Our Programs

We’re part of the solution

The discrepancy between the treatment of marginalized patients and white/able-bodied/cis people in mental health facilities illuminates a greater issue when it comes to equity in mental healthcare. BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ identities have often been left out of the mainstream coverage of sexual assault. Tending the Garden was founded as a space to harness healing and support and place the experience and needs of these identities at the forefront of recovery work around sexual assault.

The Retreat

This 6 day retreat is a space where survivors are pushed out of their comfort zone and come out on the other side stronger and with a new idea of what a survivor can look like. It means that a collection of folks who have been historically pushed to the side, overlooked, and over-sexualized will finally take center stage. No longer will they feel alone in their healing journeys. Instead, they will finally get to exhale, be themselves fully, and tend to their gardens.

awareness

Marginalized identities, by definition, have been left on the periphery of conversation. With this, it becomes a more difficult task to bring people into the conversation. Raising the collective awareness around the experiences of marginalized sexual assault survivors is beneficial to advancing the treatment and experiences of all survivors.

 Workshops & Live Events

One of the primary goals with this work is to help survivors get back into their body and reconnect with it. The workshops at Tending the Garden retreats are run by those who have a shared identity and experience with the participants. The purpose of this is to ensure that the workshops are led by those who can empathize, understand and connect with the experiences of those present.

Resources

An ongoing goal of Tending the Garden is providing free resources to all, including education around sexual trauma, guidance and exercises for survivors and tips for allies, families and friends of survivors.