Posts Directory: Trending Over Last Week

PACEs Connection is excited to kick off our 2023 Creating Resilient Communities (CRC) Annual Accelerator Program.

This past May, for Mental Health Awareness Month, CHOC challenged the community to “check in” on each other with a five-week “Check-In Challenge,” which was created by its volunteer mental health advocacy committee. Each Monday, CHOC challenged its social media and blog followers, as well as providers and staff, to check in with a different community group, from caregivers to “strong friends.” The need to “check in” was inspired by the experience of living through the pandemic for well over...

Western Youth Services CEO Dr. Lorry Leigh Belhumeur in collaboration with the Orange County Community Foundation’s Impact Philanthropy Group are hosting a screening of the highly acclaimed documentary "Resilience - The Biology of Stress and the Science of Hope" and a discussion after the screening all on Zoom.

Heartache is a universal experience, yet we often feel alone. Things happen; choices are made, and before we know it, we wake up longing for change. No one grows up dreaming that they will not “fit in” to the “traditional” path, but when they find themselves on the detour route, it feels like a moving treadmill, going nowhere fast down an isolated road. “Traditional” opportunities may not have worked out, but there are alternative routes to success, now more than ever! Mission Academy is a...

Orange County officials are moving forward with plans to create a center for mental health and drug treatment services next to the Santa Ana River, with county supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approving the nearly $8 million purchase of a large office building to house it. The center, if it comes to fruition, is seen by advocates and officials as a major step toward addressing a severe shortage of mental health service options in Orange County that health experts have said contributes to...

Origins offers a number of training and consulting services. We developed The Basics as a half-day session to provide the foundation to support trauma-informed and resilience practices across sectors and industries. The session includes an overview of the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study, the neurobiology of toxic stress, the impact of social and historical trauma, and the science of resilience. We have tested The Basics with two cross-sector audiences, in Los Angeles and Phoenix.

In a light-blue room called The Safe Place, Malinda Wheeler gazed at a painting she had commissioned by a sexual-assault victim. It shows a young woman sitting on a ledge and includes a simple message: “Your feelings matter. Your voice matters. You matter. Your story matters always.” For nearly two decades, Wheeler, through her company Forensic Nurse Specialists, has run The Safe Place at Anaheim Regional Medical Center, Orange County’s only sexual-assault examination unit, the main place in...

Kenneth Morris Jr. was busy running a successful marketing and entertainment company when he happened to see a magazine article about modern-day slavery that led him to make a major life change. Morris is not only the great-great-great-grandson of abolitionist leader Frederick Douglass but also the great-great grandson of early civil rights pioneer Booker T. Washington . Both men were born into slavery. It was Morris’ maternal grandmother, Nettie Hancock Washington , the granddaughter of...

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.

The latest adverse childhood experiences survey from the California Department of Public Health shows that 42% of the population has an ACE score of 3 or higher; 16% have an ACE score of 4 or higher. Those with an ACE score of 4 or higher are: 3x more likely to be current smokers 4x more likely to have a depressive disorder 2x more likely to have asthma 2x more likely to be obese 4x more likely to have COPD 3x more likely to have a stroke Here are a few other highlights from the six-page...

July is a time to celebrate all summer has to offer by building bridges and innovating with community to get to the heart of trauma-informed awareness and resilience building. This month, we’ve added new July dates to the summer 2023 *CRC* curriculum—but that’s only half of the good news. Last year, the CRC began as a pilot program. Now that it's evolved, what better time to bring accelerator participants together in a PACEs Connection CRC community than the summer? We are proud to announce...

PACEs Connection is excited to kick off our 2023 Creating Resilient Communities (CRC) Annual Accelerator Program.

Excited to share that I’m having a book launch party. Come one come all! The book is, especially for anyone who has children and youth in their care, including parents, teachers, leaders of youth. They depend on us, and we have a moral obligation to strengthen our resilience muscles, so we can help them do the same. Here's what Jane Stevens says about my book, Mastering Resilience:Transforming Into Your Purpose: "Lorry Leigh Belhumeur has written a very personal, instructive and engaging...

