Family First: A New Home is a project that aims to create a home away from home that embodies the emotional characteristics of a healthy household environment for those to whom this environment is unavailable. Our project aims to create an after-school program for elementary school-aged children from single-parent households. Our goal is for children and parents from single-parent households to grow in capacities which are unavailable to them. This intervention aims to affect the interpersonal and individual levels of the Social Ecological Model (Mcleroy et al 1988) by providing mental and emotional support to children while helping build interpersonal relationships and camaraderie in the community of parents and children. It will utilize three trauma-informed principles to create an environment of growth and traumatic stress relief :
1. Safety, by providing a safe haven away from the danger of staying at home, a sometimes unprotected environment for these kids (SAMHSA 2014).
2. Peer Support, by giving both the kids and their parents the opportunity to connect and find solidarity with others facing similar issues in their community (SAMHSA 2014).
3. Mutual Self-Help and collaboration and mutuality, by allowing affected families to share their stories and trade the lessons they have found valuable throughout their struggles (SAMHSA 2014).
Sources:
Mcleroy KR, Bibeau D, Steckler A, Glanz K. An ecological perspective on health promotion programs. Health Educ Q. 1988;15(4):351-77.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2014). Guiding Principles of Trauma Informed Care.
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