The Coconino Coalition for Children & Youth would like to announce the completion of our Vitalyst Health Foundation Spark grant project: Igniting Self-Healing Communities. The Spark grant was used to collect community voice, and we are now transitioning in preparation for the next phase of our work. Please see our final report for a quick overview of the findings.
We thank the expert partners on this project, who helped to guide the process: Kevin Campbell, international child welfare and self healing communities expert, Iya Affo, owner of Heal Historical Trauma, Rene RedDay, owner of Building Community, local community voice organization and Javelina, messaging and communication organization.
Northland Family Help Center, Coconino County, Native Americans for Community Action and First Things First all gave their early commitment to help plan, share their expertise, and give their time to help develop the project.
We would like to thank these entities who helped support focus groups and key informant interviews.
- Arizona’s Children Association- Young Adult Services
- Coconino County Education Service Agency & Knoles Elementary
- Communities: Valle, Tusayan and Town of Fredonia Staff
- Fredonia Community Members
- FUSD- Special Education Parent Advisory Council
- FUSD- Teenage Parent Program
- FUSD- McKinney Vento
- Hal Jensen Recreation Center
- Healthy Families of Coconino County
- Murdoch Center/ Southside Community Association
- Native Americans for Community Action
- NAU Students
- Northland Family Help Center
- Page Preschool
- Ponderosa High School Students and Staff
Background
Excerpt from the Daily Sun…
Coconino Coalition for Children and Youth (CCC&Y) received a grant to research the causes of negative health outcomes in the county. The project will explore the Self-Healing Communities Model, with a focus on adverse childhood experiences in Coconino County.
Melanie Mitros, director of strategic community partnerships for Vitalyst Health Foundation, the organization awarding the grant, described the project as a “one-year information-gathering and partnership growing project that would provide the necessary understanding of where system or policy change could lead to [CCC&Y] addressing the concern in Coconino County.”
CCC&Y executive director Virginia Watahomigie said the project was about “getting community voice to unlock what has happened, to acknowledge historical and intergenerational trauma and then to find where are the strengths, where is the hope.”
Please see this full Daily Sun Article for deeper project information.