Blog

5th annual panel discussion on mental health in Queer and Transgender, Black, Indigenous, People of Color, or QTBIPOC, communities. We will be discussing the importance of prioritizing wellness and mental health. Our panelists include: Dr. Helen Hsu - Past President of The Asian American Psychological Association Josh Odam-Healing While Black LLC Kylee Jones, ACSW- Indigenous Circle of Wellness Keah Brown - Author, Actress, Journalist & Screenwriter Juan Acosta - Mental Health &...

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...

Lately, a lot of people have been very upset about “critical race theory.” Back in September 2020, the former president directed federal agencies to cut funding for training programs that refer to “white privilege” or “critical race theory," declaring such programs “un-American propaganda” and “a sickness that cannot be allowed to continue.” In the last few months, at least eight states have passed legislation banning the teaching of CRT in schools and some 20 more have similar bills in the...

"many people choose to stay where they are, because they don't know who they'll be when they're healed"

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word “barbershop”? Whatever that word is I want you to keep it in the back of your mind as you’re reading this. For me, the first word that comes to mind is healing. I’m sure many of you are reading this thinking “you are so far off from what a barbershop is”, but before you completely write it off let me explain. As someone raised within an urban community, I can tell you 90% of barbershops are owned by African American, Puerto...

Astudy of life in institutions and group homes revealed firsthand testimony of poor nutrition, upended education and excessive use of psychiatric drugs, and urged an end to their use to house foster youth. A team of seven researchers produced “Away From Home: Youth Experiences of Institutional Placements in Foster Care,” some with lived experience in the child welfare system. “People can disagree about the extent of harm they do,” said Sandra Gasca-Gonzalez, the vice president of the Center...

Per: Jane Stevens , PACEs Connection staff. The murder of George Floyd in May 2020 unleashed hundreds of articles, books, podcasts, film and online documentaries. It’s not that the roots of racism and inequity in historical trauma hadn’t been known about or written about previous to his death (Frederick Douglas, James Baldwin, anyone?), but the pressures of hundreds of years of injustice began a near explosive untangling from the massive twisted and angry knot they’d formed over generations.

DCR listening Sessions on White Supremacy Extremist will cover groups in the state, with the specific focus on how youth are recruited to these groups, the role social media plays in that recruitment, and how individuals and the community are harmed by these groups' hateful actions. These listening sessions are part of uplifting our 27 Youth Bias Taskforce Recommendations. Register: Wednesday, July 14th 6:30pm – 8:30pm - Click Here for Zoom Registration For those that are unable to attend...

NEWARK — An officer was commended for removing a window and climbing out onto a roof to talk a teenage girl out of jumping. Newark Public Safety Director Brian A. O’Hara said Officer Elijah Melvin was part of the response to a report of "family trouble" at a home in the South Ward around 5 p.m. Wednesday. He spoke to the girl, who said she was upset about the loss of an older brother. Read More: NJ cop uses 'empathy, compassion' to save suicidal teen on roof | ...

Watch the virtual press conference in which representatives from the NJ ACEs Collaborative, along with State and community leaders, kicked off an exciting new public awareness campaign designed to highlight how we all can play a part to reduce the effects of childhood adversity, through actions both large and small that demonstrate compassion and promote a sense of emotional safety. How will you act to address ACEs in your community? Visit https://www.actions4aces.com/ and help amplify this...

Watch the virtual press conference live on YouTube at 11:15am . We need your help to amplify the messages of Actions 4 ACEs : Visit Actions4ACEs.com to find educational materials and a curated list of resources to help mobilize the community for understanding and action Use the campaign social media toolkit to spread the word on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram Share educational materials and resources with your colleagues and communities Follow the campaign on social media using...

New Jersey’s Actions 4 ACEs campaign will launch tomorrow! Actions 4 ACEs will raise public awareness about adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and the simple - yet powerful - actions that adults can take to make a positive impact in children’s lives. Join the press conference live on YouTube, Wednesday, June 23, 2021 at 11:15am, with the First Lady of New Jersey, Tammy Snyder Murphy, 2021 NJ State Teacher of the Year Angel Santiago, Chief Chris Leusner from Middle Township Police...