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There’s a good chance you’ve never heard of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. There’s an even better chance you’ve never heard of the RWJF Sports Award , which we bestow each year on organizations that contribute to health by strengthening and serving communities through sport. But as readers of USA TODAY, you’re no doubt familiar with the controversies and divisions surrounding sports teams that use Native American symbols — whether as mascots, in chants or in memorabilia — for their own...

People who report more traumatic experiences in childhood — from domestic, verbal and sexual abuse to having an incarcerated or deceased parent — are more likely to later develop their own problems with chronic disease, social dysfunction, drug dependency and even early death. A recent report released by the West Virginia ACES Coalition found that 55.8 percent of West Virginia adults reported experiencing at least one “adverse childhood experience” (or ACE), and 13.8 percent reported...

Highlights Study of childhood and adult adversity among low-income women in the U.S. Over 80% of subjects reported experiencing childhood adversity and adult adversity. Childhood adversity increased the risk of adult adversity. Childhood and adult adversity were associated with depression, anxiety, and PTSD. Adult adversity mediated the link between childhood adversity and poor mental health. [For more on this study by Joshua P.Merskya, Colleen E. Janczewskia, Jenna C. Nitkowskib, go to...

Policy makers and the citizens of New York state need to acknowledge and then begin addressing the impact of adverse childhood experiences for the children who experience them – as well as the direct societal consequences for all of us. Trauma, adverse childhood experiences, executive function – maybe you’re familiar with these terms. Maybe you’re not. But odds are you know or have heard about a child with behavioral challenges. Or there is an adult in your life who struggles with addiction,...

It was a fenced-off World War II bomb site that had rewilded, and a team of London artists decided it was the perfect place to grow a medicine garden. The site is in the middle of a social housing complex in the Bethnal Green neighborhood of Tower Hamlets, a London borough that has become the U.K.’s second most densely populated local authority, the basic unit of local government. For the artists, the hardest part of getting the project off the ground turned out to be finding space. Before...

Service members who experience trauma, including sexual trauma, during their service are at increased risk of major depressive disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and chronic medical conditions, according to new research presented today at the Annual Meeting of the American Psychiatric Association here. Adverse childhood experiences also increased risk of PTSD among female service members. PTSD and depression are common psychiatric disorders in military service members . Female...

Though separated by about 2,400 miles, the communities and tribal nations in northeastern Humboldt County and Menominee County in Wisconsin share many similarities. They both are located in rural counties that have timber and fishing-based economies; they have similar populations; and they also share a history of trauma and the detrimental physical and mental health effects that come along with it. From these similarities, Hoopa resident Angie Brown said the Hoopa Valley Tribe has been able...

Sonya Passi is the founder and CEO of FreeFrom , a non-profit helping survivors of domestic violence achieve financial stability and greater long term safety. During her time in law school, Sonya was also instrumental in creating the Family Violence Appellate Project . She seeks to fill the gaps in services available for survivors of family violence.

Trident Mortgage Co. helps more families buy homes in Philadelphia and neighboring Camden, New Jersey, than any other company, but it primarily serves one demographic: white people. That is no coincidence: Trident employs a nearly all-white team of mortgage consultants, and all of Trident’s offices are in white neighborhoods, where it makes the overwhelming majority of its loans to white homebuyers. It’s a division of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., the giant holding company led by Warren Buffett,...

When Ulster County District Attorney Holley Carnright trains police officers on responding to domestic violence calls, he has one ask: Have a "give a damn approach." Officers and anyone working with those affected by domestic violence, he says, must be sensitive about victims' fears of their abuser retaliating, and an understanding of the ongoing cycle of violence in which offenders can trap victims. He tells officers to respond to victims' calls swiftly and thoroughly, without shaming or...

When one is in love—especially with something as huge and beautiful and complex as trees—there is an urge to share this emotion with everyone, especially to those who have no opportunity to experience such feelings themselves. As my love of trees and canopy biota expanded, I sought to share my connections to nature with people who live in places where it is absent, just as a new bride might urge those sitting on the sideline of her wedding party to find a dancing partner. It occurred to me...

The Adverse Childhood Experiences study was ground-breaking in its recognition that childhood trauma impacts individuals across their lifespan. This was the big take-away, that adults are living with unrecognized and thus untreated physical, mental and emotional consequences that have massive detrimental impacts on their quality (and quantity) of life. And yet, when we see the research and programming that has been implemented following the ACE study, the consensus seems to be that the...