In Praise of Struggle
What decades of healing from trauma has taught me.
What decades of healing from trauma has taught me.
Marie-Monique Marthol handed out the cards to older adults at meetings of her local civic association. With the pastor’s permission, she left some at a neighborhood church. She stacked them in restaurants, community centers and even at the laundromat. On the front, the cards read, “Time never runs out for change. Let go of fear and guilt. Focus on healing and growth from ACEs.” The flip side said, “Healing from your past; giving to your future.” They were slogans fine-tuned through months of...
The Huffington Post article "SAT to Add 'Adversity Score' to Reflect Student's Privilege ," by Hayley Miller, reports on the 15 factor neighborhood score that may be reported with a student's SAT's when applying to college. The inclusion of community-level adversity with the SAT is conceptually a major step towards acknowledging the environmental impacts that can affect SAT outcomes. Philadelphia is a region with one of the highest densities of colleges and universities as well as the seat...
On a late February afternoon, Angela Crawford, an English teacher, stood in front of about three dozen Philadelphia educators—mostly young, black women—as they all swapped stories of small victories and challenges in their classrooms. Dressed in a “Black Lives Matter” T-shirt and slim black slacks, Crawford, at one point, reflected on what has helped her remain resilient while working in some of the nation’s least resourced and most segregated classrooms for 23 years. “Black women are...
WEST CHESTER — State Rep. Christina Sappey, D-Chester, and Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, R-Lehigh/Berks, will be introducing legislation aimed at creating trauma-informed school environments in Pennsylvania. “House Bill 1415 seeks to ensure that adverse childhood experiences are recognized in the school setting, where children arguably spend the most time, so they get the support they need to reach their full potential,” Sappey said. Adverse childhood experiences, or ACEs include all forms of abuse,...
As a citizen who has reversed more than 100 overdoses, every now and then I have a cry that is so uncontrollable, and painful, and deep, that I wonder if I will ever stop crying. Recently, I experienced one of those cries. It was after reversing a young man who was overdosing who looked just like my son. He was 16 or 17 years old, still with his school ID around his neck. It took three doses of Narcan — the overdose reversal medication — to bring him back. Surprisingly, he wanted me to call...
Chera Kowalski remembers working at McPherson Square Library when overdoses became a more common occurrence in Kensington. It was 2015, and Philadelphia saw 696 overdose deaths that year — a 52% increase from just two years before — eighty percent of which involved opioids. There were more than twice as many overdose deaths than homicides. At the time, library staff didn’t have naloxone — an opioid overdose reversal medication — or the training to administer it. The best staff members could...
Women who support an incarcerated loved one finally has a place to share their stories on the Real Resilience P.W.L. Podcast.