Reflections on Transformative Approaches to Crisis
Art by Leah Pressman
IDHA’s Training Committee is thrilled to present our largest, most ambitious virtual training series to date: Crossroads of Crisis: Dreams and Strategies for Collective Care. Months of brainstorming, creative collaboration, and thoughtful organizing have been poured into making this series come to fruition by so many people. Over the course of 8 months, between November 2022 and June 2023, we are so excited to interrogate what crisis is, where it comes from, how to respond to it with curiosity and compassion – and the role we each play as providers, community members, artists, peers, and activists.
Our first class is coming up in a few weeks on Sunday, November 13, and we’d love for you to join us. You can sign up for the full series, or check out the schedule and select the individual classes that resonate most deeply for you.
To celebrate the launch of the series, some of our committee members reflected on the theme of “Crossroads as Crisis,” and why it’s important to us. Our prompts were:
What does the word or experience of "crisis" mean to you?
What does a transformative approach to crisis look like to you?
What are you most excited about for these classes?
Carrie Flemming
A transformative approach to crisis is rooted in radical imagination. It encourages us to understand the systems that led us here and vision beyond them. A transformative approach values dignity, lived experience, and creativity and helps us trust the unknown as we honor the full spectrum of our shared humanity. I am excited to learn from the faculty guiding these classes and expand my understanding of what community-led crisis care looks like.
Grace Ortez
Those of us unsatisfied with the outdated, limiting norms within mental health services continue to grow tired, uneasy, and restless for change. Systemic transformation of crisis care calls for courageous new voices, perspectives, and ideas to plant the seeds for a future that redefines our society’s approaches to mental health services, decarceral crisis response, and community care. It’s a daunting endeavor to imagine change—much less actualize it—in an era of relentless capitalism that presents endless obstacles and limitations for those who dare to envision beyond the margins. But do not lose hope—there are incredible humans doing transformative grassroots-level work that changes lives, and we are excited to feature them as faculty in our Crossroads of Crisis series. I am looking forward to dreaming and being inspired by the limitless imagination of these change-makers who are building new horizons one idea at a time.
Leah Pressman
Diving into an exploration of personal values, ethics, and purpose has been something I’ve craved for the last few years and simultaneously struggled to figure out how. The idea was initially inspired by a dear friend turned romantic partner who lives a purpose-driven life, deeply informed by his unique journey and life experiences. I’ve observed him with awe, respect, and sometimes envy as he moves through life with such clarity and purpose. My biggest challenge (I think) has been one of process – how on earth do I begin to say out loud what, for so long, has been implicit? How do I divorce those values I’ve adopted from parents, teachers, institutions, friends, coworkers from what feels truly core to me? And can I do this my own way, and what does that even mean???
In anticipation of this training series – in particular the class Creating a Crisis Toolkit – I took the first steps toward identifying my core values and desires (I’ve narrowed it down to 5). It has, so far, required many hours of external processing, vulnerability, honesty, and documenting (not forgetting too an immense amount of support from my partner. See above). One of the most joyful parts of this exploration has been creating a visual representation of what’s most important to me: creativity, in(ter)dependence, service, connection, and intention. Each has its own mini collage made from paper cutouts on upcycled clothing tags (my favorite canvas of late). They’re designed to be bold and colorful, distinct yet intertwined. It’s all very much a work in progress, but just starting has brought me a deep sense of peace and trust in myself that I will carry forward with me.
*Leah also submitted the art featured at the top of this post
Stephanie Vander Lugt
Perhaps a crisis is a crack.
A fault in a sidewalk, the sprouting line in a windshield.
The zigzag in a treasured piece of pottery.
The shattering may come.
Or -
It may be that some element comes to fill,
Emerge,
Shine through.
Could it be, crisis, you show us a different way?
The way of the dandelion that pushes through the sidewalk.
The way of the Japanese kintsugi artist.
The way of the compost, the mulch, the soil.
The way of being held collectively, tenderly, fully.
Could it be, crisis, that you speak?
If we slow down to listen, might we hear your trickster voice?
There's a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in.*
- The Voice of Crisis by Stephanie Vander Lugt
*A lyric from Leonard Cohen's song "Anthem"
Emily Verburg
I'm excited that this course highlights a few of the many experiments in collective care that don't rely on carceral and fascistic systems. It's true that communities sometimes recreate the dynamics of these systems by denying crises and/or using coercion or abusive logics to override people's autonomy. I'm hopeful that this series will support the growth of more communities that are built around practices of care, mutual aid, and self-determination.