We are RESILIENT! Once we learn to regulate an overactive stress response, ACES survivors are well experienced to work under stress, make sound decisions and overcome ANY and ALL obstacles. WE LOVE UNCONDITIONALLY!! We must learn to mitigate the harm and leverage our strengths! During the 2018 ACES Conference in San Francisco, I had the incredible opportunity to present my work on Historical Trauma. In our journey to healing Historical Trauma and ACES, we must use a Relational Approach...

Holly Figueroa and Steward Health Choice Arizona Cultural Competency & Tribal Services hosted an amazing conference and Native American celebration on November 16 in Flagstaff!! The program opened with prayers by Uqualla, a dynamic Medicine Man from the Havasupai Tribe. We heard from several keynote speakers on topics designed to facilitate healing among Native American communities. Albert Pooley of the Hopi and Navajo Native American cultures emphasized the importance of loving the...

RYSE Center in Richmond, CA was born of out of young people of color (YPOC) organizing to shift the conditions of violence, distress, and dehumanization in which they suffer, survive, succeed, dream, and die. We center the lived experiences of YPOC, we lead with love and sacred rage to cultivate healing and build movement, and we take risks as an essential part of transformation and justice, of liberation. We do this in a physical space that feels safe, welcoming, and affirming; that is...

This symposium will help bridge gaps between the diverse groups of agencies and nonprofits who have joined together for this important work. Our ultimate goal is to break down barriers that defeat our shared mission of serving Arizona's most vulnerable residents.

I LOVE the Salutogenic approach to healing. It puts the appropriate Western words on how many indigenous groups view the healing process. This model allows us to focus on resilience. Being fully engaged with my African community in the Motherland, I will always bare witness to trauma. The beauty is in how I am transformed by these experiences. " Healing centered engagement is akin to the South African term “Ubuntu” meaning that humanness is found through our interdependence, collective...

This is SO crazy to me in 2018! They really have no definitive answers as to why more Black babies die in the United States as compared to White babies. The part that is particularly mind-blowing to me is that the issue is NOT consistent with babies born in the United States from African immigrant mothers. I am quickly reminded of the Black woman's history in this country due to the Slave Trade atrocities. It is well known and documented that it was not uncommon for enslaved Black women to...

The topic of discussion in my son's Social Studies class had to do with creating the Constitution. In moving from the Articles of Confederation to the United States Constitution, the Northerners and Southerners had to come to an agreement on many topics. The 3/5 Compromise satisfied both parties: It stated that 5 enslaved people would be counted as the equivalent to 3 white people. This is a part of American history. I just wonder how it feels to be the only African-American in the class...

We welcome members who may not be part of the Phoenix area, but wish to follow, and hopefully to contribute to this important topic! I LOVE that this online community can become a space to share our stories and research, develop an understanding and ultimately cultivate compassion to share with the world about Historical Trauma and its relationship to ACEs, in the particular context of the work we hope to spark in the Phoenix area.

Southwest Human Development is helping to train pediatric providers in trauma-informed care in Phoenix, Flagstaff and Tuscon.

Our June meeting focused on best practices in broadening the trauma lens to include structural oppression. Key resources attached.