adverse childhood experiences

Hopeful Message Delivered to Pediatric Professionals at Lead the Fight Event

Cara Hansen Latest News, News Releases , , , , , , , , , , ,

December 9, 2024
For immediate release
Media contact: Cara Scarola Hansen
Center for Child Counseling Public Relations Counsel
cara@yourmissionmarketing.com

Hopeful Message Delivered to Pediatric Professionals at Lead the Fight Event
Part III of the 2024 Lead the Fight series emphasized how to promote healthy outcomes from positive experiences for children–giving hope to vulnerable families for a brighter future. 

Center for Child Counseling continued its 2024 Lead the Fight series to move forward its efforts addressing adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and childhood trauma with the healthcare providers who are on the frontlines of seeing children and families. In partnership with the Palm Beach Pediatric Society, the Center hosted the third and final part of the series, Positivity Will Give HOPE for Our Future, on December 4.

Led by Dr. Shannon Fox-Levine, president of the Palm Beach Pediatric Society and medical director of Center for Child Counseling, the event focused on HOPE (healthy outcomes from positive experiences) and understanding the effect of positive childhood experiences (PCEs) on countering the long-term effect of ACEs and trauma, including the role of epigenetics. 

Featured guest speakers included Renée Layman, CEO of Center for Child Counseling, and Eugenia Flores Millender, Ph.D., RN, PMH-APRN, FAAN. The goal of the evening was to help pediatric medical professionals better understand PCEs and how environmental influences–children’s experiences–actually affect the expression of their genes. 

Layman presented an overview of PCEs and the HOPE framework–stressing the idea that positive experiences are the antidote to adverse experiences in a child’s life. 

According to Layman, “As a society we tend to continue to focus on the negative…While addressing problems and deficits in a child’s life is vital, it would be a mistake to overlook the positive experiences that prevent, mitigate, and support healing from childhood trauma. HOPE shifts the narrative.”

She emphasized the necessity of love, connection, and intentional care for fostering a child’s ability to thrive, both in the moment and over their lifetime.

“A child thrives in the context of strong, nurturing connections with adults who care for them unconditionally. This connection creates a sense of safety, belonging, and worth essential for healthy development,” Layman added.

Positive experiences promote children’s health and well-being, allow children to form strong relationships and connections, cultivate positive self-image and self-worth, provide a sense of belonging, and build skills that promote resilience. The national data shows that PCEs protect adult mental health–the more positive experiences that a child has, the better their long-term health outcomes. 

Following Layman, Dr. Millender discussed how environmental stressors impact child development and health–diving into the research of epigenetics.

Millender is board chair at Center for Child Counseling and the co-founder and co-director of the Center of Population Sciences for Health Equity, assistant dean of research, and a tenured professor at Florida State University College of Nursing. She is an Afro-Indigenous Latina scientist, psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner, and a bilingual first-generation immigrant. These diverse experiences shape and guide her research, focusing on reducing mental health disparities. 

Millender’s work explores how socio-cultural stressors and trauma contribute to transgenerational psychological and co-occurring physical illnesses through gene-environment interactions. She has dedicated her career to increasing access to integrated mental health services and community-engaged research.

“It is not easy but it’s worth doing for our children, for their futures,” said Millender.  

In 2015, Center for Child Counseling launched Fighting ACEs to build awareness and action to mitigate the impact of ACEs and build well-being through Positive Childhood Experiences (PCEs). In conjunction with Leadership Palm Beach County Class of 2017, the Center developed ‘Lead the Fight’ in 2016 to bring awareness to system leaders around fighting childhood adversity with advocacy and action. Since that time, the agency has educated tens of thousands of parents, professionals, and systems leaders. 

Partnership sponsors who are leading the fight in making these important and necessary conversations possible include: BeWellPBC, Children’s Services Council of Palm Beach County, Florida Association for Infant Mental Health, Hanley Foundation, Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition of Palm Beach County, Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital, Mead Johnson Nutrition, Palm Beach Pediatrics, Palm Beach Pediatric Society, and Searcy, Denney, Scarola, Barnhart & Shipley. 

CFCC’s Fighting ACEs initiative to build trauma-informed communities is made possible with the generous support of Quantum Foundation, Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties, and private donors.

CFCC’s pediatric integration program is made possible thanks to the support of Quantum Foundation, The Frederick DeLuca Foundation, and Palm Beach County Community Services Department. 

The Lead the Fight 2025 series will kickoff with an event featuring Dr. Nadine Burke Harris on February 28 at the Kravis Center. Burke Harris is the former attorney general of California and an internationally renowned pediatrician, public health advocate, and author.

