Leveraging Faith Communities to Prevent ACEs and Promote Violence Prevention: VetoViolence’s New Promotional Toolkit

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are traumatic events that occur during childhood and can have lasting effects on an individual’s physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral development. These experiences can profoundly impact health, well-being, and success throughout a person’s life. Faith, spiritual, and religious communities are uniquely positioned to create supportive environments that prevent and mitigate the effects of ACEs. By engaging youth in positive activities and connecting them with caring adults, these communities can enhance children’s sense of safety, confidence, and belonging. Such efforts are crucial in building resilience and preventing the long-term adverse effects associated with childhood trauma.

Recognizing the significant role that faith, spiritual, and religious communities play in shaping the lives of children, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has a free online training for faith communities looking to understand their role in preventing ACEs and has recently  published a new promotional toolkit on VetoViolence to help communities learn and spread the word about the training. The toolkit includes social media graphics (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter) as well as email banners and signatures to help promote and disseminate the free online training.

Preventing ACEs is closely linked to preventing sexual and intimate partner violence. Children who experience trauma are at a higher risk of encountering violence later in life.

By addressing and preventing ACEs, communities can reduce the likelihood of future violence. Faith communities can play a pivotal role by promoting positive relationships for children and families.

For practitioners working to prevent violence, collaborating with faith, spiritual, and religious communities can be a powerful strategy. These communities often have deep-rooted connections and trust within their congregations, making them important partners in violence prevention efforts. This promotional toolkit is a resource that practitioners can use to engage these communities.

To learn more about CDC’s Preventing Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) Online Training for Faith, Spiritual, and Religious Communities and to access the promotional toolkit, click here.