Omni Family Institute (OFI) will be launching its first annual summit in Charlotte, North Carolina on March 5, 2025. The summit theme, “ Cultivating Growth: Transforming Communities Together " aims to engage a national audience focused on improving foster care systems. Attendees will discuss and recognize how communities are beginning to implement evidence-based practices to reduce children entering foster care by building trauma-informed resilient communities. This event is designed for...

Exciting news! The formidable trauma-informed justice expert Becky Haas and Childhood Trauma Consultant Beth Tyson are teaming up to offer a live webinar: "Using Trauma-Responsive Approaches in the U.S. Justice System." This event will be held on Tuesday, January 28, 2025 from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. EST. This webinar offers a roadmap for professionals eager to make meaningful changes within the justice and family court system by embedding trauma-informed practices into everyday interactions and...

Stay with your mission. I first learned about the impact and prevalence of trauma and the Adverse Childhood Experiences Study (ACEs) in 2014 while working locally for the police to reduce drug-related, violent crime, and recidivism. This new knowledge influenced me so greatly as a mother and grandmother who was often witnessing children who were growing up in hard places through no fault of their own, that it changed my entire career focus. I now saw I had tools as “one lady” to help...

We are excited to announce that the first Global Resiliency Accelerator for 2024 will be held on Wednesday, February 28 from 12-2 p.m. EST. In this session, Becky Haas, Co-founder of the Global Resiliency Accelerator, will present on "Moving from Trauma Aware to Trauma Competent." Becky's presentation will provide information on available resources including reliable roadmaps for creating sustainable trauma informed culture change. She also will share helpful tips as an organizational coach...

Dr. Warren Larkin of the UK and Becky Haas from the US will be hosting the Global Resiliency Accelerator on Monday, November 13 from 12-2 p.m. EST. This session will focus on Trauma Informed Healthcare practices in both the UK and US. Presenters Include: Alistair Christie and Kelly Laycock from the UK and Sarah Seldon from the US. Alistair is the BLOSM Service Lead at the Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trauma (CHFT). Since qualifying as a nurse in 2016, he has worked within the...

Are you looking to earn CEUs this summer? Check out a newly released Creating Trauma Informed Resilient Focused Schools - A Toolkit for School Professionals from Emory & Henry College. With this Professional Certificate you earn 15 CEUs while watching 8 modules (from your treadmill if you’d like 😉) that cover everything from understanding trauma/ACEs and resilience, practical classroom strategies, creating healing environments, regulate, relate and reason, workplace wellness, addressing...

Trauma Informed Care Experts, Dr. Warren Larkin (U.K.) and Becky Haas (U.S.) are excited to host the Global Resiliency Accelerator on May 11th from 12-2 pm EST. The event is titled, "Using a Trauma Informed Approach in Prisons in the UK and US." Presentations will include: Her Majesty's Prison Leeds – The Journey to Becoming a Trauma Informed Prison Presenters are Lynne James (Governor responsible for the trauma informed prison project at HMP Leeds) and Emm Irving (Head of Improving...

Though now serving as both a national and international consultant, it was in 2014, shortly after my "ah-ha" moment learning about the significance of ACEs science while working for the police, that my career altering journey began. In the early days, my mindset was to "trauma inform" the region. Those adventures and outcomes I've written about in blogs published in PACEs Connection over the past 8 years along the way. Within rural Appalachia I've delivered training and coaching to thousands...

In February of 2020 while working for a regional healthcare system as the Trauma Informed Administrator, the last in-person training session I conducted before COVID 19 impacted public gatherings, was for all of the staff of the Sullivan County Regional Health Department (SCRHD). In the winter of 2022, as organization doors began reopening from the pandemic, SCRHD Director Gary Mayes learned I was now doing this work as a national trainer, organizational coach and consultant, so he reached...

Join Dr. Warren Larkin and Becky Haas for the Global Resiliency Accelerator on Monday, March 6th from 12-2 p.m. EST. This session will include "postcard updates" of recent work being done by both Warren and Becky and then featured speakers David Carney-Haworth and Elizabeth Carney-Haworth will discuss The Process, The Impact, The Future. Changing the landscape of Information Sharing and Safeguarding a scheme created 13 years ago, which links Police and schools in order to enable support to...

As co-founders of the Global Resiliency Accelerator, Dr. Warren Larkin and I are happy to announce the November 15 learning session which will feature Chuck Price, Founder of Blue Collar Consulting presenting. This presentation is intended to take a look at the current ‘system’ and our current practices through a trauma informed lens, and then challenge all of us to apply the “know better, do better” mindset. Because…a trauma-informed approach to Child Welfare, and other systems, is...

