Building Community Resilience for a Better Tomorrow
There is a growing movement to understand the impact of trauma on our community and to transform Allegany County, New York into a trauma-informed community. To do so, we must be committed to that shift our thinking from “what’s wrong with you?” to “what’s happened to you?” with an understanding of the pervasive nature of trauma. Trauma-Informed Communities Throughout Allegany County is a community coalition joining together to make Allegany County a Trauma-Informed Community.
What is a Trauma-Informed Community?
Trauma is the word we use to describe a situation or experience where a person has felt emotionally or physically unsafe in a deeply intense moment; that moment tends to bring out deep feelings of terror, helplessness, and powerlessness. Trauma is extremely common! Somewhere between 55-90% of Americans have experienced at least one traumatic event in their lives. These traumatic experiences can then shape how we interact with the world for the rest of our lives in subtle and unconscious ways. Being “trauma informed” or “trauma aware” means that we acknowledge that trauma is very common and can have a serious impact on people’s lives. Trauma informed means not being judgmental (e.g. he/she/they are “good” or “bad” neighbors) and instead understands that all human beings need to feel safe and heard for them to make any significant personal changes or to heal.
