New Bethlehem Community Center Inc

TEACHING RESPONSIBILITY TO UPHOLD TEEN HEALTH (TRUTH PROJECT)

NEW BETHLEHEM COMMUNITY CENTER, INC. HEALTH PROJECT (HOLISTIC EXPERIENCE-ADVANCING LIFESTYLES-TRANSFORMING HEALTH)

STRIVE ABSTRACT   NEW BETHLEHEM COMMUNITY CENTER (NBCC) AND THE COMMUNITY PARTNERS THAT WILL BE INVOLVED IN THE STUDENTS & TEACHERS RECEIVING INFORMATION FOR VIOLENCE ELIMINATION (STRIVE) PROJECT ARE COMMITTED TO ENCOURAGING STUDENTS TO “STRIVE” FOR VIOLENCE PREVENTION IN SCHOOLS AND THEIR SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES THROUGHOUT BURKE AND RICHMOND COUNTY IN THE STATE OF GEORGIA.  BURKE AND RICHMOND COUNTY EXPERIENCE SIGNIFICANT LEVELS OF VIOLENCE THAT SPILLS OVER INTO THE SCHOOLS ATTENDED BY THE CHILDREN AND YOUTH BEING EDUCATED THERE.  IN BURKE, THE RATE OF SUSPENSIONS FOR THIS COUNTY IS 22% FOR MIDDLE SCHOOLS AND 9.6% FOR HIGH SCHOOLS.  OF THAT RATE, 84% OF MIDDLE SCHOOL AND 56% OF HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS WERE SUSPENDED DUE TO HARM TO PERSON.  IN RICHMOND, THE RATE OF SUSPENSIONS FOR THIS COUNTY IS 13.4% FOR MIDDLE SCHOOLS AND 11.2% FOR HIGH SCHOOLS.  OF THAT RATE, 72% OF MIDDLE SCHOOL AND 43% OF HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS WERE SUSPENDED DUE TO HARM TO PERSON.  THE SPECIFIC PROGRAM OBJECTIVES THAT WILL BE IMPLEMENTED TOWARDS ACHIEVING PROJECT SUCCESS WILL INCLUDE:   OBJECTIVE 1) TO PROVIDE EVIDENCE-BASED VIOLENCE PREVENTION TRAINING FOR AT LEAST 300 MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS DURING PROJECT YEAR 1, AND 450 EACH DURING YEARS 2 AND 3, FOR A TOTAL OF AT LEAST 1,200 STUDENTS OVER THE LIFE OF THE PROGRAM, AS ASSESSED BY A REVIEW OF TRAINING ATTENDANCE RECORDS.   OBJECTIVE 2) TO PROVIDE EVIDENCE-BASED VIOLENCE PREVENTION VIA MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS TRAINING FOR AT LEAST 30 TEACHERS EACH PROJECT YEAR, FOR A TOTAL OF AT LEAST 90 TEACHERS OVER THE LIFE OF THE PROGRAM, AS ASSESSED BY A REVIEW OF TRAINING ATTENDANCE RECORDS.   OBJECTIVE 3) TO RECRUIT, TRAIN OR MAINTAIN AT LEAST 4 STUDENTS AS PEER EDUCATORS EACH PROJECT YEAR TO WORK WITHIN THE SCHOOLS AND THE COMMUNITY TO REINFORCE AND FURTHER DISSEMINATE THE MESSAGE OF VIOLENCE PREVENTION EACH PROJECT YEAR, AS ASSESSED BY A REVIEW OF PEER EDUCATOR TRAINING RECORDS.   OBJECTIVE 4) TO HAVE ALL TRAINED TEACHERS AND OTHER ADULTS IN MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS WORK THROUGH THE SCHOOLS TO MAKE REFERRALS TO MENTAL HEALTH PROVIDERS, AS ASSESSED VIA A QUARTERLY REVIEW OF THE FILES OF ALL STAFF AND PARTNERS PROVIDING YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID TRAINING.

RELATE (RELATIONSHIP EDUCATION & LEADERSHIP ADVANCING TEEN EMPOWERMENT) - THE NEW BETHLEHEM COMMUNITY CENTER WILL IMPLEMENT A YOUTH-FOCUSED HEALTHY RELATIONSHIP EDUCATION PROGRAM SERVING YOUTH IN AUGUSTA AND WAYNESBORO, GEORGIA. THE PROJECT WILL PROVIDE CURRICULUM-BASED WORKSHOPS ON HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS, LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT, AND FINANCIAL WELLNESS TO YOUTH IN BURKE AND RICHMOND COUNTIES, INCLUDING AT BURKE COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL AND FORT GORDON YOUTH CHALLENGE ACADEMY. THE RELATE PROGRAM WILL INCORPORATE JOB AND CAREER ADVANCEMENT SERVICES TO ENHANCE YOUTH EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS WHILE MAINTAINING THEIR ENROLLMENT IN HEALTHY RELATIONSHIP ACTIVITIES. OVER THE FIVE-YEAR PROJECT PERIOD, THE PROGRAM EXPECTS TO SERVE APPROXIMATELY 3,500 YOUTH, HELPING THEM DEVELOP SKILLS FOR HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS AND SUCCESSFUL TRANSITIONS TO ADULTHOOD.

