Tagged With "Focus on Racial Justice and Healing"
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Can Paid Maternal Leave Help Address the Disparities in Maternal Mortality? (NIH)
By Rada Dagher, Ph.D., M.P.H. Posted on June 28, 2020 , National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities. Maternal mortality rates in the United States have reached an all-time high. While these rates have dropped globally in the last few decades 1 , in the United States, they have more than doubled between 1987 and 2015 2 . The picture is even grimmer for racial and ethnic minority communities, where African American and American Indian/Alaska Native women have the highest...
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Pregnant in a pandemic [washingtonpost.com]
By May-Ying Lam, The Washington Post, June 30, 2020 For women who are pregnant amid a pandemic, a recession and racial turmoil, the future is an anxiety-stirring unknown. They began their pregnancies in the “other world” that promised baby showers, gender-reveal parties, visits with grandparents and browsing stores for onesies. Now, they contemplate how they would handle a novel coronavirus diagnosis, prepare to give birth while wearing a mask and fight through old traumas that the virus has...
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Unbecoming an Armadillo: Recovering from Trauma with EMDR
Unbecoming an Armadillo By: Victoria F. Burns, PhD, LSW Victoriafrances49@gmail.com Instagram: @betesandbites “When you are traumatized, you are basically in a permanent defensive mode” — Gabor Mate I’m sitting across from Meg on her charcoal grey love seat. My forearms are resting on a velvety mustard-yellow throw cushion and I’m holding crescent shaped pulsers in each hand. Meg’s my psychologist; a rare gem who specializes in chronic illness and trauma. Every two weeks, we spend an hour...
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Structural Racism and its Impact on Black Maternal Health (New Security Beat)
By Deekshita Ramanarayan, July 21, 2020, New Security Beat. “The past months have been profoundly difficult for our nation, and for Black communities in particular,” said Representative Lauren Underwood (D-IL-14) at a recent March of Dimes event on the impact of structural racism on maternal health. COVID-19 has highlighted health outcome inequity caused by race and racism. Though Black people constitute 13 percent of the U.S. population, the CDC estimates they represent over 30 percent of...
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Perinatal Equity Initiative [cdph.ca.gov]
From California Department of Public Health, July 2020 In 2018, recognizing an alarming statewide gap in Black infant mortality, the state Legislature passed the Budget Act of 2018 which included the establishment of the California Perinatal Equity Initiative (PEI) within the Department of Public Health. While declines in infant mortality have been achieved, the statewide mortality rate for Black infants continues to be two to four times higher than rates for other groups. The PEI aims to...
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ACEs research roundup: ACEs, racism, promoting equity and resilience
Racial /Ethnic Disparities in Health Care Access Are Associated with Adverse Childhood Experiences , Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities Racism , Psycho-Social Stress, and Health-related Quality of Life International Journal of Maternal Child Health and AIDS Promoting equity and resilience: Wellness navigators' role in addressing adverse childhood experiences American Psychological Association Co‐Occurring Youth Profiles of Adverse Childhood Experiences and Protective Factors:...
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Infant Feeding During COVID: Strategic Planning for Pregnancy, Postpartum and Beyond [ucsf.edu]
Nationally, Black women have the lowest rates of breastfeeding initiation in comparison to any other racial/ethnic groups. Black babies are dying at twice the rate of White babies and according to the CDC, increasing breastfeeding among Black women can decrease infant mortality rates up to 50 percent. In honor of Black Breastfeeding Week (August 25th – 31st), we partnered with the BreastFriends Mommy Group in West Oakland to explore why these rates look different for Black women and...
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Introducing the Transform Trauma with ACEs Science Film Festival & Follow-Up Discussions
Transform Trauma with ACEs Sciences Film Festival & Follow-Up Discussions The following weekend watch parties and follow-up discussions are co-hosted by ACEs Connection, The Relentless School Nurse , and The Campaign for Trauma-Informed Policy & Practice (CTIPP) . We appreciated the filmmakers for making these films free to watch for our members and for the public programming of PBS. The films we’ll feature are as follows: Portraits of Professional Caregivers Whole People Part 1...
