Highlights Adverse Childhood Experience (ACEs) may be mitigated by trauma‐informed social environments. However, there is little empirical evidence that show how community approaches can address ACEs. A participatory change process was implemented by a community coalition in response to ACEs. Data was used to track implementation, generate hypotheses and guide a community response to ACEs. Results show how one community initiated steps to build a resilient, trauma‐informed community.

Perceptions of neighborhood safety are positively associated with perceptions of neighborhood violence. However, research has yet to examine whether this relationship is moderated by specific types of violence, such as sexual violence, that are more salient for women.

Trauma during childhood has the potential to adversely affect one's physical, cognitive, emotional, and social development across the life span. However, the adverse effects of trauma can be prevented and mitigated through holistic services and supports that are trauma-informed. The Pottstown Trauma-Informed Community Connection (PTICC) is a community-based initiative that aims to build a trauma-informed community through training diverse stakeholders (e.g., school staff, providers, community leaders, parents) on the potential signs and symptoms of child trauma and how to create safe physical and emotional environments for children and families. This paper presents findings from a mixed-methods study of education and community partners' (N = 82) experiences in PTICC and their understandings of what it means to become traumainformed. Paired sample t-tests found significant changes in participants' beliefs about trauma-informed practice, but there were no changes in participants' perceptions of the impacts of PTICC on their use of trauma-informed practices and supports. Focus groups with education (n = 6) and community (n = 5) partners found that participants regarded being "trauma-informed" as reframing one's perspective, being more self-reflective, acquiring skills to respond more effectively to others who have experienced trauma, and having a sense of hope for the future. Findings also revealed perceived benefits of trauma training and challenges associated with getting others to buy-in to trauma-informed work. Potential methodological considerations for future community-engaged research in building trauma-informed communities are discussed. These considerations include the need to address ceiling effects, disaggregate data, and mitigate challenges associated with participant engagement.

Objective: While nurses and rape victim advocates have unique and separate responsibilities in caring for sexual assault survivors in the emergency room, successful care requires collaboration between the two responders. The purpose of this study was to explore sexual assault nurse examiners’ (SANEs) and non-SANEs’ perceptions of helpful and unhelpful communication with advocates and the impact these perceptions have on the nurse, the nurse–advocate relationship, and the nurse–patient relationship. Method: Data were collected via semistructured interviews (N = 22) with SANEs (n = 6) and non-SANEs (n = 16) in a large Midwestern city. Inductive thematic analysis was used to identify themes relevant to nurses’ perceptions of communication with advocates. Results: Nurses perceived advocates communicating with them throughout a patient’s stay; sharing their expertise; providing constructive feedback; and reinforcing and acknowledging their work as helpful. Conversely, nurses perceived advocates asking unwelcome questions and interrupting; being critical; and providing incorrect information as unhelpful. Helpful communication strategies improved nurse–patient relationships, nurse–advocate relationships, and helped nurses’ work, while unhelpful strategies interrupted nurses’ work and hindered nurse–advocate and nurse–patient relationships. SANEs and non-SANEs perceived communication from advocates similarly; however, SANE training and years of nursing experience revealed unique aspects of these findings. Conclusion: Nurses suggested tangible communication strategies advocates can employ to improve nurse–advocacy relationships and patient care. However, some strategies named as unhelpful may be a necessary part of an advocate’s role in service to survivors. Thus, more research and intervention are needed to promote nurse–advocacy collaboration.