Tagged With "World Day of the Boy Child"
Blog Post
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...
Blog Post
How to Nourish Your Resilience in a Time of Trauma (yesmagazine.org)
We are in a historic moment of trauma in the United States. How do we face these things fully, let in the devastation, and then both heal and act? Can we navigate through this toward healing? Toward racial, economic, and gender justice? Can we use this moment to alter the trajectory of climate change toward sustainability? Somatics and neuroscience reveal that we have inherent needs as humans—safety, belonging and dignity. We have essential material needs too, like healthy food and clean...
Blog Post
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...
Blog Post
Institutional Child Sexual Abuse: Problem and Prevention
Despite institutional child sexual abuse being a known and alarming issue, most recently highlighted by investigations of the Boy Scouts and USA Gymnastics, little is known about the extent of the problem and best practices for prevention.
Yesterday, PACEs Connection hosted a webinar with Dr. Billie-Jo Grant and Terri Miller, experts in school employee sexual misconduct. They cover the scope of the problem, why it is so difficult to address, and best practices for prevention.
Blog Post
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...
Blog Post
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.
Blog Post
PACEs Connection is Taking a Week of Rest
The PACEs Connection team will be taking a week of rest following the Labor Day holiday on September 6. We will be out of the office from September 7-10. We will not be checking or responding to emails or calls. We will not be publishing the Daily Digests and Weekly Roundup during this time. Although the field of Adverse Child Experiences and child trauma has always been a stressful one in which to work, we have been feeling especially overwhelmed lately. Our capacity for feeling, both...
Blog Post
10 Questions every trauma survivor should ask themselves
I was thinking about the most important questions I have asked myself in this child abuse healing journey, and I thought it might be beneficial to share those with you because when I started asking myself these questions, I felt a massive shift. I believe that one of the hardest things (this was my experience) in healing is to reflect on what is happening in our lives at this moment. Healing trauma is so much about clarity and intention. I think about this - if we can figure out how we got...
Blog Post
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...
Blog Post
Substance misuse linked to risk profiles, study finds - Jeff Grabmeier
The study found that scores assessing childhood trauma exposure among adults with substance misuse issues were 24% higher than previous estimates for other adults in the child welfare system, and 108% higher than the general population. While many parents and caregivers involved in the child welfare system suffered trauma as children, new research suggests that those with substance misuse issues as adults may have had particularly difficult childhoods. Not surprisingly, children in these...
Blog Post
Suicide Prevention Resources
Experts agree that the best way to prevent suicide is to talk about it, but people are often afraid to bring it up. Stigma plays a big role in our reluctance, but it’s also scary to acknowledge that someone you love might be feeling suicidal. People are understandably afraid of saying the wrong thing, too. In recognition of Suicide Prevention Awareness month, this week on childmind.org we share resources for families worried about suicide. Teenagers are notoriously prickly and teenagers...
Blog Post
Juleus Ghunta aims to make the Caribbean nations PACEs-informed
If Jamaican poet, children’s book author, and appointee to the nation’s Task Force on Character Education, Juleus Ghunta had his way, all 44 million people living in the Caribbean—from Barbados to Guyana to Grenada—would become PACEs-informed in the near future. To start off, everyone—including children, parents, teachers, social workers, doctors, and policymakers—needs to read his new book, Rohan Bullkin and the Shadows: A Story about ACEs and Hope , due out this December, just in time for...
Blog Post
Book Review: Rohan Bullkin and the Shadows—A Story about ACEs and Hope
Juleus Ghunta’s empowering book Rohan Bullkin and the Shadows—A Story about ACEs and Hope , vibrantly illustrated by Rachel Moss, is a much-needed story of a boy who experiences Shadows that interfere with his ability to read because they make his mind “flicker like a hurricane,” go blank, and sometimes race and “refuse to shut down.” This is an affirming, normalizing contextualization of how bad events and scary experiences, now understood from the science of adverse childhood experiences...
Blog Post
Now is the time for community schools for all
Community schools have been an effective school improvement strategy for over a century, implemented in both urban and rural areas across the country — yet many people have never heard of this dynamic approach to school design. Whole districts have invested in this model over the past several decades, from Oakland to New York City, from Duluth, Minnesota to Tulsa, Oklahoma. California recently approved $2.8 billion in the 2022 fiscal year budget for the implementation of community schools...
Blog Post
How We Heal from Adverse Childhood Experiences
It’s not time, but an integrated recovery plan that heals.
Blog Post
Trauma and Criminal Justice
Hi everyone! We trust you are remaining safe and healthy amidst everything that is happening around you. There is a new monthly series that will be starting today (Wednesday 10th November 2021) on the PACEs Connection platform. It is entitled: Trauma-Informed Criminal Justice. This monthly virtual Zoom series will feature conversations facilitated by Porter Jennings-McGarity, PACEs Connection’s criminal justice consultant, with special guests to discuss the need for trauma-informed criminal...