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Freedom From Trauma – Powerful & Profound Practices To Heal Trauma & Consciously Create The Body, Mind, Spirit You Truly Desire
We are living in complicated and stressful times. What needs to be healed seems more palpable than ever. It feels like the call to release what no longer serves has never been louder and we are feeling that tug at our core. While the founder of The League of Extraordinary People, Alfred White, has been gaining more clarity everyday on this, he was invited to be part of an event, more like a movement, to help others find freedom from what has been holding them back. It is a free, online...
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SF announces pilot program to provide basic income to pregnant Black and Pacific Islander women [sfgate.com]
By Tessa McLean , SFGATE Updated 3:30 pm PDT, Wednesday, September 16, 2020 Mayor London Breed announced today the launch of a new pilot program that will provide a basic income to Black and Pacific Islander women during pregnancy and after giving birth. The 150 women chosen will receive a monthly income supplement of $1,000 for the duration of their pregnancy and for the first six months of their baby’s life, with the goal of eventually providing a supplement for up to two years...
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NOW AVAILABLE ON DEMAND: The Repressed Role of Adverse Childhood Experiences in Adult Well-Being, Disease and Social Functioning: Turning Gold into Lead (Dr. Vincent J. Felitti) [avahealth.org]
The ACE Study reveals how typically unrecognized adverse childhood experiences are not only common, but causally underlie a number of the most common causes of adult social malfunction, biomedical disease, and premature death. Moreover, it enables one to see that the Public Health Problem is often an individual’s attempted Solution to childhood experiences about which we keep ourselves unaware. A renowned physician and researcher, Dr. Vincent J. Felitti is one of the world’s foremost experts...
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Report on WIC Role in Reducing Maternal Mortality (California WIC Association)
CWA Flash Newsletter - October 13, 2020 (Blue text=hyperlinks) Report on WIC Role in Reducing Maternal Mortality The National WIC Association released a report titled " The Role of WIC in Reducing Maternal Mortality ." NWA’s Maternal Mortality Task Force created the report to consider ways in which maternal mortality is addressed and discussed with program participants throughout the WIC appointment, as well as explore opportunities for additional focus on the topic. The report highlights...
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New Resource: Coping with Stress During the COVID-19 Pandemic One-Pager (English & Spanish!)
English: The California Department of Public Health, Injury and Prevention Branch (CDPH/IVPB) and the California Department of Social Service, Office of Child Abuse Prevention’s (CDSS/OCAP) , Essentials for Childhood (EfC) Initiative , ACEs Connection , and the Yolo County Children’s Alliance have co-created a newly developed resource, “Coping with Stress During the COVID-19 Pandemic” in both English and Spanish. This material is intended for Californian families experiencing the severe...
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8 Categories of Adversity That Shape Health: Adverse Babyhood Experiences (ABEs), ACEs, and More
When I assisted women and families during pregnancy, labor and birth as a family doctor, I often felt concern that the interventions commonly used, while potentially life saving, influenced outcomes in ways that could be negative. I've since learned about a vast body of evidence that helps identify risk and offers tools to help recognize potential risk and effects so we can improve prevention and treatment. "ABEs" are one of 7 categories of adversity I add to ACEs that I wish I'd known about.
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12 Organizations That Support Black Women's Physical And Emotional Health [womenshealthmag.com]
By Naydeline Mejia, Women's Health, February 5, 2021 Everyone deserves access to resources that improve their physical and emotional health. But here's another truth: Black women's wellness needs are *not* always met or accessible. And many health care resources fail to speak to the unique experiences that Black people face. And no one fares worse from the poor treatment than Black women . In the U.S., Black women have the highest pregnancy mortality rates . During the period between 2014...
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Funding Opportunity: California Preterm Birth Initiative
The California Preterm Birth Initiative is pleased to share our spring 2021 request for applications for innovative research proposals on preterm birth! About the Opportunity Twice a year, in the spring and fall, we request research proposals via the UCSF Resource Allocation Program (RAP). The spring RAP applications are due by March 1st. What We're Looking For We are looking for proposals focused on: Reducing preterm birth rates Addressing racial disparities in preterm birth and/or...
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Join Special Guest Father Paul Abernathy for a Zoom Discussion on March 16th, at 7p.m. EST to discuss the Whole People Documentary Series and Trauma-Informed Community Development
On behalf of ACEs Connection , the CTIPP (The Campaign for Trauma -Informed Policy & Practice), and the Relentless School Nurse , we want to invite you to the streaming of parts 4 and 5 of the Whole People documentary series on the weekend o f M arch 12th through March 14th, 2021. We will stream both parts on ACEs Connection in the Transforming Trauma with ACEs Sciences Film Festival community. The documentary viewing will be followed by a discussion with special guest, Father Paul...
