Additional Resources and Training
The following resources and training offer additional supports for community partners, educators, parents, and caregivers, to use with staff, clients, families, and children.
- ACEs Aware: Screen. Treat. Heal.
This resource outlines workflow tips and sample scripts for approaching clients when first introducing ACEs and trauma to them. - Alberta Family Wellness Initiative: The “Brain Story” Training
The Brain Story training summarizes and combines decades of research and knowledge on how the brain develops and why early experiences matter. This free training is offered in English and French and can be completed at your own pace. - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): Veto Violence Online Training Modules:
This website from the CDC provides several free learning modules on ACEs and the importance of trauma-informed care. They also have modules for specific professionals such as educators. - Center for Health Care Strategies: What is Trauma-Informed Care?
This webpage explains how trauma‑informed care and it core principles help create safe and supportive spaces by understanding people’s past experiences. - Child Trauma Research Centre-University of Regina: Free Resources for Educators
The Child Trauma Research Centre has a variety of research-based resources for educators, caregivers, practitioners, and youth, that takes current research and adapts it into easy-to-read posters and tip sheets. - Community Resilience Coalition of Guelph and Wellington
This organization provides a five-module training series focusing on ACEs and resiliency to help service providers support their communities. There is a cost to take this training. - Crisis and Trauma Resource Institute (CTRI)
CTRI provides training (in-person and online), consulting, books, and free resources in the areas of trauma, mental health, counselling skills, and violence prevention. Many of their training resources do require a fee to use. - Families and School Together (FAST) - The FAST Approach
The FAST Program is an internationally acclaimed, evidence-based family engagement program that looks to strengthen family relationships, feelings of school connectedness, and community connections to help reduce stress. - Harvard University: A Guide to Toxic Stress
This guide explains toxic stress, how it affects children, and how caring adults and support can help reduce its effects. - Harvard University: Place Matters: The Environment We Create Shapes the Foundations of Healthy Development
This resource explains how the places where children live, learn, and play affect their growth and health. - Public Health Ontario: Ontario Early Adversity and Resilience Framework
This framework includes ways to reach many different communities across Ontario, including people who are more likely to face early adversity. - TED Talk Video with Dr. Nadine Burke Harris: How Childhood Trauma Affects Health Across A Lifetime
In this Ted Talk video, Dr. Nadine Burke Harris explains how childhood trauma can affect health and why support and early help make a difference. - Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA): The Practical Guide for Implementing A Trauma-Informed Approach
This guide provides practical steps to help organizations use trauma‑informed care in daily practice. - Windsor-Essex County Health Unit: Box Breathing Exercises
This practical tool can help you feel calmer, less stressed, and more focused. A tip sheet is included to print and share.
- ACEs Aware: Parenting with ACES – Handout (PDF)
This resource focuses on parents/caregivers who have experienced ACEs in their lives and are also trying to be a caregiver to their own children. - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): Tips for Coaching Teens to Recognize and Manage Emotions
The following website provides a video and tips for parents/caregivers when responding to their teen's emotions calmly and with empathy which will help teens model those behaviors in their own lives. - Community-Based Parenting Programs Designed Specifically for Families with Children Ages 0-16
ParentLink, offered through Hôtel‑Dieu Grace Healthcare and supported by local agencies, provides free, community-based parenting programs designed specifically for families with children ages 0-16 across Windsor-Essex County. - Windsor-Essex County Health Unit (WECHU): Parenting and Caring for Your Child
This webpage from WECHU provides several resources and links to learn about how you as a parent can help support your child’s journey. - Windsor-Essex County Health Unit (WECHU): School Health Webpage
This webpage has lots of links to resources that focus on a variety of health topics for educators and parents/caregivers. - Windsor-Essex County Health Unit (WECHU): Self-Care Tips for Positive Mental Health
Building self-care into your everyday routine is an effective way to support your mental health. This webpage provides ideas on activities that might help fit into your own self-care plan. - Windsor-Essex County Health Unit (WECHU): Tracking Your Child’s Development
This resource explains why understanding your child’s developmental milestones is important. It helps you learn how your child is developing and how, as a parent, you can support their growth and development.