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SANTA ANA – A 36-year-old La Habra mother accused of pushing her infant son off a parking structure to his death in 2011 has been found mentally fit to stand trial. Senior Deputy District Attorney Scott Simmons said there is evidence that Hermosillo was aware of what she was doing and deliberated before pushing the baby over the edge. Her defense attorney, Jacqueline Goodman, maintains that Hermosillo, who has two older daughters, was mentally ill and suffered from post-partum psychosis...

The statistics are gut-wrenching: 1 in 4 Orange County teens is in an abusive dating relationship, according to Laura’s House in Orange County, which provides shelter, counseling and legal services to victims of domestic violence. But what’s more startling is that most of the teens in these relationships don’t know they are victims of abuse. Dating violence begins slowly, with jealousy and controlling behavior. Then the aggressor isolates the teen from friends and family. These feelings and...

We had our 5th Orange County ACEs Task Force meeting on Wednesday September 21st. We have two new members; welcome to Floree McFadden and Tammy Ramsay. Dana Brown was very thoughtful to attend the meeting via speakerphone and could offer her insight when needed; thank you Dana! The meeting began with a five-minute mindful meditation exercise led by Marlene Sanders. It was nice to start our meeting with Focus and Relaxation. Some of our group members had questions regarding where to locate...

Orange County ACEs Task Force Meeting Minutes September 21, 2016 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm Location: Laguna Woods Village Elm Room - Community Center 24351 El Toro Road Laguna Woods, CA 92630 Attendees: Marguerite Bonnett, Mary Brogdon, Kathy Brous, Dana Brown (via speakerphone), Floree McFadden, Wayne Munchel, Tammy Ramsay, Marlene Sanders. Welcome & Introductions - Mindful Moment: Focused and Relaxed Exercise Marlene led the group with five minutes of mindful meditation and supported the...

Orange County ACEs Task Force AGENDA October 19, 2016 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm Location: Laguna Woods Village Elm Room - Community Center 24351 El Toro Road Laguna Woods, CA 92630 Welcome & Introductions - Mindfulness Minutes/Intention Education Committee Work Group - Paper Tigers: Debrief Friday, 10/14, Screening at Center for Spiritual Living - What went well? - How can we improve? - What did we learn which will support our Resilience screening? - How will we honor our attendee’s...

This page offers county and statewide data, resources and words of wisdom from leaders who are putting the research to work and sharing insights about best practices: https://hdplus.livestories.com/s/adverse-childhood-experiences-aces/57ed3feb84b8870017615ac0/ Called an Interactive Digital Primer, this page also reveals: A Social Movement, Driven By Communities And Rooted In Medicine. A fast-growing network of community based organizations, medical and social service professionals, and...

Childhood adversity can activate the human stress response system, which is primarily made up of the hormones/chemicals cortisol and adrenaline. In the developing brain of a child, prolonged activation of the stress response system can cause these chemicals to actually become toxic. Think of that – a child’s brain being bathed in toxic chemicals due to abuse, neglect, or chaotic household dysfunction. It’s called toxic stress. It’s real, not imagined, and it’s physiological, potentially...

Artist Alex Cook often paints his murals in schools and public places, not correctional facilities. But the three-word message of his art projects is perhaps just as valuable for jail inmates as for anyone else. That’s why Sandy Haase of Yorba Linda wanted Cook to create a mural in the Orange County Central Men’s Jail in Santa Ana. Haase has volunteered with the Orange County jails since 1986, helping with religious services and acting as an assistant chaplain. She discovered Cook online.

For more than 75 years, farmworkers have been subject to a different set of laws and workplace protections than the rest of us. While most Californians receive overtime pay when they work more than eight hours in a day or 40 hours in a week, a loophole in the law blocked workers who pick our fruits and vegetables from being paid overtime until they worked 10 hours a day or 60 hours a week. Why? Because corporate farmers convinced politicians their profits were more important than fairness.

(Santa Ana, CA) — The Orange County Board of Supervisors has selected Mercy House Living Centers Inc. to operate a new 200-bed year-round emergency shelter and multi-service center in Anaheim to serve those without permanent housing, as well as operate seasonal cold-weather shelters at National Guard armories in Fullerton and Santa Ana. Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to select Mercy House, which for years has partnered with the County to provide emergency shelter and housing services.

We look forward to seeing you at our Orange County ACEs Task Force meeting on Wednesday, September 21st, from 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm in the Elm Room of the Laguna Woods Village Community Center.

Eileen Moore agreed to volunteer as a mentor to veterans in the Orange County Community Court because of her deep commitment to military men and women and her experience as a combat nurse during the Vietnam War. She’s also an associate justice for the state’s 4th District Court of Appeal, so her knowledge of the law likely came in handy from time to time. “Over the years, I’ve mentored most of the women, but sometimes men as well,” she said. In 2015, vets in the OCCC Veterans Treatment Court...