Tagged With "safe schools"
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Next "A Better Normal" community discussion series: April 14, 2020, trauma-informed housing
Andy Marlette This week, we're hosting 'A Better Normal' discussions: on Tuesday, April 14; and Thursday, April 16, 2020....12 pm PT/ 1 pm MT/ 2 pm CT/ 3 pm ET. Tuesday, April 14, 2020 Margaret Stagmeier, Atlanta real estate developer and social entrepreneur, has developed an affordable housing model that decreases income inequality and improves failing schools. Her nonprofits — EduHousing and Star-C — purchase blighted apartment complexes located next to failing elementary schools, a nd...
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Nurturing relationships in childhood boost adult mental health, relationships
We're proud to announce major research that suggests that positive childhood experiences — such as supportive family interactions, caring relationships with friends, and connections in the community — are associated with reductions in chances of adult depression and poor mental health, and increases in the chances of having healthy relationships in adulthood. This association was true even among those with a history of adverse childhood experiences.
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Observing Mother's Day and Father's Day in a trauma-informed church
I recently had two events that caused me to think purposefully about what a responsible approach to the upcoming holidays of Mother’s Day and Father’s Day may be for a church that is seeking to be sensitive to the trauma histories that their worshipping community may have. The first was an invitation to preach at a church in my community that has done a great deal to advance the faith communities awareness to the effects of ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences) and mental health needs within...
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Over 100 pastoral education students trained in trauma at regional meeting in Baltimore
The theme of trauma was selected for this year’s annual summer Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) Day because “clergy responses to trauma an have a significant impact on our own healing and in healing our communities,” as described in the planning committee welcome letter. Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore hosted the gathering of over 100 pastoral students from the Maryland, Washington, DC, and Northern Virginia region. Planning Committee Chair Ty Crowe, director of the Hospital’s Spiritual...
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Over 100 pastoral education students trained in trauma at regional meeting in Baltimore
The theme of trauma was selected for this year’s annual summer Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) Day because “clergy responses to trauma an have a significant impact on our own healing and in healing our communities,” as described in the planning committee welcome letter. Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore hosted the gathering of over 100 pastoral students from the Maryland, Washington, DC, and Northern Virginia region. Planning Committee Chair Ty Crowe, director of the Hospital’s Spiritual...
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Overview of the Community Resiliency Model, used worldwide to help trauma survivors re-regulate their central nervous system, offered in two, free 90-minute webinars.
Elaine Miller Karas , key creator of the Community Resiliency Model (CRM), will be joined by CRM trainers from Wilmington, NC, Allison Wine , behavioral specialist, and Kelly Purcell , instructional coach and multi-tiered support specialist for this free, two-part training. Register now for two, FREE 90-minute sessions May 7 from 11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. EST and May 14 from 11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. EST (The complete overview requires attendance at both sessions. Registration link below registers you...
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Peek Inside a Classroom: Jasmine
© Elliot Gilfix/Flickr . What happened to Jasmine? . Photo © Jinx!/Flickr When you look...
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Peek Inside a Classroom: Jose
Photo credit Max Klingensmith at flickr . Jose was one of the calmest, quietest, most peaceful boys in the classroom. The kind of boy everybody loves. ...
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Personal stories from witnesses, U.S. representatives provided an emotional wallop to House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing on childhood trauma
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...
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Question of the week: Do elementary age children seriously consider suicide?
Recently I was chatting online with a group of children’s ministers when someone brought up the subject of suicide in children. No one wants to think that children as young as eight or nine years of age would be at risk for suicide or even...
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Religion and Faith - A Protective Factor and Contributor of Resilience
Hi Folks, Each month i receive CROSSROADS, a Newsletter of the Center for Spirituality, Theology & Health Volume 9 Issue 8 Feb 2020 . The link is to their latest newsletter. One of the reported research studies caught my eye as I read the newsletter today. And so I thought I'd share it here. To me, this is an example of the protective factor that involvement in a community of faith can have on adolescents. Faith can play a critical and valuable factor in helping one be resilient in the...
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Religious Engagement Effects on Outcomes of Early Childhood Maltreatment
this is one of the few (and perhaps the first) examination of the possible effects of religious involvement on academic performance and mental health outcomes of maltreated children in the United Kingdom.
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She’s 16 and ‘changing the world’ as leader of Fresno-based Kids on a Mission (fresnobee.com)
Kaitlin Riffel was visiting her father at work – at that time, the Fresno Rescue Mission , a Christian shelter for the homeless and those in need. “I had never seen poverty before. I was 8,” recalls Kaitlin, who is now 16. “I never realized there were people in the world who didn’t have a home or food. I knew there was something I had to do about that.” The work overseas started when Kaitlin, then 13, visited El Salvador and saw people starving and families living in flimsy shelters made of...
