Why resilience is a team sport | Kimberly Deterline | TEDxSonomaCounty

Key Concepts:

Resilience, trauma, loss, unity across difference, shared purpose, celebration, communal emotion, meaning, compassion, vengeance, inclusion, exclusion, love, fear, mental health, rehabilitation, cycles of violence, second chances, redemption, bipartisan success.

1. Resilience Defined and Illustrated by Hurricane Katrina:

• Resilience is defined as the ability to recover fully from trauma and loss.
• The speaker moved to New Orleans in 2005 and experienced the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, which took almost 1500 lives and submerged 80% of the city.
• The speaker felt hopeless after the death of a mentally ill son by the police.
• A brass band playing in the Tremé neighborhood after Katrina exemplified resilience. The band leader said, "I am here to celebrate... because we are New Orleans and because we can."
• People actively chose to find joy amidst pain and despair, demonstrating that resilience is possible in almost any situation.
• People who had lost everything came together to help, rebuild, and celebrate life.
• The speaker witnessed beauty in the music, art, and the way people supported each other.
• The city's soul refused to die, showcasing resilience New Orleans style.

2. Unity, Shared Purpose, and Celebration as Antidotes to Despair:

• Unity across difference, shared purpose, and celebration can be an antidote to despair and key to resilience.
• A 2017 National Institute of Health paper found that shared experiences of connection, communal emotion, and the sense of being part of something greater than ourselves contribute to a life of meaning and are key to resilience.

3. Resilience Among Victims of Crime:

• The speaker works for a public safety organization with the largest network of victims of crime.
• Surveys show that the majority of crime victims, particularly in communities hardest hit by crime and violence, prefer investments in mental health, drug treatment, and rehabilitation to longer prison sentences.
• Bertha Pernell, a mother from Chicago whose son was murdered, started an organization to help others impacted by violence instead of becoming bitter.
• Oswald Thomas, shot in the back and unable to play professional basketball, dedicated his life to advocating for mental health rehabilitation to heal the unaddressed trauma that underlies cycles of violence.
• These crime victims chose compassion and helping others over bitterness and vengeance, finding their resilience.

4. Amendment Four in Florida: Inclusion Over Exclusion:

• In 2018, the speaker worked on Amendment Four in Florida, a campaign to restore voting rights to people with felony convictions.
• One in 10 people in Florida had a felony conviction and were almost completely and permanently barred from voting.
• Research shows that when people have served their sentences, including them in society is better for public safety.
• The campaign was headed by Desmond Meade (liberal black man) and Neil Boltz (conservative white man).
• Everyday people from all walks of life and political persuasions came together and voted for second chances and redemption over perpetual punishment.
• The campaign won with over 60% of the vote, a rare bipartisan success.
• Desmond Meade said, "Every vote cast was a vote for love over fear, for inclusion over exclusion, for unity over divisiveness."

5. Choosing Unity and Celebration:

• There are many ways besides voting to support love over fear, inclusion over exclusion, and unity over divisiveness.
• In the challenges of our world, we have the power to choose to unify, to celebrate, and to recognize that we are all in this together.
• This gives us the gift of resilience.

Synthesis/Conclusion:

The speaker illustrates resilience through personal experiences in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, work with crime victims, and involvement in Florida's Amendment Four. Resilience is defined as the ability to recover from trauma and loss, and it is fostered by unity across difference, shared purpose, celebration, and compassion. Choosing love over fear, inclusion over exclusion, and unity over divisiveness are key to building resilience in individuals and communities.