Launched in 2021, the Healing Racial Trauma Initiative (HRTI) is a program rooted in community, research, and racial justice. Although it began in Maine, developed for and by People of Color with funding from the Maine Health Access Foundation, HRTI addresses conditions and healing strategies relevant across regions and adaptable to broader contexts.

HRTI seeks to illuminate and disrupt the systems of harm that emerge from white supremacy and capitalism by creating space for collective healing. Through culturally responsive, trauma-informed approaches, we center the wisdom, needs, and lived experiences of BIPOC communities to transform the impact of racial violence, both direct and indirect.

Since its founding, HRTI has led foundational work, including creating the Maine Racial Equity Social Determinants of Health initiative, the first-ever Maine Racial Trauma Survey, and a series of Community Conversations that have unearthed deep qualitative insights into the healing needs of communities of color. These efforts are detailed in the comprehensive HRTI 2023 Report.

As this work continues to grow, so do the ways we engage with and support our communities. We’ve begun building the Healing Racial Trauma Advisory Committee, a group of trusted mental health professionals and healers who help guide the direction of this initiative. We also partnered with Dr. Janeé M. Steele to offer Culturally Responsive Therapy for Racial Trauma, an 11-part learning series designed to deepen mental health professionals’ and community practitioners’ understanding of culturally responsive care and strengthen their ability to support individuals experiencing racial trauma.

At the heart of this ongoing work are our Community Circles, launched two years ago and continuing to evolve with community members as co-authors of the experience. Led by facilitators and healers rooted in cultural traditions and collective care, these gatherings create spaces where participants shape the conversations, share their experiences, and define what connection, care, and healing look like for themselves and one another.

Each effort supports a larger vision: to create space for healing, connection, and transformation in the face of racial trauma.