What is the Resilience Project?

The purpose of the Resilience Project is to help children and young adults who have experienced some sort of trauma. The project helps these young people recover and heal from that trauma by asking, “What happened to you?” - not - “What’s wrong with you?”

This video outlines four key pillars of the project:

  • Engaging the whole team 

  • Understanding through the lens of a trauma-informed biographical timelines 

  • Healing through connection

  • Building a future not defined by past trauma 

“I think when we know better, we do better. As a parent and a professional, The Resilience Project changed everything for me.”

— Resilience Project Participant

Who is involved?

The Resilience Project partners with family and foster families so that they can help the young person heal and grow – and the family can get the support they need to get strong and stay strong. The Resilience Project shares effective strategies and approaches with staff and families, so that everyone can be on the same page.

  • A Peer Support Partner (PSP) provides the family with practical assistance and supports the family on its own healing journey. The PSP meets regularly in the family home at a time that works for the family. The PSP has lived experience with trauma, understands the impact of trauma, and knows how to help grow resilience.

  • Staff from all the agencies that support the young person get training and support to understand the person’s past and plan ways to help the person heal and grow.

  • A Resilience Worker connects the young person with people and places that build resilience factors.

  • A trauma-trained therapist supports trauma recovery in one-on-one therapy sessions.

The whole team (sometimes including the young person) and family - gathers monthly to learn from one another about what’s working and what needs further attention so that the person can heal and grow.

The Resilience Project is designed to help cross-agency teams:

  • Understand the person’s trauma history

  • See how the trauma history is “showing up” today

  • Build resilience factors to mitigate the impact of trauma

  • Consistently use trauma-informed approaches/interventions to mitigate the impact of trauma

In The News:

10.18.19 | WCPO-TV Resilience Project: How a local program is helping kids and young adults heal from trauma

Printables:

Project Summary: History, Accomplishments, Impact, & Sustainability

Resilience Project: Basic Information For Families

Who And How To Refer

Resilience Project Components

Additional Information

The Resilience Project began in 2013, with a grant award to Hamilton County DD Services from OhioMHAS and the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities. In 2017, the project expand-ed and Greater Cincinnati Behavioral Health (GCBH), a long-time grant partner, became the project administrator. GCBH and Child Focus have hired Resilience Workers and therapists who carry out key project activities. Families Connected and Hope Center have provided family Peer Support Partners (PSPs) for family and foster families of participants in Clermont and Hamilton County.