Earlier this month, the Michigan Association of Health Plans (MAHP) Foundation was awarded a PACE Award for our work on the Michigan ACE Initiative.

Working in conjunction with Lansing-based public relations firm Martin Waymire, the MAHP Foundation created a campaign to build awareness of the Michigan ACE Initiative.

Made possible by a grant from the Michigan Health Endowment Fund, the Michigan ACE Initiative is focused on expanding efforts toward a statewide awareness of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and creating a statewide coalition to recommend development of appropriate interventions and state policy; and to provide for the implementation of Medicaid policy for ACE. This program is aimed at benefiting the health and wellness of Michigan’s children.

The Michigan ACE Initiative works to train those who interact with children on a regular basis, including social workers, teachers, community health workers and parents to understand behaviors that exemplify ACEs. This awareness will help children receive assistance from familiar faces within the community.

The public awareness of our campaign continues to grow. Since January, 26 screenings of the film “Resilience: The Biology of Stress and Science of Hope” have taken place, reaching more than 3,288 people. Additionally, 35 Master Trainers (MT) in the field submitted data for 57 presentations (some work in pairs or groups) reaching over 3,290 people in the workforce. The MT’s continue to be in demand for workplace presentations and as conference speakers.

We have also distributed over 1,500 Resilience discussion guides to date to the documentary audiences. At the request of our MT’s, we have provided a “take-away” for presentation audiences in the form of a “stress brain” (stress ball) with the Michigan ACE Initiative logo. Our Facebook page audience continues to expand. On average, each post reaches 1,949 people and generates 64 engagements.

The MAHP Foundation is dedicated to educating and training communities to better identify signs of ACEs in children and create community-based interventions. We’re proud of the strides we’ve made so far and will continue to work toward building trauma-informed communities across Michigan.

 

The MAHP Foundation received funding from the Michigan Health Endowment Fund to support the Creating Healing Communities: A Statewide Initiative to Address Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) in Michigan. Learn more here.