Workshops held for sexual trauma survivors

By Jen HoughtonContributing Writer

Healing  for Change, an annual eight-hour conference featuring seminars,  workshops and panels for female survivors of trauma, had its first  meeting at the City College Mission campus after a two-year hiatus due  to scheduling conflicts.

The  conference, which was held Saturday, Jan. 15, focused on small group  format and was organized and led by City College LGBT studies instructor  Trinity Ordona, who also provides healing meditation sessions in her  home.

The  day began at 9 a.m. with an orientation. After leading a short  meditation, Ordona introduced herself and the purpose of the meeting to a  room of about three dozen women. Emotions were already running high as  some attendees began to cry while Ordona announced the goals for the  day.

“Feel your feelings. And that means feel the pain. We know how to do this stuff, so don’t worry,” she said.

Ordona  explained that the day would consist of a two-hour workshop of choice,  followed by lunch and a second two-hour workshop. She warned the  attendees not to bounce from room to room but to take the time allotted  to “go deeper in and deeper in, and then come out.”

Attendees  were given information packets containing guidelines for the day that  read: “Always, always take care of yourself. This is your day. It is  okay to cry, to laugh, to be quiet, to pass, not participate, to walk  out of a workshop, to ask for help, to say ‘no,’ to say ‘yes.’”

Quiet  rooms and talking rooms were designated where women could go to think,  write, pray, meditate and rest or talk to each other outside of a guided  workshop.

Amy  Lam, a facilitator for the Family Stories in our Healing Journey  workshop, became involved in Healing for Change after Ordona spoke about  sexual trauma in a women’s studies class. Lam had experienced sexual  abuse at age four and didn’t begin her own healing process until decades  later.

“It  completely changed my life,” Lam said. “I really started healing. The  first time I heard these women’s stories I just started bawling.”

Many  workshop facilitators are trauma survivors themselves who were  compelled to lead group sessions after attending previous Healing for  Change meetings.

The  group sessions, which included Healing Through Movement, Healing  Through Writing, Acupuncture-Enhanced Meditation and Healing Through  Drumming, provided a forum for discussion and healing, not only for  attendees but also for the facilitators.
“The  biggest thing about this workshop is it’s about self-healing,” Lam  said. “As healers, we share our examples of how we healed and help  others to begin their healing.”

Fatimah Salahuddin, a volunteer, also got involved with Healing for Change after hearing Ordona speak in a class.

“Once  I made a connection with Trinity, I felt an obligation to be a part of  this,” Salahuddin said. “It takes me outside of my own abuse. It’s  bigger than me. It’s about all these women, here and in the world.  Healing is needed globally.”

Trudy  McMahen became involved with the conference after participating in an  eight-week, self-healing meditation with Ordona. Like many of the  volunteers, she felt that Healing for Change allowed her the opportunity  to connect with resources she might otherwise not have had access to.

“There  are people here who are highly skilled healers who are offering their  services for free,” McMahen said.  “This is a real platform to go forth  and get help.”

The  women at the workshop all had different stories, experiences and  reasons for attending but all seemed to want the same thing, to  relinquish the power their trauma had over them.

“Sharing  our stories allows us to give a voice to experience, which is important  for anyone who has been through a traumatic experience,” Lam said.  “That’s the power of trauma — it keeps people silent. But in speaking  your truth, you set it free, let it go and take the power away from the  trauma.”

McMahen echoed that sentiment by quoting a 12-step mantra: “Your secrets keep you sick.”
The  all-day meeting was put together with no funding and solely by  volunteers. Scheduling for Healing for Change is determined by the  availability of the Mission campus.

“This is born out of City College but it reaches out into the community,” McMahen said.