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Advocacy​
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Promoting resiliency.
Resilience is the ability to overcome adversity. Recent studies suggest that children with at least one caring, stable adult in their life can lead resilient, successful lives even if they must overcome serious trauma and/or hardships. Safe, stable and nurturing relationships can often lessen the consequences of ACEs.
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Crisis Response• The Georgia Crisis and Access Line (GCAL) provides access to routine or crisis services at 1-800-715-4225 • Download the My GCAL app for iPhones or on Google Play and access GCAL’s services via text and chat • DBHDD has a warm line open for Emotional Support. Dial 866-399-8938 or visit their webpage • Prevent Child Abuse Georgia has a helpline that parents and guardians can use to locate resources based on service or location
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Upcoming Events• NAMI Georgia is offering Weekly Webinars at noon on a variety of topics • CHRIS 180 is hosting weekly live sessions on Facebook and Instagram, on Thursdays at 12:30 P.M., so participants can pose questions to experts in the behavioral health field • PBS is streaming Broken Places at no cost through 5/4/20
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Mental Wellness and Resiliency• Visit the Transitions to Adulthood Center for Research COVID-19 - Mental Health - Youth & Young Adults webpage here. • Visit the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and Georgia Chapter of AAP for COVID-19 resources for clinicians and healthcare professionals • Visit the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry COVID-19 webpage here. • The Cobb Collaborative has a great COVID 19 response page with many area resources as well as a Mind your Mind page with multiple hot and warm lines • Read this article titled: Returning to Resilience: The Impact of COVID-19 on Mental Health and Substance Abuse • Visit Project Parachute for free mental health resources for front line workers
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Faith Based Resources• The Association for Clinical Pastoral Education (ACPE) is offering volunteers and coordination to health systems to expand capacity for patients and staff and have created a Telechaplaincy Institutional Response Form • Visit this Facebook page devoted to faith based leaders and clergy to discuss COVID-19 concerns and best practices
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Grief and Loss• Kate’s Club has developed resources in Spanish and English for families to understand new grief considerations during COVID-19 • The National Alliance for Grieving Children has weekly webinars in response to COVID 19
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Anxiety Relief• This Coronavirus Anxiety Workbook is a tool to help individuals build resilience during this tough time • This Toolkit provides care for COVID-19 Anxiety, a project by Shine • CNN has developed this weekly newsletter highlighting the good in life and positive stories • The Trauma Therapist Podcast recently welcomed Bruce Perry, MD, PhD for a presentation titled Staying Emotionally Close In The Time of COVID19 • Self-Compassion Check-in is a video-based online tool designed to teach a broad community brief self-compassion practices. To access FREE Self-Compassion Check-in recordings, please visit the Prevent Suicide Today YouTube Channel.
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Parenting SupportVisit Strong4Life for guidance on how to talk to your child about COVID-19 as well as how to keep them Resilient • The Fulton County Library is Streaming Story Time • The Cobb County Public Library System offers online digital resources for all ages. • Soccer in the Streets has developed a webpage of skills children can do at home • The Child Mind has a webpage devoted to supporting Families during COVID-19 • Visit NPR for Just For Kids: A Comic Exploring The New Coronavirus • Chris 180 and youth at their Drop In Center produced this video about COVID-19 best practices everyone should know • The Georgia Division of Family and Children Services Prevention (DFCS) Community Support Section designed and launched Building a State of Hope, a statewide child abuse prevention campaign for everyone in Georgia. Visit their Successful Parenting during COVID-19 page • Visit Harvard’s Center on the Developing Child for information about how to support children and yourself during COVID-19.
