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On December 11, 2017, more than fifteen agencies sent representatives to participate in our Trauma Informed Agency Champion training. Many folks expressed an interest in continuing to come together and to share resources. We invite all of the workshop participants and other interested community members to find connection right here via ACEs Connection! I encourage you all to use the ACEs Connection websites and live groups which offer many resources for you including: The new online Becoming...

I began riding the “trauma-informed care” wave three years prior to realizing I was part of something bigger than my own vision to bust open the conversation on trauma. When my life as a writer, editor, and advocate for parenting survivors of childhood abuse collided with my professional life as a mental health care manager, I knew the universe was trying to tell me something. Having long ago succumbed to the realization that everything really does happen for a reason, I started to see my...

http://www.richmond.com/news/special-report/making-a-difference/making-a-difference-karen-w-henderson/article_5bf01368-631d-5af5-add1-dc4ad5445e7e.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=user-share

Excerpt from piece in Mad in America written by Zenobia Morrill : Read more .

From the website: Many of the people we interact with every day have been affected by overwhelming stress or traumatic experiences. Traumatic experiences change a person and can create turmoil within a person and in their life. This is especially true if events and/or conditions happen in childhood. The consequences of trauma are far reaching and can be directly or indirectly linked to mental illness, addictions, chronic disease, suicide, and overall, a failure to thrive. The purpose of the...

A year ago, I wrote this blog, urging a shift from focusing primarily on self-care as the antidote to vicarious trauma/secondary traumatic stress to a broader concept of creating cultures of staff wellness and resilience which includes self-care as well as changes in organizational practices, protocols and policy. It is gratifying to see visible progress toward that shift as illustrated by two recent articles. One from the Worcester Telegram about a proposed policy by the Massachusetts...

I am not even sure where to start. But, I know I need to write about this. I need to give this to the world. Perhaps to another mother who is facing the darkness and can’t see her way out. Perhaps she is watching her children caught in the cyclone that is her life. I think she is who I am writing this for. And maybe for me too. I am doing some amazing work with a community that is fast becoming dear to my heart. I look at the people who keep showing up that are trying to wrap their heads...

Once again, our great partners have stepped up to share their "peace/piece" with us! Our MARC Program manager, Wendy Sedlacek connected us with Dave Cook, her former colleague from Pinellas County Schools. Turns out, Dave was a gem of a find; a cracker jack professional who put together this video for us in record time. Wendy pitched in as producer adding the slides and visuals. Together, they were able to create this great little video describing Peace4Tarpon. That's not the easiest task by...

Synapses go off like fireworks every time I attend a RYSE event or workshop. RYSE consistently approaches trauma-informed work from a structural, systems lens; then shares the fruits of their learning in workshops available to the public.

On November 14th and 15th, the Shared Care Committee of British Colombia, Canada (one of the four Joint Collaborative Committees representing a partnership of Doctors of BC and the BC Government) hosted 600 people for the ACEs Summit: BC and beyond. At the link below you can find the Summit report as well as links to supporting materials.

Is your organization facing increased community, school, and domestic violence? Does your team feel challenged by the complex needs of the people they serve? Is the impact of the opioid epidemic overwhelming? Is diminished funding compromising your workforce? If you want to rise above these forces and develop skills to address trauma and nurture resilience, join the National Council’s 8 th annual Trauma-Informed, Resilience-Oriented Approaches Learning Community . Over the course of this...

I am freaking out! My heart is racing, my chest is thumping, my belly is buzzing. Last night I check my list of attendees for my upcoming workshop. It jumped from sixteen to eighteen registrants. I freaked! I was literally scrambling around my kitchen screeching, “18,” “AHH!…18.” “I can’t fit eighteen.” My 10-month old puppy and 10-year old daughter are chasing behind me in frenzied excitement. My daughter is yelling, “mom this is good, your business is growing.” And my husband is sitting in...