Missy Mendo uses these two Latin words to describe herself: ama odi. “It means I love what I do to help other people, but I hate what I do because it exists,” she explains to hosts Bridgette Stumpf and Lindsey Silverberg.

At 14 years old, Missy was a freshman at Columbine High School School during the 1999 mass shooting. Since then, she has dedicated herself to supporting others as the director of community outreach for The Rebels Project, which supports and connects survivors of mass tragedy and trauma. She discusses the challenges communities face in navigating collective grief, rebuilding, and using their pain to create positive change. She emphasizes the importance of peer support, community resilience, and healing – reminding listeners that a timeline for grief is unique to each individual survivor.

Connect and Learn More☑️ Missy Mendo | LinkedIn | The Rebels Project

☑️ Bridgette Stumpf | LinkedIn

☑️ Lindsey Silverberg | LinkedIn

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Brought to you by Volare, TraumaTies: Untangling Societal Harm & Healing After Crime is a podcast that creates space and conversations to dissect the structural and systemic knots that keep us from addressing trauma.

Rooted in a belief that survivors of crime deserve respect for their dignity in the aftermath of victimization, Volare seeks to empower survivors by informing them of all of the options available and working to transform existing response systems to be more inclusive of the diverse needs that survivors often have after crime.

Volare also provides free, holistic, and comprehensive advocacy, therapeutic, and legal services to survivors of all crime types. Visit our website to learn more about how to access our trauma-informed education training and how to partner with us to expand survivor-defined justice.