Ice Cream Sundays & Healthy Relationships: A conversation about Domestic Violence Awareness.
In recognition of Domestic Violence Abuse Awareness month, the CHRSJ partnered with the Department of Residence Life to host ICE CREAM SUNDAYS & HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS: A conversation about Domestic Violence Awareness. The focus of this event was aimed at raising awareness about sexual assault and building skills associated with interpersonal assertiveness and healthy relationships.
My MIAMI Story: CONVERSATIONS TO SPARK CHANGE
The CHRSJ hosted Miami Foundation’s My Miami Story Initiative in the School of Social Work. The dialogue and focus was on taking ownership of issues students care about (e.g., education, finding a safe, affordable place to live, or landing a job that’s close to home).
Transgender Awareness featuring Katie Hill
Transgender author, college student and activist, Katie Hill, was sponsored by the CHRSJ to come to Barry’s campus to speak to students of the university, as well as to high school student. She shared her personal narrative of trauma, oppression and resilience in an effort to develop understanding, bridge gaps, and create transgender allies among members of our local community
Making the World More Peaceful for LGBT Individuals: An Interactive Workshop
The CHRSJ and student-leaders engaged Barry University students in awareness building and bias exploration to better understand how everyone can create more compassionate and inclusive communities. The interactive workshop was part of the university’s Peace Month, a celebration of its commitment to foster peace and nonviolence.
Surviving the Holocaust: An Interview with Helga Melmed
As part of Barry University’s Peace Month events in September, the CHRSJ invited Helga Melmed, a Holocaust survivor, to share her story. The discussion was around trauma, resilience, hope, and human rights. The dialogue was more than an appeal for the world to remember those who perished, but a plea to ensure that horrific crimes associated with incremental hate against any group based on religion, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other reason, never be repeated. Numerous students, faculty, and community members attended the event, which enhanced the understanding of this history and its implications for contemporary social justice and human rights.
Innovative Clinical Approaches to Support Survivors of Sexual Trauma Conference with Dr. Pat Ogden and survivor Shandra Woworuntu
The School of Social Work and the CHRSJ hosted a professional conference, "Innovative Clinical Approaches to Support Survivors of Sexual Trauma." This event underscores our commitment to advance trauma-informed education, research, and practice for vulnerable populations, and brought together students, faculty, alumni and community practitioners across a variety of disciplines. The conference included workshops presented by experts in the field of trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy, restorative justice, narrative approaches to healing, canines as co-therapists, mindfulness and therapeutic practice, eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy (EMDR), military sexual trauma, and the biopsychosocial model of disease and suffering.
Trauma and Suffering: Faith-Based Approaches and Interventions Conference with Dr. Brian Sims (SAMHSA)
The School of Social Work, CHRSJ, and the Departments of Theology and Campus Ministry co-hosted a conference on the impact of trauma and suffering on families and communities in Florida. This conference addressed the impact of trauma and suffering in the context of urban poverty, violence experienced in the home and community, and grief and loss on the family.
The conference brought together social service providers with faith-based leaders and theologians to gain a better understanding of our concepts of trauma and suffering from our professional disciplines, established a link between our efforts to address the problems and issues experienced by at-risk children, youth, and families, and discussed intervention strategies and approaches to strengthen and empower these families and communities.
TransCon
The Aqua Foundation and the CHRSJ host this annual conference for transgender children, teens, adults, their family members, and loved ones at Barry University. As a volunteer member of the TransCon planning committee, Dr. Ashley Austin, brings innovative and transgender-affirming programming to the South Florida transgender community by programming and co-facilitating workshops. Throughout the two-day event, more than 200 attendees visit the Barry campus to gain resources and share in community.
Fostering Success: Summer Training Program
Barry University School of Social Work and CHRSJ partnered with the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) to launch a two-week program designed to give former foster youth and independent-living teens ages 18 and older the training they need to adequately prepare for the workforce.
The Fostering Success: an immersion experience hosted on Barry’s main campus in Miami Shores, took place June 17-30. Twelve former foster youth gained training and exposure to developmental and professional job skills. This training was specifically structured to quickly build long-term work habits and confidence - from the fundamental skills of professionalism, presenting content, and stress management to the more subtle and sophisticated skills of taking initiative and leading a group.