Lifebridge Community Services Inc

LIFEBRIDGE URBAN TRAUMA CENTER - NATIONAL CHILD TRAUMATIC STRESS INITIATIVE - THIS FIVE-YEAR PROJECT (SEPTEMBER 2023 TO SEPTEMBER 2028) WILL PROVIDE EVIDENCE-BASED TREATMENT AND SERVICES TO CHILDREN, ADOLESCENTS, AND THEIR FAMILY MEMBERS LIVING IN THE GREATER BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT AREA, WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED TRAUMA AND TRAUMATIC EVENTS. THE 2020 COMMUNITY READINESS SURVEY FOUND THAT 17.2 % OF CHILDREN AGED 12-17 AND 15% OF YOUNG ADULTS AGED 18-25 IN THIS REGION OF SOUTHWESTERN CT MEET THESE CRITERIA WITH PRIORITY POPULATIONS INCLUDING THE UNDOCUMENTED, THOSE WITH CULTURAL OR LANGUAGE BARRIERS, INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES, AND OTHER GROUPS EXPERIENCING BARRIERS TO CARE. A COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATION OFFERING BEHAVIORAL HEALTH, YOUTH DEVELOPMENT, AND OTHER SOCIAL SUPPORT SERVICES, LIFEBRIDGE COMMUNITY SERVICES (LIFEBRIDGE), HAS PROVIDED SERVICES TO GREATER BRIDGEPORT’S MOST VULNERABLE AND DISADVANTAGED POPULATIONS FOR OVER 173 YEARS. WITH FUNDING FROM NCTSI III, LIFEBRIDGE WILL MAKE INVESTMENTS IN OUR CLINICAL COMPETENCIES (CULTURAL AND THERAPEUTIC) TO ENHANCE THE QUALITY OF OUR THERAPEUTIC CARE AND IMPROVE OUTCOMES FOR PATIENTS, THEREBY ADDRESSING THE URGENT NEED FOR QUALITY TRAUMA-FOCUSED TREATMENT IN BRIDGEPORT. THE PROPOSED PROJECT HAS THE FOLLOWING GOALS: 1) TO INCREASE ACCESS TO EVIDENCE-BASED SERVICES FOR URBAN BILPOC CHILDREN/YOUTH AND THEIR FAMILIES WHO EXPERIENCE TRAUMATIC EVENTS. 2) TO IMPROVE THE STANDARD OF CARE FOR URBAN BILPOC CHILDREN/YOUTH AND THEIR FAMILIES WHO EXPERIENCE TRAUMATIC EVENTS. 3) TO INCREASE STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT AND YOUTH AND FAMILY VOICE. PROJECT ACTIVITIES INCLUDE TRAINING OF LIFEBRIDGE CLINICIANS IN EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICES FOR TREATING CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED TRAUMA, AS WELL AS TRAINING IN APPLYING TREATMENT PRACTICES SO THEY ARE CULTURALLY RELEVANT TO THE POPULATION SERVED. AS A RESULT OF THIS TRAINING, THE PROJECT WILL PROVIDE 350 CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS AGED 6-18 WITH IMPROVED BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SERVICES AND TREATMENT. TO IMPROVE ACCESS TO EVIDENCE-BASED SERVICES, THE PROJECT INCLUDES AN EXTENSIVE COMMUNITY OUTREACH, SOCIAL MEDIA, AND MARKETING CAMPAIGN. THESE EFFORTS WILL BE DESIGNED TO FORMALIZE COMMUNITY REFERRAL NETWORKS, INCREASE AWARENESS ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES, REDUCE STIGMA OF MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES, AND TO CREATE SOCIAL COHESION ON SHARED COMMUNITY PRIORITIES FOR ADDRESSING MENTAL HEALTH AND RELATED NEEDS. THESE ACTIVITIES WILL INCLUDE AN ESTIMATED 300 PARTICIPANTS IN COMMUNITY EVENTS, GENERATE 10,000 SOCIAL MEDIA IMPRESSIONS, AND REACH UP TO 140,000 PEOPLE THROUGH OTHER MARKETING EFFORTS. THE PROJECT INCLUDES A ROBUST MONITORING AND EVALUATION COMPONENT LED BY AN INDEPENDENT TEAM OF EVALUATORS FROM BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY TO ASSESS THE EFFECTIVENESS OF PROJECT ACTIVITIES AND THEIR IMPACT ON BEHAVIORAL HEALTH OUTCOMES. PROJECT FINDINGS WILL BE SHARED WIDELY WITH THE BEHAVIORAL HEALTH COMMUNITY, AS WELL AS OTHER RELEVANT FEDERAL, STATE, AND LOCAL HEALTH AGENCIES.

