SUPPORT

THE PARTNERSHIP

OUR WORDS HEAL is a caring coalition of people dealing with and healing from trauma, and the organizations and advocates committed to helping them and amplifying their voices.

We are continually seeking new partners to exchange ideas, build expertise and expand the community of stakeholders—all to further, deepen and enrich trauma healing and the promotion of health equity and well-being.

OUR BEGINNINGS

Planning started in 2015 with Drs. John Rich and Ted Corbin—both physicians and pioneers in trauma healing for young survivors of violence. Their work focuses on reframing the national narrative around trauma in underserved Black and Brown communities by shifting from criminal justice responses to healing-centered approaches.

Founders and former directors of Drexel University’s Center for Nonviolence and Social Justice, Drs. Rich and Corbin are now based at Chicago’s Rush Medical College. Dr. Rich is the director of the RUSH BMO Institute for Health Equity, a MacArthur Fellow and author of Wrong Place, Wrong Time. Dr. Corbin is an award-winning physician, professor and chair of Rush’s Department of Emergency Medicine.

This work has involved a strategic collaboration with community members most impacted by trauma and the creative agency Mighty Engine. Together, we’ve envisioned, created and continue to develop OUR WORDS HEAL.

EXPANSION PLANS

With Dr. Charles Moore, a professor at the Emory University School of Medicine, we’re expanding OUR WORDS HEAL to Atlanta. Joining us are community partners Atlanta Public Schools, Compassion Center of Georgia, Gangstas to Growers, and Walk with a Doc.

We’re also exploring opportunities to bring this effort to Chicago in the coming year.

Want to bring OUR WORDS HEAL to your community? Reach out to us.

KEY PARTNERS

CENTER FOR NONVIOLENCE
AND SOCIAL JUSTICE

We work to promote health, nonviolence and social justice through trauma informed practice, research, professional development, and advocacy for policy change. Our flagship program is Healing Hurt People, an innovative, hospital-based intervention designed to heal the wounds of trauma in young victims of urban violence.

STRATEGIES FOR JUST COMMUNITIES

Strategies for Just Communities (SJC) is a collaborative created by Dr. Charles Moore to build safer, healthier communities in Atlanta and across the nation. SJC partners seek to prevent violence by promoting healing-centered approaches to trauma and increasing investment in community-led initiatives in under-resourced communities.

MIGHTY ENGINE

The strategists, designers and developers at Mighty Engine are committed to advancing vital causes through collective impact and systemic change. Their psychological, culturally-competent approaches fuel novel community-led solutions.