Celebrating MLK and Discovering our ACEs, (Adverse Childhood Experiences)

Celebrating the Life and Time of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. the City of Orlando’s MLK Commission guest Courtney Powell shared their calendar of events. Go to www.orlando.gov/mlk or mlkorlando.com Orange County’s MLK Initiative representative Dr. Earl Mowatt shared their calendar of events…search www.ocfl.net In the second hour, we spoke with Cendie Stanford, the President of ACEs Matter. ACEs, Adverse Childhood Experiences, are toxic stress inducing events that can negatively influence how the child evolves mentally, physically, spiritually, and financially. Through her program, ACEs Matter, Cendie and her team are dedicated to improving the understanding of mental and physical health disparities. They encourage all to complete an ACE quiz, a test that measures remembered traumatizing events that have happened within childhood. Knowing your ACE score gives you a roadmap and acts as a time capsule of your past, helping you to better shape your future. It is important to have a good community around after taking this test, somewhere you feel free of shame and judgement to speak about the results. Cendie emphasizes “nurture the neurons, strengthen the roots”. It is important to be aware of the events that get stuck in our nervous system and affect our life experience. https://www.acesmatter.org/