This semester I had the privilege of writing a mock grant proposal in one of my master of public health courses. This grant proposal focused on a trauma informed approach to address the traumas and toxic stress experienced by inner city youth in Tallahassee, Florida; these experiences are attributable to the persistent violence and gang activity in specific areas.
Abstract
As reported by the Tallahassee Democrat (2020) the city of Tallahassee crime rates remained at an all-time high for the past 5 years. As reported by local news officials, the Tallahassee Police investigators have credited a string of shootings to the continuous “Northside" and "Southside" gang members strife within Tallahassee (WXTL, 2020). In return, our youth in these inner-city areas have been overwhelmed by this social burden. The Tallahassee Democrat news team stated that Law enforcement has had to “crack down” on youth crime (particularly involving gun violence) (Etters, 2018). In short, prosecutors have resulted to charging more teens as adults because they now believe that this is the only way to bring change (Etters, 2018). This is the opposite of what is needed to help these kids that are dealing with multiple levels of toxic stress from their environment. Therefore, “Rise Up”, a basketball league put together for inner-city kids will help to address this ongoing cycle of toxic stress for these youths.
Public Health Framework.
A key point in applying a public health framework is understanding that value is in a program that embodies each levels of prevention. Rise Up has components applicable to the primary, secondary and tertiary levels of prevention. The primary level of prevention focuses preventing trauma before it occurs (Philanthropy Network Greater Philadelphia, 2019). Rise Up accomplishes this with the increase in patrol from local law enforcement. This increase will likely decrease the likelihood of shootings and the overall likelihood of crimes being committed by youths within the area. Next, the secondary level of preventions focuses on reducing the impact after trauma has occurred (Philanthropy Network Greater Philadelphia, 2019). The bonds that will be formed between the kids and staffs will help tremendously with this aspect. Outlined in the aforementioned sections, staff will receive trauma informed training. Thus, allowing staff to be adequately prepared to positively impact this youth. Finally, the tertiary level treats the ongoing trauma (Philanthropy Network Greater Philadelphia, 2019). Rise Up addresses this level thoroughly our highly probable plan of sustainability outlined in the later sections of this proposal.
Level(s) of the Social Ecological Model
This project has components within the interpersonal, intrapersonal, institutional, and community levels of McLeroy’s social ecological model (McLeroy KR, Bibeau D, Steckler A, Glanz K, 1988). We are able to implement the intrapersonal level of the social ecological model by teaching the youth differing coping and resilience skillsets to address the trauma they may have dealt with in their environment. Next, we are able to utilize the interpersonal level of this model because we are also aiding in the development of new social support systems between other youth and community members. Additionally, we are able to implement the institutional sector of this model because we are getting the justice system involved with the project. This will hopefully change the idea of the justice system with this group of kids and begin to shift the youth perspective of law enforcement. Finally, the community level is being implemented within this project because the inner-city community is partnering with law enforcement in order to bring about change for the youth within this area.
Trauma-Informed Principles
Project Rise Up will implement all of the 6 key principles of trauma informed approach (i.e. safety, trustworthiness & transparency; peer support & mutual self-help; collaboration and mutuality, empowerment, voice & choice; cultural, historical & gender issues) (Philanthropy Network Greater Philadelphia, 2019). Safety will always remain a top priority in this program. We will carefully orchestrate a safe environment for the kids and staff with the help of local law enforcement. We will work to build rapport with our kids participating in this program. Peer Support will be a priority, especially when competitions start between teams from rivaled areas within the city. Building a bond between the youth and the staff is imperative for the success of this program. We will collaborate with multiple stakeholders in the community that already have established rapport with the youth in these areas. This will progress the success of this program. Lastly, understanding the cultural context of these issues is another key for the success of this program. As previously mentioned, the feud between the North and the South inner-city areas of Tallahassee is not new. Therefore, everyone must work together to understand why this feud is progressing and how it can be resolved. Aiding in the peer bonding between these two groups may progress towards a future where this feud ceases.
References
Alexander, A. (2020, November 05). Recent shootings with gang ties unnerve tallahassee residents. Retrieved April 16, 2021, from https://news.wfsu.org/wfsu-local-news/2020-11- 02/recent-shootings-with-gang-ties-unnerve-tallahassee-residents
Etters, K. (2020, April 17). Leon County drops from top spot in annual Florida crime statistics. Retrieved September 28, 2020, from https://www.tallahassee.com/st...me-stats/5151141002/
Etters, K. (2018, November 08). Tallahassee teens accused of 'sophisticated and dangerous' crime SPREE being charged as adults. Retrieved April 17, 2021, from https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/2018/11/08/teens-accused-sophisticated-and- dangerous-crime-spree-being-charged-adults/1919399002/
Philanthropy Network Greater Philadelphia. (2019, March 20). Trauma-Informed Philanthropy: A Funder’s Resource Guide for Supporting Trauma-Informed Practice in the Delaware Valley. https://c.ymcdn.com/sites/www.philanthropynetwork.org/resource/resmgr/pn_miscdocs/TraumaGUIDE_FinalWeb.pdf.
McLeroy KR, Bibeau D, Steckler A, Glanz K (1988). An ecological perspective on health promotion programs. Health Educ Q. 1988;15(4):351-377. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3068205. Accessed April 16, 2021.
Tallahassee Democrat. (2020). Shootings in Tallahassee in 2019 | tallahassee.com. Retrieved September 28, 2020, from https://data.tallahassee.com/t...ssee-shootings/2019/
WTXL. (2019, June 24). Leon County crime rate No. 1 in state for 5th consecutive time, leaders fight to curb crime. Retrieved September 28, 2020, from https://www.wtxl.com/news/loca...te-decrease-in-crime
WXTL. (2020, August 27). Court documents: Tallahassee gang 'feud' to blame for shootings, murders dating back to 2019. Retrieved September 28, 2020, from https://www.wtxl.com/news/loca...-dating-back-to-2019
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