Building Resilience: Youth Matter

“I feel like I matter when…”

At our YOU/TH Matter Summit 2021, we asked local middle school and high school youth to complete that sentence. It turns out helping youth feel like they matter is not that difficult. But it is very important.

Learn how to help youth feel like they matter at

The Power of Mattering with Dr. Gordon Flett, May 2022

Here is a copy of Dr. Flett’s presentation. If you use any slides, please reference Dr. Flett.

Building Resiliency: The Science of Mattering

Dr. Christine Bethell of Johns Hopkins University is an expert on resilience. Her recent talk at a Maine Resilience Building Network conference helped people understand the science of mattering and how to bring it to our lives and those we care for.

You can watch Dr. Bethell’s part of her presentations here

Go to Maine Resilience Building Network for resources, videos and upcoming events.

Thank you to the Maine Resilience Building Network for their dedication to this often neglected health issue and to giving us permission to post the presentation here with other recommended resources.

6 Keys To Building a Resilient Family,
with Sue Badeau, Fall 2021

Handout: Resiliency Activities
Presentation: 6 Keys to Building a Resilient Family

What are ACES?

ACES or Adverse Childhood Experiences are traumatic events or situations like divorce, abuse, neglect, and food insecurity that we know from research can increase our risk for poor health outcomes. ACES can lead to obesity, heart disease, alcohol and drug abuse, and poor mental health outcomes including suicide.

21% of Maine high school youth identified as having 4 or more ACES in the 2019 Maine Integrated Youth Health Survey. This is a higher percentage than other states. What’s more, the Maine survey did not determine youth living in poverty or in substance abusing families – which we know are two common ACES.

Some of the concepts learned from ACES:

  • High ACES in girls are highly predictive of future heroin use.
  • Sexual abuse seems to affect girls more deeply than boys, while boys seem to be affected more deeply by neglect.
  • People with a high ACES “score” are also more likely to have a shorter life span.
  • ACES are passed down at a genetic level. People can be affected by the trauma of their ancestors.
  • Where there is one ACE, there is often more.

Adults can learn how to understand this research, identify ACES in children they care for – but more importantly what to do – in small and institutional ways. Choose To Be Healthy works with local schools and other caring adults to bring the this concept and learn how to build resiliency to our communities.

To learn more about this topic, we have compiled some resources here:

More Resources

Aces Too High Website and Newsletter