Did you know that childhood adversity has been deemed the greatest public health threat of this generation?  ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences) affect nearly 70% of the American population to one degree or another, and when we experience 4 or more of the 10 ACEs, we are at greater risk for our health, life expectancy and mental and emotional wellbeing to be impacted.

Fortunately, there is hope, and this is why WYN exists. By providing children access to stable, nurturing adults and resilience skills, and by changing policies and practices in communities, we can rewrite the narrative and ensure children go on to achieve their potential.  We believe that no child should be held back by factors that are outside of their control.

Please read on to learn more about how WYN’s interventions change lives.

There are 10 types of Adverse Childhood Experiences that include various types of abuse, neglect and household dysfunction (leaves of the tree).  Additionally, there are various community and environmental conditions that perpetuate ACEs (roots of the tree).

To build resilience in children who have already experienced ACEs, WYN offers a variety of interventions, shown to be promising at building resilience and fostering healing (shown in the leaves of the tree below).
WYN also works at a policy and environmental level to combat substance use and other factors that make ACEs more likely (shown in the roots of the tree below).

At WYN, we have been working to define the concrete ways we are addressing the affects of adverse childhood experiences. In the Theory of Change document below, we have outlined how each of our interventions addresses specific issues.

For more resources about Adverse Childhood Experiences, visit our ACEs Research page.

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