Healing That Lasts: How TAMAR Is Transforming Lives at CSC

At Collaborative Solutions for Communities (CSC), 30 years of service has always centered on one belief: if we address root causes, we can change outcomes. Today, that commitment is powerfully reflected in the TAMAR program, an evidence informed, trauma focused initiative helping youth and adults heal, grow, and reclaim their futures.

TAMAR (Trauma, Addiction, Mental Health, and Recovery) is more than a program. Itis a space for truth, healing, and transformation. Through structured group sessions, participants explore the impact of trauma, build coping skills, and develop the tools needed to move forward with strength and self awareness.

Over the past two years, CSC has served 140 participants across community based, school based, and reentry settings, reaching individuals at critical points in their lives.

Who we've reached through TAMAR

The impact is both measurable and deeply personal. Across sessions, participants consistently report high levels of satisfaction, with helpfulness ratings averaging above 9 out of 10 and 100% of participants reporting they can apply what they learn to their daily lives.

TAMAR Participant Outcomes

For Ketúrah Bonner, TAMAR was transformative. She described her experience as “life changing,” sharing that the program helped her see herself “in a new light, a brighter one” and gave her the strength to face her trauma head on rather than run from it. Reflecting on her journey, she shared, “I cried so much it was a tsunami of my tears. Each time though, it got easier and easier.” Through that process, she rediscovered herself and a sense of control over her future.

Keturah Bonner celebrates her TAMAR graduation with Safe Passage Supervisors, Jerome Abbott and Jalone Linkins, after delivering powerful testimony at a DC Council hearing.

Her testimony at a DC Council hearing was so powerful that it prompted policymakers to ask what it would take to bring TAMAR to more communities across the city.

The answer is clear. Sustained investment is needed to expand access.

Despite its impact, TAMAR does not currently have dedicated funding. CSC continues to operate these groups through staff commitment beyond their regular roles and by leveraging limited internal resources to cover essentials such as materials, transportation, meals, incentives, and graduation celebrations where families and communities come together to honor participants’ growth.

Even with limited resources, the program continues to deliver powerful outcomes. Participants build confidence, improve emotional regulation, and strengthen their ability to navigate life’s challenges.

 “I’ve began to really look at myself in a new light, a brighter one.” 

In one session, a participant who had struggled for years with unresolved grief found the courage to write a letter to her late brother, an act she described as “cathartic,” leaving her feeling lighter both emotionally and physically.

TAMAR participants create genograms to explore family relationships and gain insight into patterns across generations that inform healing.

In another moment, a participant confronted the realization that she had become comfortable with her trauma, opening the door to deeper healing through the support of her peers.

These breakthroughs are not isolated. They are the foundation of CSC’s approach. TAMAR helps individuals not only process past experiences but also develop skills that strengthen families and communities over time.

As CSC celebrates 30 years of impact, TAMAR represents the future of its work. Prevention focused, trauma informed, and rooted in community. With expanded support, CSC has the opportunity to scale this model across Washington, DC, reaching more youth, strengthening families, and building safer, more resilient communities from the inside out.