Trauma Informed Community Building (TICB) Model Evaluation

The HOPE SF Initiative is an effort to transform four of San Francisco’s most distressed public housing sites into thriving, healthy communities. Supporting the mental health of residents and building community bonds have been identified as priority strategies. As part of HOPE SF, BRIDGE Housing has been engaged in community building work at the Potrero public housing site in San Francisco. BRIDGE Housing and the Health Equity Institute at San Francisco State University have worked together to develop the Trauma Informed Community Building (TICB) model that has been put in place in Potrero. TICB recognizes the impact of pervasive trauma on a community and creates a process to address the challenges to traditional community building approaches.  As part of this effort, many new community activities such as a walking club, community garden, Zumba, meditation, and parenting classes have been put in place guided by the TICB model. The Health Equity Institute in partnership with BRIDGE Housing is conducting a retrospective evaluation of implementation of the TICB model at Potrero, to be completed in May, 2015. This evaluation hopes to learn what the challenges were in implementation, what strategies were successful, and what impact did the TICB model have on individual and community well-being. For housing developers, TICB has significant implications for how comprehensive redevelopment efforts could be implemented in low-income, marginalized and sometimes violent communities. The lessons learned from this evaluation of TICB in Potrero can offer guidance to similar communities who aim to include extensive community building in their plans.