Sharing Skills, Shaping Communities
Many of you have attended trainings on the ACE Study, trauma-informed principles, and resilience and have been left wanting guidance on how to put these concepts into action. That’s what our Basics, Resilience Champion, and Principles to Action training workshops offer. We often also hear, “How can I spread this approach in my organization or community?”
After hearing your requests, we developed the Train the Trainer workshops. Through a series of customized workshops, we coach community and organizational leaders on an approach that brings trauma-informed theories to life, building a culture in your community.
In West Virginia, the trauma-informed approaches are spreading across the entire state. Over the past two years, we have been partnering with the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources and the West Virginia Health Affairs Institute to train direct care professionals through a train-the-trainer model. An incredible group of people from this multi-agency, multi-sector coalition has been working side-by-side to build a person-centered trauma-informed culture in their communities and organizations. After taking our Train the Trainer workshop, they have spent the last year supporting each other to work more effectively and collaboratively to train their communities. Through a series of monthly follow-on meetings, they joined us in a welcoming and supportive environment to have their questions answered, collaborate and role-play on solutions, practice mock training, and share invaluable resources.
The measure of success for the new trainers in West Virginia is not just what they learned in the program, but how they are inspiring action and application in their communities and organizations afterward.
Across West Virginia, Origins-certified trainers have trained 479 direct care professionals! (Read the story of how one agency is delivering this training.)
We trained one more cohort this past April, and they will easily surpass their goal of training 500 people. To say we’re thrilled is an understatement.
As we look back on the past year, we’re filled with gratitude for the opportunity to work side by side with wonderful humans to make such a meaningful impact. We’re excited about the future as we continue on our mission to foster understanding, resilience, and healing, and can’t wait to train even more trainers in this movement.
If you’re interested in learning more about the Origins Train the Trainer program, let us know.
Getting Started: A Guide from Trauma to Resilience