Collaborators
- The Tree Project CIC
- Trauma Informed Network Plymouth
- The Wolseley Trust
We provide a safe, reflective space for those that are supporting the local community. The group includes: local policing team, community workers, neighbourhood watch, victim support team, Young Devon and other local groups – individuals.
We’ve learnt about trauma informed practice theory and explored how it applies to their everyday interactions, we’ve learned emotional regulation techniques for ourselves and to share with community members and most importantly built a strong network of people supporting the local community.
The collective and individuals who have been taking part in the monthly workshops and attended the UK Trauma Recovery conference in Feb 2023. From this the group were motivated to continue meeting to share experience and skills and to continue the collective trauma informed journey. Attendance at the conference inspired group members to continue building on previous learning and work, and we wish to explore continuing to develop Keyham as a Trauma Informed community.
From a recent review some key themes emerged as follows:
That members noticed each other’s growth over the past year and felt a sense of belonging together that has added value to our work and interactions in the community. The group believes that a safety net for the community has been created through our work together.
Those in the group feel more confident in understanding different responses to trauma and how that may manifest in behaviour. This has enabled people to maintain a curiosity and kindness when interacting in our community. Importantly group members feel supported and safe to explore how they feel too.
Over the next year we:
-want to continue to build on what’s strong in our community.
-hope the Trauma Informed Keyham Group to be a legacy of the recovery project for the community
-seek to build on the power of ‘with’ not ‘too’ in our group
-want to learn how we can continue to ‘hold’ the community
-will invite & welcome others to our group
-may give ourselves a new name
Developing the group’s learning and practice by:
-Seeing if we can link the recovery models learnt at the conference to our work in terms of stages and roles of recovery
-Seeking to understand what gets in the way (systems & processes)
-Trying to work with or solve problems
-Thinking about language and how we can rephrase
-Learning about childhood emotional neglect / dissociation / post traumatic growth / community recovery / stress responses and coping techniques
-Sharing our own learning and reflections
The journey began with 2 whole day’s training offered to key members:
– Introduction to Trauma Informed Practice delivered by the Trauma Informed Network Plymouth
– Creative Community Collaborations delivered by Rachel Dobbs (Community Arts Practitioner & The Tree Project CIC)
From here monthly workshops were provided and as a group we obtained funding to attend the UK Trauma Recovery Conference in February 2023.
We hoped to create a sustainable local network of trauma-informed practitioners enabling greater community cohesion and collective recovery. Regular participants are from the local policing team, Keyham Neighbourhood Watch, Wolseley Trust, Victim Support and other local community groups. The collective has been formed to support the group in its endeavours to continue the Trauma Informed journey in Keyham.
