Casey Seeks Grant Proposals for Trauma-Response Pilot in Atlanta

The Casey Foun­da­tion is seek­ing pro­pos­als from com­mu­ni­ty mem­bers inter­est­ed in lead­ing a trau­ma-response pilot in NPU‑V, with a spe­cif­ic focus on Peo­plestown, Pitts­burgh and Mechan­icsville. The Foundation’s Atlanta Civic Site will award a grant of up to $60,000 to equip res­i­dents with vio­lence pre­ven­tion and inter­ven­tion skills and oth­er tools to improve neigh­bor­hood safety.

Indi­vid­u­als, non­prof­its and com­mu­ni­ty-based orga­ni­za­tions are wel­come to apply. Casey will award the grant by June 15, 2017.

Among oth­er eli­gi­bil­i­ty require­ments, appli­cants must demon­strate an abil­i­ty to effec­tive­ly car­ry out the fol­low­ing activities:

• recruit, train and sup­port vol­un­teers for a trau­ma-response network;
• coor­di­nate neigh­bor­hood heal­ing circles;
• devel­op rela­tion­ships with local police, fire and emer­gency ser­vice men and women; and
• ensure com­mu­ni­ty safe­ty updates are pro­vid­ed at neigh­bor­hood asso­ci­a­tion meetings.

In 2016, the Foun­da­tion con­duct­ed an explorato­ry research and design process with com­mu­ni­ty vol­un­teers to deter­mine how best to equip res­i­dents with the tools they need to effec­tive­ly address vio­lence. That process helped inform this pilot program.

“We’re hop­ing to equip res­i­dents with the tools they need to address the imme­di­ate and long-term effects of vio­lence and trau­ma,” says Natal­lie Keis­er, who over­sees the Foundation’s com­mu­ni­ty devel­op­ment work in Atlanta. ​“This ini­tia­tive can strength­en the resilience com­mu­ni­ties already have and help neigh­bors heal when tragedy strikes.”

Among oth­er activ­i­ties, the Foun­da­tion also has host­ed work­shops on vio­lence-pre­ven­tion and medi­a­tion strate­gies and trained res­i­dents in ​“psy­cho­log­i­cal first aid” – includ­ing tech­niques for respond­ing to trau­mat­ic events, pro­vid­ing com­fort and sta­bi­liz­ing those affect­ed by a homi­cide or oth­er act of violence.

“Res­i­dents have what it takes to heal their own com­mu­ni­ties,” says Amoret­ta Mor­ris, direc­tor of Casey’s nation­al com­mu­ni­ty change strate­gies. ​“By invest­ing in their inher­ent abil­i­ty to sup­port each oth­er, we can strength­en the fab­ric of these neigh­bor­hoods in a way that helps kids and fam­i­lies thrive.”

Inter­est­ed appli­cants should attend an infor­ma­tion ses­sion at 2 p.m. on Mon­day, May 8, 2017, at the Dun­bar Neigh­bor­hood Cen­ter at 477 Wind­sor Street, Suite 302, in Atlanta.

The dead­line for sub­mis­sions is 5 p.m. on Fri­day, May 19, 2017.

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