Tagged With "Education Advocacy Hope"
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11 New Communities Join ACEs Connection: May, 2019
Please welcome these 11 new initiatives from AZ, CA, CO, FL, KS, KY, MI, MN, NM, NY, UT, and VA to ACEs Connection . We also have a private community for ACEs Connection community champions, facilitators, and managers.* ACEs Connection Community Champions, Facilitators & Managers * Chisago County (MN) ACEs Initiative Colorado ACEs Connection Durango (Colorado) ACEs Connection Dutchess County (NY) ACEs Task Force Fairfax County (VA) Trauma Informed Community Network Fighting ACEs in Palm...
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12 Things I Wish My Doctor Understood About Childhood Trauma
It doesn’t happen that often anymore, but one place where I almost always get triggered with my Childhood PTSD symptoms is when I visit the doctor. I could never even put this into words before. But now that I’m mostly healed from my Childhood PTSD symptoms, I want to express what I wish my doctors – all the doctors of my life – had understood about the effects of Childhood trauma, about me. Note: This is one of my most personal posts ever. Unless you’re someone who really prefers text, I...
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90 Minute Lesson Plan for screening "Resilience"
A 90-MINUTE PLAN FOR SHOWING "RESILIENCE" "Resilience: The Biology of Stress and the Science of Hope" KPJR Films (2016) is a 60-minute documentary film. Depending on your audience and your circumstances, you might consider the following 90-minute plan for showing the film. PART I (1) Screen first 20 minutes of "Resilience." (2) Ask participants to reflect, "What are your thoughts about the film so far?" Instruct participants to reflect silently and write some notes. (10 minutes) PART II (1)...
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A Better Way to Investigate Rape (www.startribune.com)
This article by Brandon Stahl, Jennifer Bjorhus, and Maryjo Webster recently published in the Star Tribune . It is part 8 of a series entitled, Denied Justice: When rape is reported and nothing happens. How Minnesota's criminal justice system has failed victims of sexual assault. To read this entire article, go here and find an excerpt below. To read the entire series, go here . Again, to read this article by Brandon Stahl, Jennifer Bjorhus, and Maryjo Webster, go here and for the rest of...
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A Call to Children’s Residential Treatment Centers: Please, Please Do Your Own Trauma Work
The challenges of becoming an effective trauma-informed organization are considerable for sure. Taken as an opportunity, and not a burden, they present a unique platform for organizational learning, healing, and growth. Among so many other things, the efforts inure to the benefit of a milieu that becomes a sanctuary for healing and where little boys are not subject to blame for unintended treatment outcomes.
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A Vicarious Trauma Informed Organization and the COVID-19 Pandemic
Building a resilient workplace begins by recognizing the importance of connections and relationships at work including leaders, supervisors, and staff. A Vicarious Trauma Informed Organization recognizes the challenges human service professionals face and addresses the impact of vicarious trauma and disaster mental health. Through an organization’s policies and practices, an employee’s resilience is fostered. Your mission statement can recognize the need for self-care. The goal of...
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ACEs - More Than Information; It's An Experience
In my opinion we as ACEs/trauma educators must be very mindful that whether we talk about ACEs in front of a large group of people or one on one, it’s not just information. We are giving people an experience, an experience that may rock them to their core especially if they have never heard the information before.
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ACEs Science and Racism
This is a collection of resources regarding structural racism and trauma. This list aims to give a broad overview and is not all-inclusive. We welcome suggestions; if you have any, please comment below! The titles below and the PDFs in attachments are in alphabetical order. BSC Full Report Trauma Resilient Informed City Baltimore: This is the full report of the work, data, lessons, and direct quotes from several teams of people from various backgrounds in the Baltimore community as they...
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Adaptive Change to REBUILD Your Organization
Keeping your organization afloat in challenging conditions... Following up on "Adaptive Change in Behavioral Health Organizations Serving Survivors of Trauma" (posted 2/20/19), here is the first of 3 webinars Villa of Hope presented through the Alliance for Strong Families & Communities. It's called "REBUILD: Adaptive Change to Rebuild the Perspective, Courage, & Leadership of Your Organization." Enjoy!
