Tagged With "Choosing Love in Our Brave New World"
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NEW Essentials for Childhood Kidsdata.org ACEs Topic
Hello, Sonoma County! Please see this exciting news shared by Gail Kennedy, MPH of ACEs Connection. This information was shared to the California ACEs Action group (original post is below). You can see how Sonoma County compares with the rest of the state. Please share with others! - Jen Hossler "On behalf of California Essentials for Childhood, I am very excited to announce the release of a new Child Adversity and Resilience data topic on Kidsdata.org! This has been a collaborative effort...
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New Grant Opportunity & Program for Bay Area Health Centers: Resilient Beginnings Collaborative
In partnership with Genentech Charitable Giving, the Center for Care Innovations is excited to launch the Resilient Beginnings Collaborative . We’ll select 5-7 Bay Area organizations to participate in this 24-month learning and action community dedicated to addressing childhood adversity in pediatric safety net care settings. We’ll provide access to technical expertise, in-person convenings, site visits to exemplars, and coaching, as well as $80,000 grants to each participating team. If you...
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New head at Petaluma nonprofit Mentor Me [Argus Courier]
Robert Florez doesn’t mind talking about his troubled childhood, or his run-ins with the law as a young man that struggled to be heard. When he was a freshman at a high school in Grass Valley, living in Nevada City after years of causing a ruckus in his hometown of Watsonville, he stole a car with some friends and lit a small fire on school grounds. The local school board was ready to expel them, but the superintendent stuck his neck out and went against the board, granting him one final...
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New Interactive Maps and Charts on ACEs in California
This page offers county and statewide data, resources and words of wisdom from leaders who are putting the research to work and sharing insights about best practices: https://hdplus.livestories.com/s/adverse-childhood-experiences-aces/57ed3feb84b8870017615ac0/ Called an Interactive Digital Primer, this page also reveals: A Social Movement, Driven By Communities And Rooted In Medicine. A fast-growing network of community based organizations, medical and social service professionals, and...
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New organization calls all pediatricians to end crisis that's "hiding in plain sight"
When the question of screening patients for adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) was first raised a couple of years ago, Santa Barbara pediatrician Andria Ruth had mixed feelings about it.
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New Petaluma nonprofit building English-Spanish bridges [Petaluma 360]
At a Spanish language poetry reading that Emilie Thomas organized in Petaluma recently, a woman proudly read a work by Pablo Neruda, who is from her native Chile. Afterward, the woman told Thomas that she has lived in Petaluma for 25 years, and no one has ever shown interest in her homeland. “She said, ‘This is what I have been craving,’” Thomas said. “Our Latino friends, they light up when you value them for who they are.” The exchange encapsulated the purpose of Cafe Puente, a new...
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New Psychotherapy Practice in Sebastopol!
Hello Sonoma ACES Connection! I'm reaching out about the private psychotherapy practice that I’ve just opened in Sebastopol. My training has focused on trauma informed, attachment based modalities of therapy. Currently, I am a Therapist in Training in the Neuro Affective Relational Model certification program. NARM is a modality design to support healing from developmental trauma, or those people who have mid-to-high ACES scores. In my career I have worked as a Lead Clinician for families...
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New Publication in Health Promotion Practice Journal Provides a Framework for Action on ACEs
Advocates, leaders, and professionals in the child health and well-being space have identified a need for concrete steps for building resilience to prevent ACEs. Current frameworks focused on ACEs fall short of including a multilevel approach, considering the role of health equity in well-being, and providing concrete, tangible steps for implementation across the life span. The empower action model addresses childhood adversity as a root cause of disease by building resilience across...
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New Sesame Street Tools Help Build Resiliency [rwjf.org]
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Sesame Workshop share a common vision of giving all children—especially the most vulnerable among us—a strong and healthy start in life. We know that childhood experiences lay the foundation for children to grow into productive and successful adults, and promoting healthy behaviors and supporting families from the very beginning can help kids thrive. But it’s equally important to address challenges that can undermine their healthy development. That’s...
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New York Life and Change in Mind Institute at the Alliance for Strong Families and Communites Partner on Grant Program to Support Communities Impacted by Disaster
WASHINGTON, D.C., June 1, 2018 – New York Life Insurance Company and the Alliance for Strong Families and Communities today announced the launch of a new grant program to support children, adults, families, and communities experiencing trauma resulting from natural disaster or community-wide tragedy. The partnership will serve as the first-ever disaster-focused grant for the New York Life Foundation, the charitable arm of the company. The program, Building Resilience in the Face of Disaster,...
