Trauma informed faith communities are better equipped to help the hurting
The Oklahoma Conference of The United Methodist Church has joined other faith-based and non-profit partners in supporting Trauma-Informed Faith Communities, which is a project led by Crisis Care Ministries.
This project offers training, consultation, and resources to better incorporate key trauma principles into the culture of faith-based organizations serving local communities.
Crisis Care Ministries has led eight webinar series over the past three years, training over 6,000 attendees in how to care for individuals who have been affected by disasters and other stressors like poverty, lack of affordable housing, food insecurity, and more.
The upcoming series begins October 3, with Caring in Crisis: Tuesday Briefs. Webinar presenters are key leaders in crisis response, mental health, and faith-based organizations. Each session will last an hour.
Registration is free, and available here.
According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration (SAMHSA), a part of the US Department of Health & Human Services, the trauma-informed approach is comprised of four assumptions and six key principles.
The four assumptions are realization about trauma and how it can affect people and groups; recognizing the signs of trauma; having a system which can respond to trauma; and resisting re-traumatization.
The six key principles include safety; trustworthiness and transparency; peer support; collaboration and mutuality; empowerment, voice, and choice; and cultural, historical, and gender issues.
The impact of disaffiliations is one form of trauma that is unique to the United Methodist Church in the current time and place, and is a real and powerful trauma among the many facing people every day.
The project is working with faith leaders to create benchmarks specific to churches so they may assess their readiness to address individual and community trauma.
Training is available through the webinar, which starts October 3, and is led by experts in their fields.
Experienced staff from Crisis Care Ministries are available to faith leaders as they plan and implement early and long-term response to crisis-related emotional and spiritual care needs.
Tip sheets are available that include response checklists; community gathering outlines; faith-specific resources; and communication templates.
The project has curated many resources for emotional and spiritual care available on its website.
Partner organizations can also access aggregate data reports from years of data collection, regarding the influence and impact of faith leaders in their communities.
Crisis and trauma care are key components to a healthy and vital community.