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Adaptive Change to RECOVER Your Organization
The next installment of Villa of Hope's webinar series for the Alliance for Stronger Families & Communities is "Adaptive Change to RECOVER Efficiency & Strength to Build a Culture of Change & Empowerment." It takes a humble and courageous leader to do this work!
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Addressing ACEs as a Social Transformation Initiative
It's time for adult children to fully recover from the lies they were programmed to believe about themselves and others when they were developing, and to adjust the norms in our society to ensure the healthy development of our descendants and the recovery of the adult affected.
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Addressing Trauma and Building Resiliency as Comprehensive Disaster Planning and Response
The attached memo is intended to make observations about communities affected by disaster-related trauma, and to offer recommendations for trauma-informed recovery. Community examples provide case studies or models for other communities grappling with similar issues. Suggested resources and tools provide communities with support for accelerated action. Memo authors represent active cross sector networks that contribute to resilient community infrastructure development, awareness building,...
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Adverse childhood experiences in the news: Successes and opportunities in coverage of childhood trauma (www.bmsg.org)
Please find excerpts from a piece published in Issue 24 of the Berkeley Media Studies Group about where and how ACEs are covered in the news. It was published a few months ago but I missed it and am thankful it was shared with me last week. and Click here to read full-length version and for a downloadable pdf.
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At an HIV Clinic, Patients and Staff Have a Voice in Shaping Trauma Informed Care
Dr. Edward Machtinger, director of the Women and HIV Program, front row, center and clinic staff To the casual observer, the offices of the Women and HIV Program at the University of California San Francisco look like any other primary care clinic. There’s a waiting room with vinyl-covered chairs for the clinic’s patients. Staff check in patients from a non-descript desk ringed with a bank of computers. A video screen promotes the clinic’s services. But as you make your way further into a...
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At an HIV Clinic, Patients and Staff Have a Voice in Shaping Trauma Informed Care
Dr. Edward Machtinger, director of the Women and HIV Program, front row, center and clinic staff To the casual observer, the offices of the Women and HIV Program at the University of California San Francisco look like any other primary care clinic. There’s a waiting room with vinyl-covered chairs for the clinic’s patients. Staff check in patients from a non-descript desk ringed with a bank of computers. A video screen promotes the clinic’s services. But as you make your way further into a...
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Building A Trauma Informed System of Care Toolkit
We are delighted to make available the Building Strong Brains of Tennessee funded, Building A Trauma Informed System of Care toolkit. This toolkit is based upon the work of the Northeast Tennessee ACEs Connection group and it's many partners since 2015. In time, Building Strong Brains of Tennessee will also have printed copies available. In preparing this toolkit, Dr. Andi Clements and I tried to share in a very transparent fashion the steps we've taken, mistakes we've made and inspiring...
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Cannitta’s Story: Surviving, Not Living (www.lsnj.org)
I just saw this video and comment on my friend Heidi's Facebook page and it made me teary. Here's the video: Here's Heidi's comment: I hope she does because she's been a mom at 16 who is poor and has an ACE score of 9 and who has had to fight to become and to feel safe. We need people like Heidi running programs and organizing support because getting it, having lived it makes one know things those who haven't don't.
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Community Resiliency to be discussed on "Breaking the Silence with Dr. Gregory Williams" this Sunday Evening
This Sunday evening's "Breaking the Silence with Dr. Gregory Williams" Radio Show LIVE at 8:00 pm CST will be discussing the importance of Community Resiliency and how the Community Resiliency Model is helping people who have suffered from the traumatic experiences in their lives. The special guests on the show this Sunday night will be Elaine Miller-Karas and Kelly Doty. Elaine is the Executive Director and co-founder of the Trauma Resource Institute and author of the book, Building...
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Conversations with the Becoming Trauma-Informed & Beyond Community Managers & Invitation to You
"Over the last few years there has been a positive increase in the amount of awareness in our communities on understanding the impact of trauma, ACES and resilience. Training has become more frequent and accessible, but I have noticed that many people are still stuck on what to do next. What do I do with all of this knowledge? How do I actually change my response? What does being trauma informed actually look like in practice?" Melissa McGinn Our Becoming Trauma-Informed & Beyond...
