Blog

By Joanne Chen, Greater Good Magazine, August 23, 2021 In January 1995, Tariq Khamisa was 20 years old. Tony Hicks was 14. Khamisa, a college student, was working his shift delivering pizza the night Hicks’s gang tried to rob him. According to The San Diego Union-Tribune , when the gang leader handed Hicks a gun and told him to shoot, he did. Khamisa died. Hicks was tried as an adult and ultimately received a sentence of 25 years to life in prison. Justice seemed to have prevailed—a severe...

By Fredreka Schouten, CNN Politics, August 24, 2021 A preliminary ruling by a three-judge panel in North Carolina is clearing the way for roughly 56,000 of the state's residents who have been convicted of felonies -- but who aren't currently serving prison time -- to register to vote , civil rights groups said. The action comes out of a lawsuit by civil rights groups and ex-offenders who have challenged a North Carolina law that denies the right to vote to felons until they have completed...

By The Ezra Klein Show, The New York Times, August 24, 2021 “Trauma is much more than a story about something that happened long ago,” writes Dr. Bessel van der Kolk. “The emotions and physical sensations that were imprinted during the trauma are experienced not as memories but as disruptive physical reactions in the present.” Van der Kolk, a psychiatrist by training, has been a pioneer in trauma research for decades now and leads the Trauma Research Foundation. His 2014 book, “The Body...

In honor of September suicide prevention month, please read more to view, post, and share the "Don't Give Up" suicide prevention song animation video and public service announcement. I will also be facilitating a FREE Arts and Healing Resiliency Workshop: Phoenix Bird Rising online on Sunday September 5th at 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM (PST). Click here to register for the workshop .

Healing the Heart Through the Creative Arts, Education & Advocacy Hope, Healing & Help for Trauma, Abuse & Mental Health “ Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars”. Kahlil Gibran The Surviving Spirit Newsletter August 2021 Hi Folks, Welcome to the month of August...from my part of the country here in New Hampshire-land it is a time of summer and heat...but the whole month of July and coming into August has been more...

By Philip Sim, British Broadcasting Corporation, August 17, 2021 What is it? A Minimum Income Guarantee (MIG) would aim to provide everyone in Scotland with a minimum acceptable standard of living - so that everyone has enough money for housing, food and essentials as well as covering individual circumstances like disability or caring requirements. Studies were actually run during the previous Holyrood term of a Universal Basic Income (UBI) - a sweeping scheme which would see cash paid out...

By Carley Stern, The New York Times, August 24, 2021 When Jackie Lynn’s niece gave birth after using heroin during her pregnancy, Ms. Lynn sprang into action. She thought she had turned the page on parenting, after raising two children and living alone for 14 years. But while her niece pursued treatment, Ms. Lynn moved to Oregon, from Washington State, in 2009 to care for the baby and his four siblings. Her job as a manager became untenable, so she took a pay cut — even as her expenses...

Through deeply personal conversations, Prevent Child Abuse America board member and renowned brain and trauma expert Dr. Bruce Perry and Oprah Winfrey offer a groundbreaking and profound shift from asking "What's wrong with you?" to "What happened to you?" in their new book "What Happened to You? Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing". Focusing on understanding people, behavior, and ourselves, this new book opens the door to resilience and healing in a proven, powerful way. Please...

Rental Assistance Is Now Available for Renters and Landlords Many families are having trouble making rent payments. The COVID-19 pandemic has made it difficult for renters and landlords to cover housing costs. Fortunately, new housing financial assistance is now available. This letter from Aysha E. Schomburg, Associate Commissioner of the Children's Bureau, calls on the child welfare field to spread the word on these emergency rental assistance resources . The Consumer Financial Protection...

As schools across the US start the new school year and welcome students back, whether online or in-person, many continue to adapt to the challenges and uncertainty created by COVID-19. Many students going back to in-person learning are adapting to the difficulties that come with entering a classroom for the first time in over a year, and many students continuing distance learning are adapting to being away from their sources of support and resiliency (e.g. classmates, activities, adult...

We're so proud to share the story of the work that the Montana Migrant Education Program (MEP) is doing to support their students. I invite you to read the story of our work together. While many elements of a migrant student’s life are unpredictable, family can often be the most consistent. This means that family engagement is a central focus for Montana MEP. And for program manager Pat Lowthian, building strong relationships with migrant families starts with listening to their needs and...

T ransforming Trauma Episode 050: Safety and Presence in the Therapeutic Space with Bonnie Badenoch In this episode of Transforming Trauma, we are joined by Bonnie Badenoch, MA, LMFT. Bonnie is a therapist, mentor, teacher, author, and has spent the last fifteen years integrating the discoveries of relational neuroscience into her therapy practice. She's the co-founder of the nonprofit agency Nurturing the Heart with the Brain in Mind. For twenty-five years, she has worked with trauma...