The Coastal Coalition for Substance Awareness & Prevention (CCSAP) of New Bern, North Carolina is proud to offer an in-person day of trauma-informed training to members of law enforcement facilitated by national subject matter expert, Becky Haas. This event for members of law enforcement is free of charge, however registration is required. A certificate of attendance with contact hours will be provided. Trauma-Informed Police Training: Law enforcement professionals have a history of...

Plan now to join us for the Global Resiliency Accelerator on Tuesday, August 9, 2022, from 12-2 p.m. EST. This event will be focused trauma informed work in the justice field both in the US and UK. Becky will be sharing on her Trauma Informed Policing training which she's used to train numerous police departments on as well as published an article about it in the October 2021, International Association of Chiefs of Police Magazine. She will provide examples of Trauma Informed Policing and...

The Global Resiliency Accelerator co-founded in 2020 by Dr. Warren Larkin of the UK and Becky Haas of the US will be meeting on May 17. Information on this upcoming event and how to register are provided below. Becoming a Trauma Informed organization or system: Reflections on the successes and challenges of implementation About this event Please join us for the fourth Global Resiliency Accelerator event on Tuesday 17th May (5pm - 7pm GMT/ 12pm - 2pm EST) Format: Presentation by Dr Warren...

“Introduction to ACEs, Using Trauma-Informed Approaches, and Fostering Resilience — Level 1,” an online, asynchronous training course, is now free and available to the public. This course is offered by the East Tennessee State University Ballad Health Strong BRAIN (Building Resilience through ACEs-Informed Networking) Institute. It offers an overview of what is meant by adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and how these may impact lifelong physical and mental health. Participants will learn...

On February 24, 2021, Dr. Warren Larkin of the UK and Becky Haas of the US launched the first meeting of the Global Resiliency Accelerator. During 2021, over 60 people from 14 countries joined the event as it met quarterly. Among these in attendance were professionals from Lithuania, Australia, Ukraine, Scotland, France, Canada, New Zealand, the US, Dublin, and Wales. The Participants' enthusiasm and passion was so great, that several of them made a commitment to be up in the middle of the...

We are excited to resume the Resilience Presentation Series of the ETSU Ballad Health Strong BRAIN Institute next Tuesday, January 11 th from 12:00 to 1:00 EST. Michael Cull, Ph. D ., Associate Professor in the Department of Health Management and Policy at the University of Kentucky will discuss strategies for crafting more resilient health systems by focusing on team dynamics, and workplace culture and decision making. A zoom registration for the presentation can be found here:...

Trauma Informed Care Practioners, Dr. Warren Larkin of the United Kingdom and Becky Haas of the United States are teaming up to host a third session of the Global Resiliency Accelerator. Past events have been attended by ACEs community builders from as many as 14 countries. In this meeting, Warren and Becky will present on the topic Addressing Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES) - Using Enquiry, Assessment or a Universal Precaution Approach based on their experiences working with...

(Training for the Delaware State Police Department, September 8-9, 2021) Empathy for those served, for one another, and for oneself can enhance the quality of life for those in law enforcement. Further, empathy is enhanced through understanding why many people behave as they do, which is a central tenet of being trauma informed. In 2019, the IACP adopted a resolution encouraging all law enforcement agencies to become well informed about the correlation between adverse childhood experiences...

On Tuesday, August 24, Chuck Price and Becky Haas will be sharing in a virtual event their experience in helping organizations move from trauma aware to becoming trauma informed. In transparent fashion, and by providing reusable steps, they will discuss both successes and barriers they've encountered along the way. Becky will share steps that have helped transform an entire school district in Southwest Virginia to incorporating trauma informed practices since beginning this work in 2019 as...

The Ballad Health ETSU Strong BRAIN Institute ( SBI ) seeks a junior-level researcher interested in conducting innovative multidisciplinary research on the prevention and mitigation of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), broadly defined. The Research Assistant Professor is a nontenure-track and nonconvertible faculty position. The initial appointment of this position is for one year and is expected to be renewable for at least three more years, depending on the availability of continued...

Over the past year since leaving an administrative position in healthcare as a Trauma Informed Administrator to launch as a full time consultant and advocate, I've been educating professionals around the science of Adverse Childhood Experiences, Positive Childhood Experiences, and in using a Trauma Informed Approach to service delivery. In my journey, I've encountered two wonderful surprises. Along with the joys of training professionals such as childcare leaders in two states; police...

