on ACEs Conference 2021: From ACEs to Resilience (June 10)
Hi ACEs learners. We're trying to ensure you have access to credible information and training on ACEs by sharing links to such events. Today is no exception. The organisation, Action On ACEs, based in Gloucestershire, UK is hosting a free virtual conference on Thursday 10th June 2021 from 9:30 am to 3:30pm UK time. The conference, ‘From ACEs to Resilience’ will focus on "resilience, how to build it in children and young people and how we can support adults who have experienced ACEs. It will...
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It's Happening Today! Symposium on Early Life Stress and Mental Health
Good Monday morning, dear friends. We hope you are healthy and had a pleasant Mother's Day yesterday. Well, the day we told you about last week is finally here. It's the free symposium from the Picower Institute at MIT on Early Life Stress and Mental Health. Speakers will include Dr. Nadine Burke-Harris, Mr. Bryan Stevenson and a mix of 'neuroscientists, policy experts, physicians, educators and activists'. They will discuss 'how our experiences and biology work together to affect how our...
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Bryan Stevenson Nailed It!
Hi everyone. If you missed the Feature Address of Picower Institute's symposium on Early Life Stress and Mental Health, you missed a treat. Bryan Stevenson blew everyone away with his flawless talk on racial injustice and how this has shaped the American judicial system to the devastation of persons, many of whom have suffered childhood and generational trauma. It was one of the most powerful opening talks of any conference I have ever heard! We shared excerpts of his talk using Twitter...
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North Carolina Looks at Feasibility of Having Trauma-Informed Courts.
Hello ACEs Caribbean Community! Do you think that Trauma-Informed Courts will work well in the Caribbean? Before you say, "No", remember that some of the region's justice systems already have examples of problem solving courts. Last week, PACEs Connection staff member, Ms Carey Sipp posted that "p lans to integrate practices and policies based on the science of adverse childhood experiences in North Carolina’s 6,500-person,100-county statewide judiciary were announced... by Chief Justice...
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Adverse Babyhood Experiences (ABEs): 10 New Categories of Adversity Before a Child's 3rd Birthday (Free Downloadable Journal Article) | PACEsConnection article
Hi ACEs Caribbean Community! We know some of you receive the email updates from PACEs Connection but sometimes a riveting article may slip through the cracks. So, just in case you missed it, we are happy to share the article from Dr Veronique Mead on Adverse Babyhood Experiences (ABEs). Here is an excerpt: "Adverse babyhood experiences (ABEs) are a new construct derived from large bodies of evidence that identify a different group of risk factors from adverse childhood experiences (ACEs).
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PACEs Connection: Not just another social network
At last week’s fabulous HOPE Summit, one person told me that they didn’t realize all the things that PACEs Connection does.
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Criticizing ACEs in Peer Reviewed Professional Journals Impairs Child Abuse Treatment
Criticizing ACEs in Peer Reviewed Professional Journals Impairs Child Abuse Treatment Jeoffry B. Gordon, MD, MPH May 23, 2021 As a family doc practicing in San Diego I was privileged to hear Dr. Vincent Felitti talk about his inspired development of the ACEs questionnaire and its association with many adult mental and physical diseases directly from him only a few years after his original insight. Yet, although I had a lively clinic and learned how to manage a vast array of medical...
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Barbados Research into Childhood Malnutrition and Maltreatment.
Happy Friday everybody! As you know, with that comes some weekend reading for you. Today, we are sharing a report from research conducted in Barbados that links childhood malnutrition and maltreatment to personality disorders which persist into adulthood. It is the work of Rebecca S. Hock and her colleagues using data from the 47 year longitudinal Barbados Nutrition Study. Published in Psychiatry Research (Volume 269, November 2018, Pages 301-308), the work, " Childhood malnutrition and...