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Developing Community Resilience During the COVID-19 Outbreak
I have been fielding requests about community resilience development and want to share with all of you a document that others are finding helpful. I initially created the document (below and pdf attached) for our host entities to distribute to their cohorts (1500-plus people) of N.E.A.R. Master Trainers embedded in 25 states and a province. Dr. Rob Anda, Laura Porter and I train Master Trainers in N euroscience, E pigenetics, the A CE Study, and R esilience; additional information can be...
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Developing Super Powers: Using Resilience Strategies to Cope with Negative Experiences. Introducing CRI's Newest Book!
“I believe that everyone, especially a child, deserves to know how their brains are shaped by environment, to then understand their capacity for building proactive protective factors. We all deserve to be super heroes as we do the best we can to consciously live life well. ” - Teri Barila The superheroes we learn about in comics, movies, and TV shows swoop in to save the world with their incredible powers, to shield people from harm. But in our world, no matter how much we wish to protect...
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Doctors and Racial Bias: Still a Long Way to Go [nytimes.com]
The racist photo in the medical school yearbook page of Gov. Ralph Northam of Virginia has probably caused many physicians to re-examine their past. We hope we are better today, but the research is not as encouraging as you might think: There is still a long way to go in how the medical field treats minority patients, especially African-Americans. A systematic review published in Academic Emergency Medicine gathered all the research on physicians that measured implicit bias with the Implicit...
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"Drive Thru Preschool"
During this time of social distancing and the legitimate scare of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to develop a sense of "normalcy" for our little ones (keiki). We can do this by keeping them on a schedule, making sure that we are listening to their concerns and meet their unmet needs. Due to COVID-19 preschools in Hawai'i have shut its doors to instruction, however this preschool has continued to operate by meeting the needs of the homeless and at-risk homeless families they serve.
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Erasing My ACES
Why I hid ACES from my medical records in order to receive equal treatment.
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Essentials for Childhood Framework
From the CDC’s Injury Prevention & Control, Division of Violence Prevention: "Safe, stable, nurturing relationships and environments are essential to prevent child abuse and neglect and to assure all children reach their full potential. The Essentials for Childhood Framework proposes strategies communities can consider to promote relationships and environments that help children grow up to be healthy and productive citizens so that they, in turn, can build stronger and safer families and...
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Experts Say Health Equity Strides During Pandemic Unlikely to Permanently Improve American Healthcare
Even before the global COVID-19 pandemic, scholars, healthcare experts and everyday citizens were already turning their attention to some of the deep flaws in the American healthcare system. It is well-known, and well-documented, that healthcare in America is expensive, broken and riddled with inequality. Anne Case and Angus Deaton, authors of the recent book, Deaths of Despair and the Future of Capitalism , summarize the state of our for-profit, employer-based system: “We believe that the...
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Guidance for Teachers and Counselors to Help Kids at Risk at Home
People are beginning to be aware that one result of the increased stress around COVID-19 is the tragic fact that child abuse and neglect is increasing, but the safety net provided by schools is no longer in place. Teachers and counselors can continue to be a hero to students in this time of crisis, and can help mitigate the negative impact of traumatic events and stress. Caregivers might not be able to do it alone. We (Dr. Rachel Gilgoff, a child abuse pediatrician and trauma expert, and...
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How to Unleash The Great Perfection of Creativity (lionsroar.com)
Creativity can be seen as a state of natural flow, one that spontaneously and effortlessly gives birth not only to manifest form, but to all experiences of body, energy, and mind. This state of flow, which has its roots in openness, occurs only in the absence of hope and fear. It is at once naturally joyful, peaceful, compassionate, expansive, and powerful. When you know how to tap fully into this open, creative flow, its beneficial qualities can extend to any area of your life. You can...
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Introducing Lisa Wright, Community Manager: Becoming Trauma-Informed & Beyond
Hello Trauma-Informed & Beyond Community! I am excited to be one of the community managers for this new ACEs Connection community. I have worked as an outpatient trauma-focused treatment clinical social worker since 1993. My work has included providing treatment for children, teens and adults who have experienced sexual abuse, physical abuse, exposure to violence (community, family and interpersonal), witness to homicide and those with problem sexual behavior/sexual offending histories.
