At Hope Partnership, we recognize that trauma is universal—impacting individuals, team members, organizations, and systems. Poverty and homelessness are not only crises of resources—they are traumatic experiences, often both caused by and compounding past trauma.
Instead of asking, “What’s wrong with you?”, we ask, “What happened to you?”—shifting the focus from blame to understanding. Our commitments to safety, lifelong growth and learning, and shared responsibility are essential in creating a community where healing can happen.
Through our work with the Sanctuary Model, we co-create spaces that foster healing, connection, and transformation—working to break cycles of adversity by addressing structural inequities, filling gaps in the safety net, and empowering individuals on their path to stability.
The Reenactment Triangle reflects patterns that emerge in trauma-affected environments—where individuals may feel powerless, rescuing becomes unsustainable, and conflict reinforces harm. In contrast, the Empowerment Triangle offers a path toward healing by fostering accountability, emotional intelligence, and mutual support. By shifting from reenactment to empowerment, we create spaces where both our team and those we serve can engage with dignity, self-awareness, and growth.
There is so much more to our trauma-informed approach than principles alone. From our employment policies to our trainings, and the tools and practices we use daily, we are committed to embedding trauma-informed care into every aspect of our work.
S.E.L.F.E. (Safety, Emotions, Loss, Future, and Equity) helps us navigate the impact of trauma, while an understanding of the effects of trauma on the brain allows us to respond with empathy rather than punishment. Community Meetings provide space for regulation, connection, and shared accountability.
More complex concepts, like Parallel Process and Collective Disturbance, help us recognize how trauma affects entire organizations and systems, not just individuals. By integrating these tools into our daily work, we create an environment where people feel supported, challenges are met with care, and lasting change is possible.
