Building Community Capacity | Improving Outcomes
Welcome to Empowered Connections, a premier training initiative hosted by The Empowerment Foundation. We are dedicated to professionalizing advocacy, expanding grassroots infrastructure, and delivering systemic solutions for reproductive justice and maternal health equity.
What is the Training About?
Our core Trauma-Informed Care (TIC) Training is designed to shift the paradigm of how care is delivered to birthing families. In a system where the intuition and needs of marginalized families are frequently dismissed or minimized, this curriculum introduces a critical framework for protection, intervention, and systemic navigation.
The Core Reframe
What looks difficult may be someone trying to feel safe.
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When a birthing person exhibits anxiety, anger, mistrust, or withdrawal, a traditional system often labels them as "challenging" or "non-compliant." Our training reframes these behaviors as survival strategies. We teach birth advocates to stop asking "Why is this person being difficult?" and instead ask, "How can we establish a fortress of physical and emotional safety?"
Key Learning Pillars
Participants dive into comprehensive modules analyzing how trauma manifests dynamically across three main spheres:
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Emotion: Identifying hidden signs of severe anxiety, numbness, or shame.
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Behavior: De-escalating and understanding triggers behind withdrawal, active anger, or hyper-compliance (people-pleasing).
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Relationships: Navigating institutional mistrust, fear of surveillance, and the testing of interpersonal boundaries.
Through this trauma-informed lens, advocates learn to firmly preserve Safety, Choice, and Empowerment throughout pregnancy, labor, and the postpartum "fourth trimester."
Who is it For?
This training is specifically designed for:
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Community-Based Organizations (CBOs): Expanding organizational capacity to deliver trauma-informed care and handle high-stakes advocacy.
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Birth Workers & Doulas: Equipping frontline advocates with high-level tools to combat medical coercion, enforce birth plans, and act as a literal buffer against maternal mortality and systemic bias.
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Community Health Advocates: Empowering leaders to support families navigating the perinatal journey without fear of judgment, state surveillance, or clinical malpractice.
Community Partnerships & Training Sites
Deep advocacy thrives when it is rooted in spaces that reflect community transformation. We are proud to run our specialized training blocks alongside dedicated local institutions.
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The Mothership Center
The Mothership Center serves as our collaborative hub for foundational modules. Here, our advocates gather to undergo initial behavioral cue recognition training, clinical boundary-setting workshops, and baseline research tracking.
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The Peaslee Neighborhood Center
Our intensive, day-long training sessions find a natural home at the historic Peaslee Neighborhood Center. Peaslee’s multifaceted programming centers on community education, service learning, and active social advocacy. Much like Peaslee's writing circles teach young girls to creatively express themselves and harness the agency of their own voice, our training empowers birth workers to protect, uplift, and amplify the voices of birthing families.
Get Involved
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While our active research cohorts are closed to the general public to maintain study integrity, we are always looking to expand our network of community-based organizations and birth justice advocates for future series.
To learn more about our capacity-building programs, find out how your organization can participate, or stay updated on the upcoming July cohort, please contact us today.