How pinwheels and Play-Doh could address post-tornado trauma in Lee County

Central City Neighborhood Partners developed culturally-tailored "healing programs" to address mental health challenges in the Latine community. The program offers Zumba classes, art therapy, sewing circles, gardening, and women's healing circles, integrating mental health care into everyday community activities rather than isolating it in clinical settings. The approach builds on family and community values and provides services in colloquial Spanish, indigenous languages like K'iche', and Korean to meet the linguistic needs of residents.

Raw Art Works is a nonprofit youth development organization that provides art therapy services to 290 youth each week. Studies show art therapy can reduce psychiatric readmission rates for patients, and those who participated in the program say it has been life-changing, teaching them coping skills that supported them into adulthood.

Local Meals on Wheels programs are known for delivering food to low-income seniors, but during climate disasters, they are in the position to check in on the most vulnerable. The programs’ volunteers and staff do just that, whether that means giving fans to clients during a heatwave, tarping roofs after a hurricane, or making check-up calls.

Mask Oakland uses donations to distribute masks to overlooked and marginalized committees that need them most when wildfire smoke fills the sky in California.

First responders who face devastating emergency response outcomes in Wyoming are finding support through the Teton Interagency Peer Support group. The group anonymously connects the first responders with trauma-informed counselors – so far, 135 people have utilized the service.

Since 2017, two publicly funded trauma recovery centers in Illinois have helped violent-crime survivors cope with the emotional fallout that can accompany a loved one's murder or surviving their own violent attack. Case managers help people get group and individual therapy. They can also line up financial aid to help people pay for food and rent, when their trauma interferes with their ability to make a living. The centers, based on a model developed in California as a way to foster public safety through healing communities, will expand by three more in the state in 2021.

To help veterans struggling to overcome post-traumatic stress disorder, the Phoenix VA Health Care System has started using sports and outdoor recreation as a means of therapy. Although it does not replace medications or act as a cure-all, this practice has been shown to reduce symptoms and can lead to a reduction in medications.

Past and present traumas can make it difficult for new mothers to bond with their babies. A program at Carnegie Hall uses songwriting and music to support mothers in this process in prisons, intensive care units, high schools, and other places.

Building resilience and self-care into daily life promotes long-term wellbeing. In Minneapolis, Minnesota, the Catalyst Initiative works to support the emotional and mental wellbeing of underserved groups by promoting culturally relevant approaches to self-care. Catalyst funds organizations that serve Indigenous communities, communities of color, as well as other programs that encourage people to practice mindfulness and self-care as a way to heal from trauma and stress associated with economic, personal, or social issues.

Building connections and learning to cope can help to break the inter-generational cycle of addiction. The nonprofit Eluna operates a camp in Dayton, Ohio, for children whose families have been ravaged by addiction. In addition to receiving the support of adult mentors, the children also engage in activities designed to teach them skills to manage their emotions. With funding from government subventions and private donations, Eluna plans to open several more camps nationwide.