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The future wasn’t always bright for Justin Sarna of Vallejo. A self-proclaimed drug addict of 13 years with a first-degree burglary conviction in 2015 to boot, the 25-year-old was staring at a life in and out of the criminal justice system, impeded by a debilitating and unshakable drug addiction. On Monday, Sarna, who precisely boasted seven months and eight days of sobriety, was celebrated as the first-ever graduate of the Solano County Parole Reentry Court’s program — a recently developed...

Anxiety is a disease that bites many. Anxiety doesn’t discriminate against age, sex, religion, race, or any other related demographics. It affects people differently and manifests in different ways. It can affect our thoughts, emotions, and even physical health if we let it get out of control. Everyone might deal with fright or worry from time to time, but take it up another notch and anxiety will override any of those milder forms. Anxiety is nothing to be afraid of because it can be...

With so much going on around the world right now , it’s not unusual that the news are rattling up emotions for everyone at home. We as adults, have (hopefully) found a series of mechanisms to help us calm down and self-regulate. But, for many children, the story is different. Whether it’s the global politics climate or actual climate changes that may cause your child to feel anxious. It’s important that parents empathize and recognize these feelings. But, even more crucial, is that parents...

Sonoma County, CA, is home to a fabulous local media source — KRCB North Bay Public Media. Journalists and cinematographers from this small, but nimble, nonprofit are dedicating to documenting life as it happens in Sonoma County. A few months ago, the team at KRCB noticed that "ACEs" was popping up in conference titles, doctor's offices, and schools across the county. They trailed around our local experts for several months, and crafted an excellent 30-minute video explaining adverse...

Almost every week, I get an email, phone call or facilitate a workshop/training where a foster parent or social worker tells a story about a youth in their care who has lied. Whenever they start the story, I can hear their frustration from their first words. When I let them go on, others usually join in with comments like “These kids have no respect and need to learn that they can’t lie” or something similar. I’ve learned over the years to let it go and let them talk. I’ve learned if I...

I’ve been writing books that help men and the families who love them since my first book, Inside Out: Becoming My Own Man, was published in 1983. Getting books published that focus on men is never easy. The perception in the publishing world continues to be that men don’t read books about men’s issues (unless it’s a sports book) and women aren’t that interested in books that help men (Men, as a group, are doing pretty well. It’s women who need help, many believe). I believe the world is...

Last year was a wake-up call for me, as I read the New York Times. The rate of suicide in the U.S. has surged to a 30-Year High. As a member of the Executive Committee of the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention I realized the responsibility I had (as a Mental Health Court Judge) to break the silence surrounding suicide. In declaring Broward’s Mental Health Court , a Zero Suicide Initiative Court, I integrated suicide prevention into the court process as a core fidelity. As stated...

In 1997, Beverly Daniel Tatum, one of the country’s foremost authorities on the psychology of racism, answered a recurring question that surfaced in her work with teachers, administrators, and parent groups: Why are all the black kids sitting together in the cafeteria? The result was a critically acclaimed book of the same name that gave readers—numbering in the hundreds of thousands—a starting point to demystify conversations about race, better understand the concept of racial identity, and...

Undocumented immigrant students will remain welcome at California colleges and universities, regardless of President Donald Trump’s decision on Tuesday to roll back legal protections for so-called “Dreamers,” education leaders said. “Our doors will be wide open for all eligible undocumented students. They are welcome and wanted,” said Long Beach State President Jane Close Conoley. “And we will continue to offer state financial aid to those who are eligible.” Following up on a campaign...

Diann Sparks hadn’t planned on adopting, until one of her sisters asked her to attend an adoption class in a town 120 miles away from her home in Possum Trot, part of east Texas’ Shelby County. At the time, Sparks had one biological daughter and was a single parent working a full-time job at a chicken plant. Possum Trot, a deeply religious black Baptist community in a mostly white county, doesn’t show up on Google maps. It has no streetlights, no post office, no grocery store and a lot of...

Iashia Nelson cradled her 4-year-old son, shielding him from the pounding rain as she and close to 30 others huddled together on a rooftop, praying they would be rescued. In the eight hours they waited, without any food or water, Nelson, 36, said she witnessed at least four people die. She saw a woman and child trapped in a car, honking their horn in panic until the water engulfed them. She saw another woman, clinging to a tree, lose her grip and be swept away by the rapids. She saw three...

Cristel Simmonds from headspace, a mental health service aimed at young people, recently volunteered at a fundraising event supporting the homeless, who according to Mental Health Australia, have a much higher incidence of mental illness than the rest of the population. She said people could become homeless very quickly due to a number of reasons. "It could be drugs and alcohol, it could be domestic violence, it could be financial or a quick shift in employment situations," she said. "It...