We didn’t build an organization - we built a movement. Not from bureaucracy. Not from legacy wealth. Not from political comfort. But from lived experience, community trust, and a refusal to wait for permission. Two weeks ago, TEAO (Trauma & Embodiment Association of Ontario) held its first public Annual General Meeting, and it felt like a landmark moment in a story that began with Nicole Brown Faulknor a lone ranger, working against the grain, fighting to create something that didn’t exist in Canada: a trauma-responsive collective born from community, not compliance. Because trauma healing deserves more than documentation. It deserves embodiment, relationship, and humanity. #Leadership #MentalHealth #Community #Sociallmpact #TraumalnformedCare

Sponsorship Offering: As shared by our CEO & Founder of TEAO Canada, Nicole @wounds2wings she’s learned that healing is not an individual act — it’s a collective investment in our shared humanity And she shares this from lived experience: https://www.teaocanada.com/about-nicole-1 (read about Nicole’s story on website our teaocanada.com) She states today, that she will forever credit the community for giving her a normal childhood. “This region raised me and supported me. I don’t remember Christmas without an abundance of donations and food. A monthly cheque from the Region that supported my mother with groceries and rent. I don’t remember a summer without a camp program sponsored by the region.” “Community care saved my life — long before I had language for trauma, embodiment, or systemic barriers.” This holiday season, you can do more than give a gift. 🎁 You can sponsor a woman’s healing journey. Through TEAO Canada’s Costa Rica Healing Retreat (Jan 3–10, 2026), we are creating a restorative and trauma-responsive space for women navigating burnout, grief, systemic barriers, and the weight of carrying so much for so long. A space where nervous systems can soften. Where breath returns. Where women remember themselves again. Sponsorship options begin at $500 and go directly toward funding a woman’s participation in this life-restoring experience. When one woman receives support, the ripple is undeniable — families shift, workplaces shift, and entire communities feel the impact. If you or your organization would like to sponsor a woman, or learn more, connect with us at: 📩 info@teaocanada.com Healing is a gift we give together. #CollectiveHealing #CommunityCare #TEAOCanada #DoBetter

We LOVE this Educational Awareness: For those working in community with both systemic and collective trauma this may support your unlearning so we can learn how to hold space, treat and understand without stigmas & unconscious bias when working with racialized families, youth, & individuals. Let’s get the real education from the lived experiences of the community themselves. #dobetter 1.
When we treat trauma as an individual failing, we erase the systems that created the conditions for harm. 
Systemic and collective trauma are not personal flaws — they are inherited survival responses rooted in colonization, displacement, racism, and structural violence. 
If we do not understand this, we unconsciously pathologize racialized communities instead of supporting them. 2.
Trauma shows up as patterns: silence, secrecy, shame, hoarding, hyper-independence, distrust, emotional withdrawal, and “just push through.” 
These are not character defects — they are adaptive strategies passed down from people who were forced to survive with no safety, no rest, and no resources.
When we work with families or youth, we are not just meeting the person in front of us, we are meeting their history. 3.
Unlearning stigma means shifting from “What’s wrong with you?” to “What happened to you, your family, and your community?” 
This reframe protects dignity and allows care workers, educators, and service providers to hold space without bias, judgment, or saviorism. 4.
Communities living with the emotional legacy of slavery, migration, and systemic neglect develop their own ways of coping — some healthy, some harmful — but all rooted in survival. 
When we dismiss those responses as “bad behaviour” or “poor choices,” we miss the deeper story of unresolved grief, inherited fear, and generations of unmet needs. 5.
Educational awareness must begin with lived experience. 
Policy makers, clinicians, teachers, and community workers cannot meaningfully support racialized people without listening to the people themselves.
Textbooks do not explain what it feels like to be raised in a home shaped by unspoken trauma — elders and survivors do. #TraumaResponsiveCare #EmbodiedSystemicAwareness

This Week’s Trauma-Informed Offerings: Circles, AGM, Orientation We’re holding space across three key events this week — each offering a unique way to explore trauma-informed practice, connect with others, and deepen our collective capacity for care. 📍 November 26 — Trauma-Informed Care Circles (In-Person) 🕖 6:45 PM – 8:00 PM 📌 Cambridge Public Library (Hespeler) Grounded in gentle somatic practices, this free in-person series offers space for reflection, regulation, and reconnection. All are welcome. 🔗 Register: https://lnkd.in/eZJAJRM2 or link in bio 📍 November 27 — TEAO Canada 2025 Annual General Meeting (Online) 🕔 5:15 PM – 6:15 PM | Zoom A virtual gathering to reflect on our 2024–25 impact, share strategic updates, and build momentum toward launching Canada’s first Trauma Health & Embodiment Centre (THEC). 🔗 Register: https://Inkd.in/e7cNQPgf or link in bio 📍 November 28 — Foundations of Care: Volunteer Orientation & Community Workshop 🕛 12:00 PM – 12:45 PM | Zoom This month’s theme: Mutual Aid & Systemic Impact Awareness. Open to new and prospective volunteers, practitioners, and community members. 🔗 Register: https://Inkd.in/eFVXJCNY or link in bio Whether you’re exploring trauma-informed care for the first time or are a long-time practitioner, these offerings are a welcoming entry point to connect, grow, and deepen your practice in community. We look forward to seeing you there. #TEAOCanada #TraumaResponsiveCare #SomaticHealing #CommunityCare #EmbodiedLeadership