Trauma Informed Care Practioners, Dr. Warren Larkin of the United Kingdom and Becky Haas of the United States are teaming up to host a second global conversation on the implementation of ACEs science on August 16 from 12-1:30 p.m. (EDT). Session two will feature Mathew Portell, Principal of Fall Hamilton Elementary School in Nashville, Tennessee. Mathew Portell has dedicated a decade and a half to education in his role as a teacher, instructional coach, teacher mentor, and school...

The Strong BRAIN Institute , founded through a 5-year gift from Ballad Health, is the preferred resource for promoting the awareness and empirical study of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs); for promoting the development and dissemination of evidence-based practices that prevent, reduce, or mitigate the negative effects of ACEs on health and health disparities; and for promoting a trauma-informed citizenry and workforce in the Appalachian Highlands region and beyond. Recently the Strong...

(Becky Haas and Dr. Andi Clements) Since 2015, I’ve been a regular contributor in PACEs Connection providing updates on the growth of the Northeast Tennessee Trauma Informed System of Care with the hopes that these updates would serve to encourage others doing this work in their communities. By keeping the message simple, urgent and conveying an expectation of use by the hearers, thousands of cross sector professionals in Northeast Tennessee have received training resulting in many of them...

On February 24, 2021, Dr. Warren Larkin of the UK and Becky Haas of the US launched the first meeting of the Global Resiliency Accelerator. Dr. Andi Clements, of the ETSU Ballad Health Strong Brain Institute chaired the session as well as served as moderator for the Q&A session. Over 60 people from 11 countries joined the event. Among these in attendance were professionals from Lithuania, Australia, Ukraine, Scotland, France, Canada, New Zealand, the US, Dublin and Wales. The...

(Becky Haas and Ben Schoenberg, Co-Authors) A group of like-minded higher education professionals across universities and departments came together on Tuesday, March 23, to explore the impact ACE's and Trauma initiatives have had on campus. This convening was hosted by the East Tennessee State University Ballad Health Strong Brain Institute following their participation in the January CTIPP CAN call which showcased three universities who are doing work around the Adverse Childhood...

In the summer of 2020, the Tennessee Early Childhood Training Alliance (TECTA) at Austin Peay University, reached out asking me to provide several professional development opportunities for early childhood educators statewide after being awarded grant funding. TECTA leadership requested that I deliver a training I had used in July of 2020 when training the childcare leadership of the state of Mississippi. The training entitled, Using a Trauma Informed Approach in Early Childhood Education ,...

( East Tennessee State University, Clemmer College Department of Counseling and Human Services) In 2015 when first beginning to raise awareness to the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) study in Northeast Tennessee, I partnered with a longtime friend and East Tennessee State University Psychology professor, Dr. Andi Clements to help pioneer this work. Three years later, we had trained over 4,000 professionals from a wide variety of sectors. Among these trained were a few other ETSU faculty...

Dr. Warren Larkin and Becky Haas have been collaborating and sharing their experiences of promoting trauma informed practice and systems change for the last two years. Warren is based in the North West of England and Becky lives in Tennessee in the United States and yet their work has a remarkable degree of alignment. Both Warren and Becky are seasoned presenters on this science, as well as they both are focused on helping organizations and communities to find ways to imbed it into practice.

The Academy for Social Justice in the United Kingdom reported one of the highest number of attendees (340) present during a monthly session, as Becky Haas and Dr. Warren Larkin co-presented on February 3, 2021. The title of their virtual presentation was, ACEs, Trauma and System Change – The Bigger Picture. Two hundred and fifty members of the diverse group of professionals were so engaged after the presentation, that they remained on the call for 40 minutes for a time of Q&A. Working to...

Amidst the beauty found within the rural communities nestled in the Appalachian Mountains, Northeast Tennessee is a region that sadly is no stranger to challenges. This is a region with overcrowded prisons, hospitals delivering babies whose mothers are addicted to substances at staggering rates, foster care shortfalls, and public-school systems where it’s common to hear phrases like cradle to prison and school to prison pipeline. In 2014, while working for the local Police Department as the...

(Pictured here are LCC International University students who serve as core leaders of Lithuanian non-profit Gausus Gyvenimas) In a year when the world has weathered trauma surrounding the global pandemic of COVID-19, quite surprisingly, new doors opened for me to share about the science of resilience in Lithuania. In 2017, a faith-based organization served as a means of introduction to a young minister from Pakistan named Robin Mubarik. Since our initial meeting we have only remained...

