Trauma Resilient Communities
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Mission
Trauma Resilient Communities (TRC) works to enhance leadership and capacity for organizations to sustain a trauma-informed system of care that is equitable, accessible and accountable.
The primary goal of the TRC model is to support organizations in creating congruent trauma-informed knowledge, language, practices, values and culture by:
• Having a foundation of shared knowledge to help organizations create and sustain organizational change.
• Increasing trauma-informed knowledge and trauma-responsive skills of personnel who make referrals and /or provide services to youth and families regarding trauma, racial inequity, community violence and related services.
• Providing trauma-focused clinical services to children and families impacted by violence.
Jennifer Middleton, Phd
Shantel Crosby, PhD, LSW
Overview
TRC was developed in response to growing evidence that traumatic stress and secondary traumatic stress contribute to burnout, turnover, reduced organizational effectiveness and poorer outcomes for the vulnerable populations served by helping systems. In high-stress sectors such as behavioral health, healthcare, child welfare, education and violence prevention, organizations increasingly require trauma-informed structures that support both workforce well-being and effective service delivery. To answer this call, TRC engages a broad network of more than 56 community partner organizations, including behavioral health agencies, healthcare systems, violence prevention initiatives, child-serving organizations, schools, housing partners and grassroots community organizations. Key partners included Louisville Metro Government, UofL Health Peace Hospital, Americana Community Center and numerous agencies serving youth, families and communities impacted by trauma and structural inequities.
A community-based participatory action research approach
This collaborative research approach ensures that community stakeholders are not passive recipients of services. They are active co-creators of knowledge and practice. Community partners help identify priorities based on real-time community needs. Examples of shared priorities include:
• reducing secondary traumatic stress among helping professional
• strengthening trauma-informed organizational culture
• addressing racial trauma and structural violence
• improving staff retention and
• increasing access to trauma-responsive services for vulnerable populations.
A defining feature of reciprocity is the establishment of core teams within partner organizations. These teams, composed of leadership and frontline staff, guide internal implementation efforts while also informing refinement of the TRC Model. This structure ensures change is internally cultivated, increasing relevance, ownership and sustainability.
Community partners
• Americana Community Center
• Center for Trauma Resilient Communities (CTRC)
• Collective Care Center
• Louisville Metro Government, Office for Safe and Healthy Neighborhoods
• Seven Counties Services
• Spalding University
• UofL Health Peace Hospital
TRC by the numbers—working to create positive change in our Louisville communities
Individuals have been trained in the TRC model
Clinicians have received training in trauma-focused clinical services
Clients have been screened
Clients have received trauma-focused clinical services
Community-based project supported by $13.5 million
More than $13.5 million in funding has been secured to support the TRC project which is rooted in the Louisville community with 56 organizations engaged in transformation—working to build shared knowledge, language, values and practices to create organizational change. The project has supported student learning and engagement with more than 100 UofL students participating in TRC through research and practicums. Many have served as co-authors on publications and presentations. Funding has aided the TRC team in supporting the replication of the TRC model both nationally and globally.
Dissemination of knowledge through publications and presentations
Faculty have produced a robust body of scholarship with the dissemination of knowledge through numerous publications and presentations.
Crosby, S., Kniffley, S., Mitchell, B., Jones, K., Middleton, J., Caine, A., & Vides, B. (2022). “De-colonizing mental health: Exploring insights from clinicians trained in Kniffley Racial Trauma Therapy.” Practice Innovations. 7(3), 280-292.
Edwards, E. E., Middleton, J., Crosby, S., Vides, B., Pasquale, L. and Goggin, R. (2023). “Change is always hard: A qualitative exploration of the Trauma Resilient Communities (TRC) model implementation process within the context of the pandemics.” Children and Youth Services Review, 149, 106948.
Kniffley, S., Crosby, S., Jones, K., Middleton, J., and Caine, A. (2023). “Bridging the gap: Evaluating the efficacy of racial trauma therapy training for community mental health clinicians.” Journal of Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice and Policy.
Vides, B., Middleton, J., Edwards, E., McCorkle, D., Crosby, S., Loftis, B., and Goggin, R. (2022). “The Trauma Resilient Communities (TRC) Model: A theoretical framework for disrupting structural violence and healing communities.” Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment and Trauma. V31(8), 1052-1070.