Sanctuary Accreditation

In 2020, University Settlement began its three year process working toward Sanctuary accreditation through the Sanctuary Institute and was accredited in October of 2023. The Sanctuary Institute implements the Sanctuary Model, centered on trauma-informed care, safety, and overcoming adversity.

The Sanctuary® Model is a blueprint for clinical and organizational change which, at its core, promotes safety and recovery from adversity through the active creation of a trauma-informed community. A recognition that trauma is pervasive in the experience of human beings forms the basis for the Sanctuary Model’s focus not only on the people who seek treatment, but equally on the people and systems who provide that treatment.

This model would serve as an organizational commitment to reclaim and re-shape the culture of the organization itself and the community it served.

Since adopting the Sanctuary Model, University Settlement has hosted a five-day training to educate its employees and has created a Sanctuary CORE Team to assist in implementation. The agency continues to provide Sanctuary Model training to incoming employees, along with booster sessions to refresh the central themes. With the principles of the Sanctuary Model in mind, University Settlement hopes to continue to build lasting, impactful relationships with one another, the community and beyond. Implementing Sanctuary Institute’s Sanctuary Model provides the framework to continue toward positive change.

As part of an intensive three-year certification process, University Settlement has engaged in ongoing training processes for the board of directors and staff. As an agency we understand the importance of doing our work through the lens of trauma informed care, for both the people and community we serve as well as each other, so we sought out the sanctuary model as a way to better serve ourselves and our community. With a community that has faced so much hardship, University Settlement found it necessary to ensure that trauma was being met with care and a responsive model. Trauma is a universal experience which means that a focus on non-violence, safety, and self-care is necessary.

“Creating Change through Sanctuary”