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English Learners Community Resources• Visit this google doc for COVID-19 resources listed by state for undocumented communities April 15, 2020Page 3 • Cuida tu Mente NO ESTAS SOLO La salud mental nos afecta a todos, independientemente de la cultura, raza, etnia, género u orientación sexual. Los trastornos de ansiedad, los trastornos alimentarios, la depresión, el TDAH, las adicciones y el trastorno bipolar son ejemplos de afecciones de salud mental comunes y tratables. El 20% de los adultos y jóvenes estadounidenses de entre 13 y 18 años padecen enfermedades mentales. • Text FINDFOOD (or COMIDA en espanol) to 888.976.2232. Prompt will request ZIP and street address (works with ZIP only) and then the system provide the three closest food distribution locations with contact information • Visit the Center for Victims of Torture to view COVID-19 Mental Health Resources in multiple languages • Kate’s Club has developed resources in Spanish and English for families to understand new grief considerations during COVID-19 • Paula y la Pandemia, a short, Spanish-language e-book for children on remaining safe during a pandemic; you can find the English version here
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Wellness Apps at your Fingertips• For immediate access to routine or crisis services, please call the Georgia Crisis and Access Line (GCAL) at 1-800-715-4225 or download their app MyGCAL. Visit their webpage to learn more • The app called the Virtual Hope Box, is modeled on a cognitive behavioral therapy technique that uses a physical box containing things that remind patients of positive experiences, reasons for living, people who care about them, or coping resources. • Another helpful app is the ichill app from the Trauma Resource Institute. The iChill app can help teach you the Community Resiliency Model, a set of self-help skills. You will learn simple info about how stress affects the mind and bodyLiberate, a meditation app with free guides for and by people of color • Vennly is an app that offers a safe, inclusive place for people to explore themes related to spirituality and everyday life through the perspectives of respected spiritual and community leaders across different backgrounds and traditions • Visit Calm and discover a curation of meditations, sleep stories, music and more, all hand-picked to support your mental and emotional wellness through this time • Headspace is an app with a mission of providing Mindfulness for your everyday life • Insight Timer has an enormous library of guided meditations to help calm and de-stress during this tough time • Mindfulness Coach was developed to help Veterans, Service members, and others learn how to practice mindfulness and reduce stress • Focus energy on Generosity. Download the Purposity App and you'll be able to see needs near you and follow your favorite organizations. Once a week, you will receive a friendly notification letting you know about needs from your organizations or ones closest to you
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Prevention of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)• End Violence Against Children created this Positive Parenting Amid COVID-19 webpage • There are multiple free training opportunities including: Mandated Reporter online training is currently being offered for no charge Darkness to Light’s Talking with Kids About Safety from Sexual Abuse training is currently available online at no charge by using the code Talk2020 the online version of Stewards of Children can be accessed for free through the FLIPTHESWITCH Campaign. Georgia Center for Child Advocacy created a 30-minute follow up script for group discussion for organizations who use the Online Stewards of Children training. If you would like to facilitate an online group discussion, please contact prevention@gacfca.org D2L recently launched a NEW 30 minute training resource, Protecting Children During a Crisis, in response to the unique challenge of keeping kids safe during this time
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Food and Access Resources• The Atlanta Community Food Bank has published a COVID-19 help map • Georgia Family Connection Partnership is tracking resources, closures, meal and financial assistance, and digitallearning and literacy resources • Text FINDFOOD (or COMIDA en espanol) to 888.976.2232. Prompt will request ZIP and street address (works with ZIP only) and then the system provide the three closest food distribution locations with contact information. • Raksha has created a helpful community resource guide, see attached (Atlanta COVID-19 Community Resources_Raksha)
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Workforce and Community Wellness• Social Emotional Engagement – Knowledge and Skills (SEE-KS) is based upon contemporary research in neurodevelopment and the strong relationship that high quality social connections have with a child’s brain development. An introductory workshop will be held on 4/17 from 830-330 • The Trauma Resource Institute and SEE Learning at Emory is hosting a webinar titled Cultivating Resilience & Compassion in an At-Home Schooling Environment on Thursday, March 26, 2020 • Watch Ann S. Masten, PhD from the University of Minnesota discuss decades of resilience research and how it can provide a roadmap for charting a course forward in a time of historic turbulence • The webinar titled Cultivating Our Best Selves in Response to COVID 19 with Dr. Linda Grabbe and Elaine Miller Karas is now available • The Charter for Compassion‘s Education Institute (CEI) and Life University’s Center for Compassion, Integrity and Secular Ethics are offering free Webinars to Build Your Resiliency Skills During This Difficult Time • The E-book titled Captain Corona and the 19 Covid Warriors is available for free from a Georgian Author working to help children understand and cope with COVID-19 • Motivo is providing clinical supervisors and non-profit agencies with the free use of their HIPAA-compliant platform for 8 weeks. • The Giving Kitchen is focused on helping the restaurant industry; they have a great COVID-19 web page with mental health resources • The Metro Atlanta YMCA has a webpage devoted to the community work they have done amid the COVID-19 crisis. Scroll to the bottom for Wellness at home links • Emory’s Center for Contemplative Science and Compassion-Based Ethics has two daily sessions dedicated to promoting self-care and connecting as a community