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No Working Guidelines: What Next?
At our October meeting, we decided to not adopt our draft bylaws. (Working Guidelines) As someone who spent a lot of time and thought crafting a compromise consensus version for approval, I feel entitled to an opinion on the matter. I'm really glad we didn't adopt them. In drafting guidelines for Sonoma County ACEs Connection, one should begin by going back to first principles. Who are we? What are our values? What do we want to be? In reviewing the guidelines, I saw a lot of rules that did...
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Nominations are OPEN for the Sonoma County ACEs Connection Coalition Steering Committee
Dear ACEs Connection Members, We would like to invite you to formally participate in the election process for the ACEs Connection Coalition Steering Committee. The following positions are available for 2-year terms: Co-Chair (2 positions) Secretary Treasurer We are accepting nominations through August 20th . You can elect yourself or if you would like to nominate a member, please let us know as soon as possible, so we can reach out to them to see if they are interested in running. Please use...
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Notes and materials from 11/19 meeting
Here is another set of great notes drafted by Karen Clemmer. Dear Sonoma County ACES Connection members! For all who made came to the meeting – thank you for trudging through the rain to participate in our Nov 19 th meeting! ...
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Notes and materials from March 25, 2015
Dear Sonoma County ACES Connection enthusiasts: Thank you to all who participated in today’s ACES meeting. Sometimes the transition between work and a working meeting can be a bit rough. Thankfully, today, Allen provided a...
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Notes and materials from our first meeting of 2015
We had a good meeting last Wednesday. Allen Nishikawa greeted us with a mindfulness practice that helped us relax and be present. ACEs Connection staff Alicia and Jesus joined us and it was a pleasure to meet them in person! Karen Clemmer once...
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Notes from 2/25/2015 meeting
We had a good turnout at our last meeting. Lisa Manthe, the clinical director of New Directions School (a program of Child Parent Institute) presented on trauma-informed education and the work of New Directions. New Directions is a non-public...
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Notes from 2-26-2020 SCAC meeting
All were welcomed and each person introduced themselves, highlighting what inspires them to integrate ACEs science into their personal and or professional lives. New members were welcomed! Elizabeth Smith, Founder/ CEO of Project Whole Child introduced herself, and shared that in addition to this role she is a west county school board member , a board member of PeaceTown , and president of the Sebastopol Soroptimist Club ! Whew! When the group’s conversation moved towards identifying a space...
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Notes from 4/22/2015 meeting
Seventeen Sonoma County ACEs Connection members attended our monthly, in-person meeting on April 22. Once again, Allen Nishikawa greeted us with a warm, steamy hand towel so that we could truly “arrive” and be mindful. We agreed that, for...
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Notes from May 27, 2015 meeting
May 27, 2015 Never before in the history of medicine have we had better insight into the factors that determine the health of an individual from infancy to adulthood, which is part of the life course perspective—a way of looking at life not as...
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Notes from our 1-23-19 meeting - Check these out!
ACEs Enthusiasts Community Meeting NOTES! Date: January 23, 2019 About this community: We bring the community together to prevent, heal, and treat ACEs while promoting resiliency. Embedded GREEN text= hyper link just click for more information New Year - New Focus! With start of new year, Sonoma County ACEs Connection will re-start fresh with a community focus, while seeking opportunities to leverage and coordinate with others. Welcome & Gather - thanks to Nancy for bringing (lots of!)...
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Notes from our 3.27.19 meeting
ACEs Enthusiasts Community Meeting Notes March 27, 2019 from 3:30 to 5:00 Location: Child Parent Institute About this community: We bring the community together to prevent, heal, and treat ACEs while promoting resiliency. New Year - New Focus! Sonoma County ACEs Connection is starting fresh in 2019 with an emphasis on community, while seeking opportunities to leverage and coordinate with others. Welcome & Gather Mindful moment - volunteer to lead? Welcomed several new folks, representing...