For more information on the upcoming event and joining the fight against ACEs, visit: centerforchildcounseling.org/leadthefight. 

About Center for Child Counseling
Center for Child Counseling has been building the foundation for playful, healthful, and hopeful living for children and families in Palm Beach County since 1999. Its services focus on preventing and healing the effects of adverse experiences and toxic stress on children, promoting resiliency and healthy family, school, and community relationships. www.centerforchildcounseling.org Twitter: @ChildCounselPBC Facebook: @CenterforChildCounseling Instagram: @childcounselpbc

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Gratitude Gathering celebrates Dr. Barbara Cox Gerlock, Julie Fisher Cummings, and Justice Barbara Pariente for mitigating ACEs and trauma.

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November 25, 2024
For immediate release
Media contact: Cara Scarola Hansen
Center for Child Counseling Public Relations Counsel
cara@yourmissionmarketing.com

Gratitude Gathering Honors Individuals Profoundly Impacting Children in Palm Beach County

Center for Child Counseling celebrated Dr. Barbara Cox Gerlock, Julie Fisher Cummings, and Justice Barbara Pariente for mitigating ACEs and trauma.

Center for Child Counseling hosted its Gratitude Gathering 2024 on Thursday, November 14 at the Mollie Wilmot Center in West Palm Beach. The event honored distinguished individuals– Dr. Barbara Cox Gerlock, Julie Fisher Cummings, and Justice Barbara Pariente–who are making a profound impact on the lives of children through their passion and tireless dedication to advancing understanding and action to mitigate the impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and trauma.

The Center celebrated its shared commitment with the community of fostering resiliency in children. Emceed by Eddie Stephens–board certified marital and family attorney, author, lecturer, and community leader–the event was an inspiring evening with renowned speakers, personal stories of transformation, and the opportunity to connect with like-minded individuals who share the passion for creating positive change.

Center for Child Counseling CEO Renée Layman opened the evening expressing her gratitude for the incredible women being honored and for being “surrounded by the collective power of people making a difference at a time when it could not be more important to the children and families that we serve.” 

Dr. Cox Gerlock received the Jane Robinson Child Advocacy Award, named after the founder of Center for Child Counseling who passionately dedicated her professional career to promoting infant and early childhood mental health. The award recognizes a passionate advocate who works to promote child resilience, safety, and mental health.

“Her passion and impact, rooted in her lived experiences, exemplify true advocacy for youth,” stated Stephens in his introduction of Cox Gerlock as the honoree. 

Cox Gerlock explained her path to working with children was based on her personal experience: having several people in her early childhood and adolescence who helped her navigate to adulthood and who “provided many of the essentials my family was not able to provide.”

In her early career with teaching, Cox Gerlock encountered “trauma of the first order:” eight students in her class who lost a sibling in a fire at a local community center and then two eighth-grade students who were pregnant.

“I needed to learn how to support them and give them support similar to the support I received.

Realizing there was only so much I could do when working with one child at a time, I embarked on a career making the youth-serving systems more responsive to the needs of youth. An integration of education, behavioral health, and justice systems has been my focus,” she shared. 

Cox Gerlock is a dedicated advocate for youth. Over her 60-year career, she started as a teacher and advanced to a school counselor and administrator–developing programs for at-risk and marginalized youth, especially those facing behavioral health and substance use challenges. Cox Gerlock’s leadership extends to numerous community roles, including: chair of Palm Beach County Citizens’ Advisory Committee for Health and Human Services; chair of the Behavioral Health Committee for the Re-Entry Project; consultant for Palm Beach County School District; and chair for Circuit 15 Juvenile Advisory Board for eight years. 

Fisher Cummings received the Child Protector Award for being a significant champion for children’s safety and mental health. Moving forward, this award will be called the Julie Fisher Cummings Child Protector Award. 

According to Fisher Cummings:

I believe we are responsible for ensuring that all children in our country have the resources they need to succeed. Each child, regardless of their background or circumstances, deserves the opportunity to reach their full potential. They did not choose the conditions into which they were born, but they do represent our hope for a brighter future. Investing in our children means investing in the fabric of our communities. When we provide access to quality education, healthcare, and supportive services, we are not just helping individuals; we are nurturing a generation that will lead us toward a more equitable and prosperous society. 

