Registration for the 4th Annual Santa Barbara County Bridges to Resilience Conference is now live and can be accessed via our beautiful new website! This conference is for anyone who works with children, youth, and families; has an interest in the science of Adverse Childhood Experiences; and has the goal of building a resilient and resourceful Santa Barbara County. Check out the details at https://www.bridgestoresilience.com/ Hope to see you there!

The full moon was setting and the sun was rising as organizers from KIDS Network, Children & Family Resource Services, Casa Pacifica, and the Department of Behavioral Wellness began setting up the 2019 BRIDGES TO RESILIENCE Conference on October 14 th at the beautiful Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort. The stately halls and ballrooms were a flurry of activity as staff prepared to receive over 350 community members who work with children, youth and families in Santa Barbara County.

Bridges to Resilience is a conference for anyone who works with children, youth and families, has an interest in the science of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), and has the goal of building a resilient and resourceful Santa Barbara County. This conference provides an opportunity to build capacity for higher levels of collaboration by giving educators, early care providers, social workers, probation officers, law enforcement, health and mental health professionals, resource families,...

A wonderful summary of a wonderful day! Thanks for this post, Barb!

Thank you for this recap, Barbara, for those of us who couldn't be there!

Congratulations, Barb! What a great conference this was! It's a testimony to you and your community that you have such amazing engagement in integrating ACEs science into so many parts of the Santa Barbara County community. Y'all are well on the way to becoming a healing-centered community!

As Co-Chair with Barb Finch for the conference, I want to encourage our community to join us for this wonderful conference. It is an opportunity to learn and to network!

The Bridges to Resilience conference is one of the most recognized conferences in California’s coastal tri-counties. Bridges to Resilience seeks to increase understanding of the widespread impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), and provide hopeful strategies to build resilience within our communities and across systems of care throughout the Central Coast.

The 2023 Bridges to Resilience conference inspired us all to think more deeply about HOPE and how we might increase access to positive experiences for children and youth who have been exposed to high doses of adversity. In this post-pandemic world we recognize that many of our youth are suffering and in need of support. The November Lunch & Learn hosted by the KIDS Network of Santa Barbara County explored the four building blocks of HOPE from a youth perspective and elevated youth voices...