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Notes from our 9/23/15 meeting
Twenty of us attended the meeting. We were warmly greeted by Allen Nishikawa with a warms towel ceremony that allowed us to truly arrive and be present. The topics we discussed were the Paper Tigers viewings, Dr. Anda’s presentation at Hanna...
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Notes from the 10/1/2014 meeting
We have a new name - Sonoma County ACES Connection ! If you were unable to attend today’s meeting, you missed a lot ! Please mark your calendar for our next meeting Wed Oct 29 th , from 12:30 to 2:00 in the DHS Public Health...
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Nothing About Them Would Stand Out in a Crowd
photo credit: chuttersnap/unsplash.com By Alice M. Kenny (pseudonym) (The article below is an excerpt from my new book, Crazy Was All I Ever Knew: The Impact of Maternal Mental Illness on Kids . I have used a pseudonym to protect the privacy of family members.) The emotions adult children of parents with mental illness experience are a mixed bag. Sometimes a jumble. Guilt, loss, grief, and resentment are among the emotions that persist or bubble to the surface in adulthood. Some feel...
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Oakland, CA, trying out model used in Baltimore to reduce trauma, increase resilience
Oakland BSC activity: Photo/ Courtesy of Trauma Transformed/East Bay Agency for Children When a group of community organizations in Baltimore came together in 2015, they already knew trauma figured large in many lives. There was violence in the community, in schools, and in community members’ homes. Police brutality occurred. Many suffered the loss of loved ones to incarceration or death. There were house fires and homelessness. Much of the dysfunction was systemic and rooted in racism,...
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Oakmont residents greet homeless neighbors at Los Guilicos shelter (Press Democrat)
By Austin Murphy, February 4, 2020, Press Democrat Thanks but no thanks, said the sign on the donation box at Star of the Valley Roman Catholic Church in Oakmont. While the church was grateful for the two pickup truckloads of donations its parishioners had already given to their new neighbors at the Los Guilicos juvenile justice campus, enough was enough. At the present time, Peter Hardy wrote on the sign posted Monday morning, the homeless people who had just moved into 60 prefabricated...
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OCAP needs you! Apply now to become a member of their 2019 Citizen Review Panels
Make a difference in the lives of vulnerable children in California. Use your voice to change the child welfare system in California! Convened by the Office of Child Abuse Prevention (OCAP), they are seeking citizen (YOUR) input at their quarterly meetings. Now is your chance to make recommendations to the State! Apply now t o become a member of the California Child-welfare Citizen Review Panels (CRPs). Meetings are held 4 times a year. Participation can be by phone, computer, or in-person.
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October 26 Meeting Notes
(For a colorful version with graphics, please see the attached .pdf.) 10/26/16 Dear Sonoma County ACEs Connection Friends, Thank you to all that participated in today’s ACES meeting. Jessica Hackwell invited the group to take a mindful moment to listen to a “reflection” or short tale with a powerful message about intentions. Briana Downey welcomed the group to the Valley of the Moon Children’s Home and talked briefly about the Trauma Informed Journey taking place through this residential...
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Oprah Speaks About ACEs on National TV
Laura Porter and dozens of other friends sent a flurry of emails this week with Oprah in the subject line. This national figurehead carrying our message to a national audience ensures childhood adversity, trauma and resiliency are topics of conversation in households across our country. Talking about ACEs is just one step before taking action on ACEs! Laura Porter writes "This is in advance of the airing of a 60 Minutes airing of a story she successfully pitched for the show. I will be...
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Overcoming Adversity with Diversity in Technology and Digital Media Storytelling
Hanna Institute's Professional Networking Breakfast will be next Thursday Dec 14th, 7:30-9am with digital media genius Villy Wang, speaking about social enterprise and how digital media arts can empower youth of color from historically underserved communities to take back their narratives through storytelling. Breakfast and Inspiration for $30. Free for educators and students.
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Paper Tigers Viewing with Filmmaker James Redford
Child Parent Institute (CPI) is hosting a free viewing of the film, Paper Tigers on Thursday, November 12. This free event includes refreshments and Q&A with the Filmmaker, James Redford. RSVP by Friday, November 6. Paper Tigers at Sally Tomoatoes 1100 Valley House Drive Rohnert Park 4:30 Refreshments and Hors d'Oeuvres 5:30 Screening 7:15 Q&A with Director James Redford Please RSVP to anneb@calparents.org by November 6th .