Fisher Cummings presently serves as the Chair of the Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Foundation. Her work bridges academia, public service, and policy reform. She has dedicated more than 40 years to civic leadership, locally and nationally, through her positions at the Corporation for National and Community Service, Mailman School of Public Health at  Columbia University, The Promise Fund, The Lord’s Place, UPENN, and the Community  Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties. Fisher Cummings is a visionary philanthropist and advocate for women and children. She has championed organizations and issues through the Lovelight Fund to empower young women and promote social change. Her work to empower youth extends to higher education through the Fisher Cummings Washington Fellows Program at Columbia School of Social Work, supporting nearly 40 emerging leaders in social policy. As Executive Producer of I Am Jane Doe, Fisher Cummings spotlighted child sex trafficking–catalyzing groundbreaking legislation and public action. A mentor with Palm Beach Philanthropy Tank and a supporter of the Center for Child Counseling’s Fighting ACEs Initiative, her impact resonates nationally and locally. 

Justice Pariente was recognized with the Judge Ron Alvarez Resiliency Award for being a trailblazer in the legal profession who advocates for a fuller understanding of the science of adversity in the context of the law–making our legal system more compassionate and equitable for vulnerable children and families. 

In her acceptance speech, Pariente expressed how meaningful this award is since it is named after Alvarez with whom she practiced law for several years before he became a judge. She shared her deep respect for how Alvarez spent his judicial life devoted to helping children in need.

Pariente emphasized the importance of championing the work of children and families and applauded Layman and Center for Child Counseling for the work they do to “raise awareness of these issues in Palm Beach County…more than ever it’s important to focus on our own community and how we can make a difference right here.” 

Justice Pariente, the 77th Justice of the Florida Supreme Court and its second female  appointee has been a relentless advocate for children and families. While on the Court, she  authored hundreds of opinions and championed improvements in how courts address family and children’s cases. As the Court’s representative to Florida’s Children’s Cabinet, she advanced early childhood education and fostered collaboration between schools and the judiciary. Known for her unwavering commitment to change, Pariente’s impact extends beyond her distinguished career. In retirement, she continues to inspire as a devoted advocate for children and a role model across generations in Florida. She has been instrumental in her support of the Center for Child Counseling and its fight against adverse childhood experiences through the organization’s Lead the Fight series of events.

The messages of the evening echoed Layman’s encouraging words: “Please find your place in this work that we’re doing, this fight of fighting ACEs–adverse childhood experiences and trauma–and building HOPE, healthy outcomes from positive childhood experiences…it’s so important. We need to surround our kids with a circle of love, safety, security, and hope.” 

For more information on the Center for Child Counseling and its work with children and families in Palm Beach County, visit: centerforchildcounseling.org.  

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HONA Honors Innovative Approach to Fighting Youth Mental Health Crisis

Cara Hansen Latest News, News Releases , , , , , ,

November 8, 2024
For immediate releaseMedia contact: Cara Scarola Hansen
Center for Child Counseling Public Relations Counsel
cara@yourmissionmarketing.com

HONA Honors Innovative Approach to Fighting Youth Mental Health Crisis
Center for Child Counseling Receives Hats Off Nonprofit Innovation Award

Center for Child Counseling (CFCC) announces its selection as the 2024 Hats Off Nonprofit Innovation Award honoree. The Center received this recognition at the 8th Annual Hats Off Nonprofits Awards, hosted by Nonprofits First on October 30. 

The Innovation Award recognizes an individual or an organization that has demonstrated a creative or non-traditional approach to solving a community challenge. This year’s award highlighted CFCC’s innovation in creating a Data Dashboard to confront the youth mental health crisis that our community is facing and to strengthen the agency’s ability to serve children and families in Palm Beach County.

The data is alarming: 1 in 4 children in Florida is experiencing a mental health or behavioral concern. In 2021, 41.5% of Palm Beach County high school students reported that they felt hopeless, and 20.7% of total high school students seriously contemplated suicide. At the same time, it is estimated that 75-80% of children in need of mental health services do not receive them. Research has shown that unaddressed mental health problems among children can lead to lower educational achievement, greater involvement with the criminal justice system, and poor health and social outcomes overall. 

According to CEO Renée Layman, “No child in crisis belongs on a waitlist. Prior to implementing the Data Dashboard, we had 865 kids on the waitlist. Within two weeks, the waitlist dropped dramatically to 350 kids.” 

Beginning in 2019, CFCC partnered with WebAuthor to map out a Data Dashboard to directly fight the youth mental health crisis. 

The Data Dashboard takes the Center’s public health approach–tiers of prevention, early intervention, and treatment–to inform decisions and increase services and decrease wait times to serve more kids and families. Through a data-driven, centralized intake, each family is screened to pick up on mental health and behavioral concerns, as well as financial, housing, and hunger concerns. The data collected allows CFCC to create services that are responsive to caregiver needs without a formalized diagnosis. Through the Data Dashboard, those with the highest needs can be triaged directly to treatment, rather than waiting on a list for care. 