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Join Special Guest Father Paul Abernathy for a Zoom Discussion on March 16th, at 7p.m. EST to discuss the Whole People Documentary Series and Trauma-Informed Community Development
On behalf of ACEs Connection , the CTIPP (The Campaign for Trauma -Informed Policy & Practice), and the Relentless School Nurse , we want to invite you to the streaming of parts 4 and 5 of the Whole People documentary series on the weekend o f M arch 12th through March 14th, 2021. We will stream both parts on ACEs Connection in the Transforming Trauma with ACEs Sciences Film Festival community. The documentary viewing will be followed by a discussion with special guest, Father Paul...
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Resilience: Strengthening and Supporting California Families [calwic.org]
From California WIC Association, March 2021 At the Resilience Conference we will come together as cyber collaborators, teachers, and learners, finding our new normal, resilient as ever, continuing to Strengthen and Support California Families! Gather with us for CWA’s 29th Conference & Trade Show. Highlights: An interactive online experience over five convenient half and full days Topics areas: Begin Early to Nurture Child Heath (with a specific focus on nutrition and breastfeeding)...
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Understanding the Baby's Experience of Adversity and Resilience: A Panel Talk
In 1999, an adult in my private practice remembered their difficult birth in their body while receiving bodywork from me. It was an eye opening moment. I had just had my first baby and was a newly graduated Biodynamic craniosacral therapist. We are trained to ask about the birth process in our adult clients because of the compressive forces on the body particularly the cranium. My client told me that she felt her lifelong depression was associated with her near death at birth, and what...
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To solve the Black maternal mortality crisis, start with upending racist practices
It’s been all over the news for months: Black women in the United States are dying from complications during their pregnancies or in childbirth at alarming rates, and those deaths are preventable. Less well explored is how systemic racism and historical trauma have been at the core of what’s driven up these rates over several decades. A March 20 conference entitled The Impact of ACEs on Black Maternal Health took an in-depth look into why Black maternal mortality and complications during...
Member
Pamela Burrus
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Maternal Health’s Ongoing Mandate for Women of Color: The Call for Wholistic Health Equity
Last month’s CDC declaration that Racism is a public health crisis was long overdue. Yet, vital health and mental health disparities for women of color rage on amid this latest societal call to arms. Too many women of color, their families, and friends lay victim to gaping wounds, residual scars, and profound trauma from egregious maternal health experiences. Current facts speak volumes. The U.S. has the highest rate of maternal mortality among developed nations, rising steadily the past 40...
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NIHCM Newsletter on Maternal Health and COVID-19
The National Institute for Health Care Management (NIHCM) Newsletter highlighted how COVID-19 has affected maternal health: Maternal Health and COVID-19 The COVID-19 pandemic is exacerbating concerns about maternal health in the United States, which has the highest maternal mortality rate of industrialized countries and is the only nation where the rate is rising . New studies highlight the pandemic’s impact on the physical and mental health of pregnant individuals. Black Maternal Mortality...
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Adverse Babyhood Experiences (ABEs): 10 New Categories of Adversity Before a Child's 3rd Birthday (Download Journal Article)
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). ABEs occur before a child’s 3rd birthday and influence infant as well as maternal morbidity and mortality. ABEs are also risk factors for chronic illnesses and other chronic conditions in the child , symptoms such as postpartum depression and PTSD in parents and offer opportunities for prevention and repair.
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New Child Trends reserach examines how racism drives disparities in maternal and child health
New Child Trends research uses data from Zero to Three’s State of Babies Yearbook 2021 to examine disparities in maternal and child health, and discusses why these disparities exist. The researchers also highlight strategies that policymakers and practitioners can use to promote racial and ethnic equity to improve maternal and child health. For example, paid family leave is tied to lower rates of infant mortality and maternal depression and increased rates of breastfeeding and infant...
