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By Steven Greenhouse, The New York Times, September 6, 2020 In September 1952, Dwight D. Eisenhower spoke to a convention of labor leaders and told them that before joining the Army, he took a job at a dairy plant where “I worked 84 hours a week on the night shift from 6 to 6, seven nights a week.” Recognizing how extreme that was, Eisenhower said, in a nod to labor, “In the years since, unions, cooperating with employers, have vastly improved the lot of working men and women.” It is often...

By Shavonne Potts, Salisbury Post, September 13, 2020 Ashley Creek fought the effects of childhood trauma for years with a daily onslaught of heroin, meth, crack cocaine and alcohol, but today she helps addicts find a better path. “I was just waking up every day and was like, ‘I don’t want to feel anything,'” she said. Creek doesn’t excuse her choices but says she felt as though it was the only way she could survive. However, her addictions were crippling. Creek told the Post she wasn’t...

Rafael Maravilla has what seems the ideal academic background for his job as ACEsConnection network manager and community facilitator for central California. Not only does he have a B.S. in neurobiology from University of California, Berkeley, but he also has a bachelor’s degree in sociology from UC Merced, thus combining an understanding of human biology with insights into human behavior. He also has an ACE score of 9. The eldest child of a Mexican farmworker who was an alcoholic and not...

My story began as I was born to an unwed African American teen mother. She had my brother when she was 14 and had me at the age of 16. I vaguely remember the house that I was born in down south. Blacks were not allowed to be born in the hospital at that time so we made use of midwives. My grandfather shot my dad twice in the back with a 22 caliber handgun. He was chasing him away from our house because he told him to stay away from my mother. Shortly thereafter we were kicked out of the...

Nick Youngson CC BY-SA 3.0 Alpha Stock Images We've all heard about self-care — making sure we exercise, sleep, eat well, etc. — and some of us are incorporating these things into our lives. And then there's creating a restorative work environment, which is different. I'd venture that most of us look at self-care as something we do for ourselves outside work, or we squeeze it into our workday. When I came back from vacation last week, I really didn't want to go back to working the way I had...

I take all the "junk" in my head and heart, that jumble of unprocessed emotion and information, and pour it on the page, mix in some paint, collage paper and gel pens, and.....Ah, yes. The world is right again!

By Gina Tomaine, Philadelphia, September 14, 2020 Name: Susanne Johnson, ( @seesuzgo ), a family nurse practitioner. Nonprofit of choice: Project H.O.P. E – Camden’s Healthcare for the Homeless . Their mission is to improve the health and well being of homeless persons and others in need by providing primary, preventative, and related health services. For the past thirteen years Project H.O.P.E. has fulfilled its mission by assisting more than 11,000 homeless persons in their journey to...

Firefighters Firefighters are another group of first responders who can easily become victims of a substance use disorder. It takes a special kind of person to run into a burning building, and it seems that those types of people are more vulnerable to the dangers of drugs and alcohol. This study of firefighters focused on the mental health of these individuals, examining a wide range of issues from sleep deprivation to depression to anxiety because substance use tends to be correlated with...

When you have Childhood PTSD, there is nothing worse than being in some crucial conversation or some big moment, and some little thing triggers you. And even though you know it’s not worth getting upset about, it happens anyway. It’s like you can feel it spreading through your body -- the feeling of adrenaline and dyscombobulation, feeling numb (perhaps) in your hands or your face, or having trouble expressing your thoughts. Or you might feel flooded with emotion like panic or rage... have...

By Nick Cliolino, August 28, 2020, DPM. Delaware is collaborating with other states to study Adverse Childhood Experiences, or ACEs. The First State, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wyoming were chosen by the National Governors Association to be mentored by California, Tennessee and Alaska on how to be more trauma informed. The collaboration seeks to share and analyze data on ACEs, offer training for state agencies and create collaborations with the public sector. [ Please click here to read more. ]

From Centers For Disease Control and Prevention, YouTube, September 15, 2020 Prevent ACEs Now explains early childhood adversity and gives simple actions to support families and help make a better future for all children possible in their community. [ Please click here to watch video .]

As a result of the pandemic and the national and international awakening to racial justice issues, ACEs Connection has seen an explosion of interest from members wanting to start local, organizational, and state-wide ACEs initiatives . If you’re seeking to bring healing to your communities, we can help you start new or grow existing ACEs initiatives by using our Growing Resilient Communities framework , and we’ve produced a series of videos to get you started or to provide a refresher. After...