Populated with data from the 7,000 children CFCC serves each year, the system shows exactly where they are located within the county with the various issues they are facing. This geomapping is driving the agency’s vision to better serve kids and families in our community.

Within the Data Dashboard, the CFCC team is looking at data in real time and using the information to pinpoint emerging trends in the specific areas addressed by mental health consultation. Presently, the dashboard highlights concerns such as behavioral issues, family conflict, and anxiety as the most common.

CFCC has taken the prevention science and brought it to practice, with a model that focuses on building supports to prevent mental health crises. Every child and family in Palm Beach County has access to an array of resources and supports that focus on making sure all adults have the skills and knowledge to effectively address the impact of adverse childhood experiences and promote child resilience, safety, well-being.  As a universal strategy, CFCC creates tip sheets, support groups, and training based on family and community voice and need. 

“Our need to act has never been greater. Being able to design services based on the need rather than guessing what the need may be is so powerful. We are incredibly grateful to Nonprofits First for recognizing Center for Child Counseling’s innovation in taking action through data to help solve the youth mental health problem,” stated Layman.

In addition to receiving the 2024 Innovation Award, CFCC has been the past honoree of four other HONA awards, including: 2017 Nonprofit Executive of the Year/Renée Layman, 2018 Nonprofit of the Year (Medium), 2019 Nonprofit Professional of the Year/Lauren Scirrotto, and 2020 People’s Choice Award. 

For the full list of 2024 HONA nominees and honorees, visit: nonprofitsfirst.org/hats-off-awards. 

For more information on CFCC, to access resources, or to make a referral, visit: centerforchildcounseling.org. 

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Celebrate Babies Event Stresses ‘Start Where You Are, Do What you Can’ to Support Florida’s Youngest Generation

Cara Hansen Latest News, News Releases , , , , , , , , , , ,

NEWS RELEASE
October 30, 2024
For immediate release
Media contact: Cara Scarola Hansen
Center for Child Counseling Public Relations Counsel
cara@yourmissionmarketing.com

Celebrate Babies Event Stresses ‘Start Where You Are, Do What you Can’ to Support Florida’s Youngest Generation
Former Attorney General of California Nadine Burke Harris, M.D. calls for a national public health strategy to address the public health crisis of Florida’s youngest generation at Celebrate Babies event. 


“You don’t have to boil the ocean, you just have to play your position” was Nadine Burke Harris, M.D.’s resounding message at the “Celebrate Babies” hybrid event that took place on Tuesday, October 22 at The Breakers and online. Center for Child Counseling in partnership with Florida Association of Infant Mental Health hosted the luncheon to help better shape the future of Florida’s youngest generation. 

With Kathy Leone as the honorary chair and WPTV Channel 5’s Ashley Glass as the emcee, they led statewide business and system leaders in an interactive conversation with Dr. Burke Harris that explored the profound impact of early adversity and trauma on childhood development and how each person can play their part.

Burke Harris is the former attorney general of California and an internationally renowned pediatrician, public health advocate, and author. She is best known for her pioneering work in the field of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and toxic stress.

175 by-special-invitation-only attendees filled the Venetian Ballroom at The Breakers while more than 200 from around the globe joined virtually. The event took place during Celebrate Babies Week–a week dedicated to celebrating infants, toddlers, young children, their families, and early childhood professionals across the globe.

Prior to the main address from Burke Harris, David Lawrence, Jr., founder and board chair of The Children’s Movement of Florida, underscored the essential role that each attendee plays in “ensuring the workforce–the people–are equipped with the skills and support we need to help children and their families in this world with so many with adverse childhood experiences.”   

Lawrence shared his understanding of mental health is based on “our first relationships–how our parents care for us, love us, talk to us, smile at us or don’t smile at us–shape how our brains and bodies develop.”

He emphasized that every child deserves nurturing and caring adults and that all children deserve to be safe and loved: “You can’t build a movement based on those people, those children. It’s about our children and everybody’s child.” 

Both Lawrence and Burke Harris echoed that science clearly confirms what happens early in life impacts everything–early events are carried with us for the rest of our lives and into our future families and communities. 

Dr. Burke Harris is the one who thrust the subject of adverse childhood experiences into our national consciousness and dialogue. The understanding of ACEs today is due to her insights and work in revealing how early adverse events affect lifelong health and well-being—for individuals, families, and communities. Burke Harris gave the overview of how society is grappling with big, complex issues: a youth mental health crisis, crime and overflowing jails, uncontrollable addiction, and generational cycles of abuse and trauma left on repeat. These dilemmas are often the result of unbuffered, untreated trauma experienced early in life.