We love this 🫶🏾♥️♥️: Repost from @refugeingrief • Are you wondering how you’re going to get through the holiday season? Here are some of my holiday survival rules from my own early days. Do you have questions about getting through the holidays (or any other day of the year)? Come get answers in my monthly support group, exclusively on Patreon. Comment GRIEF CLINIC and we’ll send you the link. Remember, whatever you choose to do (or not do), staying true to yourself is important. Friends & family get to feel disappointed in your “no.” But they don’t get to force you to say yes to things you don’t want to do. ⁣May your holiday season (or non-holiday, depending) be as safe, and full of love & connection as it can be.❤️‍🩹 #MeganDevine #GriefEducation #HolidayGrief #HolidaySeason2025 #GoodAdvice

Every year, TEAO Canada grows a little more since 2022 - not just in programs or reach, but in relationship. Our upcoming Annual General Meeting isn’t simply a procedural milestone; it’s a collective pause. A moment to reflect, root, and remember why we began. From our earliest circles to the vision of the Trauma Health & Embodiment Centre (THEC), every step has been guided by one question: What does care look like when it leads? On November 27th, virtually, 5:15-6:15pm EST, we’ll gather as board members, partners, volunteers, and community - to honour our 2024-2025 impact, celebrate the people who made it possible, and shape the next chapter of embodied, trauma-responsive leadership in Ontario. Healing is governance. Accountability is care. And this journey, as always, is collective. Join us for reflection, connection, and shared visioning: — https://l1nq.com/cRY0i or link in bio Founder, Chair & CEO - Nicole Brown Faulknor @wounds2wings #TEAOCanada #AnnualGeneralMeeting #TraumaResponsiveCare #EmbodiedLeadership

⚖️ Find Your Balance Recap: Student-Led Mental Health & Wellness Conference @wr_dsb; 
“Centered Under Pressure Workshop”: A Rhythm, Movement & Mindfulness Experience for Youth
In partnership with @rhythmandbluescambridge x @teao_canada At the WRDSB Student-Led Mental Health & Wellness Conference, more than 100 secondary students stepped into rooms designed for them— last Wednesday, we turned a room into a space of rhythm, grounding, and youth empowerment. Our 2 workshops, offered a journey using embodiment as a mental health resource & students learned how to breathe with the beat, shake stress out of their bodies, move through pressure, and find their own center using rhythm, breathwork, and creativity through real #woodpieces Did you know the most calming aromas in the world are released from trees? From TikTok-style movement to grounding resets, they showed how naturally young people use music, dance, and culture to regulate and express themselves. They painted symbols of balance, created personal grounding pieces, shared brave words, and left with tools they can use anytime: breath, rhythm, movement, community, and their own voice. This was youth wellness in motion (even afterwards at our booth space!) 
This was embodiment meeting culture.
This was community care — centered through rhythm. To the youth who showed up with openness, vulnerability, curiosity, and brilliance—thank you. To the educators and staff who supported this vision—thank you. And to Rhythm & Blues Cambridge, thank you for leading with heart and helping create pathways where youth can thrive through art, mentorship, and culture. This is how we build safer communities—one rhythm, one breath, one collective beat at a time. 🫶🏾 #YouthWellness #TraumaResponsiveCare #EmbodiedHealing #RhythmAndMovement #WRDSB #CommunityCare #YouthLeadership #SomaticHealing #TikTokWellness #MindfulnessForYouth #RhythmAndBluesCambridge #CenteredUnderPressure #TEAOCanada

Educational Awareness: #welovethis ♥️ #repost Healing is not betrayal — it’s evolution. #EmbodiedHealing #CollectiveCare #BreakTheCycle #TraumaResponsive #TEAOCanada #GenerationalHealing #CulturalAwareness Repost from @michellcclark • Here’s what they don’t tell you: you can hold deep reverence for where you came from while refusing to be confined by it. Your parents wanted better for you.  Their parents wanted better for them.  Each generation stood on the shoulders of the one that came before, reaching a little higher, seeing a little further. That’s not just family history—that’s the entire point. They survived so you could do more than survive. They sacrificed so you could have choices they never had. They endured conditions they hoped you’d never have to accept.  And now you’re here, with access to education they fought for, opportunities they dreamed about, and perspectives they literally couldn’t afford to have because they were too busy keeping the lights on. So when you question their beliefs, challenge their traditions, or choose differently than they did—you’re not betraying them. You’re honoring exactly what they wanted for you: the freedom to think beyond the constraints that limited them. The different perspective you have? That’s not arrogance—it’s the inheritance they gave you.  They positioned you on higher ground specifically so you could see what they couldn’t. Using that vantage point to choose differently isn’t disrespect. It’s fulfilling their vision. You can appreciate the foundation while building something new on top of it. You can honor their sacrifices while refusing to repeat their suffering. You can respect your elders while recognizing that the world they prepared you for is different from the one they navigated. Gratitude doesn’t mean staying where they left you. It means going further than they could go—which is exactly what they hoped you’d do, and what the generation following in your footsteps needs you to do.