City-Wide Trauma Awareness, Sensitivity and Healing Through Relationships
Section 2
2.1 Introduction Cork is the second largest city in Ireland with a population of 210,000 citizens. Cork is the only Irish city currently recognized by UNESCO for its excellence in the field of learning and was one of just 12 cities globally, and 3 in Europe, presented with the inaugural UNESCO Learning City Awards in 2015. Cork City is a World Health Organisation (WHO) Health City since 2012. As a city, we have a proven track record of strong interagency collaboration and project delivery. This was particularly evident during the Covid 19 pandemic, where 16 Community area teams ensured that individuals, families, and communities were supported and nurtured throughout the pandemic. A City-Wide Community response forum was established led by Cork City Council. The trusting relationships that have been established over years of collaborative working ensured that as a city we supported our citizens through a very uncertain time. In Cork, we recognise that trauma can occur at any time in the lifespan, so we need a broad, inclusive approach to being trauma aware, compassionate and supportive. We also recognise that some of the most vulnerable members of our community are at far greater risk of trauma. Our aim is to work towards increased awareness of trauma, and the impact of trauma in the context of social inclusion and connection. As a city, we are embedding ACE Awareness & Trauma-Sensitive Practice through a Whole Systems Approach in partnership with agencies and the community and voluntary sector. This approach is supported by national and international literature from neuroscience, public health and psychology. Cork Healthy Cities commissioned ‘Cork City Profile’ – a statistical and geographical profile of Cork City Local Authority area that focused on health and inclusion. The profile provides an in-depth examination and insight into the social determinants of health that influence the health of citizens. Further analysis from POBAL maps identified that 29% of the 519 small areas in Cork City are defined as being disadvantaged or very disadvantaged. Geographical disadvantage continues to be a key challenge facing Cork City. Cork City Council retained the Revitalizing Areas through Planning, Investment and Development Programme (RAPID), and adapted it to be reflective and responsive to the needs of the RAPID areas by embedding it within the Local Community Development Committee (LCDC) structures. Despite improvements in outcomes across a range of measures, there remains a distinct spatial component to the distribution of disadvantage within the city, with a concentration of deprivation and associated factors across the RAPID areas of the City and in particular north of the river. To address poverty and disadvantage it is essential that we have a multi-agency planned response, focusing on upstream approaches to health and wellbeing that are proactive and holistic. The 4 designated RAPID areas in the city have a DP score between -13.2 and -16.6. (Cork City Local Economic and Community Plan). The existence of trauma poses a threat to individuals and communities. Trauma occurs across all economic, cultural, racial and social groups, which can form a rootless trajectory that may be experienced by children worldwide (Brooks, 2017). Various cohorts are typically more susceptible to experiencing ACEs and trauma such as those encountering socio- economic disadvantage (Nicholson et al ., 2019). Due to increasing social and cultural factors (Nurius et al. , 2013), researchers devised the notion that communities that are vulnerable and marginalised are at a higher risk of experiencing trauma, including members of the Traveller community (Hughes, 2019; Coogan, 2019), members of the homeless community (Lambert & Gill-Emerson, 2017), children in poverty (Murray & Morgan, 2019), and children in direct provision (The College of Psychiatrists of Ireland, 2017; Fazel, Wheeler & Danesh, 2005.
Cork Trauma Sensitive City
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