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PARENTING GUIDES: Please share to support parents
During this challenging time, parents need more resources than ever. Please let parents know about the following guides from the Yolo County Children's Alliance and the Yolo Child Abuse Prevention Council. All guides are available at www.yolokids.org/forfamilies , and I have attached a summary of the guides if you would prefer to share that. Please note that we will be releasing our positive discipline guide on 4/1/20 ( Handling Your Child's Challenging Behaviors at Every Age ). The guides...
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PD Editorial: Poverty and prosperity in Sonoma County [PressDemocrat.com]
At the start of the year, Sonoma County readers learned that, despite a rebounding economy, the number of people going hungry in the region continued to be disturbingly high. According to officials at Hunger Index Forum in February, Sonoma County residents missed an estimated 35 million meals in 2014, down from a peak of 47 million the previous year. Now, at year’s end, the county is getting a clear and sobering picture of just who is most often going without food — and other...
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Peer Voices Now! Spring 2018 Newsletter
Kalia Mussetter of Living Bridges " Bringing people together for transformative community service," invites you to read the attached Peer Voices Now! newsletter. Kalia writes: "Please enjoy this beautiful newsletter. It is rich with fine, heartfelt writing by many local mental health Peer Providers; talented individuals who serve our mental health stakeholder community every day. There is a focus on experience of both loss and healing from the recent fires, as well as moving accounts of peer...
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Petaluma Group Inspired to Prevent, Heal, Treat ACES
A local Petaluma group kicked off 2016 by inviting Karen Clemmer, PHN, and Brian Farragher, Executive Director of Hannah Boys Center to speak about preventing, healing, and treating Adverse Childhood Experiences. Erin Hawkins, Community Outreach Program Manager of the Petaluma Health Care District, encouraged members of the Community Health Initiative for Petaluma Area (affectionately known as "CHIPA" to many members) to ponder the impact of ACES on the health of Petaluma...
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Petaluma Health Center leads effort to link women to services
Sonoma County was one of six sites selected nationally to participate in a CityMatCH practice collaborative to prevent substance exposed pregnancies. In 2012 Rebecca Munger CNM, PHN the Sonoma County Maternal, Child, Adolescent Health Coordinator lead a broad coalition of reproductive health champions who worked across sectors and settings to develop a trio of strategies to reduce substance exposed pregnancies. The first strategy developed with CDC and WHO technical support was a bundled...
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Positive Childhood Experiences offset ACEs: Q & A with Dr. Robert Sege about HOPE
Tufts University medical professor Dr. Robert Sege directs the Center for Community-Engaged Medicine and is nationally known for his research on effective health systems approaches that address social determinants of health. He is also the principal investigator for the HOPE framework (Healthy Outcomes from Positive Experiences).The HOPE framework is based on research that shows how positive childhood experiences can mitigate the effects of adverse childhood experiences. Sege and colleagues...
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Preparing People for Climate Change in California: Sonoma County Listens and Shares
Last summer Bob Doppelt asked me to join a planning committee for a conference on climate change . I was surprised to be asked as my recent professional expertise is tied to addressing childhood adversity. Bob changed my perspective on the relevance by saying, "Adversity and trauma are the social side effects of climate-related disasters. Imagine the social-emotional impacts on Katrina survivors." The connection was a glimmer in my mind, but I agreed to support a California conference .
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Press Democrat Features Paper Tigers Screening and Efforts to Help Struggling Kids
On Saturday May 14th, the Press Democrat featured local ACEs efforts in South Sonoma County in the article "Petaluma schools implementing new approach to work with struggling students." The Petaluma Health Care District and the Health Action Chapter sponsored a Paper Tigers screening on May 12 that drew 221 folks. Reporter Christi Warren captures the experience here: On a recent school day in Petaluma, 57 students were on a waitlist to see a city schools therapist. The number of students...
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Prevent Child Abuse - Sonoma County annual report 2014-2015
In case you missed picking up a copy of the 2014-2015 annual report from Prevent Child Abuse-Sonoma County, here it is. This year, it provides a snapshot of child abuse and neglect data, a two-page overview of the Adverse Childhood Experiences Study,...
