Healthy
Communities
Newsletter
November 2020
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Community partners working together
to build health and resilience
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Our Community Meetings
Scroll to bottom for a description of each group
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Safe Kids Clark County, Faith Based Coffee and ACEs Action Alliance
will not meet in November
Nov. 12 - Trauma-Informed Schools Workgroup meeting
- 1 - 3 pm
- Zoom meeting
- Find links and info in this newsletter
November 16 - Clark County Breastfeeding Coalition
- 12:00 - 1:30 pm
- Zoom meeting
An updated calendar for all meetings can also be found at
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ACEs Action Alliance*
*ACEs: Adverse Childhood Experiences
The ACEs Action Alliance is open to all members of the community.
The four key functions served by the ACEs Alliance:
- Educate and build awareness of ACEs and toxic stress, resilience, the Trauma-Informed pathway and community efforts;
- Facilitate opportunities for community mobilization;
- Promote and facilitate cross-sector convening, connection and collaboration;
- Collect, evaluate and share community indicators of ACEs, root causes, and resilience.
Beginning in January 2021, all meetings will take place from 9 to 11 am on the second Wednesday of the month:
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ACEs Action Alliance Learning Collaborative supports learning and awareness about childhood trauma and individual/community resilience. The learning collaborative will meet in February, May and October. Throughout 2021 we will focus on building community belonging and inclusion on a strengths-based foundation.
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The Community Action Alliance Network supports inclusive and collaborative cross-sector connections and will meet four times per year in January, March, June and September.
Next meeting:
The Community Action Alliance Network will meet on Wednesday, January 13, 2021 from 9 to 11 am. Location (likely online!) coming soon.
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Update from the Oct. 28 ACEs Alliance Meeting:
Two videos were shared:
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Childhood Trauma and The Brain illustrates the impact of adversity and trauma on the developing brain. By impacting a child's reward system, threat system and autobiographical memory system, stress and trauma create latent vulnerability, which may influence perceptions and behavior for a lifetime.
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In the film, What is Generational Trauma?, Joy DeGruy, MSW, Ph.D. explains historical trauma from the lens of Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome. Survival adaptation to hostile environments over generations can result in depressed immunity, adaptive behavior and long-term stress and must be addressed through robust efforts to achieve social justice and equity.
The Alliance is seeking community members to serve on the Alliance's Community Advisory Council. The council will function as an oversight committee to ensure the Alliance represents and considers diverse voices and life experiences and supports equity, cultural and gender sensitivity and aligns with community aspirations and priorities as we strive toward preventing and healing trauma and building a self-healing, resilient community. Please contact Cyndie Meyer to volunteer or suggest community members.
The Steering Committee is forming three new sub-committees/teams.
Please contact Cyndie Meyer if you are interested in serving on a team or task force or if you would like to be considered for the Alliance Steering Committee as positions open:
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Planning Team will plan education/outreach events and content for meetings of the learning collaborative.
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Policy Team will research and develop a public policy platform that supports healthy families and children by mitigating/preventing the multi-generational impact of ACEs and trauma.
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Infrastructure Task Force will draft guiding principles, charter, by-laws, etc. for a sustainable Alliance.
We launched a year-long focus on belonging and inclusion that led many participants to say this was one of the most refreshing and uplifting meetings they had attended in months. Hope you will join us for the next session on this topic: Feb. 10, 2021 from 9 to 11 am. Meeting assignment:
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Trauma-Informed Schools Workgroup
The TI Schools Workgroup is for people who work in or with early childhood ed & K-12 schools.
The Trauma Informed Schools Team met on Oct. 8. Hayley Pickus and Cyndie Meyer from Clark County Public Health reported on the county-wide survey of Trauma-Informed School and Districts and shared a sample report of what is generated for school districts that participate. Camas, Washougal and Evergreen School Districts participated last spring. Other districts have delayed participation due to the pandemic and the impact on in-school operations.
