Break The Silence

A Woman's Voice is just one outgrowth of the current innovations in helping women trauma survivors (and by extension their families), to begin healing the wounds of the past, and/or current traumas, and to begin to address the often dire consequences of ignoring, or denying, the effects of those traumas.

Some of those effects are chronic poverty, homelessness, substance abuse, mental health issues - often leading to suicide attempts and/or hospitalizations, as well as chronic physical health issues.

That trauma touches all of us over the course of our lives, and can determine the conditions of ones life until some form of healing is attained, is at the heart of what we now call the 'centrality of trauma'. At the moment, we don't understand why 2 people can endure the same circumstances, and one manages to cope with their trauma, leading a fairly productive and balanced life, while the other endures setback after setback. We do know that both people will benefit from enriching their lives. The programs that each person might partake of could look radically different, but for one it will mean enhancing their life, and for the other it will mean saving their life.

As women who have dealt with our own trauma histories, and work with many other trauma survivors, we have come to recognize that trauma effects us in our bodies, minds, and spirits, and that, as our experience has shown us, true healing will only happen when all these areas are addressed with equal importance and attention.

We have seen this work, with other supports that these women and their families need, assist and empower women to not only survive, but thrive. These women begin to heal within a smaller, safe environment, and eventually move into the larger arenas of life, participating and contributing more fully within their communities, often taking what they've learned to help others along the way.

We hope to continue to offer this particular program that has helped many women in their healing journey, and find their own unique voice through songwriting.

We appreciate any and all support.

By Jerri Higgins, participant in A Woman's Voice