Community in Kentucky
Project:Camp is on the ground running camp this week in Kentucky, helping kids a year after a deadly EF-4 tornado swept through the region.
The initiative is a little outside our normal deployment window, but came about as a partnership with several local stakeholders in the town of London, KY who reached out looking for help supporting children in the community who have been struggling to process and heal in the tornado’s aftermath.
In talking about the community’s needs with behavioral health specialists at local hospitals and health care consortiums, summer programming for kids in the area came up as a critical need and something that would help support families recovering from the tornado – as well as act as a prophylactic for long-term harm that could be caused by the trauma of the storm.
“Prevention begins with connection,” our local partner Mollie Harris said. The Violence Prevention Manager at CommonSpirit Saint Joseph Health in London, Mollie pushed for the camp because so many kids were struggling in the wake of the tornado and she saw the program as a way to get ahead of long-term negative outcomes. “Our work is rooted in prevention because when we provide children and families with support, connection and safe spaces to process what they've experienced, we are reducing long-term harm and building healthier communities,” she added.
We brought the idea of the camp to many of our national partners who support our mission in the immediate aftermath of disasters, and they jumped at the opportunity to be a part of the initiative. The Center for Disaster Philanthropy helped offset some of the cost of camp with grant funding that allowed us to create an amazing weeklong experience for these kids. United Airlines flew out our team, giving us a way to get boots on the ground in a community that needed our help. Good360 leveraged their network to provide care kits and shoes for the kids. Mattel sent toys and games. And Sesame Street is showing up with a surprise guest (check back Friday to find out who!) to provide extra joy for these children who have been through so much.
The entire operation speaks to the collaborative nature of our endeavor. So often the work we do comes down to one person connecting with another and finding ways to say yes. Yes to helping kids. Yes to supporting families. Yes to making communities more resilient in the face of unimaginable tragedy.
And this week we are seeing what saying yes actually means, as dozens of kids are smiling and laughing and processing through play together. It is a reminder of the power of community – and a reminder that with community and collaboration, small ideas can turn into great things.
Bulletin Board
We’re thrilled to share that we have won an Innovation Award from the Morgan Stanley Alliance for Children’s Mental Health! The Innovation Awards aim to fund and advance transformative mental healthcare solutions for children and young adults across the U.S., and we're proud to be a part of this years cohort.
Our very own Executive Director Mikey Latner was a panelist on Extreme Weather Survivors’ Community Conversation Series, focused on Parenting and Preparedness in Our Changing World. It was a lively discussion about the long-term impact of disaster-related trauma on kids and how mitigating those effects is incredibly important. Thanks to EWS for having us!
