Toolkit with Report Form - Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic ...

Community Response
This information can help community leaders* identify and access community
resources in the immediate aftermath of a critical incident. These resources
will have lasting impact as the community honors those lost and remembers
the incident across generations. Programs may want to share this chapter
with other community leaders and maintain it as a reference for follow-up to
crisis interventions.
Section seven
No disaster, crisis or traumatic event happens
in a vacuum. Those affected are more likely to
recover with the support of those around them
– partners, children, family, co-workers, faith
communities, and the community within which
they live and interact daily. Envision ripples
in a pond when a stone is cast; this is similar
to the rippled effect trauma may have when
cast into the life of a survivor. Community
responses to a traumatic event work to
address the needs of those “rippled” around
the survivor(s) and begin to repair the social
fabric connecting the smaller communities of
interest and the greater community at large.
*Community leader is loosely defined for
these purposes as someone who has:
• A leadership role across the entire
community in question
• Guidance within smaller communities
that contribute to community-wide social
fabric
• Expressed or informally established
influence and/or access to community
leaders who have express authority
to make decisions about community
services and resource allocation
In this section you will find information about:
Individual and
Community Crisis Reaction
◗ How communities react to traumatic events
◗ How community-wide responses can help
Domestic Violence Intersections
with Collective Trauma
◗ Victims living in the community may have
intense reactions to a domestic violence
fatality or near fatality
◗ Education about crisis reactions and
resources is important for all members of the
community
Honoring Victims
◗ Considerations for planning memorials
◗ Co-workers and classmates may want to
participate in planning
Community Awareness Events –
Ideas To Help You Get Started
◗ Links to some national and local initiatives
honoring victims of domestic violence
◗ Awareness is more than a month
When Crisis Strikes | Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence | 2012
page 49