“I want to congratulate and thank the group of community experts who have formed the Trauma Responsive Frederick Workgroup Initiative. This group of community experts recognizes how life events, especially the COVID-19 pandemic, have resulted in Frederick county residents experiencing many different forms of trauma, including economic, physical, social, and emotional trauma.Members of this group come from a cross-section of businesses, government, community-based organizations, healthcare providers, and caring residents with lived experience.They are dedicated to promoting understanding, advocacy, and healing for all.This initiative is just one more example of how Frederick County is a caring community.I look forward to seeing the positive changes that will result from the Trauma Responsive Workgroup.Their work will improve the quality of life in Frederick County. Our community is blessed with many organizations and individuals who work to make life better for everyone.”
“As the Mayor and a resident of Frederick, I have witnessed firsthand the significant impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on our entire community, and my own family. The magnitude of the economic, physical, social, and emotional damage is hard to quantify. What we do know is that in one way or another, as a community, we have experienced, and are still experiencing, a type of collective trauma. Not one of us could have been prepared for the negative impact on our lives or how the pandemic would influence almost everything we do, every day. Keeping this in mind, and in response to this pandemic,a group of experts in the field of trauma in Frederick have come together and formed The Trauma Responsive Frederick (TRF) Workgroup.This group is working to address these issues across the entire spectrum of the City and County to include outreach to residents, businesses, organizations, schools, and families. This initiative will help Frederick better respond to the pandemic and any other types of traumas in the community as we continue to encourage resilience and wellness. I am proud to support and endorse their efforts and recommend that we all learn more about how together we can build bridges to healing and recovery over time.”
” We all have experienced a significant amount of trauma over the past year. COVID has tested our spirits in many ways, with job and business loss, illness and death, children out of school, and financial hardship for many. While we saw tremendous strength and support across our community, the collective trauma of a global pandemic cannot be overstated. Further, with the murder of George Floyd, the subsequent protests and cries for social justice, our community began to understand the generations-long collective trauma of Blacks, Indigenous, and Peoples of Color. The multiple stressors impacting all of us have convinced me that we must come together as a community to acknowledge and address our trauma so that we can begin to heal. Unfortunately, trauma recovery can be a slow, painful process. Connection to others and a strong support system are critical to healing from trauma. Creating community supports that operate and respond in a trauma informed manner and becoming a trauma responsive community can mitigate and even eliminate the impacts trauma. Trauma Responsive Frederick aims to guide Frederick County in becoming a vital, robust, supportive community for us all. Their all-inclusive approach involves community education; partnership and collaboration among all sectors of the County; and advocacy for additional trauma informed resources. Because I believe in creating a stronger, more supportive community, I wholeheartedly support Trauma Responsive Frederick.”
“As an Alderman and a resident of Frederick, like you,I have come to understand the widespread and significant impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on our entire community. We see that the pandemic has affected everyone in some way. In addition, we know that in one way or another, we are all experiencing some type of trauma related to COVID.These traumatic events could be related to illness, mental health changes,financial changes, education challenges for our children, or an increase in domestic and community violence. It is evident that as a community we have experienced and are still experiencing what is known as “collective trauma.” Given the widespread negative impact of COVID, I am grateful for the work of a group of passionate and committed experts in the field of trauma in Frederick who have come together and formed the Trauma Responsive Frederick (TRF) Workgroup. This group convened to help us, as a community, understand, identify, and treat COVID related trauma so that we can heal and thrive as a community.This group is working on how to address these trauma issues across the entire spectrum of the City and County to include outreach toall residents, businesses, organizations, schools, and families. These efforts will build resilience and promote wellness. I welcome the opportunity to support and endorse their mission and look forward tolearning more about how they can help us build bridges to healing and recovery now and into the future.”
“The Trauma Responsive Frederick Workgroup Initiative focuses on developing holistic approaches that support the Frederick community in becoming trauma-responsive. As a member of the workgroup and as the Director of Behavioral Health Services at Frederick Health, I have seen the widespread physical and mental health impacts resulting from the coronavirus pandemic. The Trauma Responsive Frederick Initiative will help our community learn, feel supported, and become more adaptable as we heal and move into the subsequent phases of the pandemic.”