Our Work

The Transformative Action Project or TAP, an initiative of Violence Transformed and the Public Health Advocacy Institute at  Northeastern University School of Law, is designed to serve neighborhood organizations, community groups and organizations impacted by crime and violence with a range of interventions:

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Mindful Practice

Exposure to trauma leaves an emotional & physical imprint. After a traumatic event our bodies and minds are often in states of activation or avoidance. TAP interventions address this reactivity through the teaching of mindfulness practices.

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Creative Engagement

All TAP creative interventions, whether visual, written or performance, are trauma-informed and sequenced in a manner that is attentive to both the emotional impact of traumatic events, and to the social and political context in which they occur.

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Legal Empowerment

TAP interventions support translation of new skills into empowered action. Access to legal information is provided to familiarize participants with needed resources and to facilitate a sense of mastery as they navigate through the legal system.

“In all forms of art, part of you is in the trauma, and part of you is a step away from it.”

“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.”

~ Maya Angelou

How TAP Works

TAP interventions are:

  • A blend of Mindful Practice, Creative Engagement, and Legal Empowerment.
  • Offered as interactive groups.
  • Time-limited (an intervention may be offered for a few hours or as multi-day intensives; they may be one-time interventions or a series of sequenced workshops spanning several months).
  • Co-designed by TAP staff & your community group or neighborhood organization. Interventions are hosted by your organization or held in local settings which are comfortable and familiar to your members.
  • Offered free of charge.

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TAP Staff

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Barbara Hamm, Psy. D.
TAP Director of Mindful Practice & Trauma-Informed Interventions

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L'Merchie Frazier
TAP Director of Creative Engagement

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Mary Harvey, Ph.D.
Director of Violence Transformed & TAP’s Primary Contributing Artist and Community Psychologist

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Mark Gottlieb
Executive Director, The Public Health Advocacy Institute (PHAI) & TAP Legal System Advisor

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Keena Banda
TAP Administrative Assistance & Outreach Coordinator

TAP Partners

TAP is an initiative of Violence Transformed and the Public Health Advocacy Institute at Northeastern University School of Law. TAP is supported by funds from the Federal Victims of Crime Act of 1984. These VOCA funds are awarded by the Massachusetts Office for Victim Assistance.