June 2019

The following is a press release issued by the office of U.S. Senator Durbin (D-IL) on Monday, June 10, announcing the introduction of bipartisan bicameral legislation that builds on last year’s opioid legislation SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act and recommendations from a recent GAO report. A link to the bill and other information will be provided as soon as possible. In the meantime, an earlier draft of the bill and a section by section are attached to this post. For Immediate...

Note: Many of you have seen the documentary film, Cracked Up, or plan to watch today. The viewing portal remains open until 4p.m. PST and 7p.m. EST. Please use this link to register for the viewing if you've not done so already. Please email me at cwhiteaces@gmail.com or leave a comment if you had sign-in or tech issues while accessing the film so we can help. Here's the detailed post about the Twitter town Hall and guests. Here's the reminder information: Time: 4 - 5 p.m. PST / 7 - 8 p.m.

The data collection and analysis used in the IA attempts to uncover the experience of individuals as they encounter institutions and provide an understanding of how the institutions are organized to act in certain ways and recognizes that sometimes these ways are not aligned with their desired outcomes. The IA is grounded in the viewpoint of family members—children, fathers, mothers, and other primary caregivers. Allegheny County DHS leadership committed at the very beginning of this project...

CHICO — Butte County schools will get $1.6 million more to address emotional trauma after the Camp Fire from a newly-approved Butte Strong Fund grant. The nine community members on the Butte Strong Fund Committee approved a grant request of $1,611,270 from the Butte County Office of Education on Friday. The North Valley Community Foundation manages the fund. The funding will allow more counselors to be hired, adds a parent outreach effort to provide support to families, provides training,...

Between 55 and 99 percent of women who attend addiction treatment and between 85 and 95 percent of women with a history of mental illness have a history of trauma. Among this trauma , the vast majority happened during childhood. Whether the trauma involves neglect, sexual assault, or dysfunction within the family, the need for trauma-informed care in both addiction treatment and in the mental health field is of great importance. When I found myself at a detox facility 1,300 miles away from...

Students start each day with meditation During her first year as principal of Suisun Elementary in Suisun City, Calif., in 2014 Ann Marie Neubert suspended 102 students — out of a student population of 550 —for disrupting their classes. It was a serious problem, but the school’s teachers didn’t know what to do. “[Teachers] felt like they were using all the tools in their toolbox and it wasn’t changing behavior,” she recalls. Ann Marie Neubert Too many students were spending too much time out...

I have avoided writing this blog because there is so much that needs to be addressed regarding the judicial system and trauma – the theme of this newsletter. But of course, it is this avoidance that I, we must resist because avoidance often perpetuates harm. To talk about the judicial system means we have to talk about racism, systemic oppression, power, economics, and trauma and that can feel overwhelming. Even what we call the system can lead to inaccurate assumptions and connections. For...

The Community Health Assessment (CHA), a comprehensive overview of the health of the Humboldt County community, was presented at the Board of Supervisors meeting this afternoon. The Humboldt County Department of Health & Human Services (DHHS) Public Health report looks at traditional public health measures of illness, mortality, nutrition and physical activity in the community. The CHA also includes data about income, housing status, community safety and access to care, as underlying...

Less then 5 years ago long-time trauma informed advocates, Sandra Bloom, MD and Andrea Blanch, PhD, brought together a small group of similarly-minded folks to talk about forming a new national organization focused on trauma informed policy and practice. Months later the Campaign for Trauma Informed Policy and Practice CTIPP was born. In May of 2019, CTIPP was selected by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) to receive its Distinguished Service Award for meritorious service to the...

Laurel Morales, NPR, May 29, 2019. Neda Billie has been waiting to turn on lights in her home for 15 years. "We've been living off those propane lanterns," she says. "Now we don't have to have flashlights everywhere. All the kids have a flashlight so when they get up in the middle of the night like to use the restroom they have a flashlight to go to [the outhouse]." Billie, her husband and their five kids live in a tiny, one-room hogan, a traditional Navajo home. Their three sheep graze on...