This free, virtual conference will uplift and celebrate the stories of changemakers across Minnesota that are leading efforts to address problems that affect the health and wellbeing of their community members. Attendees can expect to leave the Gathering inspired with new and innovative ideas to bring back to their own communities.
The event’s keynote speakers include Dr. JoAnne Riegert and Donna La Chapelle from the Center for Mind-Body Medicine (CMBM), who will present on “EARTH: Empowering All Relatives to Heal.”
Learn more and register for the event: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/growing-resilient-communities-gathering-of-collaboratives-tribal-nations-tickets-867702149487.
The keynote presentation will provide an overview of CMBM’s evidence-based model for population-wide trauma-relief. The model, which arises out of numerous wisdom traditions, has been used worldwide and more than 800 people from over 25 tribes have been trained to further this movement.
Gathering attendees will learn how the CMBM model can be applied creatively in culturally specific settings within families, workplaces, and communities. The model’s intergenerational approach supports learning and healing for children, adolescents, adults, and elders.
Event breakout sessions will cover a range of topics from what we can learn about the wellbeing of youth from the Minnesota Student Survey to how we can engage the voices and stories of parents and community members in efforts to create more supportive families and communities. One session will feature a panel of leaders who are integrating Indigenous cultural practices into healthcare, workplace wellness, language revitalization efforts, and community work.
The Gathering is just one of the many ways that FamilyWise is fostering self-healing communities across the state. For over a decade, the organization has been partnering with communities to build shared understanding of trauma and to catalyze community-led actions that support individual and collective resiliency. These partnerships are grounded in the unique needs, goals, and lived experiences of communities.
For example, through the More Resilient Minnesota Initiative, FamilyWise partners with Children’s Mental Health and Family Services Collaboratives across the state to raise awareness of NEAR Science (Neurobiology, Epigenetics, Adverse Childhood Experiences, and Resilience). Through this project, Collaboratives bring community members together for shared learning and dialogue to leverage community strengths for preventing Adverse Childhood Experiences (or ACEs) and promoting healing.
Through FamilyWise’s Tribal NEAR and Community Wisdom Project, FamilyWise supports Tribal communities in their efforts to increase community connection, reduce out-of-home placement, and continue to heal from historical trauma. The organization recently published its third season of the Remembering Resilience Podcast. The podcast has been widely shared in Tribal communities and beyond, raising awareness and catalyzing conversations about topics including historical trauma, collective healing, reawakening individual resilience, relationships and belonging, food sovereignty, and more.
You can learn more about these and other community-based initiatives focused on holistic health and wellbeing at the Growing Resilient Communities Gathering. The event will take place virtually from 9:00am to 2:30pm on Tuesday, June 18th. The event is geared towards members of Tribal Nations, Children’s Mental Health and Family Services Collaboratives, and all community members that want to learn more and work to create resilient communities. Social Work CEUs are available upon request.
This event is planned and organized by FamilyWise Services, specific to More Resilient Minnesota and the Tribal NEAR and Community Wisdom Project. This event is made possible with primary funding from the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) and support from the Center for Prevention at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota.
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