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Six-week adult Sunday school curriculum on trauma-informed ministry coming soon!
Within the next month, I will be making available a draft version of an adult Sunday School curriculum that will introduce the concept of trauma-informed ministry to churches. If there are members of ACEsConnection that would like to "test run" the curriculum, I'd be honored if you'd reach out to me in the comments section or via a direct message. Email works, too! Just send to chrish@intermountain.org. The curriculum just takes a look at the "slice" of trauma-informed ministry that I am...
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Some 350 Florida Leaders Expected to Attend Think Tank with Dr. Vincent Felitti, Co-Principal Investigator of the ACE Study; Expert on ACEs Science
Leaders from across the Sunshine State will take part in a “Think Tank” in Naples, FL, on Monday, August 6, to help create a more trauma-informed Florida. The estimated 350 attendees will include policy makers and community teams made up of school superintendents, law enforcement officers, judges, hospital administrators, mayors, PTA presidents, child welfare experts, mental health and substance abuse treatment providers, philanthropists, university researchers, state agency heads, and...
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The Peace Bus
Times in our community have been challenging and traumatic recently. Shining a light on how we can come together and support one another is vital during this time, and is just what Kwabi Amoah-Forson is doing with The Peace Bus. This is incredible work and reflects the importance of connectivity at this time. Please consider supporting the work Kwabi is doing, and share with others to spread the word! Per his recent Facebook post: "Fear, division, and safety have been the reoccuring themes...
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Today's kids are experiencing a world full of trauma. Is your church trauma-informed?
In our world today, many children experience early childhood trauma. Through a lot of research, we now know that childhood trauma can affect children for the rest of their lives. ACEs too High explains in several articles and research reviews how trauma in early childhood can affect kids’ behavior and health during childhood and cause lifelong problems. We know early trauma causes toxic stress in the brains of young children—so much so that the American Academy of Pediatrics has issued a...
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Tools and how to use them is focus of second webinar on Community Resiliency Model, May 14, 2020
The second of two free Community Resiliency (CRM) webinars with Elaine Miller-Karas , key creator of the CRM, will be held Thursday, May 14, from 11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. ET, (10 a.m. CT; 9 a.m. MT, and 8 a.m. PT) and will include the practical application of tools of the model. CRM is an ACEs science-based biological model for helping individuals become emotionally regulated during natural disasters and other dysregulating times. Miller-Karas will be joined by CRM trainers from Wilmington, NC:...
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Trauma-informed churches
In our world today many children are experiencing early childhood trauma. We now know through a lot of research that childhood trauma can affect a child for the rest of their lives. The website ACEs too High (Adverse Childhood Experiences)...
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Trauma-Informed Churches – Children's Ministry Conference Notes
These notes were posted about a conference led by group member Linda Ranson Jacobs by GJ Farmer, children’s pastor at First Baptist Church in Somerset, KY, on his blog, ChildrensMinistryBlog.com: Early trauma causes disorganized...
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Trauma-Informed Churches – CMConnect Conference Notes
This blog post are notes written by GJ Farmer and taken from a workshop Linda Ranson Jacobs presented for CMConnect Conference in 2015. Early trauma causes disorganized attachment. In early attachments children feel safe. If there are attachment issues, the impulse is fight or flight. Childhood trauma affects children into adulthood. If we want a church of the future, we must become trauma-informed. “Sometimes that angry look, that stare, that inappropriate response, is a cry for help more...
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Two New Grant Opportunities for Youth Development and Diversion Services
In 2019, more than $40 million will become available to fund community-based, culturally rooted, trauma-informed services for youth in California as alternatives to arrest and incarceration. Thousands of California youth are arrested every year for low-level offenses. Youth who are arrested or incarcerated for low-level offenses are less likely to graduate high school, more likely to suffer negative health-outcomes, and more likely to have later contact with the justice system.
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USD Kroc Insight newsletter - Look Both Ways: Religous Leaders and the Challenge of Engaging Community and Police
Across the United States, including in San Diego where the Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice (Kroc IPJ) launched the Building Trust Partnership (BTP), relationships between communities and law enforcement are strained and plagued by mistrust. To build relationships and restore trust between police and communities while confronting difficult, emotionally and politically charged issues, religious leaders must engage with both sides and remain neutral, even when speaking to one may be...
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"Warriors of HOPE" Series Continues This Sunday on "Breaking the Silence" Radio Program with Special Guest, Judge Steven Teske!
The fourth week of the 6-week "Warriors of Hope" event will continue this Sunday night at 8 pm Central Time on "Breaking the Silence with Dr. Gregory Williams" radio program. This 6-week event features six very special guests that will offer their insight on the power of HOPE in their lives and provide encouragement, wisdom and insight on the need for resilience in lives today. This series has resulted in praise from around the world from the listeners that have tuned in. This week's guest...