YOUTH - YOUNG OFFENDER

THE PROPOSED PROJECT, LED BY LIFEBRIDGE COMMUNITY SERVICES (LIFEBRIDGE), A NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION WITH EXTENSIVE EXPERIENCE SERVING THE COMMUNITY OF BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT, AIMS TO PREVENT VIOLENCE AND IMPROVE SCHOOL CLIMATE IN BRIDGEPORT PUBLIC SCHOOLS BY PROMOTING TRAUMA-INFORMED PRACTICES, SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL LEARNING (SEL) PROGRAMMING, AND INCREASED ACCESS TO MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES. LOCATED IN FAIRFIELD COUNTY, THE SIGNIFICANT NEEDS OF BRIDGEPORT STEM FROM LONG-STANDING AND SYSTEMIC FACTORS SUCH AS HISTORICAL TRAUMA, THE PREVALENCE OF VIOLENCE, AND EDUCATIONAL AND ECONOMIC INEQUALITY. WHILE THE AVERAGE POVERTY RATE ACROSS FAIRFIELD COUNTY IS ONLY 2%, BRIDGEPORTS POVERTY RATE IS 21%, WITH ONE IN THREE CHILDREN LIVING IN POVERTY. WHILE 59.8% OF FAIRFIELD COUNTY RESIDENTS ARE WHITE, OVER 80% OF BRIDGEPORTS POPULATION IS NON-WHITE. BRIDGEPORT'S VIOLENT CRIME IS 75% HIGHER THAN THE NATIONAL AVERAGE, AND THE CITY RECORDS THE HIGHEST NUMBER OF FAMILY HOMICIDE VICTIMS IN THE STATE. IN ADDITION TO VIOLENCE AND SAFETY, ACCESSING MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES HAS EMERGED AS ONE OF THE TOP ISSUES OF GREATEST CONCERN IN THE REGION. STATEWIDE, BRIDGEPORT PUBLIC SCHOOLS IS ONE OF THREE DISTRICTS WITH THE LOWEST STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT LEVELS. THE PANDEMIC EXACERBATED STUDENT BEHAVIORAL ISSUES: WEAPON INCIDENTS INCREASED 78.8%, AND PHYSICAL AND VERBAL CONFRONTATIONS INCREASED 37.7%. BRIDGEPORT YOUTH GROW UP FACING SIGNIFICANT CHALLENGES WITH INCREASED EXPOSURE TO ADVERSE CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES (ACES)VARIOUS FORMS OF PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL ABUSE, NEGLECT, AND COMMUNITY AND HOUSEHOLD DYSFUNCTION. STUDIES DOCUMENT THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ACES AND A WIDE RANGE OF ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIORS, INCLUDING VIOLENT DELINQUENT BEHAVIOR AND LIFE-COURSE OFFENDING. OVER THIS THREE-YEAR PROJECT, LIFEBRIDGE WILL PARTNER WITH BRIDGEPORT PUBLIC SCHOOLS TO IMPLEMENT THREE COMPLEMENTARY ACTIVITIES DEVELOPED IN ALIGNMENT WITH THE NATIONAL CHILD TRAUMATIC STRESS NETWORKS TRAUMA-INFORMED MULTI-TIERED SYSTEMS OF SUPPORT FRAMEWORK. UNIVERSAL: TRAIN 165 SCHOOL PERSONNEL DISTRICT-WIDE TO BETTER SUPPORT STUDENTS USING THE COMMUNITY RESILIENCY MODEL TO INCREASE THEIR UNDERSTANDING OF ACES AND THEIR IMPACT ON BEHAVIOR AND LEARNING SKILLS TO SOOTHE RATHER THAN ESCALATE STRONG EMOTIONS AND CHALLENGING SITUATIONS. TARGETED: IMPLEMENT SCHOOL-CONNECT SEL CURRICULUM TO REACH 1,000 STUDENTS AT THREE OF THE DISTRICTS LARGEST HIGH SCHOOLS TO ACHIEVE A 20% IMPROVEMENT IN STUDENTS ABILITY TO HANDLE FRUSTRATION AND STRESS AND REDUCE SUSPENSION/EXPULSIONS RATES BY 10%. INTENSIVE: PROVIDE INDIVIDUALIZED SUPPORT TO 180 STUDENTS WITH HIGHER NEEDS, USING THERAPEUTIC COUNSELING TO ACHIEVE 10% IMPROVEMENT IN STUDENT FUNCTIONING (E.G., HANDLING DAILY LIFE, ABILITY TO COPE), SOCIAL CONNECTEDNESS, AND 20% DEMONSTRATED IMPROVEMENT IN RESILIENCE.

