“When will this stop hurting so much?”
My friends and I posed this question one night when we gathered together in circle to say out loud the unspeakable things we had survived.
Our traumas ran deep and as a community of people who all hold identities as oppressed people, frequently racism, homophobia, and sexism entangled themselves in our stories, making it even more complex to digest and process what we had endured. That night, even though I wept for all of the horrible experiences we had collectively gone through, I knew that I was lucky to have found this community of people I could trust with some of the ugliest moments in my life.
On my own path to healing this moment sticks out as another point in a long line of what would feel like steps backward, but would eventually prove to be movement forward towards healing. Over the years I took to writing and performing spoken word, spent time in nature, wept with friends, got sober, read What You Really Want in a book group, found myself in the stories of others, participated in healing art classes, and learned the traditional dances and wisdom of my indigenous Mexican people. This is not to say that I have come to the ever-illusive end of my healing journey. Two weeks ago I wept uncontrollably as I took out my traumas again and explored them in different ways with the expertise of my therapist—something I hadn’t been ready to do yet. This is the nature of trauma, yet I knew that when I was ready to begin the journey, this battery of holistic healing methods would make me a healthier person and more connected with my fellow survivors. And THAT is what I seek to create with SHFT.
SHFT (Survivors Healing From Trauma) is a series of holistic healing classes designed, taught, and for people from oppressed communities.
Intense thought and pre-planning have gone into making the classes as accessible as possible with childcare being provided, transportation funding if necessary, and a pay-what-you-can sliding scale fee for each class. While at the same time paying instructors—who are too often asked to volunteer their time—a fair wage for their expertise.
A part of the purpose is to create a community feel amongst the participants.
The first series of classes will be for women of color who survived sexual violence. A part of SHFT’s purpose is to co-create community and trust among the participants in the hope that they will remain the same throughout the series of classes. This fosters trust and allows them to achieve higher levels of intimacy, which frequently leads to deeper healing. We are currently building the group for the first classes. If you identify as a woman of color who is a survivor of sexual violence and can commit to a weekly class, please contact me directly at nina.hernandez.beithon@gmail.c
In the future, SHFT would like to expand to add classes with a variety of healing modalities for other types of survivors. If you are interested in getting more information about how to sponsor a participant, become an instructor, volunteer your time and talents, find class schedules, or join SHFT on your own healing journey, please send us an email at shftcommunity@gmail.com.
I still have days of hurting, but co-creating healing spaces with my people gives me strength to continue forward.
This story is sponsored by Youthprise and created in partnership with the Pollen Story Team. For more information about Pollen’s storytelling services, contact us at hello@pollenmidwest.org.