Back in 2019, we began planning to write a book, From Trauma to Resiliency, that would describe the experiences of survivors who have experienced multiple traumas and who have benefitted from relationship-based, collaborative family-school-community-based services. We asked colleagues doing amazing work in San Diego County to contribute chapters, and they shared stories of oppressed, traumatized groups of survivors that include, people who have faced abuse, war, and poverty,...

In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, First 5 Orange County, the Orange County Health Care Agency and the Be Well Initiative are delighted to introduce a Stigma Free campaign and toolkit featuring very young children and parents. As we know, thousands of young children face mental health conditions and challenges that can become a barrier to reaching their full potential if not addressed early. We also know that parent’s mental health and well-being have strong effects on a child’s...

With funding from the Mental Health Student Services Act , and in partnership with the Orange County Health Care Agency and local school districts, OCDE recently hired seven regional mental health coordinators, creating a countywide network to strengthen mental health procedures and protocols. Serving a wide-range of mental health needs, the coordinators are each assigned to a region in Orange County and work closely with local school districts to increase access to local mental health...

It’s been well-documented that the COVID-19 era has taken its toll on the mental health of children and adults. Yet data also shows student anxiety and depression were on the rise even before the pandemic. According to the 2019-20 California Healthy Kids Survey, one quarter of seventh-graders and 35 percent of 11th-graders reported feeling chronically sad or experienced feelings of hopelessness within the previous 12 months. Alarmingly, more than 10 percent had suicidal thoughts during the...

Over the past few months, the OCDE Newsroom has cast a light on ACE’s – or Adverse Childhood Experiences . Through the process of exploring ACEs, we’ve discovered that while childhood trauma can have an influence on who we are and how we engage with the world around us, it is resiliency that truly defines who a person becomes. Thankfully, despite tragic situations, some people take their painful experiences and use their stories for the greater good of their communities — and that is where...

CalOptima has kindly shared the number of ACEs screenings submitted for payment between 1/1/20 – 12/31/20. Number of providers who submitted ACEs screening claims - 236 Number of members screened - 33,217

Please join us for the ongoing community discussion of A Better Normal, our ongoing series in which we envision the future as trauma-informed. LGBTQ+ Identity and Race in the US: An Intersectional Discussion On Historical and Generational Trauma With Panelists Rev. Dr. D. Mark Wilson and Alexander Cho, Ph.D., Moderated by ACEs Connection staff members Jenna Quinn and Alison Cebulla Friday, June 19th, 2020 Noon to 1pm, PT (3pm to 4pm ET) >>Click here to register<< Please join us...

with Author, Carolyn Rich Curtis, Ph.D. 8:30 AM–5:00 PM $399 for 2-day Intensive Training CEUs are available for an additional charge. Each trainee must have a copy of Mind Matters ($299 plus tax (CA and SD only) plus S/H) As a result of this training , you will learn to teach: Self-soothing skills to manage emotions Ways to analyze stressful thoughts How to deal with intrusive memories Ways to develop a protective lifestyle And you, as an instructor, will learn . . . How to provide a safe...

Achieving Impact through Evaluation and Data for Family Strengthening Programs Know Your Audience: Program Participants, Potential Clients and Community Members Enroll Here! Date: Friday May 17, 2019 Time: Check in at 9:30am, begin at 10am, conclude at 12:30pm Enroll to join in person or remotely through one of the options below: Otis Booth Campus, Los Angeles Remote sites in Atascadero, Ventura, Lancaster, San Bernardino, Moreno Valley and San Diego LIVE online from your computer...

At the Echo conference in Los Angeles on March 18 & 19, 2019 we will be showcasing many new and traditional ways to use the body to reverse the impact of trauma. One of these ways is Havening. During her workshop, Dr. Kate Truitt will explain how stressful events impact brain functioning and how the Havening Techniques harness the power of neuroplasticity to create sustainable healing. Her workshop will cover: Fundamentals of the Havening Techniques Key areas for fast and effective...