Despite this bleak outlook, she gave hope and reason to celebrate “that ACEs are not destiny…with early detection and evidenced-based intervention, we can transform health outcomes.”

Emphasizing that our babies can be better from birth–for the rest of their lives–Dr. Burke Harris energetically described a systems-based solution and stated, “We can do this, and we don’t have to do it alone.” 

“In addition to doing the evidenced-based work that we know makes a difference on the individual level, it’s also really important for us to align our systems so that they can actually generate better outcomes.” 

As Attorney General In California, Burke Harris led the way in deploying a coordinated public health approach, inclduding: research on toxic stress; screening for ACEs in primary care; trauma-informed clinical care; county and local network of care coordination; cross-sector training and competency (for educators, the justice system, and across the board); and public awareness and education. Through California’s statewide ACEs Aware initiative, they helped teach primary care providers how to screen for ACEs. Using the results of the ACE screenings, they changed patient’s access to care by changing eligibility through medicaid. 

“In most of the country, in order to get access to services–mental health services–a person has to have a mental health diagnosis. In fact, if you don’t have a mental health diagnosis, the mental health provider can’t even get paid. They can’t bill…but we know that exposure to ACEs dramatically increases the risk that someone will have an adverse outcome. So, if you’re telling me that you can’t even get services until you’ve proven that you had an adverse outcome, guess what we’re going to keep on seeing? Adverse outcomes! So, this is the reason why we have a system that systematically generates poor outcomes, because you can’t get access to services until you’ve had a poor outcome.” 

According to the CDC, the cost in Florida for untreated ACEs is $796 billion: nationally that cost is $14.1 trillion per year. 

Burke Harris touted our nation’s ability to treat public health crises, citing: the reduction in cigarette smoking amongst high school seniors from 25% in 1976 to 3.6% in 2018; death rates from HIV AIDS dramatically declined over the course of 30 years from a six month mean mortality to now the life expectancy being greater than 50 years from diagnosis. 

She exclaimed, “We have done it before, we can do it again, and for $14.1 trillion a year we can’t afford not to. The time is now!”

In her final statements, Burke Harris acknowledged that “so many of us are living with our own ACEs and that to do this work, self-care is not selfish. Do not forget to put your own oxygen mask on because we need you in this fight.”  

She advised the audience members that as much as they likely want to fix the whole system at once to: “Start where you are, do what you can…You don’t have to boil the ocean, you just have to play your position.” 

Burke Harris gave the examples of philanthropists targeting their dollars; policy makers elevating policies that recognize and support healthcare providers to do their work in ways that prevent adverse outcomes; educators learning about ACEs and toxic stress and recognizing some of the best practices for providing safe, stable, and nurturing environments in the classroom. 

In the closing remarks of the luncheon, CEO of Center for Child Counseling Renée Layman thanked Dr. Burke Harris “for significantly moving the science and humanity of this work forward on behalf of all of us who envision a world without ACEs for our babies and children.”

As a Palm Beach County based nonprofit, Center for Child Counseling focuses on a public health approach to building awareness and action around addressing childhood adversity and trauma. CFCC was founded in 1999 with the vision that every child will grow up feeling safe and nurtured in communities where they can thrive. Using a prevention and healing-centered lens, CFCC focuses on changing the systems and practices that keep adversity and trauma firmly in place.

Center for Child Counseling partners with other agencies in the community and throughout the state, such as FAIMH, to host events like “Celebrating Babies” in order for all community members to understand and own the idea that we each have a stake and role in child and family wellbeing. 

According to Layman, “Children have tremendous potential–which our society needs–and which we have a shared obligation to foster and protect”.

CFCC announced they will welcome back Dr. Burke Harris in person to their Lead the Fight 2025 event on Friday, February 28 at the Kravis Center. For more information on the upcoming event and joining the fight against ACEs, visit: centerforchildcounseling.org/leadthefight. 

About Nadine Burke Harris, M.D.:
Nadine Burke Harris, M.D., MH, FAAP is an internationally renowned pediatrician, public health advocate, and author–best known for her pioneering work in the field of ACEs and toxic stress.

Dr. Burke Harris is the founder and former CEO of the Center for Youth Wellness in San Francisco, an organization dedicated to improving the health of children exposed to ACEs. Dr. Burke Harris served as California’s first Surgeon General, where she focused on addressing the root causes of health disparities and promoting early interventions for childhood trauma. Her influential book, “The Deepest Well: Healing the Long-Term Effects of Childhood Adversity,” has brought widespread attention to the impact of early adversity on long-term health and well-being.

