| The mission of the Community Services Program is to provide an integrated, community-based trauma response program utilizing state-of-the-art, trauma-specific intervention strategies with the goal of decreasing the negative effects of maltreatment and exposure to critical incidents on children and youth. Staff are trained and credentialed in responding to critical incidents, and are committed to the central tenet of the Community Services program: those most affected by the trauma must be given the opportunity to play a central role in the resolution and recovery from the trauma.
The Community Services Program offers training, consultation and development to community-based trauma response specialists working in concert with mental health professionals in order to assist local neighborhoods and their families in playing a central role in the reduction of both the causes and negative effects of traumatic incidents. Community Services staff work with communities to develop a prevention-based youth violence monitoring system that can provide access, assessment and referrals for the most vulnerable children within the selected community. Community Services views parents and caretakers as partners and experts in the monitoring, assessment and care of their children. Staff assist municipal governments and community partnerships in the launching of neighborhood-based training programs and awareness workshops that encourage and support parents teaching parents. Community Services provides training and mentoring to neighborhood parents and their children in partnership with local housing authorities, clergy, law enforcement officers, mental health and addiction clinics, and school personnel. This approach allows for the integration of viewpoints, expertise, resources, and support among parents, professionals, police and youth, and offers the Community Services staff immediate feedback about the programs being implemented for the selected community. The Community Services team is committed to offering clients an array of choices among services. In terms of community-based critical incident intervention, this spectrum of choice must include not only types of interventions, but also, perhaps most importantly, locations of care. Community Services offers post traumatic stress management interventions, parent and youth training programs, and brief orientation workshops in a variety of locations, including private residences, schools, houses of worship, community centers, housing authorities, detention centers, and juvenile courts. |