Bruce and Deanne Maki from Educational Impact provided an overview of the Trauma-Informed Academy that features training and conferences by Heather Forbes, author of “Help for Billy” and other books on trauma-informed parenting and education. The academy features a 13-hour curriculum and video library that provides access to in-classroom demonstrations, all presentations from the 2018 Trauma-Informed Schools Conference, and the new Classroom 180 series by Heather Forbes. To learn more, contact Cyndie Meyer or go to Educationalimpact.org.
Next meeting:
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Thursday, November 12, 2020
- 1 - 3 pm
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At this meeting, we will learn about Info Maps, a new online, interactive database for Clark County. We will review and discuss implications of the Healthy Youth Survey Data and what they tell us about trauma, adversity and health risk behavior in our youth. We will become familiar with the RISE program from the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, and we will discuss the article "How Trauma Informed Are We, Really?"
- Meeting ID: 859 3921 7822
- Passcode: 157719
- Or connect by PHONE - requires Meeting ID & Passcode above
- +1 253 215 8782
- +1 669 900 9128
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For more information on the ACEs Action Alliance, resources, links to past newsletters, events and more, go to:
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Vancouver and Evergreen Faith Based Coffee groups met for a combined virtual Faith-Based Coffee meeting on Oct. 22. You can view a recording of the meeting here. Scroll down for resources and announcements shared at the meeting.
Next meeting: will take place in January. Please watch upcoming newsletters for date, time and link.
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Follow us on Facebook for meeting updates and information
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Product Recalls
Safe Kids Worldwide lists product recalls each month. Please note: Product recalls never expire, so it’s important to check the recalls on a regular basis. This is especially important for hand-me-down or pre-owned children’s products.
Used child car seats and bike helmets should never be re-used in case their integrity is compromised.
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Safe Kids Clark County
no monthly meeting
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Child Car Seat Safety
class and clinic
No class in November
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Safe Kids Worldwide has developed recommendations for keeping children safe at home since home is now also school and playground for most kids and their parent’s office. Recommendations include keeping cleaning supplies and medicines out of reach of children as well as guns. This article has more suggestions for making your home safe for your kids or grandkids.
As fall turns into winter, with the coronavirus cases increasing in most states, suggestions for keeping your family safe are explored in this article “5 Ways Families can Prepare as Coronavirus Cases Surge”. Most importantly vaccinate your family and your family’s mental health are two of the five suggestions explored in this article. |
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Clark County Breastfeeding Coalition meeting
Clark County Breastfeeding Coalition strives to improve the health of our community by working collaboratively to protect, promote and support breastfeeding.
- Next meeting: Monday, Nov. 16, 2020, Noon to 1:30 pm
- on-line via Zoom
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If interested in attending, please contact Yasmina Aknin
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Community Announcements and Resources
Please send a pdf of announcements and fliers to Cyndie Meyer
before the last week of the month.
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Central Vancouver Coalition is looking for your input
If you live in the following zip codes: 98661, 98662, 98664, the Central Vancouver Coalition wants to hear from YOU!
We are a coalition whose mission is to reduce and prevent youth substance use by building an inclusive, resilient and connected community through awareness, education, and collaboration. We are asking community members to complete a survey to help us understand your thoughts and feelings surrounding youth substance use. Your feedback will help us to better serve youth and families in our community.
This survey is anonymous, and your responses will be kept confidential.
If you’re interested in seeing the results of the survey or to learn more about the coalition, please join us at our monthly meetings on the third Thursday of the month on Zoom or visit our website www.centralvancoalition.org.
This survey should take 10-20 minutes to complete.
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FUNDING OPPORTUNITY: Strengthening Family and Community Engagement
Qualified organizations are invited to submit proposals to embed Vroom brain-building content and activities into their programs and initiatives. Vroom translates brain science into tips and activities for parents and caregivers of children age 0 to 5. It helps them make the most of the moments they already have with their children.
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Mental Health Supports
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SAMHSA Disaster Distress Helpline: 24/7, 365-day-a-year crisis counseling and support for people experiencing emotional distress related to natural or human-caused disasters. Call 1.800.985.5990 or text TalkWithUs to 66746 to connect with a trained crisis counselor.