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Mental Health and School Reopening for the Caribbean
Good Monday morning everyone. We hope the weekend was refreshing. So across the world there continue to be diverse reports on the way countries are coping with Covid-19. In the Caribbean, there has been a sense of relief after the USA indicated that it will donate millions of doses of Covid-19 vaccines to the region and Latin America. As a consequence, there have been hopeful statements that schools may reopen in September 2021, after having been shuttered since February and March 2020 in...
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Five Years On - 5 Ways to Boost Your Resilience at Work
Hello. It's Wellness Wednesday everyone and we're bringing you a Harvard Business Review article from 5 years ago. Don't worry, it's relevant for today even more than the author could have imagined at the time. The author, Mr. Rich Fernandez, was a director of learning and organization development at Google, eBay and J.P. Morgan Chase. Rich began by writing, "Many of us now work in constantly connected, always-on, highly demanding work cultures where stress and the risk of burnout are...
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Do Higher ACEs Score Cause Worse Covid-19 Effects?
Hi and a good Therapeutic Tuesday morning to you all. As the world sees a light at the end of the tunnel to the nightmare of Covid-19, more and more research is being published to reveal who may have been more severely affected by it and why. During the initial surge of the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers at Mount Holyoke College and Virginia Commonwealth University examined a sample of 236 people in the U.S. to assess the impact of the pandemic on mental health, well-being and substance use.
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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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Promoting positive parenting for families in poverty: New directions for improved reach and engagement
Good Friday morning everyone. How was your week? I am sure we are all looking forward to the weekend. As we set things up for this week's "Food For Thought Friday", we want to examine an area which was excluded from the original ACE study of 1998 - that is, the consideration of poverty. It has been an area of criticism of the original study especially where researchers desiring to replicate it want to address the needs of persons living in cramped urban conditions. There is a 2017 study done...
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Resilience and Children in Residential Care - What the Data Shows
Hi everyone. The recent discovery of the bodies of 215 children at a residential school in Canada has led to an explosion of discussion online and many calls for the federal government of Canada to implement a series of recommendations from a previous national commission to investigate similar issues. Also arising are discussions on the state of residential care for children as a whole and the degree to which such institutions are properly addressing the inherent needs of the children under...
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What Do We Do Once We Realize the Prevalence of Adversities?
When people hear about the mental and physical health risks of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and toxic stress, one of the first questions is, “What do we do about this?” Awareness of the prevalence of adversity and the impact of stress on the brain and body leads to the possibility for prevention and response. Whether you are acting within a family, agency, organization, business or community, the next steps should be taken knowing that we will all work together to bring about change.
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California PACEs Connection initiatives spark new connections in regional meeting
Among PACEs Connection initiatives around the country, it’s well known that our social network is something like a bustling, giant town square where people share ideas, resources and any number of conversations about how to prevent childhood adversity and promote positive childhood experiences. On May 14, PACEs Connection assembled a virtual town square gathering of PACEs initiatives in California, where we have 58 initiatives sparking action all across the state. Speakers at the gathering,...
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Wrestling Ghosts Watch Weekend on PACEs Connection (June 11-13th) & Zoom Discussion with Director Ana Joanes on June 15th at 7p.m. EST.
Wrestling Ghosts is the fourth and final film in the Transform Trauma with ACEs Science Film Festival series. The film can be watched, free of charge, on PACEs Connection from Friday, June 11th through Sunday, June 13th where it will be streamed all weekend. The streaming will be followed by a Zoom discussion with Wrestling Ghosts Director, Ana Joanes, and the co-sponsors of the Transform Trauma with ACEs Science Film Festival (CTIPP, PACEs Connection, & the Relentless School Nurse) on...
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Wellness Wednesday - Resilience Prescription
Hi everyone and welcome to another Wellness Wednesday! Today we have an account from a psychiatrist who, after many years studying trauma and the experiences of trauma victims, had the misfortune to become one himself. In a rather dramatic turn of events, Dennis S. Charney was shot by a former co-worker and survived to write about it and to grow from the experience. In his own words, he describes how the situation challenged him to dig deep and uncover the resilience he needed to take him...
