In 2021 Every Neighborhood Partnership received a $50,000 grant from Kaiser to increase community resilience and trauma-informed behaviors by providing resident-led workshops.  ENP trained facilitators working in 3 different neighborhoods in Fresno to run Parent Cafe workshops and support groups.  The Parent Cafes were run by leaders from each neighborhood with participants from the community with whom they were already in relationship.  99 individuals went through these Parent Cafes.  Participants expressed through post-session surveys that they want to go through the course again and invite new friends to attend, as well as have the group continue beyond the original length of the course.  As a result, 4 out of 5 of the groups have been continuing to meet beyond the designated timeframe for the sessions because of the supportive relationships that developed through their time together.  

The 8-session Parent Cafe curriculum was developed by Brainwise Solutions with the goal of equipping parents and caregivers with tools to develop Resilience, Relationships, and Rebuilding in a supportive group environment.  It was created with the intent of having leaders from the community facilitate groups with a preventative approach rather than as a response after a family has gone through a specific traumatic incident.

We are most proud of Parent Cafe participants who learned about Resilience, Relationships, and Rebuilding, and chose to pursue healing in their personal relationships through addressing their trauma and seeking reconciliation where needed.  From our post-session surveys, 73% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed to the statement, “Through Parent Cafe, I learned of at least one mental health resource that can benefit my family.”  81% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed to the statement, “Through Parent Cafe, I learned at least one new positive behavior or activity I can do by myself or with my family to increase resilience.”  100% of respondents would recommend other parents or caregivers go through Parent Cafe.  We are encouraged by the respondents who indicated that they learned of new mental health resources and resilience activities and by the groups that are continuing to meet together as well as invite new attendees.  Several participants shared their gratitude for an opportunity to meet with other caregivers in the midst of the disconnection and isolation they’ve been experiencing as a result of COVID-19.

One woman was in the process of getting a divorce when she began attending Parent Cafe.  As she learned about trauma and relationships, she recognized that she and her husband both have previous childhood and young adult trauma that is influencing their current relationship.  She chose to pause divorce proceedings until finishing the Parent Cafe sessions.  After attending additional Parent Cafe sessions, she and her husband chose to seek help for their individual trauma and healing process instead of continuing with getting a divorce at this time.

A different Parent Cafe participant provided the following feedback: “I am very grateful to ENP Parent Café; it has helped me understand my angels and devils by learning new words and learning to develop, for example, the words “resilience” and “reconstruction.”  By deciphering them, I realize their great importance in mental health. I am a person full of traumas; I was taught to shut up my feelings, emotions, and especially my problems. These classes give me confidence and hope to change all that, so in the most attentive way I ask you to continue the program Parent Cafe and can it be extended more days because it is very exciting to wait for the day of the meeting and open up to more people who come to it like me. Thank you very much for your interest in seeking well-being in the families. May God bless you.  Without a doubt, your program is a success, thank you.”

Here are some additional quotes:

• I learned that past experiences still can carry on and affect the upbringing of our own children, and how to identify it and change.
• I learned what it means to be resilient and to break the chains of childhood 
• I learned many things, but the word that is very new is resilience and reconstruction. It’s like having hope that the family can be repaired…but not everything will depend on me.
• Everyone needs help and don’t be ashamed to ask for help.

The right curriculum paired with the right people leads to community impact.  The feedback from the Parent Cafe was overwhelmingly positive.  We believe this is a result of Parent Cafes being facilitated by trauma-informed individuals from the community where the Parent Cafes were being hosted using curriculum that was created with them in mind.  Facilitators of the curriculum were already involved in the community and called upon those relationships to invite participants into the workshops.  Participants shared not only that they learned about trauma and resiliency, but that they appreciated the supportive environment and relationships that were fostered through the Parent Cafes.

The facilitators of the Parent Cafe have previously received trauma training and are regular group facilitators.  They all did a great job and were excited to facilitate the groups.  From that, we learned that for future groups, we need to ensure that facilitators have not only received training on the particular curriculum, but also require other trauma and facilitation training, such as CRI and Clear Thinking training. Facilitators also expressed a desire for more training on how to process hearing others’ trauma and move conversations along as they facilitate workshops.  As they continue with their groups beyond the length of the designated curriculum, they are requesting more activities to take the group through and to wrap up and hold space for the strong emotions that come up through their time together.

We learned that we need a flexible curriculum that can easily accommodate facilitators bringing in additional resources in their areas of expertise or context, such as faith-based or other resources.  As a next step, we need to resource families with additional mental health resources.  This includes finding culturally appropriate mental health resources and resources for residents who are undocumented and/or don’t have insurance.

Over the course of the grant term, 137 people received trauma and resiliency training through Parent Cafe and other trainings.  Participants explored Resilience, Relationships, and Rebuilding in a supportive and relational environment and are eager to continue growing in these areas. 3 organizations now have a trained staff, greater capacity and a proven curriculum to continue to build resilience. ENP is working with the curriculum designers to refine and build upon the curriculum and is also sharing highlights with the Trauma and Resilience Network of Fresno County. We are extremely grateful to Kaiser for partnering with ENP to make this resilience based community development possible.