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PREVENTION: A key solution to reducing ACEs
Bringing Baby Home Training of Trainers, Sacramento May 17-18, 2018 A friend of mine recently referred her grandchild and his pregnant wife to a Bringing Baby Home class, because she noticed that the wife had a horrible background of abuse and at times had difficulty functioning. What the grandmother noticed with this couple was a change in the family dynamics. The couple knows how to get along, the father is engaged in parenting, and the baby thriving. This is really starting at the root of...
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Proactively preparing teens and children for 13 Reasons Why, season 2 (Netflix)
By Tracie Dahl, LCPC, Middle School Therapist with Intermountain School-based Services (Helena, MT) 13 Reasons Why is about to drop its second season in just a matter of days. Since Season 2 is no longer adapting Jay Asher's 2007 YA novel and telling a completely new story, as service providers who work with young adults, we would like to know what we can expect from the upcoming string of episodes. We were more reactive than proactive when Season 1 came out and it’s easier to be more...
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Program offers hundreds of young men, boys safe space to heal from ACEs
Dennis McCollins recounts some of the experiences that caused him to harden against the world as a teenager. “There were times I went to more funerals than birthdays,” says McCollins, who is the clinical director of the School Based Health Center at Greenwood Academy in Richmond, Calif. And it took its toll: “I spent time homeless. I got expelled [from school]. I was so angry and upset and mad,” he says. Dennis McCollins Then a man that he met when he was sent to Job Corps as a teen turned...
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Prop. 64 Stakeholder Group: Prioritize Trauma-Informed Approach to Youth Substance Use Education, Prevention and Treatment
In November 2016, California voters legalized adult use and sales of cannabis, and authorized state excise taxes that are estimated to generate up to $1 billion in revenue for regulation, research, public safety, prevention and treatment. A group of stakeholders representing youth-serving organizations and agencies across the state has issued recommendations for use of the tax revenue allocated to youth substance use education, prevention and treatment that emphasize a trauma-informed approach.
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Proposed Changes to Sonoma County ACEs Connection Working Guidelines
Holly asked me to review the SCAC Working Guidelines we developed at the retreat and prepare a document for approval at the October meeting. I invite all members to send me any comments or suggestions regarding the current document. For the purposes of this vote, I am limiting proposed changes to only those issues where there is a discrepancy, disagreement or lack of clarity concerning an existing guideline. Any brand new guidelines should be proposed and adopted later. The current version...
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‘Public Health 3.0’ represents future of fighting public health problems in Sonoma County
Martin Espinoza of the Press Democrat captured an exciting event which took place in Santa Rosa earlier this week... Public Health 3.0: A high-ranking federal health official visited Santa Rosa on Tuesday to discuss a new direction for local public health departments, one that would push them far beyond their traditional role as watchdogs of communicable and chronic diseases and make them community partners in identifying the “social determinants” of health. Outlining an approach dubbed...
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Public Health Policy Nerds, Unite!
Public Health Policy might seem kind of boring to most people, but I love it! Yesterday was especially exciting! I was at the California Endowment in Sacramento with an incredible group of public health nerds who did their best to...
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REFB Establishes School Pantry Program at Roseland Elementary
Children and families that attend Roseland Elementary school will have access to an incredible array of foods through the new on-site food pantry. Each week over 100 families will be able to pick up 25lbs of food, including produce, meat and staples. It is staggering how many families must choose between paying rent or purchasing food. David Goodman, REFB Executive Director noted that "whatever happens to children at this point in their lives will affect them the rest of their lives". Read...
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Early childhood educators learn new ways to spot trauma triggers, build resilience in preschoolers
A hug may be comforting to many children, but for a child who has experienced trauma it may not feel safe.
That’s an example used by Julie Kurtz, co-director of trauma informed practices in early childhood education at the WestEd Center for Child & Family Studies (CCFS), as she begins a trauma training session. Her audience, preschool teachers and staff of the San Francisco-based Wu Yee Children’s Services at San Francisco’s Women’s Building, listen attentively.
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Early Experiences Can Alter Gene Expression and Affect Long-Term Development
Harvard University's Center on the Developing Child shared a provocative report: Early Experiences Can Alter Gene Expression and Affect Long-Term Development . "New scientific research shows that environmental influences can actually affect whether and how genes are expressed. Thus, the old ideas that genes are “set in stone” or that they alone determine development have been disproven. In fact, scientists have discovered that early experiences can determine how genes are turned on and off...