Key Takeaways: Engaging Young People with Lived Experience

The Pathways Learning Network convened in December to explore strategies for meaningfully engaging youth in policymaking and program design. Read key takeaways below and watch the full recording of the session on our event page! 1. Set Realistic Goals and Expectations Clearly define your organization or agency’s strategy, capacity, and budget before recruiting youth to join. Identify a primary person

Read More

Spotlight on Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth

The Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth (TCCY) was established by the Tennessee General Assembly in 1988. An independent, nonpartisan agency created to ensure the state’s policies and programs effectively promote and protect the health, well-being and development of children, youth and families, TCCY was created as a permanent commission. TCCY is the state’s centralized informational resource and advocacy agency

Read More

Using Language to Prevent Re-Traumatization

Content Warning: this blog post contains discussions of gun violence and other violent imagery. Language can have a powerful influence on how we understand our relationships to the world and one another, and many people don’t realize that the English language contains many common phrases and metaphors that infer or explicitly reference violence. Invoking violent imagery casually in our daily

Read More

Building Pathways to Resilience Nationwide: Reflections from the State Leaders in Trauma and Resilience Roundtable

October 24, 2023, New Brunswick, New Jersey  Pathways to Resilience provides a national forum to help states and communities advance healing-centered, trauma-responsive policies and programs across sectors. With a growing understanding of the impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and the benefits of protective factors and primary intervention strategies on mitigating the impact of trauma and toxic stress, an increasing

Read More

Self-Care Strategies for the Holiday Season

As the holiday season approaches, Pathways to Resilience recognizes that this time looks different for everyone. While holidays may be joyous occasions with loved ones, this is not always the case. Complex family dynamics, historical trauma, loss of family members, and varying family values can contribute to stress, on top of travel, pressure to participate in social events, disrupted routines,

Read More

Identifying Adversity to Promote Healing: Approaches to Screening Across Settings and Populations

Understanding and addressing Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) is an important component of promoting health and resilience. On September 12, 2023, Pathways to Resilience brought together experts Laurie Crawford from the Virginia Department of Social Services Office of Trauma and Resilience Policy, Antoinette Medina from the California Rural Indian Health Board’s Rural Epidemiology Center, and Mikah Owen from the UCLA-UCSF ACEs

Read More

Pathways Expert Advisors Promote Multidisciplinary Approach to Treating the Effects of Childhood Adversity

When children experience strong, frequent, and/or prolonged adversity in childhood without the support of safe, stable, and nurturing relationships and environments, it can lead to high levels of stress in our bodies and brains – called “toxic stress.” Toxic stress can lead to long-term physical and behavioral health problems if not addressed. Although it is critical to focus on preventing

Read More

Summer Round Up

We have been hard at work this summer sharing strategies to prevent and address childhood adversity and trauma through our Pathways Learning Network, ever-expanding Resource Library, and the addition of new training workshops and service offerings from the Pathways team. Read on for highlights of the topics we’ve focused on over the past few months, along with related resources that

Read More

How My Boston Marathon Bombing Story Can Help Others Heal After Disasters with New Federal Mental Health Support

This guest blog is authored by Manya Chylinski, a communications expert whose experiences led her to become an advocate for people who experience psychological wounds after violent events.  On December 23, 2022, the Post-Disaster Mental Health Response Act was signed into law by President Biden. Starting January 1, 2023, anyone living through a federally declared emergency is eligible to access mental

Read More

Lessons Learned: Building Trauma-Responsive Networks of Care

Pathways to Resilience defines healing-centered, trauma-responsive networks of care as a group of cross-sector organizations that collaborate and coordinate to connect children and families to services and supports to prevent, treat, and heal from the harmful consequences of trauma and toxic stress. Members of a network of care may vary across communities but could include government agencies, health care providers,

Read More