Blogs

An inspirational story from our Founder + Board President, Teri Barila Nothing thrills me more than to hear from someone who attended our conference or training and took action as a result! Angela Hill and Line Perron, with Imagine Institute for Learning (Edmonton, Canada), shared an amazing story based on their engagement with us at the June 2019 Beyond Paper Tigers conference. During the Social/Networking activity, we used the 7 Sentence story to help participants see the power behind...

No brief intervention or short-term infusion of services is a silver bullet that will overcome the long-term harm caused by structural racism, poverty, and multi-generational trauma.

Today we have the chance to get to know Rick Griffin, CRI's Director of Training and Curriculum. Rick continues to speak to thousands of groups from all over the country and is widely recognized for his work with trauma-informed practices. What was your "aha" moment that took you into the world of ACEs and Trauma informed care? My "aha" moment came from two decades of working with struggling teens. I saw young men become frustrated far more easily and more often and communicate their...

Today, we have the opportunity to get to know CRI’s founder and board president Teri Barila. Teri holds a M.S. Degree in Fisheries Science and Management, has over 20 years experience working for government agencies from the Bonneville Power Association in Portland to the Army Corp. of Engineers in Walla Walla, WA. She was a founder or major instigator for numerous community focused non- profits, most notably, Friends of Children of Walla Walla, Community Center for Youth (CCY), Commitment...

Rebecca joined the team at CRI in September, 2019 What was your "aha" moment that took you into the world of ACEs and Trauma informed care? Before I answer, I would like to say how honored and lucky I feel to have been chosen to work with Teri, Rick and others who are addressing health and wellbeing inequities. I love my job and what we do. It was a build up. Upon moving to Walla Walla, a friend encouraged me to see Paper Tigers at a public screening at Whitman College. Then within a few...

I was honored to be invited to a gathering of neighbors and friends in one of our neighborhoods as they came together to celebrate the holiday season. The traditional practice of the Posada opened the party, with neighbors walking door to door singing the traditional verses asking for shelter, with the neighbors responding, either denying shelter or offering their house, re-enacting Joseph and Mary seeking shelter. The last verse was sung at the location of the party, thus welcoming all in...

The Walla Walla Valley Chamber of Commerce hosted their 137th Annual Community Awards last week, and one of Community Resilience Initiative's trainers-- Tony McGuire-- was recognized for his service to our community. As an instructor of basic carpentry at the local Washington State Penitentiary, Tony is so much more than that- he is a mentor, champion, communicator and lifelong learner of what makes us human together. His gift to the world is his ability to share the insights of the...

I was reflecting on another event-packed Resilience Awareness month, with Family Fun Nights, City and County Proclamations, Yard Signs, Banners and flags, sandwich boards, Screenager documentary, resilience tips daily and sheep brains. Wait, what? Sheep brains?? Yes! In partnership with Whitman College's Science Department, we used sheep brains as part of our STEAM events and they were a hit! One grandmom reported it was her grandson's favorite! Another family came back to a second event, to...

We developed ACEs Connection's Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Tool — called the Inclusion Tool, for short — to ensure that ACEs initiatives across the world focus on being inclusive when forming a steering committee, recruiting leaders, providing education about ACEs science, recruiting members, or providing resources and services within their communities. The more inclusive your ACEs initiative is, the more diverse it will be, giving your initiative a real shot at achieving equity and...

On a beautiful fall Saturday at our local Farmers Market, we encouraged kids (and parents) to paint a rock, and then hide it somewhere to surprise the individual discovering the rock with its message of kindness, encouragement or even emojis! The Community is the Solution puzzle was a great conversation starter with adults, and was a natural kick-start to explaining our work!

CRI supported Walla Walla Clinic, Walla Walla Parks and Recreation and Michelle Coleman, LICSW, in the community event for the screening of Screenagers , a film addressing digital screen time and health issues (obesity, social isolation, mental health) in youth. CRI's resource table distributed our Practice a Resilience Strategy Every Day calendar (see it displayed in the attachment), our new Resilience across the Life Span bookmark, and other items for education and awareness. Great fun and...

An ACEs Connection webinar co-sponsored with 4 CA In 2017, California became the first state in the country to pass a law supporting universal screening for adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in the 5.3 million children in the state’s Medicaid program. As clinicians around California await the state’s announcement of what this new policy will entail, many are wondering what it takes to integrate ACEs science in a pediatric practice. Meet Drs. Deirdre Bernard-Pearl, R.J. Gillespie and...