The Opportunity Campus' first volunteer and community training series is underway, focusing on understanding the lasting impact of trauma on the homeless population of Boone County.
Running through April and May, the training sessions will host community leaders representing numerous health and human service organizations across Missouri.
Thus far, representatives of Centerstone and Compass Health Network have spoken about different aspects of trauma-informed care.
The first meeting, on April 7, focused on understanding the effect mental health and trauma has on people who are homeless.
Brenna Ishler, north central region director of adult community services at Centerstone, introduced volunteers to the concept of traumatization.
"Traumatization occurs when both internal and external resources are inadequate to cope with external threats," Ishler said.
Ishler also broke down the structure of trauma, highlighting its three main factors:
- Event: the actual experience of harm
- Experience: how someone assigns meaning to the event
- Effects: the result of the person's experience with the event
The meeting also highlighted the trauma of homelessness, and the constant impact it can have on a person.
"If you're unhoused, you do not have your needs met," Ishler said. "You're always thinking about when you're going to eat, when you can rest. It's just an ongoing experience."
Also included in the presentation were the guiding principles to a trauma-informed approach: safety, trustworthiness, choice, collaboration and empowerment.
The principles serve as a framework for how service providers and systems of care can work to reduce the likelihood of re-traumatization, according to the Missouri Roundtable for Trauma-Informed.
"You can walk beside someone," Ishler told the volunteers. "It's not all about you guiding and you steering the ship. This is their life, their experience."
Interested residents may attend a virtual training session from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday. The meeting will host representatives of future Opportunity Campus tenant organizations and the services they will provide.
Registration for virtual attendance is required. For more information, interested residents may contact the Voluntary Action Center on its website.
