Friday, November 22, 2024
11/22/2024
Mecklenburg County Public Health Department, commonly referred to as Mecklenburg County Public Health (MCPH), is applying for the Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration FY2022 Resiliency in Communities After Stress and Trauma (ReCAST) (SM-22-019) grant opportunity. MCPH is a NC Health Department Accredited with Honors in 2019 by the NCLHDA Board, is managed by Health Director, Raynard Washington, PhD, MPH, and is comprised of 940 employees serving approximately 1.2 million Mecklenburg County residents, including the City of Charlotte with a population of 874,579 (Source: 2020 Census). MCPH is in its fifth year of the 2018 ReCAST grant and experienced in promoting resilience, trauma-informed approaches, and equity within Mecklenburg County, the second most populous county in North Carolina, which includes Charlotte. In the aftermath of the 2016 fatal shooting of Keith Lamont Scott by a Charlotte Mecklenburg police officer and hundreds protesting in Uptown Charlotte regarding police tactics and brutal, unjust treatment of African Americans, the impact of secondary trauma from direct and indirect exposure of traumatic events may be contributing factors to collective trauma. Then, on September 7, 2021, just over a year ago, several suspects fired nearly 150 rounds into a home, mortally wounding 3-year-old Asiah Figueroa and striking his 4-year-old sister. This incident was related to a string of five drive-by shootings involving Charlotte Mecklenburg high school students firing into occupied homes. The community grieved with candlelight vigils and protested that more must be done to prevent this type of escalating violence across Charlotte. Three ReCAST staff members have made large strides in promoting trauma-informed and resiliency trainings to 3,016 community stakeholders, thus far, and worked with community stakeholders who, in turn, worked with County Commissioners to get violence deemed a public health issue in our County. Thus, the Mecklenburg County Office of Violence Prevention (OVP) launched in 2021 within the Mecklenburg County Public Health Department, the first OVP to reside in a public health department within NC. This is because between 2017-2020, there has been a 70% increase in gun-related assaults. In this grant proposal, OVP and ReCAST aim to reduce violence in Mecklenburg County by collaborating with County, City, and community partners to increase opportunity and build healthier, more resilient communities and provide community engagement opportunities for high-risk youth and their families. OVP and ReCAST worked with over 13 community violence prevention advocates to create the FY2023-FY2028 Community Violence Prevention Strategic Plan. ReCAST staff work in tandem with OVP to provide violence prevention advocates the tools needed to build resiliency in their communities, especially those who have faced events of violence and have collective trauma from a history of exposure to violence. ReCAST is the behavioral health link that many violence prevention organizations lack; thus, ReCAST partners with community-based organizations to assist high-risk youth and their families by engaging youth in violence prevention advocacy efforts and provides faith-based communities navigators for linkage to behavioral health and trauma-informed resources and support networks. ReCAST priorities align with the Community Violence Prevention Strategic Plan by providing more equitable access to trauma-informed community behavioral health resources. Community stakeholders are engaged to implement the Community Violence Prevention Strategic Plan. ReCAST is positioned to better support community healing by promoting and orchestrating community and youth engagement opportunities and disseminating culturally and developmentally appropriate information about behavioral health resources for those impacted most by collective trauma.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).