About Center for Child Counseling
Center for Child Counseling has been building the foundation for playful, healthful, and hopeful living for children and families in Palm Beach County since 1999. Its services focus on preventing and healing the effects of adverse experiences and toxic stress on children, promoting resiliency and healthy family, school, and community relationships. www.centerforchildcounseling.org Twitter: @ChildCounselPBC Facebook: @CenterforChildCounseling Instagram: @childcounselpbc

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New Grant Gives HOPE to Parents and Children in Palm Beach County

Cara Hansen Latest News, News Releases , , , , , , , , ,

NEWS RELEASE
October 18, 2024
For immediate release
Media contact: Cara Scarola Hansen
Center for Child Counseling Public Relations Counsel
cara@yourmissionmarketing.com

New Grant Gives HOPE to Parents and Children in Palm Beach County
Center for Child Counseling promotes healthy outcomes and positive experiences within families with a $130,000/year grant from the Youth Services Department. 

Local nonprofit Center for Child Counseling (CFCC) recently secured funding from Palm Beach County Youth Services Department to promote HOPE–healthy outcomes from positive experiences–within families. The $130,000 award per year over the next three years for Project Promoting Family HOPE will be used to offer parent/caregiver education and support to address the impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), trauma, and toxic stress. By integrating prevention and early intervention at the family level, parents and caregivers can create safe, supportive environments that promote resilience, healthy relationships, and well-being. 

According to CFCC CEO Renée Layman, “HOPE is a strategy. Without it, we give in, give up, and believe this world is good enough for our kids.”

Positive connection is at the core of CFCC’s work and mission to build the foundation for playful, healthful, and hopeful living for children, families, and communities. Through prevention and early intervention, the agency strives to address the root causes of mental health struggles early on, to mitigate crises before they escalate. The Center is fighting ACEs and the youth mental health crisis with the best weapon possible: positive childhood experiences (PCEs) grounded in trauma-informed positive relationships and support. 

Project Promoting Family HOPE provides two-generation interventions aimed at promoting positive parenting, nurturing relationships, safe environments, and opportunities for social and emotional development. Adults who report higher numbers of PCEs are less likely to experience depression or poor mental health, and adolescents who have positive experiences during childhood are less likely to develop mental health problems later in life. 

This project focuses on enhancing the capacities of people who live and work with children to mitigate the impact of ACEs and promote HOPE. Evidenced-based strategies and education will focus on youth and families exposed to a variety of stressors, including: harsh parenting strategies, including abuse; domestic and/or community violence; caregiver arrest, incarceration, or absence from the home; caregiver or family history of addiction, substance misuse, mental illness; homelessness or lack of housing stability; family member’s chronic illness or sudden death; separation from parents or placement in the foster care system. 

“No family should shoulder the burden of parenthood alone, especially in a world that feels increasingly disconnected, with mounting economic and political stress. Our data reflects high levels of parent/caregiver dysregulation. But there is hope. All parents can benefit from a listening ear, a guiding hand, or simply a respite from the daily grind of parenthood. Our goal is to give parents this hope so that they can be the positive force in their children’s growth. So their kids can grow and develop into healthy, resilient adults,” stated Layman. 

Through the PBC Youth Services Department grant, the Center is able to provide culturally and linguistically appropriate parent/caregiver and professional education through various curricular materials and workshops. For instance, A Way of Being with Children: A Trauma-Informed Approach to Building Safety and Resilience, is a new research-based curriculum developed for adults who work or live with elementary-aged children and includes a 140-page manual with access to tip sheets, videos, and workshops. This curriculum is being delivered live, in-person or via Zoom, and has content available on CFCC’s learning management system at bekidsafe.org. Educational materials and workshops are offered in English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Haitian Creole. 

For more information, visit centerforchildcounseling.org. 

About Center for Child Counseling
Since 1999, Center for Child Counseling has been building the foundation for playful, healthful, and hopeful living for children and families in Palm Beach County. Its services focus on preventing and healing the effects of adverse experiences and toxic stress on children, promoting resiliency and healthy family, school, and community relationships. For more information visit, centerforchildcounseling.org/. 

Twitter: @ChildCounselPBC Facebook: @CenterforChildCounseling Instagram: @childcounselpbc

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Stress and Self-Care

Elysse Dion , , , ,

September 25 @ 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm

Everyone experiences stress. Our bodies are meant to feel stress and to react to it.

Most people experience stress on a daily basis. Stress keeps us alert and ready to avoid danger. Stress results from things that impact upon us in the normal course of life. But what happens when our stress does not go away? Your body is only meant to handle stress in small bursts. Chronic stress can lead to serious problems, lowering your immune system and interfering with the proper functioning of your body’s systems.

