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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (July 21, 2021)
July 21, 2021 Page 5 Helping Women Emerge from Trauma C ontinued froM P age 2 is important. “And I’m convinced of it because I know the power of it in my own life, in my chil- dren’s life,” she said. Born and raised in North and Northeast Portland, Saunders was the youngest of three children. “I was the baby. And both my parents had their own trauma.” That trauma was passed down through gen- erations. Saunders’ mother experienced abuse, abandonment and deep emotional pain as a child, and as a young woman growing up in the South. Later, as a mother herself, she was hyper- vigilant and protective “because she didn’t have someone like that in her life as a child,” Saunders said. Lisa’s father experienced grief and was an alcoholic much of her childhood and young adult life. Her brother struggled with a sub- stance use disorder. He died on his 40th birth- day in the Oregon State Penitentiary. Through- out their turmoil, the family’s connection to faith remained. Her mother and father were both gospel singers. “I had family members who were broken. But when they passed away, they passed away very strong. We really don’t get the chance to heal,” she said. “There’s generations of pain that’s in our RNA and DNA.” Saunders’ breakup with her boyfriend trig- gered layers of pain and put distance between her and the things she needed to heal. “I was drunk in the club, in the 90s in Spandex, lis- Photo by M otoya n akaMura /M ultnoMah C ounty C oMMuniCations Lisa Saunders holds photo of two young sons. Today, they have flourishing careers and families of their own. tening to En Vogue, doing my own thing. So I trauma, but also a hunger for healing — par- wasn’t really attending church.” ticularly healing in a way that’s culturally rele- But eventually, she reconnected to church vant, Saunders said. and started doing in womens’ ministry. She “There’s physical hunger, but then there’s started a Facebook page. Things started chang- spiritual hunger,” she said. ing. “I ended up sharing my story with other Saunders began writing a white paper. She women,” she said. “And they just came.” cited work from the Journal of Nutrition Edu- Small gatherings grew larger. Soon, Saun- cation and Behavior about African American ders began hosting gatherings in coffee shops. women in extreme poverty who were also She called the events “Crystal Gatherings.” food insecure. Providing food alone wasn’t “I remember I was at home and I had this enough to help those women heal from the beautiful crystal vase sitting by the window, rest of the trauma in their lives, Saunders said. and the sun was shining through it. I was “For African American women, there was thinking about all the cuts and grooves in the so much stress and trauma in their lives that pieces of glass. And it was like I heard God even when presented with food, they couldn’t say, ‘That’s what makes you beautiful.’” eat,” Saunders said. “Do we just do a food A common thread among participants was pantry? Or do we do a food pantry and heal- ing, that’s culturally relevant?” “That reinforced a lot of what I know. We have trauma-informed care. We recognize people are in trauma. We also recognize there are triggers to trauma in our systems and phys- ical spaces. But beyond that, I don’t want to be stuck in trauma. I don’t want to be defined by my trauma. There needs to be a next step.” As more women joined Saunders’ Crystal Gatherings, the events grew to include in- depth workshops that covered subjects from “Finding Your Voice” to “Wounds, Bruises and Scars.” In January 2019, Saunders took a bold step in the next part of her journey helping women heal. She left her full-time job after 20 years and started a new organization that would build on the promise of her Crystal Gather- ings: FaithBridge. “I was sitting in Starbucks, thinking about what I should do,” she said. “And then it just came to me. ‘You should be a bridge to heal- ing.’ So I built FaithBridge. It’s really what I’ve been doing for years, but more codified.” Saunders’ work reaches career women who seem like they have it all together. FaithBridge also reaches women leaving incarceration, who may also struggle with addiction. “These are the women who more so need the support,” Saunders said. The work can unfold at retreats, away from everyday environments, or at transitional homes for justice-involved women. C ontinued on P age 12