Blog Post
The Launch of Heal Trauma Global: Culturally Attuned Trauma Training
Being Trauma-Informed means that we are Culturally Attuned. Heal Trauma Global is a sister company to Heal Historical Trauma and was cultivated to fill a wide gap in stress science & trauma training. The trauma-informed movement is beautiful! It's wonderful that as a society we are moving in a direction that honors an individual's past as part of the driving force behind current behaviors. Yet, time and time again, I have attended trainings that are labeled as Trauma-Informed only to...
Blog Post
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...
Blog Post
PUB DAY: Rohan Bullkin and the Shadows Released Today
December 31, 2021 – Rohan Bullkin and the Shadows , a provocative new picture book by Jamaican poet and Chevening Scholar Juleus Ghunta, has been released today by CaribbeanReads, a St. Kitts-based publishing company. The book follows the title character, Rohan Bullkin on his journey from reluctant to enthusiastic reader. Rohan’s reluctance to read is fuelled by Shadows – manifestations of his adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and toxic stress. He improves his literacy with the guidance...
Blog Post
Black History Month 2K22- NEW Trainings!
In Honor of Black History Month 2k22 Please Enjoy the Following NEW Trainings: Facilitating a Full Expression of Resilience: BIPOC are resilient. In learning how trauma is formed and passed from one generation to the next in our communities, we will understand how to facilitate a full expression of resilience in vulnerable communities. This course takes a deep dive into the reality of flight or fight mode and how many people enduring oppression, discrimination and hate live with a constant...
Blog Post
Free Trauma Research Foundation Zoom Sessions
Hi everyone, we hope you're all doing well and remaining healthy. As we begin the second month of 2022, we want to share with you a link to a series of online sessions on trauma that you can attend via Zoom. The sessions are being offered by the Trauma Research Foundation and aim to equip caregivers to understand what their children are experiencing, and to provide some support to their children. (Don't quote us but TRF appears to be connected with Bessel van der Kolk as the session is...
Blog Post
Building the Movement workshop series
If you haven't already been joining our Building the Movement workshop series, I wanted to personally invite you to join the next free, virtual workshop that aims to provide stakeholders, advocates and practitioners the tools to integrate trauma-informed, resilience-focused and healing-centered approaches and principles into their daily operations. Please join us on Friday, March 4, 2022, from 1:00 - 4:00 p.m. ET (10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. PT) as we focus on populations with high prevalence of...
Blog Post
Talking to Children About The Invasion of Ukraine
Hello everyone, we trust that everyone is taking good care of your physical, spiritual, mental and social health. The invasion of Ukraine by Russia has garnered international attention and children, as well as adults, are seeing images of what is happening in Eastern Europe. The same holds true for us who live in the Caribbean. Parents, caregivers and teachers may feel challenged to adequately and sensitively express to children what is happening. After all, they have been impacted by...
Blog Post
PACEs Research Corner — April 2022
[Editor's note: Dr. Harise Stein at Stanford University edits a web site — abuseresearch.info — that focuses on the effects of abuse, and includes research articles on PACEs. Every month, she posts the summaries of the abstracts and links to research articles that address only ACEs, PCEs and PACEs. Thank you, Harise!! — Jane Stevens] Child Abuse Vermeulen S, Alink LRA, van Berkel SR. Child Maltreatment During School and Childcare Closure Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Child Maltreat. 2022 Feb...
Blog Post
Neuroplasticity, Imagery, and Adverse Childhood Experiences
The disturbing neural imprints from adverse childhood experiences need not be a life sentence. Imagery is an extremely helpful tool to modify the circuitry of the brain, utilizing the principle of neuroplasticity. Imagery strengthens and stabilizes the brain, while laying down alternative neural pathways.
Blog Post
Reach Within from Grenada Wins Award from Island Innovation and Clinton Foundation.
Hi everyone, we have exciting news to share! A Caribbean organisation called Reach Within that operates on the island of Grenada has been awarded the COVID-19 Response Award for its innovative programmes over the past 2 years by Island Innovation , in partnership with the Clinton Foundation and the Clinton Global Initiative . The virtual awards ceremony took place on April 25, 2022. Island Innovation is an official nominating organization for The Earthshot Prize a global prize launched by...
Blog Post
A Compassionate Inquiry with Gabor Maté and CPP's Fritzi Horstman
I can't think of a better guest than Dr. Gabor Maté to discuss what happens to a child when he faces abuse and neglect while growing up. This was one of my all-time favorite conversations. We discuss Authenticity vs. Attachment, why a young, traumatized person is attracted to gangs, what happens to a young brain when it's traumatized and Dr. Maté answered questions sent in by men from prison.
