It was on a chilly Fall day after a long, hot summer in Arizona that I boarded the plane to San Francisco attend the 2016 ACESCONNECTION conference. I think of this day and the day I first learned about the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study as days that I will never forget- days that changed my life. I was (and continue to be) passionate about work in the trauma-informed space.
“Change culture and you change lives. You can also change the course of history. Many well-meaning social activists overlook this essential fact. They focus relentlessly on strategy, but strategy means nothing to our bodies and our lizard brains. When strategy competes with culture, culture wins–every time.”
~Resmaa Menakem, My Grandmother’s Hands No one can dispute Valorie Kondos Field’s record of winning.
Now is the time for taking action! We are all passionate about making the world a better place but we can sometimes struggle with how to get started. With so much trauma in the world right now, knowing where to start can seem overwhelming.
In this video, Lori shared how one Resilience Champion took a fundamentally different approach to the pandemic in her school and how that made all the difference for the children and families in the community. From how she managed academics to mental wellness needs of both students and staff, looking through the lens of a trauma-informed approach supported the resilience of the community.
When I was an adolescent and young adult, I struggled with depression. As I reflect back on that time, so much of what I was experiencing was deeply tied to coming to terms with my sexuality. Growing up in the 1980’s in a relatively conservative town, I was closeted (even to myself) until I was a young adult. The pain and fear of being different, of not belonging, of being judged or rejected for who I was more than my adolescent brain could wrap its conscious head around. To protect myself from being “found out,” I often turned inward, keeping a safe distance from many.
In this video, Andi talks about how Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are not the only source of toxic stress (insert pandemic here). Understanding our origins (see what we did there) can help us understand what we’re going through can make all of us feel less alone (and less weird).
At Origins, we encourage self-reflection as we navigate advocacy during this social justice revolution. While we are all in this storm together, we recognize the reality that we are not all in the same boat. In scrolling through social media this last week, I came upon a poem that speaks to this truth. The author is unknown.
In this last video, “A Trauma-Informed Approach For All!” we will wrap it all up and talk about how all of these concepts can be translated into practice in both organizations and communities. We will introduce established concepts from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration aka SAMHSA. We will discuss the 4 R’s of a trauma-informed approach- Realize, Recognize, Respond, and Resist Re-traumatization. We will also discuss the 6 principles including Safety, Trustworthiness & Transparency, Peer Support, Collaboration & Mutuality, and Cultural, Historic, & Gender Issues.
In this third video, “What Can We Do About It?” Andi will offer some concrete practices that you can do to build that resilience muscle and keep yourself in that resilience zone.
In this second video, “What About Resilience?” Andi will offer some hope and talk about resilience–what it is and what impacts it.
In this first video of this four-part series, Andi talks about what we are all feeling and why during this COVID-19 (aka coronavirus) pandemic. Using the foundational concepts to a trauma-informed approach that are outlined in The Basics, she explains the impact of the collective stress we are experiencing. Adapting an analogy used by Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, Andi talks about the tigers that are lurking around in all our lives right now. She discusses how we adapt and how each of us may respond differently to them. Some of us may react with a fight or flight response; others with a freeze or fawn response–all normal responses to an abnormal situation. She also talks about some of the common ways we might be adapting to these challenging times. (Over-consuming media anyone?)
Getting Started: A Guide from Trauma to ResilienceStill wondering what this all means and what you can do about it? Download our custom PDF now and have your questions answered now!