FRESH2U: PRODUCE DELIVERY AND RESOURCE ENTERPRISE

COMMUNITY PROJECT FUNDING/CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING - CONSTRUCTION

PLEASE PROVIDE A ONE-PARAGRAPH SUMMARY (4-6 SENTENCES) OF YOUR PROPOSED VISTA PROJECT THAT INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING:  A DESCRIPTION OF YOUR ORGANIZATION?S MISSION  THE CNCS PROGRAMMING PRIORITY AREA THAT YOUR PROJECT ALIGNS WITH  A DESCRIPTION OF THE PROPOSED PROJECT GOAL(S), INCLUDING WHO WILL BENEFIT FROM THE PROJECT  THE NUMBER OF VISTAS AND LEADERS (IF APPLICABLE) YOU ARE REQUESTING AND AN OVERVIEW OF THE MAJOR ACTIVITIES THEY WILL PERFORM  THE ESTIMATED TIME REQUIRED TO COMPLETE THE PROJECT ESTABLISHED IN 1849, LIFEBRIDGE IS A SOCIAL SERVICE AGENCY WHOSE MISSION IS TO PARTNER WITH BRIDGEPORT?S YOUTH AND FAMILIES TO BUILD RESILIENCE. OUR VISION IS FOR BRIDGEPORT?S YOUTH AND FAMILIES REACH THEIR FULL POTENTIAL WITHIN A STRONGER COMMUNITY. THIS PROJECT WILL ADDRESS ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY SERVING 1150 LOW INCOME BRIDGEPORT RESIDENTS. LIFEBRIDGE PROPOSES TO ENGAGE THREE VISTA MEMBERS TO IMPLEMENT A SUSTAINABLE VOLUNTEER RECRUITMENT AND MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR OUR BASIC NEEDS FACILITY, THE COMMUNITY CLOSET, WHICH RECRUITS COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERS THAT SERVE IN ROLES THAT ARE SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED TO MEET ITS "BACK ROOM" (DONATION SORTERS, STOCKPERSONS, ETC.) AND "FRONT ROOM" (SHOPPER ASSISTANTS, INTAKE/DATA ENTRY CLERKS) OPERATIONAL NEEDS. VISTA VOLUNTEERS WILL WORK TO RECRUIT COMMUNITY CLOSET VOLUNTEERS WHO CAN PROVIDE GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE WHILE HELPING PEOPLE TO FIND OUTFITS THAT WILL HELP THEM FEEL GOOD ABOUT THEMSELVES, WHILE BEING A SOURCE OF HOPE AND INSPIRATION ALONG THEIR JOURNEY. IN ADDITION TO MANAGING VOLUNTEER PROGRAM, THE VISTA MEMBERS WILL WORK TO INCREASE COMMUNITY VISIBILITY AND DONOR CULTIVATION THROUGH THE COORDINATION OF SPECIAL EVENTS, MARKETING, COMMUNITY RELATIONS AND FUNDRAISING ACTIVITIES. LIFEBRIDGE'S DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT WILL PROVIDE OVERSIGHT OF THIS PROJECT. THIS IS A TWELVE-MONTH PROJECT.