We’re working at the community level to help make a lasting impact in Sacramento County, California.
Beginning in 2022 and committed through summer 2024, ACE Resource Network is largely focused on a community-based approach in Sacramento County. We’re launching public awareness campaigns, and investing in community supports to build resilience and prevent and reduce childhood adversity.
Sacramento Community
Advisory Group
To help us make sure that our strategies, activities, and materials are informed by the priorities and needs of the community, ACE Resource Network formed a Sacramento Community Advisory Group in January of 2023.
The roles of the Community Advisory Group are to share their voices as members of the Sacramento community we’re focusing on serving, to provide input and feedback on ACE Resource Network activities and communications, and to spread the word to their circles and communities about our campaigns and events.
Cherelle Blu
Cherelle’s goal is to help reduce ACEs scores in the community, and to help those with ACEs to gain resilience and other tools to help reduce the impact of their ACEs.
Rexanne Irizarry
Born in Sacramento, Rexanne was raised in both Sacramento and Humboldt Counties. Married 24 years, she’s a mom of five and a grandma of two. Rexanne has been a Crisis Intervention Specialist for Sacramento Children’s Home for six years.
Grace Loescher
Grace Loescher (she/they) is a practicing artist, published poet, part time emcee/host, and full time lover of all things creative. Grace runs the Creation District, a safe haven for creation, discovery, activism, daring, and dream-making for Sacramento’s youth and young adults.
Jennifer Mohammed
Jennifer Mohammed is a full-time mom, full-time college student, and a member of multiple organizations.
Alexis Stubbs
Alexis’s background is in Early Childhood Education with an emphasis on community outreach. She’s passionate about learning and growing with her community to make it better.
Nicamer Tolentino
Nicamer is currently the Executive Director of Wind Youth Services in Sacramento, CA, serving homeless and at-risk youth.
Ro’Mel Smith
Ro’Mel is a native of Oakland, CA and father of four, with lived experience as a foster-to-adopt parent, as well as a parent with children who have been a part of the mental health system. Ro’Mel has proudly served as an advocate in the community for several years, and strives to continue to fight with and for our youth and their families who are facing life’s various adversities.
Community
Investments
Our community investments in Sacramento County support programs that help prevent and address childhood adversity, and provide resources that serve people who are likely to experience early adversities and ongoing challenges, including barriers to accessing care. We’re investing in healing spaces and strategies that are culturally relevant and responsive to community needs, guided by the expertise of our partners – organizations doing exemplary work in their respective fields.
For more information on our Sacramento community investments and other collaborations, please contact Joy, Communications and Community Engagement Manager Director at [email protected].
The Los Rios Community College District is one of the nation’s most respected learning institutions and the second-largest community college district in California, serving the greater Sacramento region. They have four colleges, six education centers, and specialized workforce and economic development programs for local businesses, governments, and organizations.
Uplifted by their own community, Del Paso Heights, Neighborhood Wellness disrupts the cycle of intergenerational trauma by getting to the root of the problem. Their programs and services address social, economic, academic, and health inequities to reduce barriers of adversity in their community. They build empathy for their neighbors and create a trusted space for healing, understanding, and growth.
The Sacramento LGBT Community Center works to create a region where LGBTQ+ people thrive. They support the health and wellness of the most marginalized, advocate for equality and justice, and work to build a culturally rich LGBTQ+ community.
The Sacramento Region Community Foundation is the region’s largest grantmaker to the nonprofit organizations that serve and enrich the community. The Foundation envisions a thriving and resilient region where generosity and collaboration create equitable opportunity.
ACE Resource Network has partnered with the Foundation to launch the Culture Is Mental Health Project, funding eight Sacramento nonprofits working to bolster positive mental health outcomes for young people by connecting them with community health workers who reflect their culture and experiences.
Campaigns
Our work in Sacramento includes a series of public awareness campaigns beginning in late 2022. Some of these campaigns are designed to spread broad awareness among Sacramento County adults. Other campaigns are focused on reaching people who identify as members of groups who report experiencing significantly more ACEs, along with ongoing adversity and barriers to accessing resources. We use impact storytelling to build empathy, reduce shame and stigma, and help instill hope and celebrate a diversity of approaches to resilience and healing.
We amplify our messages on a variety of platforms to reach people where they are, including digital advertising, social media, billboards, public transportation signage, radio PSAs, earned media, and more. Our campaigns provide curated resources for preventing and addressing the impacts of childhood adversity and toxic stress, along with ongoing adversities and barriers to accessing care, support, and healing. Recognizing that healing takes place in community, we integrate events into our campaigns as opportunities for positive experiences, creative and cultural celebration, and sharing strategies for stress reduction and well-being.
#HolidaysAre
Hard 2022
In late 2022, we shared the #HolidaysAreHard campaign in solidarity with people experiencing a challenging season. Resonant messages aimed to validate and reduce stigma around the complex emotions the holidays can evoke for many of us, especially when our early years were tough, ultimately increasing awareness of the connection between childhood adversity, toxic stress, and their lasting impacts. Our holiday landing page featured accessible resources – from useful tips for an array of seasonal circumstances, to crisis lines and national supports, to Sacramento services for those seeking local help and solutions.
Marketing ad for the #HolidaysareHard campaign
The Number Story Tree at 1015 20th Street in Sacramento, December 2022
As part of the #HolidaysAreHard initiative, ACE Resource Network launched a one-of-a-kind interactive experience, inviting people to participate in the season in a unique way through the Number Story Tree at 1015 20th Street in Sacramento. Visitors who approached the tree were prompted – via QR code – to reflect on a story of their own strength or resilience from their journey, then activate a web-based “flip switch” that illuminated a single light on the tree. Visitors from anywhere in the country were invited to share their spark and light the Number Story Tree online.
Jake Wesley Rogers and Betty Who at Found Family Fest in Sacramento, December 2022
ACE Resource Network hosted a celebration of connection, community, and resilience – Found Family Fest, an antidote to #HolidaysAreHard – on December 18th, in front of both the Number Story Tree and the Sacramento LGBT Community Center. This free community event featured an array of powerful and moving local performances, including spoken word artists, musicians, and drag performers, highlighting messages of resilience, healing, and hope. The evening culminated with performances by headliners Jake Wesley Rogers and Betty Who.
#FindPride
2023
In June 2023, to help raise awareness and knowledge of the impacts of childhood adversity and to help guide, support, and resource healing journeys among Sacramento LGBTQ+ young adults, ACE Resource Network launched our #FindPride campaign.
People who identify as LGBTQ+ are significantly more likely to have ACEs, and most have experienced parental rejection and increased rates of bullying or other violence. LGBTQ+ adults often navigate additional barriers to physical and mental health and well-being, and accessing care and resources.
Our campaign sought to acknowledge these challenges and their impacts, while centering and amplifying healing concepts like rest, pride, community, and joy, and offering accessible and relevant tips, tools, and local and national resources.
Billboard graphics presenting the #FindPride 2023 campaign
To maximize reach and help promote youth identity and belonging, we participated in Sacramento’s Pride Festival and March – the region’s largest and most inclusive celebration of diversity, advocacy, LGBTQ+ culture, and community-building, produced by the Sacramento LGBT Community Center.
We were proud to participate through integrated and uplifting campaign messaging on signage throughout the grounds, a lively resource booth, and a popular 360° photo booth. Throughout the event, we hosted Q-Spot Live!, an alcohol-free youth-only space designed to help ensure younger attendees and families with kids felt welcome, valued, and centered. We were thrilled to bring stellar musician G Flip to the Sac Pride mainstage and the Q-Spot Live! stage, where their generosity with young fans became a weekend highlight for many.
G Flip on stage at the #FindPride 2023 event
#FindPride 2023 graphics displayed on a local train
Research & Evaluation
Partnering to measure outcomes and evaluate effectiveness
We’re partnering with the Northeastern University Public Evaluation Lab, the Northeastern University Center on Crime, Race, and Justice, and the Northeastern University Institute for Health Equity and Social Justice Research to help us measure and evaluate the work we’re doing in Sacramento. Our rigorous approach helps us move with intention, make informed collaborative decisions, and ensure we’re effectively meeting the goals we’ve identified with our partners and the needs of the communities we’re supporting.
Stay informed and get the latest updates on our efforts.