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Four local organizations join Resilient Leaders Initiative program to support community healing related to trauma Tarboro, NC (April 20, 2021) - Four local agencies have partnered with Rural Opportunity Institute, a nonprofit project incubated within Area L AHEC, to participate in a 9-month program to design and pilot innovative new ways to support the people they serve to heal from and persist through these traumatic events. In the wake of COVID-19, persistent hurricanes, changing economies and demographics, rural institutions across the country are struggling to provide healing to the people they serve. The four participating agencies will serve as models for rural communities across the country to become less punitive and more healing and resilient in the wake of future challenges. This program, called the Resilient Leaders Initiative, is the first accelerator-like program in the country that is rooted in a rural community and focused on healing trauma. Here are the four agencies in the inaugural cohort: Word Tabernacle Church in Rocky Mount, NC HOPE Program (Edgecombe County Public Schools) in Tarboro, NC Greater Is Coming Ministries & Edgecombe County Courthouse (joint collaboration) in Tarboro, NC Speight Middle School in Stantonsburg, NC These teams were chosen through a competitive community-based selection process that consisted of three stages. Over the course of 9 months, these organizations will receive expert coaching, funding, and professional development to design and pilot new policies and practices that lead to healing, and reimagine policies that may have caused trauma and harm. Rural Opportunity Institute plans to document each teams’ learning and successes for other rural communities to learn from. Through participating in the Resilient Leaders Initiative, “I hope to gain resources and information my community can benefit from as we recover globally from a pandemic which has severed valuable connections with one another”, said Stephen Sutton, an educator and participant from Speight Middle School. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) describes trauma as resulting from "an event, series of events, or set of circumstances that is experienced by an individual as physically or emotionally harmful or life threatening and that has lasting adverse effects on the individual’s functioning and mental, physical, social, emotional, or spiritual well-being." Rural Opportunity Institute, founded in 2017, has been working in Nash, Edgecombe, and Wilson Counties to support people and organizations to create spaces that support healing from trauma. Long-term, implementing trauma-informed practices can improve many community outcomes including chronic disease, high school graduation, employment, and mental health. The Resilient Leaders Initiative, which is generously supported by the Barnhill Family Foundation & The Anonymous Trust, arose out of a year-long listening process where Rural Opportunity Institute convened over 30 meetings with local and national leaders to understand the best approaches for supporting resilience in rural communities. Vichi Jagannathan, co-founder of Rural Opportunity Institute says, “The disruption due to COVID-19 presents a unique opportunity for institutions to pause and rethink some of their policies and ask - is there a better way to do things that can help our community heal and grow, and serve as a model for other communities struggling with the same challenges?” The cohort of agencies met for the first time in March, and will continue to convene monthly to receive funding, support, and professional development on trauma-informed practices and world-class problem-solving approaches. Over the course of 9 months, each agency team will name a goal for how they would like to see outcomes improve for their constituents - whether it is seeing fewer students repeatedly being suspended after attending HOPE’s alternative high school learning program, or supporting parents of young children to practice tools for building resilience through Word Tabernacle’s new Impact Academy pre-K program. They will then work with national experts in trauma-informed practices to design and pilot new ideas and collect data on what is working. By the end of the program, each team will have tested several ideas and be on the path to becoming national leaders in building resilient institutions. “Eastern North Carolina has a long history of strength and resilience - our community has persisted through centuries of challenges. We hope that this program can serve as a vehicle for amazing local leaders to plug into even more support to accelerate the great work they are doing, and lift up their wisdom for others to learn from,” said Seth Saeugling, co-founder of Rural Opportunity Institute. Another cohort of the program will run in 2022, supporting new community agencies to build on the learning and success from this first cohort. Those interested in staying updated on the participating organizations’ progress can learn more at www.ruralopportunity.org/leaders. About Rural Opportunity Institute Rural Opportunity Institute partners with local leaders & agencies, to build on existing assets, and support people's healing process by educating, reshaping systemic practices, and fostering deep-rooted connections. We know unjust systems cause trauma, and that people are not to blame for the trauma and stress that impacts them. Resilience is an inner strength in all humans, regardless of background, and we as people are wired for connection and healing. About Area L AHEC Area L AHEC works to meet the health and health workforce needs of Edgecombe, Halifax, Nash, Northampton, and Wilson counties by providing educational programs and services that bridge academic institutions and communities to improve the health of the people of North Carolina with a focus on underserved populations. More Info For questions, please contact info@ruralopportunity.org or visit https://www.ruralopportunity.org/
Four local organizations join Resilient Leaders Initiative program to support community healing related to trauma
Tarboro, NC (April 20, 2021) - Four local agencies have partnered with Rural Opportunity Institute, a nonprofit project incubated within Area L AHEC, to participate in a 9-month program to design and pilot innovative new ways to support the people they serve to heal from and persist through these traumatic events. In the wake of COVID-19, persistent hurricanes, changing economies and demographics, rural institutions across the country are struggling to provide healing to the people they serve. The four participating agencies will serve as models for rural communities across the country to become less punitive and more healing and resilient in the wake of future challenges.
