I am the ED at ChildWise Institute in Helena, Montana. I've been on the ACEs bandwagon since late 2008. ChildWise was established in 2011 and began work in 2012. Our mission is board, which is to advance awareness, accelerate knowledge, and advocate for positive change to optimize society's resources for the well-being of children.
In late 2012 we decided that the ACE Study is the foundation and direct connection to almost every child well-being issue, and something every person in our state needs to embrace. But how? When I think back on every major social change that has happened in America, I see a movement of the people that created that change... not an organization or an individual. Yes, it was started/initiated by an organization or individual, but they didn't create the movement... it was created by the passionate public.
So, we introduced Elevate Montana at our 1st ACE Study Summit in September of 2012. Its mission is to "Elevate the well-being and futures of Montana's children." We created its own website, logo, corporate identity, etc. because we believe this cause doesn't belong to our organization, it belongs to everyone. We were hopeful that in doing this (not making it about ChildWise) it might grow into a movement. And it is well on its way!
We have an annual Elevate Montana Summit 2016 in the fall, and thus far they have been focused on advancing awareness and accelerating knowledge of the ACE Study, trauma-sensitive approaches, and building resilience. They are very well attended for Montana (about 400 people)... keeping in mind that the entire population of our state is a little less that 1 million people!
Because we are focused on moving the discussion and action in regards to ACEs and resilience; and because we know that everyone needs to be part of the solution, we were faced with the challenge of doing this with everyone inMontana. But how does a tiny non-profit with only four staff members do that?
Based on research, we know the most effective way for someone to learn is if they seek knowledge or understanding. So we figured the best way to stimulate that "desire to seek" is to create curiosity. That's when we created a billboard (see attached) and placed them in the area of our 2014 Elevate Montana Summit for 30 days prior to the Summit. It resulted in more than 400 people going to a website we created, getting their own ACE score, and learning about ACEs and resilience (they take the Resilience Survey, as well). By the way, we strongly suggest that no one be handed the 10-question ACE Survey without context of the Study. We believe without context, it can trigger something in people and can be dangerous. That can happen even with context, but our experience in training almost 7,000 people in the last year and a half is that almost everyone has a better understanding of themselves and others, and is motivated by what they've learned.
Since those 30 days of the billboards (11 of them) being up, we created cards that duplicate the billboard on one side and have stats about the well-being of Montana's children on the other. We hand these out everywhere we go, and at all of our ACE trainings and presentations. It serves as a learning tool, as well as a conversation-starter for them to use with their peers, friends, etc.... further advancing awareness!
All of this goes to your question about culture change. Ultimately that is what we're after... a change in thinking, which results in a change in behavior -- and when enough people do that (think: movement), there is a change in culture.
i could write a lot more, but I don't want to bore you. We are involved in this movement to elevate the well-being and futures of our children and now have about 8 communities in our state flying the flag of Elevate Montana. They have chosen (with a "backbone organization" in their city) to become official Elevate Montana Affiliates! This is why we know a movement has started and is spreading.
Thank you fo all you do!
Todd Garrison
