Blog

Before the creation of DCYF, funding and services were not always connected. The draft strategic plan helps our agency focus on how we serve children, youth, families and our communities as one entity. This framework helps to build on existing funding and services to strengthen our ability to serve families as well as to disrupt racial inequity and disproportionality in our systems. There is more work ahead for us to accomplish the priorities set out in the draft plan. The process to gather...

By Will James, Center for Health Journalism, July 2020 Covering homelessness puts reporters in the middle of a contradiction. On the West Coast, homelessness is so visible that it touches virtually everyone. But it can also feel like another world to which most people don’t have access. Audiences take in so much information about homelessness, but at a distance or second-hand or filtered through politics or advocacy. It’s hard for many people to create a mental picture of this issue that...

Health and Wellness Town Hall: Adverse Childhood Experiences 101 Class How ACEs Impact the Black, Brown, Indigenous, and other Communities of Color This event will be led by Alfred White. Alfred is the founder of The League of Extraordinary People. After nearly 40 years experiencing homelessness, Alfred swallowed a 1/4 ounce of crack cocaine in 2004 and nearly died. He awoke paralyzed and that is when he made the decision to seek help for his history of addiction. Alfred has since received...

Regulation Before Education: The Roots and Fruits of a Trauma-Informed School July 29-31st | 12:00 - 3:00pm EDT These times are unsettling in many ways. But the disruptions have widened opportunities for different ways of being, thinking and doing in education. The trauma-informed schools movement has never been more relevant. Schools committed to cultivating trauma-informed change can successfully buffer the adverse effects of the pandemic, economic collapse, and persistent racial...

Whether or not to screen for ACEs in primary care is an important debate—and I hear and respect the passion from both sides of the argument. I fall in the “pro-ACE assessments” camp, but with some important caveats. I think that assessments for ACEs are dramatically different from screening for autism or developmental delays. In my opinion, assessments for ACEs in primary care should be primarily about building relationships.

CRACKED UP THE EVOLVING CONVERSATION Episode 4: Generational Trauma - Breaking the Cycle with Darrell Hammond, Comedian, actor, SNL Legend Michelle Esrick, Filmmaker, activist Bessel van der Kolk, MD, Author of The Body Keeps the Score Jane Stevens, Founder of ACES Connection and special guest Jane Fonda Academy Award-winning actor, producer, author and activist Thursday June 25th at 1pm PDT / 2p MT / 3p CT / 4pm EDT Hosted by ACEs Connection THE PRICE OF THIS LIVE EVENT IS $12.50 We have...

The WA State Prevention Summit will be happening again on November 3-4, 2020 for the first time virtually! Stay tuned for more information, or keep up to date with the latest news by signing up for our newsletter: Sign Up for Updates

THE EASTER BONNIE , aka Bonnie Schmidt of Port Angeles, gave her preschoolers little baskets of farewell last week. On the porch of her Little Rhythms Learning Center, she placed packages of belongings the kids had left behind, plus art supplies and fond notes to each family. No hugs allowed. School is over for the rest of the academic year, following Gov. Jay Inslee’s mandate, and parents, children and educators must cope with the loss. Now and going forward: How can we, as a community,...

Join the SELF-Leadership Cohort Your inner-state makes all the difference, as a care provider and/or leader. We are in a time of disruptive change that has us challenged and facing higher stress loads. We can turn to the N.E.A.R. Sciences to help us upgrade our practices for navigating change (N.E.A.R. = Neuroscience, Epigenetics, ACEs, and Resilience). Are you ready for new strategies and self-care practices? Join the six-week SELF-Leadership Cohort . The cohort launches June 9 th with...

With Suzette Fromm Reed, community psychologist, and Dario Longhi, change/sociology researcher. Presented by the Washington State ACEs and Resilience Community of Practice. May 26, 2020 at 12:00 PM. What works? What kinds of resilience increases community-wide levels of well-being and moderates ACE impacts? Come learn about the evidence of the effects of contextual resilience based on research from 108 Washington communities. How to make it happen? What we can learn from strategies employed...

By @Anndee Hochman “What are your signs of stress?” asked the leaders of a recent mindfulness webinar hosted by the Philadelphia ACE Task Force (PATF), held during the week that U.S. cases of COVID-19 neared half a million and more than sixty Philadelphians had died of the disease. Participants spilled their responses into the chat box: “headache…teeth grinding…can’t think clearly…nervous stomach…ruminating thoughts…muscle pain…itchiness…bad dreams.”

You are extraordinary. Writing this post feels like I have come full circle. In April of 2019, Alfred White reached out to me on ACEs Connection. Shortly after, we spoke at length about the plans he had to create a place of healing and hope in Federal Way and King County, Washington, specifically for individuals with a history of trauma and who were now impacted with symptoms such as addiction and homelessness. I recall sharing with Alfred that there was such a need for this in that...