2021 COMBAT Mid-Year Funding: $54,886.00

In Youth Guidance's Own Words

BAM and WOW are school-based strength-based, trauma-informed group counseling and clinical mentoring programs that seek to change the life trajectories of BYMOC and GYWOC in grades 6-12, who have been exposed to cycles of intergenerational poverty, violence, and trauma, in large part due to the racial inequities BIPOC communities in America face. Youth Guidance’s culturally competent school-based mental health and social-emotional models work with students who are at higher risk of school withdrawal and anti-social behaviors, so they can gain the skills and resources necessary to thrive in and beyond school. The COMBAT grant supports four full-time BAM & WOW Counselors in providing trauma-informed group counseling and mentoring services to 210 Hickman Mills C-1 School District students who have been exposed to domestic violence and other traumas, both directly and indirectly.

Counselors will deliver services in a co-curricular format that increases access to mental and behavioral health services for students exposed to traumatic stressors and who face social, behavioral, cognitive, or emotional challenges. Services under this project will operate from June 2021 – August 2021, during which students will have access to weekly group counseling sessions, individual support services, and experiential learning opportunities. The counselors will be delivering services through the Hickman Mills summer school program (8 weeks) and Hope Hangout's summer program (12 weeks) Monday through Friday.

Goals

Ongoing evaluation of BAM and WOW impacts ensure that Youth Guidance understands the degree to which expected student and program-level outcomes are being achieved. Youth Guidance also utilizes impact data to drive quality improvement processes. Students that participate in BAM and WOW will experience: 1) greater social-emotional and psychological well-being, 2) higher school engagement and academic attainment, and 3) increased utilization of safe and healthy behaviors.

Goal: BAM and WOW participants will experience greater social emotional and psychological well-being.

Goal: BAM and WOW participants will experience higher school engagement and academic attainment.

Goal: BAM and WOW participants will increase their utilization of safe and healthy behaviors.