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ACEs Infographic - ACC.pdf
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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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About Our Livestream Guests
Are you ready? It's almost time! Yes, we are 2 hours away from the start of our Father's Day Livestream titled, "ACEs & The Father Wound - A Cross Cultural Discussion" . Join us for the discussion via this link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgeVx3-3EFo With us today will be Mr. Mark Nicoll, Dr. Kenneth Niles, Queen Mother Dianne Sears and Dr. Joanne Spence. Dr. Spence will do double-duty as moderator for this afternoon's discussion. Their bios are below so you will have some context...
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How to (Mentally) Prepare for Hurricane Season
Hi everyone! We are well into the Hurricane Season for 2021 and today Trinidad and Tobago was put on a Yellow Alert due to the passage of a weather system. For those interested in learning more about the possibilities of the hurricane season, try to register for the Pre-Hurricane Conference 2021 put on by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies ( IFRC ). It runs from Wednesday 23rd to Friday 25th June 2021. While there is great value in developing a Disaster Plan...
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Gwyneth Paltrow x Nadine Burke Harris: How Does Childhood Trauma Impact Health Outcomes? [goop.com]
From Goop, June 16, 2020 “You can’t grow up Black in America and not feel outraged by the terrible health disparities that are still going on every day,” says Nadine Burke Harris, MD , the first surgeon general of California. GP got on a video call with Harris, who is an expert on adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Her book, The Deepest Well , explores the connection between adversity, trauma, and toxic stress in childhood and health outcomes later in life. Much of her work focuses on...
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Explore the Role of Culture in Healing with La Maida Project
La Maida Project is thrilled to share videos from our recent webinar series “Exploring the Role of Culture in Healing”. We had an great audience turn out and robust dialogue with our panel of guest speakers including Ken Epstein, PhD LCSW , leader in trauma-informed systems transformation, Anil Vadaparty , CEO of child-welfare agency McKinley, and Omid Naim, MD , integrative psychiatrist and founder of La Maida Project. In these webinars we discuss the role of leadership in trauma-informed...
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Building a Restorative Restart to School in the Fall
As we look towards the reopening of in-person instruction in the fall, planning and reimagining for a restorative restart to our school systems that emphasizes student and educator mental health is a priority. In addition, there is a windfall of one-time funding coming to districts from federal and local funds for just this purpose. Recently a wise educator said to me, ‘you know, if you want to get to the hearts and minds of school leaders to make changes for the fall you need to do so by...
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Spanking can worsen a child's behavior and do real harm, study finds [cnn.com]
By Sandee LaMotte, CNN, June 28, 2021 Physical punishment does not appear to improve a child's positive behavior or social competence over time, according to a review of 69 studies from the US, Canada, China, Colombia, Greece, Japan, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom. The review, published Monday in the journal Lancet , found physical punishment such as spanking is "harmful to children's development and well-being," said senior author Elizabeth Gershoff, a professor in human...
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"Historical Trauma in America" series starting July 15.
Hi everyone, it's Monday! So I know, not everyone is excited about Mondays. However, this is a very good Monday as there were no serious tropical systems that impacted the Caribbean over the weekend. (We could not say that last week after Hurricane Elsa battered several of our sister and brother islands.) Climate related events are but one of the challenges our Caribbean region faces. Another huge issue is inherited trauma from the centuries of genocide, conquest, enslavement, exploitation...
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When Self-Care Doesn't "Work"
You can't fail at self-care. If something isn't helpful, maybe you haven't yet found your own way.
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"Machete" Star Talks About His Childhood Experiences
Hello everyone. If you are into corny action-comedy movies, then you know the person whose picture adorns the cover image for this post. None other than Mexican-American actor, Danny Trejo, the star of the "Machete" series. Back in the day, I had read that Trejo was a former gang-banger, former drug addict and was formerly incarcerated. However, I never heard his story until recently. He has written a book detailing some of his highlighted experiences but shares how, after giving the...
