Undoing Historical Trauma in Public Health Practice

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Recommended: Issue on reproductive rights

In one of our weekly staff meetings at the Institute of Women and Ethnic Studies (IWES), Dr. Denese Shervington, the founder of the organization launched the meeting by sharing a paper from Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice. Before she read out more from this paper, Dr. Shervington explicitly mentioned how imperative it is for an organization to stay grounded and think deeply about the relevance of the issues raised in the reading and their impact on our work with the community. The article explores the implications of historical trauma, health disparities and social epidemiology on public health practice. I reckon in that moment in the meeting and value the sense of reflexivity and mission driven work that IWES is committed to. I was impressed by the true commitment to healing, resiliency and recovery for the New Orleans community mirrored in the determination portrayed by this conversation. I could feel the passion and the energy that each and every staff member carries in their work in bridging health disparities, standing for the underserved populations while rebuilding a resilient community. My summer was a learning opportunity in a culturally rich city where I was able to experience the intersections of community development, public health and social justice work. One of my main goals for this internship was to gain a deeper understanding about how a community based organization engages the community while prioritizing the health of women and girls. I was thrilled after my first experience in the community through an ImPACT (Informed Parents and Children Together) session during my first week at IWES. I participated in ImPACT through one of the HIV prevention programs for youth. We visited youths in the ... ... middle of paper ... ...s Teen outreach program, Making Proud Choices and Focus On Youth, being trained as a facilitator for one of the programs will have enhanced my capacity to have more active participation in the sessions. I treasure deep human connections that I made through the activities and programs at IWES and and being able to connect with the community on different levels. I am very grateful of this experience—for having an opportunity to rethink the issues of reproductive rights, gender relations, population and development. It was great to be a part of the larger movement that seeks to recognize the human right to reproductive rights and addressing issues of social justice, trauma and historical oppression. Works Cited A Conceptual Model of Historical Trauma: Implications for Public Health Practice and Research (2006) Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

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