First 5 Mendocino held a training for Indigenous Doulas with Melissa Brown of Zaagi’idiwin! From around Mendocino County, 14 Indigenous Doulas and 4 allies attended this training at the beautiful Redwood Valley Rancheria Learning Center. Melissa is a Dine and Anishinaabe Midwife, a Registered Midwife and an Indigenous Doula Trainer. Zaagi’idiwin is her training organization. Local Indigenous Cultural Practitioners- Rose Steele and Martina Morgan supported the training by sharing local birth, cultural traditions, and practices of Tribal communities including the Elem, Yokayo, Pomo, and Kashia Band of Pomo. Wait a minute . . . what’s a doula? To learn more about doulas, check out our previous blog posts.  Why Train Indigenous Doulas? For equity and justice! Mendocino County has the 3rd highest percentage population of Indigenous People in California. In the US and in the Mendocino area, more Indigenous babies are born with low birth weight, preterm, without adequate prenatal 
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We are thrilled to announce the incredible success of the State of the Child Summit, which took place on March 6 and 7 at the Ukiah Valley Conference Center. The summit brought together nearly 150 professionals, representing 42 different agencies, serving Mendocino County families to hear from renowned experts and speakers, including Tina Payne Bryson, PhD, MaryCatherine McDonald, PhD, Georgie Wisen-Vincent, and Gaelin Elmore, to address critical issues related to children's mental health and well-being.
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On March 6 and 7, First 5 Mendocino will host its annual two-day children's mental health summit, State of the Child, at the Ukiah Valley Conference Center, 200 S. School Street. The free event provides an opportunity for Mendocino County professionals who work with foster youth, foster parents, child caregivers, and community members to engage with nationally recognized and local presenters to gain valuable insights into children's mental health, trauma-informed care, and strategies for promoting resilience in children and youth.
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January is Positive Parenting Awareness Month, a time to focus on educating parents and the organizations that support them about the vital practices, programs, and services that contribute to the well-being of families and children in our community – this is the work of First 5 Mendocino.
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First 5 Mendocino is pleased to announce that on November 9, renowned professor, author, and mental health researcher MaryCatherine McDonald, Ph.D., will kick off a series of training events designed to expand local expertise in trauma-informed care.
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