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How PACEs Connection Members can watch Wrestling Ghosts this weekend
Wrestling Ghosts is the fourth and final film in the Transform Trauma with ACEs Science Film Festival series and is available to all PACEs Connection member this weekend. To watch any time from Friday, June 11th through Sunday, June 13th, 2021: Join the Transform Trauma with ACEs Science Film Festival interest-based community on PACEsConnection Go to this blog post to find the link and the password to stream Wrestling Ghosts. There will be a follow-up discussion on June 15, 2021 at 7 p.m.
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Wrestling Ghosts & Parenting with ACEs Discussion on 6/15/21 at 7p.m. EST
Join Wrestling Ghosts Director, Ana Joanes, and the Transform Trauma with ACEs Science Film Festival co0sponsors for a discussion about Parenting with ACEs on Tuesday, June 15, 2021, at 7 p.m. EST. Please go here to pre-register for the Zoom follow-up film discussion. Here's one of my favorite scenes from Wrestling Ghosts where the author of Childhood Disrupted: How Your Biography Becomes Your Biology and How You Can Heal, Donna Jackson Nakazawa, explains how and why early trauma impacts...
Member
Amy Michaelson-Ratcliffe
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The Persistent Joy of Black Mothers [theatlantic.com]
By Leah Wright Rigueur, The Atlantic, August 11, 2021 My first two children entered the world to the sound of my laughter—peals of uncontrollable laughter. When my third child was born on a cruelly hot night last summer in a sterile delivery room, his experience was no different. My reaction to birthing a child may have seemed bizarre to a besieged and battle-weary hospital staff in the midst of a pandemic, but I believe that my joy was a normal response to my scenario. Celebratory joy felt...
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Every Mother Counts and partners launched JustBirth Space, a free, virtual platform, to connect more birthing people to comprehensive and person-centered support. [everymothercounts.org]
JustBirth Space is free, virtual support in the palm of your hand. The platform offers responsive and compassionate perinatal support through text and video chat, as well as virtual support groups and classes for moms, pregnant people and families all free of charge. JustBirth Space’s team of Connectors includes community-based doulas, lactation consultants, childbirth educators and postpartum experts–all providing warm, welcoming, and responsive support that is inclusive and safe for all...
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Racism a Strong Factor in Black Women's High Rate of Premature Births, Study Finds [khn.org]
By Anna Maria Barry-Jester, Kaiser Health News, October 5, 2021 The tipping point for Dr. Paula Braveman came when a longtime patient of hers at a community clinic in San Francisco’s Mission District slipped past the front desk and knocked on her office door to say goodbye. He wouldn’t be coming to the clinic anymore, he told her, because he could no longer afford it. It was a decisive moment for Braveman, who decided she wanted not only to heal ailing patients but also to advocate for...
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Paid Leave: An Opportunity to Reduce Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Maternal and Child Health [thousanddays.org]
By 1,000 Days, October 2021 In this update to our 2019 report, The First 1,000 Days: The Case for Paid Leave in America , we present the latest research and data from the last two years on the opportunity to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in maternal and child health through the passage of a universal, comprehensive paid family and medical leave policy in the United States. [ Please click here to access the report .]
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Virtual premiere of From the Ashes: Nov 6
Bay Area nonprofit, Supporting Mamas, is proud to co-host the premiere of From the Ashes , a personal film from Theresa Fortune about her own journey with postpartum depression. The premiere will feature a panel of mental health experts exploring the inequities of maternal mental healthcare faced by women of color. From the Ashes is a multidisciplinary narrative of a black woman’s journey through postpartum depression and towards spiritual rebirth. Through the use of photography, video...
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Willis & Friends: Transforming Health Systems to Ensure Maternal Well-Being [cssp.org]
Willis & Friends is a monthly webseries on early relational health. About this event The COVID pandemic has highlighted ongoing and long-standing racial inequities in maternal and child health care and financing, as well as the lack of systematic and widespread approaches for the prevention and promotion efforts in ensuring the future wellbeing of U.S. children and youth. Our U.S. populations fare substantially less well than those in other advanced countries in maternal, infant and...
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Online Event Free Documentarty about Birth Trauma, PLUS Workshop
El Jardín Birth and Family began the Birth in Pieces project in 2015. A labor of love, this project spanned multiple years and took various twists and turns as we interviewed more and more women. Patterns emerged. We realized that these individual narratives, together, painted a picture of modern birth culture. What's wrong with birth in the USA? It's time to ask mothers. The film is the outcome of their work interviewing mothers and their partners talking about their experiences with birth.
