FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 20, 2020
BUFFALO AND SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – The Health Foundation for Western & Central New York will award grants to thirteen organizations, a collective investment of more than $1.7 million, as part of Phase III of the Co-Creating Well-Being initiative. Introduced in August 2018, the program is aimed at developing and testing new approaches to trauma-informed care for children by bringing together community-based organizations with parents and other caregivers of young children to identify needs and create solutions through a human-centered design approach.
Phase I of the initiative provided community-based organizations (CBOs), government agencies, early childhood centers, faith communities, clinics, etc. with workshops focusing on human-centered design and trauma-informed care (TIC). Phase II – implemented from May 2019 to November 2019 – was comprised of a combination of webinars and in-person workshops focused on interpretation of data through a trauma-informed and DEI lens, and building an organization’s human-centered design skills. Human-centered design is an approach to problem solving that involves the perspective of those who are affected by the problem in order to develop solutions.
This third phase of Co-Creating Well-Being began in January 2020 when those who participated in Phase I were invited to submit letters of intent for projects seeking to address these issues. Twenty-nine letters of intent were submitted, and 21 organizations were invited to then submit applications. Thirteen of those applications were selected to receive Phase III grants.
The Co-Creating Well-Being awardees are:
- Ardent Solutions, Inc. – $79,732 – Focused on systems change, the project will engage organizations that are part of Allegany County’s System of Care to participate in a 12-month learning collaborative built upon the model used by the Institute on Trauma and Trauma-Informed Care. The project will map the reach of learning collaborative graduates, known as TIC/TAC Champions, across Allegany County to inform a strategic planning process, work plan development and sustainability planning.
- Belmont Housing Resources for WNY, Inc. –$150,000 – By utilizing housing data and information obtained by engaging clients, the project aims to identify those at risk of forced housing change while equipping staff with trauma training. The goal is ultimately to reduce the number of Housing Choice Voucher families losing assistance, being forced to move or becoming homeless.
- Buffalo Prenatal-Perinatal Network – $130,000 – Through a cohort-based, peer-led online model, fathers will receive accurate information about child development, best parenting practices, and establishing a safe, trauma-informed space for their children. Tips and tools for the promotion of literacy and social-emotional learning for their child(ren) will also be provided.
- Cattaraugus Community Action, Inc. – $150,000 – Families and community partners will learn about the impact of trauma on children, as well as physical and mental well-being and resilience building. Staff will work with families impacted by trauma to develop an individualized Trauma Toolkit and Plan for each family.
- Cattaraugus & Wyoming Counties Project Head Start – $150,000 – Parents and caregivers will learn new skills that will help them provide developmentally appropriate and stimulating learning activities for their children, as well as tips and tools on self-recharging and self-refocusing. Staff will receive training and support in the utilization of a trauma-informed approach.
- Child Development Council of Central New York, Inc. –$150,000 – Trained staff and providers will work to create environments where children feel safe and are able to thrive. In addition to training on trauma and trauma-informed care, the training will be included on understanding racism and being anti-racist. Families will receive support from an Infant and Toddler Mental Health Specialist to promote healthy social emotional development and building resiliency. A newly created “Resilience in Action” group will bring organizations together to work collaboratively to identify and address concerns and priorities of families.
- Community Action of Orleans and Genesee – $150,000 – Staff will participate in training to provide a better understanding of trauma and trauma-informed care. Training will also focus on building resiliency for staff to then help parents learn to develop resiliency. Staff and parents will be provided opportunities for self-care.
- Community Action Partnership for Madison County – $67,463 – This effort aims to enhance coordination and collaboration of trauma-informed care work among systems. The project will facilitate the implementation of a “train the trainer” model to increase the likelihood of sustainability, while working to improve collaboration among schools, government, CBOs, and families.
- Community Services for Every1 – $149,665 – This project aims to address the impact of trauma on staff who are supporting families facing extremely difficult circumstances. A newly developed training curriculum will allow supervisors to use solution-focused activities for supporting individual staff and departmental teams with a trauma-informed approach.
- Early Childhood Alliance Onondaga – $150,000 – Parents want the opportunity to take the lead in their lives and in their communities. In this initiative, they will have the opportunity and support to do so. Peer-led support groups will address isolation and mental health needs and a variety of other issues related to toxic stress and trauma for parents looking to take the lead in their lives and communities.
- Genesee/Orleans Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse, Inc. (GCASA) –$150,000 – This program aims to provide enhanced support for parents with substance abuse disorders, including motivational interviewing, peer support, high quality childcare and early childhood education. Isolation will be replaced with support to strengthen parenting skills, as well as recovery by expanding and sustaining the role of the Parent/Family Support Specialist. The project will also work with families that have children born with neonatal abstinence syndrome.
- InterFaith Works of Central New York – $149,369 – Having the opportunity to express their needs, process their trauma, make friends and gain access to resources for themselves and their children, and contribute to their new communities, is essential for health and wellbeing of new Americans. IFW’s Family Wellness Program will be transformed to reflect the needs, concerns and innovations expressed by participants, with trauma-informed care as the stabilizing backbone of the program.
- United Way of Buffalo & Erie County – $88,500 – Go Buffalo Mom is a UWBEC program that provides local mothers with a variety of resources to help them build healthier futures for their children. Based on the feedback received from Go Buffalo Mom clients, the project will work with health care providers to create trauma-informed environments and practices that foster the social and emotional wellbeing of clients. These efforts may include reviewing policies through a trauma-informed lens and modifying programming as appropriate, providing training to frontline staff to identify signs and symptoms of PTSD, and creating a trauma-informed, collaborative referral process.
“We are inspired by the work that Co-Creating Well-Being awardees are doing in their respective communities,” said Nora OBrien-Suric, PhD, president of the Health Foundation. “The evidence is clear that trauma can have a lifelong impact on the health and well-being of children. We also know that children of color and those from low-income households experience adverse childhood experiences and trauma at disproportionate rates. Co-Creating Well-Being continues to be an important aspect of our work to achieve more equitable health outcomes in central and western New York.”
For more information on Co-Creating Well-Being, please visit CoCreatingWellBeing.com.
ABOUT THE HEALTH FOUNDATION FOR WESTERN & CENTRAL NEW YORK
The Health Foundation for Western & Central New York is an independent private foundation that advocates for continuous improvement in health and health care for the people and communities of Western and Central New York. Our vision is a healthy western and central New York where racial and socioeconomic equity are prioritized so all people can reach their full potential and achieve equitable outcomes. For more information, please visit www.hfwcny.org.
