Tagged With "Substance Use"
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The Camden story: A physician and a priest plant seeds of repair
Simultaneously making changes at the organizational level and building alliances across sectors for larger system change, Father Jeff Putthoff, SJ, and Dr. Jeffrey Brenner realized they had to dig deeper — beyond symptoms to root causes —...
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The Latest from Philadelphia Region (archives)
June 2014 PHILADELPHIA ACES CONNECTION MEET-UP: TALKING ACES WITH JAMES ENCINAS Come to this informal gathering at the Friends Center on Thursday, 6/26/14 from 4 - 6pm, to meet others in the Philadelphia region who are interested in ACEs, trauma,...
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The National Crittenton Foundation Releases Adverse Childhood Experiences Survey Toolkit for Providers
Philadelphia ACE Task Force member Dr. Roy Wade was recognized as significant contributor to The Adverse Childhood Experience (ACES) Survey Toolkit For Providers . NEWS RELEASE ...
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The Philadelphia story: Education and activism converge in "ACEs epicenter"
The women and men gathered for a training on trauma and resilience were recovery counselors and social workers, charter-school teachers and prison administrators. But to Stephen Paesani, the child and adolescent training specialist who was leading the...
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The Public Health Consequences of Hate
Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH- Dean and Professor, Boston University School of Public Health wrote his weekly blog in reaction to the Charlie Hebdo massacre and the health effects of hate. Read the full blog here . "Witnessing the extreme expression of...
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The Question I Never Want to Hear: The Story Behind Storiez
https://safekidsstories.com/the-question-i-never-want-to-hear-430577e096de#.z5sai487j The caterers bustle about in the luxurious conference room, arranging utensils and igniting food warmers. I drop my bags beside the media cart and acquaint myself with the electronic equipment, fiddling with buttons and cords. My presentation slides appear on the massive projection screen. I smile. I have never presented in a room this large. I look around at the vacant tables that will soon be filled with...
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This former Philadelphia cop had an incredibly simple plan to keep kids out of prison. Don’t arrest them. (washingtonpost.com)
Kevin Bethel didn’t become a police officer to lock up children. But it was under his watch as deputy police commissioner that Philadelphia’s school to-prison pipeline was in full effect. Now retired, Bethel is on a mission to keep children out of prison, with a police-led school diversion program that is showing impressive results. “My issue became, what is the trauma of me taking a 10-year-old child, for example, the minimum age for us, putting him in handcuffs, and taking him out of the...
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This social worker is using creative storytelling to help her young clients deal with trauma
Generosity Article Healing from trauma via personal narrative is a hot topic , but Dr. Meagan Corrado noticed a glaring disconnect in the literature. Corrado places the genesis of her own approach, now called Storiez , between finishing her master’s degree in social services at Bryn Mawr College in 2009 and launching her doctorate degree in social work degree at Penn, which she completed this year. “The literature and the training I was going to was saying, ‘The trauma narrative is so...
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Trauma & Resiliency Summit in the Columbia River Gorge
Hello all! The Columbia River Gorge is hosting a Trauma & Resiliency Summit on October 20th & 21st, 2016 in The Dalles, OR. Registration is made free to attendees through MARC Grant funding. If you are in the area please join us! And please note that registration is only available prior to the event as we have a limited amount of space. Claire
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Trauma-Informed Social Justice: Q&A with Dr. Bukuloa Ogunkua
Cissy's Note: I work with people who challenge systems and policies, who reform or start non-profits, and who see hope and promise where others see despair or destruction. While some folks shake their heads or shrug indifferently in the face of injustice and suffering, others organize, mobilize, and channel their time and energy towards making a change. Maybe a physician hosts an annual conference bringing trauma-informed approaches to medical practice. Perhaps a woman shares ACEs 101...
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volunteers needed: mercy & justice day of action
This Thursday, Sept 17. in Philadelphia. In anticipation of Pope Francis' visit next week to US. http://mercyandjustice.org/blog/2015/aug/mercy-justice-day-action
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Wagner Middle School makes a difference in students’ lives [phillytrib.com]
The best leaders lead by example. At the Gen. Louis Wagner Middle School at 1701 Chelten Ave., students are able to come into their own, succeed in the classroom, and prepare for their future because of the leadership roles and innovative thinking of the administration and teachers at their school. “Some of our goals this school year was continuing to improve our attendance and providing trauma informed training for everyone,” said principal Maya Johnstone. “Last year, we improved our...
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'What happened' vs. 'what's wrong': Recognizing how trauma impacts us all | Perspective [philly.com]
There is a toxin in Philadelphia that our children and families are being exposed to near constantly: trauma. Trauma lingers and isn’t just limited to a single incident, like a gunshot. Trauma manifests in hunger, housing instability, or living without utilities. It can include exposure to abuse, neglect, gun violence, police brutality, imprisonment, and domestic violence. And trauma can pass through generations as the result of historical violence, slavery, redlining, and mass...
