00:00:00:00 - 00:00:04:14 Unknown Helping to Heal: Conversations About Trauma-Informed Principles. 00:00:04:14 - 00:00:14:05 Unknown This video is hosted by The Link Center. Improving Access to Mental Health Services for People with I/DD, Brain Injury and other Disabilities. 00:00:14:05 - 00:00:19:11 Unknown This video will focus on Empowerment, Voice and Choice. 00:00:19:11 - 00:00:26:12 Unknown ♪ Dearie my dearie we all need a voice, in a world that convinces us we’re here by 00:00:26:12 - 00:00:35:22 Unknown choice. Soon as rain falls police make sport, of running us from the awnings and ruining our fort. 00:00:35:22 - 00:00:38:21 Unknown My name is Monica, and I'm a trauma survivor. 00:00:38:21 - 00:00:44:01 Unknown I have a disability, diagnosed, as a disability by a 00:00:44:01 - 00:00:46:09 Unknown lot of, psychiatrists 00:00:46:09 - 00:00:47:19 Unknown over the years. 00:00:47:19 - 00:00:48:20 Unknown When I was a 00:00:48:20 - 00:00:51:12 Unknown teenager in the ninth grade, because you had asked me 00:00:51:12 - 00:00:52:09 Unknown about this, Cindy 00:00:52:09 - 00:00:53:11 Unknown How old I was. 00:00:53:11 - 00:00:54:09 Unknown Yeah, 00:00:54:09 - 00:00:55:05 Unknown in the ninth 00:00:55:05 - 00:00:56:23 Unknown grade. And I used street 00:00:56:23 - 00:00:59:03 Unknown drugs to try to, 00:00:59:03 - 00:01:01:22 Unknown alleviate some of the symptoms I was 00:01:01:22 - 00:01:04:18 Unknown experiencing that I couldn't deal with, but, 00:01:04:18 - 00:01:07:20 Unknown what ended up happening is I 00:01:07:20 - 00:01:20:06 Unknown overdosed twice. So now, during my recovery, I feel like having a voice is something that I didn't have 00:01:20:06 - 00:01:21:02 Unknown before. 00:01:21:02 - 00:01:25:11 Unknown And I feel empowered to make choices. 00:01:25:13 - 00:01:28:15 Unknown So that's what I want to talk about with you is 00:01:28:15 - 00:01:29:20 Unknown What you feel 00:01:29:20 - 00:01:31:20 Unknown you're in control of. 00:01:31:20 - 00:01:32:17 Unknown Okay, what I'm 00:01:32:17 - 00:01:57:16 Unknown in control of. I'm in control of my feelings. I'm in control of my life. And I'm also in control of who is going to who I choose to be friends with. And I’m also in control of my body. And nobody will ever 00:01:58:21 - 00:02:07:10 Unknown violate my body again. They will. I will get justice for them if it ever 00:02:07:10 - 00:02:09:04 Unknown happens. 00:02:09:06 - 00:02:20:05 Unknown And I'm in control of who comes in my apartment too. I'm not letting anybody here. I don't know. And you're not staying in my apartment. You're not sleeping in my apartment. 00:02:20:10 - 00:02:24:12 Unknown Respect people's private places and ask permission. 00:02:24:21 - 00:02:50:01 Unknown No one's allowed in my room at all, I'm in control of who goes in my room too. Nobody goes in my room but me. I don't allow anybody in my room. You come visit and if I'm having somebody watch my cat, you know, the cat will have to come out to them. Otherwise they can just say hi to the cat through the bedroom. 00:02:50:03 - 00:03:01:01 Unknown I have one safe place in my house. That's my room. It's a one bedroom apartment, a nice apartment, but I have one safe place. That's my room. 00:03:01:01 - 00:03:03:22 Unknown Help someone have voice and choice. 00:03:03:22 - 00:03:07:01 Unknown I have rights, and I have a voice. 00:03:07:01 - 00:03:22:23 Unknown my space. This is my space. You don't tell me when I can turn the TV on, when I can eat or whatever. Or when I want to leave my apartment. It's my choice. I can come and go when I want, 00:03:22:23 - 00:03:25:03 Unknown Help people know their rights. 00:03:25:03 - 00:03:27:23 Unknown we all have rights and we need to. 00:03:28:01 - 00:03:39:12 Unknown And we need to, we all we need to, what’s the word, we we need to know that we have rights as a as a woman. 00:03:39:12 - 00:03:42:07 Unknown Technically you don't have control when you're a kid. 00:03:42:09 - 00:04:04:15 Unknown Your parents, they are supposed to be protecting you and that. In my case, I was taken away from my parents. So I didn’t have anybody in my corner. Yeah. And then the people at the center, all that get over it, and it just didn't happen. We don't believe you. That's how what. That's the kind of thing I, the message I got from them. 00:04:04:15 - 00:04:07:11 Unknown Help people build a circle of support. 00:04:07:19 - 00:04:11:04 Unknown Do you feel like you got people on your side now? 00:04:11:04 - 00:04:16:20 Unknown I have a good circle of people. Which is so wonderful! 00:04:16:20 - 00:04:24:10 Unknown And is that why you decided to start getting some therapy for what happened? 00:04:24:10 - 00:04:28:04 Unknown Yeah, because I don't, you know, it eats you up. 00:04:28:04 - 00:04:32:07 Unknown I'm still have all the trauma. It's not gone away. 00:04:32:07 - 00:04:40:15 Unknown Somebody's got to be in their corner, because nobody was in my corner when it happened to me. So I feel that I to be in their corner. 00:04:40:15 - 00:04:44:12 Unknown But at the end of the day, if I've saved somebody's life 00:04:44:12 - 00:04:49:06 Unknown I'm doing good. One person at a time. 00:04:49:06 - 00:04:53:03 Unknown We have to be the voice of the people that can't talk for their self. 00:04:53:06 - 00:05:04:22 Unknown Special thanks to Monica Wafford and Cindy Bentley for sharing their personal stories, thoughts, and profound experiences to help improve the lives of those who have experienced trauma. 00:05:04:22 - 00:05:13:08 Unknown The Link Center. Improving Access to Mental Health Services for People with I/DD, Brain Injury and other Disabilities. 00:05:13:08 - 00:05:26:19 Unknown With heartfelt gratitude to Alyssa Johnson for permission to use her powerful music. She says, I forget who it was that said torment makes great art, but I feel like the statement is true. 00:05:26:21 - 00:05:35:22 Unknown Music is a functioning, healthy coping mechanism. I use to handle my trauma, and it has the same effect on the people around me. 00:05:35:22 - 00:05:44:21 Unknown The Link Center. Improving Access to Mental Health Services for People with I/DD, Brain Injury and other Disabilities. 00:05:44:21 - 00:06:17:20 Unknown ♪ Dearie my dearie we all need a voice, in a world that convinces us we’re here by choice. Soon as rain falls police make sport, of running us from the awnings and ruining our fort. Oh won’t you save me, save me from the things, that were supposed to save me. me.