PSU Research Institute awarded grant

The Portland Children’s Levy recently awarded Portland State’s Regional Research Institute with a $100,000 grant to develop its Trauma Recovery Services project.

The project was created by the Regional Research Institute (RRI) in conjunction with Catholic Charities and the nonprofit organization Impact Northwest.

The one-time award from the Children’s Levy will be used to help approximately 30 local families.

According to Diane Yatchmenoff, the assistant director of the RRI, the effects of the project will be far-reaching.

“The goal of the project is to improve the safety, stability and well-being of high-need families in the community and to increase the effectiveness of systems that serve them,” she said.

She added that the immediate focus of the project will be on single mothers. The challenges these mothers face put them and their children at risk of homelessness and other compromising situations.

“These are women and children who have been traumatized for years and are high users of the area’s social services,” said Lisa Pellegrino, the director of the Portland Children’s Levy.

The Trauma Recovery Services project is aligned with the current priorities of the county’s Department of Human Services. It will begin with an intervention in housing communities that builds skills and stronger support for the families involved.

“We expect to demonstrate increased stability in housing, reduced mental health and substance abuse symptoms and increased parenting confidence and capacity,” Yatchmenoff said.

There is growing recognition—locally and nationally—that even trauma services can be ineffective because of poorly informed policies, procedures and practices.

Addressing this issue, the Trauma Recovery project’s housing partners are working to create informed polices that better serve the families in need.

“[The] RRI will convene a cross-system task force that will serve as a forum for us to gather and publicize information about existing resources and needs, work with the county to offer trainings in trauma-informed care and provide technical assistance in…systems change,” Yatchmenoff said.

A community briefing, co-sponsored by county commissioner Deborah Kafoury, is scheduled for Nov. 10. Over 75 community partners were invited.?