Trauma-Aware Port Phillip
Our Port Phillip community
Port Phillip is home to a vibrant and diverse community located south of Melbourne’s CBD. It is home to more than 112,000 people across nine neighbourhoods, including Port Melbourne, South Melbourne, St Kilda, Elwood, Balaclava, and others. People of many different ages, cultures, languages, identities, and lived experiences call Port Phillip home.
Our community is known for its strong networks of connection and care, supported by over 200 local groups and services. However, like any other community, we face complex challenges. Some of us experience housing insecurity, discrimination, family violence, mental health issues, or the effects of trauma. These experiences can shape how we feel, behave, connect with others, and engage with or avoid support.
Why Trauma-Aware Port Phillip?
Trauma-Aware Port Phillip (TAPP) is a community-led, evidence-informed project designed to strengthen resilience and reduce the impact of trauma and shame in our community. We believe that being trauma-aware is the first step to creating a safer, more inclusive Port Phillip for everyone.
A trauma-aware community understands that trauma is common and can affect anyone, whether it’s the people we support, our colleagues, or ourselves. It helps us notice signs of trauma and think differently about what someone might be going through. This awareness can change the way we work and relate to each other. It can help reduce fear, shame, and judgement, and supports emotional safety and wellbeing for all.
Purpose and aims
The Trauma-Aware Port Phillip Toolkit is for everyone including community members, workforces, and local organisations. It provides simple, practical guidance to help people respond in ways that prioritise empathy, safety, dignity, mutual support and culture. It is not a formal policy or training document. It is an offering to become more trauma-aware in all our practices in our community.
This toolkit aims to:
- Help people understand what trauma is and the diverse ways it shows up in our lives
- Reduce stigma and judgement in our community
- Reduce shame
- Support organisations and staff to become trauma-aware
- Encourage empathy, connection, and inclusion
- Provide useful resources to help to become trauma-aware.
How to Use This Toolkit
This toolkit is designed to be flexible and easy to use. You can read it from start to finish or explore sections most relevant to your role or interests. If you are a community member, you might use it to better understand others, or even yourself. If you are a worker or part of an organisation, you might use it to reflect on day-to-day interactions, staff wellbeing, or how your service responds to people with lived experience of trauma. Wherever you begin, the goal is the same: to build a more compassionate, respectful, and inclusive Port Phillip.
Language
This toolkit uses person-centred, inclusive, and trauma-aware language. We have chosen words that promote empathy, safety, dignity, mutual support and culture. We also recognise that language carries different meanings in different cultures, subcultures, language groups, and demographics. What feels safe or respectful in one setting may feel uncomfortable or shaming in another. We encourage you to be receptive to your own unique community on this journey.
Be mindful of triggers
When going into this work it is important to check in with ourselves. For some of us this material may reflect our experiences which can be confronting. Being trauma-aware starts with our relationship with ourselves, with extending ourselves empathy, safety, and dignity. So take space to breath when needed.