Tired Of Struggling With Finding or Maintaining Intimate Relationships? Check out my interview with Author, Kathy Brous, Don’t Try This Alone: The Silent Epidemic of Attachment Disorder I had such an amazing chat with Kathy about her hero’s journey after discovering some intense pain from early childhood to finding true freedom and wholeness. After a cascade of five live crises within two years, Kathy hit a painful emotional bottom and discovered she was suffering from an attachment...

For generations travelers have understood the importance of always knowing the location of the North Star. As the only fixed point in the night sky, the North Star is a constant companion and a sure reference for setting one’s course on a journey. For TCE's Building Healthy Communities Initiative, we too are setting our North Star that will guide our BHC work over the next half of the initiative. Our North Star Goals and Indicators illustrate what success looks like in 2020. Essentially, the...

Protection, shelter, fear, and displacement: I found them all in Santa Ana, California, a self-proclaimed sanctuary city. This was my first home in the U.S. after my mom brought me here as a child. I remember a vibrant Fourth Street, a hub for all Mexican-related things, from homemade tortillas to traditional music. Though much has changed in the 18 years since I lived there, Santa Ana remains the epicenter for social justice activism in Orange County, one of the most conservative places in...

A scan done in March by the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) through StateNet of bills introduced in 2017 that specifically include adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in the text produced a surprising volume of bills (close of 40) in a large number of states (18). A scan done a year ago produced less than a handful. NCSL is a bipartisan organization that serves both state legislators and their staffs. The shear volume of bills in so many states represents a promising...

The Santa Ana City Council, which unanimously approved the sanctuary ordinance on first reading Dec. 20, on Tuesday voted 6-0 to adopt it, with Councilman Vincent Sarmiento absent.\ The ordinance requires the city to implement policies that include prohibiting the use of city resources for immigration enforcement, protecting sensitive information, preventing biased-based policing and directing law enforcement officials to exercise discretion to cite and release individuals instead of...

This post has links to a quick welcome tour through ACEsConnection, a link to a How-To Directory where you can find easy steps to post a blog and many other cools things, a link to FAQs about ACEs Science 101, and an overview of the ACEs Connection Network, which includes ACEsConnection.com and our sister news site for the general public, ACEsTooHigh.com.

Nearly 19,000 homeless, elderly and disabled Orange County residents are one step closer to being able to use their food stamp benefits to purchase hot meals at local restaurants. County supervisors on Tuesday voted unanimously to implement a state program allowing those populations to swipe their CalFresh EBT cards to buy meals at participating eateries - a change that would help increase food access to thousands of people who have nowhere to store groceries or are unable to cook for...

Manuel Dircio, 20, a business administration student at Fullerton College boasts a 4.0 GPA. He is also a recovering alcoholic with a history of arrest and incarceration in juvenile detention — not quite what you’d expect from a seemingly model college student with a stellar grade point. Dircio credits the Youthful Offender Wraparound program (YOW), which he says “helped [him] grow successfully.” It’s what’s known as a full-service partnership (FSP) in Orange County, California, that uses a...

Orange County ACEs Task Force (OCATF) has launched two movie screenings with the graciousness of the Center for Spiritual Living located at 1201 Puerto Del Sol, San Clemente, CA 92673, hosting Paper Tigers on Friday, October 14, 2016. Resilience will be screened on Friday, November 18th, 2016. Five leaders attended our sixth OCATF meeting. Discussing the Paper Tigers documentary screening; we reflected on what went well and what could be improved upon. To create a better viewing experience,...

Orange County, with its beaches and nice weather, is much more than a spot for tourists - it has become a national magnet for homeless teens. Beaches are an attractive place for teens to “crash” – the coastline provides a place to hang out and sleep, working bathrooms, good weather and the beauty of the ocean. The problem of homeless teens has become so big that, according to the Orange County Department of Education, approximately 30,000 local children were homeless or living in substandard...

(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.

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...

From the organizers of the 2016 ACEs Conference , San Francisco, CA, October 19th -21st, 2016. Please consider submitting your project today! We know building connections and learning across fields is the best way to advance practices that support children. That’s why we’re very excited to invite you to submit your work to the 2016 Conference on Adverse Childhood Experiences Project Showcase . We’re looking to highlight research, programs, tools or other initiatives that: Highlight the role...