- Fritzi Horstman, Founder, Compassion Prison Project
Blog Post
A Look at Brain Health with Jay Faber and CPP's Fritzi Horstman
Dr. Jay Faber is a clinical and forensic psychiatrist, child psychiatrist, and adult psychiatrist at Amen Clinics. He has more than two decades of experience in Child Psychiatry, Adolescent Psychiatry, and Adult Psychiatry and Pharmacological Management, treating patients in clinical private practices in Colorado, California and Georgia. In addition to his work at Amen Clinics, Dr. Faber is President of BrainSource, a corporation founded to teach adolescents how to build successful lives.
Blog Post
Today marks World Day of The Boy Child
Hi everyone, this month is full of observed days that are dedicated to the family or specific members of the family. Mother's Day in many countries was observed on May 8, Families Day on May 15 and World Day of The Boy Child on May 16! Observances for the boy child took place in the Americas, India and Africa over the past weekend and some will continue during this week. Themes included encouraging boys to improve their literacy, addressing vulnerability in boys and men, promoting self-worth...
Blog Post
To prevent mass shootings, stop relying on the myth of motive; start doing forensic ACE investigations
Because in his 180-page diatribe, 18-year-old Payton Gendron provided a motive for shooting 10 people in Buffalo, NY, on Saturday night, police didn’t need to search for one, as they often have other in mass shootings. But if we want to prevent mass shootings, using motive as a way to prevent mass shootings will just get you a useless answer to the wrong question.
Blog Post
Trauma-Informed Leadership
Trauma-informed leadership equips us to navigate an increasingly complex landscape in the workplace.
We don’t all need to become clinical psychologists to lead our teams, but it is important to gain an understanding of the impacts of trauma exposure.
Blog Post
July 30 - World Day Against Trafficking In Persons
Hi folks, this Saturday will mark the United Nations World Day Against Trafficking In Persons (WDATIP). For many of us in the Caribbean, this may bring up thoughts of the horrors of the Transatlantic African Slave Trade and the brutal enslavement of our ancestors. Science has established that the trauma of slavery can be passed on to one's descendants, resulting in collective and generational trauma. The reality is that the abolition of slavery in the 1830s did not result in the eradication...
Blog Post
Homelessness is a journey that starts in the family
Talking about homelessness in the context of ACEs lets us talk about primary prevention and successful intervention in a way we simply cannot right now.
Blog Post
AAP Article - Adverse Childhood Experiences and Adolescent Police Contact in the UK
Happy Friday everyone! We trust the week has been good to you all. As we approach the weekend, there is some research we would like to share with you. It is published by Dylan B. Jackson, PhD et al in the publication of the American Academy of Pediatrics. "Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are prevalent in the population and yield several adverse consequences for child health and development as they accumulate. The objective of the current study is to examine the association between ACEs...
Blog Post
10 Tips for Sexual Abuse Prevention
When we consider the high numbers of children that are sexually abused it is disappointing how little is out there to support parents in prevention efforts. Although Erin’s Law has brought Sexual Abuse Prevention to many children in the school setting, parents are still often at a loss as to how to talk to their children about this difficult topic. As a therapist who has specialized in treating child sexual abuse for twenty years, I have crossed paths with thousands of children and families...
Blog Post
Tackling Homelessness in Grenada
Hi everyone and Happy Monday! 😀 To start things off this week, we want to highlight the work of Reach Within (https://www.reachwithin.org/) of Grenada. We featured them before and heralded their work with post residential and vulnerable youth and also celebrated their recognition from the Clinton Foundation. Their work recently gained attention from the local media in Grenada due to their support of a young man who had spent most of his life in residential care...
Blog Post
Can I Really Be Happy After a Crummy Childhood? Yes, you can!
A difficult past need not define you, nor determine your future. We explore three paths to building a satisfying life after hardship in childhood.
Blog Post
Trauma, Healing and Resilience
Idalmis T. Lamourt, MSW, LSW Assistant Director DCF Office of Resilience As I began my new position at the Office of Resilience, I found myself thinking a lot about the word trauma. We hear the term so often that we can become numb to it. But that isn’t case for those of us who have been impacted by trauma. We don’t become desensitized to what it truly means or what it took to get through that trauma. And each new trauma builds upon past ones. The federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health...
Blog Post
Screen for Relational Health, Not Just Physical and Emotional Health
What gives me hope is that we have agency in this. We can make eye contact or provide physical touch, if those are appropriate and feel comfortable; we can be kind, we can bring intention to building connection – it all has ripple effects. And we can put.down.our.phones.!