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Educators, Listening, and Building Resilience
So … I went crazy and went back to school. I did it because I fell in love. Not with a person, but with the work I was doing to spread the word about trauma, especially adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). I love this work for many reasons, but I’m driven by the idea that when we know the way the past affects us we can give ourselves the credit we deserve for still standing. For still trying, hoping. For being resilient. During my master’s work I had a wonderful experience with middle school educators. They sounded like they had a great time, too. We explored the ways they used listening…
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Family Engagement
On the very rainy Saturday morning of June 1st, I had the opportunity to support Walnut Hill Elementary School’s first Tiger Trot and Health Fair. Families came out and walked or ran the 5K course, or part of it, with amazing energy. Rain? No problem! I heard about it from the school’s Family Engagement Specialist, Ms. Parker, who connected me with the right staff person. So, some fellow members of the Petersburg Wellness Consortium joined me to make sure we could support the event on somewhat short notice (my fault). Bless them! I LOVE the folks in the Petersburg City Public School System’s Family Engagement Department. I’m using the word…
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Listening and Trauma-Informed Care
I can’t believe it’s been more than a month since I led a workshop at the International Listening Association’s 40th Annual Convention in Vancouver, Canada. Time really does fly! And I admit, it flies faster as you get older. Maybe because there’s always so much stuff to do, great and small. At the convention, where the theme was “Listening to Conflict,” I started working from the belief that all conflict actually starts inside of us. I believe listening, genuinely listening to ourselves and others, helps us affirm what’s happening inside of us, so we can better handle what’s going there as well as on the outside. I shared how my…
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Blooming…Whatever It Looks Like
A lot of people are thinking about fertilizer this time of year, and lots of other smelly, messy things that make beautiful and vital plants grow. What if we use that as a way of thinking about and addressing ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences)? When I first heard about ACEs and their impact on lifelong health and wellness, it was sobering to discover that a majority of us faced a potentially life-changing traumatic experience when we were children. However, I feel blessed to believe that once you know, it can make all the difference in the world. You can acknowledge and celebrate the fact that no matter how your life looks…
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Spreading The Word About ACEs
I’ve talked a LOT in recent years about Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), trauma, resilience-building, and the work I’m doing to help spread the word about them. That work includes helping to organize the 2017 BEYOND ACEs: Building Community Resilience Summit in Petersburg, VA. My beloved father and sister Patricia, who have always been super supportive, came out. In the picture they’re at the H.O.P.E. Fest that was part of the summit. However, I’ve mostly been doing that with people I’m around in Central Virginia, or patient family and friends. Even a friend who runs a security company tolerated my talking about trauma! Thank God he got it, and the impact…
