What are effective ways to engage stakeholders who have experienced trauma?

1 Understand trauma and its impacts

Trauma is a response to an event or situation that overwhelms a person's ability to cope, such as violence, abuse, neglect, disaster, or loss. Trauma can have lasting effects on a person's physical, mental, emotional, and social well-being, and can interfere with their sense of safety, control, and connection. Trauma can also affect how people perceive and respond to your non-profit's messages, activities, and expectations. Therefore, it is important to understand trauma and its impacts, and to avoid triggering or re-traumatizing your stakeholders.

2 Adopt a trauma-informed approach

A trauma-informed approach is a way of working that recognizes and responds to the signs and symptoms of trauma in stakeholders, staff, and organization. This approach is based on four key principles: safety, trustworthiness, choice, and collaboration. To adopt it, you need to create a safe and welcoming environment for your stakeholders; establish trust and transparency with them; offer choice and empowerment; and foster collaboration and partnership. This can be done by being honest, consistent, and reliable in communication and actions; involving stakeholders in decision-making; respecting their preferences and boundaries; providing options and flexibility; listening to their needs, interests, and goals; and working with them to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes.

3 Use appropriate outreach methods

Outreach is the process of reaching out to potential or existing stakeholders, and inviting them to engage with your non-profit's mission, vision, and values. You can do this through various methods such as phone calls, emails, social media, newsletters, flyers, events, or referrals. However, when choosing your outreach methods for stakeholders who have experienced trauma, you need to consider the level of trust and rapport you have with them. Additionally, you must take into account the accessibility and availability of your stakeholders as well as the relevance and value of your message. Some methods may require more personal contact and interaction than others; others may need more resources, time, or technology; while some may allow more customization and personalization. All these factors should be taken into consideration in order to increase the likelihood of engaging stakeholders who are interested in or benefit from your non-profit's programs or initiatives.

5 Evaluate and improve your engagement strategies

Engagement is an ongoing process that requires constant monitoring and evaluation. To measure and enhance your engagement strategies, you need to define and track objectives, indicators, and outcomes; solicit and analyze feedback from stakeholders, staff, and partners; review and reflect on practices, policies, and procedures; and implement and test changes, innovations, and improvements. Additionally, you should use data and evidence to assess your progress and performance, identify strengths/weaknesses/opportunities/threats (SWOT), determine what works/needs improvement/needs to change, and monitor the effects/impacts of your engagement results/relationships.