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Webinar: Cultivating Our Best Selves in Response to COVID-19 | Tuesday, March 17 at Noon PDT
How to use the skills of the Community Resiliency Model (CRM) for self and others to be the calm in the storm as we face the unknown. Free Webinar Tuesday, March 17 at Noon PDT Speakers: Elaine Miller-Karas, LCSW Linda Grabbe, PhD, FNP-BC, PMHNP-BC Zoom Webinar Registration Link: https://zoom.us/j/715837300 Additional ways to join are listed at the bottom of this post. About the webinar leaders: Elaine Miller-Karas is the Executive Director and co-founder of the Trauma Resource Institute and...
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Webinar Oct. 17 — Integrating ACEs science in pediatrics: Early adopters share lessons from the field
An ACEs Connection webinar co-sponsored with 4 CA In 2017, California became the first state in the country to pass a law supporting universal screening for adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in the 5.3 million children in the state’s Medicaid program. As clinicians around California await the state’s announcement of what this new policy will entail, many are wondering what it takes to integrate ACEs science in a pediatric practice. Meet Drs. Deirdre Bernard-Pearl, R.J. Gillespie and...
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Whole People Series & Study Guide (www.pbs.org)
There's a fantastic five-part series, Whole People , done by PBS, " spotlighting the impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES) through personal and community stories. It explores the long-term costs to personal well-being and our society. While much work needs to be done, there are many innovative developments to prevent and treat ACES. We all play a role in becoming a whole people." It's amazing. The five topics covered are as follows: Childhood Trauma Healing Communities A New...
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Why you faith community should know about ACEs - from Helenair.com
As I begin to share with faith communities throughout Montana why adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) matter and how they can help build more resilient children and healthier communities, I sometimes hear something like this: "But why does it matter? What difference should it make in ministry?” The ACE survey measured the prevalence of ten stress-inducing factors in childhood including abuse, neglect, and substance abuse in the home, and these factors definitely influence ministries...
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With VBS coming up, attitudes and conversations can make a difference when you have a rambunctious group of kids
Summer is here, and recently I’ve been doing my early morning walk on the beach. In our part of the country we have a beach restoration project going on. This project involves ships, pipes 4 feet in diameter, tractors, backhoes, and other equipment needed to dredge the sand off the bottom of the ocean and pump it up onto the beach. It’s quite interesting to watch the sand pour out of those very large pipes onto the beach and then observe the large earthmoving equipment move all the sand...
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Yoga Transformed Me After Trauma and Sexual Assault [yogajournal.com]
Laura's note: This story of sheer determination of transformation of self and community in the face of personal trauma AND systemic racism is breathtaking. Be warned: it may blow you away, as it did me. As a child, Ebony Smith survived sexual assault but didn’t have the tools to cope with the trauma until years later, when she found yoga. Now, she’s bringing the practice to her community, and others in crisis. Exactly 247 people came to practice yoga with me today. Why is that such a big...
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You know I really believe!!!
Folks from Pastors to Priests to dharma brothers and sisters and beyond really do have the power if they become educated about adversity in childhood to really make a change for individuals and for the larger community you live in! In fact it is...
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Re: You know I really believe!!!
Tina, Thanks so much for sharing your story. Nearly every week someone tells me how their childhood was nearly unbearable were it not for a little old lady who took him or her to Sunday School or took them into her home. Churches have a huge impact, but I'm afraid most pastors are unaware of how a traumatic childhood affects people. I recently read an article in a magazine intended for pastors about "high maintenance" people in church. It spent time bemoaning how some people take advantage...
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Re: You know I really believe!!!
Originally Posted by Dave Lockridge: Tina, Thanks so much for sharing your story. Nearly every week someone tells me how their childhood was nearly unbearable were it not for a little old lady who took him or her to Sunday School or took them into her home. Churches have a huge impact, but I'm afraid most pastors are unaware of how a traumatic childhood affects people. I recently read an article in a magazine intended for pastors about "high maintenance" people in church. It spent time...
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Re: Trauma-informed churches
Thanks. I think it sums it up. Docs need to be involved (but there are definitely times when we aren't going to see the kids in the most danger). Kids who are being traumatized have generally speaking two places where they will be seen -- at school and in the church. They may not come to the church but the church can always come to them. My family did not go to church except when I went to catholic mass with my grandpa. My siblings and I were also sent to bible study at a small local...
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Re: Silent Cries: How the church can help people with mental illness [ChristianityToday.com]
I'm going to stick my neck out and share that as a person of faith, I struggle using the word "church." I think our churches can be fear-based, therefore if you struggle, it can be seen as you don't have a strong faith, you haven't prayed hard enough, or that it is a sin that you struggle to overcome an obstacle in your life. I trained a Christian High School on trauma-informed care and I shared how important it was for them to listen to their students and how important it was for their...
