First 5 Humboldt, DHHS ACEs Offering Grant Opportunities

This is a press release from First 5 Humboldt:

First 5 Humboldt and the Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) are pleased to announce an ACES Collaborative Partnership. As part of the partnership, DHHS is offering mini grants to community-based organizations to address Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES). Our values as part of the System of Care for our communities include being trauma informed, resilience promoting, family driven, culturally responsive and community based.

Identified as a priority area by the Board of Supervisors, funding from the County of Humboldt has created an opportunity for community-based organizations, First 5 Humboldt and DHHS to partner in improving the physical, mental and emotional health of children and reduce the number of Adverse Childhood Experiences (“ACEs”) that have been shown to have long lasting effects into adulthood.

Collaborative Partnership Agreement funding will be awarded to community-based organizations that are working to address ACEs and increase their capacity to build resilience in Humboldt County. Assuring safe, stable and nurturing relationships and environments for all children and focusing on prevention and early intervention will help stem the tide of ACEs and break the intergenerational impacts of violence, drug abuse, trauma and neglect.

This is the fourth year of the ACES Collaborative Partnership. During the last program cycle, projects funded through the Partnership served at least 1,480 children, 1,485 parents and caregivers, and 1,042 service providers. The combined efforts of all the ACEs Collaborative Partnership projects resulted in providing ACEs and resilience related services to numerous families and service providers in Humboldt County. “The ACEs Collaborative Partnership Grants give our non-profits and community-based organizations an opportunity to reach more Humboldt county children and families with ACEs prevention services and trauma-informed, resilience promoting activities. The need to help families buffer toxic levels of stress has never been greater. First 5 Humboldt is proud to partner with Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services and the people doing such good work in our community to support our children and families,” said First 5 Humboldt’s Executive Director, Mary Ann Hansen.

Funding is available to community-based organizations that serve pregnant women and youth, zero (0) to eight (8) years of age, and their families to help prevent the occurrence of ACEs in Humboldt County, as well as increase awareness of ACEs and mitigate the impact of ACEs that do occur within Humboldt County. Partnership requests are small, one-time allocations of county funds to be used to build on the strengths in our community as well as reduce gaps in services. Emi Botzler-Rodgers, Behavioral Health Director for DHHS said, “What is great about these Collaborative Partnerships is we are investing in our community and those who know the local needs best, get to be part of creating solutions and strengthening the health and well-being of our children and families.”

DHHS and First 5 are currently accepting partnership agreement request proposals for the period from November 2020 through June 2021. A Technical Assistance (TA) session will be held virtually on August 12 from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Potential applicants are not required to attend the TA session, but are encouraged to if they have questions. The deadline for submission of the application is August 21, 2020, 5:00 p.m.

To receive additional information, you can contact Samantha Anderson by email at [email protected] or by phone at 707-476-4073.