Hope and Heal Incorporated

About

Hope and Heal provides rehabilitative retreats for women who have survived intimate partner violence (IPV). Alongside a team of trauma recovery and health/wellbeing experts, small groups of women undertake to reclaim control of their recovery and empower their voices (and bodies), learning how to reconnect to their local community and participate with confidence, socially and economically. At the core of the programs is a women-centred approach, focused on the importance of physical and mental health, and self-led strategies for long-term recovery.

The training program includes: trauma-sensitive yoga, mindfulness and meditation for PTSD (incorporating these into everyday life for recovery), breath work, victim-centred education on stress and trauma, group therapy work, journaling techniques and art therapy. Based on combined evidence from previous retreats and formal academic research, addressing the long-term impacts of trauma in this way has a transformational impact on individuals and drastically improves survivors' prospects of long-term positive health and wellbeing, and participation in the local community and economy.

Program donations fund:

The project cost we are fundraising for is to assist to run 4 x weekend Hope and Heal Retreats in 2023, to meet the increased demand for our service. 

Our retreats have been carefully developed in consultation with survivors and health/ wellbeing experts, with foundations in empirical data on strategies, to equip and empower women with tools to overcome the enduring effects of trauma, and begin to participate in society.

• Trauma sensitive yoga
• Mindfulness techniques for PTSD and meditation training
• Breath Work
• Education on stress trauma and health
• Group work
• Trauma sensitive massage techniques
• Journaling and art therapy
• Nutritious food

 These practical tools empower women to take charge of their health and wellbeing, and allow them to feel safe and explore how their recovery enables their economic and social participation. These skills are invaluable to survivors and address the need to empower women with self-driven tools for recovery.