“We wanted to share Natasha’s perspectives and expertise with the trauma-informed movement as part of our ongoing effort to build the grassroots network, spur collaboration, and share insights from lived and professional experiences. Years of advocacy, research,...
At 34-years-old Marcia is finally feeling hopeful. “Tomorrow is still there and there’s always a possibility for change,” she said. Six months clean of heroin, she says her future is finally in sight. “It’s like a new life. I never would’ve thought in a million years...
“You’re not pretty enough for the handcuffs.” Niaja hysterically cried as she recounted the days she spent locked in a john’s basement while I had been looking for her on the streets. At the time, Niaja was categorized as a sex worker who “wanted” to be selling her...
“Thinking about it in one dimension means they’re not looking at the whole picture,” said Natasha Guynes, who runs Her Resiliency Center. “We’re hearing stories of women that we are helping to get off the street in Baltimore City talking about the violence that they...
For myself, the women we serve at HER, and women everywhere that I will never have the honor of meeting – I want to say, our trauma, our stories, our secrets – they don’t have to limit us. Not every woman needs to write articles, do interviews, or give speeches about...
I want people to know that where we start isn’t where we have to end. Our trauma doesn’t have to define us. I think empowerment is doing with and not for. In my world, I hear the word “empower” a lot. When we’re doing something for someone that’s not empowerment. I...
