Written by Whitney Marris, LCSWW, and designed by Krizel Sagun, MS and Laura Braden
Dear Reader,
Advocacy is a necessary part of the healing process. As we make meaning of the triumphs and tragedies in our lives, putting action behind the principles we learn to make the world a better place for others is a critical part of learning and growth. Though society too often treats systems as though they are static, we know that organizations and systems are biocratic and, therefore, rely on input from their many component parts to improve.
In my process toward trauma-informed advocacy, I have been able to construct coherent narratives around traumatic lived experiences to develop a world that does not perpetuate harm in the future as it did to me.
My advocacy work began where I had experienced trauma at the hands of systems - education system, criminal-legal system, medicalized models of wellness, and stigma around mental health and addiction - though as time has gone on, I have become fluent in other areas beyond my own lived experiences and learn more consistently.
At the Campaign for Trauma-Informed Policy and Practice (CTIPP), we recognize that there is tremendous diversity among lived experiences. As we work to shape systems that allow all individuals, families, and communities to have the opportunities and supports necessary to thrive, there must be input across the different ways people interact with systems, the various cultural norms and values that must be attended to, and the perspectives that communities have about what better looks like to them.
True democracy is an antidote to trauma. A true democratic process requires patience and emotional management skills. It decentralizes power structures and creates conditions of empowerment, uplifting voice, and giving folks choice in how they wish to engage.
It also promotes opportunities for meaningful collaboration, which are a couple of the core principles of trauma-informed approaches. There are embedded opportunities for restorative justice where harm has been done, whether past, present, or both, and over time, helps to build trust among peers, which has cascading benefits.
We have focused efforts to organize advocates and support trauma-informed approaches to advocacy. Embedded within our multi-dimensional vision of what a more trauma-informed future can look like, there is a recognition that this movement will take many lifetimes to transform systems thoughtfully through a process of better policies and practices and reflection about what is working and not working to layer and loop learning to improve outcomes across all levels of our society.
With this understanding, we need to take care of ourselves and each other as advocates, as we must be in this for the long haul.
Trauma-informed approaches to advocacy support our own wellness and those we are advocating to, alongside, and on behalf of. This book and corresponding video series contain critical information about advocacy, the policy-making process, key considerations for building coalitions and modeling a trauma-informed model.
We hope you find these resources valuable, become a part of the movement, and work to bring others in and uplift other voices. It will take all of us in our pursuit of creating a better world. But we know we are stronger together.
We need you! Your voice matters and your experiences are important!
This is true for all people, and together, we can change the world.
Jesse Kohler
Executive Director, CTIPP
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