Addressing chronic trauma in urban underserved areas through community-academic partnerships

Chronic community-level trauma in the context of urban poverty has been well documented (SAMHSA, 2014). Moreover, structural barriers to improve socioeconomic status and achieve gainful employment persist for Black communities in the U.S. More specifically, the 2013 U.S. Census notes that in Baltimore, Maryland, Black men ages 20-24 are about four times more likely to be unemployed compared to their White male counterparts (37% vs. 10%; Harris, 2013).

To address this pressing public health and social challenge, I am working with Holistic Life Foundation, Inc. (HLF) on a community-academic research collaboration entitled, “Advancing the Mental Well-Being of Baltimore through a Trauma-Informed Workforce Development Program” with funding provided by the Johns Hopkins Urban Health Institute. For over 14 years, HLF has been addressing community-level trauma through a strengths-based approach focused on enhancing community members’ resilience through yoga and mindfulness. HLF also serves as a workforce developer for urban young people. Started in 2011, the trauma-informed Workforce Development Program trains emerging adults—many of them former youth participants in HLF’s programming—to become HLF yoga and mindfulness facilitators. The Workforce Development Program helps ensure sustainability of HLF by preparing future generations of facilitators who are dedicated to working with underserved populations. 

To read more, see my blog post on the Global Scholars Group site: https://globalscholars.co.uk/blog-addressing-chronic-trauma-in-urban-underserved-areas-through-community-academic-partnerships/