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What makes us safe: Facing trauma, gun violence, and hatred
An onslaught of violence begs the question: What makes us safe? Should we run and hide, should we become heavily armed, should we only speak with people who look like us? It would be easy to frame recent hate crimes in Monsey , Pittsburgh , and San Diego solely as anti-Semitic. It is that and more. Hateful attacks against Jews indicate a “rot in democracy” and call for systemic reform, according to History Professor Dr. Deborah Lipstadt. I began thinking about safety over 25 years ago when a...
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Why We Need to Root for the Philadelphia Eagles
Next week the Philadelphia Eagles are going to the Super Bowl, and while some of us already have plans to cheer them on from our living rooms, there is another opportunity for us to show them our support. Eagles players and coach Jeffrey Lurie are waging a battle to ensure criminal justice reform and bringing an end to racial inequality. These issues are at the heart of much of our community trauma, and we need to uplift the work of the Eagles to help our communities heal. The New York Times...
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Women's March on Philadelphia this Saturday
On Saturday, January 21, 2017, Philadelphia will unite with Washington, D.C. and over 150 cities around the world for the historic Women’s March. We stand together in the birthplace of our nation, united with our partners, friends and children for the protection of our civil liberties, civil rights, and equality. Regardless of race, gender, age, ethnicity, religious affiliation, political party, immigration status, sexual identity or orientation, we come together in Philadelphia to represent...
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Experiences with Childhood Trauma impact everyone, regardless of fame, fortune, beauty or status
The “lifestyles of the rich and famous” are often times a discussion piece for a variety of reasons – the latest celebrity fashion; who divorced who; what photo is “breaking the internet” this week. However, how...
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FREE SCREENING: "CRACKED UP" film in Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia
If you will be in Philadelphia, October 11, 2019, Don't miss it!
Tickets are going quickly. Reserve your free seat (at the EventBrite link below) now!
The film "Cracked Up" features Darrell Hammond's childhood struggles with trauma and their lifelong impacts. From IMDb, It's the "incredible story of actor, comedian, master impressionist and Saturday Night Live veteran, Darrell Hammond."
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From Awareness to Action, with Voices of Lived Experience: Wisconsin’s Collective Impact Initiative
Perhaps it wasn’t the optimum time to update the network’s vision and values statements: a virtual meeting held in the midst of a global pandemic. But a record number of people—51, compared to the typical 30—tuned in for the May 1 Wisconsin Office of Children’s Mental Health (OCMH) Collective Impact Council, and they gave the new values statement, which highlights inclusivity and collaboration, an enthusiastic thumbs-up. At the virtual table were members from key state departments—Children...
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Gov. Wolf: Office of Advocacy and Reform Announces Plan to Build a Trauma-Informed Pennsylvania [phila.gov]
The Office of Advocacy and Reform (OAR), established by Governor Tom Wolf’s 2019 executive order to protect Pennsylvania’s vulnerable populations, today announced the launch of a volunteer think tank comprised of 25 experts representing a diversity of fields and backgrounds who will develop a plan to make Pennsylvania a trauma-informed state. “The people of Pennsylvania are compassionate, thoughtful and resilient. We take care of each other, and that drive to protect our families and our...
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Healing 10: Catalyzing a Movement in Camden, NJ
James Williams, New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, addresses the Take Back Our Health Conference in November 2018. Photo courtesy of Kate Daugherty. In 2017, two youth-focused Camden, NJ, organizations were angling for the same pot of grant money—funding for a youth-led initiative to learn about community health concerns and develop projects to address them. But instead of scrabbling for the grant as rivals, Hopeworks and UrbanPromise became one another’s cheerleaders. In phone...
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Healing 10 Film Festival
Hi, everyone! The Healing10 wants to make sure to invite everyone from Philadelphia, particularly those who could not get to the ACES Task Force Film Festival, to our event May 9th! Healing in Action Film Screening and Discussion May 9th, 2016, 3:30 PM, Rutgers Camden Register at www.healing10.org The Healing10, a “Community of Communities” planned as a cross sector approach to bring a trauma informed paradigm to Camden, NJ. is pleased to announce the Spring Healing in Action Film Festival!
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How Do ACEs Impact Health Outcomes?
The original ACE Study from Kaiser Permanente began when two Medical Doctors were researching dietary habits and obesity concerns in southern California. As we now know, there was a direct correlation between a person's ACE score and the likelihood of...
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"How Stress Is Making You Lose Your Mind" and a Key way to Combat it!
