Baltimore's Thriving Communities Collaborative (TCC) has announced the launch of its new website at ThriveBmore.org. The group is excited to finally have a platform for communicating to area organizations about some of the topics they have covered, key resources, and upcoming events.
“Our website is a step forward as we expand our outreach efforts to connect with more people in the Baltimore area who are concerned about building and sustaining a thriving Baltimore," Steering Committee member and TCC co-founder Ross Pologe said.
The TCC's mission and goals are to build a movement of powerful, informed citizens who integrate trauma informed principles into their lives and organizations in order to promote thriving communities and systemic change.
Ross added, “We came together with others in the youth and family services community who were also feeling the need to dig deeper into understanding trauma and supporting communities in moving from survival to thriving. We wanted to be a part of a movement that would support the intrinsic value of all community members, youth, adults, parents, families, elders in identifying and addressing community issues”
Ross currently serves as the Homeless Youth Coordinator for Prince George’s County and has worked for over 35 years with homeless youth in Baltimore as part of Fellowship of Lights, Inc.
Patricia Cobb Richardson, the other co-founder of the TCC group and Steering Committee member, has an extensive background in trauma informed care, and currently works with Youth Empowered Society (YES), a group founded and run by homeless youth and their allies that works toward ending youth homelessness in Baltimore. Patricia worked in the area of Trauma Informed Care and homelessness in Maryland, Delaware and New York before moving to Baltimore.
Patricia added, “As others have joined with us, we are witnessing a growing knowledge of the impact of trauma on individuals, families, organizations and community. We are creating an opportunity for others who believe in the inherent health and resiliency of communities that are burdened by systemic discrimination, inter-personal violence, and poverty, to learn and practice trauma informed, collaborative approaches. Above all else we are committed to supporting residents of communities in determining their own paths to identifying and building community strengths. We value collaborative relationships, transparency, choice, and community voice.”
Last fall Patricia and Ross pulled together a steering committee of individuals involved with Baltimore area youth and held their first meeting in December, 2014. Seventy-five people attended that first meeting. The topic was "Linking Trauma Informed Healing and Community Health". Leslie Brower, Project Director at Delaware Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health spoke about "Trauma, A Public Health Issue" and Ivan Juzang, founder and president of MEE Productions, spoke about "Community Engagement" from the perspective of reaching inner-city communities.
Topics covered in subsequent meetings have included: Understanding the Connection between Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and Health and Well-being Throughout an Individual's Lifespan; Understanding How Toxic Stress Changes Brain Chemistry; Exploring the 6 SAMHSA Principles for a Trauma Informed System; and Examples of Trauma Informed Care in Baltimore. The group also held a screening of the movie, “Wounded Places, Confronting Childhood PTSD in America's Shell-Shocked Cities”, part of the Raising of America series.
Upcoming meeting topics include, utilizing healing circles and emotional emancipation approaches in helping individuals respond to traumatic exposures (September 9th) and the power of resiliency for overcoming adversity (October 7th). For more information on future events, check the TCC website.
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Contact Baltimore Thriving Communities Collaborative:
Ross Pologe
info@thrivebmore.org
