Blog

The Capital Region  HEARTS Initiative would like to share an opportunity to take part in a free online course training on ACEs, resilience, and a "whole person" model for ACE response called Restorative Integral Support (RIS). The online course was produced by Associate Professor Heather Larkin and her team at the University at Albany, a leading partner in the HEARTS collaborative. With 13 course modules, making up a total of approximately 12 hours...

   Not long ago, Jan Shepard, Public Health Division Director of Buncombe County Health and Human Services, attended a presentation about the county’s still-in-the-works family justice center. Planners envision the center as a nexus of care and remedy—a place, for instance, where a survivor of domestic violence could speak with law enforcement officials, counselors and advocates in a single “safe place,” rather than having to navigate a fragmented system of...

A child's grades in school might suffer if a parent is suffering from depression, according to a new study. Researchers found that Swedish teens received lower grades during their final year in school if either of their parents had previously been diagnosed with depression. The difference in grades was noticeable but not huge, said senior author Brian Lee, an associate professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at Drexel University's Dornsife School of Public Health in Philadelphia. "It's...

Using person-centered language, which avoids labeling people with mental health diagnoses, can reduce stigma and change the way people view mental health issues , according to a study published in the Journal of Counseling and Development. Person-centered language highlights the person rather than the diagnosis . For example, instead of calling people depressive or saying they are mentally ill , person-centered language advocates for the use of phrases such as “person with...

For corporations today , a premium is placed on creating positive social impact more than ever before.  A company’s “corporate social responsibility” (CSR) goals often encompass cash donations, employer-matching gift programs, volunteer time and pro bono services to non-profit groups that generate tangible social benefits. CSR is good for business. Studies show it improves financial performance, enhances community relationships and promotes employee engagement.

Hey, you! Yes, YOU can make it happen! Anyone can. Whether you are a principal, a student, counselor or teacher, you can be the one to speak up for restorative justice. “Be the change you wish to see in the world” (Mahatma Gandhi). Though I currently work full time as a restorative justice facilitator, it wasn’t always this way. At my last school it was a student, a junior, who decided our school needed this approach. He found backing from our principal, and he found a...

"We're committed to lifting up the work around healing, belonging and inclusion," said Joey Bravo, program associate at The California Endowment (TCE).  Joey and his colleagues with TCE's Center for Healthy Communities supported the creation of a series of videos that capture the groundbreaking efforts of the San Diego Unified School District's campaign to create trauma-informed schools. In this series of videos, SDUSD's transformation of their discipline policies by...

We are seeking a nationally recognized speaker for an introduction to ACE Trauma.  Does anyone have contact information to share please?

As the calendar turns to February, over one third of people   will have given up on their New Year’s resolution. In fact, the official “Ditch Your New Year's Resolutions Day” was over two weeks ago, a sign that abandoning resolutions has become every bit as culturally embedded as making them. There is no shortage of reasons why people do not carry out their resolutions—not making time in their schedules, being unsure of where to start, inertia. One reason I...

There isn’t such a thing as perfect parenting. We all learn with our experiences. As a parent, disciplining your child is one of the biggest challenges you will ever face. When you discipline children, you help them learn how to and how not to behave. But it’s easier said than done. Many things that kids do can get on your nerves -misbehaving, disobedience, spilling milk on the carpet, whining about buying a toy at the store, not doing their homework, etc. So, what do you resort...

Has this ever happened to you….you find yourself in a downcast mood or funk? You can’t quite figure out the issue so you push ahead only to then realize the date. This week is six years since I discovered her affair…it’s exactly eight years since he walked out the door…at this time last year everything changed. You may not consciously remember or track the date of negative events like you would for a birthday or anniversary, but still it finds you. All...

You create a presentation that does not go well. You launch a product that only 10 people buy. Your relationship is over. You don’t get the promotion or new job you really wanted. You get fired. You do something else, and feel like you’ve fallen flat on your face. Understandably, you’re devastated. After all, you failed. [For more of this story, written by Margarita Tartakovsky, go to http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2016/02/03/how-to-recover-from-failure/]