Tagged With "Cracked Up"

Four years ago, Dr. Leslie Dempsey would never have talked about ACEs — adverse childhood experiences — with her patients. Now ACEs is a common topic. “Just as I don’t feel awkward asking someone if they smoke or do intravenous drugs, I don’t really feel awkward talking about their childhood traumas in a way that it relates to their health. It’s just integrated into obtaining background and social history,” she says. Dr. Leslie Dempsey Dempsey is a physician in obstetrics who oversees a team...

By Dwyer Gunn, 5280, September 1, 2019 On a frigid morning this past March, Jo Carrigan, principal of Denver Public Schools’ Doull Elementary School in Harvey Park, stood on a blacktop playground as students streamed into the red brick building. As evidenced by the elaborate hairstyles, shimmery party dresses, and clip-on ties, it was school picture day. Carrigan complimented students on their outfits as she guided them around an icy spot on the pavement. Inside the building, up a flight of...

"A single statewide phone number that Coloradans can use to report child abuse is expected to clear a legislative committee Thursday. "The bill could be signed into law as early as next week... "The bill requires the Department of Human Services to...

Report scores 3,000 communities on health-related issues Earlier this year, Douglas County, Colorado, was tapped as the healthiest community in the country, moving up from its previous spot at No. 2. “We give all the credit to our citizens for their healthy choices,” Douglas County Commissioner Lora Thomas told The Nation’s Health. In March, U.S. News & World Report and the Aetna Foundation released their second annual Healthiest Communities report, evaluating nearly 3,000 U.S.

Thanks to our colleagues at the National Wraparound Initiative for bringing this to our attention. This new bill in Colorado requires screening to identify youth with complex needs, establishes wraparound to serve them, and blends funding across agencies to make it happen! A model for other states to emulate! Child And Youth Behavioral Health System Enhancements Concerning enhancements to behavioral health services and policy coordination for children and youth, and, in connection therewith,...

By Michelle Esrick, Cracked Up Movie, April 2020 — A letter from Director Michelle Esrick — Dear friends, My heart goes out to everyone during this extremely challenging and unprecedented time. We are all experiencing what a traumatic event this is for everyone around the world -- from the reports we all hear on the news, to stories from family and friends, and for me personally being hospitalized with Covid-19. Many trauma survivors, including myself, are experiencing higher levels of...

With graduation season upon us, I have been thinking a lot about one of my favorite graduation speeches. It’s the speech that Shonda Rhimes, creator of Grey’s Anatomy, gave in 2014 at Dartmouth College. She references the typical expected advice from a graduation speech: “Follow your dreams. Listen to your spirit. Change the world. Make your mark. Find your inner voice and make it sing. Embrace failure. Dream. Dream and dream big..." And then she says, “I think that’s crap.”

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Room erupts in applause for the grandmother of witness William Kellibrew during July 11 House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing. The power of personal stories from witnesses and committee members fueled the July 11 hearing on childhood trauma in the House Oversight and Reform Committee* throughout the nearly four hours of often emotional and searing testimony and member questions and statements (Click here for 3:47 hour video). The hearing was organized into a two panels—testimony from...

The exclusive virtual screening to all ACEs Connection members of the new, acclaimed film, CRACKED UP is fast approaching. The registration deadline is Friday, June 7th at 5pm PST / 8pm EST To register , please complete this form . This documentary film is about the long term effects of childhood trauma, told through Saturday Night Live veteran Darrell Hammond’s journey in discovering adverse childhood experiences at the root of his lifelong battle with self-harm, addiction, and...

We are excited to offer an exclusive virtual screening to all ACEs Connection members of the new, acclaimed film, CRACKED UP . This documentary film is about the long term effects of childhood trauma, told through Saturday Night Live veteran Darrell Hammond’s journey in discovering adverse childhood experiences at the root of his lifelong battle with self-harm, addiction, and misdiagnosis. The film’s director, Michelle Esrick, and other special guests will join us after the screening window...

Systematic racism is at the core of mental health disparities and social determinants of mental health (SDoMH).Upstream factors obstruct patient access to needed and appropriate assessment, timely intervention, with treatment for these populations often reflecting poorer quality, and ending prior to completion of treatment. COVID-19 and the recent pandemic have only amplified meso and micro-level gaps in care. considered, provided, and reimbursed.

A webinar offered by the Campaign for Trauma-Informed Policy and Practice (CTIPP) Thursday, September 30, 1:30 - 3:00 pm EDT Register today . Addressing the mental health needs of child care providers and children in care is vital in the face of the pandemic, a population-level traumatic event. CTIPP is offering a "plug and play" framework to ease the process of developing a continuum of training, reflective coaching, and consultation to build the capacity for supporting relational health...

Image: (dragana991/istock) To read more of Ann Schimke's article, please click here. Roxana Alvarado Martinéz, a high school sophomore, had told only close friends she was seeing a therapist to help her with anxiety and insomnia. Roxana is part of a generation that has grappled with unprecedented mental health struggles over the last few years amid a pandemic that stoked stress, fear, and isolation for people young and old. She’s also one of thousands of Colorado youth taking advantage of a...

First-grade student RedSky Lang draws on the whiteboard during a Ute language vocabulary game led by Betty Howe, a tribal elder and Ute language teacher. (Shannon Mullane, Special to The Colorado Trust) To read more of Mark Stevens' article, please click here. Twelve miles south of Cortez, in the southwest corner of Colorado, a right turn on Mike Wash Road leads three miles up to the town of Towaoc on the Ute Mountain Ute Reservation. Towaoc is pronounced toy-awk . The town is due east of...