When a family’s house burns down, a community, without instruction, knows how to respond.
Donations of clothing and household items pour in. Neighbors offer of places.
But when a family experiences another sort of trauma, such as a suicide or sexual assault, people may hesitate about how they can support their neighbors.
“Those kinds of very difficult, violent traumas are the most difficult ones for people to respond to,” said Tracy Penfield, founding director of SafeArt, a nonprofit organization that uses expressive arts to assist people who have survived trauma. “Accidents with trauma are more comfortable to talk about.”
Penfield will host three workshops next month titled “Creating Trauma-informed Communities,” to help attendees learn how to respond and support people experiencing trauma in their communities.
The first will take place from 3:30-5:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 1, at True Center Yoga, in Randolph; the second will take place from 5:30-7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 4, 2020, at BALE Common Ground in South Royalton; and the third will be from 6-8
“When I started SafeArt 21 years ago, hardly anyone wanted to talk about trauma,” Penfield said. “Being trauma-informed suddenly has become very important; it’s come into focus in a new way. People are realizing that everyone experiences trauma at some point in their life.”
Trauma is the Greek word for “wound.”
“We define it as any wound to mind, body and soul,” Penfield said. “The whole idea of a trauma-informed community is if we all as a community are informed about what trauma is, what the signs of trauma are, how people either individually or as a group might be reacting to trauma or behaving because of trauma, then we can begin to heal that trauma as a community.”
The discussion-based workshops will include real-life examples that the group can discuss how to respond to.
“No one will be put on the spot,” Penfield said. “People can share their ideas if they want to or they can just listen and participate that way.”
Sexual assault is particularly difficult to talk about, she said, because “in our culture it has been linked with and connected with a lot of shame and blame, shame on top of the pain of the trauma itself … (which) makes it that much more difficult to confront.”
But the fact that it’s difficult to respond to doesn’t mean people should avoid offering support if they know someone who has experienced a sexual assault, which could be done by saying, “I know you’ve been through something very difficult (and) if you want to talk about it or take a walk with me or have a cup of tea, I’m open to it,” Penfield said.
“Let them know that you care and if you want to talk you’re there and not to be afraid to hear, because sometimes the floodgates will open and people will start talking,” she said.
Editor’s note: For more information about the workshops and to preregister, email info@safeart.org or call 802-685-3138. Liz Sauchelli can be reached at esauchelli@vnews.com or 603-727-3221.
