Community Healing in the Wake of Trauma — Episode 078

If you attended the 2020 NRPA Annual Conference: A Virtual
Experience (NRPA Virtual), you may have joined us for the Coffee
Talk sessions that we hosted at the beginning and end of each
day, when we had the opportunity to chat with park and
recreation professionals, thought leaders, subject
matter experts and NRPA staff about some of the most pressing
issues that are impacting your work.


While each of these Coffee Talk sessions was inspiring and
thought-provoking, we recognize that not everyone was able to
attend NRPA Virtual and benefit from them. So, we’ll be releasing
a few of them as Open Space Radio episodes, and we’re excited to
share the first one with you on today’s episode!


For this Coffee Talk — the very first session of NRPA Virtual —
we were honored to be joined by NRPA Director of Health Allison
Colman, as well as Mercy Santoro, the deputy director of Los
Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation, to chat about
community healing in the wake of trauma. This year,
unfortunately, has been full of traumatic experiences for so
many, and in this session (and now this episode) we unpacked some
of those traumas, as well as discussed how we can support and
care for those experiencing trauma.  


Tune in to the full episode to learn more about how park and
recreation professionals have been — and can continue —
supporting the mental health and well-being of the people in the
communities they serve, as well as:


Why trauma is one of the emerging areas that park and
recreation professionals are more intentionally addressing.

Why it’s so important for park and recreation professionals
to play a role in addressing how trauma impacts their
communities.

How park and recreation professionals can assist in meeting
the challenges associated with addressing trauma.

What resources are available to support critical work related
to trauma.

How research on trauma-informed care can benefit park and
recreation professionals who are on the front lines of issues
related to trauma, and more!