Sanctuary Model

Collier Youth Services is in the process of incorporating the Sanctuary Model® into our Group Home and Collier House programs. The Sanctuary Model is a comprehensive approach to developing a trauma-sensitive culture that can address and resolve psychological and social trauma. Implementation of this system requires extensive leadership, staff, and participant involvement at every level of the process.

As a trauma-informed model, the fundamental approach is a shift in thinking from "What is wrong with you?" to "What happened to you?"

Sanctuary works to counter the natural tendency of programs that serve traumatized participants to become “crisis environments,” which carry a heavy risk of re-traumatizing the participants by providing a comprehensive plan and process for creating a trauma-sensitive, democratic, nonviolent culture.

 

Seven Commitments

• Nonviolence: being safe outside (physically), inside (emotionally), and with others (socially), and to do the right thing (moral)
• Emotional Intelligence: managing our feelings so that we don't hurt ourselves or others
• Social Learning: respecting and sharing the ideas of our teams
• Democracy: shared decision-making
• Open Communication: open and honest communication
• Social Responsibility:  recognizing that everyone makes a contribution to the group culture
• Growth and Change: creating hope for our clients and ourselves

 

Community Meeting

Community Meetings are a tool that brings awareness to what's happening in a group and identifies areas of growth or struggles. Community meetings are held during the day at both Collier Group Home and Collier House, and at all CFT meetings, we ask three questions. They are as follows:

• How are you feeling today? (this question is to assist the individual and the group on how one is feeling at the time)
• What is your goal? (asking a person what is their goal helps see that there is an achievable future)
• Who can you ask for help? (This question helps the individual identify someone who can help them achieve their goal or just to be a support system)

 

S.E.L.F Culture

All individual plans are reflected on the S.E.L.F model and seven commitments, and they include the following:

• Safety: encompasses the ability to be mentally, emotionally, physically, and psychologically safe within ourselves and with others
• Emotion: Our ability to manage our emotions, develop and utilize healthy coping skills, and reset ourselves when we find ourselves falling into old patterns
• Loss: Processing and understanding what has happened to you rather than "what is wrong with you." Processing trauma, loss, and transition in a therapeutic way
• Future: Looking toward the future. Addressing areas of growth with a solution-focused approach!