Sonoma County ACEs Connection Meeting Notes November 30, 2016

(For a graphically engaging version of these notes, please see the attachment.)

Dear Sonoma County ACEs Connection Friends,

Thank you to all that participated in today’s ACES meeting.   

Dory Escobar invited the group to take a mindful moment by listening to a “reflection” or short tale with a powerful message about intentions.

Grace Harris welcomed the group, and gave a brief overview of the folks that assemble each month.  Sonoma County ACEs Connection is a growing community coalition, with many providers and concerned community members dropping in to participate as they can.  Others attend more regularly, and contributed to developing the mission and draft documents describing who we are.  However, it’s been difficult to garner group consensus to affirm our structure. 

Dory Escobar volunteered to help create simple guiding documents that would affirm the identity of the group.  She shared her expertise and experience with coalition development, and then walked the group through affirming the following:

Foundational Statements and Operational Guidelines

Approved on 11/30/16

Mission

We bring the community together to prevent, heal, and treat ACEs while promoting resiliency.

Vision

Our community is united, safe, and resilient.

Guiding Principles/Values (NOTE: gleaned from text contained in draft operating agreements)

• Sonoma County ACES Connection
  • is a grassroots community coalition;
  • is a learning community, welcoming everyone who is interested in learning more about ACEs for themselves or their organizations;
  • practices cultural humility and inclusivity, working at both the community and individual levels;
  • strives to achieve consensus decision-making; and
  • ensures leadership that demonstrates integrity, inclusiveness and sensitivity to all people, clear communication, transparency, and positive, strengths-based leadership.

Overarching Goals

Community Capacity Building (Short Term, included in Mobilizing Action for Resilient Communities MARC grant)

1. Develop a community coalition complete with identified structures or working guidelines
2. Develop an ACEs and Resiliency Speaker’s Bureau with trained presenters (Master Trainers and Presenters in the ACEs & Resiliency Fellowship program)
3. Create linkages between the work of Sonoma County ACEs Connection and other Sonoma County Initiatives such as: Maternal Child Adolescent Health Action Plan, Health Action, First 5, and the Upstream Investment Policy Initiative.

Community Outcomes (Longer Term, strategic plan pending post- Mobilizing Action for Resilient Communities MARC grant)

1. There is greater awareness of ACES throughout Sonoma County
2. The community and the organizations that serve its families become educated about Adverse Childhood Experiences and how to become trauma informed providers
3. Support organizations to build resilience in all populations they serve.

Due to time constraints, the group decided not to create a committee structure together but to instead create an ad-hoc workgroup to develop a proposed committee list.  Alison Lobb, Allen Nishikawa, and Dory Escobar volunteered to identify 1-3 committees in service to the goals listed above. 

Kate Jenkins shared her Treasurer’s report.  The Sonoma County ACEs Connection account currently has $8203.82 in the account, including recent $1635.00 in Fellowship fees deposited on 11/8. 

Please post news of your activities on the ACEs Connection webpage.          

https://www.pacesconnection.com/...unty-aces-connection

Here are some events and articles you won’t want to miss:

·         Gabby Falzone translates the study of trauma [OaklandNorth.net]

·         How Mindfulness and Storytelling Help Kids Heal and Learn

·         Speak Up Pocket Guide- Responding to Bias Remarks