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Introducing Melissa McGinn, Community Manager: Becoming Trauma Informed & Beyond
What can readers expect to learn from you? At this point in my career I am doing less direct practice, and more teaching, training and consulting. My focus has really shifted to helping individuals, organizations and systems put their knowledge of trauma, ACES and resilience into practice. What does being trauma informed actually look like in our day to day interactions, on the job, or in our community? Over the last few years there has been a positive increase in the amount of awareness in...
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Introducing NEW Becoming Trauma-Informed & Beyond Community
Earlier this year @Dawn Daum wrote to us when she was ready to share ACEs science with people in the organization she works in to make a case for moving towards more trauma-informed care for the benefit of the staff and those they serve. She was frustrated because almost all the training and resources she found were geared towards schools, clinical staff or to organizations working with children and families rather than ACE-impacted adults in the workplace and who are...
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It Makes Sense
I felt inadequate and ill-prepared to speak to licensed mental health professionals about ACEs. But when I was asked to attend the 40th Annual Training Institute on Behavioral Health & Addictive Disorders in Clearwater, Florida to represent ACEs Connection, I was honored and eager. My background is in health planning, not mental or behavioral health. I review health data and look for gaps and inequities. My time is spent looking for and addressing the health needs of a community. So,...
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Kids of Color Often Shut Out of High-Quality State Preschool, Research Says [blogs.edweek.org]
By Andrew Ujifusa, Education Week, November 6, 2019 A study of 26 states and their preschool programs finds that as of roughly two years ago, a mere 1 percent of Latino children and just 4 percent of black children in those states were enrolled in "high-quality" state-backed early-learning opportunities. That's one main conclusion from a new report from the Education Trust, an education civil rights advocacy group. "Young Learners, Missed Opportunities: Ensuring That Black and Latino...
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Launching or growing an ACEs initiative? We’ve got an app (& tools & guidelines) for that!!
Of the tens of thousands of communities across the U.S. (cities, counties, regions and states), we think a few hundred have launched ACEs initiatives so far. Two common obstacles that initiatives run up against are: What do we do once we all agree that everyone should know about ACEs science ? And, how do we measure our progress? Today we’re officially rolling out new guidelines, tools — and an app! — for that! Growing Resilient Communities 2.0 answers question #1. If the initiative’s goal...
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New Peer Support Group Successes and Challenges
I started a weekly peer support group for women survivors of trauma in April 2018. It took a few weeks to get any uptake on the offer. In the beginning a few people who knew me trickled in to provide some encouragement. Some people working at the center that eventually agreed to give me access to a room to host the event, told me that if people got the sense that I was in it for the long haul, they would then start taking me up on my offer. I was determined to persist, so I stuck it out even...
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Next "A Better Normal" community discussion series: April 9, 2020 — Ingrid Cockhren, Joshunda Sanders on inequities in healthcare
Dave Granlund This week, we're hosting two more 'A Better Normal' discussions: on Thursday, April 9; and Friday, April 10, 2020....12 pm PT/ 1 pm MT/ 2 pm CT/ 3 pm ET. Thursday, April 9, 2020 Ingrid Cockhren, ACEs Connection community facilitator and DEI (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion) expert, and Joshunda Sanders , freelance journalist and author ( The Beautiful Darkness: A Handbook for Orphans ) , lead a conversation focused on the inequities in our healthcare system and how those...
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NKCDC is incorporating trauma-informed practices into its community development work [generocity.org]
New Kensington Community Development Corporation (NKCDC) has spent the last few years hearing community residents’ needs from Lehigh to Allegheny avenues via meetings and door-to-door surveys, and letting that input shape its work. Last month, the Kresge Foundation awarded NKCDC a two-year, $150,000 grant to take its community development work to the next level. The funding is part of Advancing Health Equity through Housing , a new Kresge Health Program initiative that addresses harmful ways...
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Our best bet against burnout is self-care, just not the kind you think [mashable.com]
By Rebecca Ruiz, Mashable, June 21, 2019. When burnout comes for you, it’s not subtle. It casts an inexplicable darkness on the most mundane things: driving in traffic, showing up to work on time, filing an expense report. It feels like a weight tied to your waist, stealing any spark of energy you will into existence. You might confuse it for depression — and it very well could be — but, by reflecting on how and when it arrived, you suspect the culprit is the unraveling of your work life. At...