MAPS - MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS AND PROGRAM SERVICES PROJECT - NEW BETHLEHEM COMMUNITY CENTER MAPS PROJECT (MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS AND PROGRAM SERVICES FOA SM-21-007 NEW BETHLEHEM COMMUNITY CENTER NBCC IS WORKING WITH PARTNERING ORGANIZATIONS IN THEIR EFFORT TO PROVIDE THE MAPS PROJECT. THIS EFFORT WILL PROVIDE MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS TRAINING MHAT AND RELATED REFERRAL SUPPORT SERVICES FOR AT LEAST 1,000 MENTAL HEALTH WORKERS, SCHOOL PERSONNEL, EMERGENCY FIRST RESPONDERS, LAW ENFORCEMENT, VETERANS, ARMED SERVICES MEMBERS AND THEIR FAMILIES AND OTHER WHO COME IN CONTACT WITH THE CITIZENS OF GREATER RICHMOND COUNTY, IN GEORGIA. THE MAPS PROJECT, BUILDING ON THE SUCCESS OF THE EXTENSIVE EVIDENCE-BASED EDUCATION THAT HAS BEEN OFFERED BY NBCC WILL PROVIDE MHAT FOR A MINIMUM OF 200 MENTAL HEALTH WORKERS AND OTHER INDIVIDUALS ANNUALLY. INSTRUCTION WILL BE OFFERED UTILIZING THE EVIDENCE-BASED MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID TRAINING PROGRAM THROUGH 8 HOURS TRAINING COURSE AT EITHER THE PROJECT PARTNER LOCATIONS OR AT THE OFFICE OF THE COMPANY BEING TRAINED. THE PROGRAM OBJECTIVES ARE: 1) BY THE END OF EACH PROJECT YEAR TO TRAIN AT LEAST 200 TARGETED MENTAL HEALTH WORKERS AND OTHER INDIVIDUALS TO RECOGNIZE THE SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF MENTAL DISORDERS, PARTICULARLY SERIOUS MENTAL ILLNESS AND SERIOUS EMOTIONAL DISTURBANCE. 2) BY THE END OF EACH PROJECT YEAR TO ESTABLISH OR MAINTAIN LINKAGES WITH SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY BASED MENTAL HEALTH AGENCIES TO REFER INDIVIDUALS WITH THE SIGNS OR SYMPTOMS OF MENTAL ILLNESS TO APPROPRIATE SERVICES. 3) BY THE END OF EACH PROJECT YEAR TO TRAIN AT LEAST 200 TARGETED MENTAL HEALTH WORKERS AND OTHER INDIVIDUALS TO EMPLOY CRISIS DE-ESCALATION TECHNIQUES WITH THE INDIVIDUALS THEY HAVE IDENTIFIED WITH MENTAL DISORDERS. 4) BY THE END OF EACH PROJECT YEAR TO EDUCATE AND FOLLOW UP AT LEAST 200 MHAT TRAINED MENTAL HEALTH WORKERS AND OTHER TARGETED INDIVIDUALS ABOUT RESOURCES THAT ARE AVAILABLE IN THE COMMUNITY FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH A MENTAL DISORDER. NBCC THE LEAD AGENCY, HAS BEEN RESPONDING TO THE NEEDS OF AT RISK POPULATIONS IN THE CSRA RICHMOND COUNTY AREA FOR MANY YEARS. MAPS STAFF MEMBERS WILL INCLUDE A PART TIME PROJECT DIRECTOR WHO WILL SUPERVISE THE OVERALL PROJECT, AND ACT AS THE PRIMARY CONTACT WITH THE FEDERAL FUNDING SOURCE. A PART TIME PROJECT COORDINATOR WILL ASSIST WITH TRAINING AND FOLLOW UP ON ALL REFERRALS MADE TO THE PROJECT TO HELP FACILITATE TREATMENT AND ADDRESS ISSUES. THE PROJECT WILL ALSO INCLUDE THREE MENTAL HEALTH LICENSED INDIVIDUALS TO PROVIDE THE MHFA TRAINING. AN INDEPENDENT EVALUATOR WILL BE CONTRACTED TO COLLECT PERFORMANCE DATA AND ASSESS COMPLETION OF PROJECT OBJECTIVES.