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Vancouver Public Schools
Grab and Go Meal Information
Grab-and-go meals are offered Monday through Friday (unless there is no school that day). Students, parents or guardians can pick up meals from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the following locations:
- Anderson Elementary, 2215 NE 104th
- Fruit Valley Elementary, 3410 NW Fruit Valley Rd.
- Ogden Elementary, 3200 NE 86th
- Roosevelt Elementary, 2921 Falk Rd.
- Washington Elementary, 2908 S. St.
- Discovery Middle School, 800 E. 40th
- Jason Lee Middle School, 8500 NW 9th
- McLoughlin Middle School, 5802 MacArthur Blvd.
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offers seven free online courses in health literacy to help you improve your communication skills. Some offer free continuing education credit. Check it out here.
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How to Create Safe and Nurturing Environments at Work. This archived webinar how to create safe and nurturing environments that allow you to provide care in a trauma-informed way. Leveraging this framework is more important now than ever before as we navigate the effects of COVID-19.
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COVID-19 and other Health & Safety Resources |
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Keep up-to-date with factual information about COVID-19
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Washington State Coronavirus Hotline: 800.525.0127. Open 6 am-10 pm Monday through Friday and 8 am to 6 pm on weekends and holidays. This hotline is a partnership effort between Washington State Department of Health and Washington 211. This replaces the DOH novel coronavirus call center. (Please note that the statewide 211 system differs from our local 211 system.)
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Concerned that a local business may be violating Safe Start guidance (requirements for face coverings, occupancy limits, etc.)? Submit a report through the Safe Start site, which will route to the appropriate licensing and/or oversight agency, such as the Department of Labor and Industries or the Department of Health, for follow up. Concerns about events that violate Safe Start Guidance may also be reported to the same site: https://coronavirus.wa.gov/report-safe-start-violation
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Suspected violations at local food establishments may also be reported to Clark County Public Health for follow up by the local food safety team.
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About our coalitions and community groups |
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The ACEs Action Alliance is: |
A multi-sector collaborative of public and private organizations and individuals. We raise awareness about adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and their long-term impact. We promote trauma-informed approaches and policies to support resilience and healing for people of all ages. All are welcome at monthly meetings.
The Trauma-Informed Schools Team is open to anyone who works in or with schools in Clark County. We meet monthly to explore tools, resources and applications of trauma-informed principles for schools.
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A non-denominational bridge that joins faith partners, communities and local schools to share learning, meet the needs of children, families and neighborhoods, and address emergent needs that arise in our community. All are welcome. Members maintain the separation of church and state at meetings and when fulfilling needs by serving from the heart without promoting personal religious beliefs or engaging in religious recruitment.
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Safe Kids Clark County is: |
A member of Safe Kids Worldwide, a grassroots network of more than 600 coalitions and chapters that work closely with law enforcement officers, firefighters, paramedics, health professionals, educators, businesses, public policy makers, and, most importantly, parents and kids to promote safety. Priorities include proper car seat use, baby's safe sleep, reducing child vehicular injuries and deaths, and water safety. Local coordination provided by American Medical Response (AMR).
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Clark County Breastfeeding Coalition is: |
A coalition that works to improve the health of our community by promoting, protecting and supporting breastfeeding. CCBC is committed to identify and eliminate barriers to breastfeeding among families of all races and ethnicities in Clark County in order to foster a culture of inclusion.
The coalition works collaboratively to connect, educate and promote breastfeeding practices in all Clark County communities. CCBC also works to create an environment that supports breastfeeding as the cultural norm for infant feeding.
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The Healthy Communities Newsletter is published the first week of each month.
To submit announcements or share information, please send complete information or attach a high resolution pdf file to cyndie.meyer@clark.wa.gov by the 20th of the month prior.
All submissions will be screened and may be edited prior to publication.
If you would like to receive the Healthy Communities Newsletter, please email Jan.Dolph@clark.wa.gov
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For other formats, contact the Clark County ADA Office
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