FREE Virtual Workshop

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ACEs, Trauma and Racism

Elysse Dion , , , ,

September 12 @ 9:00 am – 1:00 pm

In this intensive workshop, participants will learn about:

Define terms and provide history relevant to race and racism.
Describe the impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences and trauma in the context of race.
Reflect on individuals’ experiences with racism and racial trauma.
Describe resiliency in the face of racism.
Share opportunities for learning, growth, change, and healing.

FREE Virtual Workshop

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Promoting Resilience in Children

Elysse Dion , , ,

August 29 @ 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm

Resilience: the ability to “bounce back” from setbacks, to adapt and overcome adversity, to cope with challenges by making use of internal resources and social supports.

Difficult experiences are an inevitable part of life, and so by supporting resilient practices from childhood, we aim to strengthen a child’s ability to overcome both current and later in life stressors.

Take this training to learn more about the protective buffer that resilience offers against stress as well as strategies to help promote and strengthen this trait in the lives of the children you engage with.

FREE Virtual Workshop

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Positive and Adverse Childhood Experiences (PACEs)

Elysse Dion , , , ,

August 14 @ 9:00 am – 1:00 pm

In the absence of protective relationships, toxic stress in childhood impacts an individual’s well-being across the lifetime. This workshop provides an overview of the ACE and PCE studies, trauma, toxic stress, and the impact it has on one’s health. In addition ways to build resilience will be discussed.

FREE Virtual Training

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Fritzi Horstman Discusses Childhood Trauma Related to the Prison Population

Cara Hansen Fighting ACEs PBC, Latest News, News Releases , , , , , ,

NEWS RELEASE
April  25, 2023
For immediate release
Media contact: Cara Scarola Hansen
Center for Child Counseling Public Relations Counsel
cara@yourmissionmarketing.com
561-632-6747 

Fritzi Horstman Discusses Childhood Trauma Related to the Prison Population: “See people for who they are, not for what they’ve done.” 

Center for Child Counseling series on fighting ACEs continues in conjunction with National Child Abuse Prevention Month and Second Chance Month.

Fritzi Horstman, founder and executive director of the Compassion Prison Project, stressed seeing people “for who they are, not for what they’ve done” in her presentation during Center for Child Counseling’s Part III of its 2023 Lead the Fight series on Wednesday, April 19, 2023. Emceed by Eugenia Millender, Ph.D., RN, chair of the Center’s Board of Directors, the event virtually gathered more than 200 community members and leaders from all over the world to address adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and childhood trauma in relation to the prison population.

The event took place in conjunction with both National Child Abuse Prevention Month and Second Chance Month–recognizing the importance of families and communities working together to prevent child abuse and neglect AND recognizing the need to build meaningful second chances for the millions of people returning to society from incarceration each year.

As a nurse scientist, Dr. Millender is co-founder and co-director for the Florida State University Center for Population Sciences for Health Equity and an associate professor at the FSU College of Nursing. She researches stress, trauma, and mental health disparities among underserved populations using principles of community-engaged and community-led research. In her opening remarks, Millender presented data related to the prison population’s impact on Palm Beach County in 2022. 44,782 arrests were made and 1,088 people were admitted to the Florida Department of Corrections (FDC), ranking PBC seventh of 67 counties in the number of admissions to FDC. Approximately 1,100 individuals were released from FDC and returned to PBC. 

Palm Beach County is a microcosm of what’s occurring nationally. Horstman believes it is imperative that we address the chronic mental health issues in prison with common sense, compassion, and urgency. Compassion Prison Project is an organization dedicated to creating trauma-informed prisons and communities, bringing accountability and creative inspiration to all men and women living and working in prisons. 

In 2020, Horstman directed “Step Inside the Circle” at California State Prison, Los Angeles County with 235 incarcerated men. The video is a call to recognize the physical, emotional, and social impact ACEs have wrought upon society and stress the importance of care–not punishment–going forward in the prison system. 

ACEs without intervention predict various adverse health outcomes. For instance, an individual with four or more ACEs is seven times more likely to go to prison. According to trauma and addiction expert Dr. Gabor Maté who has worked with Horstman on many projects, “When you study prison populations, you see a preponderance of childhood trauma and mental illness. The two go together. So, what we have in prisons are the most traumatized people in our society.” 

Through the Compassion Prison Project, Horstman and her team are calling for change within the prison system and restoring the prisoners’ human dignity and healing their trauma with understanding, compassion, and love.

