Minnesota Peacebuilding Leadership Institute
  • Home
  • About
    • Peacebuilding
    • Leaders & Partners
    • In the Media
    • STAR Outcome Research
    • Annual Report
  • PROGRAMS
    • ALL PROGRAMS
    • EAST METRO TRAININGS
    • TALKING CIRCLES >
      • CUSTOM TALKING CIRCLES
    • MONTHLY EVENTS >
      • COMING TO THE TABLE
      • PEACEBUILDING FILM
      • BOOK CLUB
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • DONATE
  • LUNAFEST
  • COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS

Trauma Healing and Community Organizing: Spotlight on Peacebuilding Partner Tommy McBrayer

1/27/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
Historically, community organizing and trauma healing have not always been seen as going hand-in-hand. In this article, learn more about how one Minneapolis community organizer uses a trauma-informed approach in his work.

Tommy McBrayer has lived and worked in the Central neighborhood of south Minneapolis for 22 years. While working for the Central Area Neighborhood Development Organization (CANDO), he was forwarded an email containing MN Peacebuilding’s upcoming trainings. According to Tommy, he didn’t know a lot about trauma, its effects, or how to heal from it when he received that email. However, after becoming a victim of gun violence in early July, he soon found himself attending the STAR-Lite training. That training would play a major role in his recovery, how he viewed his situation, and how he could help others in the community that found themselves in a similar situation.
 
Tommy has experienced trauma in both his childhood and adult life, as have many of those around him. Although he had briefly opened up to others, he wasn’t sure how to process what had happened to him. He found the concepts of STAR-Lite both transformational and applicable. Being guided through the process of healing from trauma changed his understanding of his situation and helped him build resilience and prevent further violence in his life and community. He found the content and format—lecture style mixed with breakout groups—both enlightening and engaging. In particular, Tommy found the galaxy model helpful for conceptualizing the trauma healing process and helping to guide him through that process.
 
“As long as you’re human, you’ll experience trauma in your life”, Tommy said. However, although trauma is inevitable, we have power over how we respond to it. He says that since participating in the STAR-Lite training, he is able to look at situations from a different angle. Knowledge of trauma, resilience, and restorative justice have helped him develop the patience and compassion to look at the “person behind the problem”. 
 
Thank you for sharing a piece of your story with us, Tommy! ​

Pay-what-you-can spots are available for upcoming Online Introduction to Strategies for Trauma Awareness and Resilience trainings! Click here to learn more.
0 Comments

    Archives

    November 2022
    November 2021
    July 2021
    April 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    June 2020
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    March 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    July 2016
    May 2016

    Categories

    All
    Black History
    Black History Month
    Leadership
    Resilience
    Social Justice
    Trauma Healing
    Women's History
    Women's History Month

    RSS Feed

upcoming trainings

STAR Training
STAR-Lite Training ​

Restorative Justice 101
Custom Training

info for...

Licensed Professionals
Leaders & Decision Makers
Direct Care Staff & Community Volunteers 

connect with us

Donate
Contact

    email newsletter Signup

Submit
Website Created and Optimized by Skol Marketing