BEND, OR -- Trauma impacts a person’s physical, emotional and mental well-being. It can even change how we interact with co-workers, clients or service providers. Cheryl Mills says someone who has suffered trauma may appear quiet, "Maybe just the way someone speaks to them could remind them of a traumatic event years and years and years ago, so they really don’t have the words to feel safe enough to say something."

Mills is co-founder and president of Haelan House. The local nonprofit hosts a training for businesses and organizations next week called “Practicing Trauma-Informed Care Where You Work.” She says it’s most important for those in the healthcare industry or anyone who works with people who may have been traumatized, "So that they can see what policies and procedures they have in place that might not be trauma sensitive." She tells KBND News, "People can get more information about trauma-informed care; what is it and why is it important? You know, why should I have those policies in place in my workplace? Why does it matter?" Mills notes the importance of recognizing the full impacts of trauma, "If the folks in those places don’t know anything about trauma and how they might inadvertently re-traumatize someone by the way their environment is set up or something that they say, then that can actually cause harm."

The workshop is Saturday June third at the Rosie Bareis Community Campus in northwest Bend. Pre-registration is required. The $160 fee includes the training, a film screening of "The Invisible War" and a workbook. Click HERE for more details.