“If punishment worked, there would be no prisons, because most of the children that have ended up in prison were all punished, were all destroyed. They were physically abused, emotionally abused, sexually abused, neglected, told they were nothing. So, that’s punishment. They’ve already been punished. Violence for a violent act doesn’t work. The only thing that works is love. The only thing that changes anything is love.”

With 95% of our nation’s incarcerated men and women eventually returning home, Horstman recognizes the necessity of rebuilding lives through awareness, self-love, and self-care. Her goal is to give them purpose and direction and have them make a difference while they are sitting in their cells. When incarcerated individuals are eventually released, they need to be healed and have hope to be positive contributors to society and reduce the rate of recidivism.

Horstman gave the example of working with child abusers, “They are going to go home one day, so, if they’re not in good shape, if they don’t feel human…they’re going to continue. It’s my job to make sure, it should be every person’s job in the prison to make sure, those men are in great shape going home.”

She emphasized enforcing accountability and the damage that has been done by those incarcerated, but “if I’m being punished by everything I’ve done in the past, then I can’t move forward.” When speaking with the prisoners, Horstman aims to take their victimhood out of the equation and gives them empowerment to change their outlook and reason for being in prison to one with purpose and hope. 

“When I walk into prisons, what happens is, I start seeing people for who they are and not for what they’ve done. Because if you look at what they’ve done…you recoil. But when you look at who they are, you see their magnificence.” 

In her closing thoughts, Horstman quoted Bob Kerrey, “‘Unexpected kindness is the most powerful, least costly, and most underrated agent of human change.’”

Following Horstman’s presentation, Dr. Millender called on the attendees to join in leading the fight against ACEs by committing to taking action: become ACEs-aware and -informed through training; invest in early childhood development; join the Center’s new Giving Circle; or send letters and information provided by the Center to policy makers urging them to drive supportive change. 

Center for Child Counseling, in conjunction with Leadership Palm Beach County Class of 2017, developed ‘Lead the Fight’ in 2016 to bring awareness to system leaders around fighting childhood adversity with advocacy and action. In 2021, the event was transformed into a virtual action series in response to the pandemic and the urgent need to move forward policies and practices that support children’s mental health and resilience. Virtual conversations continued in 2022.

The 2023 Lead the Fight series is continuing with monthly conversations and events through June, hosting nationally- and internationally-recognized experts on various topics. More information and registration regarding the next event will be available soon at www.centerforchildcounseling.org/leadthefight. 

Partnership sponsors who are leading the fight in making these important and necessary panel conversations possible include: The Breakers Palm Beach and Kathy Leone, The Hanley Foundation, The Haley Foundation, Julie Fisher Cummings and the Lovelight Foundation, SageView Advisory Group, Florida Association for Infant Mental Health,  First Republic Bank, Lighthouse ArtCenter, Premier Pediatrics, The Journey Institute, Florida Association for Infant Mental Health, Searcy Denney Scarola Barnhart & Shipley, Stephens & Stevens, Marital and Family Law.

The Center’s Fighting ACEs initiative to build trauma-informed communities is made possible with the generous support of Quantum Foundation, Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties, and private donors.

About Fritzi Horstman:
Fritzi Horstman is the Founder and Executive Director of the Compassion Prison Project (CPP) an organization dedicated to creating trauma-informed prisons and communities, bringing accountability and creative inspiration to all men and women living and working in prisons.

Horstman is a Grammy-award winning producer for her work on “The Defiant Ones”, has been a producer and post-producer on dozens of television projects and documentaries and has directed several films. She believes it is urgent to bring humanity and compassion to those living behind bars and these acts will help transform our society. She has a Bachelor’s Degree from Vassar College.

About Center for Child Counseling:

Center for Child Counseling has been building the foundation for playful, healthful, and hopeful living for children and families in Palm Beach County since 1999. Its services focus on preventing and healing the effects of adverse experiences and toxic stress on children, promoting resiliency and healthy family, school, and community relationships. As of October 2022, KidSafe Foundation now operates under Center for Child Counseling as the two entities are now stronger together in their education and prevention of child sexual abuse and childhood trauma.

www.centerforchildcounseling.org Twitter: @ChildCounselPBC Facebook: @CenterforChildCounseling Instagram: @childcounselpbc

PHOTO IDs:

Fritzi Hostman, Founder and Executive Director of Compassion Prison Project

Eugenia Millender, Ph.D., RN, emcee of the Lead the Fight event; chair of Center for Child Counseling’s Board of Director; co-founder and co-director for the Florida State University Center for Population Sciences for Health Equity; associate professor at the FSU College of Nursing

Click here to view the news release.

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