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Self-Care during Pregnancy: Counteracting Negative Impacts of Stress
Upon learning that you are expecting to welcome a new life into this world, you may be hit with a mixture of emotions; sometimes you are unsure how to feel. One emotion every parent is bound to feel is some degree of stress. Stress, the result of a person feeling incapable of coping with a negative situation, affects people differently, and yet no one is immune to the dangers of too much stress. With the growing amount of research on adverse childhood experiences, or ACEs, and their...
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Experts’ tips for how Black women can advocate for their own health [thelily.com]
By Terri Huggins, Illustration: iStock/Washington Post Illustration, The Lily, January 4, 2022 When it comes to taking care of their health, Black women in the United States have a lot working against them, according to research. They are three times as likely to die of a pregnancy-related cause as White women. They have the highest rate of obesity in comparison to other groups, and they experience higher rates of discrimination, which is a stressor related to poor physical and mental health...
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The Dismal State of Maternal Wholistic Health for Women of Color
Change is long overdue for this massive maternal health chasm of wholistic health disparities, transcending physical, behavioral, and psychosocial health, and particularly for women of color (WOC)
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Patients Lift Their Voices To Advance Maternal Health [www.healthaffairs.org]
By Michele Cohen Marill, Photograph by Michael Thomas, Health Affairs Vol. 41, No. 8, August 2022 Abstract: Designed by and for Black women, a St. Louis–based group prenatal care program incorporates trauma-informed care and behavioral health services. Article: Fluorescent bulbs bathe the basement room in bright light as cheerful as sunshine, even though the windows only look out onto office corridors. Richelle Smith stands before a projection screen, her hands clasped, her voice loud and...
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How to Help Survivors of Extreme Climate Events (psychologytoday.com)
By Elaine Miller-Karas MSW, LCSW Building Resiliency to Trauma Psychology Today, September 30, 2022 Mental health can suffer after extreme climate events. KEY POINTS Mental health conditions exacerbated by natural disasters include post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety. After a disaster, the number of people needing assistance from the mental health systems strains or exceeds community capacity. There are simple strategies helpers can use to help survivors restore...
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Black Maternal Mental Health - Film Screening & Fireside Chat
We invite you to join us on Wednesday, November 9 th at 5:15PM for a documentary screening and conversation on maternal mental health in the Black community. Constructed with service providers in mind (but, open to all), we hope that this virtual offering informs your practice and supports you in providing culturally-responsive and equitable care. We hope to see you there! LINK TO REGISTER: From the Ashes Screening & Fireside Chat Registration About the film: From The Ashes is a...
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Highly-honored school nurse and nurse educator Robin Cogan calls PACEs Connection her ‘north star’; urges each member’s support!
Note: PACEs Connection is in dire financial straits. We are asking for support, from you, our 57,505 members, to help cover the loss of foundation funding that was promised and did not come through. Pay and hours have been cut for our staff—most of us will be laid off for the month of December. Another grant will pick up in January. Since sounding the alarm this summer, we’ve raised about $24,000 . To get a sense of who your fellow members are, who is donating and why, please enjoy and share...
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How much would the NAS poverty reduction packages reduce referrals to CPS and foster care placements? Would they reduce racial disproportionality in child welfare? (nasonline.org).
Because of a collaboration with Columbia University and UW-Madison, we have answers to these questions. By Peter Peter Pecora, Casey Family Programs, March 17, 2023 - Overview The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) recently released a “ roadmap ” to reduce child poverty by as much as half through the implementation of a series of social policy packages. The aim of this study was to simulate the reductions in Child Protective Services (CPS) involvement and foster care placements that are...
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Register Now for Inaugural Statewide Summit: Leveraging North Carolina’s Assets to Prevent Childhood Trauma — Virtually & In Raleigh April 27-28!
Information from Summit Brochure and registration site available here . North Carolina’s first Statewide Trauma Summit – a virtual and in-person summit – will beheld Thursday and Friday, April 27-28, in Raleigh, at The McKimmon Conference and Training Center, Summit leaders announced recently. “Momentum is growing in NC for building trauma-informed systems that strengthen resilience and weed out systemic and often intergenerational sources of child trauma. To advance this work, it is...