A Post-Card from our Summer Gathering

We have just been celebrating refugee week; the theme this year is ‘Community as a superpower’ and the Trauma Foundation South West Summer Gathering is a wonderful way for us to reaffirm our experience of community. Twice a year we – therapists,  interpreters, trustees and staff - get together in person to share what has been happening in the organisation, to celebrate a sense of solidarity and collective endeavour, to hold in our collective heart and mind the people we support and to build bonds of friendship and connection.  

This year we engaged in a collaborative treasure hunt around our founder Judy Ryde’s glorious garden. In this stunning green space we were invited to consider clues such as ‘If TFSW was to have the best party ever, what would it look like’;  ‘What do you dream for TFSW?’ and to draw / write our answers. We then pooled all the answers to the clues as our collective ‘treasure’. There is also a candle ceremony in which we are invited to light a candle; holding in our collective heart a particular individual or situation we want to be held by the community. Then there is much love and laughter over a shared lunch; food always has a wonderful way of bringing people together. 

Working to support refugees and people seeking asylum, in whatever capacity, is undeniably stressful – resource scarcity, ongoing global conflict, the profound trauma people have experienced, and the atrocious pain human beings can inflict on one another can erode hope and spirit. But the antidote to trauma is connection, and that is just as true for us as workers and trustees as it is for the people we serve.  

At June’s gathering, we also said a fond farewell to our long-standing trustee John Eames and we're now looking for new trustees to join our board — especially those with finance experience. We'll soon be recruiting for marketing, comms, and legal expertise too. So, if you share our values and want to help shape our future, we invite you to join our open info session in July and apply to become our next trustee. Find out more on our website: www.tfsw.co.uk/careers