With recent brain science research, specifically focused on trauma and toxic stress, we now know how much stress can impact the functioning of our brain. While there are multiple levels of stress, some actually being good for us, the ways...
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In Philadelphia and around the country, overdoses at public libraries are a daunting reality [philly.com]
Even in the digital era, libraries are high-traffic zones, hosting more than 1.5 billion visits annually. On any given day in Philadelphia, the Free Library welcomes a stream of visitors, who arrive early in the morning to use the computers, congregate after school for homework help, and join a rich range of programs, from story time, to job fairs, to classes for English language learners at the Culinary Literacy Center. Here and across the country, public libraries offer vitally important...
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It’s As Simple As Following the Manual… Or Is It?
How implementing trauma Informed care is like building an IKEA shelf. I just moved across the country to the Philadelphia area to start working as an Americorp VISTA in Camden, New Jersey. I am working with the Healing 10 collaboration to bring a trauma informed paradigm to Camden, arguably one of the most traumatized cities in the US. At the moment, I am in the midst of both trying to understand my new job in trauma informed care and set up my apartment in a new city. Obviously, trips to...
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Its Jails Bursting, Philadelphia Seeks Bail System Changes [ABCnews.go.com]
More than 7,800 men and women sit in Philadelphia's overcrowded jails, three-quarters of them languishing while they await trial under a bail system that critics call outmoded and that cities — and the White House — are working to change. Hundreds in the nation's fifth-largest city would be free, including nonviolent and first-time offenders, if there were alternatives to bail, a recent tally of the daily jail population showed. People accused of crimes here have historically...
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Job Posting: Social Workers - PT to work with Chester County Coalition
Chester Community Coalition (CCCC), which offers free trauma-informed programming in a group format to Chester children and their caregivers who have lost loved ones to violence, is seeking social workers to help provide the trauma-informed services to families experiencing violent bereavement in Chester. Part-time per diem: about 6 hrs/week for fall and winter/spring sessions of 12 weeks. 703 Central Ave, Chester, PA 19013 info@chestercommunitycoalition.org (610) 368-0714 For more...
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"Kids' Drawings Speak Volumes About Home"
This brief article describes an interesting study that uses the drawings that children typically produce at younger ages to identify the level of stress or chaos - which may pave the way for trauma - in their home. According to the...
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Leaning into Conversations about Race and Trauma
As far back as I can remember the concept of race has played a significant role in my life. My mother has told me that one night while I was reading an American Girl Doll book about “Addy,” an African-American girl who was a slave on...
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Letters: Relieve stress for Philly teachers, too [philly.com]
Kerri McGinley, PhD a former teacher and principal with the SDP, thoughtfully responds to my letter to the editor regarding the end of kindergarten suspensions with her own letter (below). Dr. McGinley urges all to consider teacher stress too. Thank you Dr. McGinley for raising this important point, reminding us that addressing employee stress and secondary traumatic stress is an imperative if we are to develop the trauma informed education and other systems we strive for. Ease teachers'...
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Link between ACEs and Animal Cruelty
Philadelphia ACE Task Force Member Risa Mandell, LCSW, has reminded us that it is important to understand that witnessing animal cruelty may be an adverse childhood event that has lasting impact and may also be indicative of other ACEs. She has...
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MARC Booklet 2016: Features Philadelphia
Please find attached the 2016 booklet for the Mobilizing Action for Resilient Communities (MARC) project, including Philadelphia and the other 13 communities that have been selected to participate in this 2 year learning collaborative. This is a great summary of the work happening in all 14 communities across the country. I look forward to working with you all as we share and build upon the great work happening in Philadelphia!
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Mayoral Primary One Week From Today
What do the democratic candidates for mayor in Philadelphia think about Trauma-Informed Care, Mental Health/Substance Use Reform, Transformation of the Child Welfare System? Watch the footage from the 2015 Health and Human Services...
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Meet Your Community Managers for Philadelphia ACEs Connection
What do the Philadelphia ACEs Connection Community Managers do? Keep the group information up to date and post articles of interest. We welcome you to the community – ask us if you have any questions and we will point you in a helpful...
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Mental Health Happy Hour
This is a good story about mental health. Let’s say a bunch of social workers, nurses, trauma specialists, philanthropists, non-profit professionals, writers, EMTs, and data crunchers walk into a bar. Knock knock, no joke, this actually happened in December 2019. Mental health professionals begin to schmooze over spinach mushroom rolls, cheese and hummus platters, and ginger brew. Sounds good right. There’s so many reasons to luv Philly. The event was sponsored by the Scattergood Foundation...
