About
We use a community-model approach addressing trauma by leveraging the strengths and resources of the community. This is also a community led model. This approach recognizes that trauma impacts not just the individual but entire communities, and that healing can be more effective when it involves a collective effort and support.
Our key elements are: Collective Healing, Empowerment, Holistic Services, Cultural humility, Prevention and Education, Capacity Building, Resilience Building, and Collaborative Partnerships.
Our community-model approach shifts from treating trauma in isolation to fostering supportive environment where individuals can heal together, learn from each other and build a sense of safety and trust within the community.
Climate mental health care and disaster mental health care are closely related but refer to different areas of practice & concern. However, sometimes they do overlap. Climate mental health focuses on psychological and emotional impacts of long-term climate change, including existential anxiety, chronic stress, grief, and intergenerational trauma on individuals, communities, and future generations.
Disaster mental health focuses on the psychological first aid/support and interventions needed in the aftermath of acute disasters, whether natural or human-made.
- dix Moore-Broussard, M.A., ATR, TCTSY-F
Cofounder/Director of TNGCollective
Groundwork: Healing Together in a Changing Climate
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Groundwork is The Neutral Ground Collective’s community healing initiative that offers free, trauma-sensitive workshops and climate listening circles. Each gathering creates a space for community members to share stories, move, and reconnect through co-regulation while processing the impacts of disasters, extreme weather events, living in/near environmental toxins, and posttraumatic experiences. Through body-based, creative, and relational practices, we nurture connection and collective healing, helping communities stay grounded through times of change.
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Healing our nervous systems and healing the biosphere are very much intertwined in the work that we do at The Neutral Ground Collective. Nature teaches us about our interdependence, the ability to adapt and regenerate. These same principles help sustain healthy communities and ecosystems. The way we create our spaces, the way we listen, and the way we engage with one another mirror how we relate to earth itself. Groundwork grew out of this understanding that our collective healings begins beneath the surface, in the soil of our relationships, our bodies, our shared environments. It is about tending to all of the systems. Through listening, creative practice, we explore how to build internal and communal capacity needed to adapt and thrive in the face of climate disruption and social toxicity.
How we bring participation:
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We partner with trusted local organizations, indigenous communities, and community leaders to co-host circles gatherings.
We invite participation through word of mouth, social media, ensuring inclusivity and accessibility.
Each workshop integrates somatic therapeutic tools, creative expression, and group reflection to build safety and connection.
We sustain engagement through follow-up gatherings and community feedback loops.
Where does the term Neutral Ground originate?
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"Neutral ground, the New Orleans toponym used for street medians, is a phrase that originated in Western Louisiana. This area near the Sabine River became known as a free state. After the arrival of Anglo-Americans in the mid 1800s the term continued to resonate as a concept between Anglo and Creoles "for negotiating disputes and contested spaces".
"Neutral Ground"/64 Parishes.org
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Our Mission
Dedicated to navigating the spectrum of trauma through the arts, movement, and nature. Empowering communities to heal and thrive.
SAMHSA Six Key Principles of Trauma-Informed Approach:
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Safety
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Trustworthiness and Transparency
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Peer Support
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Collaboration and Mutuality
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Empowerment, Voice and Choice
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Cultural, Historical, and Gender Issues
Our Vision
Ensuring a decolonized psychological approach to mental health care for marginalized communities throughout Louisiana. Consideration will be given to trauma that has been experienced across lifespans and generations, including historical grief and loss, structural trauma and systemic racism.