Reaching Hope

SPANISH-SPEAKING FAMILY TRAUMA RECOVERY PROGRAM EXPANSION. - THE SPANISH-SPEAKING FAMILY TRAUMA PROGRAM EXPANSION WILL SERVE LATINX AND SPANISH-SPEAKING INDIVIDUALS AND FAMILIES WHO HAVE SURVIVED TRAUMA IN COLORADO. OF IMPORTANT NOTE, 98% OF FAMILIES THAT COME TO REACHING HOPE (RH) HAVE INVOLVEMENT IN THE CHILD WELFARE SYSTEM. FUNDING FROM THE LEGISLATIVE SUBCOMMITTEE OF LABOR, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES AND EDUCATION AND RELATED AGENCIES WILL ENABLE RH TO EXPAND ITS SERVICES BY PROVIDING TRAUMA-INFORMED PROGRAMMING THAT CENTERS LINGUISTIC NEEDS AND CULTURALLY COMPETENT SERVICES TO BETTER SERVE THE LATINX/HISPANIC COMMUNITY. WHILE 31% OF CHILDREN IN COLORADO ARE LATINX/HISPANIC, 38% OF ALL CHILD ABUSE VICTIMS ARE LATINX/HISPANIC (CHILD WELFARE OUTCOMES REPORT, 2018). RH PRIMARILY SERVES FAMILIES IN ADAMS COUNTY, AND 40.8% OF THE POPULATION IN ADAMS COUNTY IDENTIFIES AS LATINX/HISPANIC (US CENSUS, 2019). WHILE SOME AGENCIES IN THE COMMUNITY OFFER SPANISH-SPEAKING COUNSELING SERVICES UPON REQUEST, THERE ARE NO AGENCIES IN COLORADO THAT OFFER TRAUMA-FOCUSED, SPANISH-SPEAKING FAMILY COUNSELING SERVICES THAT SPECIFICALLY ADDRESS THE NEEDS OF THE LATINX/HISPANIC COMMUNITY. RH AIMS TO FILL THIS GAP IN SERVICES. THIS PROJECT EXPANDS MENTAL HEALTH TREATMENT AVAILABLE TO THE LATINX/HISPANIC COMMUNITY BY PROVIDING SPANISH-SPEAKING AND CULTURALLY COMPETENT CLINICAL SERVICES. THE SPANISH-SPEAKING POPULATION HAS BEEN HISTORICALLY UNDERSERVED WITHIN THE MENTAL HEALTH FIELD. THUS, THIS PROJECT SEEKS TO REDUCE BARRIERS TO ACCESSING MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES FOR THE LATINX/HISPANIC COMMUNITY. THE TIMELINE FOR THIS PROJECT IS ONE YEAR (7/1/2022 - 7/1/2023). DURING WHICH, RH WILL HIRE AND RESOURCE 3 SPANISH-SPEAKING TRAUMA THERAPISTS, ALLOWING THE ORGANIZATION TO PROVIDE MORE THAN 2,400 THERAPEUTIC SERVICES TO OVER 100 TRAUMA SURVIVORS LIVING IN COLORADO, WITH PARTICULAR FOCUS ON SPANISH-SPEAKING AND LATINX/HISPANIC FAMILIES. RH ANTICIPATES THAT 80% OF ALL CLIENTS WILL REPORT A REDUCTION OF TRAUMA SYMPTOMS AND AN INCREASE IN KNOWLEDGE OF HEALING AND SAFETY. ADDITIONALLY, ALL RH STAFF IS REQUIRED TO PARTICIPATE IN 2 CULTURAL COMPETENCY TRAININGS AND DEVELOP A TOTAL OF 15 NEW COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS DURING THE PROGRAM EXPANSION PERIOD. BY THE END OF THIS PROJECT PERIOD, RH WILL MAKE ALL CLINICAL AND ORGANIZATION-RELATED MATERIALS AVAILABLE IN BOTH ENGLISH AND SPANISH, AND ENSURE THAT CARE KITS ARE ACCESSIBLE TO SPANISH-SPEAKING FAMILIES. RH’S LAST GOAL DURING THIS PROJECT PERIOD IS TO DISTRIBUTE 500 CULTURALLY COMPETENT CARE KITS TO FAMILIES INTERFACING WITH RH COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP PROGRAMS LIKE RALSTON HOUSE CHILD ADVOCACY CENTER AND THE ADAMS COUNTY DIVERSION PROGRAM.