Over the past few decades, understanding of the potential negative consequences of work-related trauma exposure, or vicarious trauma, has been growing. For those working with trauma victims and survivors, the focus has been on promoting individual self-care strategies. More recently, the attention has been on the duty and responsibility of organizations to support employees and volunteers who are regularly exposed to the trauma of others.
The Vicarious Trauma Resource Initiative (VTRI) now has the opportunity to take this concern to another level, one that brings diverse agencies, workplaces and disciplines together, in their own communities, to strengthen their collective resilience, maintain their wellness, examine how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected workers, and improve the quality of service delivery to victims and survivors.
This initiative will select twelve of these diverse communities around the country that are seeking to build a coordinated response to vicarious trauma. They will receive training and technical assistance, and be part of a national learning collaborative, to help develop a vision and action plan that is unique to their respective communities. See the project’s website for updates and opportunities.
