ATN Joins the National PTA’s Legislative Conference (LegCon)

The Attachment & Trauma Network was invited to join the National PTA’s Legislative Conference (LegCon) to help educate and support the conference’s delegate on the plank in their platform to “promote youth mental health, address childhood trauma and assist families struggling with addiction. Julie Beem, ATN’s Executive Director along with Board Vice President, Kimberly Smathers […]

Movies that Matter Series

Movie tickets and popcorn on white background

Join ATN as we commemorate Children’s Mental Health Month (May) and PTSD Month (June) with some Trauma-Informed Movies that Matter. We’ll be hosting 3 films and Q&A sessions.  You can register to view one or all of the series, and attend their Q&As…for FREE!  They are filling fast.  Some are sold out. Thursday, May 11 […]

CTIPP: Grassroots Advocacy & Coalition Building

ATN is a partner with the Campaign for Trauma-Informed Policy and Practice (CTIPP).  This non-profit, started in 2015 focuses on advocating for local, statewide and national transformation to build a trauma-informed society that supports individuals, families, organizations, communities and systems to adapt to adversity and stress in healthy and productive ways.  ATN staff and board […]

CTIPP Policy Announcement

Advocacy

ATN is excited to announce that the US House Appropriations Committee has included $1 billion toward school mental health staff and language for trauma-informed schools.  The bill is headed toward the US House for a full vote and then on to the Senate. The Campaign for Trauma-Informed Policy & Practice (CTIPP) was instrumental in getting […]

The RISE from Trauma Act – an Important Reason to Contact Your Senators

US Capitol Building - Advocacy

UPDATE 9/27/21: The RISE from Trauma Act is still in committee…now is a GREAT time to reach out to your Senators to get them behind this legislation. Six senators are sponsoring this bipartisan bill at this point. See below on how you can reach out. Now, before Congress heads into an August recess, is a […]

Join Us for #ATNCares on Giving Tuesday

Mark your calendar for Tuesday, December 1, 2020.  ATN will once again take part in the nationwide Giving Tuesday Campaign. Focusing on #OneCaringAdult, ATN is spotlighting the importance that a caring adult who is present and nurturing can have on the life of EVERY child to build healthy attachment and resilience.  This year, more than […]

What ‘Resilient’ Means to Me

scrabble tiles spelling resilient on a purple background

Is Larissa resilient? (And does she have ADHD?) Larissa has a writing assignment–2-3 pages–due by the end of today. She understands the topic and knows what she wants to say, so she opens her notebook, picks up her pen, and  I can’t work without music. Larissa picks up her phone, checks her DMs, then scrolls […]

Monty’s Day in Court

illustrated cover of courthouse with little boy. Title Monty's Day in Court

Helping children from hard places If you’re reading this blog, chances are that you are either parenting a child from a hard place or know such a child in some other way. Sadly, coming from a hard place can mean being the victim of a crime. It may even mean that the child has to […]

Holding Space for Those Impacted by Racial Trauma

This past week has been an exhausting whirlwind of explosive emotions.  If that’s not true for you, you probably haven’t turned on a TV, read the news online or talked to another human about current US events. In the middle of an already high stress-inducing pandemic, America witnessed a murder captured on cellphone video and […]

Child Trafficking: How Teachers Can Help

Child trafficking: from victim to advocate In 2019, I found myself in front of an auditorium full of school staff members from 70 Colorado school districts, speaking at a training on how to identify child trafficking. Several years earlier, my therapist had told me, “One day, you will be addressing the systems that failed you. […]