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Snapshots of Resilience

How the ‘Shifting Focus’ photovoice project is highlighting paths forward with formerly incarcerated men

‘Shifting Focus’ participants (clockwise from top left): Rickie, Richard, Jason, Patrick, Giuseppe, Robert.

How do you move forward after being released from prison?

That’s the question at the heart of a community-based research project that had been meeting at the UBC Learning Exchange for four years before COVID-19 restrictions and has recently released a powerful photography project.

Called Trauma at the Root, the participatory project is a collaboration between UBC’s Collaborating Centre for Prison Health and Education (CCPHE) and John Howard Society of Canada that is exploring new ways to foster resilience among men who have been incarcerated.

“Research shows that incarcerated men often have some form of trauma in their backgrounds,” said Dr. Chris Richardson, principal investigator on the project. “Incarceration itself is also emerging as a recognized form of trauma, with impacts on physical and mental health–especially with respect to how men learn to manage stress. Add in the stigma that can be associated with incarceration and a feeling that, as a man, one can’t ask for help—these are difficult things for anyone to overcome.”

The Trauma at the Root project is exploring the idea that increasing awareness of trauma and its effects can help men develop skills to manage traumatic stress and promote improved self-care. The project is fostering resilience in men by engaging them in strengths-based activities that connect them with peers and allow them to discover their own interests and abilities.

One such activity was a participatory photography project, also known as photovoice. Photovoice is a research approach that invites participants to share their perspectives through photography. It can serve to amplify voices not often centred; voices that, in this case, challenge the stigma associated with incarceration and substance use.

Following an introductory workshop on trauma and resilience, formerly incarcerated men were invited to join the photovoice project. Titled Shifting Focus: Snapshots of Resilience, the project became the basis for a glossy art book, an online photo gallery, and a video capturing participant reflections.

You can read the entire article via the UBC Learning Exchange.

You can also read the Trauma at the Root project report in the Downtown Eastside Research Access Portal.