Last week we had a great informational interview with Michele (last name redacted for privacy) who has been working with survivors for over ten years. Clear objectives and a flexible guide aided us in having an extremely insightful interview. We left feeling confident that we are moving on the right track and our direction of exploring long term care and support for survivors was largely validated.
Research Objective
Understanding the space
Understand existing support services
- Commonly used
- Pain Points
Stakeholder/Ecosystem map - maybe we can do a collaborative exercise like the one you’ll did with the Justice Network to understand the system better
Limits and boundaries - working with care
How to navigate this space?
Act of Disclosure
Research Guide
Intro
In your experience, have you ever worked with the survivors support system.
What role do support systems play in the survivors journey
The role of self
Role of formal systems
Role of informal systems
What are the different stages of healing?
Where does social support come into play in this journey?
Have you seen patterns in disclosure acts, when it happens, to whom it happens, the process after? What does a positive disclosure look like?
How to navigate this space, it’s delicacy and the boundaries that we should be careful not to overstep? Any frameworks, training that would help us execute this project with care.
Key Insights
There are no medical protocols for survivors seeking long term care
Many survivors do not want support from family immediately after the event because of shame- survivors are more likely to confide in friends than family
Resources would be helpful for crisis centers could give that survivor could access later on when they are ready about other paths to healing
There are very common life stages that trigger people and may be the reason they search for help- pregnancy, life transitions, new relationships, big changes
Co-survivors (people supporting survivors like family and partners) are sometimes offered support and counseling but often do not want to go
Societal expectations of healing need to change -people need to be able to take time to focus on their healing.