May 2019

"We as a nation need to be reeducated about the necessary and sufficient conditions for making human beings human. We need to be reeducated not as parents--but as workers, neighbors, and friends; and as members of the organizations, committees, boards--and, especially, the informal networks that control our social institutions and thereby determine the conditions of life for our families and their children." ~ Urie Bronfenbrenner Often when building local ACEs initiatives, community...

I wrote a book about developmental/ family violence and how ACES during early childhood can lead to the adult survivor perpetrating his own violence. It's the story of intergenerational transmission, the cycle of violence. I worked with domestically violent men as a prison psychologist for 28 years in the Wisconsin correctional system. While the population of offenders is not a sympathetic group, I believe that we need to address the development of an abusive personality if we want to stop...

Slowly, but at warp speed. That’s what it feels like to take on educating 16,000 staff member in 21 hospitals that serve 29 counties, says Becky Haas, trauma informed administrator for Ballad Health. Turning around a culture, especially a health culture that’s more familiar with doing things the “traditional” way rather than embracing change, will take time and lots of repetition.

Excerpts from an article by Shawn Ginwright & Sai Seigel in the Stanford Social Innovation Review. Read more of this article by Shawn Ginwright & Sai Seigel in the Stanford Social Innovation Review.

Many individuals in helping professions share a similar drive to help their community and a passion for working with individuals in affected communities. However, constant contact with patients who are suffering can take a toll on the mental health of these professionals, including social workers and nurses. Without proper care, this emotional weight can eventually result in compassion fatigue, which defines the physical, emotional, and spiritual exhaustion that some individuals experience.

A new webinar recording focuses on leveraging the Family First Prevention Services Act to advance equity in child welfare systems. The 60-minute session, hosted by the Annie E. Casey and William T. Grant foundations, includes discussion about: How to ensure that all children and families can benefit from Family First program selections, despite a dearth of evidence-based programs focused on families of color. Ways state and local agencies have engaged families and communities in designing a...

A new report from the Tishman Environment and Design Center at New York City's New School found that 1.6 million Americans—disproportionately low-income and minority residents—live near the country's 12 most polluting incinerators. And in total, 4.4 million Americans live within three miles of an incinerator. According to the report, which was commissioned by the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives and used Environmental Protection Agency data, 79 percent of all municipal solid...

Rural adults are satisfied with their quality of life and feel safe in their communities, but many struggle to stay ahead of mounting medical and housing expenses and to access the health care they need. For many across rural America, the ability to stay healthy is challenged by financial hardships and difficulty accessing adequate and affordable health care. Despite these challenges, the majority of rural adults are satisfied with their quality of life and feel they can make an impact in...

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) submitted a proposed rule to evict all undocumented immigrants from public housing to the federal register Friday, setting in motion the first step towards finalizing a plan that could impact tens of thousands of undocumented parents and their U.S. citizen children. Under this proposed rule, HUD would be prohibited from “making financial assistance available to persons other than United States citizens.” The current rule allows for...

We are excited to offer an exclusive virtual screening to all ACEs Connection members of the new, acclaimed film, CRACKED UP . This documentary film is about the long term effects of childhood trauma, told through Saturday Night Live veteran Darrell Hammond’s journey in discovering adverse childhood experiences at the root of his lifelong battle with self-harm, addiction, and misdiagnosis. The film’s director, Michelle Esrick, and other special guests will join us after the screening window...

ACEs Connection member, David Kenney, shares his insights on adopting traumatized children, the impact of ACEs, healing avenues, trauma recovery, and much more during our in-depth conversation.

Rebecca Lewis-Pankratz and I were having an exchange on social media about the word resilience. It went on and on. It lasted days. And days. It started on Twitter, moved to Facebook, and then crossed over to text messaging. There was no last word, no meet-in-the-middle moment or any kind of closure. Just confusion. Rebecca suggested we dive deeper, face to face, via a Zoom conversation to be shared on ACEs Connection. We wanted to know why some recoil at or reject the use (overuse) of the...