Rescue hotline - 404-941-6024
National Tip Hotline - 888-373-7888
Program Description
“Be the person that you needed when you were growing up.”
– Cindee Sapoznik
Real Beginnings is a 12-week trauma recovery program that provides quality services and resources to survivors of intentional trauma with compassion, respect and care. Examples of intentional trauma are events such as sexual and physical abuse, domestic violence, suicide, general violence (i.e. wartime, community, work, bullying and school violence), rape, assault, and human trafficking. Our purpose is to aid individuals who have experienced intentional trauma in rebuilding, restoring and strengthening their sense of safety by ending the cycle of violence. We provide access to trauma-informed care by acknowledging how past and present traumatic experiences and stress may impact the individuals and families we are serving. Our team is specially trained to support the unique needs of survivors and their families to foster hope for a better future. Overall, we ensure that our participants are more effective in obtaining and seeking resources and have a better quality of life and psychological well-being.
Evidence Based Model(s)
Real Beginnings is based on a composite of the following evidence-based programs: Community Advocacy Project which focuses on interventions for women leaving domestic violence shelter programs, and the Child and Family Traumatic Stress intervention which is designed to prevent the development of chronic posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), for children ages 7-18 who have recently experienced a traumatic event.
Program Theory
This intervention comes from a strength-based model in which the assumption is that people are talented, knowledgeable, and capable of helping themselves through hard times as well as quick to recover from hardship. To that end, advocacy interventions are based on the concept of empowerment. We foster empowerment of each individual by engaging in rational dialogue with each client about potential solutions, helping them to make sense of the situation and how he or she will respond to it; and, by helping our clients achieve recovery and life goals that they have set.
Program Components
Stemming from the strengths-based model, Real Beginnings concentrates on enhancing our client’s strengths and self-efficacy while getting the community involved in providing resources and opportunities for our clients’ success. Advocacy includes primary, secondary, and tertiary interventions.
- Primary interventions focus on preventing the onset of trauma and involves community outreach and education in schools, places of worship, and community-based settings.
- Secondary interventions focus on preventing further trauma and involves one on one peer support and support group sessions with clients.
- Tertiary interventions focus on dealing with the consequences of trauma once the event is over. This involves a strict concentration on client strengths rather than their weaknesses, on issues that are important to them rather than to us or other professionals, and on making the community responsive to client needs by working with each person (and/or family) in their environment and teaching them skills to increase their chance for success.