1.01.2024-31.03.2026
2023-2-EE01-KA220-YOU-000180576
2023-2-EE01-KA220-YOU-000180576
StorySafe: Empathetic Avenues in Trauma-Informed Youth Work
Erasmus+, KA220 YOU Cooperation partnership in youth work
Aim of the project is to integrate a trauma-informed approach into youth work activities with the objective of enhancing resilience, inclusion, and comprehensive participation of young individuals. By emphasizing understanding, gentleness, and care, we seek to accommodate the needs of trauma-impacted youth present in virtually every youth-oriented endeavor. Concurrently, we aim to bolster the capacities of youth work professionals and fortify the ethos of youth organizations, equipping them to operate with a trauma-informed lens, thereby enriching the overall quality and impact of youth interventions.
Trauma-informed youth work is essential to restoring and bolstering the self-regulation capabilities of young individuals. This approach goes beyond recognizing trauma's signs—it deeply understands its impact. Trauma is a universal experience, touching many, not just those with refugee backgrounds. While many can self-regulate stress and trauma due to innate resilience, trauma-sensitive practices can enhance this self-regulation for others.
This approach embodies understanding, gentleness, and care. By creating a protective environment, youth workers empower young people to reclaim their self-regulation abilities.
Trauma-informed youth work prioritizes compassion and inclusivity. It emphasizes respect for individual narratives, recognizing that every young person brings a unique story. Keeping this empathy at the core promotes an inclusive and equal environment for all youth.
Being trauma-informed is about centering the requirements of those affected by trauma in all actions and decisions. This focus not only aids in navigating the immediate ramifications of trauma but also fortifies resilience, preparing young people for any future challenges.
A trauma-informed approach goes beyond being sensitive to trauma and aims to integrate this understanding into all aspects of an organization or community. It recognizes the prevalence of trauma and the complex ways it can manifest in people's lives. A trauma-informed framework acknowledges the impact of trauma on individuals and aims to avoid re-traumatization. It seeks to create environments that actively promote healing and resilience.
Activities:
WP1 - Project management - including Kick-off, Mid-term and Harvesting project meetings
WP2 - StoryBook - Researching and gathering good practices and stories of young people
WP3 - Short-term join staff event - Exploring trauma-informed good practices in youth work and ways to approach collective memory and trauma though educational and youth work activities
WP4 - Roadmap - Creating roadmap for youth workers and organizations helping to integrate trauma-informed approach to the youth work activities, road map includes principles and tools towards creating trauma-informed environments.
WP5 - E-course - Creating self-paced e-course on HOP platform helping youth workers and educators deepen their knowledge about trauma-informed approach
WP6 - Embracing trauma-informed approach - Dissemination and follow-up - sharing the knowledge with a broader audience - social media activities, creating landing page of the project, dissemination events online and in person.
This approach embodies understanding, gentleness, and care. By creating a protective environment, youth workers empower young people to reclaim their self-regulation abilities.
Trauma-informed youth work prioritizes compassion and inclusivity. It emphasizes respect for individual narratives, recognizing that every young person brings a unique story. Keeping this empathy at the core promotes an inclusive and equal environment for all youth.
Being trauma-informed is about centering the requirements of those affected by trauma in all actions and decisions. This focus not only aids in navigating the immediate ramifications of trauma but also fortifies resilience, preparing young people for any future challenges.
A trauma-informed approach goes beyond being sensitive to trauma and aims to integrate this understanding into all aspects of an organization or community. It recognizes the prevalence of trauma and the complex ways it can manifest in people's lives. A trauma-informed framework acknowledges the impact of trauma on individuals and aims to avoid re-traumatization. It seeks to create environments that actively promote healing and resilience.
Activities:
WP1 - Project management - including Kick-off, Mid-term and Harvesting project meetings
WP2 - StoryBook - Researching and gathering good practices and stories of young people
WP3 - Short-term join staff event - Exploring trauma-informed good practices in youth work and ways to approach collective memory and trauma though educational and youth work activities
WP4 - Roadmap - Creating roadmap for youth workers and organizations helping to integrate trauma-informed approach to the youth work activities, road map includes principles and tools towards creating trauma-informed environments.
WP5 - E-course - Creating self-paced e-course on HOP platform helping youth workers and educators deepen their knowledge about trauma-informed approach
WP6 - Embracing trauma-informed approach - Dissemination and follow-up - sharing the knowledge with a broader audience - social media activities, creating landing page of the project, dissemination events online and in person.