This program, called the Resilient Leaders Initiative, is the first accelerator-like program in the country that is rooted in a rural community and focused on healing trauma. Here are the four agencies in the inaugural cohort:
Word Tabernacle Church in Rocky Mount, NC
HOPE Program (Edgecombe County Public Schools) in Tarboro, NC
Greater Is Coming Ministries & Edgecombe County Courthouse (joint collaboration) in Tarboro, NC
Speight Middle School in Stantonsburg, NC
These teams were chosen through a competitive community-based selection process that consisted of three stages. Over the course of 9 months, these organizations will receive expert coaching, funding, and professional development to design and pilot new policies and practices that lead to healing, and reimagine policies that may have caused trauma and harm. Rural Opportunity Institute plans to document each teams’ learning and successes for other rural communities to learn from.
Through participating in the Resilient Leaders Initiative, “I hope to gain resources and information my community can benefit from as we recover globally from a pandemic which has severed valuable connections with one another”, said Stephen Sutton, an educator and participant from Speight Middle School.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) describes trauma as resulting from "an event, series of events, or set of circumstances that is experienced by an individual as physically or emotionally harmful or life threatening and that has lasting adverse effects on the individual’s functioning and mental, physical, social, emotional, or spiritual well-being." Rural Opportunity Institute, founded in 2017, has been working in Nash, Edgecombe, and Wilson Counties to support people and organizations to create spaces that support healing from trauma. Long-term, implementing trauma-informed practices can improve many community outcomes including chronic disease, high school graduation, employment, and mental health.
The Resilient Leaders Initiative, which is generously supported by the Barnhill Family Foundation & The Anonymous Trust, arose out of a year-long listening process where Rural Opportunity Institute convened over 30 meetings with local and national leaders to understand the best approaches for supporting resilience in rural communities. Vichi Jagannathan, co-founder of Rural Opportunity Institute says, “The disruption due to COVID-19 presents a unique opportunity for institutions to pause and rethink some of their policies and ask - is there a better way to do things that can help our community heal and grow, and serve as a model for other communities struggling with the same challenges?”
The cohort of agencies met for the first time in March, and will continue to convene monthly to receive funding, support, and professional development on trauma-informed practices and world-class problem-solving approaches. Over the course of 9 months, each agency team will name a goal for how they would like to see outcomes improve for their constituents - whether it is seeing fewer students repeatedly being suspended after attending HOPE’s alternative high school learning program, or supporting parents of young children to practice tools for building resilience through Word Tabernacle’s new Impact Academy pre-K program. They will then work with national experts in trauma-informed practices to design and pilot new ideas and collect data on what is working. By the end of the program, each team will have tested several ideas and be on the path to becoming national leaders in building resilient institutions.
“Eastern North Carolina has a long history of strength and resilience - our community has persisted through centuries of challenges. We hope that this program can serve as a vehicle for amazing local leaders to plug into even more support to accelerate the great work they are doing, and lift up their wisdom for others to learn from,” said Seth Saeugling, co-founder of Rural Opportunity Institute. Another cohort of the program will run in 2022, supporting new community agencies to build on the learning and success from this first cohort. Those interested in staying updated on the participating organizations’ progress can learn more at www.ruralopportunity.org/leaders.
About Rural Opportunity Institute
Rural Opportunity Institute partners with local leaders & agencies, to build on existing assets, and support people's healing process by educating, reshaping systemic practices, and fostering deep-rooted connections. We know unjust systems cause trauma, and that people are not to blame for the trauma and stress that impacts them. Resilience is an inner strength in all humans, regardless of background, and we as people are wired for connection and healing.
About Area L AHEC
Area L AHEC works to meet the health and health workforce needs of Edgecombe, Halifax, Nash, Northampton, and Wilson counties by providing educational programs and services that bridge academic institutions and communities to improve the health of the people of North Carolina with a focus on underserved populations.
More Info
For questions, please contact info@ruralopportunity.org or visit https://www.ruralopportunity.org/