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Mental health services for immigrants and refugees in Philly must be reworked [Generocity.org]
If the past several months of discussion and action around supporting immigrants and refugees in Philly has shown us anything, it’s that the city wants to help in as many ways as possible. Whether that’s by providing collective legal counsel or helping newly arrived immigrant professionals transition to familiar careers , socially minded groups and individuals are certainly doing their part to help these populations. Yet it can’t be understated that many immigrants and refugees, especially...
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Mobilizing Action for Resilient Communities: A Highlight of 2015
Members of the ACEs Connection online community are well aware that experiencing significant adversity during childhood can lead to a myriad of negative health, mental health, social, and behavioral outcomes throughout the life course. The growing body of research around adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) can, at times, leave us feeling overwhelmed. As advocates for child health and wellbeing, we may ask ourselves, “how can we treat individuals who have multiple ACEs?”,...
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National Networks Resource Guide
National Network of Hospital Violence Intervention Programs (NNHVIP) www.nnhvip.org Violence prevention and intervention programs are a powerful way to stop the revolving door of violent injury in our hospitals. Engaging patients in the hospital,...
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On the Path to Health Equity: When Foundations and Corporations Support Trauma-Informed, Cross-Sector Networks
Ann Marie Healy used to travel around Pennsylvania talking to community members about “smart” land use planning. Through her work with 10,000 Friends of Pennsylvania, a non-profit devoted to revitalizing cities and towns, “we would meet with people to share what we had learned about how to approach planning in a more strategic manner.” In one small town, residents questioned the relevance of the pitch. “Isn’t what we’ve learned locally just as important as what experts have found works...
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Ordinary Magic-Resiliency Research - The Power of Connection
Resilience and Positive Psychology The message from three decades of research on resilience underscores central themes of the positive psychology movement (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000; Snyder & Lopez, in press). Psychology has neglected important phenomena in human adaptation and development during periods of focus on risk, problems, pathology, and treatment. Attention to human capabilities and adaptive systems that promote healthy development and functioning have the potential...
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Organizations develop a Funders Guide to Trauma-Informed Practice
Responding to the overwhelming demand of funders in the Delaware Valley to better understand the impacts of trauma on our region and how they can apply trauma informed practices to their own work, Philanthropy Network Greater Philadelphia, the Thomas Scattergood Behavioral Health Foundation, and United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey partnered to produce this hands-on resource that will help funders : Understand the science behind trauma, adverse childhood experiences,...
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OUT OF THE SHADOWS AND #RECOVEROUTLOUD
Please take the time to read this blog by Brooke M. Feldman, native Philadelphian. Brooke has time and time again raised her voice to bring equality to Philadelphia! She has worked for the Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility...
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PA Legislative Victory Is an Opportunity to Celebrate Two Groups that Help and Protect Children
Philadelphia Children's Alliance and Darkness to Light are two organizations that provide support/prevention for sexually abused children. PA's recent legislative victory is a chance to celebrate their hard work.
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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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"A New Resource for Developing Trauma-Informed Systems"
A recent posting by Bridget Murphy at ReclaimingFutures.org links us to the National Center for Mental Health and and Juvenile Justice's new downloadable resource: " Strengthening our Future - Key Elements to Developing a Trauma-Informed Juvenile Justice Diversion Program for Youth with Behavioral Health Conditions" and also to National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) 's information on 13 types trauma defined. Bridget Murphy's post unites these two web resources through the lens of...
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A Second Chance to Dive into Trauma Informed Consequences
After the success of the first session of the training, we are holding another one! Please join us as we explore Trauma Informed consequences. Punishment or Consequence: A Trauma Informed Approach is an upper-level training focused on the implementation of Trauma Informed practices. This training is aimed at teachers and nonprofit professionals who already have a basic understanding of trauma and its impact. By the end of Punishment or Consequence, you will be able to recognize the...
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ACEs Connection launches Cooperative of Communities
The ACEs Connection Cooperative of Communities launches today. We want to continue to contribute to the ACEs movement for as long as it takes to create a worldwide healing-centered culture based on ACEs science. We want that to take hold in this world in the same way electricity has — we only notice it if it isn’t there.
First, a clarification: Nothing on ACEsConnection.com changes! Membership remains free! Everything our current 300+ communities use stays free, and remains free for new ones.
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Academic Pediatrics publishes case study on Philadelphia ACE Task Force
On Tuesday, September 5th, 2017, Academic Pediatrics released a special issue highlighting a comprehensive research and policy agenda for addressing Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and promoting well-being. The issue features an article, Developing a Community-Wide Initiative to Address Childhood Adversity and Toxic Stress: A Case Study of The Philadelphia ACE Task Force." Authored by the Task Force's three co-chairs, Lee Pachter (lead), Sandra Bloom, and Joel Fein, along with staff...