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To address the 2020 civil unrest and its aftermath in the South Los Angeles region, the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office (LACA), in partnership with Children's Institute, Inc. (CII) and the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) will implement key evidence-based violence prevention strategies, community youth engagement programs, and behavioral health services to improve the well-being, resiliency, and healing in this afflicted community, where trauma is almost ubiquitous. Goals will include: Goal 1: Increase community capacity to promote well-being, resiliency and community healing through community-based, participatory approaches Objective 1 A: Within 60 days of the grant award, LACA will assemble and engage a diverse set of stakeholders to act as the leadership group for the ReCAST program. Objective 1 B: Within 3 months of the grant award, the ReCAST council will develop and launch a community needs assessment to guide implementation over the five-year grant term. Objective 1 C: Within 6 months of the grant award, the ReCAST council will develop a strategic plan to guide implementation over the five-year grant term. Goal 2: Increase the availability and accessibility of evidence-based mental health services by establishing and increasing awareness of referral mechanisms to mental health and social-emotional support services Objective 2A: CII will train teachers, school personnel, law enforcement/first responders, and family support staff at schools across Los Angeles County on the mechanisms for referring individuals to mental health services (Year 1 = 250 trainees, Year 2 = 300 trainees, Years 3 through 5 = 350 trainees annually, a total of 1,600 trainees over the grant term). Objective 2B: Agencies who participate in CII's training will refer children and adults to mental health services (Year 1 - 250 individuals referred, Years 2 through 5 = 300 referrals annually, a total of 1,450 referrals over the grant term). Goal 3: Increase community wellness through collaborative community-based programming and events Objective 3A: CII will provide annual programming and training to 50 youth, adults and grassroots organizations on community organizing, civic engagement, and starting a business per year for a total of 250 youth over the term of the grant. Objective 3B: CII will provide the Wyman's TOPS nine-month youth leadership programming to 50 youth per year (2 cohorts of 25) and 250 youth over the term of the grant. Objective 3C: CII and LACA

The Denver ReCAST Program will serve 13,170 at-risk youth and their families over the 5-year grant period. The program builds on Denver's assets to integrate behavioral health services with efforts to address social determinants of health by creating a unified, coordinated infrastructure to impact youth violence, mental health concerns, and substance abuse. This infrastructure will be a partnership between public agencies and community-based organizations, and managed by Denver Department of Public Health and Environment (DDPHE). Many Denver youth experience economic adversity, homelessness, and academic challenges as well as violence and struggles with their mental wellness. The mental health concerns of at-risk youth have been compounded by civil unrest and the pandemic, which have disproportionately affected people of color. To address these needs, Denver ReCAST has 5 goals and 13 objectives. Goals: 1) To use community-based participatory approaches to promote well-being, resiliency, and healing; 2) To increase equity of access to trauma-informed behavioral health resources; 3) To integrate community services that address the social determinants of health with behavioral health services; 4) To increase community resilience by breaking down public agency silos and barriers and building the capacity of residents to address needs of at-risk youth and their families; and 5) To enhance behavioral health services to be culturally and developmentally appropriate. Objectives: 1.a) By 9/29/26, DDPHE will engage and sustain up to 30 community members in adult and youth advisory boards to guide project activities and quality improvement; 1.b) By 3/31/22, DDPHE will engage at least 100 community members in the assessment of community-identified drivers of civil unrest and the development of a plan to address these drivers; 1.c) By 3/31/22, DDPHE will develop a Memorandum of Understanding with community leadership that demonstrates their commitment to support program activities; the following objectives will be met by 9/29/26: 2.a) at least 10 organizations will address barriers and improve linkages for at-risk youth and their families to access trauma-informed behavioral health resources; 2.b) at least 1,600 at-risk youth and their families will receive trauma-informed behavioral health resources and evidence-based programs; 2.c) at least 10 organizations will be trained in accessing alternative funding for services, including 3rd party reimbursement; 3.a) at least 5,000 at-risk youth and their families will be connected with community services linked to youth risk behaviors; 3.b) at least 400 community leaders will be trained on social determinants of youth risk behaviors; 3.c) Denver agencies will develop a comprehensive list of trauma-informed behavioral health resources; 4.a) 400 community members will be trained on leadership, assessment, and quality improvement; 4.b) access for youth empowerment services will be provided to 5,000 at-risk youth; 5.a) at least 75% of program participants will report that services are culturally and developmentally appropriate and trauma-informed; and 5.b) at least 250 community leaders will be trained on trauma-informed care, cultural responsiveness, and implicit bias.

