STORIES OF HOME & DIGNITY: DISMANTLING BARRIERS, BUILDING BELONGING
Join us for a three-part learning and discussion series designed to take you from Problem → Understanding → Solutions. We’ll explore the systemic barriers of housing insecurity, uncover the emotional and trauma layers behind those barriers, and highlight stories of resilience, community support, and hope.
Each session focuses on a specific book or documentary: please read the books in advance for their discussion sessions, and we will watch the documentary together during its session. The series includes Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City, My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies (discussed over two sessions), and the documentary Gateway to a New Life.
You can sign up for all three sessions or just the ones that interest you—whatever fits your schedule. The sessions will be in-person.
Learn more about the individual sessions and sign up below.
Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City is a 2016 non-fiction book by sociologist Matthew Desmond that examines the cycle of poverty and housing insecurity in America. Through the stories of eight families in Milwaukee, the book reveals how eviction is both a cause and a consequence of poverty—and how the housing market can serve as a source of economic exploitation. The book won numerous awards, including the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction.
In this session, we will focus on:
- Understanding systemic housing insecurity and economic hardship
- Building empathy for families facing displacement
- Connecting themes to clients’ lived experiences
- Exploring barriers to dignity and stability
Session Format: Book discussion (90 minutes)
Location: Home Sweet Home Warehouse, 10 Sunnen Drive, Suite 100, Maplewood, MO 63143
In this groundbreaking book, therapist Resmaa Menakem examines the damage caused by racism in America from the perspective of trauma and body-centered psychology. The body is where our instincts reside and where we fight, flee, or freeze, and it endures the trauma inflicted by the ills that plague society. Menakem argues this destruction will continue until Americans learn to heal the generational anguish of white supremacy, which is deeply embedded in all our bodies.
In this session, we will focus on:
- Understanding how historical and ongoing trauma affects physical and emotional wellbeing
- The intersection of systemic oppression and displacement
- Healing as a pathway to wholeness and dignity
- Intergenerational resilience
Session Format: Two part book discussion (90 minutes each)
Location: Home Sweet Home Warehouse, 10 Sunnen Drive, Suite 100, Maplewood, MO 63143
Gateway to a New Life follows newly arrived Afghan immigrants as they build new lives in St. Louis—a city embracing immigration to counter population decline. Local leaders and organizations have created a privately funded program to support these families, many of whom risked their lives working for the U.S. government and fled after the Taliban takeover. Arriving with Special Immigrant Visas (SIV), they bring grit, bravery, and a strong desire to become American citizens.
In this session, we will focus on:
- Resilience in the face of displacement and trauma
- Role of community and support systems in rebuilding
- Dignity and agency in creating home
- Local connection to our mission
Session Format: Film screening followed by a panel discussion (2 hours)
Panelists include:
- Kathy Bratkowski, Director of Gateway to a New Life
- Blake Hamilton, CEO of International Institute of St. Louis
- Scott Walker, President and CEO of LifeWise StL
- ZZ, Afghan Interpreter
Location: Woodard Cleaning and Restoration Headquarters, 9490 Watson Rd, St. Louis, MO 63126