Trauma-Informed Schools and Our Commitment to Equity
In Trauma-informed schools, everyone in the building is educated about trauma-related behaviors, cultural humility, and resilience. Through this ongoing learning process, teachers and school leaders develop and engage in practices that yield safer, more equitable, restorative experiences for all members of the school community.
Resilient Futures was conceptualized and founded to expand the reach of trauma-informed practices while centralizing race-based equity. Our focus on equity has been our guiding light from day one and the lens of Cultural Humility grounds every decision, policy, practice, and both internal and external interactions. Cultural Humility is focused on the roles of both individuals and systems in perpetuating oppression.
Programs and Services
Trauma-informed systems and organizations are based on an understanding of the vulnerabilities or reminders of trauma that historic approaches may exacerbate. Our Trauma-Informed Futures© Programs & Services help to increase awareness of trauma - race-based and otherwise, facilitate behavior change, and develop necessary skills and tools to respond differently to trauma to sustain long-term positive outcomes.
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Early Childhood (0-5 years)
Trauma experienced during the first five years of life can have a significant impact on the child’s development, interfering with self-regulation, coping with stress, learning, and developing positive relationships. Neuroscience research demonstrates that young children’s brains are incredibly malleable and that early childhood represents a critical window of opportunity for young children to learn and thrive. Promoting early childhood learning environments that centralize caregiving practices, that prioritize relational support, utilize co-regulation, and promote trauma-informed equity-centered practices is critical to foster resilience and growth.
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K-12 Schools, Higher Ed & Youth-Serving Agencies
Trauma has a direct and overwhelming impact on the ability of children to learn, and impacts how adults engage in their professional roles yet has been largely ignored by our education system. In adopting a trauma-informed equity-focused approach, schools undergo a paradigm shift at both the individual and organizational levels to recognize, understand, and honor the needs of children and adults impacted by trauma. This requires a commitment to reshaping school culture, practices, and policies to be sensitive to the needs of learners and adults who have experienced or are currently experiencing trauma. In doing so, we change the trajectory of students, and the community by creating equitable, supportive and nurturing school environments for all members of the school community.
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Community & Institutional Systems
We partner with community systems and institutions to recognize and respond to the impacts of trauma and racism amongst employees, members, and participants. Our evidence-informed training and tailored, scalable support focus on creating a shared understanding of the impacts of trauma, identifying and addressing barriers to wellness, building trauma-informed organizational cultures, and equipping leaders with skills to cultivate thriving, professional, and communal environments.
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Racial Healing & Coaching Series
Our Healing Spaces for People of Color are facilitated by Dr. Eleonora Cahill in collaboration with co-facilitators from our pool of BIPOC staff and faculty. The intention of these spaces is for people of color to come together to create community care and support one another and include Racial Healing Circles, Racial Healing Coaching, and the Black Educator Wellness Cohort. This series can be implemented independently or in combination with other trauma-informed service offerings.
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Race-Based Equity Trainings
Race-Based Equity Trainings are designed to increase the capacity of participants to hold and engage in race-based equity work; establish a common framework for trauma-informed race-based equity work; examine and process Unconscious Bias and develop an understanding of racism as a form of trauma. Our training supports participants to explore steps to shift their agency and organizational culture to promote racial justice and an equity lens. This series can also include White Allyship Affinity Groups that focus on increasing the capacity for white allies to actively work to respond to the manifestation of racism.
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Online Courses & Resources
A great place to begin building knowledge and awareness of the neuroscientific impact of trauma on learning and behavior in our education systems. Our virtual workshops and supplemental content will provide a foundational training understanding and explore specific topics & strategies to equip your leaders and administrators with the support needed to implement trauma-informed practices and policies within their teams and organizations. Our online content is currently the foundational training for K-12 schools and additional online resources are being created for future use.
Racial Healing and Equity Services
Resilient Futures works to expand the reach of trauma-informed practices while centering race-based equity. Equity-centered practices in schools involve the intentional creation of supportive environments for individuals from racially marginalized communities. These practices prioritize understanding racism and race-based trauma - both in present-day and historical contexts. Through education and attunement, equity-centered practices address these individuals' unique needs and challenges.
Equity-centered practices actively work to eliminate systemic barriers and biases, promoting an inclusive educational experience where all members of the school community, including students, teachers, staff, and administrators, feel seen, heard, and empowered.
The Four R’s Process©
The 4 R’s is our integrated process for cultivating trauma-informed, resilient communities through four foundational practices. The 4 R’s are at the foundation of all our Trauma-Informed Futures© Programming & Services. Working together, the 4 R’s build the capacity of communities to adopt Trauma-Informed Practices in both mindset and behavior changes.
Resilient Futures 4 R’s Process©
We develop our ability to RELATE by forging meaningful connections and fostering trust with those affected by trauma. We nurture our capacity to REFLECT by embracing a heightened awareness and a genuine commitment to honoring others' experiences. We commit to RESTORE by countering systemic injustices and trauma responses with healing-centered language, rituals, and routines. We strive to RENEW through joyful, compassionate, and resilience-building experiences.
How We Work Together
Responsive Partnership
Experience tailored programming that directly supports your needs. Instead of static curriculums, we embrace trauma-informed practices, collaboratively crafting each piece of training alongside our partners. By leveraging existing school/team dynamics, strengths, challenges, and organizational initiatives, we ensure our solutions are seamlessly integrated and highly effective.
Program Development
A program can include a combination of consultative sessions, foundational training, implementation support, and intensive professional development. Our method is grounded in change theory to increase sustained trauma-informed practices within your school or organization, the lives of our participants, and beyond in their respective communities.
On-going Optimization
At Resilient Futures, we prioritize continual program evaluation and optimization to better serve our communities. We constantly evolve our training and experiences by measuring effectiveness and outcomes, leveraging relevant research, gathering qualitative and quantitative participant feedback, and integrating insights from the diverse communities we serve.
Childhood Trauma:
An event(s) that a child finds overwhelmingly distressing or emotionally painful, often resulting in lasting mental and physical effects.
Many think of trauma as a single life-changing event, but more commonly trauma manifests as a series of events or patterns of abusive or neglectful behaviors that compound over time.
Understanding Childhood Trauma
A monumental change occurs when we no longer ask “What’s wrong with you?” and instead ask “What happened to you?”
Give to further our Mission
More than ever, our schools and youth-serving communities are in need of trauma-informed, equity-centered training and resources. Your tax-deductible gift will directly fund our program expansion efforts, enabling us to provide trauma-informed training and resources to a greater number of educators, schools, and youth-serving organizations.
Making an Impact
Interested in learning more about our Trauma-Informed Futures© Programming & Services?