War, conflict, and organized violence

Being directly targeted or harmed by gang violence

Being directly targeted, threatened, harmed, or controlled by gang activity. Being recruited or coerced into gang involvement. Losing people to gang violence. Living under the control or threat of organized criminal groups. Including people who were inside gang life and people who were simply in its path.

If some version of this is part of your story, you already know that the hardest part is rarely the memory itself. It is carrying it in a world that mostly does not want to hear about it. This fellowship exists so you do not have to carry it alone, and so you never have to explain it to someone who has no idea what it means.

What can follow an experience like this

No two people carry the same experience the same way. These are some of the effects that people with this experience often describe. Having some of them, all of them, or none of them says nothing about how real what happened to you was.

Complex or ongoing trauma and its effects When trauma happened repeatedly, over a long time, or at the hands of people who were supposed to care for you, the effects go deeper than a single event. Insomnia or feeling unsafe enough to sleep Difficulty falling asleep. Emotional numbness Not depression exactly. Shame or feeling like something is broken in you Not guilt about something you did. Depression Not just sadness. Not knowing who you are, or experiencing multiple parts or identities A self that shifts depending on who you are with. Addiction and what it has done to your life Addiction is not a moral failure. Going on the attack before something bad can happen When the nervous system learned that threat was coming, some people learned to meet it head on.

Nothing on this page is a diagnosis, and nothing here decides what is wrong with you, because nothing is wrong with you. Something happened to you. This page exists so that when you are ready, you can find people who understand it from the inside.

You do not have to carry this alone.

Bridge of Hope Recovery is a free, anonymous, peer-led fellowship for trauma survivors. Meetings run throughout the week by phone, by video, and in person. No cost, no waitlist, no one asking for your real name.

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