Jacksonville has a has a long history of segregation, oppression, racism, and police brutality--leading to the weeklong anti-racism and oppression demonstrations involving more than 3,000 people in May. Building a Resilient Jacksonville System of Care (BRJ-SOC) will utilize a rights-based framework to create an ecosystem of care to solidify, sustain and build upon community-based participatory efforts; meet the needs of high-risk youth and their families; and promote well-being, resiliency, and community healing. BRJ-SOC will serve more than 15,000 unduplicated individuals in Jacksonville's urban core, home to the city's largest percentage of minority residents, highest poverty rates and highest death rates. By building on the City of Jacksonville's existing SAMHSA System of Care (SOC), we will integrate, restructure and expand the foundational SOC components (e.g. cultural and linguistic competency, family-driven, youth-guided, and evidence based) successfully implemented through our prior and current SAMHSA SOC grants to establish a trauma informed Jacksonville that will focus on training first responders, community stakeholders, providers, educators, and clergy in trauma-informed care engaging and serving more than 15,000 community stakeholders, providers, educators, law-enforcement, clergy and high-risk youth and families in Jacksonville's urban core, violence prone communities that experience civil unrest. BRJ-SOC will be under the leadership and guidance of the SOC Community Advisory Board, a diverse leadership consortium of community stakeholders, providers, and families and youth in the community that will ensure transparency in systemic and programmatic intervention implementation. Project goals include: (1) Building a foundation to promote well-being, resiliency, and community healing through community-based, participatory approaches; (2) Creating more equitable access to trauma-informed community behavioral health resources; (3) Strengthening the integration of behavioral health services and other community systems to address the social determinants of health, recognizing that factors, such as law enforcement practices, transportation, employment, and housing policies, can contribute to health outcomes; (4) Creating community change through community-based, participatory approaches that promote community and youth engagement, leadership development, improved governance, and capacity building; and (5) Ensuring that program services are culturally responsive and developmentally appropriate.

The City of Flint (Michigan) Resiliency in Communities After Stress and Trauma (ReCAST) Project aims to assist high-risk youth and families to promote resilience and equity in a community experiencing relentless trauma and recent civil unrest. Individuals in Flint and Genesee County have been dealing with the trauma of the Flint Water Crisis (FWC) since 2014. The FWC is a slow disaster with a slow recovery. The community recently erupted in civil unrest in response to the recent announcement of a $600 million FWC civil settlement as it is likely to leave out many residents due to structural components of the settlement, and the burden of proof required to access funds. Unprecedented charges of nine Michigan officials in connection to the FWC, including Former Governor Rick Snyder, was expected to offer a sense of validation for residents. However, the disgusted and disenfranchised community had to withstand another crushing blow, when residents learned that defendants were charged with misdemeanor crimes, which even at maximum penalty will only result in minimum fines for city-wide trauma. The Flint ReCAST project will be led by the City of Flint. a current ReCAST grantee in partnership with SAMHSA. The specific goals of the new Flint ReCAST project include: (1) Increase the capacity of trauma-informed practices and strengthen the integration of behavioral health services to improve equitable access; (2) Establish a co-learning and empowering process to address racial and social inequality in the City of Flint community inclusive of participatory approaches; (3) Increase capacity and implementation of evidence and community-based youth engagement programs through community partnerships to promote positive youth development; and (4) Improve law enforcement practices and policies by aligning and expanding initiatives aimed at building relationships in the community. To reach these goals, evidence-based violence prevention, community youth engagement programs, as well as linkages to trauma-informed behavioral health services will be implemented. Key activities include the engagement of the multi-sector Flint ReCAST Community Advisory Board organizations, the Flint Community Advisory Task Force on Public Safety, as well as implementation of trauma-informed behavioral health services and youth engagement programs to address the needs of high-risk youth, families, and community members. The successful implementation of the Flint ReCAST project will lead to increase resilience and equity in the Flint, Michigan community.

Lawrenceville ReCAST, led by the City of Lawrenceville, Georgia’s Community Relations Department, will build resiliency, and promote equity for high-risk youth and adults most affected by trauma, violence, and civil unrest. A coalition of community stakeholders will work together to increase access to mental health services and reduce trauma among high-risk youth and their families; increase access to social services; strengthen community relations; and increase diverse voices in city government. The goals of this initiative are: (1) increase well-being, resiliency, and community healing through community-based participatory approaches; (2) increase community and youth engagement, leadership development, improved governance, and capacity building by creating community change; (3) Increase access to trauma informed community behavioral health resources through more equitable access;(4) Increase the level of cultural competency of the City of Lawrenceville’s employees and citizens to promote understanding and developmentally appropriate city-led policies and programs; and (5) Strengthen the integration of community-based services addressing the social determinants of health for high-risk youth and their families. Lawrenceville ReCAST will expand the Summer of Impact youth internship program and launch a Youth Council that serve our cities most at risk youth as well as forming a diversity and inclusion committee to ensure city services and policy are culturally specific and developmentally appropriate. Lawrenceville ReCAST will bring local community partners and stakeholders together in ways that increase access to behavioral health, housing and workforce development, to empower residents, reduce individual trauma, and help sustain community change. Four-hundred individuals will be reached annually, providing direct support to 1,700 citizens by the end of the project. The results of increased youth engagement, empowerment of diverse voices in our city, and increased social service access and resulting trauma reduction is expected to have exponential impact that can improve the quality of life for nearly all of Lawrenceville's over 29,000 residents.

