Storytelling: A Tool for Processing Trauma and Healing With Placed At-Risk Youth

• In Event: Stories of Resistance and Healing: Curriculum and Pedagogy

Abstract

This ethnographic study examines (1) the role shared experiences play in building mutual trust and respect in a mentor/mentee relationship between violence intervention workers and gang-involved youth, and (2) the impact digital media storytelling has on gang-involved youth’s ability to process trauma and heal. One salient narrative emerging from the research is the mentor’s use of shared stories to both validate and challenge gang-involved youth’s thinking. The research also found cross-cutting themes from different youth produced digital media mediums including inner demons, death of innocents, and personal sacrifice. Despite coming from different gangs, neighborhoods, races, and ethnicities, many gang-involved youth describe a common code of ethics to process their shared experiences with chronic trauma and violence, and ultimately, heal.

Author

• Jennifer Ventimiglia, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  Presenting Author