Blog

Now what? Present social unrest and the COVID crisis are a catalyst to surface the role of how structural racism and historical trauma play in both realities. Currently, Racism is declared a public health crisis in Michigan and prompts a response from all of us. This new lens raises as many questions as answers. How do we create safe spaces to have a conversation about USA history of race, racism, racial dehumanization, racial privilege and power, racial subornation, and exploitation and...

By Elizabeth Wall-Wieler, Leslie L. Roos, and Ian H. Gotlib, Pediatrics, August 2020 OBJECTIVES: To assess the relation between exposure to maternal depression before age 5 and 5 domains of developmental vulnerability at school entry, overall, and by age at exposure. METHODS: This cohort study included all children born in Manitoba, Canada, who completed the Early Development Instrument between 2005 and 2016 (N = 52 103). Maternal depression was defined by using physician visits,...

By Keeanga-Yemanhtta Taylor, The New Yorker, August 14, 2020 This summer’s uprising has forced a reckoning within the United States about the deep imprint of racism on our society. The public lynching of George Floyd pierced the veil of segregation that typically shrouds the realities in which millions of African-Americans live—straining under the mounting weight of Black death. Tens of thousands of African-Americans killed by the rapid spread of covid-19, the taped execution of Ahmaud...

By Bethany Ao, The Philadelphia Inquirer, August 13, 2020 Around the country, calls for police funding to be redirected to social services have escalated in recent months. So have questions about whether it’s more beneficial to have trained crisis workers instead of police officers deal with incidents related to mental health. But experts overseeing mobile crisis intervention units in the Philadelphia area said that “working in conjunction” with police departments is optimal. These...

By Will Huntsberry, Voice of San Diego, August 13, 2020 On a recent Thursday, David Miyashiro, superintendent of Cajon Valley Union School District, stood outside of Chase Avenue Elementary in El Cajon waiting on a reporter (me, that is) so he could begin a tour. Miyashiro was dressed in a polo shirt with his district’s logo and long, baggy black shorts, reminiscent of ‘90s-era basketball. He had on black New Balances with white socks. Despite his casual appearance, he was anxious to get...

Human children are born without any means to defend themselves or face the world. Children are totally dependent upon their parents for love, acceptance, and shelter. Sometimes parents fail to provide the emotional, psychological, and physical shelter required for healthy children. This results in adults who are stuck in trauma-time who remain forever ruled by an inside force, the wounded inner child. There is a method for adults who were traumatized and not parented in childhood. It is...

“I didn’t realize how many resources we have to share!” “I forgot how easy it is to help little kids learn.” “Now I see how big family engagement can be.” 4 months ago, everything changed. Schools came to a close and what we used to call “normal” became The Before Times. For many of us, it feels big and scary and almost impossible to try to support families when all of our systems have been upended. But we at Ready4K have borne witness to a beautiful rising, as educators and families use the...

NOTE: This summer, the Center for Youth Wellness was extremely proud to host intern Alan Huang, a rising Senior at UC Berkeley double-majoring in Neurobiology and Music. During his internship through the Boston Consulting Group Ambassador program, Alan wrote the following post about ACEs in the Asian American community. Although the link between adverse childhood experiences and subsequent health outcomes has been well-established, there is still much that is unknown about the nuanced...

It's been a while since I've written. I've been navigating some heavy shit! It's time we start to talk about the number of relapses that this pandemic has caused. Old traumas have been stirred up as the gound has been pulled out from underneath people and the result has been for many people to go back to the friend they have known the longest. For some who have ACE that led to addiction, that 'friend' has shown up for them, but unfortunately that friend doesn't live up to its name. I know...

Hello, everyone! As we look ahead to more sustainable efforts in our new normal, the VA TICNs eNote will adjust from weekly distribution to bi-weekly. If you have any feedback about the eNote or information you'd like shared, you can reply to the email containing the eNote or contact Charlotte Eure at ceure@grscan.com . United Way of Greater Richmond and Petersburg , the backbone organization of the Southside TICN, created trauma-informed resources through their COVID-19 toolkit in handy,...

I am SO excited for our next episode, and you should be too! Join us Thursday 8/20 as we welcome our speical guests Judee Fernandez and Michelle Kurta from the Meaning Makers Collective . We will discuss what it takes to create cultures of care and connection in our schools, how to develop a system that supports collective care for staff and prioritizes the wellbeing of adults in school settings. It is gonna be great! Weekly themes include: How do we create physical and psychological safety,...

The Catalyst Center seeks to hire a dynamic Technical Assistance and Training Specialist! The Technical Assistance and Training Specialist is a dynamic position that will be an integral part of a small staff team who implements projects that help the Catalyst meet its mission. The Technical Assistance and Training Specialist, under the supervision of the Director of Strategic Initiatives, will be responsible for acting as the subject matter expert for trauma-informed and prevention care,...