Oakland Resiliency In Communities After Stress and Trauma will promote resiliency, healing, belonging, joy and equity for Oakland's High Risk youth and families most affected by the interrelated challenges o violence, civil unrest, and trauma. A multi-sector of coalition will work together to improve behavioral health and reduce trauma among the highest risk and at risk youth and families, empower residents and improve community and police relations.

Community Thriving: Enhancing Resiliency of Communities after Stress and Trauma builds on a county-wide health initiative to support child and youth thriving through deep partnerships across multiple communities that have been historically marginalized and racially segregated in Allegheny County, PA. This second most populous county in the state includes the city of Pittsburgh and has about 1.2 million residents, 79% identify as White, 13% Black, 4% Asian, 2% Hispanic/Latino; 19% are under age 18. We propose three overarching goals attuned to the unique strengths and challenges of youth and communities in Allegheny County. Goal 1: Improving care coordination and mentoring for youth injured or impacted by violence, trauma and civil unrest to promote recovery and reduce future violence involvement. Through the Empowering Teens to Thrive (ET3) intensive case management and mentoring programs, we will provide 20-40 assault-injured youth per year with safety planning, psychological support, systems navigation and linkage to mental health and social services and will provide 20-40 violence exposed and involved youth with individualized trauma-sensitive mentorship each year. We will expand implementation of an evidence-based program (Cure Violence), to directly serve 30 youths per year in prioritized geographic areas, and create and disseminate a community engagement toolkit designed to increase participation in violence prevention programming and to increase awareness and linkage to community-based mental health and social services. Goal 2: Connecting youth to racial and gender justice-informed violence prevention programs to address trauma, violence and civil unrest. Research-informed programming shown to demonstrate reductions in interpersonal violence will be delivered to 60 youth in two neighborhoods per year by trained community facilitators at community-based youth-serving agencies. We will lead trainings in trauma-sensitive practices, mental health literacy, cultural humility, racial and gender equity and anti-racism for 100 youth, parents, and adult allies across multiple sectors (social service, educational, health care, juvenile court, law enforcement, child welfare) each year. Goal 3: Promoting community change through a community-based participatory intervention that engages youth and adults to foster collective efficacy and community resilience and increase community capacity and leadership to prevent youth and community violence and improve community mental health. We will implement the 3-phase collective efficacy intervention to train 30 youth and adults in two neighborhoods per year in restorative intervention approaches to prevent violence and improve mental health outcomes and develop and disseminate a replication toolkit. Across all 5 years, we will serve 1,750 individuals (334 in Year 1, 344 in Year 2, 354 in Year 3, 359 in Year 4, and 359 in Year 5). Offering opportunity to co-create thriving environments for children and youth will provide a concrete, action-focused strategy for increasing resiliency in neighborhoods most impacted by COVID-19 and civil unrest, promoting emotional well-being, reducing mental health symptoms, and reducing youth violence.

The City of Milwaukee Office of Violence Prevention's Recast MKE Project aims to help Milwaukee’s youth and families most vulnerable to systemic and community violence/trauma. The project will promote resilience and equity through implementation of crisis response coordination, trauma-informed care trainings, increased access to trauma-informed behavioral health services and youth Social-Emotional Learning programs, and new hubs in various parts of the city focused on community healing through a cultural lens. In national comparison studies, no other metro area ranks as consistently poorly as Milwaukee on indicators of Black community well-being and segregation. This foundation of concentrated disadvantage has been further stressed by recent civil unrest, pandemic-related challenges, and the highest rate of increase in homicides in the nation. Milwaukee’s youth and families are facing a combination of trauma and inequity which warrants sustained response and intervention. ReCAST MKE’s strategic planning process will build on a needs assessment and, with input from the ReCAST Coalition and community members, will guide project activities to address needs of youth and families and community-identified drivers of civil unrest, trauma, and violence. The project goal is for the Milwaukee community to work together to improve behavioral health, empower community residents, reduce trauma, and foster sustained community change. Strategies to address the goal include: a) Launching a Crisis Response Network to increase coordination; b) Deploying therapists to address local trauma including crisis response and initial stabilization with youth/families in crisis; c) Two forms of re-granting including peer support will foster Community Healing Network hubs, as well as Youth Social-Emotional Learning programs; d) Support for community healing events; and e) a series of diverse trainings in trauma-informed approaches to help Milwaukee on its path to become a trauma-informed city. One thousand people per year will be served by ReCAST MKE, with 5,000 served over the course of the five-year project. Through strategically improving equity, community healing and resilience, ReCAST MKE aims to make thriving and well-being the norm among Milwaukee youth and families. As the home of the Blueprint for Peace – Milwaukee’s community-driven, comprehensive violence prevention plan – and with a clinical therapist as lead Program Manager, ReCAST MKE is poised to bring a combination of heart, strategy and action to Milwaukee’s most pressing needs.