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Re: Peek Inside a Classroom: Jasmine
Thank you for such an insightful article. I wish every teacher, child care worker and church leader would read this post. You have explained what is happening in that child's brain very well. Why can't we as a nation figure this out?
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Re: Peek Inside a Classroom: Jasmine
Thank you so much Linda ! Your concluding question is probably the most important thing we do not "see".... Frustrating. I don't get much response even in the church.... Thanks for your support. It only takes one right message in one right place at the right time ! Peace
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Re: Peek Inside a Classroom: Jasmine
I understand about the church issue. I am constantly doing workshops and seminars for children's pastors and for the most part they are clueless. And church family could make such a difference in the lives of these kids. I know because we see this in our DC4K (DivorceCare for Kids) groups. I wish you could be a fly on the wall of a DC4K group. Oh my the healing and changes that take place in these kids in such a short time is amazing. The power of prayer plus the program written to...
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Re: Peek Inside a Classroom: Jasmine
Great article! Keep up the good work Daun! And know that you are on the right track, as you said all it takes is the right message in the right place at the right time. We must continue putting that message out there! Blessings
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Re: Peek Inside a Classroom: Jasmine
Thank you James! For more on a very different defense by children dealing with trauma see "Peek Inside a Classroom:Jose" -- "Peek Inside a Classroom" is a 2 part set (So far). It's on ACEsConnection and HERE
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Re: An ACES Presentation as a Sermon
I would really like to review your slides and comments! We are just beginning this work in rural NW KS. I have been pondering how to share in my Sunday school in a way that resonates that this is how we can truly bring healing through Christ even in the hard issues. Thanks for sharing your article!
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Re: An ACES Presentation as a Sermon
Hi Folks! I'm attaching two documents that I used to deliver the teaching I mentioned in the post above. There is a Powerpoint file that I used on the Sunday that I've converted to a PDF. And the script that accompanies the Powerpoint is also in a PDF document. This presentation and the supporting documents are a 'work in progress.' As Ronnie and I present this to other churches and ministries in the area, I'm sure that it will evolve. We are doing our best to share this important material...
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Re: What the World Needs Now: Healing-a sermon addressing ACES
I really enjoyed your sermon Aaron and thought it tied in nicely to the mission of the school. Great stuff and keep up the Christ led work !
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Re: Religious Engagement Effects on Outcomes of Early Childhood Maltreatment
I completely agree that this is an area which has been neglected in research. More studies should be done looking at religious affiliation or church attendance or some marker of theological engagement and resilience. I find in my family medicine clinic that teens who report significant church involvement seem to have a much lower incidence of alcohol and marijuana use and school failure, and possibly a later onset of sexual activity, all factors which can promote health and positive...
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Re: Religious Engagement Effects on Outcomes of Early Childhood Maltreatment
I appreciate you taking time to comment on this Angela! Perhaps there is a nearby academic institution that can assist with a research project!
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Re: Resilience Surveys and the Christian Faith
You might check in with Shelley Melia. I went to a workshop last year at the LifeWay KidMin Conference and she talked about grief and resilience in kids. She has a child's capacity for resilience survey and a parent survey. Don't know if this is what you are looking for but contact and her and find out. Here is her contact info: Shelly Melia, PhD Assistant Professor of Childhood Education Program Director of MA in Children’s Ministry and MA in Christian Education/ Graduate School of Ministry...
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Re: The Need for Trauma-informed Education During Seminary
Hi Kimberly, I'd like to be a part of the Community of Practice group as well, and would appreciate being added. I work as a chaplain in a large regional hospital, and am also involved in bringing ACE presentations to local churches and faith-based organizations. I have presented on ACEs and theology/pastoral care at one local seminary/school of theology, and would like to do more. I believe this education is critical. Thanks! Amie Schumacher
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What Do Coronavirus Racial Disparities Look Like State by State [npr.org]
By Maria Godoy and Daniel Wood, National Public Radio, May 30, 2020 In April, New Orleans health officials realized their drive-through testing strategy for the coronavirus wasn't working. The reason? Census tract data revealed hot spots for the virus were located in predominantly low-income African-American neighborhoods where many residents lacked cars. In response, officials have changed their strategy, sending mobile testing vans to some of those areas, says Thomas LaVeist , dean of...
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Of interest: Spend June 5 with members of the new National Academies report: Realizing Opportunity for All Youth
Of interest: Spend June 5 with members of the new National Academies report: Realizing Opportunity for All Youth Announcement in ACES Connection calendar : June 5 Calendar Announcement https://www.acesconnection.com/event/realizing-opportunity-for-all-youth-discussion-the-new-national-academies-report or at Institute of Law, Psychiatry and Public Policy, University of Virginia (ILPPP) https://ilppp.virginia.edu/OREM/JuvenilePrograms/Course/144 Working with the National Academies of Sciences,...