How “Hope Recovery” Is Empowering Trauma Survivors Worldwide by Moving to an Online Platform

By Anna Levy

As COVID rates rise to unprecedented levels across the United States, social organizations continue to devise strategies for creating a positive impact on our country. Despite the social, economic, and environmental struggles our world is facing, there are examples of incredible people working hard to improve the situations of those struggling to stay afloat in a world that has fallen into chaos. On Friday, July 10, 2020, I had the opportunity to speak with one of these incredible people: Sarah Panovka, a student at Tulane University,who is interning with Hope Recovery (https://www.hope4-recovery.org/) --an organization dedicated to empowering survivors of abuse and sexual assault by offering free support groups and counseling. Sarah plays an essential role in leading support groups, creating workshops, and building a safe space for all members of the program. In our interview, Sarah explained more about the origins of Hope Recovery and how its switch to online has created an even more accessible platform for survivors to gain help and support during such an uncertain time in history.

Hope Recovery was originally founded by Kristen Price in 2013 as a message board, or an online discussion site, for survivors of abuse and other forms of trauma. A mental health and trauma survivor herself, Price was aware of how few in-person support groups and other affordable resources there were in Indiana, her hometown, and created Hope Recovery as a solution. In 2014, the organization expanded to include in-person support groups in Indiana. In 2017, they transitioned to fully online so that survivors from all over the world could access a safe space for support and healing. As such, Sarah is currently working with survivors not only from America, but also from countries like Mexico and Germany. After the COVID outbreak, Hope Recovery expanded its resources even further by switching from five support groups a week to 21--over four times their previous number of sessions! Sarah explained that the organization is completely non-profit and relies solely on donations and local grants to fund their calls and other outreach methods. Their staff of trained and passionate volunteers aims to “provide support and compassion to survivors of abuse and sexual assault throughout their recovery process,” Sarah explains. Any trauma survivor above the age of 18 is welcomed into their programs--Hope Recovery is equipped to aid survivors of neglect, physical or emotional abuse, sexual assault, or any other form of trauma, and there are different support groups for different forms of trauma. “Trauma is a state of hopelessness and terror that makes you feel really unsafe and have a lack of trust both of others and of yourself” states Sarah, “and support is the number one thing that most survivors need but don’t get.” The only materials necessary to participate are a mobile device and internet access, and all sessions are both free and optional post-registration so that these trauma survivors can easily and affordably access the support that they need.

In her reasoning behind joining Hope Recovery, Sarah explained that she has had

experience with anxiety and depression herself. “Because of this, I got trained in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), which is basically a toolbox of coping mechanisms around distress tolerance, emotion regulation, interpersonal effectiveness, and mindfulness.” This experience led her to volunteer with several different mental health organizations throughout highschool and college including a center for grieving children, mental health hospitals, and the National Student Leadership Conference. “Joining Hope Recovery was a big change of field for me,” Sarah says, “because I was so used to working with children and teenagers. Now, the people I work with are usually between 20 and 50 years old.” Despite her previous experience with children, Sarah has quickly adapted to this new age range, even stating that her favorite group to work with consists of 45 year-old women! “In the end, I just wanted to be helping people in need, because that’s what really makes me feel good.” In her specific role, Sarah is responsible for facilitating four support groups: three on trauma recovery, and one on domestic violence recovery. “Hopefully they can respond to each other, not to me,” Sarah mentions when explaining her role in the groups, “and hopefully I can help validate them and make the conversation move forward.” She also helps develop new workshops, and is currently creating a workshop on the intersection between eating disorders and trauma.

Sarah herself is familiar with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, and recognizes the importance of Hope Recovery in working towards Gender Equality, Reduced Equalities, and Good Health and Well-Being. Gender Equality can have several different meanings, as disparities in equality are apparent for both women and the LGBTQIA+ community. At Hope Recovery, cis women make up a large portion of sexual assault and trauma victims, as one in every six American women has experienced some form of sexual assault. However, Hope Recovery also provides a non-discriminatory space for transgender and other queer survivors, as transgendered people (especially college students) have the highest risk of being sexually assaulted. While the support groups promote equality for women and members of LGBTQIA+ community, they also aim to destigmatize gender abuse and assault for men. Overall, Hope Recovery is open to people of all faiths, sexualities, genders, ethnicities, sexual orientations, and social backgrounds. Although the organization is technically a Christian-based program, religion is only a relevant factor in the Faith and Trauma support group. “The registration is also completely free,” Sarah points out, “which makes it accessible to people of all socioeconomic statuses and helps reduce income inequalities for survivors looking to receive support at an affordable price.” Hope Recovery also improves the health and well-being of trauma survivors by providing them with a tool-kit to facilitate healing and recovery as well as a safe space for them to be vulnerable and connect with others through that vulnerability. Sarah strongly believes that “vulnerability is strength,” and that becoming vulnerable is one of the most important ways to address trauma and begin to heal.

The biggest takeaway that Sarah hopes to instill in our readers is that we must all work to empower one another each and every day, because that’s what Hope Recovery is all about. Recovery is a process, and each person has a unique story and background that defines who they are. Hope Recovery exemplifies how online platforms allow for new ways to make positive change and how technology is integral to people’s ongoing--and innovative--ways of connecting and of validating one another.