Orange County’s “Healing Childhood Trauma! 3rd Meeting: July 20, 2016 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm Location: Laguna Woods Village Elm Room - Community Center 24351 El Toro Road Laguna Woods, CA 92630 Attendees : (alphabetical) Marguerite Bonnett, Mary Brogdon, Dana Brown, Todd Garrison , Connie Hornyak , Jennifer Swanson Martene, Wayne Munchel, Marlene Sanders, Betsy Starkweather, Amanda Varrone. Welcome & Introductions Thanking Betsy Starkweather for graciously reserving our meeting space, Dana...

Our 3 rd “Healing Orange County from Childhood Trauma” meeting was held on Wednesday July 20 th , at Laguna Woods Village Community Center - Elm Room. Thank you Betsy S., for reserving our cool and comfortable meeting space. We had a total of 10 attendees; see attached Agenda and Meeting Notes . We were all warmly welcomed by Dana Brown, and we all had the opportunity to give a brief introduction of ourselves and share what we are grateful for. We were most certainly all grateful to listen...

Maybe you’ve seen Todd Olin around town, but not know his name. He’s the guy in the orange safety vest, a smile on his face, a shopping cart and a broom at his side, picking up trash along streets around Garden Grove, Stanton and a few other cities. A neon green piece of poster board gives part of his story: “Volunteer worker,” it reads. “Please make a donation to my clean-up effort. I’m homeless + hungry.” “(He) was in a motorcycle accident and while in recovery, he lost everything,”...

The culmination of thousands of hours from our Trauma-Resilient Educational Communities (TREC) team in developing our TREC Model, we launched TRECeducation.com website on Thursday, January 25, 2024. Craig Beswick, Vice-President, School Development Division, Lifelong Learning Administration Corporation (LLAC) opened up our exciting launch, which was hosted by the beautiful UCSD Park & Market in downtown San Diego. Craig warmly welcomed over 200 attendees to our Awards Ceremony and TREC...

In an effort to keep our free programs accessible to California during a critical time in the PACEs movement, we'd like to learn more about the role PACEs Connection programs have played in your California PACEs initiatives and the impact of your programs.

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.

Kindle Just Announced a .99 limited-time special on my new book "It's Not About Food, Drugs, or Alcohol: It's About Healing Complex PTSD"! I'm thrilled to announce my new book has already received 18, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Five Star reviews between the paperback and Kindle versions on Amazon within 48 hours! If you're curious about how the adversity you experienced in childhood may be why you continually struggle with relationships, food, weight, or substances and want to find a permanent solution by...

Hi Everyone! The good news is after seven years, with a five year break (AKA stall-out), I have finally finished my new book and have titled it: It's Not About Food, Drugs, or Alcohol: It's About Healing Complex PTSD Although my book won't be available to the general public until its launch date on Feb 21 st , 2023, I am offering FREE advance reader copies to a limited amount of people this week. Below is a summary of what my book's about and how to qualify to get a free copy this week.

Ask Governor Newsome to sign AB 2660 now

COST: $150 - General Registration F REE - Cooperative of Communities Network Members using code P CCOOP22 Register here and use code PCCOOP22 J oin the RYSE Center and PACEs Connection on July 12. 2022 from 10 am-1 pm PT / 12 pm-3 pm CT / 1 pm-4 pm ET to examine how conventional social science research often produces and replicates unjust and harmful narratives about Black, Indigenous, Youth of Color (BIPOC) capacities, priorities, dreams, and needs. At the same time, research upholds and...

Introducing the first in a series of #FacesOfACEs stories from across California highlighting individuals and communities becoming ACEs Aware to prevent, screen for, treat, and heal trauma-induced toxic stress. See why Dr. Eric Ball from @CHOC Children's screens for Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), and how he uses resiliency tools to best serve his patients and strengthen his team and practice. Visit www.ACEsAware.org to learn more. Watch Here