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Join the Movement

Healing City Baltimore is a sustained movement of neighbors, united as a citywide community, to engage in honest dialogue, learn from diverse perspectives, embrace our differences and commit to healing together as a foundation to pursuing a racially, socially, and economically just and thriving Baltimore for ALL.

Get Involved

Our Purpose

To build a united movement of Baltimore's communities focused on healing from trauma, violence, and racial inequity.

This is Not a Moment. This is a Movement.

Why We're Focused on Trauma & Healing

Healing Centered Engagement is culturally grounded framework that supports a collectivist view with political action used as a mechanism for healing. Trauma has caused harm to the entire Baltimore City community and therefore a citywide approach to healing is needed.

 

Making Baltimore a trauma-informed city ensures that every service, public servant, and policy supports healing of the community as a whole. Learning how to relate to and engage with each other from a trauma-informed perspective in our everyday interactions helps us strengthen relationships and build community through our shared humanity.

Click Image to View

This infographic is a free tool that provides practical considerations of how individual, historical, systemic and structural trauma may be activated in day-to-day policies, procedures and interactions.

 

Trauma-informed approaches allow for the opportunity to intentionally respond to the presence of all experiences of trauma and neutralize potential re-traumatization, which creates possibility for resilience, inclusion, equity, healing and growth.

 

Being trauma-informed requires all of us to acknowledge how one’s self view and world view influences their interpretation of the present and truly reflect on the way we do our work. We truly believe it is not possible to be a trauma-informed organization without also committing to a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion.

 

courtesy Institute on Trauma and Trauma-Informed Care

 

The Connection to Equity

Many of the traumas that occur today cannot be treated in isolation without addressing systemic racism. Racist policies have subjected entire neighborhoods to generational poverty and the traumas that are manifested from it.

 

Racism and racial bias occur on a daily basis for people of color through micro aggressions and systems of oppression that prevent healing and progress—underfunded schools, limited access to health and mental health services, limited access to healthy food sources, inadequate transportation and affordable housing, limited access to jobs and opportunity in general. True and full healing cannot happen in an environment of racial injustice and we must address both to break the perpetual cycle of generational traumas that prevent equitable progress.

The Connection to Equity

Many of the traumas that occur today cannot be treated in isolation without addressing systemic racism. Baltimore City was the first city in the country to establish redlining (limiting the ability to get bank loans based on the racial makeup of the community). These racist policies have subjected entire neighborhoods to generational poverty and the traumas that are manifested from it.

 

Racism and racial bias occur on a daily basis for people of color through micro aggressions and systems of oppression that prevent healing and progress—underfunded schools, limited access to health and mental health services, limited access to healthy food sources, inadequate transportation and affordable housing, limited access to jobs and opportunity in general. True and full healing cannot happen in an environment of racial injustice and we must address both to break the perpetual cycle of generational traumas that prevent equitable progress.

HEALING CITY

STRATEGIC FOCUSES

 

From trauma-responsive policy, care, and resources, to community-building events and engagement initiatives, we are uniting as a citywide community, healing together, breaking down barriers and working in solidarity like never before to build the Baltimore we want.

See What We're Up To

THE ELIJAH CUMMINGS HEALING CITY ACT 

 

The legislation inspired by the movement focuses on and mandates a proactive focus on trauma responsive care.

Read the Legislation

KNOWLEDGE & RESOURCES

 

Healing City Baltimore is aggregating a library of knowledge and resource links related to our mission.

Learn More

WHO

WE ARE

 

View the leadership, steering committee, working groups, and partners propelling the movement.

See Who's Involved

Our world would be a much better world, a much better place, if we would only concentrate on the things we have in common.

 

Elijah Cummings

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Students Help Draft the Healing City Bill

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Broad Input on the Healing City Bill

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Barbers Unite Around Trauma & Healing

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Healing City Steering Committee at Work

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Healing City Act Passed by City Council

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Haircuts & Community Healing, Feb Healing City launch

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Solidarity March, Feb Healing City launch

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Braiding & Community Healing, Feb Healing City launch

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Elijah Cummings Healing City Act is Law

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