Systems change depends on more than strategies, policies, and programs. This article explores how systems of care—relationships, learning, trust, and shared responsibility—help communities, coalitions, and organizations stay engaged through conflict
Mental health outcomes are shaped by more than access to services alone. This post explores how stigma, public narratives, and system design influence whether people feel safe seeking support and what evaluators, funders, and coalitions can do to strengthen mental health systems.
Last month, we partnered with Washington State's Department of Ecology to deliver a workshop on trauma-informed practices for transformative community engagement. The session brought together more than 60 Ecology staff across programs, and the energy was palpable. Participants were engaged, asked powerful questions, and shared a strong desire for continued learning. Many reflected on how the tools we shared helped them think differently about building trust, navigating harm, and showing…
In Part 1 of Transformational Healing: Facing Hard Truths, I explored the limitations of the medical model of trauma and recommended community-led strategies to shift healing from something we must "afford" individually to something we intentionally cultivate together. In this post, I share how Black communities have developed survival strategies in response to the harms we have endured; however, these strategies can cause a different form of harm by denying…
Shifting Trauma from an Individual to a Collective Responsibility In a prior post, Healing: A Path to Personal and Collective Liberation, I discussed how systemic oppression has shaped living conditions that harm our physical, environmental, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being. Healing is not just personal - it is deeply tied to processing the trauma that oppressed and marginalized communities have endured for centuries. These conditions have caused historical trauma -…
It started with me looking inward. In 2020, I committed to a long-term healing journey, using therapy as my main healing practice, and the experience has been nothing short of transformative. This journey helped me realize how deeply past pain and trauma drove my reactions and choices, often leading me down paths I did not want to take. I accepted that my unhealthy behavioral patterns were significantly affecting my satisfaction…
