The Lucas County Trauma Informed Care Coalition began as a grass-roots effort in early 2015 and has worked steadily for five years toward its mission: to create a trauma-informed community. Our vision is to create a highly integrated system of care that effectively identifies, responds to, and educates the community about trauma using trauma-informed principles.
The Coalition had its beginning at an open meeting for anyone interested in moving trauma-informed care forward in Lucas County. The meeting was held at the Northwest Ohio Developmental Center in January 2015. As a result of that meeting, the coalition was formed and willing participants began meeting monthly at the United Way Building in downtown Toledo.
One of our first achievements was being awarded a grant from the Mental Health and Recovery Services Board which allowed us to build a website, create a logo, and purchase branded tabling items to promote the coalition at events throughout the community.
Education is a primary focus of the coalition. To support continued trauma-informed education, quarterly speakers are scheduled at coalition meetings to offer professional development opportunities and increased awareness of services in our area. Free trainings are offered to the community, provided by coalition volunteers. Each year, a train-the-trainer is offered at least once to equip new trainers to take trauma informed care training back to their agencies or to provide coalition trainings.
Coalition members participate in various events throughout Northwest Ohio including speaking at trauma-informed care conferences, participating in crisis intervention training academies for law enforcement, and giving presentations at social service agencies, schools, and faith-based organizations.
The Lucas County Trauma Informed Care Coalition invites new members! Anyone interested in attending is welcome to join us on the first Tuesday of the month from 2:00-3:30 at the United Way Building, 424 Jackson Street, Toledo, OH.
Photo by Adi Goldstein on Unsplash