( Recently I was interviewed by Samantha Gray for the Attachment Parenting International Organization about my pioneering work to advance Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) science in rural Appalachia. Samantha serves as the Executive Director of API and has been very active in our Northeast Tennessee ACEs Connection . Here is part 1 of 3 of her interview. ) "I’m the mother of two sons who are married and grown now. When I was preparing to have our first child, I remember thinking to...

( Very special thanks to ACEs Connection staff member, Carey Sipp and my colleague Dr. Andi Clements for their collaboration on this article.) It was 2014 when I first learned about the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) study while working for the local police department. After writing a grant to fund a Family Justice Center, I heard Dr. Vincent Felitti, one of the authors of the 1998 Adverse Childhood Experiences Study, speak at a Family Justice Conference in California. About thirty...

Becky Haas and Smyth County District Superintendent, Dr. Dennis Carter (This article shows how an entire school district is working to become trauma sensitive. Often, a single school’s work is reported for advancing trauma sensitive practices, but this effort is unique because it is district-wide. One of the key drivers to bringing change is School Superintendent, Dr. Dennis Carter. Beyond encouraging his school district to becoming trauma-sensitive, he also plays a leadership role in...

In 2014, Corey and Ronda Paulson signed up to take the Department of Children’s Services (DCS) Path Training in order to become foster parents. They never expected this to become a life-changing journey by what would soon unfold. As part of their training, they attended a class at the Washington County Tennessee DCS office where they were informed that when children are removed from their homes, they often were brought to the office to wait for placement. Hearing this, Ronda looked around...

(far left - Margaret Feierabend attends the Johnson City, SAMHSA Forum, September 2018) The following interviews tell the story of innovative work being done to mitigate the impact of ACEs across generations in a unique community that bridges two states. Bristol’s iconic State Street in Historic Downtown is the “Main Street” and is the official state line for Tennessee and Virginia. Q: How did you become involved in ACEs and Trauma Informed Care? A: Becky Haas is a national presenter on...

JOHNSON CITY (Aug. 26, 2020) – East Tennessee State University received one of seven Rural Health Research Center grants, awarded by the Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA), Federal Office of Rural Health Policy, to create the Center for Substance Misuse in Rural America. The $2.77 million award, which ETSU won in collaboration with the NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis, part of NORC at the University of Chicago, spans four years. According to HRSA, the goal of...

Becky Haas and Marlo Nash, co-authors of this article partnered to achieve a two-part goal. The first, to describe a systems-level need for early childhood, child maltreatment prevention and child welfare systems to integrate in response to the COVID pandemic. The second, to build off of the big picture need for change to offer a concrete, practical example for action centered on ensuring early care and education providers are equipped to recognize and respond to trauma in young children,...

When I first learned about ACEs science, I was working for the local police department as the Director of a crime prevention program. This program was aimed at reducing drug related and violent crime by strengthening community partnerships. Our efforts yielded 19 crime prevention programs implemented by 35 community agencies. Together we reduced crime by 40% in one neighborhood, and pioneered a first probation program of its kind in Tennessee to reduce recidivism. At the end of the grant in...

The first time I ever heard the words trauma-informed care and the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) study was in the summer of 2014. At the time, I was working for the local Police Department as the Director of a grant-funded Crime Reduction Project aimed at reducing drug-related and violent crime. Of the many program goals, one was to develop a rehabilitative corrections program for felony offenders with addictions in order to reduce recidivism. Though I’ve lived in this region for...

Bristol's Promise is excited to bring to our community the Attached at the Heart Parenting Education Program , March 31 - April 2. This 3-day certification training will be held at CoWork Bristol/Summit Companies in Bristol, TN and taught by the program founders. Visit https://forms.gle/SmEpy3mYP8AUwCNt9 to apply now. Those interested in parenting education and support, attachment, ACEs prevention, counseling, therapy, research, and our community are urged to attend. This program is...

This summer, I was honored to be invited by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) to participate in the Senator Tommy Burks Victims Academy at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and speak about the importance of creating multidisciplinary trauma informed teams. The TBI asked me to speak after learning about Ballad Health’s work in developing trauma responsive practices throughout the Appalachian Highlands region of Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia. More than 70 victim...

At Ballad Health, we are committed to thinking outside traditional boxes to address social determinants leading to addiction throughout the Appalachian Highlands region of Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia. The scientific findings of the Adverse Childhood Experiences study identify experiencing childhood adversity without a support system as a major risk factor of addiction. With that in mind, Ballad Health has issued a call to action to regional professionals and is equipping many...