Implementation of Trauma-Informed Services into Real-Life Situations
In 2018, a violent man walked into a hot yoga studio in Tallahassee, Florida; he opened fire, ultimately killing a Florida State University faculty member, Dr. Nancy Van Vessem, and my sorority sister, Maura Binkley (Holcombe et al., 2019). This incident not only shocked the tight-knit community of Florida State and those who knew the victims but also inspired policy changes for hate crimes throughout the state of Florida.
The perpetrator of this heinous crime, Scott Beierle, had many red flags pointing towards an attack such as this, all of which were ignored by law enforcement officials. Beierle had a history of sexual misconduct that started in childhood, as well as a documented hatred of women that spanned throughout his life; he had also received multiple reports of sexual misconduct during the time he served in the military, and he had been fired from substitute teaching jobs throughout Florida for inappropriately touching female students (Holcombe et al., 2019). Law enforcement officials who searched Beierle’s personal items found disturbing journal entries regarding ideas of brutally torturing women, and although Beierle took his own life directly following his attack, the assumed motivation for this crime was his deep-rooted hatred of women.
Although I never knew Maura personally, those who loved her say that she was one of the brightest lights, and there is no doubt in my mind that she would’ve changed the world if she was given the chance to. She was an animal lover, a leader in our sorority, and was planning to move to Germany following her graduation from Florida State (Maura’s Voice, 2024). I got the opportunity to know some of her best friends, her family, and my own sorority sisters who live in her legacy every day, and everyone who had the privilege of knowing Maura was truly rich in life.
A year following the Tallahassee hot yoga shooting, Maura’s Voice Research Fund was launched by Jeff & Margaret Binkley, Maura’s parents. The organization funds research through Florida State’s College of Social Work to address issues of violence and prevent future hate crimes against women. I had the opportunity for two years to work for this amazing initiative to research incel-perpetrated mass violence against women, as well as red-flag laws within Florida. Although sometimes this research was discouraging to look into, the personal relationship I was able to form with those closest to Maura reaffirmed that organizations such as Maura’s Voice have the potential to change policies and prevention efforts, as well as heal trauma over time.
In the aftermath of the attack, trauma is something that many people directly affected by this situation still struggle with. Jeff Binkley is someone that I was fortunate enough to talk to often, and although the pain of losing his only daughter will never leave him, the efforts he puts into maintaining her legacy are so admirable; even through his grief, he still came to our sorority house to talk to all of us, celebrate Maura’s birthday with us every year, and release balloons in memory of Maura. My sorority sisters who personally knew Maura, took so much time to let us get to know her through their eyes, and it truly felt as though she was still with us. Although this was an incident that had the ability to divide our community, it actually brought us all together to work for a common goal: to make sure Maura and Dr. Van Vessem’s stories are never forgotten.
Throughout this course, we have touched on trauma-informed services a few times. In Module 4, it is stated that for individuals to benefit from these services, trauma and coping mechanisms must be taken into account, and the four most important qualities in programs such as this are safety, predictability, structure, and repetition (Rousseau, 2025). Although no formal trauma services were used, I feel as though my sorority was able to implement these qualities to ensure that those who knew Maura were able to cope with their trauma following the shooting. In our sorority house, we had a room dedicated to Maura; it contained all of the decorations from her bedroom, and her parents designed it to reflect Maura’s personality. By far, this room was everyone’s favorite in the house and where we all felt most comfortable to speak about our feelings. It almost felt as if Maura was looking over us in this room, and it gave all of us, as well as Maura’s family and best friends, a place to visit and talk to her. Each year, on Maura’s birthday, we would all participate in a yoga class and then eat her favorite German dishes with her family. And each year, on November 2nd, the day Maura passed, we would talk about the research we were doing to aid in the prevention of attacks like this, and then we would release balloons to honor Maura and Dr. Van Vessem. These actions allowed our community to heal collectively following the shooting and provided those who knew Maura with the support to continue fighting in her legacy for policy changes.
References
Holcombe, M., Chavez, N., & Baldacci, M. (2019, February 13). Florida yoga studio shooter planned attack for months and had “lifetime of misogynistic attitudes,” police say. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/13/us/tallahassee-yoga-studio-shooting/index.html
Maura’s Voice. (2024, June 13). https://maurasvoice.org/#maurasstory
Rousseau, D. (2025, January). Module 4: Implementing Psychology in the Criminal Justice System. Reading.