Trauma Informed Oregon, a program housed in the Regional Research Institute at Portland State University’s School of Social Work, is offering support to organizations across the state in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Trauma Informed Oregon works with organizations in housing, education, health care, and behavioral health to help them implement policies that prevent trauma and that support and do not alienate or retraumatize people who have already experienced trauma.
Trauma-informed care is especially important right now when people are particularly susceptible to trauma and in need of help due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We hear a lot right now that we’re in uncharted terrority, but I want to remind everyone that the principles, the knowledge, and the practice of trauma-informed care can help us,” said Mandy Davis, director of Trauma Informed Oregon. “It helps us in our efforts to reduce the impact of acute stress, to prevent unnecessary trauma-inducing policies, to mitigate and respond to long term impacts of toxic stress and to prepare us for the healing and the repair that’s going to need to happen as this evolves.”
Davis also points out that the impact of the pandemic is going to look very different for different people.
“We do this work centering diversity, equity and inclusion, knowing that while we are all experiencing this, we also know that the impact and the needs are going to be different across communities,” Davis said.
Key principles of trauma-informed care include emphasizing physical and emotional safety, consistency, transparency, trustworthiness, peer support, collaboration and culturally responsive services.
“We know that attending to these principles helps a stressed brain stay regulated and able to do long term planning,” Davis said.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Trauma Informed Oregon is offering assistance to organizations and workplaces across Oregon to help them implement trauma-informed practices and policies. Because Trauma Informed Oregon operates as a partnership between the Oregon Health Authority and PSU, this assistance is available for free.
On its website, Trauma Informed Oregon is providing a plethora of resources specific to the pandemic, including considerations for a trauma Informed response for work settings and a list of specific trauma-informed strategies and policies. The website also hosts a series of blog posts highlighting topics related to COVID-19 such as the power of positive relationships and how to stay socially connected while physically distancing.
Twice weekly, Trauma Informed Oregon staff are hosting "office" hours for organizations and individuals to ask questions or to get support. Such questions may range from “How do I talk to my kids about this?” to “How do I monitor my staff’s coping remotely?”
In addition, Davis notes that Trauma Informed Oregon staff can put together tip sheets about specific topics as needed.
The agency is also interested in disseminating and highlighting trauma-informed strategies that other organizations have implemented successfully in response to the pandemic.
If you have questions or thoughts for Trauma Informed Oregon, you can send them to info@traumainformedoregon.org. To stay informed of the work that Trauma Informed Oregon is doing in response to COVID-19, you can subscribe to their newsletter.