MONDAY MEMO #92
Happy Monday, partners! This week includes child and family well-being support, along with training and professional development opportunities, and juvenile justice and self-compassion resources. Additionally, September is Suicide Prevention Month, so we’ve highlighted a variety of resources below. Before we dive in, here are a few highlights from the Resilient Georgia team:
RG Highlights
NEW Blog! Bringing County-Level Data to the Communities It Reflects by Jordan Ricketts Learn how Resilient Georgia and regional partners are using county-level PACEs (Positive and Adverse Childhood Experiences) data to help communities identify strengths, address challenges, and drive local action. Check out the blog to explore how data is being translated into meaningful conversations and solutions across Southwest Georgia.
Handle-With-Care In-Person Training: Join partners from across Georgia for an in-person Handle With Care (HWC) Implementation Training on September 24th in Clayton County. This session is designed for first responders, law enforcement, educators, school staff, mental health providers, community leaders, and other partners interested in implementing or strengthening the HWC model. Participants can earn 3 hours of CEU and POST credit by attending in person. Space is limited, register here!
Faith-Based Mental Health Training Offerings: Dr. Ca Trice Glenn, LPC, is a pastoral counselor and the founder of Church Mental Health Training. She equips faith-leaders, congregations, and nonprofits to recognize mental health concerns, respond with care, and refer well, integrating trauma-informed practice with the theological frameworks faith communities already trust. Her doctoral research centered on childhood trauma, resilience, and a spiritually focused approach to healing. She offers customizable trainings on mental health literacy and response, pastoral care triage, clergy wellness, trauma-informed ministry, grief, and crisis response. Please connect your faith-based partners by contacting info@churchmentalhealthtraining.com.
September is Suicide Prevention Month, a time to raise awareness, reduce stigma, and promote help-seeking. Explore the following resources that offer practical tools and wellness strategies, safety planning, crisis support, and ways to start meaningful conversations about mental health and suicide prevention. The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline provides free, confidential support 24/7, while SAMHSA and NAMI offer educational materials, outreach tools, and guidance for communities, families, and individuals. You can also check out the Free Your Feels Suicide Prevention Toolkit or attend a free Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) October 15-16th in Fairburn, Georgia. This workshop provides practical skills to recognize suicide risk, intervene confidently, and connect individuals to support and resources. The training is open to community members, educators, first responders, faith leaders, mental health professionals, veterans, and anyone interested in strengthening suicide prevention efforts in their community. Register here!
Coalition Highlights
Resilient West Central: Bloom University, a co-lead of Resilient West Central, has partnered with Amerigroup to offer free trauma-informed training opportunities for foster, adoptive, and kinship parents, biological parents, educators, volunteers, and professionals who serve children and families. Upcoming sessions include Bullying Prevention on October 7th and Compassion Fatigue on November 11th at 10AM via Zoom.
Resilient Communities of East Georgia is offering a Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI) training on September 23rd from 8:30-3:30, at CSRA RESA in Dearing, GA, providing participants with practical strategies for supporting children and families impacted by adversity. In addition, registration is now open for the free Resilient Teens program, a nine-week virtual series for students in grades 6-12 that helps youth build resilience, manage emotions, strengthen relationships, and develop healthy coping skills. Participation incentives are available for students who complete the program.
Family and Child Wellbeing
The At a Glance: Developmental Environments resource from the
Center on the Developing Child at Harvard highlights how the conditions and environments where children grow, learn, and live can influence their development and lifelong health. This resource provides practical, actionable strategies for communities to create environments that reduce hazards and provide children with safe, supportive, and enriching opportunities to promote healthy development and well-being.
The Healthy Relationships Toolkit (HeaRT), developed by the CDC, is an evidence-based model designed to help 11–14-year-olds build healthy relationship skills and prevent dating violence and other risk behaviors before they begin. The toolkit includes seven prevention components that address individual, peer, family, school, and community factors, along with implementation guidance, training, and program materials. Complementing this resource, How Educators Play a Role in Preventing ACEs is a five-lesson series that provides educators with an overview of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), their impact, how ACEs can affect the school environment, strategies for prevention and reducing their effects, and ways to raise awareness and educate others.
The Caregivers: Safety Starts With Connection resource provides practical guidance to help caregivers protect children and youth from human trafficking and exploitation. It explains how traffickers may build trust with young people who are seeking connection or
support before using manipulation, pressure, or threats to gain control. The resource emphasizes that strong, supportive relationships can reduce vulnerability and encourages caregivers to maintain open communication, model healthy relationships and boundaries, conduct regular check-ins, promote positive peer and community connections, and support children’s confidence and self-image. It also highlights the importance of responding calmly and supportively if a child discloses an experience of abuse or exploitation and reminds caregivers that trafficking and abuse are never the fault of the child or caregiver.
Juvenile Justice
Adapting Practices in the Justice System for Emerging Adults: Annie E. Casey Foundation: This resource explores how probation officers and defense attorneys can adapt their practices to better support the healthy development of young adults ages 18–25. Based on lessons from emerging adult justice pilot sites, the resource highlights practical strategies such as supporting executive functioning through reminders and assistance with deadlines, using plain language instead of legal terminology to improve understanding and participation, and building rapport and trust by taking time to learn about young people’s interests and goals. These developmentally appropriate approaches can help emerging adults better navigate the justice system and may contribute to more positive outcomes.
Professional Development and Events
The Knowledge to Action Conversation on Building Resilience Through Father Engagement will take place on September 24, from 10:00–11:30 AM. The session will explore how father engagement can strengthen families, build resilience, and improve outcomes for children. Participants will learn about common challenges and misconceptions surrounding Georgia’s legitimation process, resources available to help birth fathers establish their legal rights, and ways child welfare professionals can strengthen collaboration and support fathers in remaining actively involved in their children’s lives.
GA-AIMH 2026 Conference: The Georgia Association for Infant Mental Health will host its 5th Annual Conference on Friday, November 13, 2026, at Georgia State University’s Student Center East in Atlanta. Centered on the theme “Listening In,” the conference will encourage participants to practice presence, humility, and curiosity while deepening their understanding of the families they serve and the field of infant and early childhood mental health. Register now!
The “A Conversation with Chelsea Handler: Making Mental Health a Higher Priority” will be October 2nd from 1–2PM at The Carter Center in Atlanta, GA. The conversation will focus on elevating the importance of mental health and promoting greater awareness and discussion around mental well-being. The event is in person only, with no virtual attendance option. Register here!
Partnership for Innovation Summer Internship Program 2027: The Partnership for Innovation (PIN) is preparing for the 2027 Summer Internship Program and will soon open applications for organizations interested in becoming Partner Organizations and hosting summer interns. Organizations interested in learning more about partnership opportunities or the application process, which launched September 7, are encouraged to connect with Cody Cocchi at cody.cocchi@innovate.gatech.edu to discuss participation.
Self-Compassion
Can Self-Compassion Change the Way You See Society? A new study suggests that self-compassion may influence how we relate to others and view society. Researchers found that people with higher levels of self-compassion tended to show greater empathy and were more likely to hold egalitarian views, while lower levels of self-compassion and empathy were associated with more authoritarian attitudes. Read Can Self-Compassion Change the Way You See Society? to explore how practices that foster kindness toward ourselves may also help build more compassionate communities. For those interested in building self-compassion skills, the Mindful Self-Compassion for Busy People program from the Center for Mindful Self-Compassion offers a practical opportunity to learn and practice these tools. The program will run every Thursday from September 17 - October 22nd and it $325 to register.
THANK YOU FROM THE RESILIENT GEORGIA TEAM!