Training Community Leadership of Naturally Occurring Social Networks to Improve Access of Children Suffering from Trauma to Mental Health Services

Funded research sited by a task force for the City of New Orleans, surveyed 5,000 youth between 2012 and 2018, found a startling prevalence of youth living through profoundly traumatic events.

This reality calls for the development of interventions that will heal and partnerships that promote trauma-informed spaces. Strongly cohesive naturally occurring social networks (NOSN), that have decades of history in the various communities of Orleans Parish (Metro New Orleans), serve a strong healing purpose for people historically disenfranchised from traditional mental health and social supports.

We seek to address the “wicked problem” through the theory of change that a larger percentage of children living with profound trauma will access services through bridging two needs: increasing the cultural competence of our fragmented mental health treatment network, and empowering communities to more effectively access resources to support its children. The dyad of NOSNs and school-based nursing/social work resources will then have a vehicle to make a tremendous difference in the lives of children suffering from trauma.