Safety First: What can you do to help a trauma victim find hope and healing?
Therefore, the first step we in the community can take is to acknowledge that there are many victims among us and their trauma is real. The next step is acknowledging that we can all contribute in some way to the creation of an environment where pain is addressed with empathy and compassion.
You may not be a first responder or mental health professional — but you very likely hold a role as a parent, sibling, friend, neighbor, or community member. Along with that role come opportunities and responsibilities, and the chance to effect positive change. We reached out to professionals to hear about those opportunities.
So what can you do to help a trauma victim find hope and healing?
A parent is often the first person to whom a traumatized child turns. Research shows the first person who responds to a victim sharing his or her story is the most important person for that victim — so how you react, what you say, and what you don’t say are key.
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