Project Courage: Help for students who have experienced trauma

Tina Stevens-Culbreath and Rodney Culbreath, Founders of I’m Just Me Movement and Certified Family Peer Support Specialists and Christa Shifflett, Executive Director, Warren Coalition join our publisher Mike McCool in the studio to share more on Project COURAGE. Photo and video by Mark Williams, Royal Examiner.

Project COURAGE (Creating Opportunities for Understanding and Resilience Amid Gaining our Education) is a multipronged approach to help youth who have experienced primary/secondary trauma so they can be successful in the classroom. Research shows that children with adverse childhood experiences suffer negative outcomes more frequently than those who have not experienced adversity. This free program is being offered by Warren County Public Schools in partnership with the Warren Coalition. It is funded through a Department of Justice grant. The program is being led by a Behavioral Health Coach, Tonia Meyer, who is housed at the Special Services Complex on 15th Street.

The Behavioral Health Coach will observe the classroom for trauma triggers, offer suggestions for change and create a behavioral plan. In addition, a trained support specialist will utilize evidence based COPE (Creating Opportunities for Personal Empowerment) or SCARED (Student Created Aggression Replacement Education) programs as indicated by assessments to help give the student skills to deal with difficult emotions. Each student will be paired with a volunteer mentor trained to meet the standards of the Virginia Mentorship Project. The company called “I’m Just Me Movement” will be contracted to provide this support. A parenting enrichment group will be offered for families as well. This program is offered for students at Skyline Middle School, Warren County Middle School, and the Non-Traditional Programs.

This is another support utilized in our schools to meet out students’ diverse needs. Questions about the program should be directed to Tonia Meyer at 635-2725 ext. 33111.

Watch as Christa Shifflett, Executive Director, Warren Coalition, Tina Stevens-Culbreath and Rodney Culbreath, Founders of I’m Just Me Movement and Certified Family Peer Support Specialists join our publisher Mike McCool in the studio to share more on Project COURAGE: