Be Strong Families staff has been on a 6-month long self-care journey sharing our reflections, and commitments related to improving our personal vitality. Our Journey to Vitality work-site wellness program, which addresses 7 domains of vitality (Physical, Spiritual, Environmental, Financial, Emotional/Mental and Social), has been a great way to get to know and support one another and to practice a wide-range of self-care habits to boost our overall well-being.

As the creators of the Parent Cafés, Be Strong Families is excited to announce that the California Department of Education recently added “expanding parental knowledge of child development through Parent Cafés” as one of the top strategies under their nearly $11 million federal Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five (PDG B—5), previously announced on January 16, 2019. This announcement follows the inauguration of Dr. Nadine Burke Harris as California’s first Surgeon General. We are longtime admirers of Dr. Burke Harris’s work, including her 2015 TED Talk, “How childhood trauma affects health across a lifetime.”

In May 2019, BSF's Board of Directors voted unanimously to amend its bylaws to give Regional Parent Engagement Advisory Groups direct board representation, welcoming four new members in the process. A milestone moment for grassroots-driven governance.

Two hours into a Parent Café on trusting relationships, two participants remarked it was the first time in weeks they had truly felt heard. A facilitator from The Matthews House in Colorado reflects on what safety and belonging make possible when parents are finally given space to tell their stories.

“¡FELIZ 5 DE MAYO!” me dijo una persona afroamericana en 1998 cuando yo recién había inmigrado del estado de Michoacán, México. Yo amablemente conteste “Gracias” sin saber realmente por qué celebramos el 5 de mayo ya que en Michoacán, este no es un día de celebración. Me di cuenta de que, por mi origen mexicano, yo daba la impresión de que yo celebraba este día.

“HAPPY CINCO DE MAYO!” said an African-American person to me in 1998 when I had just immigrated from the state of Michoacán, Mexico. I kindly answered "Thank you” without really knowing why we celebrate May 5th because in the state of Michoacán, this is not a day of celebration. I realized that, because of my Mexican origin, it gave the impression that I celebrated this day.

Physical Vitality is the health and well-being of your body. It’s the Vitality Domain that focuses on how you want your body to look and feel. It also addresses your attitudes and habits regarding nutrition, exercise, sleep and mindfulness. What really motivates us to take care of our bodies physically? What tips or tools assist us with staying fit? And how have our bodies changed over time?

We are in a time of collective movement around the lifting of veils and the illumination of shadows. You would have to be trying very hard to remain ignorant to the emergence of these stories that were once silenced coming into voice. It is a strong, potent, rattling, traumatizing event that is still in its beginning stages as we have so many stories to hear, so much untold that deserves Truth and Reconciliation.

Way #3 from BSF's Living the Protective Factors book reframes resilience as radical self-empathy — giving yourself permission to pause, regroup, and offer yourself the same compassion you'd give anyone else you love.

When your child is in danger of failing third grade, it's easy to feel like you're failing too. Guy Schingoethe shares what happened when he and his wife stopped trying to figure it out alone and started doing what Parent Cafés teach every parent to do — ask for help, and use it.