Center for Child Counseling series on fighting ACEs continues with a no cost, live online event featuring Fritzi Horstman, founder and executive director of the Compassion Prison Project.  

The goal of Part III of the Lead the Fight series with Horstman is to continue to gather community members and leaders to address adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and childhood trauma through education, discourse, action, and advocacy.

Compassion Prison Project is an organization dedicated to creating trauma-informed prisons and communities, bringing accountability and creative inspiration to all men and women living and working in prisons. With 95% of the incarcerated men and women eventually returning home, Horstman believes it is imperative that we address the chronic mental health issues in prison with common sense, compassion, and urgency. 

In 2020, Horstman directed “Step Inside the Circle” at California State Prison, Los Angeles County with 235 incarcerated men. The video is a call to recognize the physical, emotional, and social impact ACEs have wrought upon society and stress the importance of care–not punishment–going forward in the prison system. 

According to trauma and addiction expert Dr. Gabor Maté who has worked with Horstman on many projects, “When you study prison populations, you see a preponderance of childhood trauma and mental illness. The two go together. So, what we have in prisons are the most traumatized people in our society.” 

The live, online event will take place from 6:00 PM-7:30 PM EST and is open to the public at no cost. For more information or to register, visit:  www.centerforchildcounseling.org/leadthefight

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