On December 17, 2014, over 20 people met from across the Washington, DC metro area to begin a dialogue on how to move towards creating trauma informed communities. The event was co-sponsored by the STAR Center, a national technical assistance center working for mental health systems transformation, and The Campbell Center, an education and advocacy group for individuals living with and seeking treatment from mental health and substance addiction challenges.
This gathering was initially the brainchild of Chacku Mathai of the STAR Center and Leah Harris of the National Coalition for Mental Health Recovery. Both Mathai and Harris had been inspired by the growing trauma-informed community movement documented in the Community Resilience Cookbook and ACEs Connection. They were having lunch at an event together, and said, “let’s make this conversation happen.” They reached out to Iden Campbell McCollum, CEO of the Campbell Center, and a longtime trauma awareness advocate in the District of Columbia, who enthusiastically joined the partnership.
Participants represented diverse backgrounds and communities in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Northern Virginia -- including trauma survivors, ACEs educators, child welfare, juvenile justice, domestic violence, parent educators, social workers, peer support workers, legal advocates, veterans, educators, and advocates for youth and adults who are homeless and justice involved.
Mathai opened up the discussion by noting the need to break down our silos. “We can’t solve the complex problems we face alone. It will take the creative contributions of many people across systems and organizations. Hopefully this is the beginning of an ongoing dialogue and action oriented network to build community resilience in the Washington, DC Metro Area.”
Harris gave a brief introduction to the ACE Study and shared about the initiatives happening in Philadelphia, Tarpon Springs, FL, and Walla Walla, WA, among other places, where people are putting what we know about trauma and resilience into practice on the community level. Said Harris, “As someone with an ACE score of 7, who has personally has experienced the devastating effects of trauma as well as the potential for healing, I feel a deep calling to do all I can to help reduce the prevalence of traumatic stress across the life span, and to promote individual and community resilience.”
McCollum shared his moving personal story of building resiliency as a trauma survivor, which has included healing relationships, a regimen of holistic self-care, and spiritual practices. He also talked about the particular traumas faced by the transgender community and the traumatic impact of racism and gentrification in the DC Metro area. He announced a two-day Trauma Conference, to be held May 12-13, 2015, sponsored by the Campbell Center, which will include a track on community resilience.
Following Harris’ and McCollum’s presentations, participants shared their ideas for where this initiative could go, including better education for parents on trauma and child development; educating landlords about the trauma histories of their tenants; and training for law enforcement on trauma and resilience.
There was strong enthusiasm for the conversation to continue. Next steps will include convening a steering committee and identifying/reaching out to other people and community groups that should be invited to participate. Stay tuned for further updates as this hopeful initiative develops. For more information, email leahharris2 (at) gmail (dot) com.
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