Introduction

This chapter will introduce the idea of being a trauma informed practitioner when working as a community support worker. Understanding trauma and how a trauma response may present is very important when working with vulnerable populations. Complex traumas must be handled by trained professionals in the field, however as a front-line worker it is necessary to have a basic understanding of trauma, the impact on behaviour, and to be aware when a client is becoming triggered and possibly experiencing a trauma response. This chapter will define trauma and outline some of the indicators of a trauma response.

This chapter will also focus on bias, privilege, systemic barriers, intersectionality, and why these terms are important to reflect upon and understand in order to apply best practices when working with clients. The chapter concludes with a discussion on advocacy and allyship. A definition and examples of advocacy and allyship in the human services field is presented, as well as the importance of understanding privilege, bias, trauma, history, and systemic barriers in order to be an effective advocate and ally when working with vulnerable populations.