Bexar County, Texas (includes the city of San Antonio) is not immune to the civil unrest that makes the national news in other communities. In the past two years alone, civil unrest in Bexar County has been the norm, not the exception. The impetus is threefold: 1) the relationship between law enforcement and the minority community based on high-profile incidents of police brutality; 2) the recent Presidential election; and, 3) the COVID-19 public health crisis. These marches, protests and riots are not without their merit. The local jail, for example, is disproportionately populated with Hispanic/Latino and African American individuals who come from very disadvantaged backgrounds and who have been marginalized from the larger, mainstream society. These marches, protests, and riots have highlighted the "disconnect" between the local minority community and the criminal justice system. Without opportunities to access services and consequently live productive, rewarding lives without criminal justice intervention, nothing will change. The recent Presidential election exacerbated tensions based on demography and zip codes of individuals impacted by COVID-19 speaks for themselves. The overall purpose of the Bexar County ReCAST Program will be to create an integrated, seamless safety net that is accessible to marginalized individuals and families in the community. It will focus on 1) the completion of a community-wide needs assessment; 2) the development of a strategic plan; 3) the execution of a Memorandum of Understanding between all major stakeholders in the community; and, 4) the provision of case management and evidence-based treatment for high risk youth and their families who have experienced some level of disenfranchisement and marginalization by various systems of intervention such as the criminal justice and public health systems. The Bexar County ReCAST Program proposes to directly impact 13,175 individuals over the course of the five year period.

In 2020 Philadelphia experienced significant civil unrest, particularly in the wake of the police involved shooting of West Philadelphia resident, Walter Wallace Jr. West and North Philadelphia are confronted with the highest rates of poverty, violent crime, homicides, and adverse health outcomes, in the city. Therefore, Philadelphia ReCAST will target neighborhoods in West Philadelphia (Cobbs Creek, Mill Creek-Parkside, Paschall-Kingsessing) and North Philadelphia (Nicetown-Tioga, Sharswood-Stanton, and Strawberry Mansion). Philadelphia’s Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disability Services (DBHIDS) oversees a comprehensive behavioral health system, where staff are co-located in the schools, family court, child welfare and health centers. Extensive co-location creates opportunities to connect with at-risk youth and families, leveraging these partnerships to address their needs. The goals of Philadelphia ReCAST include: 1) Empower these two communities to work together to promote resilience and equity, improve behavioral health, and reduce trauma through a sustained community change process; and 2) Reduce trauma among high-risk youth and families in the six targeted neighborhoods through implementation of evidence-based violence prevention programs, community and positive youth development programs, and linkages to trauma-informed behavioral health services. Steps to accomplish these goals began during proposal development, done in partnership with behavioral health treatment providers, faith leaders, youth leaders, and community organizations predominantly from the African-American community. The strategic plan will be driven by the stakeholders from these communities and used as a road map for the life of the grant. We will use a participatory budgeting process to ensure our efforts meet community identified needs. The Philadelphia ReCAST project will expand evidenced-based violence prevention approaches and linkages to trauma informed behavioral health services, and create opportunities for our faith leaders and treatment providers of color to infuse our treatment system with practice based, culturally competent evidence. Philadelphia ReCAST will also expand culturally competent trauma informed behavioral health practices in schools and community youth programs through training in evidence-based practices designed for communities of color, such as PLAAY (Preventing Long Term Anger and Aggression in Youth). Creating true resilience in these communities also requires significant attention to youth support and leadership development. The Youth Advocacy Institute will create a mechanism for Philadelphia ReCAST to build an Emerging Leaders Community that can be sustained beyond this funding. Our evaluation will ensure that community leaders and young adults have the tools they need to conduct evaluations without researchers driving the process. Philadelphia ReCAST will build the coalition through true government/community partnership by leveraging funding and skill development opportunities in order to support increased community resilience and improved outcomes for youth and families.