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Racism as an Adverse Community Experience
By Christina Velez, The Relationship Foundation July 15, 2021 Have you ever questioned the ways that racism and trauma intersect? As a person of color, I know I have. Racism is a core determinant of health which often leads to social inequities. From watching PBS’s video on “Mental Fitness for Resilience-The Trauma of Racism” it was interesting to learn how racism and trauma, often converge in inseparable ways. Dr. Terri D. McFadden, a general pediatrician, and professor at Emory University...
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World Day Against Trafficking in Persons Coming Up on 30 July
Good Sunday morning everyone. We hope you are enjoying the weekend. While we seldom post on the weekend, today is different. Why? Well, because it's the 25th of the month and, as promised, we want to bring you a post that highlights the issue of slavery and human trafficking. This week will mark the United Nations observance of World Day Against Trafficking In Persons on 30th July. The commemoration of the Day was proclaimed in December 2013 by the United Nations General Assembly, in its...
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What HOPE Adds [positiveexperience.org/blog]
By Bob Sege, 7/22/21, positiveexperience.org/blog Summertime offers a chance to pause and reflect. This past year our team has had the good fortune to meet with, teach, and learn from dozens of organizational leaders and well over 10,000 participants from around the country and beyond. HOPE resonates with the values and work of so many other programs, organizations, and frameworks. At the same time, HOPE coalesces many years of research, thinking, and practical experience. What does HOPE...
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PACEs Champion Dwana Young navigates community-driven ACEs healing centers in New Jersey
In 2020, New Jersey, a state with about 9 million people spread over the rural countryside and dense urban areas like Newark, launched a new entity: the NJ Office of Resilience (NJOR). The NJOR is unusual because it is a public-private partnership. It brings together three private foundations as well as the NJ Department of Children and Families to provide community-driven strategies for preventing, treating, and healing from ACEs. Like a ship’s navigator laying out a course on charts, Dwana...
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Simone Biles, ACEs and PCEs [positiveexperience.org/blog]
By the HOPE Team, 7/28/21, positiveexperience.org/blog Like so many people, we spent part of the weekend transfixed by the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. Despite COVID, no crowds, and troubles with the Tokyo organizing committee, the athletes dazzled us with their speed, endurance and grace. In particular, Simone Biles seems superhuman – a woman who seems to defy gravity and performs gymnastic feats that had been thought to be impossible. She wears her past on her body and outfit: her collarbone bears...
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There are no perfect parents!
"Parenting is a learned skill, but society says as parents we can only talk about the good things that happen while parenting. It judges parents based on the child’s behavior, clothing and their school attendance. Children are judged by their parent’s behavior, clothing and choices. There is no shortage of blame, shame and judgment to go around. So what happens when a parent has a high ACE score and they want to truly prevent their children from having the same? What happens when they want...
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Child Abuse and Neglect: What It Is and What to Do About It
We all have a role to play in making sure children have the opportunity to thrive. In Child Abuse and Neglect: What It Is and What to Do About It , you will learn more about the types of child maltreatment, what to do when you think a child or family needs more support, and how to make a report if you suspect that a child has been abused or neglected. We all want children to be safe and healthy. However, the heartbreaking reality is that every year thousands of children are victims of child...
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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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How Every Child Can Thrive By Five - Molly Wright
"What if I was to tell you that a game of peek-a-boo could change the world?" asks seven-year-old Molly Wright, one of the youngest-ever TED speakers. Breaking down the research-backed ways parents and caregivers can support children's healthy brain development, Wright highlights the benefits of play on lifelong learning, behavior and well-being, sharing effective strategies to help all kids thrive by the age of five. She's joined onstage by one-year-old Ari and his dad, Amarjot, who help...