At St. Joseph Fund (SJF), we know that know that systemic inequities such as racism are breeding grounds for generational harm, trauma, and violence. While individual intervention is necessary for healing and overall wellness, we seek community advancement by partnering to build upon people-centered impact stories that capture the rich complexity and the lived experiences of our nonprofit leaders and communities.

Trauma-informed care is people-centered, offering holistic interventions to mitigate the risks and stressors of an individual’s trauma experience. Through our work, SJF seeks community growth and advancement by partnering to build upon these practices to address the root causes at the organizational, institutional, and systems level.

This initiative intends to cultivate healing, relationships, stories, and experiences through each of our partners to deconstruct traditional data collection methods to illuminate a new pathway for encapsulating impact for community growth and renewal.

Storyworker and initiative co-designer WeBloom Design, a creative agency focused on shifting the culture of measurements and evaluation, shifts Western methods and processes to amplify and normalize that communities all have different needs and opportunities for capturing impact. WeBloom, SJF, and each community partner will identify opportunities to validate their work to design a storytelling approach pointing to their north star, goals, hopes, and desired opportunities in the healing and resilience space.

The connection between personal and collective healing is essential to this work. And, together, we will explore personal experiences and foster secure attachments for our partners’ staff and the communities they serve. By nurturing sustainable development and empowerment, SJF hopes to illuminate the path towards a brighter, more equitable future for all.