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Parenting as a Survivor Keynote to Follow Free Resilience Screening
I share my story of having an ACE score of 9 and how that has effected me as a mother, because I can make sense of it now.
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Peace4Tarpon In Just Under 5 Minutes
Once again, our great partners have stepped up to share their "peace/piece" with us! Our MARC Program manager, Wendy Sedlacek connected us with Dave Cook, her former colleague from Pinellas County Schools. Turns out, Dave was a gem of a find; a cracker jack professional who put together this video for us in record time. Wendy pitched in as producer adding the slides and visuals. Together, they were able to create this great little video describing Peace4Tarpon. That's not the easiest task by...
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Philadelphia Trauma Training Conference- Call for Proposals
Second Annual Philadelphia Trauma Training Conference Preventing Childhood Trauma and its Impact across the Lifespan: An Interprofessional Agenda for Providers, Advocates, Policy Makers, and Community Members The Second Annual Philadelphia Trauma Training Conference, to be held July 23-26, 2018 at Thomas Jefferson University East Falls Campus in Philadelphia will provide an intensive, collaborative training experience to providers, educators and leaders across health, education, and social...
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Report: ACEs and trauma-informed care across 8 countries
The International Initiative for Mental Health Leadership (IIMHL) is a virtual international collaborative which aims to strengthen leadership and thereby improve services for people with mental health or addiction issues. Eight countries belong to IIMHL: Australia, Canada, England, Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland, Sweden and the US. Countries’ pay a small amount to belong and in exchange there are regular communications on innovation, research and national work plus every 16 months a...
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Resource List -- ACEs Science Videos & Documentaries
You can find videos and video clips of ACEs presentations and on-air segments listed here.
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Safety First - Toxic Stress in Education
What is the purpose of having school without power?
I work in a small school in a big state. The local school community had the power shut over the weekend as a preventive action for avoiding fires. This morning I was told that there would be school without power and to plan to provide services and teach children without power.
My instinct was - this is not safe!
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San Bruno, CA, police reduce stress, burn-out with mindfulness
When Officer John Hampton of the San Bruno Police Department in San Bruno, CA, first heard that mindfulness training was being offered to him and his fellow cops, he had two reactions. John Hampton “I think my major reaction was: ‘Oh, there’s some hippy thing that they’re trying to get cops to do,’” he said. “When I say that, it’s funny because that’s not my voice. It’s the caricature of a police officer-like voice. In the back of my mind, I was interested and open to it, but that police...
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Self-Healing Communities Model
“The Self-Healing Communities Model (SHCM) builds the capacity of communities to intentionally generate new cultural norms and thereby improve health, safety and productivity for current and future generations.” This model was implemented in Washington State and was successful in improving rates of many interrelated and intergenerational health and social problems by investing in the people at risk. They worked to reduce and prevent the root of the issue being Adverse Childhood Experiences...
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Spotlight: An ACEs Connection community, Resilient Sacramento, tackles the issue of the traumatic impacts of racism and oppression
Resilient Sacramento has recently made explicit, their commitment to doing trauma-informed education & engagement that centers race, and other forms of structural oppression, as sources of trauma. The resources shared in a recent Resilient Sacramento meeting are described here for the entire ACEs Connection community. Please add your resources to the comments!
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The AAP opens up access to ACE studies to highlight long-term impact of family separations and detentions at the border
Photo by Gerald R. Nino/Wikimedia.org "We have created a collection of articles on toxic stress since the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Psychosocial Aspects of Child and Family Health, the Committee on Early Childhood, Adoption and Dependent Care, and the Section on Behavior and Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics published their landmark policy statement, “ Early Childhood Adversity, Toxic Stress, and the Role of the Pediatrician: Translating Developmental Science into...
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The Absence of Punishment in Our Schools
Where to begin... My heart is full of hope and joy as I watch the trauma-informed schools movement swell across our nation and planet. The science of ACEs is mind-bending to say the least and we are now able to open up a much deeper dialogue about human behavior and health. Ultimately this work is about healing… All. Of. Us. A new consciousness is taking root around ending the “us vs them” construct. The idea is growing that we’re all on this journey together and that no matter where our...