E-Book
Empathetic Avenues in
Trauma-Informed Youth Work
Trauma-Informed Youth Work
The stories in this book are testimonies from organizations and experts who have embraced trauma-informed approaches in their work with youth. Our motive for publishing this collection is to foster a deeper understanding of the significance of being trauma-informed in youth work and to illustrate how such an approach can profoundly affect the lives of young people.
StorySafe Cards
This deck is designed to foster understanding, dialogue, and self-awareness in youth work and educational spaces by integrating trauma-informed principles. The deck is divided into four key sections, each serving a unique purpose.
Road-Map
Trauma-Informed approach in the youth work: A Practical Roadmap
A trauma-informed roadmap outlining how trauma manifests and offering strategies to support safety, connection, and well-being.
E-course
StorySafe: A Trauma-Informed Approach in Education and Youth Work
StorySafe is a trauma-informed e-course that equips you with practical tools to share stories responsibly, protect boundaries, and create safer, supportive spaces.
StorySafe is a trauma-informed e-course that equips you with practical tools to share stories responsibly, protect boundaries, and create safer, supportive spaces.
Partners
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VitaTiim NGO is a non-formal learning centre that follows a personcentred and holistic approach, focusing on creating safer and nurturing learning environments that foster a sense of belonging, agency, and autonomy among participants. Our work emphasizes mindfulness and embodiment practices, supporting young people who have faced diverse challenges. This experience has inspired us to initiate the StorySafe project and deepen our exploration of trauma-informed approaches, ensuring that our support is both empathetic and impactful. By prioritizing these values, we aim to empower individuals to build resilience and navigate their journeys toward recovery and personal growth. -
As a municipality, they are founder and co-founder of the Sežana Youth Centre and School Centre and are deeply involved in their programme and work. They understand that trauma and collective memory are complex factors affecting young people’s mental health and identity. Therefore, the municipality is keen on ensuring those interacting with youth gain more awareness, knowledge, and experience in this field. Sežana is a crucial partner in our quest to develop trauma-informed communities. -
Origens Menorca plays a crucial role in supporting trauma-affected individuals by creating safer, trauma-informed spaces where youth and staff can explore complex topics like coeducation, love, sexuality, relationships, and consent. Bringing into the schools non formal education, Origens Menorca offers compassionate guidance to students, many of whom may have experienced trauma, helping them engage with these sensitive subjects in ways that minimize retraumatization. With a strong focus on mental health, the organization emphasizes self-awareness, respect, and healthy relationships, fostering resilience and personal growth among youth.
Origens Menorca believes a trauma-informed approach is essential, both in interactions with young people and within the staff team. By thoughtfully addressing these areas, Origens Menorca empowers both young people and staff to approach challenging topics with sensitivity and care, supporting long-term healing, resilience, and positive development. -
The Peace Education Institute is a Finnish peace organization for educators who work in formal and non-formal education settings. In practice, this means teachers, youth workers or activists who are interested in creating safer, more inclusive and equal spaces in their work and in wider society. Our work is guided by four themes that are peace, anti-racism, equality, and global citizenship. For educators and activists, we offer education, methods, materials, and support in their daily work in Finland and in international contexts. For us, peace education in practice means strengthening and building resilience and trust in society, encouraging active and participatory citizenship, as well as solving everyday life’s conflicts in a nonviolent manner. It is also about making power structures and privileges more visible and recognizing, managing, and transforming hate speech, racism, and exclusion in educators’ work. For us developing trauma-informative approaches is highly relevant. We work in contexts of positive and negative peace and traumas manifest in the work we do and in the work the teachers and youth workers do every day. To be able to meet the needs of our children and youth better, we need to understand the specifics and impacts of traumas that might be present in the spaces we have the privilege to share with them. -
The Ukrainian Association of Mindfulness Teachers plays an important role in supporting individuals affected by trauma during the ongoing war in Ukraine. Through initiatives like the “Life in Flow” centre and the “Integration Youth Club”, the organization addresses the emotional and psychological needs of those displaced by conflict, providing safe spaces for healing and fostering emotional intelligence and mindfulness skills.
By exemplifying how mindfulness can be a powerful tool for resilience, the association contributes to the well-being of individuals and communities impacted by trauma. Through training and workshops, they equip youth workers to recognize trauma and provide effective support, emphasizing compassion and understanding in these challenging times.