Thank you to Let's, Empower, Advocate, and Do (LEAD) for an amazing hands-on trauma informed care training for our volunteers and staff!
Thank you to Let's, Empower, Advocate, and Do (LEAD) for an amazing hands-on trauma informed care training for our volunteers and staff!
We had over 30 of our volunteers, board members, and staff participating in a live discussion around the important topics of trauma, empathy, and providing a safe space.
While always present, mental health has taken a particular toll on everyone’s lives this past year, especially for the women we serve. At Suited for Change we are dedicated to providing our highest quality care for our clients and we are so happy to have partnered with LEAD for this valuable opportunity.
Through the webinar, "Trauma-Informed, Sensitive & Responsive Care: A Crash-Course for the Suited for Change Team," the Suited For Change community was empowered to:
- Learn meaningful definitions and examples of ACEs, complex trauma, acute trauma, collective trauma and trauma-informed care at work.
- Recognize the negative effects of COVID-19-related collective trauma such as historic rates of houselessness, food insecurity and unemployment, as well as an overall loss of day-to-day normalcy.
- Identify the signs and symptoms of the “panic zone,'' in clientele, staff and volunteers and the benefits of using restorative justice practices to respond with intention to de-escalate triggered reactions.
- Explore the dangers of compassion fatigue and burnout for community-serving professionals, and ways to identify when their mental health is in decline.
- Set SMART goals related to building trauma-informed practices at Suited for Change that support the mental health, emotional well-being, and psychological safety of staff, volunteers and clientele.
In the weeks following LEAD’s training, our volunteers have already seen positive results in their client interactions after implementing what they learned from the Trauma Informed Care course.
From longtime volunteers like Marianne to newer community members including Brea, everyone has enthusiastically utilized the new skills we discussed.
“It was so compelling” - Marianne
LEAD’s focus on the intentionality of touch, language, and care has allowed our volunteers and staff to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. What may be considered a simple brush on the shoulder to one person, may trigger someone else.
“A very informative presentation. Learned a lot about how we should serve our clients given some of their life experiences” - Jamshed
These small alterations in our behavior result in our clients having full autonomy throughout their suiting, and create a more inclusive environment.
“I already feel more prepared to work with the clients” - Courtney
We encourage others to take proactive steps to understand trauma, and empower others as we can always learn more about how to ensure everyone who walks in our doors feels welcomed.
Stay connected with us by following us on social media @suitedforchange, and signing up for our Monthly Newsletter for additional updates.