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Telehealth and Telemedicine Resources• The Southeastern Telehealth Resource Center (SETRC) is working to advance the use of Telehealth and support services in rural and underserved communities in the southeastern region of the United States, visit their website for training and educational materials • Relias has multiple free training opportunities for tele-mental health on their website • Voices recently published a report titled School-Based Telehealth Implementation: Navigating Common Challenges to Increase Access to Care
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Policy Updates and Advocacy• New guidance from the CDC regarding COVID-19 is updated regularly The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has launched a new Coronavirus Self-Checker, which may be a helpful tool if you think you are experiencing symptoms of the virus. • The Georgia Department of Public Health’s COVID-19 Daily Status Report • The Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disability has a COVID-19 resource page • The COVID Tracking Project obtains, organizes, and publishes high-quality data required to understand and respond to the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States. • COVID19 HealthData.Org is a great resource for data and state and national projections from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation • Visit the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and Georgia Chapter of AAP for COVID-19 resources for clinicians and healthcare professionals • The Medical Association of Georgia (MAG) created a COVID-19 webpage with resources for physicians and patients, and includes a payer developments section • DECAL is updating its COVID 19 web page daily at 1 pm, DECAL Commissioner Amy Jacob’s Response to the Governor’s executive order Monday night is attached • The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) has published a document filled with COVID-19 Resources and Best Practices • Voices for Georgia’s Children has a webpage devoted to provide informative, up to date resources for families • Voices for Georgia’s Children has a COVID-19 policy recommendations and tracker page • The Georgia Center for Non-Profits has published a COVID-19 guidance, resources and updates webpage • The National Network to End Domestic Violence andFutures Without Violence have both posted COVID-19 resources • The National Innovation Service has created An Equitable Systems Transformation Framework for COVID-19 • Visit Policy Link’s webpage titled Covid-19: A Call-to-Action for Comprehensive Public Health and Economic Supports to read about policy they are asking federal leaders to champion. • The Atlanta Wealth Building Initiative offers the attached Small Business Resource List (AWBI Small Biz) • Visit the CDC’s webpage for Guidance for Childcare Programs that Remain Open
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Articles and Key Research Findings• Dr. Jack Shonkoff at the Harvard Center for the Developing Child focuses on Resilience in this article titled: Stress, Resilience, and the Role of Science: Responding to the Coronavirus Pandemic • Teaching Tolerance recently penned this article for Educators titled: A Trauma-Informed Approach to Teaching Through Coronavirus • The Mental Health Technology Transfer Center Network published Supportive Practices for Mental Health Professionals During Pandemic-Related Social Distancing • Psychology Today recently penned an article titled COVID 19 and the Grief Process • Healthline recently published the article titled How Anticipatory Grief may Show up During the COVID 19 Outbreak • Brooks et al Published a Rapid Review of the psychological impact of quarantine so experts can gain knowledge regarding how to best handle COVID-19 and understand the factors that contribute to, or mitigate, the impact • CNN Health published an article titled How to Keep Coronavirus Fears from Affecting your Mental Health • The Atlantic recently published articles titled The Coronavirus' Unique Threat to the South and Why Don't we Know Who the Coronavirus Victims Are Videos of NYC Physicians comments at the end are incredibly impactful. • The Kaiser Family Foundation recently published and articled titled How Many Adults Are at Risk of Serious Illness If Infected with Coronavirus? This article includes useful heat maps of those populations at risk across the US.
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COVID-19 Emergency Response and Strategies for Nonprofits & Businesses• The Georgia Center for Non-profit has a webpage created to highlight financial relief, funding and support for non-profits. Click here to visit the page • Visit the State of Georgia’s website to view COVID-19 Support for Businesses • United Way of Greater Atlanta and Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta announce the Greater Atlanta COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund • WellCare has shared information about the 2020 Community Connections Resource Grants • The Southeaster Council of Foundations has created a list of funding opportunities from their members in response to COVID-19. Click here to see the complete list • The National Council of Non-Profits has created a webpage devoted to COVID-19 resources for Non-profits. Visit their page to better understand new legislation, Aid, Loans and Relief efforts
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