Our mission is to build resiliency and facilitate healing in the lives of those traumatized by violence

Working towards the physical, psychological, and spiritual health and well-being of society

Understanding The signs and Effects of

Trauma

Trauma injures us physically, emotionally, psychologically and spiritually. Trauma is defined as an exposure to an extraordinary experience that presents a physical or psychological threat to oneself or others and generates a reaction of helplessness, fear, sense of horror, serious injury, ability to regulate emotions and navigate relationships or the threat of serious injury or death. The exposure may have occurred in the distant or recent past and may take many forms, but they typically involve an unexpected event/s outside of a person’s control. A person who has experienced a traumatic event can have developed either simple or complex trauma. 

Simple Trauma refers to one traumatic event that is definable such as an assault, a car accident, or experiences of being in an earthquake, cyclone, bushfires, house fires, etc.

Complex Trauma is exposure to multiple traumatic events, often of an invasive, interpersonal nature with wide-ranging and long-term impact associated with exposure to severe and pervasive events such as abuse, neglect, abandonment, and living in an environment where emotional needs are not consistently met. The result is that, in order to survive, the person must live continually in a fight, flight, or freeze response which may have kept them safe at the time of danger, but results in an increase of thoughts and behaviours that result in unhealthy relationships, unhealthy coping skills, shame and some mental health issues.  Examples of complex trauma include adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), historical/multigenerational trauma, refugee trauma, racism, intimate partner violence, family violence, sexual assault/exploitation, trafficking, etc. Complex trauma typically occurs with repeated trauma against a child but it can also occur as a result of adult’s experience of violence in the community.

Collective Trauma is a psychological reaction to a traumatic event shared by groups of people, communities, or societies. The two major levels of collective trauma are:

Identity Group Level is trauma that can occur amongst various identity groups like age, religion, caste and ethnic groups.

Societal Level refers to nation states or country.

Collective trauma not only brings distress and negative consequences to individuals but it can also change the entire fabric of a community. Collective trauma can impact relationships, alter policies and governmental processes, alter the way the society functions, and even change its social norms. Situations that may bring about collective trauma response may include but are not limited to wars, natural disasters, military occupation, mass shootings, terrorism, pandemics, systematic and historical oppression, colonization, famine, severe poverty, prolonged stays at refugee camps, race-based stress etc.

Lead Consultant

Aleen has been a social change advocate in the areas of intimate partner violence, family violence and gender-based violence.  Aleen is a trauma informed professional who works from an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary knowledge base and has extensive experience working with women, men, children and families that have been affected by violence.

In her work, Aleen has increased awareness and knowledge in the community on family violence, and the emerging issues impacting victims.  She has worked collaboratively with community partners to develop and implement policies that provide essential support to families living with violence and liaising between stakeholders and community partners in the process. Through her work in community development, she has raised awareness on social vulnerability issues and has developed strategies to tackle and assist in creating solutions.

Aleen is interested in purposeful work in preventing and healing trauma through professional, compassionate and humanistic approaches to nurture evolved communities in the human realms of physical, psychological and spiritual health and well-being.

Aleen has been awarded with the ‘Peace in Families Award’ for Outstanding Work to End Domestic Violence by the United Cultures of Canada Association. She is a certified counsellor and her educational background includes a Master of Arts Degree in Interdisciplinary Studies with a Focus in Community Studies and a Bachelor of Child and Youth Care Degree. Disrupting unhealthy norms, healing trauma, social equity and seeing people thrive in their communities is her thing!

What We do

We offer support to those impacted by violence, public education and awareness raising, community development and social change advocacy.

Community Organization & Development

Trauma and violence are widespread, harmful and a costly social concern. We offer expert advise on matters pertaining to violence. We help communities form as collectives around shared self interests by helping drive the necessary actions to affect change.

We lead, coordinate and participate in community development initiatives, projects, and campaigns that aim to inform, prevent, and end violence.

Social Change

Social change advocacy is at the heart of what we do. We work to influence public attitude, systems and policy makers, promoting gender equity, social inclusion, and problem solving by helping and advising people impacted by trauma about the resources and strategies they can utilize.