The Des Moines Gay Men's Chorus performing on the Kelly Clarkson Show Photo: Screenshot To read more of Bil Browning's article, please click here. The Des Moines Gay Men’s Chorus planned a series of concerts featuring 15 songs by LGBTQ+ icon Kelly Clarkson and then found out they had a new fan: the hit singer herself. After the singer found out about the concert, she quickly invited them onto her show as part of her “What I’m liking” segment and surprised them at the end of the interview and...

Nationally recognized days of awareness remind us of important civil and human rights movements led by Black and African-American communities and social justice advocates. February puts leadership, education, access, justice, policy, and governance under the spotlight. Through a PACEs science lens, this month is an opportunity to consider trauma-informed transformation through a PACEs science lens as the way forward.

As we head into our full CRC curriculum this January, we invite current and future CRC Accelerator participants to join us with collective care and self care in mind.

Something amazing keeps happening in our CRC Accelerator program that we want to shout out from the rooftops this December. Thanks to our committed participants, the number of CRC graduates keeps increasing! The number of graduates has increased by 15x this year. As we head into a new year, w e are grateful for the unique role CRC Accelerator participants have played in expanding the PACEs movement through the willingness to explore healing-centered practices through a PACEs science lens.

This Jan. 30, 2009 photo shows statues depicting the various clans within the Winnebago tribe, overlooking a housing development north of Winnebago, Neb., which was built on land purchased by the tribe. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik) To read more of Amie Rivers' article, please click here. The Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska wasn't always in Nebraska. According to tribal officials , their ancestral lands are in Wisconsin and Illinois, and they were moved around in the 1800s to Northeast Iowa, Minnesota...

One of the biggest questions that Andi and I get whenever we talk about a trauma-informed approach is something along the lines of “Ok I get ACEs and toxic stress, but what can I do about it in my organization?” We get it–this approach can seem overwhelming because it is literally a lens through which you see everything. We often say that a trauma-informed approach is less about what you do and more about how you do it. So how in the world do we even begin the work of operationalizing our unders

Beyond Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), our members seek to deeply understand strengths-based insights embedded in the remaining ACEs quadrant: Adverse Community Environments, Adverse Climate Experiences, and Atrocious Cultural Experiences.

Photo: Shutterstock To read more of Bill Browning's article, please click here. Students around the nation are pushing back on Republican attacks on LGBTQ+ rights. They’ve stood up for teachers and coaches , walked out en masse, and this week, a Missouri university reopened a student resource center after students protested. But high schoolers in Iowa are taking a different approach to defy the state’s laws. They’ve heckled the state’s anti-LGBTQ+ governor , and instead of relying on...

Awareness about health outcomes are as much about the long-term impact caused by adverse childhood experiences as they are by positive childhood experiences. By providing education on trauma-informed awareness and resilience building frameworks, the CRC Accelerator certification is a tool for both.

It’s time to take action and make our voices heard to build healthy, resilient communities! The Campaign for Trauma-Informed Policy and Practice (CTIPP) is organizing trauma-informed advocates, activists, and stakeholders to urge their U.S. Senators and Representatives to support two bipartisan, bicameral bills that would significantly help prevent, address, and mitigate the negative impacts of trauma through community-based/led initiatives.

In the world of family violence, the focus is on healing victims (survivors). This includes funding for domestic violence shelters, thousands of research projects, state and federal legislation, and changing the criminal justice response. But that’s providing help for only half the people involved in the problem.

Todd Noack is the founder and executive director of Rhonda’s House, a rural peer respite program in Iowa. Credit: Lisa Bartels To read more of Cheryl Platzman Weinstock's article, please click here. Aimee Quicke has made repeated trips to emergency rooms, hospitals, behavioral health facilities, and psychiatric lockdowns for mental health crises — including suicidal thoughts — since she was 11. The 40-year-old resident of Le Mars, Iowa, has bipolar and obsessive-compulsive disorders. “Some...